Time flew by for the two best friends who made the most of their shared interest in baseball to help each other improve. Ken had been putting his new Fine Motor Skills ability to good use, trying everything with his off-hand.
While it was difficult at first, he finally managed to find some success with pitching. The skill paired with his S grade balance and coordination allowed him to do the previously unthinkable.
He was originally worried that pitching with his left arm would cause him to fail his shoulder recovery mission, however he was pleased to find out that this was not the case.
However, despite training for the better part of 6 months, he felt as if something was missing. Ken could feel that it lacked the speed and liveliness of his old pitching even though he was going through the same actions.
This had been a source of concern for Ken, but he could only accept the situation. He decided to look on the bright side, at least he could now throw a decent ball instead of lofting it into the air.
It was currently February which meant it was time to take entrance exams for high schools. In his previous life he had gone to Yokohama High School which was local, but this year he had other plans.
Since he and Daichi had yet to receive any scouting offers, they had made plans to travel to Osaka and attend the open tryouts for Toin.
Ken and Daichi returned home after another successful afternoon at baseball practice. Since they were in the last year of middle school and needed to focus on entrance exams, today was their last one with Seiko middle.
The two had thanked Coach Yoshida for his tutelage and Ken could swear that he saw a tear forming at the corner of the middle-aged man's eye. As if sensing that he was going to be emotional in front of the players, he quickly shooed them away.
The moment Ken stepped through the threshold, he let out a sigh of relief. Since it was the middle of winter, the air was far too cold outside.
Ken did not like winter, at least in his previous life. Every time it was cold he would feel a bone-deep throbbing in his shoulder, making his brain associate winter with misery and suffering.
Of course this was no longer the case now, but for some reason Ken still held the sentiment.
"We're home." Ken said aloud, taking off his shoes.
"Welcome home you two. Come to the dining room, we need to talk." Chris's voice rang out. Though he tried not to sound serious, Ken and Daichi both looked at each other with trepidation in their eyes.
"What did you do this time?" Daichi murmured, wondering why he was getting dragged into this.
"What do you mean!? I should be asking you."
"You're always the troublemaker…"
"Ah." Ken couldn't really retort because Daichi was always so well behaved whereas he was a little more liberal.
"None of you are in trouble." Yuki said, peeking from behind the wall.
Ken felt a little more at ease, at least until he saw the serious look on his fathers face. He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Take a seat."
The two did as they were told and sat down. Daichi was fidgeting, feeling a little uncomfortable with the situation. While Yuki and Chris had treated him very well, perhaps he still had some unseen trauma from his previous living arrangements.
"I'll cut to the chase." Chris said, producing an envelope and handing it to Daichi.
Before the two could hazard a guess at what the contents were, Chris spoke up.
"This is a letter from Osaka Toin, offering Daichi a full scholarship to attend their baseball program in High School."
Ken felt his heart shoot up to his throat at these words. His initial reaction was one of confusion, quickly followed by despair and anguish. However, he quickly managed to reign in his wild emotions before anyone could see them on his face.
Or at least he thought so. Yuki who was in the kitchen saw the hurt flash through his features before they were hidden, causing her heart to ache. She couldn't stand to watch her son in pain so she turned around and continued with making dinner, leaving the task to her husband
"Wow! That's awesome Daichi. Congratulations." Ken pushed down his disappointment and wrapped his arm around his brothers shoulders which seemed to have grown even wider.
Daichi didn't react initially, merely staring at the letter in front of him. This was the first time that he had been recognized for his abilities, filling him with some strong emotions that he didn't know existed.
However, seeing Ken so excited for him filled Daichi with guilt. This was his brother who had quite literally saved him from the depths of despair. Thinking about everything that Ken had done for him, even introducing him to baseball, his face turned resolute.
"I won't accept." He said, pushing the envelope away, not even bothering to open it.
"What!?" Ken cried out in surprise, looking at Daichi as if there was something wrong with his head.
"I said I won't do it."
Ken felt a burning frustration from deep within, mixing with the pain and disappointment of being overlooked. The feelings twisted and churned until he couldn't help but raise his voice.
"Don't be so selfish! This is what we wanted. If you attend Toin then you'll have a straight pathway into nationals and eventually the pro's."
