***
The next day, the Rodgers stadium staff were currently feeling the pinch. People arrived in droves to the stadium in order to watch the two final matches of the U18 World Cup.
First on the schedule was Mexico vs Cuba, who were competing for bronze.
Despite not being the finals match, the crowd still stood at an impressive 20,000 fans, almost a 3rd of the total capacity of the stadium.
The game was a brutal back and forth melee with each team trading runs until the final inning.
As fate would have it, Jorge was up to bat in the bottom of the 9th inning with his team down by a single run. His brother Manuel was sitting on 2nd base after hitting one into the outfield.
With 2 outs on the board and the count at 3-2, Cuba were definitely backed into a corner.
Since the Mexican closer had come up to the mound in the 7th inning, he'd only given up a single hit to Manuel in the previous at-bat.
Even though he was under so much pressure, Jorge gripped his bat tightly and stared calmly at the figure on the mound.
His expression was serious as he tried to faze out the pressure upon his shoulders. A ball would send him to first base, leaving the next batter to clean up his mess.
But this was his job as the clean up batter, to send the runners home, Jorge would never leave this moment to someone else.
Suddenly, the ball was thrown, a slider which crept inside to his left-handed stance. It was a rather tricky angle, but something he'd hit thousands of times.
WHOOOOOSH
DOOOONG
"YEAHHHH!"
The Japanese team alighted from the bus, only to feel the entire arena shake as the 20,000+ fans applauded.
"Holy crap, what's happening in there?" Aki shouted, looking around as if the whole building was about to collapse.
"The game must still be ongoing." Ken replied.
"Does that mean we'll have to wait to use the locker rooms?" Daichi asked, seeming a little annoyed.
"I wonder who won?"
"Let me check." Kuro said, grabbing his smart phone out and searching the web.
Ken's eyes widened, "Is that the J-phone 8?"
"Oh? How did you know?"
How did he know? This was the phone that Ken had been stuck with from his 2nd year of high school. He had it right up until the moment he regressed in his past life.
"Ah, I just remembered seeing an ad for it somewhere." Ken eventually said. It wasn't like he could tell him the real reason.
"Well it only came out a few weeks ago. Let me tell you about all of its functions." Kuro said excitedly. He seemed real happy and wanted to show off his latest model.
"Man, just check the damn website." Riku said with a scowl.
"Er, whoops. One moment." Kuro realized his mistake and continued where he'd left off.
"Holy crap! Jorge hit a walk-off home run?"
"Oi let me see."
Quickly, everyone but Ken crowded the poor teen, almost causing him to drop his new and expensive phone. Thankfully he managed to keep control over it through the chaos.
Ken knew just how fragile the screen was on that phone. Just a sneeze could cause it to crack, forcing the owner to pay a hefty amount for a replacement.
"So Cuba won hey?" Ken muttered, looking towards the direction of the field. He still remembered their first game where he had managed to throw a 102mph fastball.
'Strong competition truly brings out the best in people.' He thought, seeming a little melancholic.
Just as he was reminiscing, another bus pulled up nearby. It was the same charter company as their own, which could only mean one thing.
As the doors opened, a group of teens walked out, led by an imposing figure. Leo Cameron who was in his National Team tracksuit looked like a model as he descended the stairs, his ash blond hair perfectly styled atop his head.
One by one the American players departed the bus, instantly training their gazes upon the Japanese players. The atmosphere was so thick that one could cut through it with a knife.
Yet this seemingly changed when Santiago walked out. He saw Ken and Daichi and his face lit up into a big smile.
"Hey guys!" He said cheerily, waving his hand to and fro.
The tension shattered at once, causing a few of the players to let out muffled giggles.
"He's like a Golden Retriever! Hahaha." Riku yelped, holding his sides.
Ken couldn't help but smile, waving back to the guy. Yet his expression changed after Mark stepped off the bus, or at least someone who was supposed to be Mark.
The man looked to have gone back in time 20 years, showing someone who was not yet 50 years of age. He wore a glowing smile and his eyes seemed even sharper than before.
Daichi's jaw dropped, not believing his eyes.
"Is that… Grandpa?"
Ken felt elated seeing his Grandfather in such a state.
'Does this mean the Recovery Elixir worked?' He thought, praying inwardly.
'Mika, please use Identify on Grandpa.'
[Understood.]
NAME: Mark Williams
AGE: 65
TALENT ASSESSMENT: N/A
POTENTIAL: N/A
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: B-
>Pitching: F
>Fielding: F
>Game Intelligence: ??
>Mental: ??
Additional Information: With the use of the Recovery Elixir, all traces of his cancer are now gone. The arthritis he was suffering from has also been cured, returning him to top physical condition.
Ken breathed out a sigh of relief. Now that he had confirmed his Grandpa was cured, he wouldn't have to worry about him in the future. Not only that, Santiago wouldn't be without a father in 6 months time.
A moment later, Mark turned his head and locked gazes with Ken. It was only for a fraction of a second, but Mark felt that Ken's expression was one of relief, as if he was expecting to see him like this.
'It couldn't be… right?'