(Part 3)

Yasir then walked towards Haitam, who lit up at his arrival. Though Haitam was the captain of the Multan Sultans, he looked like nothing more than a joyful child in front of his mentor. "Haha, my Haitam is all fired up now. You'd better prepare yourselves, Karachi Kings," Yasir said, clapping Haitam on the back.

Haitam grinned and gave a determined nod.

Nidou smirked, his confidence unwavering, "Just wait until the match."

Rauf turned to Haruf and then glanced at Gabriel.

"Now that all the meetings are wrapped up, we'll take our leave. We came to welcome you all since our boys were practically eating our brains about it. And last night, it was too late to drop by," Yasir explained.

"We weren't really eating your brains, though," Nouis corrected, drawing laughter from Senri, Ren, and Isa.

"Well, we did pressure you a lot," Ishaq admitted.

"Yeah, no argument there," Zidan and Kian chimed in. 

"To think that you cared enough to come all this way—it really makes us happy. Honestly," Elias said sincerely, with Aigou nodding in agreement.

The middle schoolers followed suit, their heads bobbing in appreciation.

"It's nothing," Maaz replied with a playful grin. "We'll see you in the next match, kiddos." he winked, ruffling Azazel's hair as David clapped Poseidon and Seraph on their shoulders.

Yasir's gaze eventually settled on Alan and Rauf, who exchanged a subtle nod with faint smiles.

"They're nice," Heber remarked, his voice calm and content as he crossed his arms.

Ren raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with mischief, "It's a miracle that you actually like someone."

Ryan rolled his eyes, adding with a scoff, "Yeah, it's a blessing, considering we've been stuck dealing with you."

Elias chuckled, chiming in, "But you like Romeo and Islamabad United too, don't you?" 

"Only the high schoolers!" Feng, Ezekiel, Adam, and Cassiel interjected in unison, as though it were an established fact.

Azazel gritted his teeth, his frustration evident as his fist clenched at his side. "Their middle schoolers are unbearable. Seriously, I can't get over that loss…" His voice trailed off, his annoyance unmistakable.

Helios sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck as if the memory alone was draining.

"Oh, is that so?" Nagi, Isa, and Noah exchanged mischievous grins, nudging each other and glancing toward Azazel and the others.

"How about we remind you of the score line, then?" Orion teased, leaning closer.

Azazel shot them a glare, his crimson eyes practically burning with irritation, "You wouldn't dare."

Meanwhile, Evan, Haruf, Zachariah and Rauf, having overheard the exchange, shared an amused glance. Alan smirked, his eyes gleaming with a quiet sense of challenge.

Just then, a voice suddenly broke through their conversation, coming from the nearby coach, "Are we done yet?"

Alan's eyes narrowed as he glanced through the door.

Inside, only a silhouette was visible. A figure with hanging earrings and a hand repeatedly tapping their temple. The person stood from the front seat, placing a tablet aside. After a moment, she finally stepped off the coach.

"Oh? There was someone else?" Alan thought to himself. However, recognition quickly dawned on him as he caught sight of her. His expression turned solemn, "Ah, it's her…"

Her long, straight black hair was tied neatly into a ponytail. Dressed in a sharp black suit, she carried a black file. Her face was stern, making her expression unreadable. As she approached, her serious tone cut through the air, "How long are we going to waste time here, brother? Don't we have a lot to do?"

Yasir turned back, humming lightly, "It was just a little reunion, Yara. We'll wrap up soon. Why don't you come meet them too? It's been a while."

Nidou raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing the woman.

Yara, looking unimpressed and visibly annoyed by Yasir's suggestion, retorted, "No need. Just hurry up. I'm waiting. And as for all of you," she added, turning her sharp gaze toward Multan's players, "You'll face Karachi Kings in two days. Look at them all you want then." Her reprimand immediately dampened the mood, leaving a somber, almost suffocating atmosphere.

"Ah, how could I have forgotten about her," Senri muttered to Kazuna, clearly unmoved.

"Tch, quiet down," Kazuna replied sharply.

"Here we go, the mood killer," Orion remarked, rolling his eyes, while Aaron crossed his arms, puffing his cheeks in annoyance.

"Poor Multan Sultans," Aigou sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy for Haitam and the rest.

Haitam smiled awkwardly, exchanging glances with David and Nouis before turning to Rauf and the others.

