Ken made his way over and took a seat, greeting everyone with a smile. He was in a good mood after seeing his progress and the additional boost that Shiro got as well.
"You're in a good mood Ken." Yusuke stated, a weird expression on his face.
The moment after he said those words, Shiro walked into the dining room with his hair still wet, a content look on his features.
It was then that Yusuke's expression turned weirder as he looked between the two.
Ken felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance at the obvious bait.
"Hey guys! What's going on?"
Everyone at the table looked at Shiro who seemed content. They could feel he had changed significantly compared to even this morning.
Feeling the incessant stares by his teammates, Shiro began to blush.
"W-What is it? Is there something on my face?"
Both Hiroki and Yusuke looked at each other before turning to Ken.
"You guys are being suspicious. What did you two do today?"
Even Ai and Yuko turned to hear what Ken was going to say.
"We just threw some pitches in the park. I'm working on a secret weapon, though it might not be ready before Nationals is over." Ken said, eyeing the two warily.
He could tell that whatever they were thinking was nothing good.
Thankfully, the answer seemed to bring another question with it.
"Shiro, you can catch Ken's pitches now?" Yuta asked with surprise.
As the one who had to catch the monster fastballs, he knew just how hard they were to contain. Adding on the fact that Shiro couldn't even catch them properly at practice, he was shocked.
"Hehehe, Ken was very patient with me. It didn't even hurt." Shiro said, his cheeks sporting a little redness from embarrassment.
"PFFT"
Both Yusuke and Hiroki suddenly clutched their stomachs, feeling a wave of laughter threaten to overcome them. If it weren't for the intimidating look Ken was throwing their way, they might have lost it.
SLAP
Ken slapped Shiro in the middle of the back, his annoyance growing.
"Stop saying such weird things, you're giving people the wrong impression."
"Pfft"
"Hahahaha!"
Ai was the one who lost her composure first as she couldn't contain the giggles that escaped from her mouth. The fact that Shiro was speaking like a maiden who had experienced their first time made everything too much to bear.
Ai's laughter triggered both Hiroki and Yusuke who couldn't contain it any longer. They burst out laughing, much to the dismay of Ken who could only shake his head, though a small smile crept onto the corner of his lips.
Only after a few minutes did the situation finally die down. Those within the team had already tried to figure out what was happening, only to be shooed away by Ken.
"Hey what are you guys doing tomorrow? It's our final day before our next match." Yuta asked.
"Hmm? Probably just going to the stadium why's that?" Both Yusuke and Hiroki answered before looking over curiously at their Senpai.
"Well, Yuko and I wanted to go somewhere like Karaoke or something. But it's fun with more people. What do you say?"
Yusuke turned his face up in disgust, "Naw man, I suck at singing. I'll just go watch some games."
Hiroki nodded in agreement, "Maybe the two lovebirds can go with you?" he said, gesturing towards Ken and Shiro.
"Hahaha."
Ken felt like throwing a 100mph fastball directly at Hiroki in that moment, but knowing him he'd probably manage to hit it back. Instead he made a mental note to take his revenge at another time in the future.
Hiroki who was all laughs and jokes earlier suddenly felt his body shiver unconsciously.
'W-What was that?'
Ken turned to Ai who was looking at him expectantly and couldn't help but feel his face heat up a little.
"I'm free tomorrow. Did you want to come as well Ai?"
A beautiful smile blossomed on Ai's face as she readily agreed. In truth she'd been trying to find an excuse to go explore with Ken, since this was a special occasion that possibly wouldn't happen again in the future.
"I'll pass." Shiro stated, not wanting to be a third wheel to both couples.
"Oh?" Ken turned his attention to his friend, a teasing look on his expression.
"What's that Yuko? Kaori is coming along as well?"
Shiro's body suddenly stiffened and his face reddened. Instead of looking at Ken, his turned his attention to Yuko as if to verify Ken's words.
He almost looked like a puppy who had heard the words "Walk" or "Treat" in passing.
"Er yeah, Kaori will be coming too." Yuko said, though she felt a little uncomfortable with Shiro's gaze.
"Ahem. I guess it will be good to look around the city."
Shiro cleared his throat and shamelessly changed his mind, making up some excuse about sightseeing. However, Ken couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
So it was decided. The group of Ken, Ai, Yuta, Yuko, Shiro and Kaori would be exploring the city today in order to take a bit of a breather from the intense sporting atmosphere.
Sometimes it was more beneficial to take a break than to completely retain your focus for the whole time.
Once everyone had finished with dinner, Yuko retreated and broke the news to Kaori who had just finished showering. She loved to take long showers and seemed to take longer than anyone to get ready.
Upon hearing the news that she would be 3rd wheel with Shiro, she turned up her face and almost walked straight back into her room.
If it wasn't for Yuko's incessant pleas, she might have just stayed in bed for the night and the whole day tomorrow.
"Make sure you're back before dinner tomorrow. We'll be having a strategy meeting about our next opponent." Coach Hanada said to Ken who had come to tell him about his plans for the next day.
"No problem." Ken said in English with a thumbs up.
"Haaaah." The coach couldn't help but sigh, however he was grinning.