12

( evening at home )

Ken- mom I'm home ..

mom - ah.. ken chan , welcome back . so did you get any information about work ?

Ken- sorry mom . I just cant do anything right now. tomorrow everything will be told before the press conference .

mom - is that so . ( smile ) dont worry Ken chan . misa chan won't be angry ..

Ken- but ..

mom - nothing Ken chan . she just wanted you to clear your mind outside home so she just used your job as an excuse ..

Ken- ( I dont think so mom . she looked really worried ) okay mom . did misa chan call you ?

mom - no.. I think she will tell us everything when she's back . that girl is like that since childhood..( smile)

( call incoming ... )

Ken- hello misa chan . did you bring everyone on their knees with your performance ( smile ) ?

misa - hmm.. I think I did . oh yes, Ken chan . head coach John of all Japan team , wanted me with ohe other selected members to join a week long training camp . it's going to be held in Osaka. sorry dear I cant be with you .. it's such an important event in your life ( sad ) ..

Ken- ( my cute girl ) dont worry about me misa chan . besides i have mom with me but will you alright alone there with strangers..?

misa - I will do just fine . I already made new friends too . oh . .. what happened to your information gathering today ? Ken chan .. answer me ( angry ) ..

Ken- sorry dear . I tried but ..

misa - it's okay Ken chan . I was just worried that you didnt go outside much so I ordered you that forcefully in the morning... bye now darling. it's time to board the plane . i love you ..

Ken- i love you too ( so mom was right. misa chan was just worried about me then .. such a caring girlfriend) .. mom.. she said it's time to board her plane ...

mom - it's alright ken chan . she will give me a call after reaching her hotel there .. but I have to go to a party with my friends now .. what will you do alone Ken chan ?..

Ken- hmm.. it's fine mom. I will manage ..

mom - okay bye then Ken chan . take care ..

ken - bye . ( miyuki you are really my good friend . who knew that today's tickets for Hornets vs giants night game will really be of use tonight . now at least I will not be bored alone.. )

( dream private stadium , Hornets homeground )

( inside the stadium , stands )

( wow .. such a big private stadium . looks like Hornets is really a rich club like rumours . but why my ticket is a VVIP class . miyuki just told me that he got them from the club . I guess that Hornets must still trying to recruit miyuki then even though his mind is set on overseas university..

but this box is really luxurious. as expected of VVIP treatment . it's my first time watching a game from such good location. eh.. my seat no is 03 huh .. oh next seat to mine belongs to him then . he looks like a rich entrepreneur old man ..)

Ken- hello good sir . ( pointing at my seat ) this is my seat . ( smile )

Kevin- wow such a polite Japanese young man . of course let's enjoy watching the game together . my name is Kevin, what's yours young man ?

Ken- my name is Ken ( he looks like a good man . I'm glad that my English conversation skill is good ) nice to meet you mr.kevin .

Kevin- nice to meet you too young Ken. so do you like any team especially today ? Hornets or giants ..

Ken - to be honest , no . well I didnt watch pro games that often due to lack of time..( embarrassed)

Kevin- oh.. work ? ( curious )

Ken- no no . I just graduated from high school recently . well I was busy with baseball practice most of the time ..

Kevin- oh.. its nice to young . so did your school win any tournament then considering the fact you practiced a lot ?

Ken- ( this old man is really a businessman . he is totally leading our conversation. well its alright. at least I have someone to talk to ..) well just national championship. you are an American so I dont know if you are that interested in Japan high school tournament though ..

Kevin- no no . in fact I'm really interested. seido high school was it , national champions . I've heard their name a lot ..

Ken- well that's my school ( proud )

( after the game ended )

Ken- well then it was nice to meet you mr.kevin ... ( smile )

Kevin- hmm.. will you mind joining me for dinner now Ken? please ... ( eager )

ken - ( well i have nothing better to do anyway ) it will be my pleasure then ..

( restaurant in the stadium, )

Kevin- so Ken, tell me your honest opinion now . do you think Hornets can be strong team upcoming season ?

Ken- ( huh ... maybe he is a fan) well are you sure ? honest opinion ?

Kevin- absolutely. .

Ken- okay then . well to be honest, I don't think it's very likely...

Kevin- why are you so sure Ken?

Ken- hmm.. you see , they have potential in my opinion but ..

kevin - oh ? why did you think they have potential to be strong ? honestly , I just felt that they were really weak for a pro team .

