Chris was currently pacing back and forth, a look of panic on his features. He checked his watch multiple times every minute before turning towards the electronic sign which hung up on the wall.
He had been in the airport since 12pm because today would be the day he would be returning back home. As long as he made the flight, he would arrive back in Japan on the Friday night.
However, his plane had been delayed for almost 14 hours now. At first he was a little annoyed, but after being delayed again and again, he turned frantic.
It was almost 2am, which he had been told would be the next update about the flight. Chris could only pace around to calm himself down, thinking that he may miss out on his son’s baseball final.
He was constantly doing the math in his head, trying to figure out when he would arrive into Japan if they left now from LAX airport. Japan was 17 hours ahead of California, and the flight would take around 12 hours.
If he went directly from the airport, then there might be a chance of arriving by the start of the game. But that was only if the flight left within the hour. Just as he was about to go ask the staff for an update, he heard an announcement from the speakers.
[All passengers for the International flight to Japan please proceed to the boarding gate and board the aircraft. We apologize for the delays and any inconvenience that you have experienced.]
Chris felt a wave of relief overcome him as he heard the scratchy voice over the PA system. To others it might have sounded shrill to the ears, but to him it was like the voice of an angel.
He quickly grabbed his suitcase and motored his way to the departure gate as fast as possible. Once he finally entered his seat, he felt the fatigue that had built up from the entire trip, threatening to put him to sleep.
Before giving into the fatigue, Chris sent his wife a message that he had finally boarded after all of the delays. It was currently 7pm in Japan which meant she should be able to tell the boys before they go to bed.
Once the plane took off, he briefly closed his eyes before entering the sweet embrace of of sleep. He was only jolted awake by the shaking of the plane as it touched down on the ground.
Disoriented, Chris quickly flipped his phone open and noticed that it was already 8:45am on Saturday.
‘Damn it! The game starts at 9am, I’ll never make it in time.’
He was filled with despair for a moment before his face suddenly flashed with determination.
“I might be a little late boys, but I’ll still make it.” He muttered, clutching his phone.
Perhaps it was because they could see he was in a rush, or because Chris was a frequent visitor to the airport, but he managed to make it through customs in record time. He hailed a taxi and got into the front seat.
He turned to the driver and produced a few bills, “Please take me to Yokohama stadium as fast as you can.”
The driver was an older gentleman, however his eyes seemed to sparkle after being given the task. “Please place your seatbelt on and hold tight Mister.”
In the next moment he sped off, causing Chris to almost let out a cry of surprise while he did his best to hang onto something. Yokohama stadium was only 25 minutes away when there was no traffic.
With the old man’s surprisingly deft driving skills, they made it to the stadium in just under 20 minutes. Chris left the taxi with shaky legs, grabbing his suitcase from the back seat and thanking the driver.
After his legs finally started working properly, Chris jogged with his suitcase trailing behind him towards the stadium. As he walked up the stairs to the seats, he could see the game in full swing.
Looking at the scoreboard he let out a gasp of surprise.
Seiko 5
Seigakuin 3
Seiko was currently in the lead, yet as Chris looked down at the field he saw that Seigakuin were up to bat and currently had the bases loaded with only 1 out. Instead of finding his wife in the stadium, his eyes were focused on the match.
He saw the Seiko pitcher throw a ball which was promptly hit to 1st base where Ken was waiting. Chris felt his heart jump into his throat and he couldn’t help but yell out.
“THROW HOME!”
Ken who was currently running towards the ball felt as if all his surroundings had become silent. He picked up the ball in motion and instinctively threw the ball towards Daichi who was waiting at home plate with his glove in front of him.
Chris watched on in shock as the ball floated in a slow and high arc in the air towards Daichi. The runner from third easily managed to outrun the throw, cruising onto the home plate and putting a run on the board.
By the time Daichi caught the ball, the other runners were already safe on base.
“What the hell was that throw?” Chris was dumbfounded. He had seen Ken play plenty of times since elementary school and he had always had a great throwing arm, which was why he became a pitcher in the first place.
A myriad of thoughts ran through his mind, ranging from his sons weird behavior to his sudden change from the pitchers position.
“Has he injured his shoulder?” he murmured.
There was a group of men around Chris’s age around 20 meters away who were all equipped with a pen and notepad, furiously writing after witnessing the play.
“Ahh, what a shame. He was such a good batter too.” One of the men said after placing down his pen.
“Yeah, we can’t afford to have such a large gap in the defense.” Another replied.
“But that catcher on the other hand… He’s not only holding Seigakuin to a small run total, he’s also hit a triple and home run in his at-bats.”