Incident

[User has sustained blunt force trauma to the head, shutting down brain functions…]

Mika's voice was the last thing that Ken heard as he suddenly lost consciousness.

"KEN!!"

The whole of the dugout was about to run onto the field before Coach Hanada did his best to block the stairs.

"WAIT HERE!" He bellowed, snapping the teens out of their frenzy.

His eyes were full of worry as he looked onto the field.

"Medic! Please, please get the paramedics."

Daichi grabbed his brother who had slumped into a pile right in front of him and felt hot tears run down his face. His body was shaking violently as he panicked.

The whole arena was in shock at what just took place. One moment they were watching one of the best matches of the tournament, and in the next tragedy struck.

"M-MY BOY!"

Chris cried out from the stands, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Those in the surroundings who heard his calls felt a sick dread well up from within them.

They couldn't imagine seeing their own child be hit by a fastball to the head.

He frantically tried to make his way past the crowded seats and onto the field.

Meanwhile on the field, the paramedics arrived and tended to Ken. Daichi was asked to move away and give them some space to work, something that was very difficult for him to do.

He stood up and anxiously moved around, hot tears pouring down his cheeks as he paced in worry.

Yatsuo who had recovered from the shock that ran up his arm, suddenly saw Ken lying on the ground surrounded by paramedics. He fell to his knees again in pure and utter shock, his throat feeling dry.

Only after a few minutes did the paramedics call for a stretcher to be brought onto the field. Since he was still unconscious, they needed to get him into the shade and away from the prying eyes of the crowd.

Chris managed to somehow get onto the field, or at least to the edge of the field until he was stopped by security. It took all of his self control to not blow past these guys and attend to his son.

As Ken was getting taken off the field in a stretcher, applause rained down from the stands, showing appreciation for his valiant performance throughout the game.

Daichi's eyes followed Ken's figure, only to see his father standing worriedly by the side.

His heart felt as if a knife had gone through it and he suddenly couldn't hold his emotions together. An intense feeling of guilt and remorse flooded through his body, threatening to overwhelm him.

His vision began to blur from the tears which wouldn't stop falling from his face.

Just as he thought he would have a panic attack, he felt a strong pair of arms pull him close into an embrace.

'Huh?'

Daichi's mind went blank as he felt the warmth surround him like an all encompassing blanket.

"It's alright son. Ken will be okay."

Hearing his Dad's voice, all of the fear and guilt poured out of him in the form of tears. It was as if he had found a safe space to vent all his negative emotions on, something that he had never had before growing up.

Only after a few moments did his cries grow weaker.

Earlier, Chris had wanted to rush to Ken who was on the stretcher, however he knew that he would only serve as a hindrance to the medical professionals on the scene.

That's when he saw Daichi who was in a bad state upon the field. He moved forward to go comfort his son, but was quickly blocked by the security.

It was then that his tall frame seemed to grow in size and his tone became icy.

"Get out of my way." He said sternly, causing the guards to shrink back a little.

"Let him through."

Coach Hanada who had followed the stretcher to the medic area saw what was happening between Chris and the two guards. The game was already in shambles at the moment and he didn't want a scene to break out.

Although he wasn't in a position to give such an order, the guards reluctantly let the tall man pass, slightly out of fear of violence.

Chris sent him a word of thanks with his eyes before pleading in a broken tone.

"Look after Ken for a moment please."

He nodded, though his expression was grave.

Elsewhere on the field, the umpires had called a stop to the match while the medics had attended the injured player. Since it was the last game of the day, it wouldn't effect anything else on the schedule.

The Yokohama team were beside themselves as they were forced to wait in the dugout while Ken was receiving attention. Ai in particular looked heartbroken as the whole scene played out.

She was currently crying in Yuko's embrace, her ample bosom creating a safe haven for Ai's tears.

There was a somber mood on the field as Coach Narukami approached Yatsuo on the mound who was currently on his knees in shock. The 3rd year player didn't even notice his coach who had closed the gap.

"Give me your hand." He said calmly.

Only now did Yatsuo see the outstretched hand of the coach. Without a word he complied, placing his large hand in the older man's.

The Coach's hands explored every part of his fingers and knuckles, finally stopping on the wrist. He pressed down gently, only to force Yatsuo to suck in a cold breath of air in pain.

