Miho paled at these words, her face showing complete and utter shock written all over it. Ken might have even been offended by her reaction if he wasn't so shocked himself.
"Ah! That's why the Head Coach winked at me earlier…"
"W-What are we going to do." Daichi seemed to be the most affected by the news, his expression looking crushed.
"I… I don't know." Chris replied.
Ken was deep in thought for a while. He could tell that Miho had not wanted to bring up her love affairs to her Grandfather, otherwise she would have already. But perhaps that was because she was thinking about Daichi's situation.
"Miho, why don't you tell Coach that you and Daichi are dating?" He asked simply.
"Eh?"
Both Daichi and Miho looked at him with shock, as if they were too innocent little lambs who had just been told to do something nefarious.
"D-D-Dating?"
Miho's face was now as red as a tomato, lighting up the dark alley more than the streetlights which had yet to turn on.
Even Daichi seemed coy at the mention of those words, leading Chris and Ken to look at him incredulously.
"What? You guys aren't dating?"
They were practically in a relationship already, but it seemed like it hadn't been outwardly said just yet.
'Man… I thought I was bad at these things.' Ken thought inwardly.
No truer statement could have been said in that moment.
Chris cleared his throat, trying to fix the awkward atmosphere. Since he had the most experience out of everyone, he felt that it was time that he put his expertise to use.
"Ahem. Try to reign in your embarrassment for a moment and let's be sincere."
He looked at both Miho and Daichi, his gaze seemingly staring into there souls.
"Daichi, both Ken and I know that you like Miho. She's all you have ever talked about since we returned from the National Team tryouts."
Daichi felt his face heat up, his gaze quickly flickering to Miho only to see her staring back at him with wide eyes. She was shocked after finding out how he felt even from the beginning.
If she was honest, she hadn't taken much notice of him back then, treating Daichi as if he was some regular baseball player. One that ate too many carbohydrates at that.
However, since they began to chat via messages, her opinion had changed rather fast. He was caring and genuinely interested in what she had to say, a far cry from all the other guys she met.
Yet that wasn't saying much since she'd never really had a relationship before.
Before she could think anymore, Chris continued, breaking her train of thought.
"But it doesn't mean anything if we're the only ones who know about it. You need to tell Miho yourself, otherwise she might not think that you're interested." He said with a soft tone.
Listening to his father's words, Daichi felt a pang in his heart. He had never experienced a situation like this before with a girl, so he didn't know how to court a woman, nor progress in their relationship.
It was only after hearing this from Chris that he finally gathered up the courage.
He turned to Miho and boldly grabbed her hands. They were soft and a little cold, but they felt nice.
"M-Miho…"
"Y-Yes." Miho almost jumped in fright, but she managed to settle down. She could tell that the guy in front of her was doing his best, which made it a little easier to keep her emotions in check.
"I… I like you. A lot." He stammered.
Ken's face fell, feeling his entire being cringe. He wanted nothing more than to shove his head under a pillow and suffocate himself in that moment.
Thankfully, Daichi continued his words, avoiding the moment turning even more awkward.
"Like they said, ever since I first met you, I've liked you. Whenever we talk, I get butterflies in my stomach. I might be a little thick headed, but I do know one thing…"
Miho managed to keep her composure on the surface, but inwardly her heart was beating out of her chest. The added embarrassment of being in front of Ken and Chris was also not helping her cause.
But she did her best to focus on the man in front of her.
"I want you to be my girlfriend." He said firmly.
For the first time since the conversation began, Daichi had a serious expression on his face, one filled with passion and drive.
Miho suddenly felt 3 sets of eyes on her, inspecting her intently. Part of her wanted to run and hide away, but when she thought of how Daichi would feel, she thought it would be too cruel.
So instead, she straightened her back and looked directly into Daichi's eyes.
"I w-want to be your girlfriend too."
The moment she said her real feelings, her face heated up once more. Instead of running away, she moved forward and buried her face into Daichi's chest, wrapping him into a hug.
"Eh?"
Daichi was shocked, yet he instinctively reciprocated, closing his arms around her.
He stared forward blankly, only to see the two wild grins on Ken and his father's face. They sent him thumbs up while silently dancing in triumph. It was as if they were mimes, putting on a performance for just him.
After a few long moments, Chris cleared his throat and tried to get everyone's attention.
Miho pulled back instantly, though there was a smile on her face.
"Okay, now that we got that out of the way. We still need to figure out a plan for the Head Coach." Chris said, bringing everyone back on track.
The trio nodded, though only 1 in attendance was truly listening with all of his attention.
Ken briefly looked at the new couple and could see that they were still holding hands. He was happy for his brother, yet part of him wished that he'd had his father's help for his relationship.
'The guy really knows his stuff…'