As the boys headed back to the dorms, their faces glowed with unmistakable joy, especially as the rest of the middle schoolers joined them. The entire event was being retold with animated voices, punctuated by gasps, laughter, and nods of agreement as each detail was confirmed.
Meanwhile, Kenzo glanced at his purple bruised wrist, his hand trembling slightly. His vision swam, just faintly, but enough to notice. In that moment, Seraph gripped his shoulders, steadying him, while Helios took his hand to inspect the damage.
Adam slipped between them, snatching queen from Kenzo's hand with a grin. "Gimme that!" he said, spinning playfully as he twirled away.
Xavier, Cassiel and Poseidon moved in, concern etched into their expressions.
Kenzo blinked, surprised by the sudden attention.
"You're unbelievable," Helios muttered, clearly annoyed, though his touch remained gentle as he rubbed a finger over the worsened bruise.
Kenzo winced.
"You deserve worse," Cassiel said flatly, "Another inch of recklessness and you could've ended your career right there."
Gabriel let out a long breath, disbelief written all over him, "I genuinely feel the same way."
Feng stared at him, incredulous, "You actually feel things?"
"Get lost before I make you feel something," Gabriel muttered, looking away.
"Wow, that's just rude," Feng shot back, while Adam, Ryan, Ezekiel, and Heber chuckled at the exchange.
"At least warn us before you pull something this stupid," Seraph said, brows furrowed, his grip on Kenzo's shoulder tightening, "That's what gets me. We didn't even know."
"Yeah, Captain. You really scared us," Azazel added, still visibly shaken.
Kenzo remained quiet for a moment. His steps were light, but inside, everything weighed heavily. This much concern—from this many comrades? It wasn't about blame. No accusations. No interrogations. Just care. And that… that felt strange. Almost foreign.
Yet despite the whirlwind inside, a small smile found its way to Kenzo's lips. Surrounded by their teasing, their bickering, and their quiet loyalty, he felt something shift. "Hey…" he whispered, like he was saying a prayer.
"What is it?" Poseidon asked. "Let's win tomorrow's match," Kenzo said softly, his gaze steady, "Every single one of you stepping on that field… let's rise again."
Together.
Helios and the others grinned.
"Of course. That's the plan," Ryan said with a smirk.
Ezekiel threw his head back dramatically, "Seriously? That's it? I expected something like: 'Thank you all, I'd be lost without you!' Or 'I care more than I can say!'"
Kenzo gagged, "Get lost."
And just like that, their laughter echoed down the hall until they reached the dorms.
---
As soon as they stepped inside, the high schoolers remained rooted where they stood: silent, composed, but watchful. Yet something in their posture spoke volumes, calm on the surface, but waiting for the inevitable shift.
The middle schoolers filtered in slowly, tension trailing behind them like smoke. The hush that settled in the room felt suffocating: no greetings, no banter. Just a heavy stillness.
The others who had been with the middle schoolers quietly rejoined their seniors. Yet the stillness in the room held. Unbroken. Heavy.
Alan, seated on the couch, looked up. His crimson eyes met Kenzo's unwavering azure ones, exhausted but defiant. "Congratulations, young highness," he said softly, offering a faint smile.
That was the cue.
The high schoolers turned, their gazes locking onto the younger boys, who met them without flinching.
Zachariah's eyes swept over Kenzo, silent and unreadable- his worn, bruised body, the tremble in his hand, the fire in his stare. And then he looked away.
"Well… I guess everything's fine now, right?" Senri tried to ease the tension with a weak smile.
Cassiel scoffed, gaze averted, "Sure. Fine, like it always ends up being."
Aigou started, "Look—"
"We always look," Heber cut in sharply, already walking off with Ezekiel and Feng, "You're the ones who refuse to see."
Elias cast a wary glance at Orion, who only rolled his eyes at the middle schoolers. Nagi sighed quietly beside Haruf, whose furrowed brow mirrored his concern.
Alan's gaze narrowed, he sat forward, tension in his shoulders, hands drumming a rhythm of unease on his knees. He could feel it slipping—again.
"Come on, Kenzo…" Helios said, gently taking his arm to guide him away. But Kenzo didn't move. He stopped, firm, and tugged Helios back. His eyes stayed fixed on Zachariah. On Rauf. On Isa. And then, he smiled.
