"Oh sweet!"
The two eagerly put their jacket's on, posing in front of the mirror excitedly. Ken felt his heartbeat race as he looked at himself in the colors of his Nation, feeling a sense of pride swell from within.
This was the kind of thing that he'd dream about while staring at spreadsheets in his cramped office before regressing. Yet now that it had come true, he didn't know how to react.
Thankfully, Daichi seemed oblivious to his melancholy. He reacted like a true teenager would in such a circumstance.
"Quick let's take a selfie!"
He grabbed out his phone and stood in front of the mirror, beckoning Ken to come into frame.
Thanks to his enthusiasm, Ken quickly felt his mood change for the better.
After taking a few photo's he turned to his brother and grinned.
"Pass me your phone, I'll take a photo of you so you can send it to Ai."
At the mention of Ai, Ken's face reddened a little, but he still quickly passed his phone to his brother.
Daichi got into position and almost laughed out loud at Ken's pose. The guy looked as if he had a stick up his bum with his hands placed flat by his side.
"Dude, try to look natural." He said with a hollow chuckle.
"I-I'm trying…" Ken replied, doing his best to loosen up. Yet that only served to elicit a peel of laughter from Daichi's mouth.
Seeing that he was being made fun of, Ken frowned.
"I don't know what to do with my hands…"
Ken was not good with photos. If one were to look through his family album, they would see the same dull expression on his face from the age of 5 upwards.
Daichi held back his laughter while trying to keep the phone steady.
"Just throw up the peace sign and try smiling." He directed.
After around 5 minutes, Daichi finally gave up. He looked at the results and found maybe 1 photo that was passable enough to show to others.
'Maybe I'll try getting a photo when he's not looking.' He thought, giving the phone back to Ken.
"Oh yeah, what did your coach say when you told him you made the National Team?" Daichi asked, changing the subject.
"Ah…"
Ken's face froze as he put his phone back in his pocket.
"You didn't tell him!?"
"Dad told the school I'll be away for the first couple of weeks of the semester, so I'm sure he'll find out eventually…" Ken said, as if trying reassure himself.
Yet after a few moments he quickly got out his phone and furiously typed a message.
He truly was terrible when it came to notifying people about things. Even in his previous life he rarely replied to messages, but this time around he didn't have any excuses.
Ken decided to send Ai a message while he was at it, otherwise he was sure that he'd forget to do so once training began. He was going to attach one of the photo's that Daichi took earlier, but they all looked terrible.
Letting out a sigh, he chose the best one and hit send.
"Alright, did you get a chance to make up my training plan last night?" Daichi asked, unable to hide his eagerness.
"Ahem, sure. Find me a pen and paper." Ken cleared his throat, not wanting to tell his brother that he'd forgotten to do so last night.
While Daichi was scrounging through his bag, he quickly used the Identify function on him.
NAME: Daichi Takagi
AGE: 16
TALENT ASSESSMENT: SS
POTENTIAL: ??
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: SS+
>Pitching: C
>Fielding: SS-
>Game Intelligence: S+
>Mental: S+
Ken's eyes almost bulged out of his head in the next moment, seeing just how much his brother had improved in a single year.
His potential had already surpassed SSS+ and jumped into the next realm. Not to mention his game intelligence, fielding and physical fitness had increased by leaps and bounds.
'If this was only after a year of proper training, just what kind of talent does this guy possess…'
Ken quickly shook his head, he needed to use his Training Plan function while his brother was distracted.
PLEASE SELECT A TRAINING PLAN FOR TARGET:
>Pitching Regime: Useful for increasing pitching speed and consistency. Will increase from 2-3 grades. [500 Major points] (not recommended)
>Catching Regime: Increase ball coordination and core strength. Will increase fielding from 1-2 grades. [5000 Major points] (recommended)
>Strength & Conditioning: Improve strength and stamina. Will increase from 1-3 grades. [5000 Major points] (recommended)
As the text appeared in front of him, Ken noticed that the cost had increased significantly from when he'd used it on Shiro.
'Maybe the cost has gone up because Daichi's skills are much higher?' Ken thought, running his eyes over the options.
While the Pitching Regime was cheap, it was entirely useless for Daichi. Therefore he had a choice between the catching and strength & conditioning options.
Without hesitation, Ken selected the latter before a new window popped up in front of him.
"Here it is." Daichi exclaimed, fishing out a pen and notepad from his bag and handing it to Ken.
Ken nodded and sat down at the study desk in front of him, copying down the training plan that was contained in the system window.
Yet as he was writing, his face started to pale. It wasn't just him either, Daichi was peaking over his shoulder as he continued to copy the words down.
By the time he'd finished, Ken already felt exhausted.
"W-What the hell is this training plan? Are you trying to kill me?"
His brother had almost fainted, not believing his eyes.
A grim expression appeared on Ken's face in the next moment. If this training plan was anything like the others, the first week would be the easiest.
Thanks to the advanced system, it accounted for progressive overloading, not allowing the muscles to get used to a training for long.
"D-Don't worry bro… I'm sure Hiroki will do the training plan with you too." Ken stated, feeling his body seize a little.
In the next moment a heavy hand landed on his left shoulder, causing him to flinch.
"Don't think you're getting out of this that easy. We'll be doing this together." Daichi replied, his tone grave.