"Wow, this place is so fancy…" Ai stated, her eyes lighting up as they walked into the hotel. It was modern, yet also classy, something that was different for a traditional town like Osaka.
"Mmm, it's a little further away from the stadium, but I wanted us to stay at a nice place." Ken said, wrapping his arm around her.
"How did you afford this?"
Ai was a little suspicious, but there was also some concern in her expression. She didn't want Ken to be wasting all of his money, especially since he'd already spent big to fly to Japan.
"Heh, I've got some money don't worry." He replied. While he could be considered a miser with most things, Ken was willing to splash out for those close to him. What guy didn't want to treat their girlfriend if they could?
Ai still seemed a little tentative, but she accepted his words. "We should probably check in and head to the stadium soon. When is Daichi playing?"
"I think he's playing at around 3pm. But we need to stop by somewhere on the way first." Ken's face turned up into a wicked grin.
"Err, okay."
With that, the two checked in and placed their bags up in the room. The room was rather spacious with a small lounge room, a kitchenette and queen size bed that looked quite comfortable.
They didn't stay for long since Ken seemed almost giddy to leave for their next destination. As they got onto the street, they walked casually for a few blocks before coming to a printing shop.
"Eh? Is this where you wanted to stop?" Ai asked curiously.
"Mmm. You'll see."
Ken walked in wearing a grin and addressed the lady at the counter. "Excuse me, I'm here to pick up my order."
"Name please?"
"Takagi."
The woman's smiling face faltered for a moment before looking Ken up and down as if something was wrong with him. Ai caught this, her curiosity growing even further.
'Just what has he ordered?'
The lady quickly left the counter and returned a few moments later holding a large item in her hands. It was wrapped in some white material, but Ai could see some color beneath it.
"Here you go… Thanks for your business."
Ken gleefully grabbed the large item and left the store with Ai in tow. They only got a few steps out before Ai couldn't hold her tongue anymore.
"Just what is that thing?"
"Hehehe." Ken chuckled darkly before removing the material covering the item.
Ai's eyes widened in shock, before her hand shot up to her mouth. "PFFT"
"Hahahahaha"
Soon, uncontrollable giggles came out of her mouth as she stared at what Ken had just shown her. At no point did she imagine that he would purchase such a thing, but that's what made it even funnier.
It took quite a while for Ai to recover enough so she could walk properly. "Does Daichi know about this?" She asked in amusement.
Ken shook his head, "He doesn't even know I'm in Japan."
"Oh my goodness… You really are devious."
Ken shrugged, "I try my best."
With that, the two called a taxi and decided to head to the stadium. Ken struggled a little getting the large item into the car, but eventually he made it work.
It was surprisingly easy to get the sign into the stadium and Ken paid extra to be sitting on the first base side. He was hoping that he would be in view of Daichi when the guy finally took the field.
Since it was around 12pm, the second game of the day was just beginning. Surprisingly, it was his old team Yokohama vs Kanto Daiichi for the first round.
"Oh crap, I didn't even know Yokohama made it to Koshien this year." Ken mumbled after seeing some familiar faces walk onto the field.
He had been so focused on seeing Ai and Daichi that he hadn't even talked to his old school friends, or even Coach Hanada. A wave of guilt washed over him as he remembered the disappointed expression on his teammates faces when he announced he'd be moving to America.
'I should probably try and catch up with them while I'm in Osaka as well.' Ken thought.
"Ah, there's Shiro and Yusuke." Ai said, pointing to the field.
"OI SHIRO! YUSUKE!" Ken called out at the top of his lungs, causing the people around him to flinch in shock. They sent him weird and annoyed looks, but he didn't care.
After hearing his name, Shiro looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. Eventually he saw a long pair of arms waving in the crowd near first base.
"Is that one of my fans?" He muttered, his face lighting up.
Without seeing who it was, Shiro waved back enthusiastically, "I love you too~" he yelled, blowing kisses towards the direction of the person.
Ken instantly felt annoyed, wanting nothing more than to jump the barricades and go deal out some physical punishment.
"Is that Ken and Ai?" Yusuke said in shock, narrowing his eyes as he looked towards the crowd.
At the mention of Ken, Shiro flinched. His face darkened as he remembered blowing kisses towards the guy and could already imagine the punishment he would receive as a result.
"It is! What's he doing back in Japan?" Yusuke said waving back with excitement.
"The game is about to start, don't lose focus." Shiro said, clearing his throat. He quickly turned and walked back to home plate, trying to forget that he ever did something so embarrassing.
'I need to avoid him after the game…' Shiro thought, feeling a cold sweat on his back.
Back in the crowd, Ken smiled. He hadn't expected to see his old friends playing at Koshien this year, not that he didn't think they were good enough.
With his Training Demon skill and Coach Hanada's training regimen, he wasn't surprised that the team would qualify for Koshien. Especially with their new pitcher.
Ken looked down as a figure made his way to the mound.