"Aniki!"
Hirota and Matsumoto stood in a row and bowed to Kuramochi.
"Hyaa-ha-haa!"
Kuramochi was so delighted he could hardly contain himself.
It had been a long time since he felt this kind of thrill in being the boss.
"What dorm are you in now? I am free now, how about I follow you there to say hi!"
After reaching their dorm and putting their luggage, the two made a beeline for dormitory No. 5.
They were as eager as members of a gang organization looking for their leader.
As a senior, Sawamura naturally felt responsible for looking after his juniors.
He wanted to introduce them to the dorm senpai to make it easier to get along.
"Follow me!"
Familiar with Sawamura's straightforward style, the two didn't waste any time and dragged their boss along.
Only a dumbfounded Kuramochi was left behind in dormitory No. 5, along with the two first-year students.
Asada watched the three departing figures with curiosity.
"Are those two from Akagi Middle School's baseball team?"
Although last year Akagi Middle School's team didn't make it to the national competition, many players were still well-known.
For example, the pitcher, the center fielder, the catcher, and the cleanup hitter...
It was generally accepted that their skills were solid.
The most famous were Matsumoto Jun, the catcher, and Hirota, the cleanup hitter.
After Sawamura graduated, these two took on the heavy responsibility of supporting the Akagi Middle School baseball team.
Even though they ultimately couldn't reach the national competition again, their skills were recognized by everyone.
'I didn't expect them to come to Seidou too!'
Asada suddenly felt a bit insecure. He wondered what kinds of impressive players he might encounter among the freshmen at Seidou High School.
Meanwhile, Sawamura Eijun, under the guidance of his two juniors, arrived at Kanemaru's dormitory.
"Who's here?"
Sawamura felt a headache coming on as he approached Kanemaru's dormitory door.
He knew how bossy Kanemaru could be.
The guy had always wanted Kohais to order around, and he finally got one, and they are Sawamura's precious Kohais.
"Captain, hurry up!"
Hirota took the lead, pulling Sawamura inside.
Sawamura forced a laugh and entered Kanemaru's dorm.
"Huh? The game just ended, and instead of resting in your own dorm, what brings you here?" Kanemaru asked, puzzled.
Feeling awkward, Sawamura was a bit hesitant.
'Since it had come to this, how much worse could it get?'
With that thought in mind, he directly addressed Kanemaru.
"This is my kohai from my hometown. He'll be sharing a dorm with you, so please take care of him!!!"
As he made his plea, Sawamura exchanged glances with Kanemaru.
"It turned out to be like that! Sure thing, sure thing!"
Kanemaru shot up from his bed, all smiles.
That smile was so warm and genuine that it made Sawamura feel uneasy.
"Just leave it to me; who are we to each other? They are our Kohais right?"
Kanemaru's words were merely polite banter, they were to give Sawamura comfort.
Yet, hearing that made Sawamura feel it was disingenuous.
"I'll definitely take goooood care of him!"
By the end, Kanemaru was practically gritting his teeth as he spoke.
'Hirota, you have to hold on!'
Sawamura silently mourned for Hirota.
He wondered if this kid would have a chance to shine under Kanemaru's care.
"Alright, see you later."
Realizing this wasn't a good place to linger, Sawamura immediately pulled Matsumoto along and left.
Although Kanemaru could be a bit difficult, he wasn't a bad guy and had the makings of a leader. He might give Hirota some challenges, but when it mattered, Kanemaru would step up to help.
Sawamura wasn't too worried about that.
What concerned him most was Hirota and Matsumoto staying with upperclassmen who hadn't made the first-string roster.
The quality of players like Miyuki and others far outshone those seniors.
The seniors who didn't make the cut would be under tremendous pressure. Even if they didn't try to make it hard for the Kohais, it would be hard for them to give the talented Kohais a warm welcome.
In comparison, staying with Kanemaru and his friends was a better option.
After settling Hirota, Sawamura followed Matsumoto to his dormitory.
'This one?'
Looking at the familiar room number, Sawamura felt another headache coming on.
'This was Furuya's dorm.'
'This is definitely not a coincidence!'
Based on the distribution of the main dormitories, Hirota and Matsumoto were undoubtedly in the main dorms.
'Rei-chan, is that your handiwork?'
As he opened the door with a creak, Sawamura spotted Furuya and a shorter boy inside.
'Yui Kaoru!'
'He still ended up in the same dorm as Furuya.'
This dormitory might not be troublesome, but it certainly wouldn't be easy.
