Ken noticed that he was receiving a lot of looks thanks to his newly acquired fashion accessory, yet he didn’t care all that much. In essence, he was a 26 year old man, therefore he cared little about what others thought.
The classes were as mind-numbing as usual, but thankfully he had Daichi sitting next to him to ease his boredom. After what seemed to be a lifetime, the bell for class to end sounded, eliciting a big stretch from Ken in response.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he knew what being a lifeless office worker was, he probably would have whined and complained about school like he had in his previous life.
The two headed off to the baseball grounds, yet there was no excitement in the air like their usually would be at this time of the year. Ken had already seen Coach Yoshida earlier that day and noted how he looked grumpier than usual.
Not long later, everyone gathered on the field in front of the Coach. His usual stern atmosphere was a little off, breathing nerves and unease into the teenagers who waited for his words.
“Well… There’s no use keeping this information hidden any longer. I notified the school board about what had happened and they have decided to disqualify us from the spring tournament.” The Coach said simply, keeping his face expressionless.
“What!?”
“But we didn’t even start the fight!”
“This is stupid. What punishment did those Kanagawa bastards get?”
Immediately, the players erupted with anger and began to shout out in disagreement. Ken seemed a little bummed, however he had been expecting something like this. There was no way that the school would allow their representative team to be involved in fighting, even if it was a friendly match.
They would rather cut the funding of the program than lose their prestige within the prefecture. An event like this could be held over the school’s head for much longer than they would be here for, it may even carry over for years to come.
“Now now. No amount of whining or bickering will change this fact, I was merely informing you of the school’s decision. If it makes it easier to swallow, Kanagawa Senior team has been disqualified from both the spring and summer tournaments this year.” The Coach continued.
This information seemed to quell much of the backlash, however there were still a few boys who were upset with the decision.
Ken’s eyes lit up, “Coach, are you saying that we’ll still be able to compete in the summer tournament?”
The Coach nodded. “Since we did not initiate the fight and no one here threw any punches, the school decided that losing the spring tournament would be punishment enough. Consider yourselves lucky.”
Hearing that they would still get to play baseball this year, the team rejoiced.
“However, to help you all understand the consequences of fighting, I volunteered for us to do community service for the next 6 weeks.” Coach Yoshida said matter-of-factly.
“Community service?”
“Every Saturday, we’ll be helping out the community. Trash collecting, cooking meals for the homeless, anything and everything.”
A collective groan rang out between the players, however it quickly died down when they saw their coach’s expression.
“I trust no one has any objections?” His face seemed apathetic, however there was a danger within his eyes that was almost daring someone to speak out of line.
“No Coach!” Everyone replied, no matter how they felt on the inside.
“Good. Now everyone go and do 15 laps around the field.” Coach Yoshida made a shooing motion and retrieved his clipboard once more.
This time, no one uttered a word, quickly getting into formation and beginning their laps.
While he may seem harsh on the outside, Coach Yoshida really cared about his team. Originally, the school board had decided to disqualify them from both tournaments, seemingly already spending the years funding on other clubs in their heads.
It was only thanks to the Coach’s pleading and suggestion of the community service that he was able to salvage the Summer tournament for his team. Of course he would never say this aloud as it risked undoing his strict coach facade that he had worked so hard to put into place.
He watched on as the youths ran the full 6km distance, taking note of the usual 3 who did not seem out of breath by the end.
“Okay, pitchers and catchers please go warm up in the bullpen. The rest of you start playing catch.” The Coach barked out his orders, waiting for some of the team to get off the floor and head to their designated areas.
“Daichi, come here for a moment.”
Ken raised his eyebrow in question, yet he still urged Daichi to go by himself.
Daichi seemed a little confused but agreed, heading towards the coach. Ken was too far away to listen to what was being said, but he saw the shocked and confused expression on his face and felt his curiosity thicken.
“Ken! Come here too.” The Coach waved him over after a minute or so.
“What’s up Coach?”
The Coach had a bit of a frown on his face, as if he wasn’t sure why he needed to involve Ken in the discussion.
“I’ve suggested that Daichi try and learn the catcher position, based on his amazing reflexes and powerful arm. However, he said that he won’t make the decision without your input for some reason.”
“I’m not sure why, but as a former Ace pitcher, you should understand that Daichi has the talents to move into such a position.” The Coach finished, looking almost pleadingly at Ken.
Ken’s eyes lit up. He had been wondering how he would get Daichi into his best position before high school, but it seemed as if Coach Yoshida was already way ahead of him.
“Daichi! You should do it for sure!” Ken all but jumped and down in his excitement, startling Daichi.
“Remember, dad also contemplated training you in the catcher position but told us to hold off. Now that we have all this time before the summer tournament, it’s the perfect opportunity to learn.” He continued, grabbing Daichi by the shoulders.
“A-Ah, I almost forgot that’s what dad said. Well, if Ken says so then I’ll do as you say Coach.” He responded after a moment.
“Great! Let’s head over to where the pitchers are warming up.” The Coach said with a beaming smile.
‘Wait… Did Daichi just call Ken’s father dad also?’ He thought while walking away.