Author's note!

Here's you go! I really suck at writing a slice of life stuff so bare with me.

The next chapter would be in grade school years. I decided to accelerate my timeline since it's kinda boring.

-Los Angeles, California-

-February 11, 2001, 1800h local-

Three years. It's been three years since Kenshi has been born. If there's a word that would describe him, it would be neutral. As a baby, Kenshi has been a quiet kid. He rarely cries and laughs. This promoted some mixed feelings from Michael and Hana. Who wouldn't want an amiable child for any first-time parents, but it kind of takes some of the magic away. However, it started to change when Kenshi turned two.

Hana and Michael had opted to bring Kenshi to the doctor when they noticed the lack of milestones related to language/communication and social/emotional. From Kenshin's checkup results, he's advanced for his age in areas of cognitive and physical development, abnormal even. For example, an electroencephalogram or EEG scan of his brain activity showed that there's 20% more than kids of his age group.

However, it's like you're looking at a manikin. Kenshi's face remains mostly blank and would only change at the most extreme of circumstances.

His unique condition had prompted Michael to retire earlier than planned. His savings are more than enough for them to live comfortably well into retirement. Hana's investments are also paying massive dividends, so they're financially secure.

At the end of the 2000 season, Michael officially retired after winning the last two championships, to the disappointment of every basketball fan. He dealt with the Laker's management to join the staff as an assistant coach or trainer after a season or two. This is to set up a system with Hana to take care of Kenshi. His technical knowledge and general feel of the game would really fit into his new role.

That's why it's more than understandable why the first time parents got emotional during Kenshi's party.

Hana and Michael organized a birthday party for their unique son. They invited a few close friends and co-workers for the little shindig. The party would start at 7 pm, so they let Kenshin have an extended afternoon nap, even if there's already some guest present.

"So, how's the cutie?" Michelle, one of Hana's coworker, asked.

"My baby is a literal genius..." Hana answered with vigor. "We found him answering third-grade math questions last week. An IQ test showed that he has 120 IQ already."

"That's great! Smart just like his mom and dad, eh." Roxy, another one of Hana's coworker, exclaimed.

Michael, some basketball players, staff, and executives are having a drink on the other side of the room.

"So, on the road for another ring, eh." Michael stated.

"Oh, yeah! The Spurs can't do shit this time..." Shaq boisterously answered. "We got me, of course, and the up and coming to all-star here." He added while pulling Kobe next to him.

"That's a fluke. I still need to break him down before we can call him a real all-star." Michael teased, referring to the fact that he'll join the Laker staff next year.

The two groups were entertaining each other when Hana and Michael heard a rare but distinctive sound. Hana reached for stereo control and brought the volume all the way down.

"Shhh..." Hana shushed everyone to be silent before walking towards Michael. "You hear that, right?"

"Yeah... Wait... Is Kenshi crying?" Michael replied.

The last time they heard Kenshi cry was more than 3 months ago after he accidentally stubbed his toe while running around. So it's understandable that they need some time to recognize his cry. What they certainly didn't recognize was the voice they heard between the cries.

"Mommy... Daddy." The voice cried out.

Everyone froze when they heard the cry. First of all, that's a kid's voice. Secondly, there's no kid in the house except for the birthday boy. Thirdly, Kenshi was selectively mute.

Hana was the first one to snap out of her stupor. She quickly separated from Michael and ran through the house, up the stairs, towards Kenshi's room. Michael followed not far behind her.

When Hana opened the door, she saw a peculiar sight. Kenshi decided to hide under his blankets and comforters. He only peeked through the covers when he heard the door open. The moment he saw his mother at the door, he jumped off the bed and ran towards her. Hana immediately picked Kenshi upped while trying to hide the tears pooling at the corner of her eyes.

"Mommy. It was dark, mommy. Then I was falling for so long." Kenshi said quickly.

Hana started to rub Kenshi's back, trying to calm him down. She has no idea what Kenshi's 'dream' was about, and she would worry about it later. For now, she would just cherish this moment.

When Michael finally caught up with his wife, he saw Hana hugging Kenshi tightly. She noticed him about to ask a question and ruin the moment. So she gave him a discreet signal to remain quiet.

The family remained where they are. Just enjoying the new but welcomed development.

-LA Lakers Training Facility, Los Angeles, California-

-July 1, 2001, 0800h local-

Kenshi's party went into overdrive after the unexpected development. Somehow, Michael's teammates managed to contain their usual selves and contained their antics to PG rating, making it more in line with a three-year-old birthday party. Hana and Micahel opted to end the party earlier than planned. This for them to have private time today.

The day after, Hana and Michael decide to bring Kenshi back to the doctor for a full workup, including another psychological test. There's no difference with his physical results. He's still healthy and overdeveloped for his age. However, the child psychologist noted a huge jump in his social and communication skills.

The psychologist noted a certain amount of clinginess from Kenshin. Most probably due to the nature of his 'dream.' She recommended for him to take several sessions to identify and deal with the problem correctly. For the last five months or so, Kenshi has been going on singular and group therapy sessions with his parents to solve the problem. So far, it had worked quite well. Kenshi made was able to separate from either Hana or Michael for quite some time.

