Tokyo, Japan.
At the entrance of Seidou High School, a tall boy with purple eyes and white hair took a deep breath before stepping forward.
As he searched for the dormitories the school provided for baseball club members, he reflected on how his life had unfolded since he was born into this world.
"To think that after being hit by the famous Truck-kun, I'd be reincarnated into one of my favorite sports anime."
That's right—this boy retained memories of his previous life. While he wasn't a hardcore otaku, he did enjoy manga and anime, and whenever he had time, he'd catch up on them. One series that stood out to him was the sports anime Ace of Diamond, particularly for how the story of Sawamura and the entire team developed.
His only regret was that the manga's ending felt rushed, due to the author's exhaustion—understandable, after nearly twenty years of dedication to the project.
When he finally found the dormitory, he crossed paths with a boy with pink hair covering his eyes—Kominato Haruichi, a great batter and future starting second baseman after his older brother graduated with the third-years. That alone was a testament to his great potential, even if he was still a bit shy.
"Good evening. Are you new too? I'm Hoshino Haru. Nice to meet you," said our protagonist—whose name in this life was Hoshino Haru—though he already knew the answer. He just wanted to avoid an awkward atmosphere.
"Good evening. Yes, I just arrived. I'm Kominato, Kominato Haruichi," he replied, a little nervously.
Haru smiled softly at Kominato's response. Even though he already knew who he was and the important role he would play on the team, he decided to let things unfold naturally. In this world, he wasn't a spectator—he was a player too.
"I'm glad to meet you, Haruichi," he said, using his given name without thinking, though he quickly corrected himself with a smile. "Do you mind if I call you that?"
Kominato looked up slightly, surprised by the familiarity, but shook his head.
"No, that's fine…"
"Have they already assigned your room?" Haru asked, adjusting the strap of his sports bag on his shoulder.
"Not yet. I was just heading to the office."
"Perfect, let's go together then. I'm a little lost too."
The two of them walked down the dormitory hallway, where the mix of polished wood, dried sweat, and detergent filled the air—born from the dreams of many colliding with the reality of daily effort.
While waiting in the office to receive their room assignments, Haru glanced around. His heart was pounding—not from nerves, but from excitement. He knew that Seidou was one of the most storied high schools in Japanese baseball, and even though he had a significant advantage in the form of his system, it wasn't easy to make the main team from the start of the year.
Once they were assigned their rooms, it turned out their dorms were right next to each other.
"Looks like fate wanted us to be neighbors," Haru said half-jokingly as they headed up to the second floor.
"I guess so," Haruichi replied with a slight smile, now more relaxed.
When they reached the doors to their respective rooms, they looked at each other.
"Wanna go together to the orientation tomorrow?" Haru asked, figuring it was better to go with someone than alone.
"Sure. See you tomorrow."
With that, each opened their door, and Haru found that his roommates were familiar names: Kawakami Norifumi and Shirasu Kenjirou, both second-years. It struck Haru as odd, but he didn't mind. Both of them would become key players for the team in the future—Kawakami as a relief pitcher and Shirasu as a reliable batter after the third-years graduated.
As Haru stepped into the room, he saw Kawakami lying down with an arm over his eyes, resting, while Shirasu sat by his bed, reading a baseball magazine with the focus of a surgeon.
"New guy?" Shirasu asked without looking up from the paper.
"Yes. My name's Hoshino Haru. Nice to meet you," Haru replied with a slight bow.
Kawakami sat up a bit, revealing a sleepy face.
"Kawakami Norifumi. Second year… pitcher," he said in a calm, slightly hoarse voice from napping.
"Shirasu Kenjirou, second year, outfielder," added the other, closing the magazine and finally looking up, evaluating Haru with discreet curiosity.
Haru placed his backpack next to the empty bed that, apparently, would be his. The room was a bit cramped, but clean and well-organized. Three beds, three desks, lockers aligned, and a small window letting in the fading light of sunset.
"Is it always like this? I thought first-years shared rooms with others their age."
"Usually, yeah," said Kawakami as he sat up. "But there are exceptions. If there's no space, or if they think you'll learn something from older students, they mix it up."
"Or maybe you just fell through the cracks in the system," added Shirasu with a faint smile, as if making a dry joke.
Haru chuckled softly.
"Then I hope I can learn a lot from you, senpais."
Kawakami nodded, grabbing a bottle of water. Shirasu returned to his reading.
Despite the silence that followed, Haru felt comfortable. He didn't need constant conversation—just being there, surrounded by real people, characters he had only seen on screen in his past life, now with dimension, texture, warmth. It was surreal… and at the same time, exciting.
Suddenly, he thought he heard a scream—but it must've been his imagination. Once he finished unpacking his things, he laid down in bed and calmly recited in his mind:
System.