Ken's eyes widened as a warm yet better sensation washed over him.
"Why? What have I done to deserve such a gift? You've already given me so much…" he asked, his voice trailing off.
Mika didn't answer right away. She hovered over Kenji, warm light falling from the apparition of a dove. Once she was satisfied, Mika flapped her wings and appeared in front of Ken once more.
"Life is the most precious when spent with loved ones… You taught me that Ken." The dove's beak opened, producing Mika's voice. This was the first time he'd heard her voice with his ears and not inside his mind.
It sounded a little foreign, but he could feel the emotion contained within it.
"What better way to repay you than ensuring your children will live long and healthy lives?" She asked wistfully.
Ken was speechless, not knowing how to respond. The only thing that he managed to say was thank you, albeit quietly.
"It is time that we part ways Ken…" Mika spoke, reluctance in her tone.
"W—We still have time. There's still 17 hours until I need to accept the mission… Won't you stay with me until then?" Ken pleaded.
However, the dove shook its head. "I'm afraid that I might not have the strength to say goodbye at that time. So I've decided that I must leave now…"
"Goodbye Ken. I wish you all the best in your new life, you certainly earned it."
"Wait!"
*DING*
[Congratulations, you have completed the final mission]
[Initiating System Integration]
[Please stand by…]
Ken heard the commotion and suddenly realized what had happened. Once again, Mika had accepted rewards on his behalf. Yet instead of getting angry, all Ken felt was sadness in this moment.
He watched as the ethereal dove began to fade away, feeling the lump in his throat worsening.
"Will you think of me from time to time?" Mika's voice was growing distant, now barely above a whisper.
"Mmm… I'll tell my kids you were their guardian angel."
"Guardian angel huh? How wonderful."
As she said this, Mika's dove body began to fade even faster. There was a blinding flash, lighting up the whole room once more and forcing Ken to cover his eyes.
When he could finally open them again, she was completely gone. However, in her place was two soft plush toys, one pink and one blue sitting side by side.
Without a word, Ken picked up the two plush toys and inspected them. They were both bears, but even as he held onto them, Ken could feel an inexplicable warmth radiating from within.
"Thank you, Mika…"
He held the bears tighter in his arms, and thought about the one who left them.
[System Integration successfully initiated]
[…]
[Binding skills & traits]
[Updating database…]
[Congratulations, user has successfully completed the Major League System program]
[Additional rewards calculated]
[Natsuki Takagi's potential has increased from F-grade to L-grade]
[Kenji Takagi's potential has increased from F-grade to L-grade]
Ken's eyes widened in pure shock as he watched the notifications appear in front of him. He had been surprised upon seeing his children had no potential for baseball, but apparently his performance had now changed that.
[Thank you for using the Major League System program]
[…]
The translucent blue window in front of him flickered before disappearing. At the same time, his body began to heat up and his muscles contorted underneath his skin.
It wasn't exactly painful, but it was definitely uncomfortable.
The feeling persisted for almost 2 minutes before dissipating. Ken let out a sigh of relief before turning to his sleeping wife and children briefly.
Though he knew that nothing would happen, Ken tried to open his system window. As he expected, nothing changed.
Now he knew for sure, there was no more system.
"What have you got there?" Ai's tired voice called out, startling Ken.
Seeing his wife was now awake, Ken smiled at her. "These are a gift from a friend…" he said, choking up slightly.
"What's wrong?" Ai's tone turned concerned as she saw her husband in pain. It was so unexpected that she almost launched herself out of bed to comfort him.
"Be careful, you've just given birth not even 24 hours ago." Ken said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Tell me what's wrong? Why do you look so sad?" She asked, hugging into him.
Feeling his wife's concern, Ken smiled. "They're happy tears honey… Happy tears."
"Well you look like someone beat you up and stole your dog…" Ai said, her voice muffled from being buried in Ken's chest.
Ken laughed, unable to keep a straight face after hearing something so absurd. His laugh carried, becoming infectious. Soon, Ai was giggling alongside him.
When the laughter died down, Ai stepped back and wiped away a tear on Ken's cheek. Her expression turned suspicious as she stared at him, "Are you sure everything is okay?"
"My amazing wife just gave birth to two beautiful and healthy babies, this is the best day of my life…" Ken replied, assuring her.
His tone seemed to be sincere enough that Ai soon accepted his response. Either that or she realized that it was something he didn't wish to speak of.
"When can we take Natsuki and Kenji home?" Ken asked, holding his wife.
"They just want to run a few more tests and monitor them. As long as there's nothing worrying, we should be able to leave tomorrow." She stated.
By her tone, it seemed she was eager to leave as soon as possible.
He didn't blame her. In fact, Ken felt like he was in his 40's thanks to the back pain from sleeping on the hard bench in the room. It seemed that the father's were treated like second class citizens in these type of wards.
"I miss our bed…" Ai said, letting out a hollow chuckle.
"Mmm."
Ken kissed the top of his wife's head before walking over to Kenji and Natsuki. He placed the plushy's he received from Mika beside them.
From now on, she would be watching over them, just like she did for Ken for so many years.