Michael decided to give Kenshi something special before he starts school in the fall. So he brought Kenshi to his first official day at work as a trainer and assistant coach for the Lakers.

"Are you excited, buddy?" Michael asked.

Michael is currently wearing a suit, but he carried spare tracksuits and jerseys in a duffel bag if he needs to get on the court. Beside him is Kenshi, who's currently wearing a customized Laker's jersey.

"Hey, buddy..." Michael repeated when he didn't get any reaction from Kenshi. He looked down and saw a very welcoming sight, Kenshi with starry eyes staring at the facility. "Come on. Let's get started."

Michael led Kenshi inside the building. He greeted some people walking through the hallway while making their way to the General Manager's Office. He walked into the office without knocking.

"Hey, Mitch! How you doing!?" Michael greeted the guy sitting on the other side of the table.

This guy is Mitchell Kupchak, the current LA Lakers GM. He's a 6'9", a caucasian man who played power forward/ center in the late '70s all the way to the '80s. He's technically a GM for a while, but he had none of its traditional powers until just last season due to the presence of the NBA executive legend and player Jerry West.

"Damn it, Michael. Don't you ever knock?" Mitch grumbled.

"Ehem..." Michael cleared his throat. "I brought Ken." He added while stepping aside. Most of the guys calls Kenshi by Ken since it's easier for them.

"Oh, shit... Damn it... Ehem..." Mitch said rapidly in his fluster before centering himself. "Ready to get started?"

"Yup. Anything new I need to know?"

"The trainers wanted to use some new training regimen. All personalized, of course..." Mitch answered while sliding over a thick file folder. "There's also all the previous, current, and theoretical plays that Phil compiled. He wants your input and suggestions by next week. Other than that, it's all the same."

"Awesome..." Michael exclaimed while picking up the folder. "Let us get out of your hair. You need to work on those picks we don't have." He joked before exiting.

Michael could hear Mitch cursing as they walked away from the office. He covered Kenshi's ear while trying to hide his laughter. They first went to the courts since he wanted to drop off Kenshi first. He needs to change into a tracksuit before he ran the guys ragged.

The sounds of basketball and squeaking shoes could be heard getting louder and louder as they approach the court door. The moment Michael opened the door, every activity stopped. For a few seconds, silence dominated the room. That is until a cacophony of cheers drowned everything out. Kenshi was so surprised by this development that he hid behind Michael.

"Ey! Big Gs here!"

"Coach!"

"Hey! The little guy is here too."

The players and staff immediately surrounded Micahel and Kenshi. Michael would normally be ecstatic with this kind of reception; however, he could feel Kenshi's anxiety mounting up. This is evident by the tightening grip he could feel at the back of his thighs. Good thing Phil swooped into the rescue.

"Alright! Alright! That's enough!" Phil shouted. "You guys still have a couple of laps left! I didn't tell you to stop!" He said to the players before turning to the staff. "And you guys, don't make me give you physicals too..." Just like that, everyone dispersed, too afraid to voice out their objections. Phil walked over towards Michael and stared at him up and down. "You're late."

"No, I'm not. It's only 8:30."

"Like I said, an hour and thirty minutes late."

"Well, grill Mitch for it. He gave me nine o'clock call time."

"I'll talk to Mitch for a second..." Phil grumbled. "For the meantime, change out of that suit. You're going to handle team practice today, and a suit just won't do." He added before walking out.

Michael just shrugged before walking towards one of the benches. He sat Kenshi on the bench.

"Do you want to come with me to the lockers, or you want to stay here and watch them play?" Michael asked. He could see Kenshi debating with himself about what he should do next. After a few seconds, he finally got his answer. Kenshi removed his backpack and placed it beside him before burrowing on the chair. "Well, I guess that's it. Wait for me, buddy." He doesn't know that letting Kenshi watch a few of the best basketball players play would activate something buried deep in Kenshi's soul.

-LA Lakers Training Facility, Los Angeles, California-

-July 1, 2001, 1600h local-

It was just after the team's afternoon snack when Kenshi woke up from his nap, just like many kids would. He found himself in Michael's office. He stood up and looked around. When he saw no one in the room, he decided to take a stroll.

He looked into a few rooms while simultaneously dodging a few pedestrians. After a few more rooms, he found the second-floor half-court gym, complete with an adjustable ring, similar to the one found in backyard courts.

This court is commonly used during one on one training sessions, so it's no surprise that no one is currently using it since it's team training today. Kenshi walked towards the basketball rack and picked one up. It's already quite a chore for a three-year-old to pick up a standard NBA basketball, so it's understandable why he just wobbled his way to the ring.

The ring is currently only 7 feet high since it's usually dropped down when not in use. Kenshi's mind rifled through everything he saw on the television and the gym today, trying to remember what he should do next.

Kenshin positioned the ball near just above his forehead while placing his right hand at the rear and the other at the side of the ball. With all the force he can muster, he shot the ball to the ring. He was expecting it to go just like what he saw in practice. That's why he was disappointed when it fell short and of the target. He walked over to the ball and tried again. It was almost thirty minutes later when he finally shot the ball through the basket.

In the future, when people ask how he got so good at basketball, he'll always have the same answer; You just need to take the first step and never stop walking.