A few days later, two girls were sitting in a cosy apartment with a sewing machine and bits of fabric all over the place. One might think that it looked like a textile shop more than a place to live.
"Thanks for helping me with my costume, you're so good at this." Rie said, pulling Ai into a hug.
"It's no problem, I love designing things like this." Ai said with a smile.
The two had been at it since early in the morning, custom designing pieces for Rie's next comiket function that she'd be attending. Ai wasn't familiar with the character, but she had plenty of references to use.
"Ah, where's my phone?" Ai asked, as if suddenly remembering something.
"Umm, I don't know?"
The two frantically looked through the apartment, only to find it a few minutes later under a bunch of fabric.
The first thing Ai saw were a few messages, causing her face to light up.
"We finished top of the Super Round just above the US. The final will be held tomorrow!"
"Yes!"
Ai jumped up and down, her face filled with excitement. She hadn't had a chance to watch their game against Canada this morning since she'd stayed over at Rie's house for the night.
"Hmm? What's got you so excited?" Rie asked with interest.
"Japan made it to the U18 World Cup finals!" She said, throwing up the victory sign.
Whatever second hand excitement Rie was feeling suddenly went down the drain as she lost interest.
"Eh? I didn't know you liked baseball." She said, a little disappointedly.
"Well I used to be the manager of my last school's baseball club." She replied, fidgeting a little.
Rie let out a sigh, "Here I thought you got a text from Katsuya or something."
After she said these words, she almost swooned, "He's so handsome."
Ai's face turned up in disgust almost immediately, "No way, he gives me the creeps."
"Huh!? I could have sworn you two were dating or something, since I always see you guys talking." Rie was shocked.
"Dating? Hell no… Plus, I already have a boyfriend." Ai said, puffing out her chest.
"What? Don't tell me it's someone at our school?" Rie looked like she'd just uncovered the mother lode of gossip, her face turning into one of deep interest.
Ai shook her head. She'd only been attending Joshibi High for a couple of weeks, when would she have found the time to get into a relationship there.
"He's from my old High School in Yokohama." She explained.
Rie's features lit up, "Well? Show me a photo!"
Her enthusiasm was a little odd, but Ai still did as she said. She went through her phone quickly and pulled up a selfie of them together.
Rie snatched the phone out of her hands and looked closely. At first she was a little disappointed since she'd expected someone even better looking than Katsuya, yet as she took the liberty of scrolling to the next photo her expression changed.
In front of her was the picture Daichi had taken of Ken in his new National Team jersey. It was clear by the photo how awkward the guy looked, causing her to let out muffled laughter.
"H-Hey, give that back." Ai's face reddened in embarrassment, feeling as if she was being teased.
Rie didn't resist, handing the phone back to her friend. She saw the puffed cheeks and sulky look on Ai's face and felt a little bad.
"Sorry sorry! I just thought he looked so awkward in the photo." She said with another peel of laughter.
"Yeah, he is kind of awkward sometimes. But he is a real inspiration to everyone around him. I wouldn't be here chasing my dreams if it wasn't for Ken." Ai's expression turned a little serious as she said this.
"Oh?" Rie felt like she might have hit a sore point and decided to tone it down a little.
"What makes you say that?" She was curious after all, since Ai was so good with helping her design and fit her costumes.
"Well…" Ai fidgeted a little before deciding to tell her friend about everything.
She told her about applying for both Yokohama and Joshibi, eventually being too afraid to accept enrollment to the art and design school. How she followed Ken into the baseball club since she had a crush on him in middle school.
Then there was the drama with her stalker and situation with her parents.
Yet when she talked about Ken and all the hard work he'd put in, all the way up to winning Koshien, Ai wore a beautiful smile. It was clear to Rie that she indeed liked this guy.
"So now he's over in America, pursuing his dreams." She said.
"Hmm, I see… Wait what!? He's in America?"
Rie's jaw dropped. What kind of long distance relationship was this girl into.
"Yeah, he's playing in the U18 Baseball World Cup for Japan. Didn't I mention that?" Ai replied, tilting her head in confusion.
"Um, no…"
At first, Rie thought Ken might have been one of those guys who had a lofty goal of going professional but never stood a chance. Yet the fact he was representing Japan, as a freshman…
Even she knew that it was impressive, despite not knowing anything about baseball.
"Wow, no wonder you don't like Katsuya." She replied in understanding.
Ai blushed a little, but her face changed a little afterwards, "There's something about that guy that gives me the creeps. Sure he's attractive, but it feels as if he's trying too hard to be charming, almost like he's wearing a mask."
"A mask?" Rie pondered for a moment.
"That would explain why he's so handsome…" She said seriously.
…
"Pfft…"
"Hahahaha!"
Ai saw the serious expression on Rie's face and couldn't help but burst out into giggles. This was the airhead side of her friend that came out sometimes, usually when she didn't fully understand something.
Hearing Ai's giggles, Rie couldn't help but laugh in response, though she didn't fully understand what they were laughing about.