Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 5: Change and Departure!

"Eijun, you've changed a bit, haven't you? You've become kinder, more handsome..."

"But, Eijun, ever since you came back from Tokyo, there's this faint sense of unfamiliarity about you..."

"Hey, Eijun, are you really going to Tokyo?"

"Tokyo... it's so far away... Eijun..."

"Eijun... you seem a little different, not quite like yourself..."

"I'm sorry, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. Eijun is still Eijun, right?"

"Eijun, safe travels. I look forward to seeing you at Koshien."

"Eijun... do your best..."

Nagano Prefecture, at Eijun's house, in his room.

Eijun sat at his desk, staring blankly ahead, his mind echoing with the words Wakana had said to him on the way home. Wakana hadn't realized that he wasn't the real Eijun.

By rights, Eijun should have felt relieved.

However, Wakana's words kept resonating in the depths of his mind. That thoughtful, gentle girl, with her sharp intuition, was expressing her deep feelings for him.

In that moment, Eijun almost thought Wakana was about to reveal everything.

But she held back, only showing a gentle smile before turning to leave, her silhouette fading with the setting sun.

Those few words and the tears in her eyes were a sincere declaration, perhaps brought about by his presence, causing a subtle shift in the narrative. Or maybe it was his change that led to her hesitation.

That doubt might not only be about him but also about herself.

"Sigh..." Eijun couldn't help but let out a low sigh. "What a mess..."

Eijun scratched his head in frustration, murmuring softly to himself.

"Maybe it's best to let it go for now. The old you was truly oblivious and couldn't sense Wakana's feelings. But now, I suppose I have to pretend to be oblivious, too scared to confront them..."

This is the best choice for now, and the only one.

The most important thing right now is his training, Seidou, and next summer's tournament.

Those are the regrets that truly need to be addressed and changed. As for the rest, it's not important right now. It can be put aside for now!

Eijun gritted his teeth, hardening his resolve to temporarily set aside the emptiness and uncertainty in his heart.

He knew very well that his time was limited.

"Sigh... I'm sorry, Eijun... I'm sorry, Wakana... The current me... can only aim in that direction and move straight ahead. This is the only choice, the necessary one, the only one I can make."

Sawamura Eijun said this to himself silently in his heart.

From that day on, it seemed that the relationship between Wakana and Eijun had returned to its previous normal state, and no one observing them could see any difference.

Their friends, too, were the same, all happily gathered together.

Eijun continued his daily routine, moving back and forth between home, the field, and school.

While steadily reinforcing his foundations, he was also gradually integrating into this world, a process that unfolded step by step.

He worked on stabilizing his pitching form, controlling his throws, building up his stamina and physical strength.

And also on his defensive training.

It wasn't exactly a dramatic change, nor could it be, as it was mostly just his personal training.

Among all the training, control over his pitches was particularly challenging. At this point, Eijun could barely manage to control his pitches on the inside corner. When it came to the outside corner, most of his pitches ended up as balls. Accurately hitting the strike zone on the outside edge was still difficult for him. Let alone more advanced techniques like pitching to all four corners or mastering the nine-box control grid—those goals were still far beyond Eijun's reach.

However, the training Eijun had been doing was starting to show some results. Especially in terms of his pitching form, when his friends stood in the batter's box to simulate hitting, they all mentioned that his release point had become somewhat blurry and hard to see.

This meant that his pitching form was almost perfected. All that was left was to gradually get used to the motion, align his body and mind, and perfectly utilize his joint flexibility and overall posture. If he could do that, the unique pitching style described in the original work could be recreated.

He had already started honing his first weapon before joining Seidou.

As for fielding, while he hadn't reached an impressive level, his basic defensive skills were adequate. High-difficulty moves like catching fly balls on the run or handling Texas leaguers were beyond his current abilities.

But when it came to standard catches for an outfielder, as well as coordinating throws and defenses between the infield and outfield, he had made some decent progress.

In the original work, there was an instance during the red-and-white match where he fumbled a catch using a certain method, leading to an error, making him incapable of fielding in the outfield. But now, that scenario was unlikely to happen. Of course, Eijun also spent some time practicing his defense from the pitcher's mound.

After all, the pitcher is a crucial part of the infield defense, especially when covering first base.

As for the rest of the high-intensity infield defense drills, base running, hitting practice, and other areas requiring attention, Eijun had to put them aside for the time being.

It's not that these things aren't important, but there's simply not enough energy and time to handle everything.

He had to focus on the most important tasks first and save the rest for later, adjusting and practicing them slowly once he reached high school.

Time flew by under these circumstances.

In the blink of an eye, a new year arrived, and it was once again the season when cherry blossoms fluttered in the air.

March—the time when all high school students across Japan enjoy their spring break.

At Akagi Station, the moment of parting had arrived.

"That's why I said Eijun looked really cool back then."

"Haha, exactly, exactly. Without Eijun, we probably wouldn't even be together like this."

"You guys are really exaggerating," Eijun replied with a small smile.

Sawamura Eijun, carrying his backpack, was surrounded by seven or eight of his close friends.

"Please take care of him," Eijun's parents said, bowing to Takashima Rei, who had come to pick him up.

"No, it's my responsibility," Takashima Rei replied, bowing slightly in return.

Looking at his friends gathered before him, Eijun felt a deep connection. It would be a lie to say he had no feelings for them after all this time together. Moreover, he still carried some of Eijun's original emotions and memories.

The sincerity these friends showed him made him cherish every bond even more.

"Eijun, take care of yourself in Tokyo. At the very least, remember to send a text once in a while," Wakana said in her usual gentle manner.

Eijun's lips moved, but in the end, he only managed a soft "Mm."

"Eijun, do your best! We'll be waiting to see you on the stage at Koshien!" Shin said, clenching his fist, his eyes slightly red.

This made Eijun feel a lump forming in his throat.

"Shin, didn't we agree to see Eijun off with smiles?"

"Yeah, this isn't how it's supposed to be."

"Exactly, we should send Eijun off with happy faces," another friend chimed in. Shin wiped away the small tears at the corners of his eyes and took out a white baseball cap from his pocket. Handing it to Eijun, he said, "Eijun, this is from all of us. When you get to Tokyo and join Seidou, make sure you become the ace!"

Eijun accepted it solemnly, trying his best to suppress the sadness of parting, and flashed his usual bright smile. "Yeah, I will! I'll definitely become the ace!!"

His firm and resolute tone brought smiles to the faces of all his friends.

"Tokyo, Tokyo, the train to Tokyo is about to depart. The train to Tokyo is about to depart..."

"Well then, goodbye, everyone!"

"Goodbye, Eijun!!"

"Waaaahhh!!"

The loud sound of the train starting up, and the slowly closing doors of the train.

"Eijun!!!!!! Do your best!!!!!!"

Their voices echoed through the entire station, ringing in Eijun's ears.

Eijun gripped the baseball cap in his hand tightly.

Seidou, the nationals, Koshien—here I come!!!!!!

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