Yuki spun around hearing her son raise his voice, however Chris gestured for her to keep quiet. Although they were the adults in the room, they needed to let the two boys discuss their future.
Daichi turned to Ken and frowned, "I won't go unless you're going too. Dad can speak to them and let them know my conditions."
Ken let out a laugh, however there was no humor in it. "Now you're just being childish. Do you think that they will listen to you? Why would you throw away such an opportunity for such a crappy reason?"
Ken was too emotional to sugarcoat his words, so he didn't realize how harsh they sounded. Daichi who had never gotten into a fight with Ken suddenly began to get angry.
He was doing this so Ken would also have the opportunity to attend Toin, so why was he being yelled at. Just as he was about to retort, Chris spoke up to ease the tension.
"Daichi, I think what Ken is trying to say is that this is an amazing opportunity for you and he doesn't want you to throw it away because of him."
His words were soothing, removing the taut emotions that were driving the argument earlier. Ken sent his father a look of appreciation, his interference had allowed him to regain his composure.
"Yeah, and who said I won't be able to get into Toin? There's still the open tryouts next week remember?" Ken smiled, placing his hand on Daichi's shoulder.
"Y-Yeah…" Daichi still felt a lingering feeling of guilt, however after looking at both his father and big bro, he felt that he didn't have much of a choice.
Of course he was thrilled at being invited to join Osaka Toin and if Ken made it into the team it would be even better. Slowly his face began to morph into a smile and he slapped Ken on the back, causing him to let out a yelp of surprise.
"It's a promise. Let's both win at nationals with Toin." He said, holding out his fist.
"You bet!" Ken exclaimed, bumping fists with Daichi.
After dinner, Ken headed up into his room and laid down on his bed. Even though everything had been resolved, he still felt some lingering emotions from the whole ordeal.
He would be lying if he said that he wasn't somewhat jealous of Daichi receiving a full scholarship to Toin, one of the best High School baseball teams in the country.
Hearing Daichi wanting to decline the opportunity had made him lash out in anger, saying some things that he regretted. However, now that he was by himself he felt warm on the inside knowing that Daichi valued him so much that he would decline a full scholarship unless they could play together.
Of course Toin was not such a place that would bend to Daichi's will. Yet the sentiment was enough for him to know that he was a true friend, his little brother.
Ken couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. Out of habit, he brought up his system window and looked at his stats.
MAJOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 3 (2730/10000 Major points to level up)
NAME: Ken Takagi
AGE: 16
TALENT ASSESSMENT: A-
POTENTIAL: C- (S+)
MAJOR POINTS: 2730
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: A
>Pitching: C+ (B)
>Fielding: B-
>Game Intelligence: B-
>Mental: A+
>Skills: 11
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. A)
Balance and Coordination: S
Agility: A-
Strength: A-
Stamina: A-
After over 6 months of training, Ken's stats had hit a plateau. Since he hadn't been playing any organized baseball, there had been no new missions which meant that he had not acquired any additional Elixirs.
Ken had managed to complete all of the Amateur batting missions in the image training apart from the home run goal. Despite having an S grade in Balance and Coordination, it was difficult to hit a home run against such intense pitching.
He was also disappointed upon seeing that the pitching function within the image training was still locked, even though he could now pitch with his left arm.
Looking at the status in front of him, Ken began to regain his confidence. He was sure that he could pass the trials for Toin and join his brother, even if he didn't get into the starting lineup right away.
With these thoughts in his mind, Ken turned over and went to sleep, dreaming of making his Koshien debut.
***
The following week, Ken took the bullet train from Yokohama to Osaka to participate in the open tryouts. The trip took just over 2 hours, yet it felt a lot shorter. He was riding by himself considering Daichi had no need to join the tryouts as he already had an offer.
Since the school was quite a way from the station, Ken had to catch another train before walking another 20 minutes. By the time he arrived, he could already see around 30 teenagers on the field going through various drills.
He looked at the time and breathed out a sigh of relief after confirming he was still 30 minutes early. Thankfully he had arrived on time despite the long trip.
Ken stood in place for a little while, staring at Toin sign with a sense of determination.
"I can do this." He murmured, clenching his fist.
Whatever happened here had the potential to shape his entire future.