Ken made his way into the school grounds the next morning with a somber expression on his face. His mother had been furious in the beginning, but she eventually calmed down after he explained the whole blackmailing situation.
Of course she still wasn't happy, especially since Ai's parents had known about it while they were kept in the dark.
After a good lecture, Ken had been grounded.
Since he did nothing else but workout and play baseball, it didn't really affect him too much though.
He spotted Ai from a distance, causing his mood to improve greatly. Without him even knowing, he had grown quite fond of her, no longer feeling the underlying guilt that had plagued him since regressing.
Since it had been a few days since they'd chatted, he felt even more anxious to talk to her again like normal.
Ai turned her head and locked gazes with Ken for a moment. Her beautiful blue eyes and tender features made her seem like a fairy who had descended into the mortal world.
Yet upon seeing him, a flicker of emotion appeared on her face before she turned and continued walking.
'Eh?'
'What was that reaction about?' Ken thought, his mind racing.
Before he could get lost in his thoughts, he quickly ran towards her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Ai, what's up?"
She froze in place before turning around slowly and staring at him. He could see tears pooling on the side of her eyes, ready to cascade down her rosy cheeks at a moments notice.
Puzzled, Ken inquired once more.
"Didn't your dad say that he took care of everything? So why didn't you acknowledge me?"
There wasn't any accusation within the tone, more curiosity.
As if sensing this, Ai's face also took on a confused expression.
"Y-You didn't answer any of my mails last night, I thought you hated me." She said, feeling vulnerable.
"Eh…?"
Ken blinked a few times before his face turned sour.
"Ah sorry. My phone was confiscated since I'm now grounded." He admitted, feeling a little embarrassed about the whole situation. It still felt odd for him to say he was grounded, considering his mental age and all.
"Oh."
As if realizing something, Ai's face bloomed into a smile as she felt a rush of happiness and relief overcome her.
"But wait, why are you grounded?" She asked.
Ken let out a deep sigh, "I lied to my parents about how I got my injury." He said with a wry smile.
"Ah, I see…"
Ai was silent for a moment before a hint of curiosity flickered across her face for a moment. She tried to act casually before speaking her next words.
"My dad came home last night with a black eye, you must have given him a good punch." She stated, trying to see his reaction from the corner of her eye.
"Huh? I didn't give him a black eye." Ken said, raising his hands in defense.
Ai seemed puzzled, "Eh? Then what happened?"
"Did your dad not tell you?" he asked, receiving a blank no as an answer.
However, once he thought about it holistically, he probably wouldn't want to announce to his family that he'd been knocked out by a girl either.
For a moment he considered whether or not to keep true to the bro code and keep the information to himself. But once he remembered that the guy had dragged him into the depths alongside him by telling his mother the truth, he changed his mind.
'Is this what they call poetic justice?'
Ken said a small prayer in his heart that Tetsu would suffer immense embarrassment from this.
'May the truth set you free~'
With his mind made up, Ken broke the news to Ai, starting from the beginning and making sure to relay every single detail. He even went as far as to reenact the devastating left hook that knocked her father down.
Ai's eyes widened as Ken eagerly told the story, all the way up to the point of the finale.
Silence.
Ken finished his tall tale and looked at Ai expectantly, ensuring that she had understood the detailed play-by-play of the interaction.
"Pfft…"
"Hahahaha!"
Suddenly, Ai bent down and began to giggle hysterically. With both hands wrapped around her stomach, it seemed as if she couldn't control the laughter that was pouring out of her.
Ken also couldn't help but join in, getting lost in the contagious mirth that filled the air.
All of the anxiety and pent up emotions between the two seemed to dissipate amidst the laughter, subconsciously bringing them closer together.
It seemed that the both of them very much enjoyed the justice served by Ken's mother.
After the laughter died down, Ken remembered that his mom had mentioned she would be visiting the bakery today in order to continue their conversation.
He quickly relayed this to Ai who rubbed her hands in anticipation.
"I can't wait to hear all the details from my mom later."
The two seemed to fall back into their friendship with relative ease, almost as if they hadn't gone through the past week's suffering.
They continued to chat all the way to the classroom, only being interrupted by the bell before entering.
"Can we start going home together again?" Ai asked, trying to sound casual. However, one could see that she was actually feeling quite vulnerable in that moment.
"Sure, if you don't mind the sweaty smell." Ken answered, a grin creeping onto his lips.
Ai smiled in response, pulling out some perfume from her bag. "I'll just spray you with this if it's too bad."
"Gah, please no."
***
Since the drama was all behind them, everything seemed to go back to normal. Since Ken was injured, he was unable to play in the game against Yokosuka High.
But it turned out he was not needed.
Yokohama's batters completely destroyed the opposing team, scoring a total of 20 runs in 4 innings and securing their spot in the finals of the Kanagawa Tournament.
As if it was fate, Shuei had managed to overcome Fujimi Senior with a score of 11-1 after 5 innings. This set up a finals clash between the two titans of Kanagawa, a rematch for their friendly all those months ago.