Ken ignored the hasty movements behind him and took a seat next to his brother and Miho on the bench. The effects of Limit Break wore off in that moment, filling him with a feeling of weakness that spread through his body.
"Man, I can't believe those guys threw a Beanball at you."
Daichi was the first to speak, his tone showing his disapproval.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, it really pissed me off." Ken admitted, staring at the palm of his hand.
"Hey, at least you have good reflexes though." Said Miho from the other side of Daichi.
Before Ken could respond, he saw Miho's eyes flash briefly before she got up from the bench.
"Ken you look so pale, what happened? Are you injured?" Her intelligent green eyes stared at him with concern.
At the word injury, Daichi's ears perked up as he turned to his brother with a hint of anxiety. Like a mother, he quickly inspected Ken's body, going so far as to lift his arms and poke him everywhere.
"S-Stop it!" Ken said, sending a pinch to his brothers love handles.
"I'm fine I'm fine." He muttered.
'It's probably the side effect of Limit Break that made me look pale.' Ken thought.
He was quite surprised that Miho was able to tell at a glance that something was wrong with him, despite only interacting with her for a few days. The only problem was, would she go and tell her Grandfather that something was wrong with him.
'Damn it, I need to tell a convincing lie otherwise I might get taken out of the game for something so trivial.'
The side effect would only last for a maximum 5 minutes, so there was no need to worry there.
Miho looked unconvinced, turning her gaze to Daichi as if to confirm something. Of course Daichi was even more worried than her. Together they looked at him with anxious eyes.
"Tsk, I'm okay. Facing that pitch brought back some memories that I'd rather forget." He spoke the first thing that came into his mind.
While this was in fact true, it wasn't the reason why he looked so pale right now. But hopefully this was enough of a tale that the other two would run with it.
Miho tilted her head in question before a look of understanding appeared on her face. She had been watching Koshien closely and knew exactly what had happened in the semi-final of that match.
"Ah! You were the catcher for Osaka!" Miho said in surprise, pointing at Daichi.
"Eh!?" This time it was Ken's turn to be surprised. How had these two been chatting so much yet this point was left out.
"Yes?" Daichi was flabbergasted.
"Wait, what do you guys even talk about?" Ken asked, a mystified expression on his face.
Ever since they arrived at Tokyo University for training, the two had been messaging each other every night. If he compared it to himself and Ai, there was quite a difference between them.
Both Daichi and Miho blushed slightly at his question, causing his expression to morph once more.
"W-We just talk about stuff, ya know." Daichi said evasively.
"Yeah, just stuff…" Miho added.
"Like when you'll get married and how many kids you want right?"
"Eh?"
If their faces weren't red before, they certainly were now. Steam could practically be seen coming off of Miho's cheeks as she stammered, trying to eek out a response.
"K-Kids… Marriage… Kids… Marriage."
Daichi brain seemed to have overloaded from Ken's words, to the point where he was stuck in a loop. It didn't look like he was going to break out of it on his own either.
"W-W-What are you saying? Ha haha ha. We haven't talked about that kinda s-stuff."
Ken smiled widely as he saw the display.
'Ah, diversion successful.' He thought inwardly with glee.
"Strikeout!"
The sound of the umpire yelling from the field brought him back to reality. He saw Aki walk back into the dugout with a flustered expression on his face.
"Ah, the hero returns from another successful adventure." Riku proclaimed, resulting in a few chuckles from the players.
"Damn it. Looks like they were so worried about me that they brought out the secret weapon." Aki complained before setting down his helmet.
"If you're talking about the slider, that's the pitch I sent into the stands."
Hiroki was brutal as he broke down Aki's attempt at saving face. It was clear that the guy was not going to hold back when it came down to such things.
"Hahaha!"
Riku felt his sides hurt from laughing so much, forcing him to almost fall onto the ground in pain.
Aki let out a grunt of disapproval as he ran his hand through his shaved hair.
"I see how it is…"
"I'll be watching you buddy." He stated, using his two fingers to point to his eyes before pointing at Hiroki.
These words caused Hiroki to pale significantly as if he'd seen a ghost. Hearing this reminded him that Aki slept with his eyes open, even talking in his sleep.
He looked around in panic, finally seeing his lifeline sitting on the bench with a grin on his face.
"B-Big bro!"
Ken's face turned into one of disgust after seeing the groveling face of Hiroki coming towards him.
"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!"
"Thank goodness…" Ken said, quickly standing up from his seat.
Unfortunately the side effects of his Limit Break skill had not yet worn off. But if he had a choice between dealing with the emotional Hiroki and the muscle fatigue, he would choose the latter every time.
With deft movements, he sidestepped his friend and headed towards the stairs and onto the field. Not looking back, he jogged out into the outfield, feeling his sluggish muscles protest in response.
'2 minutes… I just need to survive another 2 minutes.'
By the time he arrived in position, that number had already dropped.
It was the start of 2nd inning finally with Japan in the lead 5-2