"H-Hello?"
"Hi Ken long time no speak."
Ken stiffened after hearing the voice on the other side, but he tried to play it cool.
"Haha yeah. Sorry we didn't get to chat after the game"
"It's not a problem. Umm, are you busy tonight?" The feminine voice on the other line asked, clearly feeling a little uncomfortable asking.
"Huh?" Ken almost jumped in fright, not expecting such a question.
"I-I mean, I don't have any plans in particular."
Ken almost pulled out his hair in frustration after hearing how awkward he sounded.
"O-Oh good. Did you want to come over?"
'HUH!?'
This time he really jumped in fright, almost dropping the phone in his hands. Thankfully he managed to catch it before it hit the ground.
"A-AH. I mean, my mom asked me to invite you to dinner at my house!"
As if she finally understood the words she'd used, Ai quickly added some critical information.
Despite this, Ken still felt his heart thumping away in his chest. Just as he was about to answer, he saw his mother's head poking out from behind the wall, doing her best to eavesdrop.
"Let me just check with my mom." He managed to say.
However, even before he could finish his sentence he received two enthusiastic thumbs up from Yuki who appeared as if her plans were all coming together.
He inwardly sighed before agreeing to meet Ai at her house for dinner.
"Okay I'll see you there soon." He said, hanging up the phone.
"Uwahhhhhh, my Kenny has a date~"
Yuki pranced around the kitchen after retrieving the phone from Ken, clearly in a great mood.
"It's not a date… We're just friends" Ken muttered, feeling embarrassed.
"Oho my dear boy. All relationships start off as friends." She said, wagging her finger at him.
"See, your father and I used t—"
"Mom. I need to go get ready so…"
Before he was dragged into the long story of how his parents met, he quickly interjected, using tonights event as an excuse to break away early.
"Ah, yes yes. Go shower, I'll pick out some nice clothes for you honey." Yuki shooed him into the bathroom before heading upstairs.
Ken found himself in the bathroom in front of the mirror. He subconsciously began to check out his face, looking for any pimples or defects.
'Bah, what am I doing? Aren't we just meant to be friends?'
Of course he had said that he only wanted to be friends with Ai, but his heart and brain did not appear to be on the same wavelength.
He let out a sigh before jumping into the shower, his emotions in turmoil.
Ken jumped out of the shower and headed upstairs after getting dry, only to see some clothes ironed and laid out on the bed for him to change into.
"Mom…"
Seeing the almost formal-wear that she had picked out, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. Ai's father already thought that he was a grown man, wearing such an outfit would only serve to make him even more suspicious.
He decided to keep the white button up shirt, but paired it with some jeans instead.
After making his way down to the kitchen, he was met with his frowning mother.
"Why didn't you wear your nice pants?"
"Mom. I'm going for a casual dinner, not to a job interview…" He replied, rolling his eyes.
"Tch, you would have looked super handsome if you just listened to me. Come here."
She motioned him over and began to style his hair with her fingers, not letting him complain.
"Ow!"
"Oh don't be such a baby."
Ken looked at the clump of his eyebrows that she had just pulled out and blinked a few times in response.
'Are any of my eyebrows left?'
"Okay I'm going!"
He took the opportunity to quickly run to the front door before his mother tried anything else.
"Have fun Kenny~ just relax and be yourself!"
She watched as his figure left the house, a smile forming on her face.
"They grow up so fast…"
Meanwhile, Ken had finally escaped his mother's clutches and began to casually walk the streets. The air was still warm even with the sun about to retreat over the horizon for the night.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
"Hmm?"
Ken pulled out his phone and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ken, long time no speak."
Although the words were the same as his last phone call, the voice was much deeper.
"Ayyy little bro!" Ken's face lit up, happy to hear from Daichi after all this time.
"Have you got time to chat?"
"Yep I got some time. You'll never guess where I'm headed… To a girl's house for dinner!"
He suddenly felt like a kid again, talking to his best friend. It was only now that he realized just how much he missed hanging out and chatting with Daichi.
"What!? A girl's house? Let me guess, it's Ai right?"
"Huh!? How the hell did you know? Are you actually stalking me?" Ken quipped back, looking around to see if he was being followed.
"Nah I'm not that bored." Daichi's amused voice sounded.
Time seemed to fly by as the two yapped on to each other, picking up right where they left off almost 4 months ago. The conversation ranged from what food they served at the dorms, to how many cute girls were in their classes and of course, baseball.
It was only after 20 minutes of non-stop back and forth that Daichi suddenly got quiet. Ken knew that his brother wanted to ask something, so he didn't try to fill in the silence, merely waiting for him to speak.
"Ken… I know that you were offered a scholarship at Toin." He said.
Ken couldn't help but let out a sigh in response. He had a feeling that this would come up eventually, yet he couldn't bring himself to tell his brother, feeling as if the timing was not right yet.
If possible, he wanted to tell him when they finally matched up at Koshien.
"Hey man, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But I thought you might understand after Dad explained it." Ken said.
"What? I never found out from Dad." He replied.
"Huh? Then how did you find out?" This time Ken was curious. Did Naoki tell him that he'd declined the scholarship?
"I overheard the scout and coach talking one day. He said that they'd offered you a scholarship but you turned it down."
"I see. Did they say anything else?" Ken was patient, not wanting to rush into an explanation.
"I… I left after hearing that." Daichi admitted. Now that he heard Ken's words, he felt as if there was more to the story.
Ken let out another sigh and headed towards a park that was nearby before taking a seat on one of the benches.
"Let me tell you the full story."