Through the mirror, Lin Guanglai glanced at the team uniform hanging behind him and felt a bit nervous for some reason.
On the pure white jersey, the wine-red letters spelling out "WASEDA"—the Romanized spelling of Waseda—were printed.
As a prestigious school with a long history, countless famous baseball players have worn this jersey, leaving their marks at Koshien Stadium:
Arima Daisuke, Wang Zhenzhi, Saito Yuuki... these are all names renowned in the baseball world—they grew into players the whole of Japan watched at Waseda Jitsugyo, before shining brightly on the professional stage.
The long history and famed predecessors—for those who come after, these are both a source of pressure and motivation.
Similarly, as the opening day of the competition approached, the brutal side of high school baseball gradually revealed itself to Lin Guanglai:
Unlike the forgiving spring, in the summer of Takayama, the word "failure" signifies the end of everything—whether it's a prestigious school or an underdog, champion or weakling, every team equally has, and only has, one chance.
For most high school baseball players, their career trajectory is similar:
As a first-year, due to lack of strength, they can only sit in the stands cheering for their seniors;
As a second-year, to contribute when the team needs them as a substitute;
Only in the third year can they truly fight for their dreams as a main player—hence the phrase "once-in-a-lifetime Koshien."
To reach the dreamt Holy Land, one must first kill the dreams of others—either win till the end in the qualifying matches, to showcase their youth and passion at Koshien under the world's spotlight;
Or say farewell to an imperfect high school baseball career with tears mixed with sweat.
Compared to most, Lin Guanglai feels extraordinarily lucky:
His outstanding talent allowed him to make it into the final team roster as a first-year, and serve as a starting pitcher in the first match;
The coach has high hopes for him, nurturing him as a future leader;
His seniors are also amiable, willing to look after this junior.
But the more it is so, the more pressure Lin Guanglai feels—as a first-year, there are plenty of future opportunities; but for the third-year seniors, this is their last summer.
"I absolutely, absolutely can't let the seniors' summer be ruined in my hands!"
With this restless determination, Lin Guanglai put on his uniform and boarded the team bus.
Their destination was Hachioji City Stadium located in Hachioji City, Tokyo—today, the third round of the West Tokyo Conference would be held there, with Waseda Industries facing Tokyo Metropolitan Musashi High School, and Lin Guanglai would make his debut as a starting pitcher in his high school baseball career.
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Tokyo, Nakano District, Tokyo Metropolitan Musashi High School.
Sugaya Kaito placed the "certain victory" amulet carefully in a soft fabric pouch, then put it into his equipment bag—it was prayed for by his parents and siblings at a nearby shrine before the selection match, and today they would go to Hachioji Stadium to watch his game.
In truth, Sugaya Kaito knew this match was most likely his final one in high school—being an average public school, Musashi Hill was not strong:
Since its founding, it had never made it to any national competitions, with the best result being the fourth round in a regional selection; and their upcoming opponent was the number one powerhouse in West Tokyo, for whom Koshien was merely a summer starting point.
Compared to those prodigies, Sugaya Kaito himself was the reflection of the majority: when he first joined the baseball club, he didn't even know the rules of baseball; without the patient guidance of the seniors, he would probably be lounging at home right now, figuring out his summer plans.
Actually, he should be content, shouldn't he? After all, their task for the year was already surpassed—they won the first match against Tagara High School 11:4, avoiding the embarrassment of an early exit, and relishing in the taste of long-lost victory. He should be able to proudly say that he has no regrets about his youth, having come this far.
But he thought of many people, many things—Sugaya Kaito still remembered last year when they were eliminated, the third-year seniors were crying and patting his shoulders, saying, "The baseball club is in your hands now, Kaito";
He remembered the first-year juniors tightly gripping the third-year seniors' hands after losing, crying and repeatedly saying "I'm sorry," "If only I were stronger";
He couldn't forget the look of approval from his father, the praise of his mother, and the admiration of his siblings when he became the team leader.
In Sugaya Kaito's heart, there was always a small wish: for a weak team like theirs, the goal of Koshien was too distant, too unrealistic;
If possible, Sugaya Kaito really wished to play a game at Meiji Jingu Stadium—the biggest and best stadium in Tokyo, also the venue for the Shengong Tournament—and to achieve this dream, they would need to at least enter the top eight, which means they must first defeat Waseda Industries today to have any chance of discussing this dream.
"We've come this far, not to surrender." Sugaya Kaito thought, then stood up, called his teammates to assemble, and boarded the bus bound for Hachioji City Stadium.
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July 13, 2010, Hachioji City Stadium.
The players of the two teams had arrived at the field and were warming up. Fans and casual spectators were slowly entering the stadium.
In the stands, a little boy eagerly ran towards the connection between the stands and the field, excitedly shouting to the middle-aged woman and little girl behind him: "Mom, mom, and Little Flower, look, it's brother, brother's pitching!"
Hearing the little boy's words, the little girl also broke free from the middle-aged woman's grip, running up to join the boy in loudly cheering towards the field: "O—ni—chan—"
Hearing his siblings' calls, Sugaya Kaito, who was warming up on the field, gave a thumbs-up towards his family's direction in the stands and flashed a handsome smile.
"Little Si, Little Flower, brother needs to focus on preparing for the match, and everyone else needs to watch the game seriously too—let's not disturb brother and others, okay? Quickly come back here and sit nicely." The woman offered apologetic glances to the kind strangers around, then called the two children back to their seats.
On the other side of the stands, the energetic sound of musical instruments echoed—it was the brilliant landscape unique to Waseda Industries, the members of the brass band.
The sound of various metal instruments played in succession, a vibrant melody continuously rising and falling—since the start of the West Tokyo regional selection, the brass band had become the most solid support for the baseball team, giving their all in every game;
If they could ultimately go to Koshien, the school would directly cover all the expenses, bringing the entire brass band to Hyogo, letting Waseda Jitsugyo's cheering echo throughout August.
Apart from the fixed music pieces, the brass band leader also confirmed personal cheer songs with each baseball player: whenever a player stepped onto the batting area, the brass band would play their personal cheer song to cheer them on.
Time quickly reached 12:30 PM.
Under the guidance of the main umpire for this match, the players of both teams lined up, completing the pre-match salutation ceremony: the young players bent to each other, loudly shouted "Please advise."
In this match, Waseda Industries, located on the third base side, would attack first; Musashi Hill, located on the first base side, would defend first.
With the umpires' command, the fervent summer commenced!