The sound of birdsong drifted in through the windows, riding upon the breeze which still held a cool touch of winter. Were it not for the pink landscape from the cherry blossoms outside, one might mistake the season.
A man sat alone at the table, helping himself to some bacon and eggs on toast that had been expertly prepared.
"Mmph this is delicious." He stated, inelegantly jamming the breakfast into his mouth.
A resigned sigh was heard from the kitchen area in response. Yuki stopped what she was doing and sent a glare back at her husband, however seeing the blissful look on his face as he ate her food she couldn't help but let out a little chuckle.
"Is my food so good that you need to stuff your face like that?" She asked, shaking her head in amusement.
"Of coursh" Chris mumbled in between mouthfuls.
RING RING RING
The sound of a cell phone ringing caused Chris to jump, almost choking on the food that he was currently chewing with gusto.
After a moment of panic, he was able to swallow down the mouthful with the assistance of a glass of water.
"H-Hello?" Chris answered, still recovering his breath.
"Good morning Chris, this is Naoki Hachimura from Toin Academy." The voice sounded chipper, seemingly in a good mood.
"Ah, good morning." He replied, his tone a little confused.
"I apologize for the early call, this is just a courtesy call to give you an update on your son Daichi."
"Oh?" Chris raised his eyebrow and instinctively turned to his wife. Since the discussion involved their son, he decided to place it on loud speaker so that Yuki could also hear the conversation.
"Ahem. Daichi has been brilliant over the winter break, even outclassing a lot of the senior players. We have decided to add him to our starting line up at second base. Once he gets some more experience we'll likely move him to our catcher position."
Yuki's eyes lit up, feeling an immense pride rise within her. She placed her hand on Chris's shoulder and smiled warmly before retreating back into the kitchen, leaving her husband to his call.
"Excellent news." Chris said simply, switching the loudspeaker off and placing the phone back onto his ear.
"Yes, we are very impressed with your son's abilities. To produce not just 1, but 2 outstanding baseball players is a major accomplishment, congratulations."
"Are you talking about Ken?" Chris was puzzled. Why was Naoki praising Ken? Didn't they cut him during the tryouts?
Naoki's tone turned sour as he responded. "Yes, it's a shame that he didn't accept my scholarship offer. I thought for sure that he would have wanted to play with his brother."
Chris inhaled sharply and his face contorted in confusion before becoming stone-like.
"Thank you for your call Naoki. I've got some business to attend so I must be going."
Without waiting for an answer, Chris hung up, leaving Naoki confused on the other end of the call. He took a look at his phone, confirming that the call had ended.
"What was that about?"
Naoki was sitting in his office, neatly dressed as usual and no longer sporting bags under his eyes. The arrival of spring meant that he could now take it easy, no longer having to fly all over the country and scout the middle school players.
After a few moments he shrugged, placing his phone back on his desk.
"What a shame, we could have used him at first base." Naoki lamented once more.
***
"Achoo!"
Ken sneezed loudly, feeling a rush of cool breeze assault him as he walked towards the school gates along with a swathe of students.
"Is someone thinking about me?" Ken mumbled, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
In the next moment he felt an ominous feeling wash over him, causing him to shudder in response.
'W-What the hell?'
'Am I nervous because it's my first day?' he commented inwardly.
However, Ken quickly brushed it off. High school was the first step towards his professional baseball career, something he had been looking forward to for many years.
As long as he had the Major League System, he was guaranteed a place amongst the pro's. It was only a matter of time.
Clenching his fist in anticipation, he walked towards the familiar school gates, feeling a wave of nostalgia rise up from within. This was the place where he had once lost his most precious baseball.
Yet here he was, given another chance.
"I won't make the same mistakes again…" He murmured.
"Oh? Ken is that you?" A pubescent voice rang out from behind him, causing him to turn in question.
Ken turned around, only to see nothing in front of him.
"Huh?" Confused, he turned around once more looking for the source of the voice.
"Ahem… down here." The voice called out again, a hint of anger in the tone.
"Ah, sorry." Ken said in response, only now seeing the short and stocky fellow after lowering his gaze.
Thanks to his fathers genetics, Ken was tall for his age, around 175cm. The average height for a Japanese man was only 170cm, yet he was not done growing yet.
Ken sized up the student in front of him for a moment, sensing a hint of familiarity.
"Do I know you?" He asked.
The short and stocky kid looked visibly angry as his face began to grow red, however he calmed himself down after a moment.
"Shiro. Masuda. We played each other last year in the Kanto Tournament."
"Ah right! You're the catcher for Fujimi." Ken exclaimed, yet his face suddenly turned confused a moment later.
Why was Shiro wearing the Yokohama High uniform? In his previous life, Shiro never attended his school, so why was it different this time?
Seeing the confused look on his face, Shiro felt a bout of satisfaction for some reason.
"Hehe, I bet you're wondering why I'm here." He said, before his words were caught in his throat.
"W-Wait, what are YOU doing at Yokohama?? Shouldn't you be at some prestigious baseball school or something?"
Shiro was perplexed. The way Ken had played throughout the tournament, even winning in the finals was a testament to the boy's skills. Just remembering how fierce Ken was in the batters box made him shudder.
"Ah, about that." Ken's face twitched in response, for him Osaka Toin had been the goal ever since he regressed back into his middle school body.