Chapter Text
At the age of five, Sawamura Eijun watched his first baseball game.
Eijun rarely watched television. He had no interest in it. Besides, his grandfather, Sawamura Eitoku, always said, “It rots children’s brains, brat!!” And Eijun wasn’t about to sacrifice his brain capacity for television when he could just read manga, which was obviously superior in his humble opinion, or play outside with his friends.
But today, heavy rain had forced school to be cancelled. He couldn’t go out, and for once, his entire family was home—a rare sight in the Sawamura household. His mother busied herself in the kitchen, while his father and grandfather were glued to the television, watching a baseball game.
With nothing better to do, Eijun found himself dragged into sitting beside his grandfather, who had already smacked him on the head for running around and yelling about how bored he was.
“ACK—OJI-SAN! WHY DID YOU HIT ME? I’M JUST SAYING I’M BORED! IS THAT A CRIME? You hit this humble Sawamura Eijun, your precious, favourite grandchild, when he wasn’t even looking!? THIS BETRAYAL WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN!!”
“Brat! You're my only grandchild, so I don’t really have a choice. And I hit you because I don’t want to lose my hearing any sooner than I already have to! Now sit down and stop yelling in a pitch that you shouldn't even be capable of reaching.”
Eijun huffed but plopped down beside him.
“I wonder who said, ‘Your brain will rot if you watch too much television, brat,’” he muttered, earning another smack without his grandfather even looking away from the screen.
Heh. And he says he’s losing his hearing.
A few minutes in, Eijun was already bored. He had no idea what was going on, save that the team his family was rooting for was winning, if his father’s and grandfather's cheers and yelling were any indications.
Just as he was about to leave, an announcement caught his attention.
“Player change. Stepping on the mound now is the best relief pitcher of the season, Number 10, FUKUDA LEO!” a guy yelled on the television
Eijun paused. The audience erupted in cheers, their excitement contagious. He turned back to the screen just as the camera zoomed in on a tall man standing in the middle of the field - on what looked like a tiny hill, at least in Eijun's perception. The number 10 was printed on his back.
He watched as the tall man wound up with his mitt raised over his head, his leg bent at a perfect 90-degree angle, standing there for a few seconds like a perfect image.
The stadium fell into a deafening silence.
Then, in a flash, he whipped his right arm forward. The ball slammed into the catcher's mitt with a resounding boom.
"STRIKE," the umpire roared, bringing everyone out of their stupor.
The crowd exploded into cheers, had before Eijun even realized it, he was yelling along with them.
“WOAHH THAT WAS AWESOME!!! OJI-SAN, DID YOU SEE THAT? THE GUY ON THE TINY HILL WAS SO COOL!!!”
Eijun beamed at his grandfather, who was taken aback by his usually uninterested grandson's enthusiasm.
He turned to his father next, words tumbling over each other.
“TOU-SAN! DID YOU SEE THAT? He stood on one leg for so long, then WHOOSH- his hand came down and SHWOOO- the ball just flew and then suddenly changed direction like magic, and BOOM!! The guy sitting there caught it!!!”
His smile and energy were so blinding, it almost outshone the cloudy day outside.
“Brat!! How dare you support the other team!? You are supposed to cheer for the Giants, not the Dodgers!!” Eitoku flicked his forehead with full force, though amusement was clear in his eyes.
“OWW! OJI-SAN?! Are you sure you're turning 70? Is it too late to take up martial arts? Jujitsu, taekwondo, maybe even kickboxing?” Eijun teased, dodging the incoming whack from Eitoku.
“For your information,” Kenta said with a small smile, “that’s not a tiny hill. It’s called a mound. That’s where the pitcher stands to throw the ball to the catcher to put it in play.” He half-expected Eijun to not listen since he has the attention span of a housefly and gets bored with things easily.
But to their surprise, Eijun was listening.
“WOAH- so the man on the tiny hill- AH, I mean the mound is a p- pi- PICTURE?” Eijun asked, his sparkling eyes directed at the two of them that they almost needed to look away from the gleaming child AGAIN.
“HAHAHA not picture, Ei-chan. Pitcher!” Eitoku laughed.
