Chris arrived at the car park at Yokohama stadium and was waved in by one of the security guards who exchanged pleasantries with him. It was clear to Ken that the two must be familiar with each other since his father worked here.
Even though he had been to Yokohama stadium to watch baseball games and even play during the Kanto Tournament, Ken couldn't help but feel excited.
Would he be able to see real professional players train while he visited?
'Soon enough I'll be one of those players…' He told himself.
"Alright let's head in." Chris said, jumping out of the car with ease.
Yuki had decided to stay home, not wanting to get in the way of the father son duo. If Ken really was still injured, she did not want to be present for the resulting actions.
As they made their way in through the staff entrance, Ken couldn't help but move his eyes around, taking in his surroundings. They walked past a few doors as they went down the corridor.
"Weight rooms, training facilities, massage room." Ken muttered, his curiosity mounting.
His father didn't say a word, silently walking towards the end of the corridor. Ken couldn't help but smile wryly, knowing what he was probably thinking.
The reason they were there was to check out Ken's injury, not to play around.
"Ah, Chris you're here." A middle aged man with wide shoulders and a toned body called out from one of the rooms, getting their attention.
"Kichi, thanks for seeing me on short notice." Chris walked forward and shook the man's hand.
Ken observed the middle aged man. If it wasn't for the muscles shown off by his tight shirt, he could have been mistaken for a regular balding man one would see often in Japan.
"This is my son Ken. Ken this is Yukichi, he's a sports physiotherapist, one of the best in Japan." His father said, sending a stern look towards him.
Ken bowed, interpreting the stern look to mean he had to be polite and show respect.
"Huh? Son?" Yukichi looked Ken up and down and was utterly confused.
"He looked like your younger handsome brother more than your son." Yukichi commented, letting out a few chuckles.
"Ahem." Chris coughed lightly, wanting to move the conversation along. "Shall we step into your office?"
"My my, where are my manners. Ken, please join me in my office." Despite saying so, Yukichi still had a grin on his face.
Ken did as he was told, heading into the spacious office which held some miscellaneous items like medicine balls and even a massage table.
Chris took a seat without being offered and told Yukichi about Ken's injury and circumstances. He spared no detail, even shocking Ken with how much his father knew.
He spoke of Ken's fitness regime, dietary intake, amount of games played and even took into account the tryouts he had at Osaka Toin. Ken's eyes fell on his father and felt his already high opinion increase even further.
"Oho, you're certainly taking your health seriously young man." Yukichi nodded with respect. "It's quite rare for someone your age. Are you aspiring to be an athlete in the future?"
As he spoke, Yukichi was placing his hands upon Ken and pressing each of his muscles to look for any tightness or weaknesses.
"Yes, I want to be a baseball player." Ken responded, not budging in the least.
"Hmm yes. A pitcher I assume?" Yukichi responded after feeling both of his shoulders.
"How does it look?" Chris asked after seeing Yukichi had now taken a step back.
"I can't see anything wrong in my preliminary examination. But damn Chris, why didn't you tell us that your son was a pitcher? And a southpaw to boot." He shook his head in exasperation.
"Southpaw?" Chris replied with confusion.
"Am I wrong? But I could have sworn I felt more muscle mass in your left shoulder and arm." Yukichi responded, feeling his confidence waver.
"Ah. Because I injured my right shoulder I've been throwing with my left for most of last year." Ken clarified, feeling the two both staring at him.
"Oh, you just threw with your left instead… EH!?"
"W-What!? You can do that?"
Both Yukichi and Chris gawked at the young man who made such a statement so matter-of-factly. Sure it wasn't unheard of for people to use their non-dominant arms after being injured, but seldom in sports.
"N-Never mind that…" Chris said after a while, regaining his composure. "Can you do further tests on his right shoulder? The one that was injured."
"Ahhh sure." Yukichi responded, snapping out of his daze.
He took Ken through a series of mobility tests and stretches, telling him to say something if he felt any pain. Since Ken was now fully healed, he had full range of motion in his shoulder and passed with flying colors.
"Are you sure he was injured?" the middle aged man asked, rubbing his chin in thought.
Ken answered, "I had a sharp pain in my shoulder when I used to pitch, right here." He pointed to a spot on his shoulder to which Yukichi came forward and inspected.
He pressed down on a few spots, sometimes using a bit more force, however Ken did not feel any pain.
After stepping back once again, Yukichi confidently stated that there were no present issues.
"What you described was a common problem with pitchers who often receive rotator cuff injuries through repetitive stress. Usually professional athletes wouldn't let it get to such a point, but you are still young."
He continued. "It's also uncommon to be able to fully recover from such an injury. Perhaps it is because you're still young that your body was able to heal in the span of a year."
Yukichi smiled, "You did the right thing by letting your body recover. If you were a player on our team I would clear you to go back to action."
Despite knowing he was fully healed, it filled Ken with relief hearing these words. Not only did he now have a second opinion, his father would now believe him that he was ready to pitch once more.