That audacious, irreverent grin that only Kenzo could wear in a moment like this. One that dared the world to break him. "Seriously~ was that all you've got, Senior Zachariah?" he said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
The room stiffened- went colder.
Rauf's frown deepened. Ren clicked his tongue. Kazuna and Elias exhaled as if weary. Isa's eyes narrowed. But Zachariah… didn't look. Didn't respond. His expression was unreadable, stoic to a fault.
Kenzo kept going, his voice steady and sharp, "Because it seems 'impossible' was never meant for us. You sealed my abilities? Conquered. What's next? Steal my cricket? Crush my will? Break me physically?"
At that, the high schoolers froze. Their eyes grew darker. More serious.
"If that's the plan…" Kenzo leaned forward, gaze unrelenting, "then bring it on."
Adam looked at him wide-eyed. Azazel flinched. Ryan's brows pulled together.
Isa clenched his fists, anger rising, voice tight with frustration, "You really think we enjoy this? You think we're cruel?! That we don't see what you go through?! You have no idea what it was like for us. Do you honestly believe the world welcomed us with applause, open arms three years ago? That it laid medals around our necks when we stepped onto that field?!"
"Isa—" Rauf's voice came gently but firmly, cutting him off before his fury spilled further.
A quiet command that stopped Isa from saying more. Isa looked away, jaw clenched in frustration, while Noah rested a hand gently on his shoulder. Consolation, or restraint, it was hard to tell.
Then Rauf stepped forward. His gaze swept over the middle schoolers until it stopped, sharp and unwavering, on Kenzo. His sapphire eyes glinted beneath his lashes, knuckles poised near his jaw as he spoke with chilling calm, "You were right. Sport stealing, spirit crushing, pushing your bodies past breaking—those are next."
The middle schoolers tensed, but not one of them flinched. Their eyes didn't waver.
Alan watched closely. The difference this time was subtle, but powerful. Rauf's words no longer provoked panic, nor wounded pride. Instead, the boys simply absorbed them, like a bitter truth they had already accepted. Not as a threat, but as a reality to outlast. A quiet notice, that: This is what's left, and we have to be ready to face it. Face it. And prove to those high schoolers that we're not as clueless as they think.
It was something Rauf aimed to instill in them. The ability to navigate negativity as if it were second nature. And that, Alan realized, was exactly Rauf's intention. He wasn't trying to break them; he was molding them.
"Brace yourselves," Rauf said, rising to leave. His voice curved with both mockery and challenge, "Especially you, Kenzo ShahJahan. This is just the beginning. Don't let fear buckle your knees before you even take the first step."
Kenzo let out a low chuckle, hair falling into his eyes, but he wasn't the only one smiling. Around him, Gabriel, Seraph, Adam, Xavier, Poseidon, Feng, Helios, and Cassiel, all of them, wore the same bold grin. Unshaken. Unyielding. United.
"Go on, seniors," Poseidon said with a smirk, patting Kenzo's back like a war drum.
The high schoolers, Zachariah, Isa, Elias, Aigou, Evan, Haruf, Kazuna, Senri, watched, surprised by the shift.
Alan, too, blinked, caught off guard by the raw energy. But then his lips curved into a soft smile. This… this defiance, this fire… was what had pulled him toward them long ago.
"I don't care," Kenzo said, voice low and blazing, "Go ahead. Rip me apart. I'll stitch myself back together with molten iron. And when I cool, I'll be steel. Scarred. Sealed. Sharper than ever. Try breaking that. I dare you."
His words landed like thunder. "Fear?" Kenzo scoffed, "I swallowed that the day I was born." He stepped forward, eyes burning with something untouchable. "And it's not just me anymore. There's a whole army of little devils rising behind me now, each one more dangerous than the last. So come on, you high and mighty seniors."
It wasn't bravado. It was truth. The kind that pulsed through your veins when you finally believed it. Seraph nodded beside him, eyes gleaming.
"Yeah! Come at us with everything you've got," Heber, Feng, Mikael, Adam, each of them raised their hands in fierce applause.
It wasn't celebration. It was declaration. This light inside them. It couldn't be smothered anymore. The high schoolers saw it. Felt it.
Kenzo had ignited them with a blaze no wind or water could extinguish. It was thermite. And it was thrilling in a way that demanded respect.