The rest of the afternoon was spent with Yuki warming up to the idea of being a Grandmother and holding a baby once more. Daichi was of course appalled, while both Ken and Chris seemed to be giggling like school girls.
By the end of the meet up, everyone felt relaxed and happier than ever.
“Remember, just because you’re overseas it doesn’t mean that you can forget about your homework. I don’t want to see your grades go down when you return to school.”
Yuki left them with these parting words, reminding the duo of their other responsibilities. The two paled at the mention of homework, realizing they were behind.
“Well, gotta go mom.”
Both Daichi and Ken disappeared a moment later, not wanting to talk about such depressing matters.
“We’ll come see you again soon.” Chris said, planting a kiss on her forehead.
Yuki bid farewell to her husband and watched him leave the restaurant with a smile. Yet once he was out of sight, she let out a small sigh, feeling lonely once more.
She shook her head in the next moment.
‘I guess it’s better than being alone back in Japan.’ She thought inwardly.
***
The Japanese player’s schedule was jam packed. When they weren’t actually playing games, they were either working out, eating or doing homework.
Before they knew it, the end of the group stages had already approached.
Since beating Cuba, they faced Chinese Taipei, Canada and the Dominican Republic.
None of their remaining games was as tough as their match against Cuba, showing just how talented the Cuban team were.
The matches were as follows:
Japan 12 – Chinese Taipei 1
Japan 13 – Canada 3
Japan 10 – Dominican Republic 4
Despite such win margins, Ken wasn’t too satisfied. He was only allowed to pitch in the final game against Dominican Republic as the others were finished by the 5th inning.
He had hoped to see Carlos Toro on the DR team, but he quickly found out that it was not the case. Perhaps the match would have been closer if he was part of their line up.
Ken didn’t feel right voicing his displeasure since Japan were sitting firmly on top of the Group A ladder with 5 wins and 0 losses. They were in a great position with the current line up.
If he were to say something, it might rock the boat and mess with the team chemistry.
So he decided to bite his tongue. An opportunity would present itself as long as he was patient. It was also in his best interest to remain in the outfield if he wanted to complete the hidden task.
Apart from the first game against South Korea and the home run save against Cuba, he hadn’t had another opportunity to rob a home run.
Frustratingly enough, Riku had performed one against Canada in the left outfield, making him even more depressed.
Ken let out a sigh as he lounged on a couch in the lobby. They were waiting for the Super Round fixtures to be released since America had just finished wiping the floor with South Africa.
“What’s up with you?” Daichi asked, sending Ken a glance.
He sighed once more, barely paying Daichi any attention.
“You wouldn’t understand.” He muttered.
“Hehe. Kenny is just mad that he only got to pitch 2 times in our group stage.” Masayuki retorted, sending Ken a wink.
“Oho? Is our hidden Ace unhappy being with us in the outfield?” Riku said dramatically, even putting on his best pouting expression.
Ken lazily turned to Riku and shuddered unconsciously, seeing such a sight was not good for his mental faculties.
“Put that face away, you’re scaring all the locals.” Ken retorted, making a shooing motion.
“That’s not a very nice thing to say.” Kuro said, his head popping up from behind Ken’s couch.
“Damn it!” Ken jumped in fright, not expecting the gloomy-faced Kuro to appear so close to him.
“Hahaha”
The room broke out into laughter at Ken’s expense, creating a ruckus in the hotel lobby.
Chris walked into the lobby, causing everyone to quickly lower their voices.
“The fixtures have been released, let’s go to the meeting room.”
“Finally~”
The team was still fatigued from their game earlier today and wanted nothing more than to rest and relax. If it wasn’t for this they’d probably be in the pool or getting a nap in.
The problem was, they still had at least another 5 games to go in the World Cup, 6 if they managed to get top 4 in the Super Round.
A few moments later, everyone sat down in the meeting room, their attention fixed upon the large screen at the front. It was currently displaying the results of the group stages.
Group A
1 – Japan
2 – Cuba
3 – Canada
4 – Dominican Republic
5 – Chinese Taipei
6 – South Korea
Group B
1 – United States
2 – Mexico
3 – Australia
4 – South Africa
5 – Netherlands
6 – Italy
Coach Takashi waited until everyone was seated before standing next to the screen and addressing the players. His hands were placed behind his back and he wore his usual stern expression.
“First of all, I want to congratulate everyone on a successful group stage. Other than our game against Cuba, the others were not close.” He said, a grin forming on his face.
The players had no time to celebrate these words, as the coach quickly moved on.
“However, this is only the first step on our way to our ultimate goal… Beating the United States and taking home the World Cup.”
The room was silent, everyone deep in thought.
While this was something that the coach had said before, it had never been as close as it was now. After going up against some of the best teams in the world, it was only natural that the players would have built up confidence.
Yet there was a thin line between confidence and arrogance.
“We need to stay focused and together as a team if we want to continue our success.”
