The group were stunned as a whole bunch of reporters entered the restaurant and went into a frenzy after spotting Ken. Like a group of sharks who had smelled blood, they rushed forwards and bombarded him with questions.
“Ken, is it true that you suffered brain bleeding from the pitch that hit you?”
“Is it true that you have a fractured skull?”
“What are your thoughts on the opponent pitching through an injury?”
Question after question was shouted towards him, causing his mind to go blank. While some were at least decent questions, there were others that were quite ridiculous.
Chris instantly stepped in front of the reporters, trying to shield his son. He’d had plenty of practice being in front of camera’s through his work overseas.
“Hey, what are you doing? We’re trying to interview Ken here.”
“Come on, don’t be like this. We’ve got jobs to do too.”
Miya’s eyes flashed imperceptibly as she scrutinized Chris’s face. Suddenly her expression turned to one of recognition.
“Ah, that’s Chris Takagi the NPB foreign adviser.” She said, finally putting a name to the face.
“What? Foreign adviser?”
There was another stir within the reporters as they heard the big title associated with the name. At first they were wondering what such a big shot in the professional leagues was doing here with a High School student, yet they soon put 2 and 2 together.
“Ken’s father is the NPB Foreign Adviser!?”
The journalists who could smell a scoop from a mile away suddenly went into another frenzy, furiously writing down the information.
Chris frowned, he had never liked the media, especially since they liked to embellish things or create drama out of nothing.
“We’re just trying to have a meal in peace, would you mind not filming at this time?”
Since he was a reputable figure, he needed to maintain his cool, lest it reflected badly on the NPB. However, there was a glint in his eye that warned the people present to be respectful, otherwise there would be consequences.
“I’m sorry Mr. Takagi, would you mind making a statement regarding Ken’s injuries and his availability for the final match tomorrow against Koryu?”
Miya retained her professional yet bubbly personality, getting straight to the heart of the matter. This was the question on everyone’s mind since the incident had occurred earlier that afternoon.
The other reporters quietened down, holding out their voice recorders and awaiting the response from Chris.
Ken felt a wave of relief after his father stepped forward. He really couldn’t deal with the onslaught of the media, at least right now. Even the last interview he had done with Miya was nerve wracking.
Chris let out a sigh and turned to his family briefly.
“I’ll say this. Ken has been discharged from the hospital this morning under instructions to do no physical activity for a few days. This means he will not be playing in the finals tomorrow.”
While it wasn’t the answer they had been looking for, the reporters still accepted it.
“Can you go into more detail about the injury itself?” Miya probed. However, she quickly shrunk back when she felt an icy gaze from the woman next to Ken.
“We won’t be discussing any personal medical concerns with the media at this stage. Ken is not a professional athlete and we are not required to release anything.”
Chris’s reply was a little curt, but it seemed to have done the trick in getting the reporters to back down.
Miya was the first to bow and thank him for his statement. It was clear that she was the most respectful person in that regard.
A couple of minutes later, the group left the restaurant and the atmosphere returned to normal. Though the other patrons seemed to be staring their way now, wondering what kind of celebrities they were.
“Thanks Dad…” Ken said after a while.
Chris sent a smile his way, yet there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Being a professional athlete put one under a high level of scrutiny. Incidents like this would be more frequent if his son’s chose to continue down this career path.
“I know you said that I won’t be playing tomorrow…” Ken started, not wanting to make eye contact with his parents.
“But can I still head into the dugout and be with my team?”
Both Chris and Yuki’s expression softened a little. They had originally thought that Ken would try and somehow weasel his way into playing, but thankfully he was more mature than that.
“I think you should. It’ll probably give them a boost of morale if you still attended the match with them.” Chris said in agreement.
Ken’s expression brightened. He had worked so hard together with his teammates to make it this far, so it would have been a big blow if he wasn’t there to experience the final game of Nationals together with them.
He thanked his father as his mood brightened considerably.
“Daichi will you be staying for the finals?” Ken asked.
However, Daichi shook his head. “I have to return back to school. But I’ll be coming back home for the final week of Summer break.”
“Awesome!”
The group chatted for a while longer in the restaurant before leaving.
Chris and Yuki dropped Daichi off at the train station and Ken at the residence. Since the two were in another part of the country together, they decided to make the most of it without their kids.
“We’ll see you tomorrow after the game. Remember, no physical activity…” Yuki’s tone was stern as she advised Ken.
“Yes mom.” Ken nodded like a pecking chicken. He was far too scared of the consequences to disobey her at this moment, despite knowing he was fully healed.
If chilling out for a couple of days would help ease their worries, then there was no harm in doing so.
After waving goodbye to both his parents, Ken walked into the residence with his bags and headed to the room to drop them off. On his way back however, he noticed a TV which was displaying the sports news.