A hint of recognition flashed in Ken's eyes before he was forced to continue his walk through the gate.
"Did you know that guy?" The same immature voice asked him.
"Nope."
The two were silent for a few moments before the shorter one announced.
"Ah man this is so boring. Why are we even here?"
The tall youth named Kei let out a sigh before rubbing his glabella in exasperation. He had wanted to bring his friend to a professional game, hoping to spark some inspiration.
He turned to his friend and assessed him.
Tatsuo Shiraki, the genius short stop and lead off batter from Shinjuku High. He had messy brown hair and dull green eyes, he could be called handsome if it wasn't for the perpetually bored expression on his face.
He was average height and had an average build, yet he was a speed demon and baseball genius.
'If only he took it seriously…' Kei sighed inwardly.
***
Upon entering through the staff gate, Ken's mind was buzzing. He had recognized the tall figure in the line, as well as the shorter figure beside him. They were players from Shinjuku High.
Funnily enough, Shinjuku High was the team that knocked them out in the first round of the Nationals in his previous life. He would never forget the humiliation of that match on such a big stage.
Just remembering the bored expression of the short figure as he stole bases from him during the match. No matter how many times he tried to pick him off, the guy was too quick.
Although the odd thing was, he never heard anything about the prodigy afterwards. Even if he combed his memory, it was as if the kid had disappeared off the face of the Earth.
"Did you guys want to go see the team warming up?" Chris said, breaking Ken out of his line of thought.
"Eh really!?" Tetsu seemed the most surprised and excited out of anyone.
"Yeah sure why not? I'm sure the coach won't mind as long as we don't get in the way." He replied with a smile.
With that, the group made their way onto the field, walking towards the bullpen. Chris was like a celebrity as those who walked past greeted him in a friendly fashion.
Seeing the professional facilities, the Koyama family was quite taken in. While Tetsu had played at Koshien before, it was so long ago that he'd forgotten the feeling of a professional stadium.
PAH
PAH
As they moved closer to the bullpen, the sound of the balls hitting the leather gloves entered their ears. There was a crispness that one wouldn't hear from a High School game, showing the level difference between the two.
"We can watch from here, just try not to disturb anyone." Chris said casually.
Ken could see a few familiar faces, particularly the American Jason Matthews who was casually throwing some balls. Since he was a closer, he didn't need to get completely warm in this moment.
His pitching motion and wind up seemed so effortless, yet his control was pinpoint, showing just what kind of mastery he had over his body.
He happened to look Ken's way before a look of recognition appeared onto his face.
"Ah it's Kenny boy!"
At his shout, the rest of the players turned in his direction and saw the group outside the fence. Save for a few that recognized Ken, the rest called out to Chris.
"Hey Chris, welcome back."
"We thought you left us for good."
A bitter smile appeared on the coach's face as he saw the players abandon their warm ups in favor of going to say hello to the familiar face.
Chris sent an apologetic smile to the coach who was now glaring at him, but he didn't want to be rude to the players so he kept up appearances.
James walked up to the fence and said hello to Ken, a fond smile on his expression.
"Hey kid you've gotten taller." He held his hand up, trying to measure where Ken stood as opposed to him. Since he was 193cm (6'4), he was still a couple of inches taller than the teenager, but he still looked impressed nonetheless.
"Hi James, it's good to see you again." Ken replied. Since they were speaking in English, no one else in the group besides Chris and Yuki could understand him.
In the next moment, James's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward.
"Have you improved since the last time we met?"
Ken was startled for a moment before a smile graced his lips. He thought about his current pitching grade and the increase in stats which he hadn't had a chance to look at thanks to the system being offline.
"Of course. We just made it into Nationals."
James let out a little whistle of appreciation before a mischievous grin appeared on his face suddenly.
"Show me."
"Eh?"
Ken looked around, feeling a little uncomfortable. He didn't plan on pitching at this moment, especially since the players were meant to be warming up.
"What's wrong? Are you scared that you'll embarrass yourself in front of your little girlfriend over here?" James taunted, yet he looked amused rather than antagonistic.
"B-But won't I get in trouble?" He replied a little fearfully.
As if to respond to his worries, James lifted his head and yelled out in broken Japanese.
"Oi Yamamoto, come catch some of Kenny boy's pitches."
"Eh?"
Chris turned his gaze to Ken, yet seeing how flustered his son was, he quickly understood the situation.
"Ah James, we wouldn't want to disturb your practice anymore." He said, raising his hands while trying to politely decline.
However, James seemed to be adamant about seeing Ken pitch again.
It was only now that the disturbance had escalated that the coach left his corner and came over. He nodded to Chris, yet his expression didn't seem too pleased.
"What's this all about James?" he asked.
"I want to see Kenny Boy here pitch a few balls." James stated simply, his face settling into a stubborn look.
The coach turned his attention to Ken who looked as if he'd swallowed a rock.
After letting out a long-winded sigh, the coach relented, opening the door to the bullpen and gesturing for Ken to come inside.
"Eh? EHHHH?"
"Hurry up. The quicker you throw your balls, the quicker we can continue our warm ups." The coach stated.
'H-How did things end up like this?'