"Hey son! How are they treating you at Osaka?"
A cheery voice came through the phone, brightening Daichi's expression considerably. He was sitting alone in his dorm room, not wanting to join in on the festivities after winning the first round of their prefecture tournament.
"Hi Dad. They're treating me well here." He replied, yet his tone wasn't all that enthusiastic.
"Hmm? Why do you sound so down?" Chris asked.
"W-Wait, you guys didn't lose the first round of your prefecture tournament did you!?"
"Ah no, we won in the 5th inning."
"Phew, thank goodness. Then what's got you so down?"
Daichi could feel the concern in his father's voice, making him feel warm inside. Since being at Osaka he had been too focused on training to realize that he was lonely.
After living with his new family, he had almost forgotten what it was like to feel so alone and isolated, despite having others around. Yet these past few months away from them unconsciously brought back some trauma.
However, just hearing Chris's voice was enough to snap him out of his feelings.
He decided to open up to his father, letting him know about his revelation on the field today. Chris simply listened to his words, only speaking up when he had finished his piece.
"Haaah. So you're saying that the game was so easy that you weren't having fun?"
Daichi paused for a moment, having his feelings summarized in such a way made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Daichi, buddy… Don't you feel like you're getting ahead of yourself?" Chris said, his tone lacking any of the warmth it had earlier.
"Huh?"
Not expecting such a response, Daichi recoiled away from the phone in surprise.
"People pour all of their blood, sweat and tears into the sport of Baseball. They sacrifice their life, leaving their loved ones, all in the pursuit of improving, and maybe one day become a professional."
"Do you think that just because you've trained for a few months on a superior team you can complain about how it's too easy?"
"I… That's not what I meant." Daichi said, not knowing how to react.
"Don't underestimate Baseball…"
There was a short pause as no one spoke for a few moments. Daichi had been yelled at plenty of times in his life, but his father's stern yet calm words had an even deeper impact on him than all of those experiences combined.
Chris let out a sigh before continuing, "It sounds to me like you need to find your reason to play baseball."
"My reason?"
"Some people play baseball because they love it, others play because they love to compete. Hell, some even play purely to become professional and get money and fame."
"You need to find out your reason and what motivates you to play the game. Kiddo you've got talent, I knew from the first time we walked into those batting cages that you had the potential to be great."
"But at the end of the day, your mother and I just want you to be happy. If you can't find your reason to continue playing baseball, then I'd rather you come back home and attend school with your brother."
Daichi was silent as he listened to his father's wise words. They seemed to strike a chord with him, deep inside.
He didn't start baseball because he loved it like Ken did. He started playing because Ken wanted to play with him, to become the best battery in the nation.
Now that he thought about it, was that what he really wanted to do? Did he want to toil away and sacrifice time with his family to attend this school?
At first, baseball was a way to escape from reality. When he was playing, he never thought about his circumstances at home, he could be carefree and have fun with Ken and his teammates.
Yet now that his reality had changed, was this something that he really wanted to pursue? As these questions bounced around in his mind, his conversation with Ken in the middle of the street suddenly appeared in his mind.
["Once your shoulder heals, let's aim to become pro together."
"Yeah it's a promise. Let's get to the NPB and then the Majors!"]
BA BUMP
BA BUMP
Daichi placed his hand on his heart, feeling it almost beating out of his chest.
His worried features seemed to fade away, replaced with a blossoming grin.
'That's right. I want to play with Ken… I want to go to the Majors with my brother.'
"Ah by the way, please do me a favor…"
Daichi's thoughts were interrupted by his father whom he almost forgot was still on the phone to him.
"A-Ah sure dad."
Chris paused for a moment before responding.
"Please give Kenny a call. Your mother has been bugging me since she found out you two haven't been speaking all this time." His tone sounded almost pleading.
"Ha Hahahaha!" Daichi couldn't help but laugh, feeling all of his negative feelings disappear in a flash.
"H-Hey this is no laughing matter. You know how she can get…"
"Okay okay, I'll give him a call now." He replied, unable to remove the grin on his face.
"Thank goodness." Chris said, feeling a weight off his shoulders.
"Alright I gotta go, we'll chat later. Make sure you call your brother otherwise I'll hear about it."
"I will, don't worry. Thank you dad…"
Beep Beep Beep
"Ah, he hung up." Daichi remarked, checking his flip phone.
He stared at the screen for a while, feeling much better than earlier.
"I better call Ken."
***
"I'm home"
Ken called out, walking through the front door and taking off his shoes. He was feeling rather refreshed since there was no additional practice on game days.
"Ah, he just got home. One moment."
He heard his mother's excited voice from the kitchen, causing a curious expression to appear on his face.
She popped her head around the corner with a giant smile on her face, giving her son a knowing look. Without a word, she handed him the phone before disappearing behind the wall once more.