A week passed by like a flash and the start date for Spring Koshien approached. During this time, Chris and Yuki were busy packing their things, making their house look a little disorganized.
Seeing the packed bags and belongings, Ken finally felt that everything was real. It was one thing discussing the move, but another matter entirely seeing it in person.
Despite the deadline being so close, Ken had not yet made up his mind unlike his brother. It seemed like the decision for him was much easier, since he already had his own lodging in the Osaka Toin dorms.
"Morning Kenny." Yuki said from the kitchen, her mood still bubbly.
"Morning." Ken mumbled, his thoughts still in disarray. He headed towards the door, dressed in his school uniform.
"Oh, isn't it graduation today for the 3rd years?"
Ken's eyes lit up, he had forgotten all about it. His thoughts moved to Hiroki whom he hadn't seen for a while since both of them were rather busy and he didn't attend club practice anymore.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Make sure you send your Senpai's off properly." Yuki stated, sending him a smile.
Ken nodded before moving towards the door.
"You're not going to have breakfast?"
"Nah, I'm not really feeling hungry. I'm gonna head to school a bit earlier today." Ken replied, waving.
"Oh… Okay, take care then."
Yuki watched with concern as Ken left the house, her eyes filled with worry.
A few moments later, Chris walked into the dining room carrying a box in his hands.
"The shipping container comes tomorrow, have you packed everything you need?"
However, his words apparently fell on deaf ears as Yuki blankly stared towards the front door, looking worried.
"Honey?"
"Hmm? What's up?" She replied distractedly.
Instead of repeating his words, Chris cautiously placed the box down and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her figure.
"A penny for your thoughts?" He asked with a small grin.
Feeling his arms around her, Yuki subconsciously relaxed, hugging him back. She let out a sigh, one filled with emotion.
"Are we doing the right thing?"
Chris was a little shocked, but he quickly hid it. "Are you worried about the boys?" He asked, his voice filled with understanding.
"Mmm. Kenny didn't even have breakfast this morning, he must be so stressed." She said, her motherly instincts kicking in.
At first Chris was shocked, he'd never seen his son skip breakfast, especially since he started taking training seriously. However, it wouldn't be good to react, otherwise he might feed into his wife's worry.
"Honey, Kenny is 18 now. Although he can't drink yet, he's still an adult." Chris stated, trying to make her feel better.
"But he's still our baby…"
"I know. But sometimes we need to make decisions like this for our family." He replied, rubbing her back gently.
Yuki frowned, still not fully convinced.
Chris let out a sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fully convince his wife.
"Did I tell you what my starting salary is?"
Yuki raised her head, sending him a stern glance. "You think that will change my mind? I never cared about money." She stated.
"It's around 900k." He said softly.
"900 thousand yen? A month?" Yuki seemed a little confused. Her husband was on much more money than that when he was working as a scout for the Yokohama Warriors.
Chris chuckled, shaking his head slowly.
"900 thousand US dollars a year."
Yuki frowned, her mind trying to calculate the monetary amount in Japanese Yen.
"That's 130 million yen a year…" She said, her eyes almost doubling in size.
"Mmm, almost 10 times the amount I was on for the Warriors. We should be able to live a comfortable life in Texas and even support the boys in Japan with ease."
Yuki was silent for a while, but a smile formed on her face shortly after.
"I want to replace the kitchen in the new house." She said, her tone not allowing any rebuttal.
"Hehe, as you wish."
***
Ken attended school and took part in the graduation ceremony for the 3rd years. All of the classes in the school were lined up in the auditorium as the students were given their documentation.
He was standing next to Shiro who seemed to be in a somber mood. Now that he thought about it, Kaori was graduating today and would be leaving to go to University in a few short weeks.
"Cheer up man." Ken said, nudging the short guy beside him.
Shiro turned to him slowly, revealing his ugly crying face.
"I—I'm gonna miss her…" He said, sniveling like a child.
Ken couldn't help but take a step back, bumping into one of his classmates by accident.
He then spent the rest of the ceremony trying to comfort his friend, patting him on the shoulder.
Once the ceremony was over, everybody left the auditorium and began to chat amongst each other. This was usually the part where the 3rd years all took photos with their friends and parents.
As soon as they made their way out, Shiro ran to Kaori. Thankfully he was no longer crying, at least regaining some of his dignity.
Ken looked around for a little bit and saw the Aoyama twins surrounded by girls. Though they were identical, he could easily pick out Jun since he was the only one who seemed to be uncomfortable in the situation.
"Hahaha! Don't worry ladies, you can all have my number." Tatsuya said, his voice loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.
Ken shook his head, finding it rather amusing. But then his face turned solemn, as if remembering something.
If he decided to go to America, he wouldn't be able to graduate like this.
"Why the long face?" A voice called out from behind him.
Ken turned around, only to see Hiroki smiling at him.
"Congratulations man." Ken said, holding out his hand.
Hiroki shook his hand firmly, his face filled with a few unspoken emotions.