Chapter 254: The Victory Celebration!
Seidou High School Baseball Team – On the Bus Ride Back
On the return bus of Seidou High School's baseball team…
The principal of Seidou High School, with his plump body and beaming smile, hurriedly climbed aboard.
"These kids really made us proud. They absolutely deserve some recognition…"
Following behind the round principal, the director grinned obsequiously.
"Absolutely! Seidou High finally has another chance to shine on the national stage…"
For prestigious schools like Seidou, the best way to gain national fame is undoubtedly through the Koshien tournament.
As long as they perform well on that stage, even if they don't win it all, they've already fulfilled the school's first big goal.
Seidou's baseball results hadn't been great in recent years.
And it wasn't just the coaches and staff feeling the pressure.
As the principal, he felt the board's anger most directly.
But now, this moment felt like redemption.
He could already imagine the board members' beaming faces.
However, just as he stepped onto the bus, a beautiful woman with glasses held up a finger toward them.
"Shh! The kids are asleep. Don't wake them."
Only then did the principal and director realize —
All the core players of the Seidou team had slumped in their seats, fast asleep.
Even the usually aloof Furuya was out cold.
It was clear that in that final match, it wasn't just their ace freshman who had burned through all his energy.
The rest of the team had also squeezed out every last drop of strength.
They had poured everything they had into that game.
"These kids… they're incredible…"
The sentimental director already had tears in his eyes.
The principal nodded along, equally moved.
Then, both quietly stepped off the bus and returned to their car.
"Tell the kitchen staff — no holding back. The celebration feast needs to be big and fancy! Every player from the team, whether they played or cheered from the bench, is invited!"
Hearing the principal's bold declaration, the director couldn't help but raise his voice in surprise.
"But that's over a hundred people!"
Seidou, being one of the top baseball schools in the country, always had a large and overflowing roster.
"This victory wasn't just thanks to the players on the field," the principal said with a pleased smile.
"It's the silent support of our team's foundation that made this possible."
He emphasized the word "foundation" deliberately.
The director caught on immediately —
This credit didn't belong solely to the players. It belonged to the entire team… and even the whole school.
As school leaders, their efforts needed to be acknowledged by the board too.
"You really are a visionary, Principal!"
"I only do this for the kids. They've worked so hard…"
When the bus finally reached the school, the once-sleeping players were suddenly woken by a loud commotion.
"What's going on…?" Kuramochi muttered, clearly annoyed.
The others looked just as grumpy.
No one likes being woken up from a deep, well-earned sleep.
But once they were fully awake and saw what was happening outside —
Their irritation vanished in an instant.
At the school gates, a crowd of classmates in Seidou uniforms had gathered, clearly waiting for them.
At the front, the school band played lively music.
A massive banner stretched across the entrance:
"Congratulations to the Baseball Team for Reaching Koshien!"
Simple and direct.
But for the members of the Seidou team, it was more than enough.
Seeing their classmates and teachers there, warmth surged in their chests.
"These guys… they really went all out for us…"
"They must've gathered here early just to welcome us back…"
Although the players of Seidou High's baseball team knew full well that such a large-scale welcome was most likely organized by the school, even so, it wasn't something that could be forced.
In the end, it still depended on the students' willingness to participate.
And judging from the turnout, their classmates were more than willing.
Everyone had gathered of their own accord, offering their heartfelt congratulations.
"Seidou! Seidou!!"
The students were just as excited.
They shouted Seidou's name over and over, as if this glory didn't just belong to the baseball team—
It belonged to the entire school.
As a prestigious private academy, Seidou High invested heavily in all of its clubs.
Because of that, many of their student organizations were quite strong.
Even so, the baseball team held a unique and unmatched position within the school.
Everyone knew it—
Seidou High's baseball team was a national powerhouse.
Even during the five or six years they failed to make it to Koshien, that status never wavered.
Not to mention, there were always natural hierarchies between clubs.
Now that Seidou's baseball team had shaken off the shadow of past failures and finally reached Koshien,
even regular students felt a strong sense of pride.
Led by captain Yuuki,
the entire Seidou team gave a deep bow to their cheering fans—
a gesture of sincere gratitude.
Amid the cheers and fanfare, the team bus slowly rolled to a stop in front of the school cafeteria.
The round-faced principal made another appearance.
"I know you're all tired and probably dying to crawl into bed… But as your principal, how could I sleep on an empty stomach? Eat first! If you're still awake after, go take a hot shower!"
Delicious smells wafted out from the cafeteria.
The players' stomachs growled uncontrollably one after another.
After such an intense match, they were already starving.
Now with the aroma of freshly cooked food in the air, their hunger was impossible to ignore.
Seeing their eager expressions, even though the principal had a lot more he wanted to say, he wisely held back.
"Go ahead, dig in! This feast was prepared just for you! Every member of the baseball team is invited!"
To most of the Seidou players, this was only natural.
As a wealthy elite school, Seidou High had never skimped on spending.
