Back on the field, Ken who had been silently praying for a miracle was suddenly waved over by the umpire. With a confused expression, he did as he was told, only to be notified of the verdict.
“Eh? Really?” Ken blinked a few times, yet a smile tugged at the corner of his lips a moment later. He resisted the urge to pump his fist in the air and celebrate, choosing instead to jog off the field towards the dugout.
He locked eyes with his grandfather nearby and almost laughed aloud upon seeing the old man wink at him. The wily old coot had some tricks up his sleeve it seemed.
‘He must have known that Brad was tagged before he hit the home plate and decided to challenge the bunt instead… I guess that’s why he’s the coach.’ Ken thought, feeling relieved.
While it sucked to be out, they were much better off now. Before, they would have had 2 outs and a runner on first, but now they had the same amount of outs, but there was a runner on 3rd.
As long as Jaime was able to get a decent hit, Brad would be able to sail back home and finally secure a run for Detroit.
He exchanged a fist bump with his grandfather on the way past, heading into the dugout. His eyes scanned the bench, only to see Daichi now wearing a sling with some ice resting on his wrist.
Just as he was about to go over and check on his brother, a wide-shouldered figure with a full mustache hanging on his top lip appeared in front of him wearing a serious expression.
“Ken… I haven’t caught your pitches for a while, do we have time to warm up in the bullpen?”
It was Jason Rogers, the original starting catcher for the Ligers before Daichi joined. This guy had caught Ken’s pitches when he was first drafted, but he was injured at the end of last season.
By the time he got back into shape, Daichi had already joined the team, stealing his spot.
“I’ve already pitched close to 90 balls, do you really think coach will let me tire my arm out in the bullpen?” Ken replied a little incredulously.
Jason froze, realizing that Ken was probably right, not to mention that there was only 1 out remaining in the inning. They might not even make it to the bullpen before it was time to changeover.
Seeing the slightly anxious expression on Jason’s face, Ken placed a hand upon his wide shoulder, “Don’t worry, all you need to do is keep your glove still, I’ll do the rest.” Ken reassured him.
Jason eventually nodded, choosing to believe in Ken this time. It wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter anyway.
Ken walked past Jason and sat down next to his brother, letting out an exaggerated sigh.
“Who knew that Grandpa was such a wily old fox?” He said conversationally.
“Probably everyone that we’ve ever played against.” Daichi responded off-handedly.
Letting out a chuckle, Ken relaxed deeper into the bench. “How’s the wrist?”
“Hurts like a bitch.” Daichi admitted, not even trying to lie.
“Just hold on for a while, after the game you’ll be right as rain.” Ken reassured him.
Daichi didn’t reply right away. He sunk into the bench, adjusting for comfort.
“This medicine of yours, does it only affect one injury?” Daichi asked.
At this question, Ken’s body straightened and his expression turned serious. “You have more than this injury? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Daichi realized that he had really stepped in it now after seeing the concern and seriousness in his brother. But since it had come to this, there was no point hiding it anymore.
“I’ve been experiencing quite a bit of pain in my left hand and wrist. I was going to wait for the post season to finish before getting it properly checked out.” He admitted.
Ken’s body shuddered. A mixture of anger and remorse flowed through him, disrupting his thoughts. His eyes moved to Daichi’s left hand, the one that was meant to be uninjured and frowned.
He took Daichi’s left hand in his own and stared into his brothers eyes. “Squeeze my hand as hard as you can.”
Daichi let out a sigh and did as he was told, only for his face to turn up in a grimace.
Ken’s expression darkened, his anger obvious. Daichi was barely squeezing his hand right now and this was meant to be his uninjured hand.
Ken retrieved his hand and took one last cold look at Daichi. “I won’t lecture you little brother… But I will tell grandpa after the game, maybe that way you won’t try and hide your injuries from now on.”
Before Daichi could reply, Ken got up from the bench and approached the edge of the dugout trying to calm himself down. He wasn’t sure how his brother had kept such an injury from everyone.
How long had he been injured for before tonight? How many pitches had he caught from not only himself, but all the other pitchers on the roster?
Just thinking about how much pain he’d caused his brother every time he pitched over a 100mph ball at him, made Ken feel terrible.
‘What would I have done if Daichi was crippled after this post season run?’ Ken asked himself. However, this only made his emotions even more tumultuous.
WHOOOOOSH
WHACK!
Ken’s body flinched at the sound of the bat hitting ball. His gaze snapped to Jaime who was now running towards first base with all of his might.
‘Where is the ball!?’
The sound of the crowd roaring filled the arena, making it hard to concentrate. He kept an eye on the fielders, only to see the right outfield running towards the corner.
In front of Ken’s eyes, Brad sailed over home plate, raising his fist in the air in triumph.
“YES!”
The dugout erupted into cheers, blending in with the crowd.