Before her husband could destroy the piece of paper, Naomi grabbed it from him and read it. She paled after seeing the twisted logic within the words, not unlike those sick bastards who belonged in a mental hospital.
She was about to hand it to Ken, but he refused. He wasn’t sure if he could keep the paper in tact if he was to get a hold of it.
Seeing this, Ai seemed to understand his reasoning, so she quickly summarized it for him.
“The note says if I don’t stay away from you then he will distribute the pictures around the school.”
Ken felt his blood boiling once again, but he did his best to calm down. Getting angry would not solve anything right now.
“Who is the bastard?” He asked, his tone calm yet dangerous.
“Keiho Gomi.” She responded succinctly.
Ken didn’t recognize the name, but he thought it was an appropriate last name for someone who was such a piece of garbage.
(Gomi literally translates to Trash or Garbage).
Tetsu was silent for a moment, before his face changed.
“Gomi… Why does that name sound familiar?” he murmured aloud.
He turned to his daughter and asked what the kid looked like, to which she described him aptly. She didn’t pull any punches, labeling him as a large and slimy kid with glasses.
A hint of recognition crept into his expression before he cried out.
“Ah! That sounds like a guy I used to know from school… He joined the baseball club as a manager to get closer to one of the girls.”
He paused briefly, as if trying to remember something.
“I think his name was Minoru Gomi!”
Everyone looked at Tetsu with surprise. Could it be possible that this man was Kohei’s father? By the sounds of it they were cut from the same cloth.
Ken narrowed his eyes and asked icily, “Do you know where this Minoru guy is?”
Tetsu shook his head, “We weren’t exactly close. The last I heard, he had inherited his father’s tech store. But this was almost 20 years ago.”
The four were silent at the table for a while, as if they were processing the new information laid out.
“So what are our options?” Ken asked.
He was currently in a terrible mood. His shoulder was throbbing and he had a headache, all of this in addition to finding out he had been framed doing unspeakable deeds to the woman sitting next to him.
If he was honest, he wanted to find the kid who had done this and give him a lesson he’ll never forget. However, if he did this, what would happen if the photos were distributed through the school.
Even if he got the issue cleared up with the school, both he and Ai’s reputation would be forever sullied. While he might not care what others thought about him, he could never allow Ai to suffer such a fate.
“Do we go to the principal?” Naomi asked, not feeling certain of this option herself.
However, the principal was just a single man. Even if he were to confront Kohei about the issue, he could still retaliate and spread the photos if he didn’t care about the consequences.
“How about the police?” Ken suggested.
Tetsu finally interjected after thinking for the past couple of minutes.
“No, we may not need ta go that far yet. I’ll talk to my old buddies and see if they know where Minoru’s tech store is. If he really is this douchebag’s father, I’ll sort it out.”
His words were firm, showing his resolution to put the matter to rest.
Ken nodded. If they could go directly to the source and get his parents involved, it would be possible that the matter could be resolved without additional risk.
“Until then, let’s try to avoid giving him a reason to suspect us. Ai, keep your distance from me at school until this is taken care of.” Ken said, standing up from the table.
He bowed towards Naomi and Ai and bid his farewell.
Ai looked at his solemn figure and couldn’t help but feel pain in her heart. It was her fault that she didn’t speak up sooner, but even more so it was her father who acted out on his own.
“Ah, let me walk you out.” Ai said, getting up from the chair.
“No need.” Ken responded abruptly.
He was really in no mood to talk as of this moment. Apart from the pain wracking his body, Ken was pissed off after being set up by someone he didn’t even know.
His whole second chance at life could have been ruined by one jackass chasing after a woman that was out of his league.
Ai looked crestfallen, however she did not insist. Her sadness turned to anger as she glared at her father before retreating to her room.
Tetsu felt a pang in his heart after seeing his daughter look at him in such a way. He couldn’t help but feel like a failure in that moment.
Without a word, he got up and headed down the stairs after Ken.
“Hey wait a sec” he yelled, locating Ken who was already on the street.
The sun was still lingering on the horizon despite already being close to 7pm, casting long shadows of the two on the road.
“What do you want?”
There was not an ounce of politeness as Ken turned around and responded, still holding onto his shoulder.
“T-Thanks fer not makin’ a big deal of the fight.” Tetsu said, feeling a little embarrassed that a 16 year old was seemingly more mature than himself at 40.
“I didn’t do it for you.” He said icily.
“Then why?” Tetsu asked in confusion.
Instead of answering, Ken began to talk.
“I never knew why you didn’t like me. I was always respectful and treated your daughter well, with no expectations or intentions other than being her friend.”
He paused, trying to find the right words to articulate his feelings.
“Yet all it took were some fake photos for your mind to instantly turn on me, trying to beat me into a pulp without giving me a chance to defend myself.”
“The reason I didn’t make a big deal out of the fight was because I know you’re a good person who means well… Even if you are a terrible father.”
Ken took a deep breath, gazing into Tetsu’s eyes.
“I was afraid that if Ai blames you even more, she might push you away for good, fragmenting your family in the process. While you might deserve it, she certainly doesn’t deserve to live without a father.”
Tetsu froze, feeling the teen’s words sink in. He could only look into the deep brown eyes of the boy in front of him which seemed to carry a vast maturity above his age.
“T-Thanks. And… I’m sorry.” Tetsu bowed deeply, showing his immense gratitude for the second chance that he felt he did not deserve.
Ken didn’t acknowledge the apology, instead turning around. Before he left though, he had a few more words to say.
“Until I’ve got my shoulder looked at, I won’t accept your apology.”
“If it turns out you’ve taken away what’s most precious to me, I will never forgive you.”
With that, he walked away.
It was only now that he stared at Ken’s retreating figure cradling his shoulder, that Tetsu finally understood what he’d done. He felt his body tremble and his blood run cold.
How could he have injured the Ace’s pitching shoulder? No wonder his daughter was so livid with him.
He inwardly prayed that Ken would be okay, otherwise he may lose his daughter for good.
Looks like we have a lead on how to find Kohei, after all Gomi is not a common family name. What will Tetsu do to put an end to this blackmailing?
Next chapter is called: Operation
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Bonus Chapter Count: 8
