Ken nonchalantly got up off the ground and dusted the sand off his clothes, not even sparing his brother another glance before walking back home.
Only after a full minute did Daichi recover, yet the first thing he did was let out a chuckle. He had never seen his brother so mad, yet he knew that as long as he apologized later, his transgressions would be forgiven.
“Hey, wait up.” Daichi yelled out, jogging towards Ken who had begun his trudge back home.
However, he was promptly ignored.
Daichi didn’t despair however, merely walking next to him the remainder of the way home. He knew Ken well enough to know that this would all blow over soon enough.
Yet just as they rounded the corner to their house, Ken spoke.
“Ai’s leaving Yokohama High.”
Those words caused Daichi to let out a gasp of shock. This was not something that he had expected at all, especially since the two were practically dating at this point.
“Wait, what do you mean she’s leaving? Are her parents moving or something?”
Ken shook his head.
“She’s transferring to Joshibi High, the art and design school in Tokyo. So she can chase her dreams to be a Fashion Designer.”
His words held a tinge of sadness, yet there was a a hint of pride within his tone as well.
“Oh…”
Daichi didn’t have any other words to say. He didn’t really know Ai, so it wasn’t like he could comment on her transferring schools.
So he did the only thing he could do, try and console his brother.
“Don’t worry man, there’s plenty of other girls out there.” He said, placing his hand on Ken’s shoulder.
Ken sent a fiery glare his way, causing Daichi to let out a peel of laughter and take back his hand.
“I’m kidding I swear!”
Inwardly, Daichi knew that Ken only had eyes for Ai. His brother had a kind of magnetism, causing those to be drawn towards him. This of course included women.
Yet even in middle school, Ken did not even take a second glance at them.
‘If he feels the same way about Ai that I do Miho, then I can understand what he’s going through.’ Daichi thought in his heart.
“I’ll put it this way, she’s only a 1 hour train ride away.” Once again he placed his hand on Ken’s shoulder, this time his words were serious.
Ken nodded, feeling his mood brighten a little. It wasn’t like she was moving countries or anything, he could still see her during the school breaks as long as it didn’t interfere with his training.
Seeing his brother’s mood increase, Daichi smiled.
“Well at least we get to have hamburgers for dinner tonight.”
It was then that Ken froze on the spot, prompting Daichi to pause.
“What is it? What did I say?”
He panicked a little, worrying that he might have brought back his brother’s bad mood.
“I forgot the damn buns…”
Ken looked at the sun which was setting and could only let out a sigh. His mother had sent him to Ai’s house to pick up some buns for the hamburgers, yet he’d been too caught up in his own matters and had forgotten.
He also didn’t want to return, particularly since he would have to interact with Tetsu once again.
Ken let out a deep sigh and walked back to the house in defeat.
“I’m home.”
After stepping through the door, Ken felt exhausted. With the trials which were held for the first half of the day and the emotional gymnastics of this afternoon, he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed right now.
“Welcome home you two.” Yuki’s chipper voice sounded from the kitchen as she chopped up the salads and made the sauce for dinner.
As she turned around, she saw her son’s glum face and resisted the urge to laugh.
“What’s got your knickers in a knot?”
“I… forgot the hamburger buns.” Ken replied, drooping his head.
“Hahaha” This time, Yuki couldn’t help but laugh.
Chris also entered the room from outside, a grin etched on his face.
“Your mom said this would happen. Don’t worry, I went out and bought some just in case.”
Ken breathed out a sigh of relief, thanking his thoughtful parents.
“Alright everyone, let’s head out to the grill.” Chris said energetically. It was clear that he was in a great mood, lifting the energy of the household.
Soon enough, everyone was sitting around the barbecue together as a family while Chris was busy attending to the burger patties.
A delicious aroma drifted through the air, causing a salivating sensation to appear in those who caught a whiff.
“So, as I said earlier we’ll be returning to Tokyo University in 2 days time for some training. Then after 4 days we’ll be headed to America to compete in the World Cup.”
Chris addressed his sons, his tone chipper.
Ken and Daichi both nodded, they were already aware of the plan.
Yuki smiled, however her eyes seemed a little forlorn. Yet she didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere, especially since this was a time to be celebrated.
“I’ve already sent your passport to the staff Ken, and I’m working on getting Daichi’s set up now. Luckily I’ve got some contacts in the government office who owe me some favors.”
It was only now that Ken remembered Daichi did not have a passport. He breathed out a small sigh of relief. It would have sucked if he missed out because of such a thing.
“Thankfully, I was also able to get a holiday visa as well.” He said with a grin.
Ken tilted his head in question, “What would you need a holiday visa for? Wouldn’t you also get an athlete visa because your a part of the coaching staff?”
He didn’t know too much about immigration, but what he said seemed logical.
Chris gave a knowing smile, “Well, it’s not for me…”
With that he turned to Yuki who was staring at him in disbelief.
“I already told you that we’d go together as a family didn’t I?”
Yuki’s hand flew up to her open mouth and she instantly felt tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. She truly hadn’t expected this, it was such a wonderful surprise.
“Thank you Honey.” She said, standing up and hugging her man tightly.
Meanwhile, Ken and Daichi couldn’t help but smile at the scene in front of them.
This was how a true man treated his family.