Later that evening, Ken caught up with Daichi and Miho at a nearby restaurant.
"It's good to see you again, Ken." Miho said, pulling him into a hug.
"Mmm, you too. If I had have known you were here, I would have brought Ai along." He said, "She misses you."
"We'll have plenty of time to see each other in the future. After all, you guys will both be on the Ligers eventually, which means Ai and I will be in Detroit with you both." She replied, giving him a smile.
"You're right, I didn't even think this far." Ken admitted.
Once they sat down and caught up for a while, things started to feel normal once more. Ken couldn't help but feel like he'd been transported back in time to when they were with the U18 National team.
"Have you decided what you want to do for work in the states?"
Miho smiled, "Well, I was hoping to get a job at the Ligers. Your Grandpa set an interview with the nutritionist Brittany for next week. If all goes well I'll have a job in a few weeks time."
Remembering Brittany, the nutritionist, he slowly paled. She was both attractive and seemed to dress in a way that proudly showed off her assets.
Miho was the complete opposite. Even now when they had gone out to a restaurant she was dressed in comfortable, yet generic looking clothing.
"Never let her corrupt you, Miho…" Ken warned, sending his brother a brief look.
"Umm… what do you mean? Is she a bad woman?" Miho asked innocently.
"I wouldn't say bad… She's actually professional and knows her craft well…" Ken replied, feeling as if it was hard to say without sounding like a jerk.
"Then I don't see the issue." Miho added.
"You're right, just ignore me." Ken said with a chuckle.
"What do you think of the team?" He asked, turning to Daichi.
Daichi put down the menu and responded, "They seemed pretty nice after you showed up. It seems like they trust you a lot, that makes it a lot easier for me."
"You know that's not what I meant, little bro." Ken grinned.
Daichi was a professional player and had been since he finished High School. Ken wanted his opinion on the level of their players compared to what he was used to.
In response, Daichi grinned. "I haven't seen them in a game scenario yet, but it's clear that there's a gap between Triple-A and the NPB. If the Mud Hens were to face the Hanshin Tigers… The Mud Hens would stand no chance."
There was no arrogance in his tone, nor did Ken think he was being so. If anyone had the credentials to make such a claim, it was his brother.
"I expected as much." Ken replied after a while. "I'd think that even the top teams in the NPB would fare decently well in the Major League."
"It's hard to tell without experiencing the Majors first-hand. I'm looking forward to playing the game next week though. It will be good to catch your pitches properly and see how much you've improved." Daichi added, sending him a nudge.
Ken nodded. "It just sucks you came so late in the season. Apart from these few games remaining, we'll have to wait an entire 6 months before the new season starts."
"Well, it could have been sooner if someone wasn't so stubborn." Miho interjected, sending a glare to Daichi next to her.
Daichi lowered his head, "Stubbornness comes with the Takagi name… You will experience that soon enough." He said.
Ken let out a laugh. The guy wasn't wrong.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you. We'll be having our wedding once Ai graduates in March next year." Ken added, as if just remembering an important detail.
"Oh how wonderful." Miho said with a brilliant smile. "Are you having it in Japan?"
"That's the plan. We're hoping that the cherry blossoms bloom early. If we push it to April, then it doesn't leave much time for a honeymoon before the new season starts." Ken said helplessly.
"When are you guys looking to tie the knot?" He asked.
"We haven't really spoken about it yet." Daichi replied, "With the move here, we want to settle down a bit before spending money on a wedding."
Ken nodded. While the NPB was a professional league, the minimum salary paled in comparison to the Major League. Even Ken's signing bonus was far more than Daichi had made in his 3 years as a professional.
That wasn't to say that Daichi was poor, just that there was quite a difference between the remuneration for each league.
"Well, if you need a loan just let me know. It might be some time before you're earning decent money. The minor league contract is rather small after all."
Daichi laughed, "First it was father and now you. I'm an adult now, I can afford my own things." He replied with a grin.
Ken shrugged, "We're family, we look after each other. Anyway, the offer is always there." He said, turning to Miho. "I don't trust this guy to come to me if he's in trouble, so I'll leave it up to you, Miho."
Miho smiled and saluted, "Yes sir!"
The 3 laughed. This is what Ken had started during his time in the U18 National Team, the tradition had continued even though he had never been back after his first year of High School.
The food came and the three chatted away the night, picking up where they left off.
Even as Ken went home that night, everything still felt surreal. His brother was here in the states and they were both working towards their dreams.
Feeling a little tired, Ken jumped in the shower and went through his nightly routine. He talked with Ai for a while and found out that Miho had already filled her in.
After saying goodnight, Ken remembered to use sleep protocol this time. He did not want to have the same dream as earlier that day. Thankfully, he did not.