Chapter 2: CH 2

(During the 3rd year of Junior High School)

“Woo-hoo!”

“We did it!”

“We won!”

“Hiroto! Nice pitching!”

All of my teammates, including the bench players, came running to the mound.

Some came running while shouting, some while laughing, and others while crying.

They expressed their joy in many ways..

As all of my teammates jostled me on the mound. I had a tearful smile on my face as I held my right arm high in the air.

“We’ve won!!!”

When I was in my third year of junior high school, the team I belonged to, Nishiki Senior, won our first national championship.

Of course, there were many scouts from powerful private high schools both inside and outside the prefecture.

A few days after the victory, I was discussing with my teammates about which school I should enroll in.

“Hiroto, how many schools are scouting you?”

“Fifteen, I think. They come from all over the country, but I don’t know most of them.”

“That’s amazing. Only six schools came for me.”

“What? I… five schools….”

“That’s a lot of scouts, but they’re all pretty similar, right?”

“Hahahaha, sure. But if there’s a high school you’re interested in, then that’s all that matters, right?”

“Well, yeah. But what about everyone else?”

“I’ve decided to go with my hometown school of Toko University.”

Answered Kazuya Morishita, the unstoppable number one hitter.

“What?! … I’m not from Toko!” laughed Takuma Sakamoto, a fast-footed center fielder who moved here from Osaka when he entered junior high school.

“But, it would be fun to go to a public school with this team and beat the best and go to Koshien.” said Yoichiro Tanabe, my battery partner.

“”That sounds fun! Let’s do it!””

Replied the twins, Sho Yamazaki and Tsubasa Yamazaki, in perfect unison. They also had great synergy during the games.

I thought about it and replied, “I think that would be interesting, but if we pick the wrong high school, it’dll be impossible.”

Yoichiro said, “It’s true that if it’s a public school, you’ll need to decide on the training environment, the coaches, and the other existing players, so you’d better choose carefully. Do you have any ideas, Hiroto?

“I can think of one …. Saijo High School. That place was in the top 16 last year, and even though it’s a public school, the school’s culture is based on the poem “Bunbu Ryodo”, so they’re very enthusiastic about club activities. I can’t think of anywhere but Saijo.”

TLN: Bunbu Ryodo seems to be a popular phrase to promote a healthy body and mind to ensure that students get good grades in literature as well as sports.

“Saijo High School, … that’s an advanced school. But that won’t be a problem for us.”

Hiroto’s grandfather is the general manager of the Seishiro Senior High School, if you can only play baseball, you won’t be allowed to play in games. It’s not just about practice. Not only do they practice, but they also have a study camp before exams, and because their motto is “both literary and military,” everyone is sure to get above average grades.

Saijo High School is divided into 4 courses.  “Advanced Course”, “Regular Course”, “Commercial Course”, and “Industrial Course”. Although it is a public school for advanced students, it has a large number of students and comparably large facilities.

“Can’t we just take a tour first?”

When I went to visit the school, I received a big welcome from all the members of the baseball team, as we were all regulars of the national champion team Nishiki Senior.

The others, who knew nothing about us, called it a “fluke” or a “miracle,” but we were serious.

A few of us went on to other schools, but five of us, including me, entered Saijo High School, and today’s semi-finals were upon us.

TLN: Sorry it took so long, I saw a sort of big paragraph and got depressed

EDN (also me kek) : Chapter was boring, next chapter is about the girl though! Stay tuned!