October was the season of cool autumn weather, and the evening breeze gently brushed against the green leaves outside.
“Where is this?
It feels so familiar.”
In a village in Nagano Prefecture, a boy lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Just a moment ago, he had been lying on an operating table in a hospital, undergoing surgery to remove damaged nerves from his left arm.
After the anesthesia took effect, he opened his eyes to find himself in this scene.
The boy sat up and looked around, unable to believe the reality before him.
Instinctively, he reached out and touched the bedsheets beside him with both hands.
The sensation felt incredibly real, and bursts of familiar laughter drifted up from downstairs.
That’s right.
He had been reborn.
During his previous three years of high school, he had only become the Ace in his second year.
Although he had successfully defeated Narumiya Mei and led Seido to Koshien, he had also suffered an injury to his left elbow.
Back then, a period of rest would have been enough for him to recover.
However, the cruelty of Koshien was not something that Furuya Satoru and Kawakami could shoulder alone.
For the sake of the team’s victory, he, as the Ace, had no choice but to continue fighting.
Although Seido successfully reached the finals and engaged in a fierce pitching battle against the three pitchers of Komadai Fujimaki, the final extra-inning showdown against Hongo Masamune was ultimately left to Furuya Satoru.
After that defeat, the hidden injury in his left elbow prevented him from ever returning to his peak form.
From that moment onward, the Ace jersey remained forever out of reach for Sawamura Eijun throughout the remainder of his high school career.
Fortunately, as a left-handed pitcher blessed with a unique Moving Fastball, he still managed to attract the attention of professional scouts.
Determined to surpass his own limits, he resolutely entered professional baseball.
Although he later refined his pitching mechanics and grip, developing a complete arsenal of signature pitches, the injury in his left arm prevented him from taking that final step forward.
Sawamura Eijun lowered his head and gently clenched his left hand.
The feeling coming from his arm filled him with excitement.
Clearly, this arm had not suffered any injuries yet.
It was completely healthy.
Most of the memories in his mind remained the same.
Just like before, his final baseball game in middle school had ended because of a wild pitch.
Just like before, he had been discovered by Takashima Rei, a scout from Seido High School who happened to be watching the game.
Using a bit of reverse psychology, she had successfully lured him to Seido’s training grounds in Tokyo.
There, he partnered with the cunning Miyuki Kazuya and faced off against the graduating third-year slugger, Azuma Kiyokuni.
However, what Sawamura Eijun never expected was that, unlike in his previous life where he had struck out Azuma Kiyokuni, this time Azuma managed to connect with his final pitch and launch it over the fence for a massive home run.
Sawamura Eijun was extremely puzzled.
Logically speaking, he should have struck out Azuma Kiyokuni.
So why had that pitch been blasted out of the park this time?
In his previous life, besides enjoying shoujo manga, he had also been a fan of science fiction and was familiar with concepts such as parallel worlds and alternate timelines.
Even so, he found it difficult to accept such a thing rationally.
Yet now that it had actually happened to him, Sawamura Eijun had no choice but to believe it.
Facts were facts.
With the mindset of “since I’m already here, I might as well make the best of it,” Sawamura Eijun gradually accepted the reality of his rebirth.
Aside from being hit for a home run by Azuma Kiyokuni, everything else had unfolded exactly as it had in his previous life, without the slightest difference.
But one thing was certain.
His reborn self would never repeat the mistakes of his previous life.
“Eijun, time to eat.
If you don’t come down now, the food will get cold.”
A voice drifted up from downstairs.
Eijun was momentarily stunned before he could respond.
Then another voice followed.
“Don’t worry about him.
Ever since he came back from Tokyo, he’s been cooped up in his room all day.
He must’ve been quite shocked after seeing the big city.”
Smack!
“Stop acting so mature.
Weren’t you exactly the same when you were young?
Always talking about that music dream of yours.”
“Hehe, I just wanted to go out and see the world, that’s all.”
The sheepish laughter of a middle-aged man echoed from downstairs.
“Hmph.
My precious grandson isn’t like you.
Alright, stop calling him for now.
Save some of that red bean rice from the other day for him.”
