"Hahaha, good morning!" - Kenshin, Shun's father, entered the kitchen cheerfully. He hugged his wife before sitting down and starting to chat with the kids at the table.
"Hey dad, you're free today, right?" - Mika asked.
"Hm. The team is traveling tomorrow, so they gave me the day off, haha!" - Kenshin said excitedly. He loved his job as the pitching coach for the Yomiuri Giants, but he felt bad for not being able to spend much time with his family. Especially with Shun, he felt increasingly distant from the boy and didn't know how to fix it.
"So, can you come watch the game today? The team would definitely be excited if you came!" - Mika, who also loved baseball, was very proud to be an assistant for the Tokyo Nakano Senior team, and like any kid, she wanted her dad to be there for important moments in her life.
"Hm! Everyone would really love it if you came, Mr. Takahashi! Come to think of it, Shun, you should come too. It's been a long time since you've seen the team, and I'm sure everyone would be happy to see you!" - Kaori, the brown-eyed girl, decided to invite Shun as well.
"Ohhh, that's a great idea, right Aiko? The whole family can go!" - Kenshin got excited about the idea, but as a good married man who knows who's really in charge, he asked for his wife's confirmation.
"Hm. It's a good idea!" - Aiko agreed with a smile. She knew this was important to their daughter.
"Ehhh, sorry, I've already made plans to go out with the guys. Maybe next time, hehe." - Shun scratched the back of his head as he spoke with regret, trying his best to seem like he really wanted to go. Of course, inside his head, he was screaming: "Ren, you damn samurai, you finally did something good for humanity! If you hadn't invited me to the batting center, I would really have to go to this game. Damn, I owe you one, man." Of course, the samurai in question was still sleeping at this hour, completely unaware of the "good deed" he had done.
"Ah, what a shame. Well, we can always hang out like old times, right? I'm sure Toji and Akira would love it too!" - Kaori said, a little disappointed. She had grown up watching the three friends do everything together, but after Shun left the Tokyo Nakano team, things were never the same. Shun continued to distance himself more and more.
"Hm!" - Shun nodded. The boy really missed the old days, but he understood that he wasn't good enough to be with the Tokyo Nakano team. At the moment, all he thought about was improving and leading the Shoto Junior High School team to win the Kanto tournament.
"So, Yumi, what do you think? Do you want to go watch the baseball game?" - Aiko observed her son's reactions and decided not to say anything. She then asked the cute little girl.
"No! I want to go to the park!" - The little girl shook her head adorably as she expressed her wish.
"Huh? Mommy will take you to the park tomorrow, what do you think?" - Aiko tried to persuade the little girl, but the girl was determined.
"But I wanted to go to the park today" - The little girl said with her head down. She wasn't the stubborn type, so if her mom told her to go to the game, she would just accept it.
"Ehh, okay, so why don't you ask your brother to take you to the park?" - Aiko wasn't the type of mother who forced her children to do what they didn't want to do.
"Ah! Bro, can you take me to the park?" - The little girl was happy with the idea and looked hopefully at her brother.
"Eh, but I'm going to the batting center with the guys-" - Shun was about to refuse, but when he saw his sister's face starting to look sad, his heart simply couldn't take it.
"Alright, but only if you listen to your brother, okay?"
"Hm. Thanks, Bro! I love you!" - Yumi's face brightened as a beautiful smile appeared. The little girl then got up from the chair and hugged her brother.
"Eh? I love you too" - Shun said, a bit embarrassed to be in front of his sister's friends, but his little and cute sister was his weak spot. He hugged her back while patting her head.
Hana couldn't help but smile at the scene. If Shun had seen this, the boy probably would have had a heart attack or something. Unfortunately for him, the smile lasted only a moment, and he didn't notice it.
"So, girls, why don't you tell me how the team is doing?" - Kenshin then continued the conversation.
"This year's team is really strong, dad! Maybe we can win the Senior League again this year!" - Mika said excitedly.
"Hm! Toji and Akira are already batting as cleanups. Not only that, they're some of the best hitters in the entire Senior League!" - Kaori also spoke excitedly.
"Ehh, really? They're only in their second year but already considered some of the best in the league? That's incredible!" - Kenshin was surprised. He knew the boys were talented, but especially in the Senior League, where one year makes a big difference in players' physical development, it was impressive to become a cleanup in your second year.
"Hehe, dad, that's not all. Our ace is just as incredible, but I think Hana can tell you more about that, hehe" - Mika said, clearly wanting to tease her friend.
"Oh, really?" - Kenshin asked sincerely, not understanding much of his daughter's intentions.
"Eh- Hm! Satoshi is playing really well. He's probably one of the best pitchers in the entire Senior League! Besides that, he's still going to improve a lot. The coach said he's the most talented pitcher of our generation!" - The girl blushed and looked angrily at Mika, but she still answered honestly.
Shun felt a strange feeling when he heard the girl he liked praising another guy so much. He did his best to hide it and continued eating. Satoshi Hayashi, the future Japanese ace. The young pitcher who took Shun's place as the ace of the Tokyo Nakano Junior team. Shun felt sad, but there was nothing he could do. In fact, he felt it was obvious that Hana would like someone like that.
Satoshi was indeed an incredible pitcher. He had been the ace in Japan's last two Little League World Series titles. He stood out so much that he earned a nickname, the future Japanese ace. He, Toji, and Akira were the standouts of the tournament. They were only 14 years old, but the media and professional teams had already started paying attention to the three. Shun couldn't help but laugh at himself after thinking about this. This was the reason he had distanced himself from his friends. This was the reason he didn't have the courage to confess his feelings to Hana. He was pathetic. Compared to people like Satoshi and Toji, he felt pathetic.
The girls continued chatting with Kenshin and Aiko throughout breakfast. When Shun finished eating, he said goodbye to them and left the house with his sister. There was still some time before he was supposed to meet Ren and Kenta, so he took his sister to the park.
The girl happily went to play with other children while Shun sat on a nearby bench.
"Ahhhhh, what the hell am I thinking? There's no reason for me to be sad. I need to focus. As long as I work hard, with the help of the system, I'll be able to become a good player! Hahaha, after I turn pro, lots of girls will throw themselves at my feet. There's no reason to be sad because of Hana! That's it! I'll turn pro and have lots of girls, hahaha!" - Shun thought to himself, cheering up.