Furuya was known for his detachment, while Yui Kaoru was cheerful but far too ambitious—likely too self-absorbed to care about others.
Was it really wise to place the timid Matsumoto with these two?
'At least Ono-senpai is here.'
"Sawamura-senpai!"
When Yui Kaoru saw him, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Senpai, if I get the chance, I'd love to catch your pitching!"
'Oh!'
Sawamura understood; this was classic Yui.
"You are a catcher too? Okay, feel free to find me during regular training!"
"I won't hold back!" Sawamura chuckled.
"Please! Don't hold back with me!" Yui Kaoru responded confidently.
Sawamura smiled and nodded, his thoughts unreadable.
"By the way…"
Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Sawamura instinctively shifted the topic.
Did he want to say, "You have a pitcher right there; aren't you going to invite him to try?"
"Furuya-senpai is tired and needs to rest well now. I hope to catch him at his best!"
'Wow, that's quite bold!'
When Sawamura first encountered a freshman like this, he might have found them charming, but now, standing as a second-year, he found the new faces less endearing.
When it is time for the orientation match, he will learn what is going on.
With their current skills, it wouldn't be easy to 'Expand Their Horizon' just using the second-string players.
That meant that some first-string players would inevitably have to step up.
Sawamura had already secretly resolved to approach Coach Kataoka for a chance.
He wanted to personally guide these Kohais.
When they first entered the school, Coach Kataoka had even placed the main pitchers, Tanpa-senpai and Nori-senpai, in the second string.
After all, there were rumors about a "golden generation" at Seidou High School, and Coach Kataoka was cautious about ensuring the second-string players wouldn't feel overwhelmed.
But when it actually came to matches, it didn't play out that way at all.
The freshmen were impressively talented.
While Sawamura and Kominato were still there, they weren't as strong compared to other years.
During that time, Coach Kataoka had relied on the first-string players.
Now, this new batch of freshmen was rumored to be a super harvest.
As Sawamura pondered these thoughts, Furuya had already turned his attention to Matsumoto.
Upon seeing him, Furuya wore a puzzled expression, clearly not recognizing this junior.
'This guy!'
Sawamura silently complained.
Furuya had a peculiar issue: he couldn't remember players who weren't particularly interesting.
Matsumoto definitely fell into that category in Furuya's eyes.
"This is my kohai from my hometown, my former partner. If you want to practice, he can catch you. I can't guarantee anything else, but in terms of catching, he's no slouch compared to Miyuki-senpai!"
Sawamura's words were enough to make the room fall silent.
The unassuming young man in front of them turned out to be Sawamura Eijun's former partner.
That revelation alone was enough to draw everyone's attention.
And his catching skills? He was being compared to Miyuki Kazuya.
While Matsumoto and the others didn't know each other, Miyuki certainly did.
Miyuki's catching skills were top-notch.
If anyone else had said it, the three standing there might not have believed it.
But since it was Sawamura Eijun who said it, the effect was vastly different.
Sawamura didn't have a habit of exaggerating; even if his words weren't the complete truth, they were close enough.
"Then, right now!"
Furuya's interest was piqued, and he was ready to let Matsumoto catch.
Yui Kaoru beside him was equally surprised.
He looked at Matsumoto, recalling some information he had gathered.
'Matsumoto Jun!'
'The former main catcher of Akagi Middle School's baseball team.'
He didn't expect this guy to come to Seidou as well.
Before challenging Miyuki-senpai, he would need to overcome Matsumoto first.
They were in the same year and played the same position.
Competition was unavoidable.
Matsumoto, feeling intimidated, shrank back behind Sawamura, unsure of how to respond.
The strong presence of Furuya and Yui Kaoru loomed over him.
"No, you won't Furuya! You are not allowed to pitch for the next few days. You have to recover from Koshien first. And Sawamura, don't start egging him out of nowhere." Ono who had just returned from the bathroom, said to Furuya and Sawamura.
"Ono-senpai, Sorry for the intrusion! I was just showing my Kohai around." Sawamura apologized to the big Senpai in the dorm and introduced his Kohai to Ono.
"I see, another catcher." Ono sounded a bit tired just from the thought.
"Plus Furuya, really on behalf of Seidou. Sorry for the trouble, and Thank you for your hard work!" Sawamura knows how hard is the task to guide two new catchers AND Furuya, but he also knows that Ono is a responsible Senpai and he won't shy away from responsibility.
"Don't worry, leave it to me," Ono replied kindheartedly to Sawamura.
'As expected, Ono-senpai is awesome!'
…