Training went on as usual the next day.
They didn't know who they were playing next, so the team couldn't really plan anything specific.
They just stuck to their regular training.
Takumi didn't think much about the news article.
He didn't think it would get much attention.
It wasn't until the third day that he started to notice something was up.
The fact that his own teammates knew about it didn't really change anything for him.
Seidō hadn't been doing great – they hadn't made it to Koshien in four years – but that's not a huge deal for some teams.
But for them, a top-tier school, it was kind of embarrassing.
Even so, they still had that reputation, so people were still watching them.
When their players did well, reporters usually took notice.
Before him, a few of the upperclassmen had already been mentioned.
Mostly Azuma Kiyokuni, their cleanup hitter, and Takigawa Chris Yū, their second catcher.
The reporters made them sound like amazing geniuses with a bright future.
Even though Seidō hadn't been doing so great lately, they had a good shot at Koshien with those guys.
Even Yoshida and Tanba Kōichirō had been written about.
People always said that pitching was their weak point.
Therefore, Takumi being in the paper wasn't that unusual for the team.
Nothing to get too excited about.
Everyone would probably just tease him a little and move on.
But the people around him were different.
First, there was Mrs. Tanaka, who looked after him. She didn't say where she'd seen the article, but she kept going on about it at dinner.
"Our little Takumi-kun is famous now! I should tell Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto the good news," she gushed excitedly.
He just felt a little awkward. "Where'd you even get their address? Some romance novel? And even if you did, it's not like it's right. If they're Lord and Lady Yamamoto, shouldn't I be a young master or something?" he mumbled, trying to keep things light.
"Oh, you…"
Mrs. Tanaka smiled and patted him, then put her phone down and gave him a little bow with her hands clasped together.
"Hello, young master," she teased, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
His face went completely red.
"No, Tanaka-san, I didn't mean it!" he protested, flustered.
Reading those kinds of novels isn't a big deal, but when someone actually talks to you like that…
He suddenly pictured himself as one of those noble kids from aristocratic families.
Just the thought made him cringe a little.
It wasn't just at home, either. At school, the way his classmates looked at him changed.
He felt like he'd turned into a panda at the zoo.
Everyone wanted to see him, maybe even touch him.
He even found a heart-shaped letter on his desk.
He'd gotten them before, but the girls in class here were usually more shy than he expected.
This was the first one he'd gotten since school started, though.
Feeling a little nervous, he opened the letter and took a look.
It was a pretty standard confession, going on for like three pages.
Basically, she thought he was handsome on the field and admired him a lot…
As soon as he saw the signature, his mood dropped.
He immediately pictured a girl, maybe 1.4 meters tall, with a couple of freckles.
It's not that she was a bad person or anything.
It's just that he wasn't really interested in girls.
He put the letter away and acted like nothing happened.
Everyone seemed pretty cool, though.
As long as he didn't respond, the girl would probably get the message.
Things were definitely different at home and at school.
And then there was the cafeteria…
He usually ate lunch at the school cafeteria, unless evening practice ran too late, in which case he'd go home.
The lunch lady was extra nice when she saw him.
She even gave him a couple of extra pieces of meat.
All signs pointed to him being famous by this point.
But the most genuine feeling came from the team.
Now that he was on the First String, and several players had already been in the article, so it wasn't a big deal to them.
But his first-year teammates were a whole different story.
Whether it was Kuramochi Yōichi, Shirasu Kenjirō, or Kawakami Norifumi, who had already moved up to the Second String, or Maezono Kenta, who was still on the Third String, they were pretty obviously jealous when they saw Takumi.
"I'm so jealous, dude! You got famous so fast," one of them grumbled, with a hint of resentment.
"Hehe, leave it to Yamamoto-san," another chuckled, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably.
"I gotta get to the First String, too! I will!" a third declared, full of determination.
His teammates were pumped up, determined to get promoted.
He smiled and told them, "Don't worry, you guys are good, you'll get there for sure."
And he meant it.
Although they weren't gonna make the First String anytime soon.
But after the Summer Tournament, the third-year seniors would be graduating.
Once they were gone, a bunch of spots would open up on the First String.
With Yōichi's skills, he'd probably get promoted.
"Easy for you to say, Yamamoto-san. Seeing a guy from our year get famous after just one game, how can we not be stressed? It's not just us, but the second-years too, you know?" one of them griped, in frustration.
Seidō's current second-year class was supposed to be the worst they'd had in ages.
Besides Takigawa, there wasn't really anyone that stood out.
"Then you guys gotta work hard, don't let them snag all the spots," Takumi joked, trying to lighten the mood.
The players laughed and joked around.
They kept up with their training with the seniors, though.
He got used to being a little famous pretty fast. Being noticed everywhere he went wasn't actually so bad.
After a while, they found out who they were playing next.
"Hachiya Oji!" someone blurted out, sounding surprised.
The moment he heard that name, he was sure he'd misheard.
It wasn't like he didn't know the name.
Actually, he knew it pretty well.
Hachioji Stadium was one of the fields chosen for the West Tokyo Tournament.
It was a stadium that could hold thousands of people, with good facilities and everything.
Seidō's first game had been at Hachioji Stadium, too.
"That's right, it's Hachiya Oji High School." another confirmed, thoughtfully.
Hachioji wasn't just a stadium; it was also the name of a pretty well-known high school.
And, unfortunately, they were Seidō's next opponent.