"Do you feel any numbness in your fingers?" He asked calmly.

Yatsuo nodded.

"Is it a shooting pain from your wrist? Almost like a shock?"

The big guy nodded once more, which was followed by a long silence.

"How long?"

"…"

"Since the start of Koshien."

Coach Narukami looked at his player and felt a mixture of emotions. He was sad that Yatsuo hadn't confided in him about his injury, yet also angry that he had put another person in danger because of it.

Not only did the coach feel like he had failed his team, but he had also jeopardized much much more.

Without a word, he walked back towards the umpire, his footsteps seeming heavier than usual. He tapped the official on the shoulder and said some words, causing the expression on their face to warp in shock.

"You what!?

The sounds of tapping keyboards filled his ears as he stared blankly into the monitor sitting in front of him. A spreadsheet which he had been working on for seemingly months, taunted him with its broken formulas and corrupted data sets.

Ken sat at his computer feeling his soul get sucked dry by the boring office job he'd been employed at for over 2 years. 4 years of university wasted on a median paying role within a consumer goods company.

His head was pounding as he tried to fix whatever mess the bosses had made while last using his spreadsheet. Out of habit, he rubbed his right shoulder trying to sooth the pain.

'Huh?'

He almost recoiled in shock as he realized that his right shoulder wasn't hurting at all. For 7 years he had been in constant pain, so much that it had plagued him every moment that he was awake.

Ken tried to think of what could have cured him, yet the moment he did, the headache he was experiencing throbbed in response.

*DING*

He heard an alert come from the computer, grabbing his attention.

"An article?"

He opened up the email that just so happened to pop up in front of him which read, "Prodigy catcher Daichi Suzuki wins the Japan Series Trophy for the Hanshin Tigers with a walk of Grand Slam"

He frowned seeing the familiar name, yet a wave of happiness filled him.

"Maybe I should have gone to the game." He mumbled, feeling a little guilty.

Ken cradled his head after receiving yet another wave of pain from the headache he was experiencing. It was so bad that he was having trouble remembering what day it was.

"Do I need to go home?"

Weirdly, when he said the word home, the faces of both his mother and father appeared in his mind, making him feel odd.

'But I haven't lived with my parents since High School.' He thought, once again feeling the headache throbbing.

*DING*

Before he could follow this line of thought even more, Ken heard another notification through the computer. This time it was an instant message from one of his colleagues.

[Mika: Extensive damage detected to the temporal lobe. Recommend using Recovery Elixir]

"Huh? Temporal lobe? Recovery Elixir?"

He looked at the jargon that his obviously sleep deprived colleague had written and had half a mind to ignore it completely. However, he needed this job so he didn't want to put himself in a bad position with the bosses.

[Ken: Um sure. I'm not IT, but have you tried turning it off and on again?]

He breathed out a sigh of relief, hoping that that would end the matter.

"What's the time?" He mumbled, pulling out his phone from his pocket.

"Hmm? Is that my old phone?" Seeing the flip phone that he used to always carry around in High School, he felt surprised.

Things were becoming very weird in this moment, causing him to feel a hint of anxiety creeping up. He stood up and looked around, only to see an empty office around him.

This was even creepier considering he could still hear the tapping away of keyboards from the unattended office cubicles. While his mind was trying to process what was happening, his head was continuously throbbing.

The pain was so great that it made him feel a huge wave of nausea threaten to overcome him.

*DING*

[Mika: Time is running out, please confirm you wish to use the Recovery Elixir]

[Y/N]

Ken saw Mika's message pop up on his screen, demanding an answer. He clutched at his head as the pain was becoming unbearable.

"DAMN IT! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" He screamed out, on the verge of losing consciousness.

There was a sinking sensation in his stomach as he once more stared at the screen shining in front of him. He had a feeling that if he lost consciousness, he wouldn't wake up again.

Fear instantly overtook his senses as he slammed his head on the keyboard while trying to stay awake. He tried to think of happier times, yet they were blocked by the severe pain in his mind.

[Warning: Intracranial pressure increasing. Please use Recovery Elixir]

[Y/N]

This time the voice came from inside his mind, a monotonous one which seemed to hold no emotion whatsoever. Ken gripped both sides of his head, feeling as if it was going to be torn apart from the inside.

