"Welcome to ESPN2, the home of Division 1 baseball. It's the beginning of June so you know what time it is folks, that's right, it's time for some post season action. We've got two games today, The up and coming Columbia Bobcats vs Wright State Pillagers and later in the day Virginia Tech Pokies against the Gonzaga Bullfrogs."
"We will be beginning shortly with the first game after a word from some of our sponsors."
The hosts voice came out from the TV in a small apartment in Tokyo where two women were sat patiently on the couch.
"Hurry up and find the Japanese broadcast, or at least turn on the subtitles." Rie complained.
"Do you really need to hear the commentating? Can't you just watch the game?" Ai asked. She wanted to listen to it in English since she was still practicing the language.
"But I wanna hear what they're talking about." She pouted, giving her friend a pitiful look. If it were a man instead of Ai she was acting towards, the guy might just do anything she wanted.
Eventually Ai agreed to try and find another broadcast since it was still before the game.
The door opened a few minutes later and a figure wearing a tank top came in, holding a plastic bag filled with goodies. "Has the game started yet?" He asked.
"Not yet. What snacks did you get us?" Rie asked curiously.
Hiroki grinned, "I got us some carrot and celery sticks with hummus dip along with some berries."
"EH!? You didn't buy any junk food?" Rie exclaimed, shooting him a pitiful glance. "Not even potato chips for your girlfwend?"
Hiroki scoffed, "If you want to fit into those outfits Ai made you then you shouldn't be eating junk food."
Both girls gasped dramatically, as if he had said something taboo. Hiroki suddenly felt as if he'd entered a wolf's den as the two glared at him with malice.
"I—I was kidding… Here are your chips." He said, digging into the bag and throwing the packet towards them, as if he were trying to ward off a starving wolf.
Rie harrumphed and turned her attention back to the TV, the sound of munching filling the room shortly after. Hiroki let out a sigh of relief and walked into the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water.
"You know you can't talk about a lady's weight." Ai entered the kitchen and whispered to him. "Plus, it's not her fault that she can't fit into them. Her… bust is getting bigger, not her body."
"Oh… I guess you're right." Hiroki replied, his face reddening, but a dumb smile crept onto his face in the next moment.
"Ugh, men…" Ai mumbled, heading back to the lounge.
Around 10 minutes later, Hiroki took his spot on the couch with his colorful array of healthy food on a plate alongside the hummus dip he referred to earlier.
"You want some?" He offered Rie.
"Hmph." She promptly ignored him, turning towards the TV.
"It's starting!" Ai called out, turning everyone's attention back to the screen. The players in the blue uniforms took the field and the camera panned to Ken standing atop the mound.
"Ken Takagi the captain will be the starting pitcher for the Bobcats. He's pitched brilliantly all season, I'm not surprised that they're letting him start things off. Him and Stephen Adams have been causing havoc for teams of late."
Ai's eyes shined as she looked at Ken's handsome and tall figure on the mound. She hugged a cushion close to her chest and watched on unmoving.
"Damn, he looks even taller on TV." Hiroki commented before crunching down on his celery.
"Shhh, they're praising him." Ai said, her eyes not leaving the screen.
Hiroki rolled his eyes. If this was how the watch party was going to go, he might as well go to bed.
"And here comes the first pitch to kick off the Regionals."
PAH
"100mph, he certainly isn't keeping anything in the gas tank."
"No matter how many times I see his pitches, they never fail to amaze me. I've heard from multiple sources that Ken has been pitching in the hundreds since he was 15 years old, he really is something special."
"Hehehehe." Ai giggled, fidgeting on the couch as she did so. Hearing people praise her fiance was something that she enjoyed the most.
"Let's hope he can keep up his form against the powerful batting line up of Wright State today. He's gotta be careful of Jordan Nunez and Peter Blake especially, the two clean-up hitters are both sitting above 0.320 batting average."
"What does that mean? Is that good?" Rie asked, finally speaking to Hiroki on the couch.
Hiroki nodded, his face serious. "It is good. Batting average is calculated based on your at-bats divided by the amount of hits. This means that almost 1 in every 3 at-bats will result in a hit."
"What's your batting average?" She asked curiously.
"This season? Probably around 0.350 right now. But it usually drops as the season goes on. I do a lot better against left handed pitchers though." He replied after some thought.
"So you're only a little better than those guys." She said, rolling her eyes, "And here I thought you were a professional."
Hiroki's jaw dropped, but he decided not to retaliate. It was clear that the girl was still annoyed at his earlier comments regarding her size.
"There's the first strikeout of the game off a nasty slider. It must be so difficult to predict since it breaks so late." The commenter continued.
"He's got that right…" Hiroki mumbled, watching the slow motion replay.
The trio watched as Ken took down the next 2 batters in a similar fashion. Only the 3rd batter managed to hit a foul ball, the rest were expertly struck out by the battery of Steve and Ken.
Ai watched on with glee as Ken walked off the field wearing a smile. While she couldn't be at the game, at least she could support him from halfway across the world.