After winning the Spring Championship, the schedule for the Seidou High School team members has become quite familiar. After all, they had experienced it before.
Following all the award ceremonies and interviews, the team members returned to Seidou High School on the afternoon of March 31.
The school had prepared a grand banquet.
Of course, this banquet wasn't an official celebration. The celebration of the baseball team's victory in the Spring Championship would be held after school started. This banquet was merely to thank the hardworking players.
"Don't be fooled by the principal's chubby appearance; he's actually quite crafty and understands how to win the heart of people," Kanemaru said while stuffing his face, talking to Sawamura next to him.
He wasn't new to such scenes. Last summer, when Seidou High School won the Summer Koshien Championship, it was pretty much the same routine.
However, at that time, Kanemaru was a bystander, benefiting from the team's glory just to enjoy the banquet.
Now, his status had dramatically changed; he was now one of the main characters at the banquet.
"I wonder what kind of guys will come to the dormitory," Kominato Haruichi said curiously.
At this moment, he showed none of the devilish presence he had on the baseball field. He seemed like the affable little brother next door, posing no threat at all.
As for this topic, the friends were all eager to discuss it.
They were filled with anticipation for the new members joining the team.
Especially the first-years who had just been promoted to second-year; they were all eager and vowed to take 'good care' of their new Kohais in the dormitory.
Thanks to their continuous dominance nationwide, Seidou High School was now well-known throughout the country. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were currently the most prominent team in the nation.
With their fame spreading, recruitment had also gone way smoothly.
As the head of the recruitment department, Takashima Rei had been receiving good news after good news.
She said that nine out of ten players she had her eye on did not refuse her offers. As a result, the number of players naturally increased.
It was said that the number of new students alone exceeded the total number of second and third-years combined.
Originally, a dormitory had three beds, but now it had four, two of which were prepared for the new students.
Additionally, the school board had passed a resolution to increase the number of dormitory slots by twenty.
Otherwise, with more and more players, the current dormitory size would likely not accommodate them.
"This is just for the specially recruited ones; we still don't know how many new students will apply for the baseball team," Miyuki felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Every year, at Seidou High School's recruitment fair, aside from these specially recruited players, a significant number of self-applied players also emerged.
Just like the team's brilliant strategist Watanabe.
He was a self-recruited player for the baseball team.
However, if you think that self-applied players lack talent just because they didn't get an invitation from Seidou High School, you are sorely mistaken.
Among these players, occasionally, a few monsters pop up.
For instance, there's now the nation-famous Furuya Satoru, who made a significant impression in this Spring Koshien.
He hadn't received a special recruitment offer from Seidou High School; he applied on his own.
Thinking about leading such a large team, Miyuki, who usually feels joyful that he can mess with many people, actually felt overwhelmed.
Let alone remembering the characteristics of each player, just remembering their names would be a monumental task.
"I have faith in you!" Sawamura patted his Captain's shoulder firmly, giving him a thumbs-up and a confident look.
"Are you hoping to see me fail?" Miyuki frowned.
"Even if you want to see me fail, you won't have much time. At most, in four months, I'll be retired, and this burden will fall on you."
As soon as he said this, Miyuki realized he had misspoken.
The atmosphere in the entire dining hall grew heavy.
Topics of parting always bring sadness, especially among these youthful and passionate teammates who share deep bonds.
Seidou High School feels somewhat like a military unit; it may not be perfect, but it certainly evokes nostalgia.
Even Sawamura, whose mental age has long exceeded 30, felt it deeply too.
Who understands the feelings of parting better than someone who has been through it?
"Cut it out, why are we talking about this?" Sawamura forcefully interrupted this topic and steered the conversation back to their expectations for the new students.
"I've been itching to get started!" When it comes to the obsession with the Kohai, no one is more enthusiastic than Kanemaru. His personality makes him very fond of leading others.
To put it plainly, he wants to be a leader.
He is no different from those who want to be class monitors or student council presidents in elementary school. He wants to have the authority, to manage others.
