Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 146: Spring is Coming

After the New Year break, school resumed in no time, and Sendo couldn't help but complain about how short winter vacation felt.

Just as he had gotten used to the peace and quiet with Sawamura off for remedial lessons, it was already over.

As a second-year student, this was supposedly the most relaxing period: classes, training, and idle chatter with friends.

Spring was just around the corner.

...

"By the way, that special day is coming up!" Fumino said over the phone.

"That special day?" Sendo replied, puzzled, a spoonful of homemade ice cream in his mouth, a novel in his hand, and the phone precariously held between his ear and shoulder.

"You know, you really love sweet things, don't you?"

"Well, I won't deny that."

"Then, just wait and see!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Sendo asked, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

"I said, wait and see!" Fumino's voice had a mischievous edge.

"You're not planning to make something for me to eat, are you? Don't do anything crazy! I still value my life!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like!"

"Hmph! Even if it's not good, you'll have to eat it all!"

"Don't even think about it. Not happening!"

There was a long silence.

Sendo, unaware of what Fumino was doing on the other end, started to get nervous when she didn't speak for several seconds.

"Are you about to sleep?" he asked cautiously.

"Hmm…" Fumino took a deep breath, a small, adorable "#"-shaped vein appearing on her temple.

She had gotten used to Sendo's bluntness over time, and her temper didn't flare as it once might have.

Besides, ever since Wakana exposed Sendo's inner thoughts a few months ago, Fumino found it harder to be angry at him.

"Yes, I'm going to take a bath and go to bed. Goodnight!"

After a brief pause to calm herself, she replied evenly.

"Goodnight!" Sendo mumbled through another spoonful of ice cream before hanging up.

...

After ending the call, Sendo licked the spoon and tossed the phone onto his bed.

Finally free, he dug into his ice cream enthusiastically.

His homemade ice cream was leagues better than any store-bought treat, and the phone call had made him delay his indulgence for too long.

On the other side, Fumino put her phone down, took a deep breath, and punched the giant teddy bear on her bed—Sendo's gift from a few years back.

The bear had become her stand-in for him, receiving hugs when she was happy and blows when she was frustrated.

Tonight, the bear bore the brunt of her annoyance. Sure, her cooking wasn't the best, but having Sendo blatantly say it was bad would annoy anyone.

...

The next day.

"Good morning!" Sendo greeted as he arrived at the classroom, barely making it before the bell.

"Good morning, Sen-chan!" Takada greeted him excitedly, practically blocking the doorway.

"Are you trying to block the entrance? Let me in already! I'm going to be late!" Sendo thought to himself. Out loud, he asked, "What's got you so excited, Takada?"

"It's not me; it's you!" Takada grinned, looking like he was about to drool.

"Me?" Sendo tilted his head in confusion.

"Look!" Takada stepped aside to reveal Sendo's desk.

"What's this…?" Sendo muttered, staring at the pile of neatly arranged boxes on his desk—dozens of them, forming a small mountain.

"What is this?!"

"What else? It's chocolate, of course! Today's February 14th, Valentine's Day!" Takada exclaimed, swallowing his excitement.

"Seriously?!" Sendo said, pointing at the mountain on his desk. "It's like a small hill!"

"Wow! That's incredible! So many girls gave you chocolates!" Sawamura's loud voice boomed as he joined the group.

The rest of the class quickly gathered around.

"Why? Last year you got a lot, but this is way more!"

"Of course! Sendo-sama hit two home runs during the Autumn Tournament and maintained a 100% stolen base success rate! Your fan base has exploded! You even have your own fan club now!" Sawamura exaggerated, drawing a big circle with his hands.

"How am I supposed to carry all this…?" Sendo muttered to himself, rubbing his temple.

Turning to his classmates, he asked, "By the way, how many did you all get?"

Silence.

Everyone froze like statues.

"Hmm?"

"One... just one!" Ohno finally stammered, holding up a single finger.

"Oh?" Sendo raised an eyebrow mischievously. "Got someone special, huh?"

"Uh... it's from Wakana-chan," Ohno admitted, looking embarrassed under Sendo's playful gaze.

"Pfft! ... What about the others?"

The rest of the group also held up one finger each—evidently, all of them had received chocolates from Wakana.

Even Sawamura, as clueless as he was, held up a single finger with a wide grin.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft! Hahaha!" Sendo finally burst out laughing.

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized, seeing their dejected expressions.

"Wakana, do I have one too?" Sendo asked, still grinning.

"Yes, it's the one on top," Wakana replied with a soft smile.

"Oh, thank you!" Sendo thanked her earnestly.

"Why are you so happy, Sendo? You've received so many, but this is the first time I've seen you this cheerful!" Sawamura said, suddenly pointing at Sendo in exaggerated excitement.

"Could it be... you're ditching Fumino-san and dating Wakana?!"

"How is that even possible?! What nonsense are you spouting?" Sendo immediately scolded Sawamura, feeling both annoyed and confused about why Fumino was brought up.

He quickly realized that some people might have misunderstood his relationship with Fumino.

"Even though I'd support you and Wakana, poor Fumino-san! Why don't you just start a harem?!" Sawamura, oblivious to the chaos he was causing, dropped a statement that left everyone speechless.

Wakana sighed, covering her face with one hand, muttering, "Baka!"

The others were dumbfounded, and even Sendo was momentarily stunned.

Most importantly, how was Sendo supposed to explain this?

Fortunately, he was the first to recover.

Thud!

A loud smack landed on Sawamura's head, leaving a visible bump.