"YES! YES! JUST PLEASE MAKE IT STOP"

He screamed in agony, begging for the pain to go away.

[Confirmed. Using Recovery Elixir]

At those words the pain instantly subsided, bringing with it a wave of warmth that he had never experienced in his lifetime. It was as if all of his pain and worries had disappeared, birthing him anew.

'Is this what death feels like?' He wondered.

However, in the next moment his consciousness went dark.

***

The sound of rhythmic beeps filled the small room located in the children's hospital wing in Osaka. Upon the bed lay a figure with bandages upon their head, looking peaceful as if they were sleeping soundly.

Chris walked into the room and saw his son who was just playing baseball not even a few hours ago, now bedridden. Daichi who was clutching his brothers hand was currently asleep, resting his head upon the side of the bed.

He felt a lump in his throat as he saw the scene in front of him.

The preliminary results weren't great. Not only had Ken received a mild traumatic brain injury, the Doctors had also hinted their may be bleeding in his brain. If things did not go well, a clot could form and create increased pressure on the brain.

Never in a million years had he expected his sons much awaited match to end in such a manner.

Chris took a look at his watch before quickly leaving the room. His wife should be arriving to the hospital any moment.

As soon as she saw the incident on TV, she had rushed home and grabbed a few things before catching the first flight to Osaka. No parent would be able to sit idly by once something like this had happened to their child.

Ken felt groggy as he tried to open his eyes. The afternoon sun was shining through the windows upon his face, giving off warm sensation.

He looked around the room and was shocked to see that he was in the hospital.

The first thing that he felt was a sweaty palm attached to his own hand. He was about to yank it away until he recognized the culprit.

"Daichi?"

His voice was hoarse and his throat was dry, likely from not getting enough water.

Hearing his name, Daichi stirred from his slumber. He gripped onto Ken's hand tightly as he lifted his gaze to see his brother watching him in puzzlement.

Ken could see the tear stains left upon Daichi's baby face, a sign that he had been bawling for some time now.

"K-Ken!?"

Daichi's eyes lit up with pure joy as he saw Ken's dumbfounded expression. He didn't care that he was being stared at weirdly, he moved forward for a hug.

Thankfully his brain was thinking straight and he only hugged Ken's waist, even then he made sure to be gentle. His tear ducts which should have been empty, once again let the flood gates open.

Ken could only smile gently as he patted his little brother's back. While he was still feeling a little groggy, his brain was working in the background to piece together all the information.

He could guess what had happened by the bandages on his head and the fact that he was in the hospital. However, the burning question on his mind was, what happened to the game?

Did they win or lose?

While he could ask Daichi, he felt it would be a little insensitive in this moment.

Disregarding any information he'd heard, Chris walked forward and joined his family in the hug.

"Welcome back Ken." He muttered, feeling the stress and anxiety drift away from him in that moment.

A few minutes later, the Doctor walked into the room after hearing what the nurse had reported to him. At first he hadn't believed her, yet now there were no doubts in his mind.

He saw Ken sitting up and talking with his family, no signs of pain on his face.

"H-Hi. I'm Doctor Hige, the one assigned to your son."

After an awkward introduction, he went through a physical evaluation with Ken before checking all of his vital signs. By the time he had finished, he was in shock.

Not only was Ken healthy, there were no signs that he'd ever been struck by a ball in the first place.

"I just want to remove your bandage if you don't mind." He said, reaching up and pulling it off gently.

Doctor Hige held his breath as he took the last bit of the bandages off, only to breathe a sigh of relief. The place where the ball had hit showed a lump, evidence that he was not in fact going crazy.

"We'll have to run a few more tests, but I think your son is more than healthy." He said, sounding relieved.

"Thank you so much Doctor." Yuki said, her face turned up in a beautiful smile.

Once the Doctor left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Ken.

He had been worried that there would be no evidence of the ball striking his head thanks to the Recovery Elixir he'd taken. Yet it seemed that the system was not stupid, and did not want to draw attention to itself.

So it left a lump and bruise at the site, in order to cover its tracks.

'Thanks for all your help Mika.' Ken said to his AI friend.

[You're welcome]

Ken smiled. That was the first time he'd heard a response like that from Mika, and she sounded pleased.

With that out of the way, Ken decided to ask the question that had been burning in his mind since he'd awoken.

"What happened with our game? Who won?"