"Right!? He's gonna be the next star of Japan." Tetsu exclaimed with a wide grin.
Ken was speechless. It felt quite odd to be praised by the figure in front of him, let alone Tetsu who had always seemed to hold a grudge against him.
"It reminds me of the time we played at Koshien." Tsukasa intoned, his face turning up in a self-deprecating smile.
"Hahaha. We never made it past the first round"
The two broke out into laughter, clearly enjoying the memory they shared together.
With this, Ken was able to put together some pieces of the puzzle. Since he knew Tetsu went to Nationals with Zama High, then the guy in front of him must have been on the same team.
It was also where Naomi said that she'd met her husband, meaning they probably all knew each other.
As he was thinking along these lines, Naomi walked into the lounge room with a smile on her face. She carried some freshly baked cookies and laid them on the table.
"Ai will be down shortly dear, she's just packing up a few more things."
"O-Okay, thanks Mrs. Koyama."
"Please, call me Naomi." She said, giggling as she walked out of the room and leaving the three once more.
There was a brief silence before Tetsu went and took a seat opposite Ken.
"It was lucky ya came now. We were about ta leave in a couple hours." He said, grabbing a cup of tea that was on the table and taking a sip.
Ken raised his eyebrow in question. He had already guessed that Ai might be moving, but he had yet to confirm with anyone the reason, nor where she was going.
Pushing down the lump that was crawling up his throat, Ken asked. "Where is Ai moving to?"
"Hmm? You don't know?" Tetsu looked at him with surprise.
Ken could only shake his head, yet he felt kind of judged after receiving both Tetsu and Tsukasa's gazes.
"I-I've been away at the National Team selections these past couple of days so I haven't had a chance to talk with Ai."
Although it was not a great excuse, he still said it aloud as if to try and justify his wrongdoings, at least to himself.
"Eh!?" Tetsu almost dropped his tea cup after hearing these words, his face turning up in excitement.
"You tried out for the National Team!? How did it go?" He eagerly sat forward, awaiting Ken's response with shining eyes.
Tsukasa too seemed to lean forward, waiting to hear the news.
Ken frowned, it seemed that his excuse had derailed the conversation.
"I made the team." He said simply, feeling a little frustrated.
Not wanting to deal with their reactions, he moved forward and went to grab one of the cookies that were sitting on the table. Just as he was about to touch one, Tetsu reached over and grabbed his wrist tightly.
Ken looked up in shock at the man, questions dancing within his eyes.
Tetsu's face was grave as he shook his head, almost as if warning him against a great danger. Ken could only take back his hand, yet he was still perplexed.
In the next moment, Tetsu grabbed one of the cookies and placed it in both of his hands, attempting to break it in half.
His large muscles bulged and his face visibly went red as he tried with all of his might to break it. However, as much as he tried, it was an impossible feat.
He then wordlessly tapped the cookie on the table, creating a loud thud like the sound of a stone banging against wood.
Ken's eyes widened in shock, staring at the stone-like cookie.
Tetsu leaned forward and whispered to him.
"Never eat the cookies…"
His tone caused Ken to shiver subconsciously, yet he was thankful that he had not tried to bite into the stone disguised as a cookie.
'I could have lost some teeth…' He thought inwardly.
Tetsu looked around cautiously before he grabbed the plate and left the room abruptly. He returned not long later with an empty plate, making a shushing gesture before placing the plate back on the table.
He let out a sigh of relief in the next moment, as if he'd dodged a bullet.
"Ah, what were we talkin' about again?"
Before he could restart the conversation, Ai walked into the room.
She was dressed in a white top and wearing blue denim overalls which showed off her long and flawless jade white legs.
Ken felt his heart stir as he looked at her, taking in the sight of the girl who was turning more and more into a beautiful woman each time he saw her.
There was silence in the room as the two locked gazes, making both the older men feel slightly uncomfortable.
It was only when Tsukasa cleared his throat loudly that the two realized they'd been staring at each other for a while now.
"Ken, did you want to go for a walk?" Ai asked as she fidgeted in place.
"Ah sure." Ken replied, however he was truly thankful for her appearance. He would have done anything to get away from these two right now, especially since Tetsu had been acting weird ever since he'd arrived.
The two then proceeded to exit the room, leaving Tsukasa and Tetsu in the lounge by themselves.
They were silent for a while before Tetsu's face changed.
"Ah! He said he made the National Team!?" He jumped to his feet in excitement and was about to run out the door to congratulate the kid, however he tripped and fell onto the floor exaggeratedly.
Tsukasa moved his foot back that had tripped his friend over nonchalantly before shaking his head.
"Man, it's no wonder Ai has trust issues. You can't even give her some alone time with her boyfriend before she leaves for Tokyo."
Tetsu sat up and massaged his knee which he had fallen on the hard ground, however his face slowly turned into one of recognition.
"I guess you're right." He said solemnly.