Once Chris had accepted the compromise, the mood turned harmonious once more.
The conversation turned back to the Asian Championships where Daichi talked about their win. He even went and retrieved his trophies showing off his individual accolades and the gold medal.
Ken was happy for everyone, though he inwardly vowed to make it for the next World Cup with the U18 National Team.
"When are you heading back?" Ken asked his brother who was now digging into his food.
"Mmph To—morrow" He said between chews.
"Don't talk while you're chewing Daichi dear, you'll choke." Yuki said, fussing a little.
Gulp~
"Yes mom…"
"Let's go for a run in the morning before you leave then." Ken stated, helping himself to more food.
"Mmm."
After dinner, both Chris and Daichi entered a food coma. Thankfully this time they were in Korea which meant they didn't have to put up with burgers for 2 weeks, yet nothing beat a home cooked meal from Yuki.
They soon retreated to bed, leaving Ken and Yuki to clean up the aftermath.
Once he'd cleaned up, Ken had a shower and went to bed straight away.
The next morning, the two boys went for a run, working up a sweat as the sun rose over the horizon. It was just like old times as the two competed against each other.
Yet Ken quickly found out the difference between the two.
"Haah, what's wrong bro?" Daichi asked, looking back from pole position in front of him.
Ken grit his teeth and tried to increase his speed, only to receive a laugh in response from his brother. The gap he'd closed quickly grew wider as Daichi put on the afterburners, leaving him in the dust.
Daichi kept his lead throughout the entire run before they arrived at the park where they always cooled down from their run.
The two slowed down and began to catch their breath, feeling the morning breeze brush up against their sweaty bodies.
As Ken was fighting for his life, Daichi walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, wearing a concerned expression.
"What's happening with you man? Are you overworked or something?" He asked.
Ken shook his head, trying to get his breathing under control. If he tried to talk right now, he felt that his chest might explode.
He couldn't explain to his brother that his fitness had dropped thanks to the system being offline. In fact, he didn't really have a reasonable excuse for his lack of fitness that Daichi would believe.
"Don't worry, I'll get back to peak form soon enough." Ken said, shrugging off the hand on his shoulder.
"Let's cool down." He said, walking over to one of the benches.
Daichi frowned a little, but he quickly shrugged it off. There were times when he felt his brother was hiding things from him, but he knew that Ken had his own reasons.
Just because they were brothers, it didn't mean that he had to tell him everything.
'As long as I'm there to support him, he'll open up eventually.' Daichi thought, making his way to the bench alongside Ken.
The two cooled down and returned home for some breakfast.
Chris had to leave right after and check in at the Yokohama Warriors facility for team training.
A few hours later Daichi had to leave for Osaka once more since there was school tomorrow. The two brothers bid their farewell after Ken walked him to the train station.
"I guess we'll see each other in the spring right?" Ken said with a grin.
Daichi flashed him a smile, "Only if you make it."
"Psh."
"Hahaha."
The two laughed before saying goodbye. The Fall tournament was starting shortly which would determine which 10 teams made it into the Jingu tournament. While not as prestigious as Koshien, many teams still entered.
Generally those 10 teams who made it into the Jingu tournament were granted spots in the Spring Koshien, or Senbatsu as it was called.
As long as they both played well, Yokohama could face Osaka Toin in the Spring.
The only problem was, Ken wasn't allowed to pitch for over a month which meant the pressure would be on Akira once more.
However, Ken chose not to think about it right now. His goal right now was to improve since he knew stepping onto the mound at this moment wouldn't do him or his team any favors.
***
"Congrats on the Asian Championship win coach!"
Chris was greeted by the staff as he walked into the Yokohama Warriors facilities. Everyone was super excited by the success of the U18 National team, particularly because it housed the next generation of Japanese professionals.
"Hey, when are you drafting that son of yours into the team?"
"Ha ha, it's a little early for that don't you think?" Chris replied with a chuckle as he made his way through the office.
Finally he arrived at his desk that he'd left for the past 3 weeks. It was much larger than he was used to as a scout for so many years.
Even after 12 months, it still felt a little foreign to him.
Chris let out a grunt as he sat down on his ergonomic chair and placed his suitcase onto the table. Just as he was about to open it, he saw an envelope on the table, addressed to him.
"Hmm? What's this?" He muttered.
Usually his mail was kept in a pigeon hole and would be delivered to him throughout the day, yet this one was sitting on his desk.
Chris grabbed the envelope and carefully opened it, retrieving the letter from inside. As his eyes moved over the words, his face began to pale.
After a couple of minutes, he slumped back in his chair, his face full of disbelief.
"Extortion and Intimidation huh?" He mumbled.
Chris grit his teeth and scrunched up the letter in his hand in anger, almost throwing it across the room.
"So now that Daichi is showing some success, you want him back?"
Chris's expression darkened.
"Over. My. Dead. Body." He spat through his teeth.