Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 7: The First Day in Seidou

The next morning, at 5:30 a.m.

At Seidou High School, in Room 5 of the Seishin Dormitory.

A sudden, urgent alarm sounded, waking up Sawamura Eijun. He instinctively reached out to silence it and immediately got out of bed. Thanks to his past life experiences, Eijun had developed a habit of waking up between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m.

However, today was his first day as a member of the team, a day of great importance. Naturally, being late was not an option, especially with that unreliable senior in the dormitory. To be safe, Eijun set an alarm on his phone to ensure he didn't oversleep.

He didn't want to relive that embarrassing scene from the original story—the one where he made a fool of himself, though that was typical for the old Eijun. In this life, however, he had no intention of repeating those mistakes.

A sense of dignity was something he wanted to maintain.

Quickly getting out of bed, Eijun noticed that Kuramochi Youichi and Masuko Tooru were already up, fully dressed, and holding their toiletries, ready to wash up.

"Good morning, Kuramochi-senpai, Masuko-senpai," Eijun greeted them with a broad smile.

"Yeah, good morning," Kuramochi replied, slightly surprised.

Masuko nodded silently and pulled out a slip of paper with "Good morning" written on it.

Seeing that Eijun was already up and on time, Kuramochi raised an eyebrow in surprise. This kid had managed to wake up early despite playing late-night games with him the night before.

To think that Sawamura could wake up on time like this—impressive. His self-discipline was quite something.

Originally, Kuramochi had planned to let Eijun sleep in and give him a little lesson by not waking him up. But seeing his determination to wake up early, Kuramochi decided to let it go. It was just a passing thought, after all.

Internally, Kuramochi couldn't help but be impressed.

Little did Kuramochi know that, for Eijun a high school student, waking up at this hour was quite normal. Especially in their third year, staying up late and waking up early was a routine.

During the more than half a year since arriving in this world, Eijun hadn't abandoned his habit of waking up early.

Waking up at this time didn't pose any challenge for him.

After quickly putting on his training uniform, Eijun grabbed his toiletries and followed Kuramochi and Masuko to wash up.

Once they had finished and tidied up, Eijun followed Kuramochi and the others toward the A-side field.

By the time they arrived, most of the first-year students were already there.

"Well then, you go stand over there," Kuramochi said nonchalantly, stifling a yawn.

"Yes!" Eijun responded energetically.

Kuramochi waved his hand dismissively and, along with Masuko, joined the group of second- and third-year students.

....

"Furuya Satoru, Kominato Haruichi, Toujou Hideaki, Kanemaru Shinji..." As Sawamura Eijun arrived in the middle of the first-year group, his gaze swept over the gathered freshmen. There were about thirty of them, and it didn't take long for Eijun to pick out the most notable ones.

"Furuya Satoru..." Eijun muttered to himself as his eyes lingered on Furuya for a moment.

This was going to be his biggest rival throughout high school.

Two pitchers. One jersey number.

This time, I won't lose to you, Furuya Satoru!

Eijun clenched his fists slightly, making a silent vow to himself.

Before Coach Kataoka and the others arrived, Eijun took the time to observe his peers. After all, these were the teammates he'd be playing alongside for the next two and a half years. It was only natural to take a good look at them. He paid special attention to Kominato Haruichi, with his small frame and pink hair—he was hard to miss.

His shy, bashful demeanor caught Eijun's attention, prompting him to take another look. In the original story, Kominato Haruichi was the first to become close with Sawamura, and their relationship was evident by the way they called each other by name.

Noticing Eijun's gaze, Haruichi looked back and smiled warmly, his cheeks flushed in an adorable way.

Eijun couldn't help but admit—no wonder Haruichi was so popular. With a personality like that, it was no surprise.

Eijun nodded slightly, acknowledging him.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

At that moment, the sound of hurried yet synchronized footsteps echoed in everyone's ears. A tall, imposing figure appeared before them—broad-shouldered, wearing dark sunglasses, and dressed in the Seidou coaching uniform.

It was none other than Seidou High School's head coach—Kataoka Tesshin.

Following closely behind him were Seidou's two other key figures—Team Manager Oota and Assistant Manager Takashima Rei.

The moment they saw Coach Kataoka, every first-year player straightened up even more, their posture becoming almost rigid as they each tried to present their best selves.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Coach Kataoka's stern face and sharp gaze swept across the gathered first-year students, causing each one, including Eijun, to tense up.

As Eijun felt the pressure tighten around his heart, his gaze was drawn to a figure among the second- and third-year students standing behind Coach Kataoka—a boy wearing goggles and a tilted cap.

Miyuki Kazuya.

"I didn't expect that guy to actually show up on time this time..." Eijun thought to himself, a bit disappointed. He had been hoping to witness something interesting, but alas, no such luck today.

As Sawamura Eijun silently mused to himself, across from him, Miyuki suddenly shivered as a strange feeling of unease washed over him, like someone was plotting against him or thinking about him in a not-so-pleasant way.

"What's wrong, Miyuki?" Kuramochi asked, noticing the puzzled expression on his face.

"No, it's nothing." Miyuki glanced around suspiciously, then chuckled to himself. He must have been imagining things.

"Oh, really?" Kuramochi gave him a doubtful look, but seeing that Miyuki didn't want to say more, he turned away and let it go.

At that moment, Coach Kataoka, standing at the front, briefly reviewed the general information about the new students handed to him by the assistant coach. He nodded slightly in approval.

Then, his gaze once again focused on the thirty or so first-year students standing before him.

"So, these are all the freshmen hoping to join this year?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Very good. I like the energy you all have. I am Kataoka Tesshin, Seidou's head coach. First-year students, welcome to Seidou High School!"

Coach Kataoka's stern expression and deep voice made the cold spring wind feel even more chilling.

This was Sawamura Eijun's first encounter with Coach Kataoka.

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