Ken returned to the table a little while later, carrying the two drinks. Doing his best to remain nonchalant, he placed the drink in front of his Grandfather and walked back over to his chair.
Mark was animatedly talking with Chris about the state of baseball in the country, something that he was obviously passionate about.
Yet because he was talking so much, he began to have a coughing fit once more. The painful expression on his face was almost too much to bear for Chris who stood up in concern.
However, Mark quickly waved him off.
"Dad, have a drink." Santiago said, grabbing the glass of soda and presenting it to him.
Ken was on the edge of his seat in that moment, waiting for his Grandfather to drink his diet coke.
Mark did as he was told, taking up the offered beverage and quickly downing the whole thing. Only after a few moments did he sit back and let out a small sigh.
Meanwhile, Ken breathed out a sigh of relief. It didn't look suspicious at all since everyone else had the same expression on their face.
"Sorry, I must have got too worked up." Mark said with a grin.
Once again he grabbed another napkin and wiped the blood from his hand and mouth.
"Ah, I'm starting to feel a little light headed." He admitted, "Perhaps we should call it a night."
He flashed an apologetic glance to Ken and the others. It was clear that he wanted to continue catching up, but it would have to wait.
"It's okay Dad, let's catch up again after the World Cup finishes." Chris said, getting to his feet. It hurt seeing his father like this, but there was nothing he could do in such a situation.
Santiago helped the older man to his feet and turned to his newfound family.
"It was good to meet with you all, I look forward to catching up again soon." He said, bowing slightly.
The group walked out of the restaurant together, seeing Mark and Santiago into a taxi.
'I hope it works…' Ken said inwardly, watching as the cab drove off.
Yuki could sense her husbands mood and quickly wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm okay." He uttered, a small smile forming on his face as he hugged her back.
***
"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Coach Takashi asked after sitting down. His expression was bright, unlike how he was in front of the Japanese team.
Miho sat on the chair in front of him nervously, fidgeting with her fingers. Her anxiety was genuine, though probably not for the same reasons her Grandfather thought.
"I-I know that you're busy with the team and everything… But I wanted your advice." She said, doing her best not to squirm under his discerning eye.
"Hmm? Sure, you know you can always ask me anything."
Miho raised her head and looked at the man she respected with all of her heart. Though his misunderstanding might have caused some grief for her, she could tell that it had come from a good place.
She felt a little guilty for what she was about to do, but it was not only her livelihood at stake here.
"I have a crush on one of the players." She replied, her face instantly turning a deep shade of red. It took all of her willpower not to move her gaze from her Grandfather's.
"Oho?" Coach Takashi grinned widely, inwardly praising his intuition.
'Never underestimate my matchmaking skills.' He proclaimed in his heart.
Seeing the self-satisfied expression on his face, Miho did her best not to scold him.
'Damn old man, you were trying to set me up with the wrong person!' She shouted inwardly.
"Ahem. So what kind of advice do you need my beautiful Granddaughter? Any one of those ratbags would be lucky to have you." He replied with a wink.
"Well… I first wanted to ask your opinion on the matter since you are the Head Coach of the National Team. I wouldn't want to cause any dilemmas within the team."
Coach Takashi wore a thoughtful expression, his hand subconsciously moving up to his goatee as he began to run his hand through it.
"Mmm, that's very thoughtful of you. But I'm sure Ken is mature enough to not let it affect his performance on the field, nor come between his teammates." He replied.
He locked gazes with Miho, his lips turning up into a grin.
'The look on her face is going to be priceless…' He thought.
His mind seemed to runaway with the scenario of Miho getting embarrassed and asking how he could possibly know she had a crush on Ken. Yet to someone as intuitive and clever as himself, it was plain as day.
"Huh Ken? No way." Miho responded flatly, her face even turning up with slight disgust.
If Ken were here to experience the conversation, he might even be a little offended at the way she said those words.
"Eh?"
Coach Takashi blinked a few times, feeling a wave of confusion. All of the smugness that he'd been feeling earlier quickly disappeared.
He would have thought that Miho was lying out of embarrassment, however the look on her face was enough evidence to the contrary. He thought back to the few times he'd seen her with Ken and tried to corroborate his evidence.
Both Daichi and Hiroki were always with Ken, which meant it had to be one of those two.
'YAY DAICHI!'
A sudden memory of their game against Cuba played out in his mind. After Daichi had plowed through the catcher to get to home plate, he remembered Miho jumping up and down, cheering like a schoolgirl.
It was beside the point that she was in fact a schoolgirl, especially since Miho was much more mature than others her age.
"Daichi?" He uttered.
Miho's eyes widened in surprise, giving him all the evidence he needed.
Though he was a little surprised, he wasn't against it. Just as he was about to give his blessing, he froze.
"AH!"