Ken did as he was told, closing the door and moving towards the seat opposite the coach's desk. The chair was rather comfortable, or at least would have been if it weren't for the current circumstances.
He could feel the hawk-like gaze of Coach Brown, assessing him, giving him even more anxiety. But when Ken thought about what he'd done, none of this situation made any sense.
Even in Japan where respect was paramount, he felt that his actions wouldn't have been met with punishment. In fact, Coach Hanada would often join in on his antics; such was the rapport that the two shared.
"Ken. Are you dissatisfied with today's game?" Coach Brown asked, his expression unreadable.
'What kind of question is that?' Ken thought, his eyes narrowing. He wasn't sure if this was some ploy to get him into trouble, or of he was sincerely asking.
"Which part are you referring to?" He probed, not comfortable answering such a broad question.
A small smile pulled at the corner of Coach Brown's lips, yet his gaze never left Ken's.
"Me taking Zachary off the field, calling you out in the dugout and limiting your playing time." He said matter-of-factly, promptly listing out the 3 things that Ken had issues with.
Ken's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, not expecting this. His mind whirred, trying to understand what the coach was doing.
'Is he messing with me? Or is he just that perceptive…?'
The fact that he could already pinpoint Ken's issues with him, whilst also coaching a full game either meant he was watching Ken closely, or he was very perceptive.
It wasn't clear at this point, but Ken decided to be upfront and honest. The last thing that he wanted was to have to walk on eggshells for the full 3+ years he would be spending at Columbia.
"I'd say dissatisfied would be a rather strong description, but I'm willing to be enlightened coach." Ken said carefully, not wanting to start any drama.
Coach Brown's smile grew even wider, as if he was amused by the response. He nodded, sitting back in his chair and taking a more relaxed position.
"Good, I don't like being lied to." He said plainly, "I also hate inflexible players who can't see the bigger picture."
'Eh?' Ken's mind blanked as he blinked a few times in confusion.
The coach continued, "Ken, you strike me as a smart person. Of course I know your academics, but that's not the kind of smart's I'm referring to."
He tapped the desk a few times, letting the silence drag out a little.
"So why did you come to Columbia?"
"…"
Ken was suddenly speechless at the question that came out of nowhere. What was he supposed to say?
Seeing that Ken wasn't responding, the coach decided to elaborate on his question.
"The number 1 High School recruit in the country committing to Columbia, a team that's not even in the top 25 national rankings for baseball. It doesn't make sense."
"And don't tell me that its because you want an Ivy league education. You and I both know that you'll be entering the draft in 3 years." Coach Brown stated.
Ken listened to the coach's words, but he didn't really like the tone. As far as his reasonings for coming to Columbia, was that really the concern of the coach? Or anyone for that matter?
But in order to keep the peace, Ken decided to humor him, at least for now.
"My girlfriend attends FIT in New York City. I wanted to be close by so I could see her." He responded simply, though his expression was rather stiff.
Coach brown let out a laugh, almost as if he found the reasoning absurd. "To think we would be able to secure the number 1 High School recruit for such a reason."
"Is that funny to you?" Ken asked, his tone rather cold.
This time, the coach raised his hands in front of him, looking a little panicked. "No no, sorry I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I'm just saying, of all the reasons I expected, this wasn't one of them."
Ken nodded, but he was still on guard.
This time, the coach let out a sigh, realizing that he might have messed up.
"Look Ken, the reason I brought you in here was to chat about the future of this program. Since this is my first year as Head Coach, there's a lot of pressure on my shoulders to bring the club into prosperity. Even more so now that you've joined the team."
He continued, "This means that I not only need to establish myself in the minds of the players, but I also need leaders who can implement a culture that will serve as the bedrock of the team."
"You have a certain magnetism about you. It's as if just a few words from you are enough to boost the morale of everyone on the team."
Ken's eyes flickered with shock. It seemed that Coach Brown's perception was indeed amazing, pinpointing both his Charismatic Air and Dauntless trait abilities from only a few interactions.
"So I guess what I'm saying is, I want you to become one of the pillars of the team." Coach Brown stated, his expression serious.
"Pillar? What do you mean exactly?" Ken asked in confusion.
"I mean, I want you to lead by example. You don't have to change your workout routines or anything, maybe just make sure that you're doing it in the open. As long as the players see this, it will push them to work harder."
Ken thought for a few moments, considering the words carefully. It didn't sound like there was any issues with the request, especially since he had the Training Demon skill. As long as they trained together, the players would receive a boost.
But he was still confused. How did they go from talking about Ken's dissatisfaction, to this?
"I don't see why not." Ken stated, "But this is not the kind of conversation I was expecting." He admitted.