***
The following night, the showdown between the New York Yanks and the Detroit Ligers approached at Comerica Park. While the stands were not as packed as opening night, it was still close to 80% capacity.
For 10 games into the season, this number was quite good, at least in the eyes of the General Manager and Owner. But ticket sales were only a part of the income, the next big ticket item was the merchandise.
After some issues with the production time line, Ken and Daichi’s jerseys were now available for purchase in person and online.
Ken’s number 13 jersey had instantly reached the top of sales for the club by a large margin after his monumental debut. But surprisingly, Daichi was in 2nd place.
Most of these sales were from Japan, and soon the club faced their next problem: Distribution. It was fortunate that these people were patient, since shipping delays would cause any regular customer to get upset.
On the field, Mark Williams the Head Coach for the Ligers walked over and met with Adam Boone, the coach for the Yanks.
The two had had some dealings in the past, but never faced off against each other as Head Coach.
“Mark, it’s good to see you. When I heard you got offered the coaching job here, I was delighted. I hope they’re paying you well.” Adam said, offering his hand.
Mark laughed, grasping the man’s hand, “They pay me well enough. How is Leo going? I haven’t seen him in almost 5 years.”
Adam smiled wryly, “He’s one of our best players, it looks like you taught him well.”
However, Mark shook his head in response, “I could never teach that guy anything. It was my grandsons who taught him more than me…”
He looked back at Ken and Daichi who were warming up together.
Adam tilted his head in question briefly before letting it go. “It must be fate that your two grandsons are on your team. You know, I actually saw Ken pitch firsthand when he first started College. Alex introduced me.”
“Yeah, I know all about it. That controversy was the reason why Ken missed out on his first post season with Columbia.” Mark said, letting out a chuckle.
“Well… If I had have known Alex gave him tickets, I would have worked something out.” Adam said, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Anyway, it seems like no one holds any hard feelings.” Mark added, gesturing to Ken and the others.
While the Coach’s were talking, Ken and Daichi were met with two players wearing Yanks uniforms.
“Kenny boy! Good to see you man.” Alex Cole said, wearing a grin. “This must be your brother Daichi, Masaru told me all about him.”
Daichi’s expression faltered as he looked upon the Japanese man next to the American. All Japanese citizens who knew anything about baseball would know this man.
“It’s Ma-kun…” Daichi muttered in shock.
“Pleased to meet you senpai!” Daichi shouted, bowing deeply towards Masaru.
However, Masaru quickly helped him up and pat him on the shoulder. “I’m happy to see a fellow countryman make it to the big league. I’m looking forward to playing against you.”
While those two were talking, Ken and Alex were speaking about something else.
“Are you pitching tonight?” Alex asked, giving him a grin.
Ken nodded, “I’ve got some unfinished business with someone on your team.” He said, a small grin pulling at the corner of his lips.
Alex laughed, “He’s a monster… You better throw the best you ever have in your life, otherwise…” His voice trailed off as another player appeared in the corner of his eye.
Leo walked over, his face expressionless. Despite being shorter than Ken by over 5 inches, the way he held himself made it feel like he was a giant.
“Ken, Daichi.” He said simply, “I’ve been looking forward to this rematch for 6 years…”
At this, the two brothers turned solemn. “This isn’t the National Team, Leo.” Ken said, his voice even.
“Maybe not. But I will prove to everyone in this game, that I am better. That’s all that matters.” Leo stared at Ken for a little while before turning on his heel and returning back to the away dugout.
When he left, the atmosphere remained heavy.
“Uhhh, don’t worry about him.” Alex said, letting out a nervous laugh. “He always gets serious when its match day, maybe its because he’s nervous?”
However, Ken and Daichi knew that this was not the case. The guy had essentially declared war, how could they not feel fired up?
“I’m going to go warm up. It was good to see you again Alex, Ma-kun.” Ken said, bowing slightly. With that he turned and jogged away. Daichi soon followed after bidding his farewell.
“I knew they had a history, but I didn’t think it was like this.” Alex muttered, watching the two men retreat.
“Ah… Seishun.” Masaru said, his eyes sparkling.
“Come again?”
Ken and Daichi came to a stop some distance away and began to go through their stretching routine together.
“What were you able to find out in the film session?” Ken asked.
Daichi was silent for a little while before answering, “He’s almost perfect.”
“I’m not talking about his looks…” Ken joked. However, seeing the serious expression on his brother’s face, Ken realized that he was not messing around.
“You said almost… Did you find a way we can take him down?” Ken asked.
Daichi shook his head, “If there is a way, I couldn’t find it. His batting form is almost unfair, I don’t think I saw a single pitch he wasn’t able to hit.”
“And his catching… Not only is he meticulous, his framing is some of the best I’ve ever seen. I still don’t know how we beat him in the U18 World Cup finals.”
Ken placed his hand upon Daichi’s shoulder, “Well, there’s no use despairing. All we can do is try our best.”
“Mmm, you’re right. We haven’t even started the game and I’m already counting us out…” Daichi said, “Let’s do our best.”
Ken nodded, giving out a fist bump. “Let’s do it.”