"Honey, what's wrong?"
Yuki sat down at the table after Ken had gone to his room for the night and addressed her husband. Ever since he'd returned home from the office today, he'd been a little off.
Chris let out a sigh, feeling a mixture of emotions. He'd done his best to mask his mood, not wanting to drag Ken into the situation since it would only upset him. But now was the time to talk with his wife.
"I got a letter today…"
He began to explain the contents of the letter and who it was from. By the end, Yuki was even more furious than him.
"How can she be so selfish!?" She said in shock and anger.
Chris didn't know what to say. Finally when Daichi was able to really live out his childhood, his mother was trying to grip her claws onto him.
"Why now?"
"I can only assume its because she's seen him succeed in baseball. If he were to go professional, he would be getting a lot of money." Chris stated with a sour expression.
Yuki mulled it over for a while, feeling as if something wasn't adding up.
"Didn't you say that she practically jumped at a chance to get rid of her parental rights?" She asked.
It was then that Chris's face fell.
"That was only after I offered her money…" He admitted.
Yuki almost let out an audible gasp. It was clear that Chris had left out this part when he had explained everything to her on that night.
However, she was not angry. She purposefully stayed ignorant on the matter, allowing her husband to do what he needed to do to get Daichi out of that place.
She was silent a while before speaking up in an almost defeated tone, "So what do we do? If she takes you to court, even if it doesn't hold up, your reputation will be dragged through the mud."
Yuki was right. There wasn't enough evidence to claim that Chris had extorted Diachi's mother, nor could they prove she had been intimidated, particularly since a cash settlement was involved.
But someone in Chris's position could be ruined if such a scandal got out. An organization such as the Yokohama Warriors would rather cut Chris off than be associated with a case like this.
They cared far too much about public image to put up with it.
"I don't know… If she went to the police and said she was extorted by me, I think that even after a preliminary investigation they would be able to see the truth. We also have photo evidence of Daichi's injuries…"
Speaking this aloud seemed to calm Yuki down considerably. While the threat was indeed scary, it seemed that was all it was. Thankfully Chris went through the correct legal channels in order to adopt Daichi.
"I also doubt she will be able to afford the lawyer fees for a civil suit, if it came down to it." He added.
Since she had been so eager to take the 2 million yen back then, Chris doubted she had money for such things.
The only way she could get Daichi back would be through those channels, or if Daichi filed to be emancipated from their family. But there was no way that would happen.
"So you're saying we'll be okay?" Yuki asked, gazing at her husband with some worry.
Chris frowned a little, but his face soon became resolute, "I'll protect us all, no matter what."
Hearing the words of her husband, Yuki let out a small sigh of relief before laying her head on his shoulder.
***
A few weeks later, Ken walked out the door to begin his morning run. He had been pushing his body like crazy lately, trying to increase his fitness and get closer to what he was like with the system.
Yet it almost seemed like he was getting nowhere.
Every time he ran the 10 miles, he would be absolutely spent afterwards. Ken felt he was similar to Hiroki who struggled to get better since his potential was capped.
Ken had thought he might have also regressed to his original potential, but he refused to believe it. If he accepted this as fact, he would have no reason to continue pushing himself, therefore he vehemently opposed it.
'Just a little more…'
He huffed and puffed as he continued to run, pushing his body to the limits. It was as if an invisible barrier preventing him from progressing any further.
Ken grit his teeth, pushing through the pain.
He continued like this for another mile, his lungs on fire and his body about to give up. Just as he was about to finally call it quits and slow down, a scene began to play out in his head.
It was the night he returned from work before his overdose. He could feel the despair and emptiness, almost like he'd been transported back to that moment in time.
'If only I had listened to Dad back then.'
"Haaah… Haaah…"
'Fate is so cruel… Why Daichi and not me?'
"Haaah… No…"
'What's the point in living if I can't play baseball?'
"NO!"
Ken screamed out in the midst of his laboring breaths as he experienced all of his thoughts and despair from that night. They weighed on him like a ton of bricks, holding him back and causing immeasurable pain.
"NOOOO! THAT'S NOT ME ANYMORE!"
He bellowed loudly, rejecting his old self. Though this was a part of his history, he wouldn't let it take hold, not when he'd been given another chance.
"ARGHHHH"
Ken pushed through the pain, forcing it to quieten down.
His body began to heat up, threatening to burst with every step he took forward. The pressure continued to mount, causing his organs to work overtime in order to keep him moving.
Just as Ken felt like he was going to collapse, a cool and soothing sensation spread across his body, bringing him a euphoric feeling.