"Best of luck then. Till we meet again three days later," Haitam said, bumping his fists with Rauf and Haruf.

Isa, Kazuna, Elias, Noah, Zachariah and Nagi exchanged considerate looks, while the middle schoolers turned toward Galleous, who gave them an apologetic smile.

Adam finally broke the silence, asking curiously, "Who's she?"

"Our Chief Councilor," Ishaq whispered.

"Chief Councilor?! A woman?!" Feng muttered, visibly impressed.

"Yup, and quite the lady at that. Not surprising. She's Head Coach Yasir's younger sister after all," Kian replied.

"Younger sister?" Xavier repeated in disbelief, while Helios and Poseidon exchanged surprised glances.

"And Kirill's aunt," Pierre added casually.

Seraph, processing the information, gasped, "Kirill is Head Coach Yasir's son?!"

"Yeah, I am," Kirill replied, his tone completely unfazed.

"Wow… just like Alan," Azazel muttered, seemingly impressed.

"But she's nothing like Head Coach Yasir. Always angry and scolding us. She's the exact opposite of him, and I don't like her," Zidan complained, his voice tinged with frustration, "She even gets mad at Captain Haitam."

Kenzo glanced at Galleous, who nodded. 

Ishaq shrugged, "It's surprising how he keeps his cool. He gets reprimanded and punished twice as much as us. Sometimes he's even made to run laps around us for hours. Even though he's our captain, he's treated like a freshman who just joined,"

The middle schoolers frowned, wondering how Rauf would react if he were in Haitam's place. But the thought was too far-fetched for them to imagine.

"Rauf doesn't have the guts," Cassiel remarked bluntly.

"He's just a showoff. Can't even be compared," Ryan scoffed.

"Compared? He doesn't even leave his seat." Gabriel scoffed.

"I couldn't even imagine him in Haitam's place," Poseidon added.

"Geez, you guys don't give him a break, do you?" Ren remarked, scratching his head as he joined the group with Kazuna, Elias, Aigou, Orion, Evan, Isa, and Nagi.

Cassiel rolled his eyes. "He just pops into our minds. How is that our fault?" he retorted.

The high schoolers, unwilling to argue, stayed silent.

Adam in the meantime looked for Alan. "Where is he now?" he wondered scanning around.

"Hurry up, all of you! It's already half past ten, and I don't want to see you wasting another minute here," Yara called out firmly. She then turned to Yasir, adding, "And you too, brother. Finish your pleasantries so we can head back. The other coaches are already waiting inside." Her gaze briefly locked with Nidou's, cold and indifferent, prompting Nidou to tense slightly in response.

Yasir sighed and turned to Nidou, "Don't mind her, Nidou. She just…"

"I know. It's fine," Nidou interjected calmly, closing his eyes.

Adam then noticing Alan standing alone and staring at Yara, called out, "Alan, come here!"

Hearing the name, Yara froze mid-step. Her gaze shifted to Alan, locking onto him. The moment their eyes met, it was as if the last shred of patience in her expression shattered. Her face darkened, her stern demeanor intensifying. The two stood silently, their locked gazes creating an almost palpable tension. A chilling stillness fell over the surroundings.

The high schoolers exchanged uneasy glances, while the middle schoolers looked around in confusion.

"Yikes! She's even scarier than Cassiel's mom right now!" Adam exclaimed, his voice trembling.

"Yeah, I'd say scarier than my gramps, even!" Azazel added with a nervous shudder.

"What's going on…?" Poseidon asked, turning to the high schoolers, who seemed just as concerned.

Haitam let out a heavy sigh. "This is why I didn't want her to come out," he muttered.

Rauf remained silent, his eyes fixed on Alan.

"Don't worry…" Elias assured, his tone light, "Alan won't say a word. Just like usual."

Rather than reassuring them, Elias's words made the high schoolers frown. Though they accepted his statement as true, it still left a sense of unease and frustration lingering in the air.

"I've had enough of this!" Feng burst out impatiently, "Can someone just explain what's going on?"

Galleous hesitated before speaking, his voice calm but cautious. "From what we've heard, something happened that caused a rift between Head Coach Nidou, Head Coach Yasir, and Chief Councilor Yara. Senior Haitam mentioned that the three used to be close friends, but… something drove them apart." T

he middle schoolers exchanged thoughtful glances, their curiosity only deepening. "

Then what does that got to do with Alan?" Helios questioned Galleous as he shook his head clueless as well.