For a second, Hira only blinked. Then, as if every restraint snapped at once, her face lit up. Her smile burst wide as spring.
"Yes! It's gone!! He did it! Brother Haitam did it!! Yahoo!!" She leapt from her seat, cheering with everything in her lungs. "Haha! He's a star! I knew it!!" She spun to Erum, grabbing her hands in pure joy.
The latter startled at first, couldn't help but laugh and smile back too.
Zain released a satisfied breath.
"He beat Haruf Noor Faris… finally!" Hira's cheers rang across the row.
Tristan blinked, slightly taken aback. The girl's expression had bloomed like a flower at the first touch of spring. Completely unrestrained. He found himself smiling too. Then, his gaze drifted back toward Karachi's pavilion, steel-blue eyes tracing that familiar shade of blue. The curve of his lips deepened. "Finally, your turn, hun," he breathed softly, anticipation threading through the quiet whisper.
"Leadership. One look, and a person becomes a role model." Yasir rose from his seat, clapping as his eyes followed his boys rejoicing at the center of the field. Pride softened his voice, "That's what those boys told me when I chose Haitam as their leader."
He paused, then added quietly, "It wasn't the loudest voice. Not the flashiest performance. But the quiet, unshakable resolve and presence that made others want to follow him." Turning, he smiled at Yara.
And she? She had no words left. Her gaze dropped to the tablet in her hands, the screen glowing against her silence.
A few steps below, Raza clapped with open pride while Coach Noam patted his back.
"He did it. He really did," Noam said.
Raza's smile widened, "Yeah… he pulled it off. If it's Haitam, I knew he would. He won the bet."
At Karachi's pavilion, the Multan players were no different. "Yahoo!!" They surged to their feet, fists clenched, hearts racing.
"He did it!! Whoa~!" Daniil jumped, nearly losing his balance as he was caught by Leon.
"He really did it!" Mahd slapped Khizr's hand, who stood stunned yet glowing with pride.
Alan swallowed hard. In fact, the entire Karachi Kings squad sat staggered.
"Senior Haruf…?" Ryan and Heber blinked, lost. The high schoolers exhaled, none daring to speak.
"W-what in the world was that delivery?" Poseidon narrowed his eyes, baffled, as if the ball itself had rewritten logic.
"Maybe that's what he's been working on all this time," Pierre said, still clapping, "Haitam has finally unlocked his super new mystery spin."
Lucas let out a breath he'd been holding, "Finally." "Haha! I'm so, so proud of him!"
Maaz grinned from ear to ear.
"New delivery?" Elias asked.
"Yeah. Even we don't fully know it yet," Lucas replied, "The coaches back at the pavilion are probably writing stats, analyzing and tearing it apart already."
"He's truly a hardworking guy," Basid murmured.
Nagi narrowed his gaze at the replay looping across his tablet, disbelief flickering in his eyes, "It changed its off-spin variation three times…?"
Aigou, Ren, Noah, and Ren gathered around him, while Evan and Rauf leaned closer, listening.
"It started as a Doosra aimed at the stumps," Nagi analyzed, fingers tracing the screen. "Then it skidded like a slider—and suddenly bounced like a top-spinner?!" His eyes lifted to Coach Nidou's back, "What's going on here, Coach?"
Nidou glanced over his shoulder, almost lazily, then shifted his gaze to Coach Musa—quietly passing the explanation to him.
Musa clicked his tongue before speaking, "What do you mean, what's going on? That boy traced three bowling-variation grips on the ball and delivered it. The ball followed the grips he set and shifted those variations the moment while it was on the pitch—forcing Haruf to keep second-guessing how to respond."
He gestured toward the field. "Didn't you see it? Haruf changed from a sweep to a front-foot defense, then pulled his bat up again—until it turned into a lob instead, gifting a catch. He was completely played with."
"S-senior Haruf… was played with?" Feng swallowed, still unable to believe it.
Haris smirked at the middle schoolers, "Who did you think Haitam is, hun?"
"He's the captain of the Multan Sultans!" Mahd exclaimed, pride blazing.
