A little later that morning, Ken finally got some alone time on the train to have a serious discussion with his new ally Mika. While her updates were helpful while he was training, having her interrupt during everyday conversations was not.
Her monotonous voice ringing in his mind felt as if a satellite navigation unit was talking to him while driving.
'Mika… Can you please save your updates for when I'm alone, unless it's important.'
[Understood]
He wasn't quite sure, but it felt as if there was a hint of annoyance in her tone.
Ken shook his head thinking that he might have just been imagining things.
***
The next few days went by in a blur. Before he could fully enjoy his time with Daichi, they had to send him off back to Osaka, much to their dismay.
While it was only short, having everyone back at home for 2 days was enough to put the family at ease. Yuki was probably the most upset that Daichi had to return to Osaka, packing him a large bento to take with him.
Chris had decided to take some additional time off so he could watch his boys play at Koshien. Thankfully his bosses were understanding enough of his circumstances to allow it.
Thus the first day of Nationals was upon them.
Thanks to Mika's amazing sleep protocol, he had managed to get a full nights rest despite being overly excited for the following day's activities.
After completing a big stretch, the familiar sound of his alarm going off rang in his ears. Ken sprung off the bed and pressed the button before quickly getting dressed and heading downstairs.
His mother sitting at the dining table and cradling her coffee as usual, sitting beside his father.
Chris looked up from his newspaper and grinned, "Big day today, are you ready to go?"
Ken felt a mixture of nerves and excitement, but he nodded nonetheless. He had worked so hard for this moment and it was finally here.
"Yep, I'm all packed." He replied.
"Good, then let's not waste any time. The train will take 3 hours to get there."
With that, he got up and leaned forward to give his wife a kiss.
"We'll be back in 2 weeks at most honey."
Since it was a single elimination tournament, teams could either be staying in Osaka for a single day or upwards of 2 weeks.
Today would be the opening ceremony, followed by 3 games which began at 10:30am. As long as no games went into extra innings, they would usually wrap up before sundown.
In the days following, there would be 4 games played per day, right up until the semi-finals.
"Wish me luck mom." Ken said, giving Yuki a hug.
Though she wasn't usually functional this early in the morning, his mother still reciprocated the gesture, even giving him a kiss on the forehead for good luck.
"I'll be watching you on TV. Don't worry about winning or losing, just try your best okay?" She said with concern.
"I'll win and try my best okay?" He said with a grin.
"Hahaha, that's my boy." Chris chimed in.
With that, the two left the house with their bags in tow.
At around 8am the duo finally arrived at Koshien, home of the Hanshin Tigers. Just seeing the outside of the stadium caused Ken to fell a tremendous pride flow through him.
This was the place where every High School player wanted to reach. The amount of tears shed by players due to being eliminated could probably fill the Shiroyama dam a few times over.
Yet here he was, on the doorstep of achieving what he'd been working so hard for.
As the two got closer to the stadium, Ken finally recognized some people in the distance.
"Coach!" Ken called out, waving his hand in the air.
Coach Hanada lifted his gaze and saw Ken's figure, waving in response with a smile on his face. Only after they got a little closer did he recognize the tall guy who was walking alongside him.
"Chris?"
Ken's father blinked a few times, as if not recognizing the man for a moment.
"Ah Seiji! So you're the coach my son has been praising all this time." He said, holding his hand out for a handshake.
Ken's eye twitched a little. He had told his father a long time ago that his old colleague was their coach, but it seemed that his memory had been compromised with age and his new position.
Seiji grasped the hand firmly and shook it with vigor. He had a lot of appreciation for Ken's father, especially since he'd also produced such a promising player for his team.
While the two caught up, Ken turned his attention to his teammates that were nearby.
Most of the team had already arrived, even the managers were present. He spotted Ai on the other side and was about to head over to say hello before he was ambushed.
"Our Ace finally decided to show up eh?" Hiroki said with a grin, nudging him in the ribs.
"I was getting a little worried over here." Makoto added, yet no one believed his words. He seemed too busy doing push ups to care.
A few of the others came forward and greeted him. He could feel that the atmosphere was full of excitement with an undertone of nerves which was perfectly normal.
"Where is Yuta and Tatsuya?" Ken asked with an odd expression.
Since he'd seen Jun a little earlier it meant that Tatsuya wouldn't be too far away. Yuta was also a very prompt individual, so it was odd not to see him around.
"Hehehe, look over there." Yusuke let out a mildly evil chuckle and pointed to a spot not far away.
Ken turned his gaze only to feel his eyes almost bulge out of their sockets.
Yuta who was usually the picture of a smiling devil currently looked like a little puppy as he followed around the large chested manager Yuko. One could almost make out an invisible leash that was tied around his neck.
"W-What happened!?"