Everybody said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Mark and Santiago also had a flight to catch back to their home state of North Carolina which was leaving that afternoon.
Upon returning to the lobby, everyone was asked to pack their bags and bring them down to the lobby. Only after everyone had gathered did everything feel real.
Ken struggled to fit his new trophy's in with all of his other luggage without breaking them, which was better than the alternative of having none.
The team then went to the airport and waited, not boarding their flight until 2 hours later.
***
After a grueling trip, the Japanese team arrived back in Japan at around 6pm. The worst part was that everyone still had to travel back home from the airport after their 11 hour flight.
Thankfully for those who lived in Tokyo, they were just a few train stops away from their destination.
However, no one seemed to want to leave just yet, as if there were some words they wanted to say to each other.
"Hey, why don't we all exchange contact details?" Aki asked, breaking the silence between the players.
For once, everyone seemed to agree with the guy.
Players like Riku and Masayuki would not be eligible for the U18 team next year, which meant they would likely not see everyone again unless they made it to the men's team.
After everyone exchanged their details, Masayuki walked forward into the center and placed his hand out.
"Oho, the Captain is feeling motivated~" Riku said with a grin, promptly placing his hand on top of the guy's.
Ken let out a chuckle. While it seemed a little weird to do such a thing in the middle of the airport, he didn't care. The bond that he'd created with his fellow countrymen was something that he would cherish for life.
One after another, everyone put their hands in the pile with Daichi joining in last.
Just as Masayuki was about to say something, 3 more sets of hands piled on top.
Miho, Chris and the Head Coach placed their hands on top without a word, yet no one complained. They were all part of the team also.
"Victory on 3!"
1
2
3
"VICTORY!"
The words echoed through the airport, causing lots of eyes to fall upon them. However, no one was embarrassed.
"Well we're off. Don't be strangers!" Kuro and Aki walked off first, waving to everyone on their way out of the building.
"Keep an eye on the draft next year for us." Riku said, sending a wink to Ken and Daichi.
One by one the other players left, giving their parting words.
The blond delinquent Kei walked up to Ken and held out his hand, a serious expression on his face.
"We'll be coming for you in the next Koshien." He said.
"Heh, bring it on." Ken replied with a grin, taking the offered hand.
Soon enough it was only Ken, Daichi, Hiroki, Miho and the two coach's remaining.
Coach Takashi had already said his goodbyes and was about to call Miho to leave, however upon seeing that her and Daichi were having a moment, he quickly cleared his throat and looked the other way.
Chris also felt awkward since it was his own son.
"We'll make it work okay?" Daichi whispered, kissing Miho's forehead tenderly.
"Mmm."
The two tried to separate but were having a hard time doing so.
"Ahem…"
Finally, Coach Takashi managed to get Miho's attention in order to leave. Daichi looked sad as he watched her retreating figure, yet his determination grew.
'I'll become a pro… No matter what.' He said in his heart.
The two had vowed to become professionals in their own fields, all so they could be together when they grew up.
"Well… Your mother won't be here until tomorrow, so we should all go and get some sleep." Chris said, talking to his two boys. It was only then that he realized Hiroki was still with them.
"Ah, are you catching the train too?" He asked.
"Y-Yeah, I'm the stop after yours." Hiroki said, nodding. He felt a little awkward since he was the only non-family member in this instance.
"Alright, let's go then."
They made their way to the train station and hopped on. After flying for 11 hours, the over 1 hour train ride felt a little brutal. Especially since the train was rather packed.
After arriving home, the house seemed a little dusty, but everything was still in working order. They each took turns showering before heading to bed without many words exchanged between the three.
Ken finally got into bed a let out a big sigh of contentment. He had never liked the act of traveling, at least when it came to flying and the like.
Unfortunately for him, pursuing a baseball career would require plenty of it.
Now that he was free, Ken brought up the system window and began to eye his Elixirs. This was the perfect moment to take one of them, he just didn't know which one to use first.
He had a little bit of a headache, so he quickly ruled out the Mental Elixir since it would not do him any favors at that point.
'So it's the Physicality Elixir first then…' He said inwardly, letting out a sigh in preparation for the pain.
[Warning: User will not receive full benefits upon using SSS-Grade Physicality Elixir]
"Huh?"
Ken heard Mika's voice enter his mind and was instantly confused.
'What do you mean by that Mika? Is it because my body is fatigued?'
[Negative. User must level up the system to advance to ?? Grade]
'Oh… I guess that sounds reasonable?' Ken thought.
He quickly navigated to the upgrade menu and smiled. Thanks to the World Cup mission rewards, he had plenty of Major Points to upgrade.
#SYSTEM ALERT
>The user has chosen to upgrade the system.
>100,000 Major points will be deducted to upgrade the system.
>System will shut down for 13,000 hours in which all functions will be unavailable until the upgrade has been completed.
[Would you like to commence the upgrade now?]
[YES/NO]
'EH!? 13,000 hours? Isn't that like… 18 months?'