The Old Baseball Player System

Chapter 182 Protection

"Can we leave now?" - Ryosuke asked irritably, looking at his older brother.

"Hahaha, sure, let's go! I'm starving, let's stop at a restaurant first!" - Kyosuke laughed, nodding as he got up and began walking toward the bleacher steps.

"Fine..." - Ryosuke muttered, following his brother. The boy clearly wasn't in a good mood, as his older brother had insisted they stay until the end of the awards ceremony, meaning he'd had to watch all his former teammates happily receive their medals.

---

Outside the stadium, near the Shoto Junior High School bus...

"Mom, is Bro really going to come by here?" - Little Yumi asked excitedly, looking up at her mother with big blue eyes.

"Yes, dear, he should be coming soon." - Aiko answered gently, glancing at her phone. It had been about five minutes since she spoke to Shun on the phone, so she knew her son should be arriving any minute.

But just as Aiko finished speaking, a commotion was heard as several young players in uniforms began exiting the stadium, heading toward the Shoto bus.

"Bro!" - Little Yumi squealed with excitement as she finally saw her brother. Shun was wearing his medal around his neck, walking beside Ren and Kenta while holding his bag and his MVP trophy.

"I'll be right back!" - Shun heard his little sister's shout and smiled. He quickly called out to his friends as he ran over to the little girl.

"Hey Yumi-" - Shun began, leaning down with a big grin to greet her. But before he could say anything else, she ran toward him and jumped into his arms.

"What on earth are you saying, you idiot?!" - Masahiro's wife quickly kicked him in the rear, noticing that not only Shun but all the girls present seemed embarrassed by Masahiro's words.

"Ouch! I was just giving him some advice..." - Masahiro cried out in pain, looking indignantly at his wife, muttering that he'd been wronged as he stayed quiet.

Everyone laughed after watching Masahiro get scolded, lightening the mood again. Shun also greeted Satoru and Sophia and chatted briefly with his friends from Tokyo Nakano before heading back to the bus.

Though he wanted to spend more time with them, he couldn't keep the entire Shoto team waiting. Shun could have skipped today's post-game meeting, but he had another reason for taking the bus back. Even though he was exhausted from pitching nine innings under the hot sun, he still needed to complete his daily exercise routine, and he knew he'd have no excuse good enough to give his dad if he did it in their backyard.

Shun then got on the bus and sat next to Ren. Unfortunately for him, the two were seated right behind Kenta and Shimizu, and because of that, the young samurai Ren spent the entire trip complaining about how unfair life was, while Shun just nodded along with the young samurai's complaints.

---

Meanwhile, still inside the stadium, the gray-haired man who had handed Shun his medal was making a phone call.

"Hello?" - A male voice answered on the other end of the line.

"Hahaha, how are you, kid? I've got more work to do, so I'll be brief. Shun Takahashi, he plays as a pitcher for Shoto Junior High School. He'll be competing in the Kanto tournament next week, if I were you, I'd keep an eye on him." - The gray-haired man said before hanging up without waiting for a reply.

Meanwhile, seated at an office desk, the man who had received the gray-haired man's call sighed.

"That guy..." - He muttered, slightly annoyed at the man's lack of manners. But, knowing who he was, the man didn't hesitate. He reached for the closest piece of paper and quickly jotted down [Shun Takahashi] and [Shoto Junior High] before dialing another number on his cell phone.