"You know, last time Haruf crushed Haitam with sixes after sixes," Lucas added, "It was such a defeat that Haitam started questioning his career choices. And now this? Don't you think that's grand progress by us, Boss Rauf?"
Rauf didn't answer right away. His gaze rested on the pitch—on Haruf ruffling Adam's hair, trying to comfort him. Then, quietly, "Grand progress…?"
The single phrase, cold and clipped, echoed like a hollow challenge, and the pavilion fell silent.
Rauf glanced back, sapphire eyes glinting., smirk sharpening, "Ask me that when you've won the entire match, Multan Sultans."
Pierre, Lucas, Basid, and Mahd exchanged looks—stunned, yet burning with acceptance of the challenge—before grinning back.
"Scary…" Leon muttered, swallowing hard.
"Easy, easy, haha! At this point, I'm really going to fall," Haitam said, ruffling Kian and Zidan's hair, who had pulled him into a tight hug, refusing to let go. The rest of the players around him clapped, their faces alight with satisfaction and smiles.
On the pitch, Adam stared at the ground, pouting. "No way… how could you hit it so high, big guy? And now… you're leaving me too?" His voice cracked slightly, on the verge of tears.
"Haha, little one. I'm not leaving. I'm just taking a break, letting you play in my stead. And don't mull over it now—I'm about to send quite a nice gift your way next," Haruf said, ruffling Adam's hair with his usual gentle care.
"Gift?" Adam looked up, eyes wide. The word lit a spark in him. Anticipation tugged at his expression. "Yup, a gift. So, hang tight at the crease and score even higher," Haruf said as he walked back toward the pavilion.
Adam's gaze followed his back.
Passing Haitam, Haruf raised a fist in playful challenge, "You finally took your revenge, hun?"
Haitam blinked, clicked his tongue, and shook his head, feigning indignation, "Uh-hn… revenge? Who takes revenge on their best friend, huh? I just… settled an uneven score, that's all." He gave a playful wink, patting his fist against Haruf's.
Haruf laughed heartily as he walked away, "Just a few months, and the monsoon has turned into an evil storm spell. What an alarming surprise."
"Thanks," Haitam called back, winking.
When Haitam turned once more, his gaze settled on Raza standing by the boundary line, the pavilion behind him quiet and barren. Raza raised a hand, giving him a thumbs up. Haitam couldn't help but smile. His eyes recalling something from the night before...
(Flashback Last Night)
Haitam had yet to return, and midnight had already struck. Of course, he knew his teammates were the worrying type. The events from the morning had yet to settle, and he still hadn't returned to the dorms ever since.
But this time, unlike the countless others when he would simply force a smile and move on, he couldn't. Raza got hit. Everyone else got scolded. And he? He still hadn't managed to pull himself out of his slump.
What greater embarrassment could there be?
Yet, unlike him, there was a certain someone who didn't seem to care about any of that and was practically hovering over Haitam's head as though he had nothing better to do in the world. Apparently, he was also the one who had been hit by Chief Councilor Yara, yet now he was keeping watch over him as if nothing had happened at all.
Haitam couldn't understand him.
Picking up the ball, he turned around. His clothes felt damp with sweat after hours of continuous practice. "How long are you going to keep watching over me?" he finally asked.
"What do you mean, watching over you?" Raza replied casually from one of the audience seats. His voice echoed around the empty practice nets, "The others are too scared to even approach you. What's with that? You've never shown this side of yourself before."
"The circumstances don't exactly give me a choice to fool around either. I'd be considered irresponsible in no time." Haitam's response came instantly though somewhat sarcastic.
"...That's true, but..." Raza rubbed the back of his neck, glancing up. The 'Captain' of Multan Sultans was still frustrated. By now, Raza could tell just from his tone.
"A certain someone who never speaks without a smile and is always surrounded by people is scary enough that nobody can approach him now even when he's smiling. You've set a whole new record for being unapproachable." The recently slapped boy added with quite the concern, "Everyone's waiting. When are you coming back?"
Haitam exhaled and turned back toward the batting wicket, "I still haven't resolved my problem yet. It'll take some time before I return..."
"We have a match tomorrow, Haitam." Raza cut him off sharply, "And we don't want our captain going into it like this. That's the only thing I care about."