The trip was rather uneventful, even bordering harmonious as the 6 boarded the train and headed towards the stadium. After the initial awkwardness, Chris and Tetsu seemed to be getting along well, bonding over baseball.
“Eh!? You played over in America?” Tetsu exclaimed in shock, his loud voice attracting attention from other passengers on the train.
Chris nodded, feeling some pride swell.
“I played in High School before I returned to Japan for college.”
The two continued to chat, talking about the differences between the two countries baseball programs. Ken breathed a sigh of relief, he wasn’t sure how things would go, but since the two shared a love for baseball he should have never doubted his fathers ability to talk about the subject.
The train was rather packed, with plenty of passengers wearing the Yokohama Warriors jersey’s to show their support.
After himself and Ai settled down, the conversation seemed more natural. There was always an initial awkwardness which could probably be boiled down to teenage hormones, yet he seemed to be enjoying himself at this moment.
“This will be my first time seeing a professional baseball game live.” Ai said, a look of excitement in her eyes.
This only served to pique Ken’s curiosity. In his past life, Ai had chosen to join the Fashion Club at school since she was passionate about the subject. He had never seen her show an interest in baseball prior, so what had changed.
“Did you always like baseball Ai?” He asked, his gaze falling on her fair features.
“Ah, no not really.” She admitted, feeling a little insecure.
“So what changed?” Ken was relentless, posing the hard questions as if they were nothing.
“A-Ah…” Ai fidgeted for a little bit, as if deciding whether or not to reply.
Only after a few moments did she answer, albeit in a quiet voice.
“I-I saw that you guys were having so much fun in middle school, so I thought I’d take a look for myself. My mom and dad also thought it would be a good idea to join.” She lowered her head, yet peaked out of her lashes in order to see his reaction.
“Oh.” Ken nodded, feeling as if it was a satisfactory answer.
Initially he was worried that he had too much of an influence on her not joining the Fashion Club, but it seemed like he wasn’t the only reason.
“Well how is it? As fun as you thought it would be?” He asked with a grin. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Ai smiled sweetly in response and nodded.
“To see you all working so hard to get better has motivated me to pursue fashion seriously.” She admitted, feeling grateful.
‘Huh?’ Ken’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Initially I was too timid and afraid of failure to try properly…”
Ai gripped the hem of her dress tightly.
“B-But you taught me that with enough hard work, you can achieve anything.” Her face reddened after saying this, but Ken could see the appreciation in her features.
Not expecting such a confession, Ken quickly averted his gaze, feeling his heart beat faster in response.
‘Was it meant to be like this?’ He thought in confusion.
Despite the turn of events, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. There was always a part of him that felt like he influenced Ai into the baseball club. He was worried that she may be giving up her dreams thanks to him.
But it turned out he was wrong, dead wrong.
“That’s great to hear Ai. I’ll be cheering you on.” He said genuinely.
“T-Thanks.”
“Wow, you two suit each other. I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me about your girlfriend.”
Ken almost jumped in fright as he heard his father speak out beside him. But it was only after he saw the look of confusion on Ai’s features that he recognized his dad was speaking in English.
“Damn it Dad, what if she understood English?” He turned to his father and admonished him, only to receive a teasing grin in response.
“Ah so what? Can’t a Father be proud of his son?” Chris asked rhetorically.
“I didn’t know you could speak English so fluently?” Ai said, her tone showing how impressed she was.
“What were you guys talking about?”
Just before Ken was about to answer, Chris butted in.
“I was just saying how you two make a cute couple.”
“Geh”
“Hahahaha!” Chris laughed heartily as he saw the two turn beet red. He even saw Tetsu’s face morph a few times, adding into his amusement.
“Ehhhh? Ya reckon’ my son’s not good enough for your daughter?” Chris said teasingly, draping his arm over Tetsu’s shoulder.
Thankfully, they arrived at their destination in the next few moments, after which the air was cleared.
From the train station the walk was only around 10 minutes to the stadium. They joined the mass of people and continued forward. Due to both Chris and Ken’s height, they were constantly receiving the looks of others.
This only increased as Chris pulled them out of the line and moved towards the security guards at the gates.
“Hey Chris! I didn’t know you were back in the country.”
One of the security guard’s expression brightened as he saw the tall figure approach him. He seemed genuinely happy to see Chris, judging by his attitude.
“Haha yeah I just got back last night, wanted to take my son and his girlfriend to see the Warriors.” He replied laughingly.
“Well it’s good to see you again. Here I’ll let you in.” He said, moving to the side and opening the staff entrance for the group.
“Thanks Hiro, I’ll see you next week.” Chris replied before ushering in Ken and the others.
“Uwaahh, is that guy a celebrity?”
An immature voice sounded out from the line, yet no one responded.
“Hey Kei, that guy looks about as tall as you~”
“Hmm?”
A tall youth with bleach blond hair turned his head and looked at the group that was headed in through a special entrance. Ken also happened to look back at the same time, locking gazes with the other.