***
After a long 15 hour trip, the Takagi’s arrived at the international airport in Austin Texas. Ken had struggled to sleep much on the plane, meaning he was rather tired.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep, just that the economy class was hardly suited for a person of his height. With his almost 6’4 frame, he had felt like a sardine, locked into the seats.
Ken walked through the airport much like a zombie, responding with grunts and groans whenever talked to by his parents.
Eventually, they managed to get their bags and head out the front. There were a few odd displays like large colorful guitars and even a bronze statue of a woman he’d never heard of before.
Ken just took it in his stride, too tired to make sense of the new environment.
After jumping in a taxi, the trio had another 20 or so minute drive before arriving at their destination.
“We’re here guys.” Chris announced, his excitement evident.
Ken turned his head and took in the sight which would be home from now on. The first thing he saw was the large lawn out the front and the long driveway.
The house was a single story and painted red. It had a patio out the front and a car port which was just a steel frame and simple roof above.
Ken was feeling a little tentative, but he still dragged himself out of the car. Since he was so tired, he didn’t care if he slept in a tent at this point.
However, seeing how excited his father was, he decided to play along as the guy gave them a tour of the house, just like a real estate agent would.
In all reality, Ken was running on fumes. He glanced at the kitchen and the lounge half-heartedly, wishing for nothing but the sweet embrace of a bed.
Thankfully, his father sensed that both his wife and son were lacking the enthusiasm required for such a situation and promptly sent them both to bed.
“Here is your room. You’ll be free to customize it later, but for now just get some sleep.” He said, patting Ken on the back.
Ken didn’t need to be told twice, immediately dropping his suitcases onto the floor and marching to the bed. He dove face first, taking only a few minutes to fall asleep, his worries nothing but a distant memory.
After who knows how long, Ken roused from his deep sleep, his stomach growling in protest. Only now did he realize that he hadn’t eaten since a few hours into the flight.
“I’m hungry…” He muttered, getting up from the bed.
He looked out the window, seeing the street lights and the night sky. The last day had been a blur, Ken hardly remembered it despite knowing it had been long and draining both physically and emotionally.
He walked out of the room and into the unfamiliar house, feeling odd. There was a note on the kitchen bench, grabbing his attention.
“Food is in the microwave, heat it up if you’re hungry. Love Mom.”
A small smile appeared on his face in response. His parents had already gone to sleep but still thought to leave him some food, making him feel warm inside.
He heated up the rice and went to town, filling his belly promptly and downing some water. Surprisingly, he soon began to yawn again, feeling sleepiness creep in.
Ken pat his stomach in satisfaction, heading back to the bed and laying down. Like a bear hibernating for the winter, he fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, he awoke to find both his parents sitting at the dining table eating breakfast already. Ken felt as if he’d been run over by a truck, likely from sleeping for far longer than he was used to.
“Morning Kenny” Both his mother and father called in unison.
“Mmm.” He grunted in response, limping his way to the table.
Yuki placed a bowl in front of him, filling it with cereal and handing him the milk. They didn’t often have cereal back in Japan, but he wasn’t complaining.
“I hope you had a good sleep son, cos we’ve got a busy day ahead of us.” Chris said smilingly.
Ken felt a headache coming on, but he still nodded, trying not to kill his father’s fun.
“I need to move my body first.” He said, trying to stretch out some soreness.
“Mmm that’s fine, just don’t get lost.”
“Ah…” Ken exclaimed, almost forgetting that they were in a completely different country right now.
“There’s a gym close by. Maybe you can join it?” Yuki suggested.
Eventually, Ken decided to brave the wild for today. If anything, he wanted to do a bit of exploring while he was at it and clear his head.
He dug his running shoes out of his bags and headed to the front door. It was a little odd not seeing the usual Japanese setup, but he quickly moved on.
“I’m off.” Ken said, heading out the door.
“Be safe.”
Ken hit the road, starting off slow. Every step he took, Ken discovered another pain in his muscles. This was the result of being cooped up in an economy seat for 15 hours with his long limbs.
Thankfully, around 10 minutes into the run the tight muscles began to ease as they warmed up.
By the time he was halfway through his run, a smile appeared on Ken’s face. There was nothing more relaxing than exercising, at least for him.
Before he knew it, Ken was almost sprinting towards the end, ignoring the cars and people all around. It was just him and the road, nothing could stop him from pushing his limits.
As he neared the bridge, he began to slow down, feeling as if he was forgetting something important.
“Ah crap!” He exclaimed.
Ken looked around him, trying to gauge where he was. He had been so caught up in the feeling of running that he hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going.
However, he shook his head, taking it all in stride, looking towards the future.
Our boy is in America! Shoutout to all my readers from Texas.
Ken’s school will be revealed in the next chapter. For IP purposes, the name of the teams will be altered slightly (if you haven’t noticed already) ie: Texas Longhorns = Texas Shorthorns.
As you can see, I am very creative.
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