The Japanese team celebrated on the field for a while before they were told to retreat to the dugout for now. A bunch of people came out of the tunnels and began to set up some stands and camera's for the Closing Ceremony.
The victory still felt surreal for the players who had been fighting with all of their might only a few minutes ago.
"We really did it huh bro?" Ken said, feeling his face hurt from smiling so much.
However, after not receiving a response from his brother, Ken turned around only to see him locking lips with Miho a few feet away.
"Dude what the hell?"
"KURO! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" Aki squealed, grabbing the guys face and trying to kiss him on the mouth.
"OOOOF"
For the second time in a few minutes, Aki had found himself laid out on the ground, tears flowing from his eyes.
Ken shuddered, feeling the gloomy atmosphere behind him. He decided to grab his phone and head over to the corner of the bench to make a quick phone call.
"Ken? Is that you?" Ai's voice spoke out from the phone a moment later, her tone sounding excited.
"Yeah it's me, did you watch the game?"
After hearing her voice, Ken's face turned up into a smile. Despite it only being a few weeks since their first kiss, he still missed her.
"What game? Did you play today?"
"…"
Ken was speechless for a moment before his ears were blessed with Ai's infectious giggles on the other end of the phone.
"Of course I watched the game silly. You played brilliantly of course. Even that Yu Tanaka had to praise your performance by the end of the game." She said matter-of-factly.
"Huh? Yu Tanaka?"
"Mmm, that Japanese pitcher from the Texas something-or-other team. He was commentating on the live stream we watched."
Ken felt his heart warm up in response. The legendary Yu Tanaka had been praising him, something that he never would have dreamed about in his previous life.
"They said that the Closing Ceremony will start soon. Do you think you'll get any individual awards?" Ai asked curiously.
"Eh, I dunno. I'm happy enough with the Gold Medal if I'm honest." He replied truthfully.
"H-Hey, what are you—"
Ken heard a commotion on the other side of the line before his ears heard another female voice.
"Hi Ken~ this is Rie, Ai's friend. Can you put that player who stands on the first base on the phone for me please~~?"
"Hmm?" Ken was a little perplexed, yet he suddenly figured out who was on the phone.
His face went grave for a moment before going on a quest to find Hiroki.
Eventually he found him relaxing on the bench drinking some water. The moment he saw Ken's face, he instantly had a bad premonition. The air suddenly felt thinner, like he was being suffocated.
"W-What is it?" He asked suspiciously.
Ken held his hand over the receiver and spoke softly.
"Hiroki… I will only say this to you once. If you mess this up, you will regret it for the rest of your life…"
With that, he handed the phone to a freaked out Hiroki who had been heavily spooked by Ken's words. With shaking hands, he held the phone up to his ear and stammered.
"H-Hello?"
Ken then sat back and watched the show, a small smirk reaching the corner of his lips. Eventually Hiroki calmed down enough to hold a decent conversation with the girl who seemed to be rather straightforward.
"D-Double date!?"
Hiroki's words were loud enough that the whole dugout heard his voice. No matter what the players were doing, they turned towards him with their vision turning red.
These were all virgin teens whose raging hormones would cause them to pounce on and destroy anyone who tried to leave their ranks.
"Oh crap, you've said it now…" Ken muttered, snatching the phone from Hiroki's hand.
"Rie you there? He said he'd love to."
"AH-ARGH! Save me!"
While Ken resumed his phone conversation, Hiroki was suddenly attacked by his team from every direction, pouncing on him out of jealousy.
"Okay thank you~ I'll put your girlfriend back on." Rie stated, handing the phone back to Ai.
"Sorry about that. When I told her that you and Hiroki went to the same school, she wouldn't take no for an answer." Ai said, feeling a little guilty.
The two talked for a while longer before Ken said he needed to go. Coach Takashi had already tried to get everyone's attention.
"Let's chat when I get back." Ken said, about to hang up the phone.
But just before he did, he placed it in front of his mouth and said 3 words.
"I miss you."
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Ai's face flushed red as she heard the words, making Rie squeal in delight.
"Alright you lot! Listen up." Chris said, sounding a little drunk for some reason.
Coach Takashi stood in front of his team with his hands behind his back, like he'd done many times before. However this time, a wide smile was painted on his features, causing his face to wrinkle.
He took a deep breath to try and compose himself, yet the smile wouldn't disappear.
"You guys worked as a team and played your heart's out. You've made this old man proud…"
For once the Head Coach was lacking words for his speech, causing some of the players to let out a few chuckles.
"Thank you all for putting your trust in me and allowing us to come out victorious today." He said, bowing his head towards the players.
"Ah! Don't bow Coach."
Masayuki who was at the front rushed over and lifted the man's head, it wasn't just him, everyone felt that it was too much to receive a bow from the world renowned coach.
Seeing the Coach's mood, the fact that they had won the World Cup began to sink in a little further, no longer feeling surreal.