"What!?"
Ken's face changed to one of shock.
Daichi nodded, his expression rather forlorn.
"When he found out that Yatsuo had been keeping his injury a secret, Coach Narukami went straight to the umpire and forfeited."
Though he was regretful that their match had ended in such a way, Daichi was just happy that his brother was okay.
The amount of panic and anxiety he had experienced throughout the past few hours were more than he'd felt in his entire life.
Chris seemed to be satisfied with the decision of the Osaka coach, although he still thought that what the pitcher had done was far too reckless.
The problem was, it wasn't too uncommon for players to hide such injuries in the Japanese High School circuit. It wasn't so much Yatsuo's fault as it was the current state of the competition.
Just thinking of all the talented youths who had thrown their future careers down the drain in such a manner was enough to warrant a big change.
Ken on the other hand felt slightly embarrassed. He too was another player who had hidden his shoulder injury from his parents and the coaching staff in his previous life.
Therefore he felt as if he was not qualified to speak so morally on the matter.
After a while, Ken's face lit up slightly.
"So we've made it into the finals huh?" He said, his tone light.
"Does that mean I can play in the—"
Ken didn't even get to finish the rest of his sentence as he felt both Chris and Yuki's icy gaze drill into him. They both looked as if they wouldn't hesitate to incapacitate him in order to keep him in hospital for as long as it takes.
"Ha ha ha, I was just kidding" Ken said, sticking his tongue out.
However inwardly he was crying.
'I'm fully healed! I swear.'
Both his parents expressions softened a little. The fact that Ken was able to joke around still was a miracle in itself, therefore they were not too mad.
Of course if he was really being serious about playing, they would do everything in their power to stop it.
The four then chatted for a while longer on different subjects, creating a harmonious atmosphere. This continued right until the time for visiting hours was over.
Despite being fully healthy thanks to the Recovery Elixir, Ken had to stay another night for further testing and monitoring. Head injuries were not a minor thing, therefore his parents readily agreed when given the option.
Just before they were about to leave, Ken spoke.
Since he would not be able to play in the finals, he wanted to bring this up.
"Dad… About your job overseas."
Chris turned and saw his son struggling to find the words. He knew exactly what he wanted to ask and did not let him continue.
"Don't worry Ken. Your Dad will be quitting the moment we get back home." He said with a small smile.
It wasn't just Ken's eyes that lit up, both Yuki and Daichi's expressions brightened as they heard the news. Without a word, they both hugged him tightly, leaving Ken with a bright smile as he watched them.
He breathed out a sigh of relief, now no longer feeling remorse about not playing in the finals. After all, Ken's main drive to win was because of his deal with his father.
Now that it had been settled, it didn't mean as much to him.
Of course he still wanted to win, but he could only rely on his teammates for the final match.
Chris accepted the hugs of his wife and son and couldn't help but smile. In truth, the moment he saw what happened to Ken, his mind had been made up to stay in Japan.
If he was in America when the incident happened it would have taken far too long to come back.
Seeing how his family reacted only further served to let him know he'd made the right decision.
"Okay Ken, we better go now before we get kicked out. We'll be back in the morning and hopefully you can be discharged." Chris said with a smile.
"Dad, Mom. Do you mind if I talk to Ken alone quickly?"
Daichi asked softly. It seemed that he had something to get off his chest.
"Okay, we'll wait outside for you." Chris responded, leading Yuki out the door.
Yuki was a little puzzled, but she still did as instructed. A lot of things had happened, but for some reason she felt a lot closer to her family in this moment.
Once the two left, Daichi turned to Ken, his face full of emotion.
Before a word was spoken, Daichi bowed at 90 degrees towards his brother.
"Ah, w-what are you doing?" Ken panicked a little. He wasn't sure what Daichi had wanted to say to him, but he sure didn't expect this sort of reaction.
However he didn't receive an answer right away.
"I-I'm sorry Ken. It's all my fault."
Daichi balled his hands into fists so hard that his fingers drew blood from his palms. It could be seen that he was carrying so much guilt for the whole ordeal, despite finding out that Ken was now fine.
Ken let out a sigh, somewhat seeing where this was going.
"First of all, raise your head. Let's talk about this face to face." He stated. It would be difficult to get to the bottom of things if things stayed like this.
Only after a few moments did Daichi finally lift his head. His expression was full of remorse, and he was not even able to look Ken in the eye.
"Okay good. Now tell me why you think it's your fault?" Ken asked in a calm tone.
He let Daichi narrate the story of what happened. How he had guessed about something being wrong with Yatsuo, yet still not stepping in and calling for a substitution.
Also the fact that he had called for an inside ball when Ken was crowding the plate, which ultimately led to the ball being close enough to hit him in the head in the first place.