"EHHHHHH!?"
Ken suddenly felt his legs buckle in shock, almost causing him to trip and fall onto the ground below him. Thankfully he managed to slow down and stop himself from doing something so embarrassing.
But that didn't do anything to disguise the shock that he felt in that moment.
The figure slowed down his run until he came to a stop, slowly turning around and revealing the face Ken would recognize anywhere.
"Yo Ken, long time no see."
Ken blinked a few times, his mind turning blank. Without a word, he moved forward and embraced his brother, still in shock.
"What are you doing here man? Why didn't you call?" Ken asked. He had so many questions, but it didn't seem appropriate to pepper him with all of them at once.
Either way, he was happy to see his brother after so long.
Daichi stood back after the hug and smiled. For a moment, Ken thought he looked like the same 14 year old kid that he had met back in middle school, but it was fleeting.
His brother looked more mature and he had finally grown into his wide shoulders. In fact, he looked like the Daichi from his past life, but there was a huge difference. His smile was genuine, lacking the emptiness beneath his eyes from that other Daichi.
At this moment, Ken felt an indescribable happiness. He wasn't sure if it was just because he missed his brother, or if it was deeper.
Just the fact that he was in front of him, smiling in such a way was a miracle in itself. In this life, he had not used Daichi, or kept him at arms length. The man was his dear brother, someone who he now shared a family with.
'I have not let you down in this life brother…' Ken thought.
"How about we finish our run first, then we can have a chat." Daichi said with a grin.
"Sounds good to me." Ken said eventually. It was clear that his brother was enjoying keeping his secret, so he would play along for now.
However, as they began their run, Ken's mind apparently decided to start working again.
"EHHHHH!? Wait! You're our new catcher!?"
For the second time in only a few minutes, Ken screamed out in shock.
Daichi laughed in good humor. "Hurry up, my heart rate is dropping." He replied before increasing the pace.
Around 30 minutes later, the two began their stretches in the nearby park. It was just like old times when they were both at Seiko Middle School.
"Alright, spill the details." Ken said seriously, "I thought you were going to stay in Japan with Miho, why are you in America?"
Daichi chuckled, stretching his hamstrings slowly, "Miho is at the hotel nearby. This was actually her idea after all."
"What?" Ken was taken aback.
"That's the exact expression I made back then." Daichi replied with a grin, "She brought her grandfather and Coach Hashira over one morning and proposed the idea of me going to the states."
"But wait, what about your contract with the Hanshin Tigers? I thought there would be a lot of work involved transferring to the Majors?"
Daichi shrugged, "It happened pretty quickly. When the Tigers asked around, there were 2 clubs that showed interest. The Pittsburgh Raiders and the Detroit Ligers." He said before moving onto the next stretch.
"Of course I chose the Ligers. Not only is Grandpa the coach, my big bro is also in the organization." He replied with a wink.
Ken was silent for a while. He had no doubt that there was a lot more to the process than Daichi was letting on, but that didn't matter. The fact was, the two were now reunited and would be playing in the same organization from now on.
"Still… it seems so sudden."
"Why do you look unhappy?" Daichi asked teasingly, "Are you worried I'll steal your spotlight?"
However, Ken didn't retort. "I'm happy… almost too happy." He replied. "Part of this doesn't feel real, almost like a dream."
Daichi stood up and walked over to Ken, giving him a smile. "If this was a dream, would you be able to smell this?"
Suddenly, Daichi grabbed Ken around the neck and pulled him into a headlock. Ken's nose was forced into the guys armpit and caught a whiff of the sweat soaked shirt. He struggled hard, but his brothers grip was too strong.
"Y—You bastard!"
The two wrestled for a while and soon laughter filled the park. It was like they had returned to being kids again. Whatever worries that they had evaporated, and all that was left was happiness.
Of course Ken managed to get his revenge by the end of the exchange, but both men were left feeling happy after the workout.
As they began the walk back, things turned a little more serious. "When the team heard we were getting another catcher, they weren't too happy." Ken said.
"Yeah, I understand. I thought that they would bring me in next year, not when you guys were starting the post season." Daichi admitted.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved that its you." Ken added. "It's just that the guys might not feel the same. How is your English? Have you been working on it?"
"I am a berry gud at Engrish." Daichi said, giving Ken a thumbs up.
"What the hell is that…?" Ken resisted the urge to facepalm. While it might be passable for other Japanese people who knew English, he could see that there would be problems.
"Don't worry about it. It will be easier to learn while living in America." Daichi replied, his face turning slightly red in embarrassment.
"You're right. As long as you can understand English fine, then there won't be any issues. Another thing, how is your skills? I haven't seen you play since I proposed to Ai in Japan."
"Heh, are you doubting me big bro? Let's go find somewhere and I'll catch your pitches." Daichi said with a cocky grin.