Thankfully, Yuta with his excellent emotional intelligence was able to read the atmosphere and began to move everyone along.
It was only when everyone had left that Ken spoke up to the vulnerable kid in front of him. This was someone that reminded him of himself in his previous life, a naive kid who just wanted to play baseball with everyone.
Even now he still held vestiges of his former self, however he had matured. After learning the hard way, he had been given another chance to rewrite his story, one where he could be a better person, a better son.
Most of all, he would use this chance to achieve his dream of becoming a professional baseball player and live without regrets. If he could also pull up others with him, then there’s no way he would just sit idly by and allow them to drown.
He already knew what it was like to lose baseball, it was pure misery. So Ken could not in good conscience allow Yusuke to continue on the same path, not if he had the power to change it.
Ken placed his hand on Yusuke’s shoulder and spoke.
“Do us all a favor and get your knee checked out. You have a bright future, there’s no way I’d let an injury get in the way of our rivalry.”
Yusuke flinched at these words, slowly raising his head and looking Ken in the eye. He was shocked to hear such a declaration from this person’s mouth.
This past month he had been chasing after Ken in everything. Running, fielding, batting… But Ken was always far ahead, his tall frame blocking out even the sun.
No that wasn’t it. He was the shining star ahead, drawing all eyes towards him with his amazing work ethic and talent, leaving people like him in the dust.
He saw it the first time they met in the locker room. The bright light that emanated from the man in front of him, threatening to blind him if he stared too long.
‘He thinks I’m his rival?’
Yusuke was speechless.
Once again tears began to form on the edge of his eyes, however for a completely different reason. He wiped them with the back of his hand and finally composed himself.
“Okay I’ll do it.” Yusuke replied.
***
Two days later in the faculty office, Ken once again found himself at the coach’s desk however this time it was Coach Hanada who had requested him.
Seiji Hanada closed the folder on his desk and carefully put it aside in the correct pile. His meticulous attention to detail was evident purely by the clean and organized state he kept his workspace in.
He let out a sigh, before finally turning to the tall student on his left.
Before speaking a word, he took a closer look at him, as if trying to figure out his secrets. Yet a few moments later he shook his head and chastised himself.
‘There’s no way he could have known, it was just a lucky coincidence.’
Saying these words in his mind seemed to calm him down a little, allowing the coach to finally broach the subject.
“I just got word from Yusuke’s family this morning. They’ve found a tumor in his left knee which had been pressing against the ligaments and causing inflammation.”
“Oh my goodness.” Ken placed his hand over his mouth, doing his best to act surprised considering he was already aware of this information thanks to the system.
“They’ve schedule surgery for tomorrow to remove the thing. Thankfully it was caught early otherwise things could have gotten much worse.” The coach said gravely.
Ken paused for a moment, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“What would have happened if they didn’t locate it?”
“Well, they didn’t go into specific details. But if Yusuke had continued to train, the tumor could have grown in size or even spread further, compromising his leg. Worst case, it could have ruptured and caused life threatening injuries if it was malignant.”
“Thank god that you stepped in coach.” Ken said with relief tinged in his voice, this time he wasn’t acting.
He wasn’t sure what effect his new actions would have in this life, therefore after hearing the worst case scenario of life threatening injuries, he was glad that they stepped in before it got bad.
Coach Hanada shook his head, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the compliment.
“It was you Ken, you’re the reason why Yusuke will no longer be in danger.” The coach was full of smiles as he said this.
“Chris has raised a great son. Not only are you hard working, you also look out for your teammates in practice, guiding them when they’re in need. Even Akira has started to mirror your work ethic, something I would never have thought possible.”
At this praise, Ken was flabbergasted. Of course he felt great being complimented, especially since this was his coach who he deeply respected since his previous life. Yet inwardly he felt unworthy. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
‘I still have my flaws.’ He admitted to himself.
“Anyway. What I’m saying is that next year I’m thinking about appointing you as captain.”
“Huh?” Ken’s train of thought was abruptly halted after hearing the admission. He stared at the coach in disbelief.
“Hahaha! No need to look so surprised my boy. Just keep training like usual and take us to nationals alright Ace?” The coach seemed to enjoy seeing the shocked look upon Ken’s face, since it had usually been himself always being shocked by Ken.
After a pause, Ken managed to compose himself and responded with a slight bow. “Yes sir!”
Once the conversation was done, the two headed down to the field for today’s practice. The coach had to announce the news to the team about Yusuke’s situation, however he spared the nitty gritty details.
Since no one knew of the seriousness of the injury there was not too much commotion. Ken received a few looks his way thanks to the public incident on the field between himself and Yusuke a couple of days ago.
However like the coach, he employed a poker face, yet his left much to be desired.
Feeling the eyes on him, Ken inwardly wished he could receive a poker face skill from the lottery wheel, it would surely save him a lot of hassles in the future.