Southpaw

Goodbyes Aren't Forever

Ever since the meeting with Narumiya Mei... ('It's Mei-Senpai idiot.') Eijun's baseball life had gotten infinitely harder. The first thing that he had said after seeing him pitch to Harada-san ('Ei-Chan, Harada-san is practically an old man, we call him san not senpai' ) was that he had no core stability and that he needed to improve his balance in order to increase the power and stability of his pitch. So, with the addition of a brand new training menu courtesy of Mei-Senpai, Eijun set out on a journey to improve his physique for Seidou. The training menu included a multitude of core, hip and leg exercises, as well as conditioning to help improve his stamina. The workout itself  took him approximately an hour and a half, leaving Eijun with an hour to pitch against his board set up. 

Since the Inashiro game, he had stayed in contact with Nori-Senpai and Mei-Senpai  which meant that he had a growing collection of pitcher friends! Eijun had never had many friends who were as into baseball as he was (his Akagi team didn't count, they joined for him and not for themselves). Though, without a catcher there was not a lot that Eijun could do to improve his game sense and ability to communicate. His former teammates tried their best, but Eijun's pitches were still too hard for them to catch and besides, they were studying for entrance exams unlike Eijun who would be getting into Seidou via baseball scholarship.

So, the summer break transition from junior high to high school went bye quickly with much improvement on Eijun's end. The Hellish training menu from Mei-Senpai and Harada-San took up much of his time and to it he added daily runs, which meant that every evening Eijun would slowly tremble his way up to his bed after bathing and then immediately conk out. It became common for Eijun's grandfather to proudly (and secretly) watch his only grandson race towards his dream. For Eijun's parents it was nice to see their son working towards a positive goal after his harsh defeat and the subsequent beat down of an opposing team. 

***

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Ei-Chan! How's the training going? Have you decided what high school you are going to this fall? Are you perhaps going to join me at Inashiro? You can be my apprentice!

Ei-Chan ｡◕‿◕｡: Mei-Senpai... Didn't I already tell you that I decided on Seidou? Are you still trying to convince me to "join the dark side?" 

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Aw, but you're my adorable kouhai, I can't help wanting you to join me! Well, you'll on a team with Kazuya then. 

Ei-Chan ｡◕‿◕｡: Eh? You know Tanuki-Senpai?

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Tanuki-Senpai? Bwahahahahaha that's golden! If Tanuki-Senpai is Miyuki Kazuya, then yes I know him. He was supposed to be my catcher at Inashiro. But he told me that it would be more fun to beat me than play with me... ಠ~ಠ

Ei-Chan ｡◕‿◕｡: ...Well I guess that he and I can beat you together Mei-Senpai.

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Oho? Is that some kind of declaration Ei-Chan? Do you maybe have a Crush? 

Ei-Chan ｡◕‿◕｡: Ah... Bye Mei-Senpai! g2g

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Oi! Don't run away!  Hey!  

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Come back and answer me!

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Ei-Chan....

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Eijun!

Mei-Senpai (~˘▾˘)~: Well... I guess it's just me now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

***

Between his conversations with Mei-Senpai and Nori-Senpai as well as his training, Eijun had barely any free time left over. But, in the last week before he headed out to Tokyo, Eijun made sure to hangout with his former team from Akagi. He wanted to make sure that they felt special, because even though was wasn't going to be with them in high school, he would like to think that they would still be among his closest friends.