Ken decided not to pitch that afternoon, mainly because he didn't want to cause anymore tension between Daichi and his teammates. He also had not packed cleats and didn't want to risk injuring himself while pitching.
The training session ended and the two retreated to Daichi's apartment where Ken would be staying the night. It was a rather simple place and the house was pretty empty, a typical bachelor pad.
There were signs that a woman had been present, mainly because of all the hair products in the bathroom, but other than that, it was largely untouched.
The two ordered takeout and sat down in the lounge room, popping the TV on. Like most men who got their own place, there was a large TV, with the sole purpose of watching sports.
Daichi put a game on, the Chiba Cougars against Hiroshima Koi.
"Oh! There's Hiroki!" Ken called out, pointing at first base. The guy looked even bigger than he had the last time Ken saw him, and his tight uniform was practically bursting due to his muscular figure.
"Yeah, he's been playing well this year." Daichi commented his face looking a little pained. "He's one of the hardest batters to strike out in the league. I almost need to let him hit and hope that it goes to one of our fielders." He said wryly.
"Hehehe, yeah that guy was always great at batting." Ken said, his eyes full of reminiscence.
"Hey, so I talked to the arena staff about getting a proposal on the big screen. They said it's about 30,000 yen, and they'll need at least a day's notice for it." Daichi said.
"30,000 yen… That's about $200, not bad." Ken nodded. "What else do they need from me?"
"A personalized message and your seat numbers for the camera crew. I think it will take place at the start of the 7th inning, so you'll just have to live with the anxiety for a while." Daichi said with a grin.
As he mentioned the anxiety, Ken felt his chest tighten. Now that plans were being made, it all suddenly felt very real. Even though he'd asked Tetsu for Ai's hand in marriage, he had yet to pop the question.
While he and Ai had already discussed marriage briefly, and he had gotten confirmation that she would say yes, that didn't make it any easier. The pessimistic side of his brain told him that something might go wrong, like he would lose the ring, or need the toilet as the time window approached.
"Bro, I'm just kidding… Don't get cold feet now." Daichi said, trying to calm him down after seeing the guy pale.
"Y—Yeah no problem…"
"There's a game this Saturday. Book your tickets online and send through the details to this email address." Daichi said, handing Ken a card. "You can use my laptop to do it."
"Alright, I'll do it later."
However, Daichi was having none of it. "Knowing you, you'll forget or might even chicken out. Do it now and get it over with."
So Ken was forced to buy his tickets and send through the information to the email provided, all while Daichi was looking over his shoulder.
Ken purchased 4 tickets for himself, Ai and her parents. He thought that they would appreciate also being present while their daughter was proposed to.
Once it was done, Ken sat back in the chair and let out a nervous breath. He felt a little better now that it was all organized, but there was still some anxiety.
"You should probably call Ai and her parents to make sure they can attend…" Daichi said.
So he did just that.
"Hey, I'm with Daichi. You're on speaker phone." Ken said.
"Hi Daichi~"
"Hello Ai, I hope you're well."
After some pleasantries, Ken brought up the baseball game and said he'd bought tickets for her and her parents to attend.
"Ah, this Saturday? Sorry, I already made plans with Rie to go to a convention. Mom and Dad should be able to go though."
"O—Okay…"
"I've got to go, love you."
BEEP BEEP BEEP
The two were silent, no one knowing what to say in the moment. Daichi realized their mistake in that moment, "You probably should have called to confirm the date first…"
"You don't say?" Ken said glumly.
However, he froze in the next moment, pulling up his contacts.
RING RING
"Who are you calling?" Daichi asked with curiosity.
RING RING
The phone rang for quite a while, until finally a voice answered.
"Ken buddy, I'm a little busy at the moment. Can I call you ba—"
"Hiroki! I need you to get Rie to cancel her plans with Ai this Saturday. I don't care what you say, but I'll owe you one." Ken shouted, his voice desperate.
"A—Alright, I'll get it done."
BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Dude… You called Hiroki in the middle of the game!?" Daichi asked, his shock evident.
"It couldn't wait."
The two turned to the live match and saw the coach saying a few words to Hiroki, looking rather upset. However, Hiroki made his way onto the deck and began his warm up swings.
After the previous batter scored a single, Hiroki stepped up to the plate, his powerful body poised to strike.
The first ball was pitched and like a well oiled machine, Hiroki swung with great might. The crack of the bat hitting the ball reverberated even through the TV speakers, causing the two to open their mouths in shock.
The commentators were practically jumping out of their seats as the ball flew deep into the stands.
"That's gotta be the biggest home run of the season! Easily over 400 feet!"
"Damn… You're right, he has gotten better." Ken said simply.
About 5 minutes after Hiroki returned to the dugout, Ken's phone rang. It was Ai.
"Hey, you didn't cancel my ticket yet did you? Rie just canceled our trip on Saturday so I'm free now."
Ken practically had tears in his eyes, 'You're the best Hiroki!'