Meanwhile, Nidou, who had been silently observing the tension between Alan and Yara, let out a sigh. He twirled his sports drink bottle around his finger with a practiced ease, breaking the silence. "Haiz, you're going to suck the poor lad dry if you keep gnawing at him like that," he remarked, his tone laced with mock frustration. "At least give him some space. If you have an issue, then let the two of us handle it," he offered, his gaze fixed on Yara.
Yara, clearly offended, scoffed bitterly. Her anger simmered just beneath the surface. "You will handle it?" she repeated, her voice dripping with skepticism.
Yasir opened his mouth to interject, but the words didn't come.
Nidou exhaled slowly, already sensing how volatile the situation was becoming. For once, he knew Yara wasn't about to back down easily.
"If that's the case, then no, thank you!" Yara retorted sharply. Her expression twisted with pent-up fury as she continued, "The Nidou you are right now. I don't want anything to do with you instead. And that boy—!" her words faltered abruptly. They never left her lips.
Nidou's gaze had shifted, sharp, grave, and filled with an icy warning.
The cold, apathetic aura emanating from him was enough to send a shiver through anyone. It was as though one more word from Yara might provoke something dangerous.
Yasir noticed the shift immediately and tried to intervene, but before he could say a word, Alan turned around sharply, his irritation evident. As he moved through the group of boys, Heber patted him gently on the back. "Easy, easy there," he said consolingly.
"I'm fine. Thank you, Heber," Alan replied, though his words did little to match the vexation etched on his face. Without another glance, he walked away.
The high schoolers exchanged silent glances, unsure of how to respond.
Before Alan could completely leave from the sight, Kenzo, leaning against the net fence with his arms crossed, called out. "Who is she to annoy you this much?"
Alan stopped, scoffing. He turned back briefly, his expression unreadable, and his tone a mocking one, he uttered, "One of those women who fancied him when he was young. Quite the man he was back then…" Then, his voice softened as he muttered under his breath, "He simply ruined his life after adopting me…" his words trailed off as he walked away.
However, little did he knew that behind him he left the group in stunned silence. The middle schoolers stood frozen, their mouths agape, while Azazel and Ezekiel choked on their water in shock. The high schoolers, though familiar with the backstory, turned away, unwilling to meet the middle schoolers' inquisitive stares.
"What?!" Feng, Mikael, Cassiel, Heber, Zidan, and Pierre exclaimed in disbelief, their faces flushed with embarrassment.
Xavier and Poseidon exchanged wide-eyed looks, while Helios, finally connecting the dots, murmured, "I think get it now."
"This is... absolutely wild," Seraph coughed, his face slightly flushed.
"Tch. Nonsense," Gabriel muttered, rolling his eyes.
Galleous, Kirill, and Ishaq sighed, rendered speechless.
Kian, however, grinned mischievously. "You know what really surprised me though? When Alan said, 'one of those women'. Head Coach Nidou really had game, huh?" his tone was teasingly proud, causing Karachi's middle schoolers to hide their faces with embarrassment as the high schoolers whistled ignoring the entire conversation.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from him," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.
Meanwhile, Adam stood there, utterly baffled, clearly not understanding a single thing.
Haitam and David could only smack their foreheads in unison, completely at a loss for words.
As Nidou watched Alan leave, his gaze shifted to Yara, who had already settled inside the coach.
Yasir offered a quick apology as Multan players finally took their leave, giving their final words of encouragement for the upcoming match.
With the hectic, lively atmosphere fading, the high schoolers and middle schoolers put their gear aside and assembled on the practice ground.
"Ahem...!" Yusuf cleared his throat, his sharp voice still failing to pull the boys out of their dreamy stupor.
Clearly, the boys seemed as if they had travelled cloud nine and were left there.
"I want all of your attention here. Leave everything unimportant behind." Yusuf took their attention.
"Yes..." came their half-hearted response, still caught in reverie.
"It's 10:50 now, and this is the training manual you'll follow," Yusuf announced as Pedro handed Rauf and Kenzo a sheet detailing the plan.
As the middle schoolers scanned the sheet, their eyes widened in disbelief. All traces of distraction and daydreaming vanished in an instant.
