Soft pink cherry blossom petals drifted through the air, made all the more dazzling by the setting sun.
Takashima Rei stood at the school gate, as if she had been waiting there for quite so ti.
Rinichi paused and looked up at the towering buildings of Seidou.
The corners of his lips curved into a slight smile as he walked over to her.
"How was the trip? Everything go smoothly?"
Takashima asked as she turned and began walking, guiding him along.
Rinichi gave a simple nod.
"That's good."
"For lodging, you'll be staying with other mbers of the baseball club."
Rinichi nodded again. "That's great."
"In a new environnt, it might take a while to adjust. If you run into any issues, feel free to let know."
Surprisingly thoughtful—Rinichi quickly acknowledged her with a polite response.
After that, neither of them said another word.
They finally arrived at a building with the words "Seishin Dormitory" displayed on it. Takashima stopped in front of it.
"We're here," she said, turning to face Rinichi. "There should be a naplate at the entrance listing the room occupants."
"Once you're done unpacking, get so rest. Seidou's spring training can be intense."
With that, she turned and left.
Rinichi was left standing alone.
It was quiet. No one else around.
He glanced around—there was training equipnt and baseball gear everywhere.
But this wasn't the ti to get distracted. First, he needed to find his room.
Just as he was planning to check the rooms one by one, he caught a glimpse of his na out of the corner of his eye.
On the naplate, alongside his own, were two other nas.
It looked like there were three people to a room.
"Kuramochi… Yoichi."
"Masuko… Tooru."
Rinichi murmured the nas under his breath.
Most likely… upperclassn.
His hand rested on the doorknob. His expression turned serious.
—A new beginning.
With that thought, he opened the door.
What greeted him was a horrifying sight—a pale face, with blood dripping from the corners of its mouth, eyes, and forehead. Lit from below by a flashlight, it was utterly terrifying.
Then the figure slowly turned its eyes toward Rinichi—with a creepy grin.
"…"
Without a word, Rinichi's hand slipped—and slamd the door shut with a loud bang.
A yelp of pain followed from inside.
A person?
Well, of course it was. There's no such thing as ghosts.
He opened the door again.
The room was now fully lit, and the "ghost" from earlier was clutching his nose, tears in his eyes.
He looked like he was actually in pain.
The tears mixed with the blood on his face, making the whole scene even more frightening.
"S-Sorry…" Rinichi apologized instinctively.
Thanks to so tissues and wiping things down, everything looked clean again.
"You little punk!"
Kuramochi Yoichi was about to lunge at him, ready to fight, but luckily Masuko Tooru held him back.
Thankfully, the incident ended without further chaos.
The three of them sat on the floor, kneeling in silence.
The guy who had just scared Rinichi by pretending to be a ghost pointed to himself with his thumb. "I'm Kuramochi, second year."
Then he gestured toward the person next to him. "And this is Masuko, third year."
Masuko Tooru slowly held up a piece of paper with "Nice to et you" written on it.
Rinichi quickly caught on. "Nice to et you."
Though he couldn't help but wonder—why was Masuko-senpai "speaking" with a sheet of paper?
"Don't worry about it," Kuramochi explained. "He made a mistake during training yesterday, so he's punishing himself by not talking. Kinda weird, right?"
Rinichi was taken aback.
Surprisingly strict with himself for soone who looked so physically imposing.
Masuko looked a bit embarrassed and turned his gaze away.
Kuramochi casually picked up a ga controller and grinned. "Alright, let's get started!"
"Welco, rookie—video ga tournant!"
As soon as he finished speaking, both of them sat down in front of the screen.
"Hurry up, let's start already!" Kuramochi said. "We've got practice early tomorrow!"
Masuko held up another note: "Bring it on."
Rinichi asked, "If practice is early tomorrow, shouldn't we go to bed early instead?"
Kuramochi's smile froze—clearly missing the point. "The faster we finish playing, the sooner we can sleep!"
Sohow, that kind of made sense.
Rinichi thought about how he usually went to bed early at ho.
Oh well—playing with upperclassn could help build so friendships. It was necessary socializing.
So, Rinichi sat down.
"So, so—do you know how to play gas?" Kuramochi asked eagerly.
"Nope," Rinichi replied honestly.
"No problem! We'll teach you!"
They seed like… genuinely good guys.
That was Rinichi's impression.
Though he still felt sothing a little off.
But once they started gaming, that uneasy feeling faded.
He figured it was just nerves from staying in a dorm for the first ti.
The next morning, Rinichi was the first to wake up.
He looked around—still dark, but the faint light peeking through the window signaled the start of a new day.
His body felt tired all over.
He suddenly realized that staying up late playing gas with his senpai had definitely been a mistake.
He fumbled around next to his pillow and picked up his watch to check the ti.
It was 5:30 a.m.
There was no difference between the ti Rinichi woke up now and when he was at ho.
But seeing that his upperclassn were still asleep, he lay back down on his bed.
He didn't fall asleep again, just lay there lost in thought.
He spaced out like that for quite a while.
When he noticed the two senpai quietly getting up, he also got out of bed.
Kuramochi looked startled. "You're up already?"
"Yeah, it's just an old habit," Rinichi replied as he started changing clothes.
Once all three of them were dressed, Rinichi spoke up, "Shall we go together, senpai?"
Of course, they agreed.
The three of them walked out as a group.
Rinichi had wanted to ask whether they were part of the First String, but just as the question reached his lips, he held it back.
Because the first-year students were grouped separately from the second and third years, and they were split apart once they got to the field.
Surrounded by unfamiliar faces, Rinichi felt a little uneasy.
The feeling made him deeply uncomfortable.
He furrowed his brows and tried to ntally calm himself down.
They assembled into formation and began to march forward as a group.
It felt a little… militaristic.
Rinichi thought.
Eventually, they all ca to a stop.
A tall, dark-skinned man approached from the front.
Behind him stood the second and third-year mbers of the baseball team.
"I am Head Coach Kataoka," he said in a stern tone that was downright intimidating. "Are these all the new recruits?"
"Yes, sir!"
Rinichi joined in the chorus.
Kataoka scanned over all the newcors.
"Who is Kamishiro Rinichi?"
That was unexpected.
He was the one being singled out?
Rinichi thought nervously.
"Here!" he responded, stepping forward.
Kataoka fixed his gaze on him, with a hint of scrutiny.
"Miyuki," he called out.
But no one answered.
Kataoka turned around and scanned the second and third years.
So it was one of the upperclassn, Rinichi thought.
In the blink of an eye, he spotted soone trying to sneak in quietly.
Not only Rinichi noticed—Kataoka saw him too.
Everyone did.
The latecor froze in place.
Kataoka's voice rang out, sharp and commanding: "Run laps until morning practice ends."
"Yes, sir!"
That must be the one Kataoka had just called—"Miyuki."
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