Later that night, Ken and Ai returned to their hotel in Osaka. The atmosphere seemed a little awkward, not the romantic scenery Ken had hoped for.
"Are you okay?" Ken asked, placing a hand on Ai's back.
She nodded, but it wasn't too convincing. Making an excuse about wanting to freshen up, Ai retreated into the bathroom, leaving Ken in the room by himself.
Letting out a sigh, he began to get changed, his mind occupied. After the two girls had left, he and Daichi had managed to patch things up rather easily. Since they were brothers, such a thing wouldn't be enough to effect their relationship.
After all, they'd experienced much worse together and still come out on top.
The crux of the issue was, Daichi didn't feel comfortable leaving Japan, or rather Miho. They had been dating since the U18 World Cup almost 2 years ago and had made things work despite being half a country away from each other.
Miho still had at least another 2 years of her studies remaining before she was finished with University, which was why Daichi wanted to stay. But the problem was, if he signed with a Japanese team, he wouldn't be able to leave of his own accord until he'd played here for 9 years.
Unless he was seen by a Major League club and they paid the posting fee and a percentage of his salary towards the Japanese club, there was no way around it.
While Ken believed in his brother's skills, was he good enough for those big time clubs to move Heaven and Earth to acquire him? Ken wasn't sure.
'I think I need to talk to Coach Narukami…' Ken thought.
He didn't want to overstep his brother's boundaries, but the guy wouldn't listen to him. While he was happy that Daichi had found Miho, it really felt like he was sacrificing his potential for her.
Ken grabbed his hair, cursing the stubbornness of his brother. But then he let out a hollow chuckle, 'If I think he's stubborn, then what would people think about me?' he thought with amusement.
"What's wrong?" Ai's gentle voice called out as she emerged from the bathroom.
"Ah, nothing I was just—" Ken's words died in his throat as he turned around, seeing the beautiful figure standing in front of him wearing lacy underwear.
Ai's face was faintly flushed red as she looked at Ken, but she still persisted, allowing his eyes to roam over her body.
Ken felt his blood heat up from the sight, causing him to swallow hard. "Y—You look beautiful." He said.
"Come to bed." Ai replied, beckoning him.
Ken nodded, tossing his shirt to the side.
***
The next morning, Ken finished up with his run and returned to the hotel. He had received many weird looks this morning, more than usual. However, he was far too happy to be bothered by such a thing.
"Why are you grinning like that?" Ai asked, her face flushed upon seeing Ken return. Snippets of last nights activities flashing across her mind.
"Hmm?" Ken placed his fingers up to his face, only now realizing he was smiling. He moved to the mirror only to see a dumb, almost perverted looking smile plastered onto his face.
'Ah… Makes sense why I was getting all those weird looks.' He thought.
"I guess I was just busy remembering last night." He said, sending a wink to Ai. Before she could protest, he leaned in and gave her a long and passionate kiss.
"Mmm! You're sweaty, go shower." She replied with a small chuckle.
"Okay m'lady~"
After getting ready, the two headed out of the hotel and went to get some breakfast at a local cafe. Since they didn't get a chance to do much talking last night, they began to talk about Daichi's situation.
"How was Miho after what happened?" Ken asked, taking a sip of his orange juice. Ever since regressing, he had tried to stay away from coffee since it made him think about smoking.
As both a minor and a potential professional athlete, he couldn't fall back into old habits like drinking and smoking.
"Miho was really apologetic towards me." Ai replied, tapping the table softly. "She said that Daichi didn't mean what he said."
Ken let out a small sigh. While Daichi's words were directed at Ken, there was no doubt in his mind that they would have affected Ai. Part of him was angry, but he couldn't exactly refute them.
Ai was making a big sacrifice for him, something that he was forever grateful for. He wasn't even sure that he could do the same thing if put in her shoes.
"Is it hard?" Ken asked, his voice coming out far softer than he expected.
Ai didn't respond for a while, but she nodded. "I miss you like crazy… But then I remember what you said to me before I left for Tokyo."
Ken raised his eyebrow in question. It had been a long time since that day, but he remembered it quite clearly. After all, it was the day where he finally allowed his true feelings to manifest in front of the girl he loved.
"Let's chase our dreams together. I'll take you wherever I go, as long as you promise that you'll do your best." Ken said softly, his eyes reminiscent.
However he shook his head in the next moment, "But are we even doing that? You're here in Japan while I'm halfway across the world. Are we truly chasing our dreams together?"
Ai's face froze for a moment, but she smiled softly afterwards. "Well it's not the way I would have expected, but I think we are… In our own way."
She moved her hand across the table, placing it on his own. Ken felt bittersweet in that moment, his brother's words ringing in his ears.
Had he truly made the right decision to leave for America? The woman he loved was sitting right across from him, and his High School team were only a few kilometers away.