"Shut up! old hag!"
"Youichi, you need to control this temper of yours. If you want a girlfriend, you definitely need to change yourself!"
"Grandfather!"
Kuramochi cried out in anguish.
'Is it really appropriate for a man in his sixties to seriously discuss girlfriends with his grandson?'
In stark contrast to the noisy Kuramochi, Furuya returned home and was incredibly quiet.
He went straight to bed and fell asleep instantly.
Kominato, Kuramochi, and the others still had some energy left. After all, they had only had a night's rest following their hellish training before their holiday began.
Given their recovery abilities, they had managed to regain some physical strength. Although their bodies were still fatigued, reuniting with their families had alleviated their exhaustion to some extent.
Seeing his parents and grandfather, Satoru was happy, although he wasn't great at expressing his emotions.
But he was a teenager after all.
Missing his family after such a long time was natural.
However, right now, he couldn't care less about missing anyone; all he wanted was to sleep.
He was utterly exhausted!
Even a single night's rest was insufficient for full recovery.
The hellish training had severely depleted his stamina. Without three or four days of rest, it was impossible for him to recover.
His parents could only look on helplessly at his state.
"He slept like that the moment he returned!"
Furuya's mother sounded either distressed or resentful.
Her husband nodded in agreement.
Satoru's grandfather, however, had a different view.
"The boy is growing up. Naturally, he will have his own thoughts. Even while asleep, he can't hide the smile on his face. It seems he is quite happy, even in places we can't see!"
"Tired as a dog, and he's still happy?" Furuya's mother remarked.
Her tone wasn't as harsh as her words might suggest. Perhaps she understood Furuya better than she let on.
After all, her son's happiness was the most important thing.
Due to his exceptional talent, Furuya had never made friends to hang out with during middle school.
That seemed to have changed at Seidou High School.
"I'm back!" Miyuki announced as he walked into his house, where his father was busy in the workshop.
His father looked very focused.
When he saw Miyuki, he merely nodded.
Miyuki wasn't bothered by his father's indifference; he was used to it.
He headed to his room.
Passing by the workshop, Miyuki glanced up and frowned slightly.
'Business not doing well?'
There was no one else in the workshop than him.
Then he went up to his room on the second floor.
The room's furnishings were exactly as he had left them, still very clean.
Although his home was in Tokyo, Miyuki had been away for several months.
His room was still meticulously clean as if someone had been keeping it up.
Miyuki smiled as he approached the refrigerator, and was stunned as there was only beer in there.
'No choice looks like we will need some shopping!'
Looking at the refrigerator, he wondered how his father managed to live like that.
Unlike the others who returned to their hometowns, Sawamura was having it rough.
Shooting commercials, hanging out with friends, spending time with family—aside from the mornings and evenings, Sawamura barely had any free time and was constantly on the go. This hectic pace was even more exhausting than his school days.
The ten-day vacation ended in a flurry of activity. On the day Sawamura was heading back to school, his friends from the Akagi Middle School baseball team came to see him off again.
Having such friends is the most gratifying thing for Eijun.
The return Shinkansen was as fast as ever. In just a few hours, Sawamura Eijun was back at Seidou High School.
"Wow, you're back so early!"
"Of course, it's a Senpai's privilege," Kuramochi replied with a smile.
Kuramochi greeted him as he arrived at the dormitory ahead of schedule.
In fact, he wasn't the first back; Maezono had returned to school ahead of everyone, eager to train after spending only five days at home.
Due to a recent slump in his batting form, Maezono had almost been benched as a starter.
As they will soon be third-year students, they will only have five months of baseball left. The closer they get to this time, the more they value every practice session.
High school baseball offers no second chances; once it's over, it's truly over.
For third-year players, losing any summer game means the end of their high school baseball career.
In such circumstances, it's no surprise that players would give their all.
"So, when did you get back?" Sawamura asked with a smile.
Kuramochi's luggage was already unpacked, and his freshly washed socks were hanging by the door.
From what Sawamura knew about Kuramochi, he must have returned quite some time ago.
"Three days ago," Kuramochi said candidly.
After the holiday, everyone seemed to have matured significantly.
"Anything interesting at home?" Sawamura asked.
Kuramochi struggled to find something to say. Their usual interactions involved teasing each other, leaving little room for calm conversations.
Sawamura, however, was more composed, having grown accustomed to farewells and reunions.
In the two days since the holiday ended, it was natural for everyone to feel disoriented returning to school from their hometowns.
Everything would settle back into place after a couple of days.
Time works in mysterious ways.
"There wasn't much of interest, but two Kohais from Akagi are coming to our school."
"Are they from your Akagi Middle School team? How are their skills?"
"Overall, they might not be top-notch, but they have some impressive individual talents."
"So, they have a specialty!"
"That's right," Kuramochi said, intrigued.
Kuramochi, known for his speed, was curious.
"Is there anyone fast?"
"No," Sawamura replied, smiling as he thought of the incoming Kohais. "But they are interesting. One of them might even make it into our main roster based solely on his batting strength."
Kuramochi's eyes widened in disbelief. He knew better than anyone the hitting level of Seidou's main team.
Even he, with his own batting power, was lower-ranked. If the junior really had such strength, even the main players couldn't afford to be complacent; they might risk losing their spots.
"And the other one?"
"The other!" Sawamura's eyes showed a hint of nostalgia. "The other is my middle school partner, who had a remarkable talent for catching. He sought me out for practice during my visit home. I can't say about his other talents, but in catching, he is probably better than Chris-senpai and Miyuki-senpai."
Kuramochi's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?"
He had heard from Takashima about the unprecedented number of new students this year, with some exceptional talents.
He didn't expect that Sawamura's two Kohais would be so outstanding.
"While I played a part in Akagi Middle School's two-year dominance, it was their effort that made such miracles possible," Sawamura said earnestly.
"Don't Nagano schools have good programs? How could Nagano's top schools let such talent slip away?" Kuramochi wondered.
"They chose it themselves! They wanted to train with the best team in the country. As a Senpai, what could I say?" Sawamura shrugged.
Kuramochi, although not worried about his position, knew that in the second year, there were only a few like him.
Most players couldn't be assured of a main roster spot. With so many exceptional first-year students, securing a place was even more daunting.
Kuramochi knew this was just the beginning of Seidou's golden generation.
Returning to school, it was back to the grind.
Over the next two months, the Seidou High School baseball team underwent another grueling training period.
During this time, everyone worked on their weaknesses.
By March, Spring Koshien was approaching.
The day before heading to Koshien, Coach Kataoka announced the 18-member roster for the spring tournament.
Sawamura, Miyuki, Maezono, Kominato, Kanemaru, Kuramochi, Asou, Toujou, Shiratsu, Kawakami, Furuya, Ono, Yamaguchi, Kijima, Higasa, and others would compete in Koshien under the guidance of Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai.
The second-string and third-string players would accompany them, acting as cheerleaders and providing support.
And so, Sawamura and his teammates entered their second year, and our story began a new chapter.
…
T/N: We will be starting the Spring Koshien Tomorrow.
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