DOOOONG
"Yatsuo smacks the ball with force! It's going, going, gone!"
"Shinjuku have now increased their lead to 10 runs at the bottom of the 5th inning. It looks like the umpire has decided to call the game via the mercy rule."
"Yokohama have been eliminated in the quarter finals of this year's Koshien on the back of a disappointing performance from their Ace Ken Takagi. Ever since returning from the U18 World Cup he seems to have entered a slump."
Ken sat back on his chair and turned the TV off, gripping the remote in his hand tightly.
He resisted the urge to throw the thing in his hand across the room and tried to calm himself down. There was no point in getting angry since it had already passed.
'This sucks…' Ken thought, slumping back in his chair.
Ever since choosing to upgrade the system, everything seemed to be going wrong.
He could no longer pitch above 90mph, nor was he as proficient in batting. It was like all the skills he'd learned had disappeared overnight, leading to his mediocre play.
It wasn't like throwing 90mph was bad, in fact it was still very fast for his age. The only problem was, people were comparing him to what he used to be with the system.
Ken grabbed his hair in frustration as he stared at the ceiling. He knew it would be tough without the system, but he had underestimated just how hard.
Knock Knock
"Kenny, are you awake?"
The sound of his mothers voice called out from the other side of his bedroom door, sounding concerned.
"Come in." He stated simply.
She opened the door and saw her son despondent and slumped on the couch. Her first instinct was to go over and give him a hug, however she stopped herself.
Without a word, she walked into his room and sat on the edge of his bed, her gaze trained on him.
"Hmm?"
Seeing that she hadn't said anything, Ken lazily opened his eyes and looked at her. She was dressed in her cooking apron with her hair tied up in a practical bun, the smell of garlic and onion emanating from her.
"What's wrong Honey? You haven't been yourself for a while now…" She said with concern.
Hearing his mother worried about him, Ken instantly felt apologetic. He'd been trying to deal with everything on his own over the past year almost, yet it had become too much.
Every critic seemed to come out of the woodwork, bashing his performances of late. They called his Koshien and U18 World Cup victory's a fluke, discrediting everything that he'd worked hard for.
He heard it almost every day, so much so that he started to believe these things himself.
'It was the system that won you those accolades.'
'You could never achieve such things on your own merit.'
The voices of self doubt which he'd tried hard to drown out had returned with a vengeance. His performances without the system only served to add fuel to their words.
"I guess I'm just not feeling myself…" Ken replied to his mother after a while.
Yuki's heart ached as she heard her son's words. His body language looked like someone who had been beaten down and lacked the confidence to stand back up on his own.
"Oh honey… It'll be okay, you're just going through a lot at the moment." Yuki said, hopping off the bed and placing her hand atop his head.
"Your father will be home in a few minutes, maybe you'll feel better after some food."
Ken nodded, sending his mother a small smile, yet it didn't reach his eyes. He watched her walk out of the room and let out a sigh.
"I don't want to see Dad right now…" He muttered.
His father had already mentioned that he would be the Assistant coach again for the U18 team this year. Since the World Cup was last year, it was time for the Asian Championships this year.
With the way Ken had been playing, he didn't believe he deserved a spot in the tryouts. But there was a big part of him that wanted to go and perform on that stage again.
What if he tried out and didn't make the team? Wouldn't that just prove to the world that his first year was a fluke? It would give the media even more fuel to use against him and drag his name through the mud.
In reality, these weren't things that a teenager should have to deal with. However, Ken's rise to stardom had been so meteoric that he'd garnered attention from not only Japan, but the world.
As he stewed in his thoughts for a few minutes, he heard his father arrive downstairs. For a few moments he went through an internal struggle whether or not to go greet him, that was until he heard another voice.
"Where's Ken?"
"Daichi?" Ken sprung to his feet in surprise.
He moved to his door and peaked his head out, only to see his little brother ascending the stairs to his room.
"What are you doing hiding up there?" Daichi said with a grin.
Ken opened the door and walked out to give his friend a hug.
"I should be asking you the same question Mr. Koshien winner." Ken replied with a little sass.
"Ha hahaha." Daichi didn't mind the teasing, hugging his brother back.
"It's just a shame we didn't get to face each other this time."
"Mmm… So really, what are you doing here?" Ken asked, holding his brother at arms length.
"I'm not sure, Dad told me to come home."
Ken's eyes flashed with realization, his heart skipping a beat.
'Did Daichi get asked to tryout for the U18 team again?' Ken thought.
"Hurry up you two, dinner is ready." Yuki called out from the kitchen.
"Coming."
The two descended the stairs and Ken saw his father already sitting down at the table with the newspaper opened in front of him.