Chapter 3: Three Pitchers

"Hello, Senpai!"

The tall and upright young man in front of him was surprisingly easy to get along with. When greeting, he was especially respectful, showing no signs of awkwardness.

"My name is Nishiyama, Nishiyama Kibo!"

Kuramochi looked at him with curiosity: "From your accent, are you from Chiba by chance."

Although there is not much difference in Tokyo and Chiba's accents, a perceptive person will notice the difference.

Judging by Nishiyama Kibo's tone and accent, it did feel familiar.

That's why Kuramochi asked curiously.

"Yes, Senpai! I'm also from Chiba!" Nishiyama replied excitedly.

Kuramochi beamed at that.

Even with all the members in Seidou, not many of them are from Chiba.

"Ah, welcome!!!"

Kuramochi cheerfully struck a welcoming pose and talked to him about where he was from in Chiba and then in the middle of talking he began rummaging through his suitcase for his belongings.

"Senpai, what are you looking for?"

Nishiyama Kibo didn't seem like someone who had just arrived in a foreign country; he acted very familiar.

Beside them, Sawamura looked puzzled.

He had never met Nishiyama Kibo before, but he had heard of him.

Nishiyama Kibo wasn't a well-known player in the MLB or even the NBA; he was a coach for the Japanese national team.

During Sawamura's time in the Major Leagues, a young coach was taking the high school baseball scene by storm, and that person was Nishiyama Kibo.

He was the one who single-handedly propelled the previously mediocre high school baseball team in Chiba to a very powerful team in Koshien.

His achievements were commendable that he was entrusted with leading the Japan's U18 team.

Even Sawamura had heard of this.

However, they had never formally met.

Sawamura occasionally saw photos and videos of him, but that was him many years later.

At that time, Nishiyama Kibo looked weathered, completely different from the cheerful and handsome young man before him.

'This world is so small!'

Sawamura would never have imagined that one day, Nishiyama Kibo would become his Kohai.

Fate truly is amazing.

'Could it be a case of having the same name?'

Sawamura wondered suspiciously.

Although the current Nishiyama Kibo was very different from the one Sawamura had seen in his before his regression, there were still some similarities in their features.

'It shouldn't be a coincidence; it had to be him.'

Sawamura smiled and extended his hand.

"Hello, nice to meet you."

"No, no! The pleasure is mine Sawamura-senpai!"

Nishiyama appeared flattered.

Out of all the people here in Seidou, Sawamura Eijun was the one he wanted to meet the most.

"I found it!"

Just as the two were sizing each other up, a voice called out behind them.

Kuramochi had dug out a brand-new game console from the bottom of his luggage.

It was something he brought with the extra money he got from the advertisement for the cleats they did with the previous team.

"You've brought this thing recently, right? Have you downloaded any games on it!" Sawamura asked with a frown.

"Of course I did! Who do you take me for?" Kuramochi replied with a smile.

After saying this, he began inserting the game cartridge, readying for a game.

"Come on, let's have some fun bonding between Senpais and Kohais."

Sawamura looked at Kuramochi, who was loading the old game on the new console, and knew he was up for no good.

"The freshmen just arrived. Is it really okay for you to not go easy on them?"

He knew Kuramochi was planning on torturing the freshmen in the game he was familiar with.

"Nonsense! I'm just trying to foster friendship in our dormitory. There's no training tomorrow morning; this is a rare opportunity."

"If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten! Why isn't there training tomorrow morning?"

Sawamura naturally took a seat on the other side of the game console, beckoning the new guys to come over.

When they had just returned to school, Coach Kataoka had announced that there would be no training the following day.

At that moment, the members of Seidou High School's baseball club felt both excited and confused.

Having just endured the battles of Koshien in the spring, they certainly didn't want to dive straight into training.

But it was the first time Seidou High School had this kind of break.

