'Leo is injured?'
Ken's mind went blank as he heard the devastating news. He had been hyper focused on getting his revenge for the defeat he suffered in College against Leo, yet in a cruel twist of fate, that was no longer possible.
At first he had hoped that it was a minor injury and that he'd be able to play the following series, but he later found out that this was not the case. Leo had suffered a groin injury thanks to the dangerous slide and had been ruled out of the post season.
'Mika… This wasn't the doing of the system was it?' He asked silently in his mind.
[No, the system had nothing to do with the incident.]
Ken hesitated. Should he trust Mika this time? But then again, even if it was the system, what could he possibly do about it?
The high he felt from achieving the perfect game quickly waned. Ken's competitive nature made it difficult to be satisfied winning against the Yanks without Leo.
The truth was, Leo was an integral part of the New York Yanks team. Without his skills behind the plate, their pitching line up would be considered average within the league since they mostly made up of aging stars like Ma-kun and Alex Cole.
Of course this didn't mean that they would definitely lose without Leo, just that they were far from their best without him.
"You all good man?"
Daichi sat alongside Ken who had retreated outside at some point to be by himself. The sun had long set and the girls were still busy in the kitchen fixing a meal for everyone.
Ken didn't respond right away, his eyes locked onto the lights in the distance.
"I'm fine, albeit a little disappointed." Ken replied sincerely.
"Well, it's fine to be disappointed, but you did just throw a historic perfect game in the post season. I thought that would be enough to keep your spirits high." Daichi replied with a wry smile.
Ken laughed dryly, "I guess I'm a hard man to please."
"I feel sorry for your wife."
"Sounds like you want a smack."
The two laughed together for a little before another long silence ensued.
"I wonder if this is how Leo felt, when I got injured back then." Ken said wistfully.
He was of course referring to the time where he'd fractured his foot during the post season match against University of Florida. It had been a freak accident.
"I'd say so. After all, we have a lot of history with him." Daichi added.
"But," he continued, "It's not like this is the last time we'll face them. Once we qualify for the World Series, you'll have finished all the tasks you set out at the beginning of the season. This means you won't have to quit baseball."
"We're all still young. I bet we'll be playing against each other for at least the next 10 years." He added.
Ken nodded. Of course he didn't reply that he needed to win the World Series in order to keep his current talent. There was no need to add that pressure onto Daichi as well.
"You're right. We'll play each other again next year." Ken said with a smile.
The outside door opened and Tara stuck her head out, "The food is ready, you guys coming or what?"
"Coming."
Ken got to his feet and walked past his brother, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks little brother, you're always there when I need you."
With that, he walked inside, leaving Daichi on the back porch.
"I could say the same for you." Daichi muttered.
The packed house was served a sumptuous dinner to celebrate the Ligers first win in the post season and Ken's amazing achievement. No one stayed up too late, since there was another game the following night.
***
The next week passed quickly for Ken. After destroying Seattle in the very first game of the series, the Ligers were able to keep their momentum, winning the 2nd game at home the following night.
Two nights later, Seattle was able to claw back a narrow victory on their home field, bringing the series to 2-1 in favor of the Detroit Ligers.
But the following night in enemy territory, the Waves faced a harsh reality. The Ligers were too strong.
Rohan pitched in the 4th game, only giving up 1 walk and 2 hits in 7 innings. This set the stage for Ken, Daichi and the Ligers batters to blow out the game in destructive fashion.
Upon the conclusion of the game, Ken and the others celebrated their advancement to the Championship series for the American League. While many of the players chose to go out to do so, Ken and Daichi went back to the hotel.
Ken put the Yanks vs Arrows match on TV in his room, turning up the volume.
"It's a back and forth game so far in Houston with the home team trailing by 1 run in the bottom of the 9th. Charlie Holmes is on the mound with a runner on first after walking Bregman in the previous at-bat."
"Tucker is in the batters box now. Will he be able to finish the series right now with his bat? Or will the Yanks hold on for a game 5?"
"Good, it hasn't finished yet." Ken said, getting comfortable. This was the turning point in the match, either the Yanks get the final out, or Houston can make a comeback.
"Here comes the pitch…"
THWACKK!
"Tucker sends it high into deep right field… It's going… going… GONE! Kane Tucker has hit a two-run walk off to send the Houston Arrows to the Championship Series!"
Ken and Daichi were silent as they watched the ball fly into the stands and the home arena erupt with cheers. They could see the elation on Houston's team, while the Yanks were devastated.
"It looks like we'll be playing against the Arrow's next."
Ken nodded, the determination in his face visible.