Coach Wyatt patiently explained the scenario to the slack-jawed Tex. In truth, he was doubting his initial assumption that the man before him was a scout, especially since he seemed to know next to nothing about Ken.
'Did he even watch him play?' He thought, raising an eyebrow.
Tex didn't reply for the longest time, letting an awkward silence flow between them.
"Well, I better get going." Coach Wyatt said, breaking the silence.
"W—Wait, what time do you guys play tomorrow?" Tex asked, his facial expression seeming a little desperate.
"8am tomorrow morning." He replied, not waiting for a response. Coach Wyatt quickly jogged away, his mustache bouncing with every step.
Watching his retreating figure, Tex stood in place, his mind working. Originally he had planned to check out the local bars tonight, but he now thought differently.
BA-BUMP
His hand moved up to his heart, feeling it almost beat out of his chest. Tex couldn't help but replay the scene of that home run in his head over and over. He hadn't felt this kind of way for such a long time.
Without another word, he walked back to his truck, his mind still preoccupied. In a daze, Tex didn't even notice the parking ticket slipped under his windshield wipers. As he hit the road, it flew off, never to be found again.
Soon after, he checked into a motel close by and got his laptop out, placing it onto the desk. There was only one thing on his mind right now, finding out who Ken Takagi was.
After hearing the situation from the Gladiators coach, he knew that there was no way Ken was an unknown player. But the question was, what was he doing here?
He opened up a search engine and typed in the name. The first thing that came up was t an Anime character, causing him to frown in response.
Since he wasn't great with computers, Tex fiddled around for a while before narrowing down the search.
"Ken Takagi baseball high school… That should do." He muttered, typing slowly with two fingers.
Finally, he discovered what he had been looking for.
"Genius 15 year old pitcher throws 100mph and a perfect game at prestigious Summer Koshien…" Tex's eyes widened as he read the headline of the article. His eyes scanned the text, excitement building with every passing moment.
He continued on, seeing the related articles.
"U18 World Cup MVP overcomes the US in enemy territory…"
Tex was amazed. Just what kind of player had he stumbled across?
However, his face turned up in question at the next article he encountered which seemed to be a hit piece on Ken.
"Overrated prodigy exposed, the downfall of Ken Takagi."
This time there was a video attached. Tex spent the next 15 minutes going through the footage, only for his brow to furrow. From what he could see, his pitching was rather flat and predictable, despite the decent speed.
"Is this why he's not a prospect? Too inconsistent?" He mumbled, deep in thought.
By the end of the video, Tex felt his enthusiasm wane slightly. But then he remembered that he was initially drawn to Ken's batting ability, causing his features to soften.
"We'll see what happens tomorrow." Tex lifted his arms, stretching slowly.
***
Ken stared at the huge plate that was plopped in front of him with wide eyes. There was 4 different kinds of meats that he couldn't identify alongside mac and cheese and some greens.
As someone from Japan, every dish he ate growing up was accompanied by rice. Seeing such a spread was both intriguing and at the same time confusing.
"What, you've never had Texas Barbecue before?" Steve asked, his mouth already full of food.
Ken watched on as juices from the meat began to run down his chin, yet the guy stared at him unabashedly, as if the scene was normal. After a moment, Ken shook his head, feeling out of his depths.
'I just want rice…' He thought.
"That's ribs, brisket, sausage, and turkey. The turkey can be a little dry sometimes but it makes up for it with flavor. Go on, try it." Steve said between mouthfuls, wielding his greasy fingers and pointing to the food on his plate.
If he was honest, Steve's wet lips and terrible table manners had affected his appetite a little, but he didn't want to appear rude. Gulping slightly, Ken picked up one of the slices of turkey and took a bite.
He chewed a few times, only for his face to light up in surprise. There was a smoky and rich flavor that assaulted his taste buds, making them sing out in praise.
Steve grinned, nodding his head slowly. "You're in Texas now bud, ya better eat like a Texan."
Ken disregarded his friends words, his appetite once again roaring to life. He grabbed a knife and fork and dug in, going to flavor town with every single bite he took.
"Oi, whose usin' cutlery at a Barbecue joint?" Nico Daniels the shortstop called out, resulting in the whole table turning to look at Ken.
"Hahaha look at Ken, you'd think he hadn't eaten in days." Max called out, eliciting a few rounds of laughter.
Ken sent the people a brief look before turning his attention back to the delicious food in front of him. The smoky flavors were far too addictive for him to ignore right now.
Having now been in the Gladiators for a week, Ken had been a little skeptical of his teammates. At some points it felt like they were ostracizing him, or at least wary of his presence.
In fact, it wasn't until after the first game today that he felt like they were warming up to him.
Max was the first to clear the air, having become a lot more chummy towards him earlier today. Inwardly, Ken knew that it likely had to do with his performance on the field.
Once they saw he was not arrogant and could actually play, it was as if they had lowered their guards.