Ryan made his way back to the dugout after successfully getting through the 8th inning. His shoulder felt a little heavier after the past inning, having now thrown upwards of 90 balls this match.
'I hope its enough…' Ryan thought, his gaze moving to his teammates about to go up and bat for possibly the last time this match.
"Guys, gather around for a moment." Coach Mattingly called out, his expression serious.
Quickly, the Miami players gathered around, waiting patiently for what was likely the final words from their coach for the game.
"We've done well to bring the score back to where its within reach, so well done." He said, looking around the group, "But the job isn't done yet…"
"1 run is all we need to keep our dreams of becoming World Series Champions alive. I know you might be tired, or sore… But now is the time to step up, one final push and we'll be Champions!" He exclaimed, his voice getting louder towards the end.
"YEAH!"
"Alright hands in…"
"Victory on 3!"
"1, 2, 3…"
"VICTORY!"
The atmosphere was electric in the ballpark as the final inning arrived. With the Ligers up by a single run, all they needed to do was prevent Miami from scoring and they would have secured the win.
In the bar in Tokyo, the room was tense.
After giving up the 3 runs when Ken left the mound, the bar went into an uproar. The only saving grace was that the Ligers were still up by a single run.
But with the beginning of the 9th inning, everyone was starting to get nervous.
"Will that Yank be able to get us through unscathed?" Riku spoke, his nervousness evident.
"You can't say that…" Shiro replied in a hushed tone.
"Huh? Is Yank a bad word?" Makoto asked in confusion.
WHOOOOOSH
WHACK!
Their attention was quickly taken away from the conversation as the sound of a hit echoed within the bar. Hundreds of eyes were glued to the screen as the ball flew into the outfield with some speed.
"CATCH IT!" Makoto yelled, spilling some of his beer in his hand.
Ryan Greene in the center outfield was sprinting forward, his eyes never leaving the ball. From the camera angle, it wasn't exactly clear if he would make it to the ball before it bounced in front of him.
The bar held their breath collectively as Ryan dove forward with his glove outstretched towards the rapidly falling ball.
He hit the ground hard, sliding along the ground with his glove clasped tightly.
"Did he get it!?"
No one was completely sure if it was caught before hitting the ground. Ryan gingerly got to his feet, clearly winded by the diving effort.
However, he flashed a pained grin in the next moment and showed the nearest umpire the ball in his glove.
"Out!"
The patrons cheered loudly at the first out of the inning. They were now just two outs away from securing the World Series.
"My heart…" Shiro said, patting his chest.
"We're not out of the woods yet. They still have to face the 3rd and 4th batters." Hiroki added, his arms crossed tightly in front of him.
BUZZ BUZZ
Rie who had been quietly seated beside Hiroki for majority of the game suddenly heard her phone ringing from within her bag. She pulled it out and didn't recognize the number.
"I'll be back." She said to Hiroki, touching his arm.
However, Hiroki was too engrossed in the game to respond with anything but a grunt.
Rie didn't mind and left the bar before answering.
"Hello?"
…
"WHAT!?"
Rie almost lost her footing as the news was relayed to her. Her exclamation drew odd looks from the passers by on the street, but she was too shocked to realize.
"W—What's going to happen? Did you get in touch with Ken yet?" She stammered.
Rie then silently listened for a while before shaking her head, "Why did it have to be right now?" she asked in a soft tone.
After speaking a little while longer, Rie let out a sigh. "Take care of yourself and call me whenever you need me, I'll pick up."
Eventually, Rie hung up and ran back inside.
"Argh damn it! How can you let them get a runner on base?"
The atmosphere in the bar had turned for the worst since she'd been gone. There was a runner on 1st and 1 out in the top of the 9th. What's worse was that Bran De La Cruz the 4th batter for Miami was now at the plate.
If he were to hit a home run, Miami would take the lead.
"Hiroki!" Rie called, her expression a mix of excitement and an underlying worry.
Despite the close game, Hiroki recognized when his girlfriend had something important to say. Immediately, he gave her his attention and asked what was wrong with a serious expression.
"Ai's water broke… She's going into labor." Rie reported.
"HUH!?"
All 5 men at the table had the same reaction whether they were properly listening or not. Their gazes snapped to Rie with shock and disbelief.
"Ai's going to have her baby? But Ken's still playing in the World Series…" Shiro muttered.
"Well it's babies, plural. She's having twins remember." Makoto replied, his voice slurring.
"How does that matter right now!?" Shiro snapped, slamming the table.
"What do we do? Can we call Ken and let him know?" Shiro was reduced to panic as he tried to think of what they could do in their situation.
"You don't think Ai would have called Ken if she wanted him there right now?" Hiroki asked lazily. "She clearly understands that he's in an important match and doesn't want to disturb him."
At this, Shiro's frown deepened. "He's going to miss the birth of his kids… Won't he regret it for life?"
"Won't he also be regretful if they lose the World Series after he leaves the arena?" Riku countered.
"It's not our decision to make." Hiroki replied, "all we can do now is cheer for them both and hope that the game doesn't go into extra innings."