The Old Baseball Player System
Chapter 67: Father and Son (1)

Shun remained silent throughout the entire trip, the boy didn't know what to say. He was still embarrassed for having lost in front of his father, and besides, it had been a long time since he had been alone with him.

Kenshin noticed his son's emotions and also said nothing, he simply drove quietly while watching his son look out the window at the street. He couldn't help but sigh, a feeling of loss arose within him. He had been realizing that his relationship with his son was becoming increasingly distant, and as a father, he wanted to change that. For Kenshin, his family was the most important thing in his life.

"Are you hungry?" - Kenshin broke the silence while looking at his son.

"Hm." - Shun felt his stomach react after his father's words and nodded.

"Haha, all right!" - Kenshin laughed. After about two minutes, he arrived at a place and entered the parking lot.

"Oh, it's been a while since I've been here!" - Shun said excitedly after noticing the restaurant his father had chosen. They were at McDonald's, an American fast-food chain. Since they lived in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, it wasn't so uncommon to see one of these on the street.

"Haha, I remember you loved it when we came here with your grandfather. Let's go in now, I'm starving too!" - Kenshin was happy to finally see his son excited. The grandfather Kenshin referred to was his wife's father, he was a man born in America who moved to Japan and married a Japanese woman.

Shun followed his father out of the car, the two quickly entered the store and went to the counter to place their orders.

"I want two Quarter Pounders, a Big Mac, and 10 Chicken McNuggets. I also want a large fries and a Coke! What do you want, Dad?" - Shun began to excitedly give his order to the attendant, the boy loved this kind of food, but since it wasn't healthy, his mother didn't let him eat much.

"Haha, I'll just have a Big Mac and fries, and a Coke to drink as well, please." - Kenshin laughed contentedly upon seeing his son's excitement. He then gave his order to the attendant before paying and taking their waiting number.

"117! That's ours!" - Shun was anxiously watching the screen where the numbers of ready orders were displayed. When he saw their order number, he quickly went to the counter to pick it up.

"Here it is!" - Shun handed the paper with their number to the attendant excitedly.

"Thank you, enjoy your meal!" - The attendant smiled upon seeing the enthusiastic young man. She then passed the tray to Shun, who quickly took it and brought it to the table where his father was sitting.

Shun quickly sat down and began to devour his food. Kenshin didn't mind his son's lack of manners much, as he himself was also devouring his hamburger without any etiquette.

"Hey Dad, I'm sorry." - Shun said after finishing everything.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" - Kenshin asked, confused.

"You know... I promised you that I would win the Kanto tournament, but in the end, I lost badly in the third round of the Tokyo tournament. I disappointed you..." - Shun spoke with his head down, he really thought he had let his father down.

"I see. Let's go." - Kenshin looked seriously at his son. He thought carefully before taking a deep breath and speaking. Without waiting for Shun's response, he stood up, took their tray to the trash, and left the restaurant.

"Huh?" - Shun was totally confused, he didn't expect that kind of reaction from his father. He then stood up and followed the man to the car.

The two got into the car and didn't say anything. Shun looked out the window distractedly, not even noticing the path they were taking. He concluded that his father was disappointed to see his son's weak side and that they were heading home.

After 30 minutes, the car finally stopped.

"Huh? Where are we?" - Shun was confused to see that they hadn't stopped in the home garage, in fact, he had no idea where they were.

Kenshin didn't say anything, his eyes distant as if he were remembering good memories. He got out of the car without saying anything and started walking. Shun was totally lost, but he also got out and followed his father.

"Shun, have I ever told you about my father?" - Kenshin finally stopped walking when he reached the edge of a dirt embankment. He looked down nostalgically and finally spoke.

"Hmm, you told me that his name was also Shun and that you named me after him." - Shun was surprised by the mention of his paternal grandfather. He had never met the man because, by the time he was born, Kenshin's father had been dead for a long time.

Shun finally stood beside his father. He followed his gaze and saw an old baseball field at the bottom of the embankment. The field didn't have lights, so he couldn't see well, but he knew there was nothing special about it.

"My father loved baseball like I do, actually, no... my father loved baseball like you do, Shun." - Kenshin spoke a little emotionally as he remembered his father.

"Huh?" - Shun looked at his father surprised, this was the first time he had seen the man so emotional in his life. He couldn't help but feel a little emotional too.

"My father wasn't good enough to become a professional, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never give up baseball. He played on the same amateur team after high school until his death, and this was the field where he played most of his games. I used to come here when I was little to cheer for him." - Shun felt the emotions in his father's words.

He couldn't explain it, but he could feel all those emotions just by looking into his father's eyes. He felt admiration, respect... and longing.