"Idiot! What are you babbling about? Wakana and Fumino have nothing to do with this! Say one more word, and I'll really hit you!"

"You already hit me! Can you not say that after hitting me?!" Sawamura finally fell silent, rubbing his head.

...

"How am I supposed to carry all of this? Maybe we can split it up?" Sendo suggested cautiously.

"No way! These were given to you; you have to eat them all yourself!" Wakana replied firmly.

"Alright... but how am I supposed to carry so much chocolate?" Sendo sighed, knowing the unspoken rule but hoping for a miracle.

Takada, who was already drooling, reached out, but Wakana's firm words stopped him. He awkwardly retracted his hand.

"Don't worry! I came prepared!" Wakana sighed, pulling out a large plastic bag. "You seriously have no idea how popular you are! You're so perfect most of the time, but you're completely clueless about these things!"

Sendo breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the bag. "Thank goodness, Wakana! You saved me!"

"Riiiing!" The school bell interrupted their conversation as the teacher walked into the classroom.

"Wow, Sendo! You're really popular with all that chocolate!" the teacher teased.

"Thank you," Sendo replied, embarrassed, as he quickly packed the chocolate into the plastic bag and focused on class.

...

After school, Takada's curiosity returned.

"Sen-chan! What are you going to do with all that chocolate?"

"Hmm... it would be a waste to eat it as is. I'll turn it into chocolate cake! How about we all get together this weekend to eat it?"

"Yes! Absolutely! That's awesome!" Takada agreed immediately, eyes sparkling.

Since sharing the chocolates directly wasn't allowed, turning them into something else was a clever workaround. Everyone agreed, promising to join after practice.

That morning, no one noticed Sendo quietly placing Wakana's chocolate at the very top of the pile.

Sendo was always meticulous.

While he considered Valentine's Day partially fun and partially a social tradition, chocolates from strangers were different from those given by someone important.

To him, Wakana was a close and valuable friend, so her chocolates would be eaten by him alone as a sign of respect.

Wakana, being perceptive, noticed this small gesture.

She quietly smiled, understanding Sendo's intentions.

It warmed her heart to see how much he cared for her as a friend.

In stark contrast, Sawamura's earlier clueless comments about harems still lingered in her mind.

"What does he mean by starting a harem? Idiot!" Wakana muttered, her frustration with Sawamura evident.

...

Later that day, Sendo carried his "large cargo" of chocolates on his bike and skipped training to head home.

He planned to use the evening to transport the chocolates, buy ingredients for the cake, and start preparing.

While organizing, Sendo counted a staggering total of 34 chocolates—a number that left him dumbfounded.

He knew he'd need a lot of ingredients; even one gathering wouldn't finish all the cakes.

...

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang.

"Huh? A package? Who ordered something? Such a hassle!" Sendo muttered as he fried chicken popcorn in the kitchen.

He washed his hands and went to the door, unwilling to let his grandmother handle it.

Back inside, Sendo examined the package. "It's addressed to me? Who sent this?"

"Huh?... Could it be?" Memories of last night's phone call with Fumino resurfaced.

Sendo's hand trembled slightly as he reached for the package. "No way…" He gulped, eyeing the box like it was some demonic entity.

"What could she have sent? Last night she mentioned Valentine's Day. Is it chocolate? Or something made from chocolate? But knowing her, she probably added something weird to show off her 'cooking skills.'"

Shaking his head to clear his imagination, Sendo decided to open the package.

He believed that once he saw it, he couldn't ignore it and had to deal with it.

Inside was a small, beautifully packaged box.

It was adorable, showcasing Fumino's creativity and delicate touch. Surprisingly, it looked no different from the other chocolate boxes he had received that day.

"Still, she must have added something unusual inside," Sendo thought. "Fumino gets overly ambitious when she's motivated. Her body's going to remind her, 'No, you can't.'"

Even though he said that, Sendo couldn't shake the thought: I'm the unlucky one here!

That girl never eats her failed creations! Everything terrible gets sent to me. No, actually, what she sends me is probably something she hasn't tasted herself. She doesn't even realize how bad her cooking is!

The reason was simple: Fumino knew when her creations were a disaster because the color alone would be horrifying. However, what she sent Sendo always looked passable, but the taste... that was another story.

"Come to think of it, ever since she realized her cooking was terrible, it's been years since she's made me anything herself," Sendo sighed as he stared at the chocolate box.

Then, with a resigned smile, he carefully opened the packaging.

Inside was a simple, heart-shaped chocolate.

"Of course."

Seeing the heart shape, Sendo immediately knew it had been melted down and remolded.

"Why do I get such a dreadful feeling just looking at this?" he muttered, mocking himself.

"But, the appearance isn't bad. She must have put a lot of effort into it… that girl…"

"Well, whatever," he sighed, accepting his fate, and took a bite.

"Surprisingly, it's quite ordinary. But it's not as sweet as typical chocolate… maybe she added milk? That's probably it. She must have been afraid of ruining the flavor," Sendo thought, letting the first bite melt in his mouth. His mind wandered to all sorts of thoughts.

He carefully wrapped it back up and stored it away. To be honest, Sendo really liked the taste and sweetness—it was just right for him.

...

That evening, while chatting on LINE, Fumino messaged him about the package.

"Hey! Did you get the package?"

"Yeah. You mean the chocolate, right? It was delicious," Sendo replied. Even through the text, he could sense her nervous anticipation.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"That's great! ♡" Fumino sent several cute emojis along with her reply.

"As long as you're happy," Sendo thought to himself, smiling at the screen.

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