The cherry blossoms in Nagano bloomed with their usual indifference, but for me, it was time to get closer to my goal.
The entrance ceremony at Akagi Middle School was exactly what you could have imagined, long and filled with endless speeches about "opening a new chapter". I stood in a straight line, feeling the weight of Wakana and Nobu's presence on both sides. As the final chord of the school anthem faded, Nobu nudged me with his elbow.
"Eijun, now?" he whispered, his eyes shining with nervous determination.
"Now" I replied, straightening my collar. "Operation: Baseball starts today."
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Our confidence hit the wall of reality faster than a wild pitch. The problem wasn't a lack of players, a few of our friends from elementary school had already pledged to join. The problem was that without a faculty advisor, the baseball club officially couldn't exist. No advisor meant no budget, no equipment, and zero permission to use the field after school.
We started with the main staff room.
"Absolutely not" snapped Mr. Tanaka, the math teacher, without even looking up from a mountain of paperwork. "I'm already the advisor for the Chess Club. Besides, baseball is a liability. Someone breaks a window, and I'm the one who has to write the report."
"But Sensei!" I shouted, bowing so low my forehead nearly hit his desk. "We'll only practice ground balls! No windows! I promise!"
"No."
We scrambled to the second floor to find Ms. Sato, the English teacher. Wakana, who always had a way with people, clasped her hands as if in prayer.
"Ms. Sato, you're so energetic! Only someone with your spirit could lead a group like us. Please, won't you be our advisor?"
Ms. Sato sighed sympathetically.
"I'd love to, Wakana-chan, I really would. But I'm already running the Calligraphy Club and the Choir. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and your enthusiasm... well, I'm afraid it would exhaust me in five minutes."
We didn't give up yet. For the next three days, our lives turned into a marathon through the school corridors.
"Mr. Suzuki!"
"No, I'm coaching Track and Field."
"Ms. Ito!"
"I have the Cooking Club, and you boys look like you'd burn water."
"Mr. Yamada!"
"Baseball? At my age? My heart couldn't take the stress, Sawamura-kun."
We ran between floors until sweat dripped from our brows and our uniforms lost their morning crispness. Nobu was wheezing, leaning against the railing on the third floor.
"Eijun... we've visited everyone. Even the school nurse and the janitor. No one wants anything to do with us."
Wakana wiped her face with her sleeve, her usually gentle eyes burning with frustration.
"Is it possible that in this entire school, there isn't one teacher who loves sports? It's not fair! We have the players, we have the drive, we even have the balls we bought with our own allowance!"
I looked out the window at the empty, dusty field. I felt a surge of desperation. If we didn't find an advisor now, we'd lose a whole year. And time in this world was moving fast. Miyuki Kazuya was already in his second year of middle school, and I didn't even have a team to stand on the same field as him yet.
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We were down to our last hope, the Principal's office. Our ties were crooked, our socks were sliding down, and we looked more like we had been in a marathon than a school day. I knocked on the heavy oak door with a trembling hand.
Principal Oonishi looked at us over his spectacles, his expression unreadable as we poured out our story for the hundredth time. We begged. We bowed. We told him about the players we already had and the equipment we bought ourselves.
He let out a long, weary sigh and leaned back in his chair. "I have never seen students haunt the staff room like ghosts for three days straight just for a club that doesn't even exist yet. Your persistence is... unusual, Sawamura-kun."
He tapped his pen on the desk, looking at our desperate faces. "Fine. I cannot officially recognize you as a club without an advisor. However, because I have never seen anyone work this hard for a hobby, I will grant you a one-year grace period. You may use the field after school to practice."
My heart leaped, but he raised a finger to stop me.
"But" he added sternly "This is only for one year. If you cannot find a teacher to represent you by the end of next March, you will have to stop. No exceptions. Do you understand?"
"Yes! Thank you, Principal!" we shouted in unison, bowing so hard Nobu almost fell over.
We stumbled out into the hallway, the weight of the rejection finally lifting, replaced by a tiny spark of hope. We didn't have a budget, we didn't have a coach, and we were on a ticking clock. But as I looked at Wakana and Nobu, I knew it was enough for now. We finally had a place to stand.
I looked out at the dusty field one last time, my heart beating with a new rhythm. The main plot was moving, and even if I had to drag this team uphill by myself, I wasn't going to let this chance slip away.