What surprised everyone, though, was that even the third-year players who had already left the team were invited back.
According to the round-faced principal—
they had contributed their share to the team and were just as much a part of the foundation that made it strong.
Now that the team had achieved something, while they couldn't invite the fully graduated members,
those third-years who were still on campus absolutely couldn't be left out.
That gesture warmed the hearts of the former team members, bringing many of them to tears.
Even the core players still on the team, especially the third-years, were deeply touched.
Their usually low-profile principal might not stand out most of the time, but in moments that mattered, he showed he could be truly dependable.
They didn't know how it was at other schools,
whether their graduated seniors continued supporting the team or not.
But as far as Seidou was concerned, their third-years had given a lot.
Back when the team was in intense training,
it was those seniors who took on supporting roles, giving the younger players room to grow.
Now, the school was giving back.
Even if it was just a symbolic meal—
to the third-years, it meant the world.
It was a sign of recognition.
It showed the school and the team had never forgotten them.
And it wasn't just the seniors who felt moved.
Even Furuya, who rarely showed his emotions, was deeply touched by the moment.
Not every school or team had a tradition like this.
Their current head coach, Kataoka, had been scouted by pro teams right after graduating college.
He could've gone on to shine in the professional leagues.
But instead, he chose to return to Seidou as an assistant coach.
That decision alone spoke volumes.
It showed that Seidou offered something he believed in—
something he truly wanted to pursue.
Something beautiful.
The team tore into their food with incredible speed.
Even though the school had pulled out all the stops and prepared an extravagant, high-end feast, the players of Seidou High's baseball team had no chance to savor it slowly.
In this kind of atmosphere, if you took your time chewing every bite—
sorry, but by the time you were done, there'd be nothing left but plain rice.
And Furuya was no exception!
His stomach had long since been empty, and after devouring food like a whirlwind, he finally stopped—only when his belly bulged and he was fully satisfied.
"I'm going to take a shower."
As far as celebration parties went, this one didn't have much beyond good food.
Which might seem a little plain.
But to the members of Seidou's team, it wasn't strange at all.
Even though the achievement they just earned was enough to make the school proud—
no one could bring up their failure to make it to Koshien for several consecutive years anymore.
No matter what happened before, they had now reached Koshien on their own merit.
That alone changed everything.
And compared to that, nothing else really mattered.
From that point of view, no amount of celebration would be over the top.
But the players themselves couldn't let loose like that.
The reason was simple:
Their summer wasn't over yet.
For the Seidou team that had made it to Koshien, time was now precious.
They weren't satisfied with just qualifying.
Every player had their sights set on something bigger.
Even the slogan they had chanted all along—they now genuinely wanted to chase it.
So the celebration ended quickly.
The principal and director were left a little disappointed.
They had planned several performances, but never even got the chance to start.
Of course, the players didn't share their disappointment.
After the initial excitement faded, everyone quickly shifted their focus to what lay ahead: Koshien.
"We've got to play our best… no matter what."
"We're going to make history."
From the players' perspective, winning the West Tokyo championship was already in the rearview mirror.
They didn't dwell on it.
But for baseball fans across the country, the impact Seidou had just made was only beginning.
"Shocking! West Tokyo's new first-year monster emerges—fastball nearing 160 km/h!!"
"Where is his limit? A look into the rise of the next ace phenom!"
"Seven full innings, seventeen strikeouts in the final! His top speed may not be a record, but his performance already surpasses his seniors…"
The media's praise of Furuya had reached extreme levels.
The coaches and manager of Seidou were mindful of their players' development—
they limited media exposure to avoid unnecessary distractions or pressure.
But the reporters?
They had no such concerns.
All they wanted was a headline.
And with Furuya, they didn't even need to exaggerate.
Just reporting the facts was enough to create a buzz.
One could only imagine how fans reacted to seeing those headlines.
The next morning, as Seidou's players were just waking up—
they were greeted with an avalanche of media coverage.
Roughly a quarter of the articles were about Seidou's team as a whole.
But the remaining three-quarters?
All about Furuya.
Even though the team had anticipated a big reaction online, the sheer scale of it still left them stunned.
"Unbelievable… He's really become a superstar!"
The players of Seidou High's baseball team weren't exaggerating in the slightest when they said that.
After all, not even some professional athletes received this level of attention.
Although they hadn't done any official tally,
they could easily guess that—across both online and print—there were probably hundreds of media outlets reporting on Furuya.
If that doesn't make him a superstar, what would?
"Right now, it's not just pro scouts keeping an eye on high school baseball," Chris calmly analyzed.
"Even Major League Baseball has people watching. For most top players, it's just casual observation. But someone with Furuya's level of exposure? I wouldn't be surprised if he's already caught the attention of MLB execs."
Though they'd only been in high school for a few months and hadn't even performed on the Koshien stage yet, Furuya had already risen to stardom through raw talent and overwhelming performance.
At the same time…
In Coach Kataoka's office, an unexpected visitor arrived—
a foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes.
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