“What’s wrong?” Ken asked, feeling a little confused by his brother’s reaction.
“I—ugh, just put a damn shirt on man.” Daichi stammered.
“Ah, right. I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit, I’ve got a few more reps to go.”
Daichi nodded before leaving Ken’s room with a blank expression, yet a few moments later he smiled.
He had been truly worried about his brother all this time. It was clear it had been affecting his performance on the field as well since his father had to reprimand him when they were in Korea.
It just showed how much he cared for Ken’s wellbeing.
“Guess I was worried for nothing.” Daichi mumbled before heading downstairs to grab his things.
Around 20 minutes later, everyone gathered downstairs in the dining room. The sound of chatter and laughter rang out, bringing a smile to Yuki’s face.
There was nothing better than having all of her boy’s home, no matter what day it was. She happily dithered around in the kitchen, preparing tonight’s dinner for her hungry men.
“Do you remember that Dam guy who played on 1st base for Korea? None of us could keep a straight face whenever he spoke up. The umpire even warned us to stop laughing or we’d be ejected.” Daichi explained, his face full of amusement.
Ken thought back to the guy in question, remembering that he’d received the middle finger from him when they were leaving the baseball park.
“Yeah, and we got an ear lashing from the umpire after the game.” Chris said with a wry smile.
Both Daichi and Chris laughed. Looking back it was a rather ridiculous scenario, yet they could both look back on it with amusement.
There was a short pause before Chris addressed Ken, trying to keep his tone light.
“What have you been up to?”
Ken could feel that his father was tiptoeing a little, likely trying to gauge his mood. He felt a little warmth rise inside of him, appreciating his father’s worry.
“I asked Coach Hanada to help with my pitching form since Grandpa said it’s been different since the World Cup.” He said, causing both Daichi and Chris to pay attention.
“Your Grandfather said that?” Chris asked, looking thoughtful.
“Mmm. That’s the reason why I haven’t been able to pitch the same.” Ken admitted.
Daichi of course knew nothing about pitching forms so he stayed quiet, waiting to see his father’s reaction.
“Well you asked the right person. Seiji was always good at that kind of thing back when we were colleagues. Yokohama’s GM even offered him his old job a while back.”
Now it was Ken’s turn to be curious. The fact that the Warrior’s General Manager had requested for his Coach to return to the professional league showed just how much he valued his skills.
Suddenly Ken felt as if he’d lucked out greatly. Not only did his coach not take the position, he stayed in order to help the team, showing just how passionate he was about his coaching role.
‘I definitely made the right decision going to Yokohama.’ Ken thought inwardly.
“So? What did he tell you to do?” Chris asked out of curiosity.
Ken went on to explain what he’d been doing for the past 3 weeks, including all of his other workouts, causing both Chris and Daichi to look at him weirdly.
“Dude, how are you still alive?”
“…”
“You should see him come back after his run…” Yuki said ominously from the kitchen, sending her husband a glance.
“Ken… You need to be careful. If you’re trying to pitch when your body is fatigued, you’re almost guaranteed to get an injury.” He said seriously.
Even professional athletes would not work out so much, let alone a teenager still in High School.
“Oh, I’m not pitching.” Ken stated nonchalantly.
“Eh?”
“…”
“Ahem… That’s good I guess.” Chris said, clearing his throat. “Still, you need to be careful okay?”
“Yes Dad.” Ken said, nodding like a pecking chicken.
Daichi stared at Ken blankly for a little while, taking a bit to catch up to the conversation.
“Wait, why aren’t you pitching? Didn’t you say you wanted to return to form? That doesn’t make sense.” He said with confusion.
Ken then went on to detail all of the feedback he received from the Coach. He spoke about his subconscious mechanical changes in form as well as the purpose of his workouts, painting a clearer picture for everyone at the table.
Yuki frowned from the kitchen, letting out a huff. Even she had not been made aware of Ken’s circumstances, otherwise she would have given him a good talking to.
There was silence for a while as everyone took in Ken’s words.
Finally, Chris spoke up.
“Looks like I’ll need to thank Seiji personally. Even myself and Coach Takashi weren’t aware that your pitching form had such flaws…”
Inwardly he felt rather disappointed with himself for putting his son in such danger. Ken had already injured his shoulder once, it should have been a red flag for him to begin with.
Yet the stubborn kid in front of him had never complained about pain in his shoulder, at least not in front of him.
“So, doing these exercises will allow you to use your old form again? Is that what you’re saying?” Chris asked, a frown forming on his face.
Ken felt alarm bells going off in his head, already guessing where this was going.
“In theory, yes. But the Coach said he wants to fix my pitching form before I step on the mound again. He wants to find a happy medium where I can still pitch like I used to, but ultimately don’t risk getting injured.”
Ken said his piece in one breath, showing just how nervous he was. He’d seen this expression on his father’s face before, and it never ended well for him.
“Mmm.” Chris looked thoughtful for a few moments before nodding. The fact he was willing to accept Ken’s words meant that he trusted Yokohama’s head coach with his son’s wellbeing.
Bonus chapters (woohoo)
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