---
Blasters HQ was buzzing.
After the third consecutive win, the team was just one point behind the league leaders. Morale was high. Momentum even higher.
But the pressure… it never left.
In the team meeting that morning, Coach Sameer cleared his throat and announced:
"Aditya Menon is out for this week's match. Minor groin strain."
A few groans. He was the spine of the team. The shield. The voice.
Coach looked at Arjun.
"You'll be wearing the armband."
Silence.
Even Faizan blinked.
Arjun looked around, unsure. "Me?"
"You've earned it," Coach said. "Not just with your play. With your calm. Your honesty. Your control under fire."
"But—"
Coach cut him off. "You'll make mistakes. You'll learn. But the team trusts you. I trust you."
Arjun didn't know what to say.
He just nodded.
---
Later that evening, Arjun stood in front of his mirror, the captain's armband resting on the counter like a crown.
He stared at it. At himself.
His reflection showed him a boy with a storm behind his eyes. Not just ambition — but memory.
The boy who once limped off a cold pitch in Austria, never to return.
The man who woke up in Thrissur's public hospital, reborn.
He picked up the band and ran his thumb over the stitching.
> This isn't just cloth.
This is legacy.
---
Kalyani called him that night.
"You look nervous."
"I'm terrified," he said.
"Why?"
"What if I mess this up?"
There was a pause. Then her soft voice:
"You've played through pain, pressure, injuries, ghosts… and you still lead."
He exhaled. "You make it sound easy."
"It's not. But that's why it means something."
She smiled into the call.
"Wear it for the boy who never got to. And the man who finally can."
---
Match day.
Away game in Chennai. Hot. Humid. Hostile.
As the team walked out, Arjun led them — not just by order, but by presence.
He held his head higher. His steps were heavier, but grounded.
And when the national anthem played, he sang it louder than anyone.
---
The first half was brutal.
Chennaiyin pressed high, kicked harder, and played dirty.
The referee swallowed the whistle more than once.
By halftime, it was 1–0 to Chennai, and the Blasters looked rattled.
Inside the dressing room, the players sat in silence.
Coach walked in, but said nothing. Just nodded at Arjun, then stepped back.
It was his moment.
The band around his arm suddenly felt heavier than steel.
Arjun stood, eyes scanning every face.
"I know we're tired," he began. "I know the ref is letting them get away with everything. But we didn't come this far to collapse now."
Faizan looked up.
"We've been fighting all season," Arjun continued. "Injuries. Press. Expectations. And we've survived everything."
He pointed to the Blasters crest.
"This badge doesn't shine on its own. We give it light. So let's remind this stadium who we are."
A beat of silence.
Then Faizan stood up beside him.
"Let's hunt."
---
The second half was electric.
Arjun led with energy. Pressed smartly. Passed precisely.
He didn't try to do everything.
He orchestrated.
Faizan scored the equalizer in the 68th minute — a rocket from outside the box.
Instead of running to the crowd, he turned to Arjun and gestured — "That's yours."
The final goal came in stoppage time — a free kick won by Arjun, curled in by substitute Nikhil.
2–1.
Full time.
Blasters win.
Arjun collapsed to his knees, exhausted. The armband soaked with sweat.
But his hands shot skyward.
---
Back in the locker room, the players lifted him — literally.
"Captain Dev! Captain Dev!"
Even Coach was smiling.
"You proved something today," he said. "To us. And to yourself."
---
That night, Kalyani video-called him.
She was wrapped in a shawl, sitting on set, sipping tea.
"You looked like a general," she said.
"I felt like a scared intern," he laughed.
"That's what makes you a good leader," she said. "You never forget the fear."
He paused, then asked:
"Would you ever… be okay walking this road with me? Not just now. But later."
She blinked.
"You mean—"
"I don't know where this all ends. But I know I want you there. Through it."
She didn't smile. She didn't cry.
She just nodded.
"I'll be there. Even if it's stormy."
---
That night, Arjun sat on the hostel rooftop alone, the armband beside him.
He opened his journal:
> Chapter 6: A leader isn't loud. He listens.
He isn't perfect. He prepares.
And when the moment comes… he carries others home.
---