"Ah, thank you coach. It's been a pleasure working with you."
"Nonsense… And enough of this Coach business, call me Hajime."
"Y-Yes Hajime… Sir."
***
The next morning, no one showed their face before 9am, showing just how tired they were from the past 2 weeks of daily games. Of course there were a couple of outliers.
As Ken walked into the gym for his morning run, he saw that someone was already there working up a sweat.
"Morning Hiroki, I should have expected you'd be here."
Upon hearing Ken's voice, Hiroki turned his head causing Ken to take a few steps back in shock. The guy had dark bags under his eyes and looked like he'd been crying.
"Dude what's wrong with you!?"
"You locked me out…" He said, fresh tears running down his face.
"Ah…" Ken had forgotten to think of Hiroki before using Mika's sleep protocol. Even if Hiroki had been banging on the door he probably wouldn't have woken up.
"Sorry man, I must have been dead to the world." He said, slowly taking up the furthest treadmill away from the scary looking guy.
For the next 30 minutes, Hiroki complained about his roommate Aki who had kept him up most of the night with his sleep talking. But that wasn't all he was stressed about since he'd been roped into a double date.
"I don't even know what she looks like…"
"Didn't I show you the picture the other day?" Ken replied.
However Hiroki shook his head. While he wouldn't admit it, he was too busy with his one-sided rivalry against Leo to pay attention to Ken's phone at that time.
Ken shook his head and got his phone out, passing it to Hiroki.
GULP~
"Ahem…"
Hiroki passed the phone back to Ken and didn't say another word for a while, upping his speed on the treadmill. It wasn't until Ken queried him after the workout that he finally officially agreed.
"Well I mean it would be rude to refuse now after I already agreed…" He said, trying to act cool. Though it was clear his mood had improved after checking out Rie in the photo.
Ken couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's reaction, he didn't know Hiroki's taste in women, but no man could turn down a woman with such assets.
"A few of us are going sight seeing today with some of the staff, are you coming?" Hiroki asked while toweling himself down.
Ken shook his head, "I've got plans to see my Grandpa since we won't see each other for a while again."
Speaking of, he needed to go wake up his brother otherwise they might be late.
"Ah the US Head Coach… Well have fun, I'm gonna go shower and get ready."
With that, the two separated and Ken went back to his room to do the same. When he arrived, Daichi was still sprawled out on the bed fast asleep.
"I wonder what time he got home last night?" Ken murmured with a grin before hitting the showers.
Around 40 minutes later, Daichi and Ken met up with their mother and father in the lobby.
Chris looked like he'd been hit by a bus, while Yuki was as fresh as a daisy. She playfully teased her husband who had clearly been drinking well into the morning with the Head Coach.
"Man I'm starving. Are we going back to that same restaurant again?" Ken asked with some enthusiasm.
At the mention of food, Chris's face turned green and he almost vomited on the spot.
"Hehe~ we're headed to a cafe this time. I think your father could use a coffee." Yuki stated, hugging onto Chris's arm.
"Alright let's go."
"Hold on, Miho isn't here yet." Yuki said, prompting a questioning look from both Daichi and Ken.
"Miho is coming!?" Daichi looked excited.
"Mmm, I invited her last night at Korean BBQ." Yuki replied with a grin.
Ken narrowed his eyes suspiciously. While his mother's smile might look innocent, it was clear that she had her own machinations for setting up this situation.
Yet Daichi was too blissfully ignorant to notice anything amiss. To him, it just meant that he would be able to spend more time with her before they left for Japan.
"Sorry for keeping you all waiting."
Miho arrived in the lobby wearing a flowing sun dress and wide brimmed hat, causing Daichi's jaw to drop.
"So cute…"
Even Ken felt his face redden in shock. While he was not attracted to Miho the same way his brother was, seeing her in such an outfit showed just how cute she was.
Seeing Daichi's reaction, Miho smiled warmly before approaching him and holding onto his arm, much like Yuki was doing to Chris.
Only now did Ken notice that he was the only one going solo.
"Haaaaahhh, looks like I'm the 5th wheel…" He muttered feeling a little sad. It sucked that Ai wasn't here right now.
Soon enough, the 5 arrived at the cafe only to see Santiago and Mark waiting for them already.
Mark grinned and quickly went to give everyone a hug. He stopped at Daichi and saw the cute girl next to him and introduced himself.
Surprisingly, Mark had rudimentary knowledge of Japanese, surprising both Daichi and Miho.
Daichi suddenly felt a lot closer to his new Grandfather because of this, though he still wished to learn English to completely bridge the gap.
Ken held his hand out to Santiago, hoping that things would not be awkward between them due to the final match, however it seemed he'd been overthinking things.
Santiago completely ignored the offered hand and went in for a hug, a beaming smile on his face.
"Congratulations on winning last night, it was a very fun game."
Ken's eyes widened, but he still hugged back. Thankfully the guy didn't seem affected by the result.
Daichi and Miho both received a hug from the guy before everyone sat down at the table.
"Before we order anything, I have some news…" Mark said with a grin.
Ken stiffened, straining his ears. This would be the moment where he'd find out if the Recovery Elixir had worked or not.
"I am now cancer free." He said, causing both Chris and Yuki's face to morph into one of shock.