Ken- well it's simple. when the game ended , you could see that all the players in Hornets bench were frustrated by their loss even though it's only an exhibition match . so you can feel that they want to win . I think that they won't be stronger because of some other reasons ..

Kevin- oh ? so you mean that their mindset is good . so please tell me those reasons then ? now I'm curious..

Ken- let's see . I think that pro players can only do so much alone . I have heard that the owner of Hornets club is changing this season . well it can be a good thing but the main problem is that I felt that their coaching staff was not doing their job properly..

Kevin- why do you think so ? ( curious )

Ken- well I can tell that much after watching their plays .. they have potential because most of the bench members are young now . so the job of coaching staff is more demanding than other teams. the team can be both good or bad depending on them . but I liked Hornets very much because of their fans . even though they are in last place these few seasons , the fans were cheering for them with passion . it felt really good ..

Kevin- oh ? so you mean that if new owner changes the coaching staff for more capable ones then Hornets can become a strong team..

Ken- no no Kevin. you see all the coaching staff are capable already . if not then they wouldn't get their jobs anyway .. it's just that there is not enough time for them to train young players before the season .. you see , if veteran players are training for a month then they can maintain their top form with just little advice and care from coaching staff . but this cannot be said for young ones as they haven't reached their peak yet so how can they know their limits.. ? ...

Kevin- ( disappointed) so Hornets cannot graduate from last place this year too huh ..

Kevin- ( looks like he really loves Hornets) well it's not that there isn't a way . ( smile )

Kevin- ( hopeful) really , tell me Ken..( eager )

Ken- ( who is this old man anyway . normal fans will not care this much .. forget it ..its none of my business anyway ..) hmm.. its simple. just recruit a point getter from outside . baseball is a game where the team which scores most runs win . so you just have to score more runs than you loose ( laughs ) ..

Kevin- cough.. ( laughs )) you're absolutely right young Ken.. you cleared my mind young man . let me formally introduce myself . I'm Kevin bolt , chairman of bolt enterprises. oh yes .. the new owner of Hornets too( laughs )..

Ken- you ..old man ( this one really shocked me . I could guess that he was not a normal fan but seriously owner ? what the fuck . I was talking with such a big shot the whole time . its good thing that i didn't speak that bad about Hornets .. thank goodness ) you really got me there mr Kevin bolt ..

Kevin- ( laugh) well welll.. now that you know my job too .... it's time to introduce yourself properly to me isn't it Ken..? ..

Ken- ( well it's only right to do so ) cough .. my name is ito Ken,, well I'm unemployed right now . nice to make your acquaintance chairman bolt ... ( smile ) ..

Kevin- ( thinking) ito ken .. you are that home run king of koshien tournament. hahaha.. you got me good too . to think you turned out to be such a celebrity..

Ken- likewise ( smile ) . well so much of a celebrity though . we both didnt recognize each other at all at first... ( laughs )

Kevin- ( laughs) well that's absolutely right too ..

( after chatting for a while )

Ken- then if you will excuse me mr bolt . I have a lot to think about my job now ...

Kevin- well that's true . so tell me Ken, will you join, if I personally recruit you for Hornets?

Ken- well it depends on you Mr bolt . I like the team and fans , now it depends on the amount you are willing to spend on me .. I will be just like a salaryman so I will need salary according to my performance and contribution to the team . what do you say? ( well it's TRUE that I like this team but money is most important. .. well maybe I can compromise somewhat after hearing this old man ..)

Kevin- hmm.. how does 100 million yen sound as your annual salary this season . well of course it will rise according to your performance ( smile ) ..

Ken- ( welll this old man is bent on recruiting me huh . money is good for starting salary , in fact it's big for a rookie . well let's do this then . besides this old man is like a friend now anyway .... ) alright you have yourself a deal then . take care of me from now on , owner .. ( laughs )

Kevin- it's my pleasure Ken senshu. ( happy ) but I'm really expecting great performances from you young man ..

Ken- just wait and watch old man .. ( smile ) .. now then let's sign the contract now . its better to to do so as quickly as possible ..

Kevin- ( calling secretary ) I'm on it already ..

( after signing the contract )

Ken- alright . let's meet tomorrow mr bolt before the press conference.. .

Kevin- yes ( smile ) . be on time .. good night ..