"What the hell?!" came the collective outcry of the sophomores and freshmen, causing the high schoolers who were unfazed by the material to look on with amusement.
Seles turned to Nidou and Mir with a triumphant grin.
The training manual which looked a little like this for the middle schoolers…
1. Open Squat (100 Times)
2. Bench Press (Barbell 30kg - 15 Times)
3. Leg Curl (100 Times X 2)
4. Sit-ups (4 Variations X 30 Times, 5 Sets)
5. Back Lift (4 Variations X 30 Times, 5 Sets)
6. Calf Raise (60 Seconds X 2)
7. Squat (250 Times)
8. Neck Stretch (60 Sec)
9. Knee Bent Cord (60 Sec X 2)
10. Short Distance Dash (8 Stretches, 1 Set X 5)
11. Push-ups (200 Times)
12. Reverse Run (8 Stretches, 1 Set X 5)
13. Ankle Stretch and Ankle Turn (50 Times X 2)
14. Wrist Curl (10kg X 100)
15. Russian Twists (100, 50 per side)
16. Cone Drills (Zig-zag Sprint) (Set X 3)
17. Single-Leg Balance on Bosu Ball (Set X 3) …
And, to their dismay, the list continued up to serial number 35, including cycling and sprints.
"Push-ups, ankle stretches, wrist curls..." Cassiel muttered, his eyes glued to the sheet.
"Russian twists, cone drills..." Seraph read on.
And as they did Feng dramatically collapsed onto the ground, his voice filled with despair. "Oh, why?! I'm not even playing in the next match!" he lamented.
Ezekiel clung to Poseidon, feigning defeat, while Azazel and Ryan poked the paper with sighs of disbelief.
The high schoolers chuckled at the scene while Kazuna, Nagi, Evan, and Isa exchanged glances of disbelief.
"Whether or not you're participating in the next match doesn't matter," Mir began, seated beside Musa and Nidou, "This isn't your last match or is it? There are plenty more to come. That's why you have to be at your best for anytime."
"Besides, this is nowhere near half the difficulty your high schoolers had to endure—let alone a quarter of what we went through. So stop whining," Musa remarked.
"Now, hearing this feels more annoying." Seraph huffed rolling his eyes.
"I agree." Xavier concurred.
"The equipment is ready every one, and time is precious. Let's move," Seles said with a warm smile, "You'll have three hours to complete this manual, with three breaks in between. After that, we'll head to the nets for further practice. Best of luck!"
Helios, Seraph, Xavier, Kenzo, Gabriel, and Poseidon exchanged confident smiles.
"Let's see who finishes first among us," Cassiel challenged.
But, before the middle schoolers could respond, the high schoolers cut in.
"How about it's you all versus us, kiddos?" Senri suggested with a smirk.
"Haha! They'll be crushed," Orion scoffed, patting Senri's shoulder.
Gabriel's brow twitched while Kenzo flashed a daring grin.
"It doesn't sound bad, does it, Helios, my boy? Seems like they have been craving for a beating." Kenzo teased.
Helios grinned back, "Indeed, but who the hell are you calling your boy?"
"Yeah! Let's beat them, Ryan, Ryan!" Adam cheered, bouncing with excitement.
"Yeah," Ryan replied calmly, standing beside Xavier and Heber.
"Sounds fun, doesn't it, Zach?" Isa asked, turning to Zach, who eyed the middle schoolers before nodding.
Rauf grinned, exhilaration gleaming in his eyes. "Then get started, twerps!" he ordered.
And so it began—middle schoolers and high schoolers throwing themselves into the challenge, one after another, none willing to back down.
As Yusuf and Pedro watched over them, Seles returned to Nidou who stared at his file with his attention seeming elsewhere, instead of the file. "Are you alright?" he asked, causing Mir to look at Nidou too.
"Hm." Nidou replied faintly.
"How about I go and check Alan out…?" Seles asked, however Nidou interrupted, "Don't. Let him cool his head down for a while. He must be playing somewhere. If he doesn't appear until sunset, then you can go."
Seles nodded in mild concern replying, "As you say so."