The voices of the three continued drifting up from downstairs.
The warm atmosphere brought tears to Sawamura Eijun’s eyes.
At the same time, it strengthened his determination to erase all the regrets he had carried from his previous life.
The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Sawamura Eijun returned to his room, crawled underneath his bed, and pulled out a pink piggy bank.
Looking at the piggy bank in front of him, a smile appeared on his face.
This was all of his saved-up pocket money.
After thinking everything through the previous night, Sawamura Eijun realized that although he possessed decades of pitching experience and memories from his previous life, his body was still that of a young boy who had yet to graduate from middle school.
There were still more than six months before he entered Seido High School.
Therefore, he needed to make full use of that time to train himself properly.
He emptied the money from the piggy bank, stuffed it into his pocket, and hurried downstairs.
“Grandpa, Mom, I’m going into town to play.
I’ll be back this afternoon, so you don’t have to wait for me at lunch.”
“Eijun, you’re not coming back for lunch?
Be careful on the road, and don’t fall!” Eijun’s mother quickly called out as she watched him mount his bicycle.
“I know, I’m leaving!”
And just like that, the boy rode off excitedly along the countryside dirt road early in the morning.
…
By evening, Eijun’s mother was standing at the doorway in her apron.
“Why isn’t Eijun back yet?
The food’s already gone cold.”
“Alright, alright, he’ll probably be back soon.
He’s a grown boy now, after all,” the man sitting inside replied.
“What do you mean, a grown boy?
Eijun is still so young.
What if he gets kidnapped by some bad people?
All you do is sit there and talk nonsense, honestly—”
Eijun’s mother was a little annoyed and wanted to continue scolding him, but after noticing the old man sitting nearby, she swallowed the rest of her words.
“Dad, why don’t you eat first?
Who knows when Eijun will be back.”
“No need.
Let’s wait until Eijun comes back and eat together,” the old man said.
“Alright, then—”
“Ah!”
Before Eijun’s mother could finish speaking, a figure appeared at the distant intersection.
That figure was naturally Sawamura Eijun.
He had originally planned to go into town, buy a few things, and return home right away.
However, he became so engrossed in looking around that by the time he came back to his senses, the moon was already hanging high in the night sky.
“Eijun, why are you only getting back now?
Do you know how worried we were?”
Listening to his mother’s nagging, Sawamura Eijun parked his bicycle and walked into the house.
Looking at the dishes laid out on the table, it was obvious that everyone had been waiting for him before starting dinner.
Although his grandfather appeared a little angry, with one palm raised as though he were about to smack him, Eijun wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
In the past, he would have been terrified of that palm.
But today, instead of fear, all he felt was warmth.
In his previous life, he had devoted himself entirely to baseball.
By the time he finally came to his senses, these people were already gone.
Now that he had been given a second chance, he cherished every moment spent with his family.
Thinking of this, tears welled up at the corners of Sawamura Eijun’s eyes, yet a bright smile spread across his face.
“Grandpa, I’m sorry.
I lost track of time while buying things in town.”
Looking at the smile on Eijun’s face, the old man’s expression softened.
In the end, he simply placed his large hand on Eijun’s brown, fluffy hair and gently ruffled it.
“Hurry up and eat.
And don’t come home this late again.
You made the whole family worry.”
“Alright, Grandpa.”
During dinner, Eijun’s mother glanced at the bag beside him and asked curiously,
“Eijun, what did you buy in town?”
“I bought some baseballs, a practice net, and a few books.”
As he spoke, he turned around and emptied the contents of the bag onto the floor.
Everyone took a look.
Sure enough, everything was related to baseball.
There were books such as How to Help Your Body Recover More Efficiently and Sports Nutrition for Teenagers, along with several baseballs and a white practice net.
Ever since Eijun had returned from Tokyo after being invited there by that beautiful scout from Seido High School, he had seemed absent-minded and distracted, which had worried the family greatly.
Now, however, seeing his current attitude, it seemed he had finally made up his mind about attending Seido High School.
That solved one of their biggest concerns.
After all, Sawamura Eijun’s academic grades were truly worrying.