***
Ken didn’t get to leave the arena until 2 hours later. Every man and his dog wanted to ask a question, or get an autograph from him, while all he wanted to do was go home and rest.
Unfortunately, this was just a part of being a professional athlete; it came with the territory.
He had already asked Daichi to send everyone else home, there was no point in forcing his pregnant wife to wait around for him, not when she could easily wait at home.
The moment he walked in the door, he was greeted by a hug and a sloppy kiss on the side of his cheek. He froze in place, smelling the alcohol before realizing who it was.
Steve’s face was revealed, his cheeks red as he let out a hiccup.
“Congratulashunssss!” He shouted, wearing a lopsided smile.
“I’m so sorry…” Tara mouthed from behind him, her irritation evident.
However, Ken was in a rather good mood at the moment. “Thanks buddy.” He said, patting his friend on the back before walking inside. He had brought his grandfather alongside him to celebrate back at home.
As he reached the lounge, he saw his family and friends waiting for him.
“Kenny!” Yuki was the first to approach him, grabbing him tightly in a hug. “You did so well, I’m so proud.”
“Thanks mom.” Ken replied, kissing her on the cheek. “It wasn’t just me though, Daichi also played a big part in the perfect game.” He added.
“Yeah, and don’t you forget it.” Daichi quipped from the side, wearing a grin.
“That’s two out of three.” Chris said, holding up 2 fingers.
“Just need to win the World Series now,” Ken replied, wearing a wry smile.
“Wait, win the World Series? Didn’t you just say that you were going to qualify?”
Everyone’s gaze moved to Ken with curiosity.
He suddenly realized his mistake. He had told the media that he would complete 3 tasks this season: Fastest pitch, a perfect game and qualify for the World Series. Ken had been thinking of his final system mission instead.
“Well, what’s the point in qualifying if you don’t go for the win?” He replied with a smile.
There were a few murmurs while Steve shouted out, “Yeeeeew! Go big or go home!”
Ken felt the gazes lock onto him, judgment evident. He raised his hands innocently, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make any more announcements to the media. I think I’ve given myself enough trouble already.”
The room seemed to let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Ken wasn’t going to do anything rash.
It was rather comical that everyone automatically thought the worst. Now that Ken looked back on it, it was a rather stupid move. He had essentially backed himself into a corner, giving himself no choice but to complete the tasks.
Of course this was complete hindsight. At the time, he had thought that he was currently in an alternate reality and that it would disappear if he did not become famous.
Thinking about this once more made him cringe. How could he have been so gullible? Was it because the system had never tried to harm him before? Why was he so trusting towards it?
As these questions went through his mind, his eyes fell upon his wife, smiling softly from the couch. He walked over and planted a kiss on her forehead, placing a hand upon her bulging belly.
“Do you think they heard the commotion?” Ken asked with a smile.
However, Ai shook her head, “They were asleep the whole time.” She replied, letting out a giggle.
Ken rolled his eyes, “Sounds like they’re already a couple of slackers. I’ll need to raise them well so they don’t become couch potatoes.”
“It’s only early. Is everyone hungry?” Yuki interjected.
“YESHHHH!” Steve stuck his hand up like he was answering a question in the classroom, bellowing out his response.
He received a few curt looks while Tara profusely apologized in his stead, elbowing him in the stomach in response.
All the girls made their way to the kitchen to rustle something up, while the men took a seat in the lounge. Besides Steve, no one else had been drinking, which wasn’t surprising since most present were athletes.
“So, do you think you’ll sweep these guys?” Chris asked Mark, starting off the conversation.
“Well I think we have a good chance of winning.” Mark replied matter-of-factly. “We were able to score rather easily, and it seems that Daichi has got all the info he needs to beat their batters.”
“Maybe he can let me throw a perfect game?” Rohan added with a laugh.
However, Daichi let out a scoff in response, shutting down the notion.
“Our toughest opponent should be New York, if they win in their Division series.” Ken spoke up, receiving a round of agreement.
They had faced the Yanks 8 times this season, but only won 2. Out of every other team they faced, it was by far their worst record.
“They are playing against the Houston Arrows though, they might not even make it to the Championship series.” Chris added.
However, Ken knew better. Leo was an absolute powerhouse both behind the plate and in the batters box. Unless they could find a way to get past him, the Arrows stood little chance in his opinion.
“Their game should have already finished.” Rohan said, “Should we check the result?”
Ken nodded, getting up and securing the remote. He pressed a few buttons and went onto Fox sports news to get the update.
“In baseball news, Ken Takagi is now only the second pitcher to ever throw a perfect game during the post season. He joins Don Larsen who completed the task almost 70 years ago.”
Ken was the discussion point for a while and snippets of his interview and game were shown for everyone to see.
“The Yanks are in hot water after their catcher Leo Cameron was injured in the 3rd innings thanks to a dangerous slide from YJ Alvarez. We have yet to hear any update from the team on his status.”
Ken’s eyes widened in shock as the replay played out in front of him.
‘Leo is injured!?’
