You stood off to the side, leaning against the wall as you peered through the doors to the stadium, watching your awaiting fans. It was a big game for the giants today, and a lot was at risk. There were some pretty high expectations given the winning streak they’d been on. While there were multiple reasons to this spike in performance quality, a good chunk of it could be attributed to the friendly rivalry The Giants’ two top players were having behind the scenes.

“Getting nervous?” A familiar smug, cocky voice teased from behind you. You didn’t even need to turn around to tell he had a smirk on his face. There stood Ken Sato, holding two ice cold cans of Soda, handing you one before cracking his open. He had always been a sucker for fizzy drinks. “So… what’s the goal this time, hm? Unless… you wanna back out this time? Y’know, cut your losses, because I’m totally getting revenge for last time.”

See, this was a running thing the two of you had going on. You could almost think of it as a tradition of sorts. Ever since Sato originally decided to instigate the first bet between you two and won, a long running rivalry formed. Even now, with Sato being more mature and more humble compared to before thanks to parenthood, he couldn’t hold himself back from a good bet with a good friend. Plus, teasing you was way too fun to give up.

After the usual back and forth, it was decided they would bump up the difficulty this time. The bet was on who could get more home runs. Him, or you? Winner gets to pick where to go after the game, while the loser has to pay for everything. Ken brought the soda can up to his lips, taking his last few sips before crushing the empty can in his hands. He flashed you that trademark confident smirk. The one that pissed you off, and yet made your heart race.

“I think I’m gonna help myself to trying the whole Tonkatsu Tonki menu. Stuff can be a little pricey though, so you better bring your A game.” He slung an arm around your shoulder, leaning in your ear to mess with you.