"But Doctor, what temperature should the bath water be to boost recovery?" Yuki shouted after him, her features looking a little annoyed.
Ken could only let out a sigh of relief as he finally managed to drag his mother out of the hospital. Despite staying there for only a single night, he did not enjoy his stay at all.
He never liked hospitals, especially since it brought back memories of his shoulder injury in his previous life.
After getting in the car with his family, they decided to go out and get some lunch. Ken was already starving since he hadn't eaten breakfast at the hospital.
They chose a Ramen place, coincidentally the one where the Yokohama squad had celebrated their first win over Shinjuku over a week ago.
However, it might have been a mistake.
"Ken!? Oh thank god you're okay young man."
The owner of the restaurant who had asked for a photo and signature from Ken the last time saw him walk in and couldn't help but shout out in surprise. His wife who was taking the orders also overheard him and came rushing over as fast as she could.
"Ah, yeah I'm fine haha. Sorry for worrying you." He said meekly in response.
"Is this your family? Come come, we'll give you some specials on the house." The owner's wife said, ushering them inside.
Daichi, Chris and Yuki looked at each other oddly, not expecting such hospitality from a stranger. It was almost as if Ken was a celebrity which was quite weird for a High Schooler.
However, Chris didn't refuse since he believed it would be rude to refuse such service.
After sitting down, the four got comfortable.
"Do you know those guys?" Daichi asked curiously.
"Um, they asked for a photograph and signature after I threw the perfect game in the first round." He admitted, although feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Wait, is that you on the wall?" his father exclaimed, pointing to a framed photo upon the nearby wall.
Everyone took a closer look and could quickly tell that it was the case. Ken looked a little awkward in the photo with the owner's wife, so much so that his family couldn't help but laugh and giggle.
"I think you'll have to work on your poses in the future." Daichi said with a laugh.
Ken could only roll his eyes. It wasn't his fault since he wasn't expecting to receive such attention after a single match.
As his gaze moved further he caught some more framed photos, which he had obviously failed to see the last time he was here.
In the frame next to his was another photo of the owner's wife standing next to someone in a baseball uniform. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out the name which was written underneath the photo.
"Yu Tanaka…"
"EH!?"
Ken quickly stood up, his face full of shock as he suddenly recognized the name.
"What is it?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow at his son's reaction.
"T-That's Yu Tanaka, the Ace of the Japanese National Team…" Ken pointed at the photo frame he'd been looking at.
"That's not all sonny."
The voice of the owner's wife called out from behind him, carrying their food.
She placed the bowls down and walked over to the wall, a large grin on her face.
"Every year we take a photo with the most promising players who visit our shop. We've got a lot more than just you two."
With that, she walked along the wall and introduced the players whom they'd taken photo's with over the years.
While Yuki and Daichi seemed oblivious to the names, both Ken and Chris's faces grew darker with every player she mentioned.
By the time she got to the very end of the wall, she'd named 3 Japanese players who had played in the Majors and another 5 or so who were in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
"That's very impressive. You must have an eye for talent." Ken said, feeling a little overwhelmed.
"You can say that again." She said with a grin.
"Have you heard of my brother here? He's the catcher for Osaka Toin." Ken mentioned with a grin, pointing to his brother.
"Ah." Daichi felt heat rush into his face from embarrassment, however there was a hint of anticipation within his eyes. He wouldn't mind being placed on the wall next to his brother.
"Ohhhh Daichi… Never heard of him." She said plainly.
"…"
"Well, you guys enjoy your meal. Feel free to come back anytime."
With that she walked off, heading back to take some more orders.
Silence…
Ken and Chris had a serious expression on their faces, yet inwardly they were suffering. The searing pain of containing the uproarious laughter which was threatening to explode at any moment was torture in of itself.
They could only stare at the bowl of ramen in front of them, afraid that if they made eye contact with each other, the floodgates would open.
Daichi's red face heated up once more, this time almost reaching a fluorescent pink.
Out of all the people at the table, only Yuki seemed oblivious to what was going on and had already dug into her ramen.
Thankfully, the moment passed and everyone eventually dug into their food. The sound of slurping noodles followed shortly after, blending in with the atmosphere of the restaurant.
Only after 30 minutes when they were about to leave, did all chaos break loose.
Like a bunch of mad bulls, news reporters entered the restaurant and began to look around feverishly, as if they were looking for someone in particular.
Ken happened to see the figure of Miya Furuka at the forefront, wearing one of her tight fitting dresses and followed by a camera man.
They just so happened to meet gazes and Ken's face flushed red.
"Ah there he is!" She pointed, making the other reporters go into a feeding frenzy.
"W-What the hell is happening." Ken cried in shock.