“Sounds the same to me” Eijun pouted, as the two older men fondly looked at the little one.
“Eijun, do you like baseball?” Kenta asked.
“What’s baseball?” The little sun reincarnation asked, tilting his head.
Neither Kenta nor Eitoku was surprised at this point.
“This game we're watching is called ‘baseball’, Ei-chan. Do you want to learn about it?” Eitoku asked.
Eijun nodded so enthusiastically, almost resembling a pecking chicken.
And so, the two of them spent the entire afternoon explaining the game- different positions, basic rules, and everything in between- while watching the ongoing match. But while Eijun listened to them, his eyes remained glued to one person.
Fukuda Leo. Number 10.
When Eitoku explained the pitcher’s role, he spoke about how an ‘Ace’ was the person who wore the number 1, the player the team relied on most. And to this information, Eijun furrowed his brows.
“But then why is this guy better than the Ace? He's obviously pitching better than the first man!”
Both Kenta and Eitoku hummed in thought.
“Well, Eijun, he's a relief pitcher. Usually, the Ace is better, but I don’t understand why the Dodgers are still keeping Hagiwara as their Ace when Fukuda has clearly improved and grown in his short time after being drafted by them to play pro. I mean, he is currently considered one of the best pitchers in the game.” Kenta mused, to which Eitoku agreed.
“Maybe because he is still young?” Eitoku pitched in.
“Yeah, that’s possible. He was the youngest drafted player into the NPB league after all.”
“But isn’t that more of a reason to make him the Ace!?”
The two continued discussing the possible reasons, while Eijun sat quietly, deep in thought.
Then suddenly, he jumped up.
His blazing golden eyes burned with determination.
“Oji-San, Tou-San, this Sawamura Eijun is going to be the best pitcher in the world! I will make sure to become the Ace of my team- the Ace of Aces- the KING OF ACES!! WAHAHAHAA- ACKK-”
“I told you to stop yelling in the house, brat!”
Eijun rubbed the back of his head, pouting. 'One day, I'll dodge your smacks, just you wait, Oji-san.'
“Eijun, are you sure? Baseball is a complicated sport, you know. You have to use your head a lot- “, Kenta started.
“AHHHH, TOU-SAN!! DO YOU NOT BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN CHILD? WHAT A BLASPHEMY THIS IS” Eijun cried dramatically.
“Ei- chan! What have I said about inside voices?” Ayami, his mother, scolded as she walked in, bringing some snacks to the living room where the rest of her family were seated.
“KA-SAN!!! Otou-San is insulting this Sawamura Eijun's brilliant mind!” He huffed, crossing his arms, pouting as he spoke in a quieter voice- well, not quite, but quiet enough- that people only within a 3-meter radius can hear him, which is an improvement.
“Kenta, what is this about teasing our baby Ei-Chan here? You know he is brilliant when it comes to things he puts his mind towards.” She asked as Eijun stuck his tongue out at his dad from behind his mom as his dad sent him glares.
“Yeah, too bad the kid shows no interest in anything productive.” Eitoku muttered under his breath, earning a stern look from Ayami.
“Nothing like that, honey. I was just telling Eijun how complicated baseball is-“
“Ei-chan, you want to play baseball?!” Ayami interrupted. She was obviously surprised, as she too knew how indifferent Eijun had been to these things until now. And the fact that she's a huge fan of the sport added to this excitement (YES, the Sawamura house is filled with baseball maniacs).
“Yes Ka-San! You shall stand tall as your son becomes the best pitcher in Japan- no in the world! And then you shall take pride as you announce this Sawamura Eijun as the best son/pitcher in the world!!!” he huffed his chest out and stood tall.
At first, his words sounded like some child's talk, just like any ordinary kid his age.
But all three of them could clearly see how serious he was.
The fire in his eyes told them. His words were purposeful, and he was speaking in a (surprisingly normal) voice that didn't threaten their hearing threshold.
This wasn’t just talk.
They didn't know what had sparked this newfound ambition.
But they did know one thing. Sawamura Eijun was a single-minded boy who would go to any lengths to achieve his goal.