"There's nothing we can do; we made it to the end of Koshien this spring. We're about to welcome the Tokyo Spring Tournament, so of course, everyone should focus on recovering their stamina during this time. Not to mention the opening ceremony tomorrow, along with baseball club recruitment. It would be strange to train!"

When Kuramochi explained, Sawamura immediately understood.

At tomorrow's opening ceremony, the players from Seidou High School's baseball club will get a rewarding ceremony for their achievement in Koshien.

In such a situation, training all morning would seem inappropriate.

The two chatted without regard for their surroundings, unintentionally sidelining the two freshmen.

"Get out of the way!"

After a while, after playing two rounds with Sawamura, Kuramochi suddenly realized that he had pulled out the game console to bond with his new roommate.

To think he would let that brat Sawamura have fun—unbelievable.

He shoved Sawamura aside and turned to the two juniors, putting on what he thought was his 'kindest' smile.

"Anyone of you play this? Let's have a friendly competition?"

"The Street Fighters, I can play!"

The cheerful Nishiyama raised his hand first.

As he had spent hundreds of hours on this game, he had thoroughly mastered The Street Fighters.

"Great!"

The two sat together, smiling at each other.

Then, Kuramochi faced tragedy.

The character he chose—Chun-Li—was quickly crushed by Nishiyama's character—Ryu.

"You can't keep spamming the special moves!" Kuramochi complained.

"Okay!" Nishiyama didn't mind at all.

During the second round, Kuramochi picked a character with a strong ultimate move.

'Who could outmatch him in ultimate moves?'

As a result, it was unclear how Nishiyama managed to dodge after a jump and then counterattack.

"Is that even possible?"

Kuramochi exclaimed, looking stunned.

'Clearly, Haruichi had found a worthy opponent—playing games was his specialty.'

Asada, who had been watching, hadn't fully recovered from the earlier drama and felt dizzy.

Fortunately, he had Nishiyama as a companion; otherwise, he would find it difficult to adapt. Just being with the two seniors put immense pressure on him.

'What is wrong with these Senpais? On the first day facing Kohais, they were already acting like bullies?'

He had fantasized countless times about meeting Sawamura Eijun before entering school.

In Asada's mind, Sawamura had always been a figure of greatness.

He had read about Sawamura online, primarily how he led the Akagi Middle School baseball team to the peak.

After the reporters' glowing descriptions, Sawamura gave the public the impression of being a responsible leader.

He could lead seniors a year older than him into battle and also serve as an excellent coach, selecting talent for the team.

At the same time, he was very skilled at training his juniors.

In Asada's mind, Sawamura should have been a very dignified senior.

This was truly a life-altering encounter!

At the moment they met, Asada's previous tall image of Sawamura Eijun shattered to pieces and evaporated completely.

"What is on your mind?"

Just as Asada fell into deep thought, someone suddenly appeared behind him.

'Sawamura-senpai!'

Seeing Sawamura so close made Asada a bit startled.

"Still not over it?" Sawamura smiled calmly.

"It's just a joke. It's a tradition in this dormitory. You can use it to scare the Kohais next year."

"Let's not do that anymore!" Asada refused outright.

"Haha!" Sawamura found it amusing.

'This guy hadn't changed at all.'

"By the way, what position do you play?" Sawamura asked knowingly.

"Pitcher!" Asada felt a bit embarrassed.

Saying he was a pitcher in front of Sawamura felt surreal.

If there were a hole in the ground, Asada would want to dive in.

Sawamura seemed unconcerned, turning to Nishiyama, who was effortlessly dominating Kuramochi with one hand.

"And you Nishiyama?"

Hearing Sawamura's question, Nishiyama met his gaze without hesitation.

"I'm a pitcher too!"

'More Pitchers!!!'

Kuramochi, who was playing games with Nishiyama, was taken aback. And his character on the screen took the final hit and was K.Oed.

'So, that meant there were three pitchers in their dormitory, including Sawamura?'

…