On the court—
Shubham. Raj. Roshan.
Outside—
Viraj. Surya. Vedant. Vishal.
---
Vishal sat in a corner.
Disappointed. Something inside him felt broken.
I fell for it so easily. A trap. Because of my own mistake.
Viraj looked at him—
Said nothing for a moment.
Then—
"Vishal."
Vishal looked up.
"It wasn't your fault. That trap was so complex—even I would've fallen for it."
Vishal didn't reply.
But in his eyes—something eased… just a little.
---
Score — @15: 8 — @11: 8
Timer — 4:04
---
Raj was on the court.
Only one thought in his mind—
I haven't scored a single point this entire match. I have to do something. Now.
He stepped near the line—
"Kabaddi… Kabaddi… Kabaddi…"
Moved toward Varun—pressure—
Then cut left—toward Amit—
Then—
Viran—
"What's this? You sent a weakling against us? We'll throw him away like trash."
---
Anger rose inside Raj—
But—
No.
He controlled it. Suppressed it.
Moved back—right side—toward Varun—pressure—
Took the bonus.
Started heading back toward the line—
And then—
Raj didn't stop himself.
He turned.
One step. Two steps—
Tagged two defenders. Clean.
The defenders—
Shocked.
Raj—
With a smile—touched the line—
"How was that? Different, right?"
---
Team @11 was stunned.
That move was extremely risky.
Turning back after securing a bonus—
Tagging two defenders—
No one expects that.
---
Outside—
Viraj's expression froze.
I… didn't even predict that. Raj can do this? This move—I never even considered it.
He stood up—
"RAJ — THAT WAS AMAZING!"
---
The whole team—
ERUPTED.
They rushed onto Raj—celebrating—
The score increased—
And with that—
Two players revived.
Viraj. Surya.
---
Now Viraj stepped onto the court.
Feet grounded.
The air felt different.
Everything felt sharper.
He looked at @11's team—
That one player—whose face still hadn't been seen—
Was standing there.
Viraj locked eyes with him—
Slowly. Directly. Without words—
"Be ready."
A pause.
"You… mastermind of @11."
---
— Chapter 16 End —