When the first years heard of the scrimmage with the seniors, everyone was extremely nervous.
I couldn't blame them as it was going to be a tough game, but I didn't care.
I was just excited to finally play my first game since coming to this world.
After a week after the news and tons of training throughout, the tension was building for the game that would be the next day.
Throughout the week, I decided to stay behind after training finished to practise my batting swing.
'My pitching should be fine for the game, but I need to improve my batting.' I thought.
After about an hour of practising my swing, I finally went back to the cafeteria to eat.
When I walked in, I saw a bunch of senior players crowding around Furuya.
"Do you have any idea where you are? You think you're big even though you're still fresh out of junior high." One of them said.
"If you want Miyuki to catch your pitch, you need to prove your strength." Another continued.
The tension in the room was very suffocating, the senior players were obviously very angry with whatever Furuya had said to them.
"Stop ganging up on him." Someone from the other side of the room said.
I turned to the voice.
'Tanba-senpai.' I thought when I saw him.
"The only way we fight is on the baseball field." He continued.
"Y-Yes!" the seniors surrounding Furuya replied.
The room was silent and heavy after they replied.
'I should probably keep quiet in this situation.' I thought.
However, I was still looking at Tanba throughout all this.
'I want to fight against him.'
He sensed my gaze and looked over at me.
When he saw me, he stared back at me.
I then turned around and went to get some food.
Tanba then went back to eating.
A couple of minutes later, I walked up to Tanba with a tray of food.
"Can I sit here, Tanba-senpai?" I asked, pointing at the chair next to him.
The table Tanba was sitting at was full of senior players.
They all looked at me with furrowed brows.
"What do you want, kid?" One of them asked with a slightly raised voice.
Everyone in the room started looking in our direction.
'Oh no! One freshman already made trouble and now there's another?" They thought.
"I just want to ask whether Tanba-senpai will be playing in the game tomorrow." I replied with a smile, looking at the the senior who questioned me.
"I will be." Tanba said whilst not looking up from his food.
"Are you fully recovered from your injury?" I asked him.
The room went silent at that question.
Miyauchi Keisuke, the back up catcher for the first string and who was sitting next to Tanba, stood up at this.
"HMPH! Brat, what do you mean by that question?" He asked.
I looked at him with a calm but serious expression, my eyes were shining their golden glow.
"I asked because I want to fight him at 100%. To help me improve my pitching, I need to go up against the best. Tanba-senpai is the best pitcher in Seido. I want to go up against him at full strength." I replied, my eyes glowing even more after I said this.
Tanba then finally turned from his food, when he saw my glowing golden eyes, he could feel the aura around me.
'This guy!' He thought.
"I will be at 100% for tomorrow, kid." Tanba said.
I then looked towards him with my golden eyes, staring deeply at him.
"Great! I look forward to our match!" I said with a smile, bowing to him.
I turned around and left.
"Oi, kid. What's your name?" I heard Tanba ask from behind me.
I turned back towards him with eyes still glowing.
"Sawamura, Sawamura Eijun." I replied.
I then turned again and walked away.
***
When Sawamura left, Tanba went back to eating his food.
"Be careful of that guy in tomorrow's game." Tanba said to the rest of the seniors on the table.
"What do you mean, Tanba? That kid was just being arrogant." Someone replied.
"No, he had an aura of a good pitcher." Tanba said.
"He will be a tough opponent if we underestimate him." He continued.
"Hmph!" Miyauchi blew steam out of his nostrils at that, he looked over at Sawamura with a serious face.
***
As Sawamura walked away, Miyuki, who had seen the whole interaction with Furuya sitting next to him, started giggling.
'This kid! He's so entertaining!' He thought.
"What is it, Miyuki-senpai?" Furuya asked.
"Oh, it's just Sawamura, he always finds a way to make me laugh." Miyuki replied.
"You know, you're both lucky and unlucky." He continued.
"Why?" Furuya asked with confusion.
"Attending this school in the same year as Sawamura. You have a good rival to compete against throughout your high school baseball career. However, the fight for the ace position will be immense. So, you should keep yourself in check and keep improving, as Sawamura looks to improve in any way he can, from every experience. You will be left behind if you don't start running." Miyuki said with a cheeky tone.
'The Ace!' Furuya thought single-mindedly.
****
After finishing eating, alone in the cafeteria as I was late to start eating.
I went to the bath house to wash up.
When I opened the door with a towel, I found Coach sitting in the bath.
'Oh, this is going to be awkward.' I thought. 'Is he really wearing shades in the bath? Does he ever take them off?!?'
"Good evening, Coach." I said to him with a smile.
"Mmm." He replied.
I washed myself with soap for a while and then I got into the bath.
After I little while of the atmosphere, Coach finally spoke up.
"I hear you've been coming in late to eat for the past week." He said with his usual, deep voice.
"Ah yes, that's right. I've been practising my batting after practise." I replied.
"How are you finding the training." He asked again.
"It's exactly what I wanted it to be like. It's intense and pushes me to my limits and helps me improve in areas I'm lacking in, like fielding for example." I said, earnestly. "I do wish I could get some more time in the bullpen though hahah…"
"What did you think when you came to watch our game?" He asked, ignoring my slight complaint.
I thought deeply at the Coaches' question, looking back at the game.
"Frustrated." I replied firmly.
"Frustrated?" Coach repeated.
"Yes, Coach. Frustrated that I wasn't on the mound." I said with my eyes glowing a little.
"I don't think I can truly support any other pitcher on the mound sincerely. It annoys me seeing anyone else up there. I want it to be me." I continued with my eyes glowing brightly now.
There was a silence after my answer, the Coach looking at me, specifically the look in my eyes.
He then gave a big grin.
"Hahahah!" His booming laugh echoed through the bath house.
"You naïve little boy. You certainly have the heart of an ace." He said whilst still grinning as he got up and stepped out of the bath.
"The greed to monopolize the mound. Maybe that's what the other pitchers are missing." He continued as he walked towards the exit.
When he got to the door, he stopped.
"I look forward to your performance tomorrow." He finished off with, walking out of the door and shutting it behind him.
I just stared at where the coach had just left.
I then clenched my fist tightly and the fire inside me was intense.
'Shit! I'm fucking excited for tomorrow! This guy is so good at firing people up!' I thought.
'Don't worry Coach, I will show you a great show tomorrow.'