Even if there's no benefit and it's troublesome, he is willing to do it.
Sawamura couldn't understand this. Although the current members of the Seidou High School baseball team consider Sawamura the best candidate to be the new captain after Miyuki retires, Sawamura himself had no desire for that.
What's the point of being a captain? Isn't that just asking for extra trouble?
Although he performed excellently in that position on the Akagi Middle School baseball team, there was no other way.
Given even a little choice, Sawamura wouldn't want to take on such a burden.
Moreover, before his regression, Kanemaru became the Captain, and he wasn't bad at all.
Amidst their laughter and discussions, the banquet concluded.
Everyone took their showers and returned to the dormitory, patiently waiting for the Kohai to arrive.
According to Seidou High School's tradition, new students typically check in a few days in advance.
This is to help everyone quickly acclimate to the baseball team's training.
This check-in time will not go past the 30th at the latest. Then, on the 31st, they will train for a day before school starts the next day.
After that, there will be two days for registration, and from May 3rd to 5th, they will participate in the recruitment fair.
Seidou High School's baseball club is renowned. Every year, countless players want to join the team.
There is no strict limit on the total number of players in the Seidou High School baseball club, but they must meet certain standards.
They cannot recruit endlessly.
The overall number must be maintained within a certain range; if players don't meet this level, they simply cannot join the baseball club.
Another aspect is the internal recruitment fair at Seidou High School.
After finishing dinner and showering, Sawamura returned to the dormitory.
Upon returning, he saw Kuramochi tinkering with something.
'Here we go again?'
Sawamura instinctively smiled; he was too familiar with this scene. Or rather, he had grown quite fond of it.
"Isn't this unsuitable? The Kohais just arrived?"
Sawamura condemned it, yet he grabbed a red watercolor pen.
Without hesitation, he drew a menacing largemouth on his lips.
"You're saying that, but your body is quite honest," Kuramochi said with a cheeky smile.
"Don't speak to me like that in the future; it's easy to misunderstand, got it?"
"Misunderstand what?"
Kuramochi looked puzzled.
Sawamura hesitated, at a loss for words.
Kuramochi was still just a 16-year-old boy. There was so much he didn't understand.
Sawamura had initially thought that Kuramochi, who loved to hang out on the streets since childhood, would be quite familiar with these things.
'Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the opposite.'
Thinking of this, Sawamura couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you thinking about?"
Kuramochi looked at him oddly.
He had no idea what had gotten into his roommate.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Sawamura shrugged nonchalantly.
And then, without any hesitation, he dressed himself up like a zombie.
In Sawamura's memories, he is actually fond of his Kohais.
Whether it's the one now or the one who will join a year later.
They were both good guys.
It's just that he wondered, after his butterfly flaps its wings so vigorously, whether those two Kohais he knew would still come to Dormitory 5.
Of course, it wouldn't matter if they didn't come.
Even without the bond of being roommates, they were still teammates from the same team.
As long as the Senpai and Kohai get along well, their relationship will be just as close.
Just like Chris-senpai.
Although Sawamura and Chris weren't in the same dormitory, that didn't stop them from becoming the best of friends for life.
"They're here!"
Just as Sawamura finished his makeup, Kuramochi rushed back after scouting outside.
He saw that new students had arrived.
After seeing the new students come, he cleverly hid back in the dormitory and dressed himself up like a traditional vampire.
"Isn't this a bit extreme?"
Sawamura, holding a flashlight, looked at Kuramochi's ghostly appearance he felt like he was going a bit overboard.
'But, whatever.'
'It's just a regular prank.'
Outside the door of Dormitory 5, a tall, thin figure with glasses walked slowly.
'They really have arrived!'
At this moment, even Sawamura felt incredibly excited.
Although his mental age had exceeded 30, it was moments like these that made him feel young.
This feeling, even if Sawamura reached 50, 60, or even 90 in the future, would always cherish those memories.
Just as both of them were brimming with anticipation, the door creaked open.
Creeeak~
...
T/N: That's it for Today.
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