A little later, the two walked onto an empty field, carrying a bag of baseball equipment. They were still in their workout clothes.
“Maybe we should have waited till training later today.” Ken said.
Daichi scoffed, already putting on his catching gear. “You were the one who questioned my abilities earlier, don’t go backing out now.”
Ken blinked a few times, “I wasn’t questioning your skills, I was genuinely curious how much you’ve improved.”
“Whatever, quit your yapping and put on your cleats.” He said, making a shooing motion towards Ken.
At this, Ken let out a laugh and did as he was told. There was no turning back now.
As he got laced up, he decided to use Identify on his brother. It had been many years since he had last done so, so he was curious as to what sort of changes had happened.
NAME: Daichi Takagi
AGE: 21
TALENT ASSESSMENT: EX+
POTENTIAL: L
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: EX+
>Pitching: B
>Fielding: EX
>Game Intelligence: EX
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>Mental: EX+
‘Ah… What a monster.’ Ken thought, shaking his head.
Daichi was the 2nd person who he’d seen with a Legendary potential, the other was Leo. Such a thing showed just how monstrous his brother was.
‘It’s no wonder he did so well in the NPB.’ He mused inwardly.
“Hurry up, it looks like it’s going to rain soon.” Daichi said, getting to his feet.
“Yes yes.”
Ken placed his hat and glove on before warming up his shoulders. He could feel his heart beating with anticipation. When was the last time he pitched to his brother? It had to be during the U18 World Cup.
“Almost 6 years…” Ken muttered, clenching the ball in his right hand.
As he looked towards his brother squatting down, he didn’t know how to feel. A mixture of emotions rocked him, almost overwhelming.
Without a word, he threw the first warm up pitch, easily landing in the glove. The ball came back and he repeated the process another 7 times until his shoulder was warm enough to throw for real.
“The next one will be the real deal.” Ken said, rolling his shoulder a few more times.
“Hit me with your best shot.” Daichi called out, letting out a laugh.
Ken smiled as he got into position.
He lifted his left leg and kicked off with his back foot before striding forward. It felt a little different because he was on flat ground, but it didn’t matter.
As his foot planted, Ken’s arm whipped past his face, rocketing the ball through the air towards Daichi’s open glove.
PAH!
The sound echoed over the empty field, entering Ken’s ears. For a moment, it felt like the sound had been etched into his very soul.
“Nice pitch!” Daichi said, sending the ball back his way.
Ken smiled. This was not a dream…
His brother really was here in America. It might not be tomorrow, or even next season, but they would fulfill their pact and play on the biggest stage together one day. For once, their dream seemed so close.
As he was setting up for the next pitch, Ken a few droplets of rain fall on his arm. He was going to say something, but the words choked up in his throat.
Only then did he realize that it wasn’t rain, but his tears that had fallen down his cheek and onto his arm. In that moment, all sorts of emotions hit him, causing his walls to crumble.
Ken tried to wipe away at the tears, but they kept coming. Before he knew it, Daichi appeared in front of him and placed a hand upon his shoulder.
“How about we call it quits here.” He said, giving him a soft smile.
Ken nodded, he still couldn’t speak. Just as they agreed, it began to rain, forcing the two to hurry and pack up. By the end, the two were laughing as they rushed to get undercover.
Some time later, the two returned to their own places, drenched from the rain.
By now, Ken had recovered somewhat from his emotional mood. He jumped in the shower and warmed up, it would not be good if he got sick just before the post season began.
After finishing, he walked into the room and sat on the bed. He was feeling a little drowsy, perhaps mentally drained after the emotional reunion with Daichi.
Ken laid down, placing his head on the pillow. For the first time in a while, he drifted off to sleep without the sleep protocol.
Everything was dark and it felt like he could hear murmurs in the surroundings. There was another sound that he couldn’t quite place, alongside an incessant beep which sounded every few seconds.
Ken tried to listen to the murmurs, but was only able to catch certain pieces.
“It’s all my fault…”
‘Who is there?’ Ken tried to speak, but no words came out. No matter what he did, he couldn’t move.
“Ken… Why?”
He could hear the pain in the voice speaking, but he could not respond. All he could do was listen. Sometimes the voices were from a man, and others it was a woman.
“You should… —told me.”
“… —UP!”
“—KE UP!”
“WAKE UP KEN!”
Ken sat up out of bed in fright, taking deep gasps of air. His nerves were taught and he forgot where he was right now.
“OI, Wake up you bastard!”
Someone banged loudly on his front door, yelling at him.
“W—Who is it!?” He called out, shooting out of bed and heading to the front door.
Upon opening, he saw it was Jeremy out the front. He looked annoyed.
“Oi, you’re late for practice. The coach sent me to pick you up, you lazy bastard.” He said. But then Jeremy’s face turned weird as he saw that Ken was only dressed in his underwear.
Ken was shocked. How long had he been asleep for?
“Alright give me a minute.” Ken said, rushing back to get dressed.