Hiroki left the studio and headed to one of the largest bars in Tokyo, his pace quickening. He was already late thanks to the morning program running a little over.
Thankfully, the studio was not far from the bar.
He saw a woman waiting outside the bar, dressed in a tight fitted dress that accentuated her figure. It was a little odd to see someone dressed like this at 9 in the morning, but Hiroki smiled as he saw her.
"How did it go?" Rie asked.
"It was good. I did what you said and plugged your instagram." Hiroki said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and planting a kiss on top of her head.
"Really? You're the best!" she said, kissing him on the cheek. She pulled out her phone and froze.
"What the hell?"
"Hmm? What is it?" Hiroki asked, taking a peak at the phone.
"I gained a hundred thousand followers… Didn't the program just end?" she asked in wonder.
Hearing this, Hiroki smiled, "I guess people like your cosplay's then."
"Wait a moment… The pictures that we're together in have way more likes than my others…" She said, freezing on the spot.
"Hmm? That's weird."
Rie scrolled down to the comments and saw that majority of them were thirsty older women who were drooling over her boyfriend. Her mood shifted and a scowl appeared on her face.
"These damn grandma's… You think you have a shot with my man?" she growled.
Hiroki blinked a few times, unsure of how things got to this point. "We should probably go in, the others are waiting right?"
However, Rie didn't respond, too busy furiously typing responses on her phone. Only by placing his hand in the middle of her back and leading her forward did they manage to get into the bar.
The bar was packed to the brim despite it being 9am in the morning. The TV program was shown through a projector which took up the whole wall. On it, 2 Japanese hosts were chatting, meaning the game had yet to begin.
"Oh look, a celebrity has joined us." A sarcastic voice called, getting Hiroki's attention.
He turned to the sound, only to see the athletic figure of Riku, wearing a bemused expression. Around the large table where he was sitting, many familiar faces sat.
Riku, Masayuki, Shiro, Yusuke, Makoto, Yuta, Aki and even Kuro. While all these people might not have played on the same team together, they each had something in common.
They were all Ken's friends and rivals.
This bond seemed to have brought them together, establishing a friendship that might not have ever existed if it weren't for that guy.
Of course only 3 out of the 9 present were playing baseball professionally, but that didn't mean the others stopped liking baseball.
"Sorry I'm late guys, the program ran a bit over." Hiroki said, giving a smile.
"We saw you on the big screen. I can't believe you plugged your girlfriends social media on National TV…" Shiro said, shaking his head.
"Ah, it's her!"
A shout came from close by. It was a man in a suit who had his phone in his hand. He lifted the phone and looked between it and Rie, recognizing her.
Hiroki's gaze snapped to the man who quickly shrunk back. But it was too late, everyone started to recognize Rie as the cosplayer who was just plugged on the TV.
The problem was, it wasn't just her that was recognized.
"That's the hunk that was just on TV!"
The women in the bar also recognized Hiroki who had been on the TV just 15 minutes earlier. Just when things looked to be going south, the owner of the bar jumped up onto the counter top and yelled out.
"Oi everyone!" he said, causing everyone to turn towards him. The guy was in his 40's and was dressed completely in Detroit Ligers gear from head to toe, including Ken's jersey the number 13.
"First of all, if you're not here to watch game 7 of the World Series, then please leave." He said, pointing to the door. "We are here to support our countrymen all the way in America."
"If I hear anyone cheering for Miami, I'll kick your ass out so fast that you won't know what happened. Do I make myself clear?"
His words were met with some murmurs of agreement.
"I SAID DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
"YES!"
The guy nodded and smiled wildly, "Good. Come up to the bar and get your free unicorn horn. If you wear one while ordering a drink, we'll even give you 20% off."
At the conclusion, he skillfully hopped off the bar and picked up a large box, placing it on the counter. The box was filled with something that looked like party hats, but they were in fact rainbow colored unicorn horns.
"I ain't wearing that…" Hiroki said, watching the owner place one on his own head.
"Oh, and here I thought you liked cosplay." Shiro quipped, snickering at his own joke.
Hiroki's eye twitched in response, but he had no comeback. So he did what any self-respecting person did with no comeback… Resorting to violence.
"OWWWW!~" Shiro squealed after taking a shot to the midsection. He bent over like a prawn, gasping for air.
His shout gained the attention of the owner who frowned and made his way over.
"Ah damn it…" Hiroki cursed, realizing that he might have messed up. If he were to get kicked out before the game even started, he wouldn't know what to do.
"You guys…" The owner looked annoyed at first, but then his face changed.
"Masayuki Yamazaki… Hiroki Kondo… Yusuke Ozawa… What are you guys doing here? Why are there so many professional players here?" he said in bewilderment.
Riku cleared his throat loudly, noticing his name was not mentioned.
"Ahem… We have come to watch our old teammates play in the World Series of course." Riku said smilingly.
"Wait, who are you? You don't look familiar."
"…"