(Part 9)

Xavier alerted grasped his arm pulling him back, "Are you alright?"

Alan confused looked below to find the rabbit dangling low grasping his hairs tight. A smile escaped his lips. "This little…" he whispered lovingly pulling his hairs up as the rabbit embraced him quivering scared from his silent yet fearless courage.

Alan chuckled heartily.

Poseidon wondered surprised, "So he really came."

Gabriel rolling his eyes looked away. A silent beam escaping his face. S

uddenly, it began to snow. "Look! It's snowing!" Ezekiel pointed keeping his hand outside from the helicopter's door. 

"Hey, shall we collect it, despite becoming water?" Cassiel asked.

Helios nodding handed an empty bottle to Heber who collected the snow. "From the right! From the right, Brother Heber!" Azazel shrieked while Heber moved sideways left and right gathering the snow.

"Did he seriously know it would snow….?" Ezekiel asked referring to Nidou. Seraph shrugged, "Who knows? He is a mystery after all."

  Kenzo smirking opened and closed his wrists. "Haha… finally. I'll beat the crap out of those highschoolers!" he glared.

"You won't be the only one who does that though, your highness." Cassiel added from the seat behind.

"Yup. Even the others in the helicopter before us are thinking the exact same thing." Feng added amused.

"Be it Rauf or the top thirteen rankers… all of them are going down." Helios declared. 

"Yeah, you're right! We'll teach them a lesson like never before!' Azazel clenched his fists all pumped up.

"Time for our pay back." Ryan grinned beside Adam.

Alan with his mouth slightly a gape, stared at the falling snow from the helicopter's entrance. The rabbit too engrossed at the sight sat motionless.

"What is it? Are you seeing it for the first time?" Poseidon asked.

Alan taken aback smiled lightly, "Nope… it's just that… it always snows. Every single time…"

Xavier and Poseidon looking at each other wondered. "The highschoolers… I just came back from America and met them after two years and here I left them and will meet them again. They might just stick me with a glue this time not to let me escape." Alan chuckled. 

Kenzo rolled his eyes.

"Seems like they really adore you hun?" Feng asked.

Alan smiling looked away, "Who knows…?"

The helicopters making way through clouds and mountains left an incomprehensible feeling into the middleschoolers hearts. "I knew something was troubling… who knew we would leave today." Xavier whispered.

"How nostalgic hun~ and we hated this place the most." Cassiel added.

"Right, but if leaving this place is all for beating those highschoolers. Then you're on!" Adam declared.

"You're right." Helios agreed.

Nidou sensing their pride and resolves smirked looking at the sight from the helicopter's window. "Get ready Rauf… monsters are about to invade." he forewarned. 

International Cricket Training Camp of Pakistan for Juveniles [Central Dorms])

Isa tapping his finger on the couch stared at the clock ceaselessly. Tick, tock, tick tock seconds passed by. As soon as the needle stuck twelve he slammed the arm rest restlessly standing up. "That's it! I am calling the cops right here and right now and deploying the army squad to move ASAP! I don't care!" he stated.

The highschoolers, some sitting beside him, on the floor, on the stairs and working in the kitchen exhaled upon his comment.

"Calm down your highness, you have been at it since yesterday. Just give it a rest already…" Ren said.

"Rest? How am I supposed to rest? It has already been fifteen days since we have been messaging and calling Alan not to get a single response till this time. It's more than worrying now." Isa interrupted. 

Zachariah coming out of the kitchen handed him a glass of water. "Calm down." he advised.

Isa grasping the glass sat down, "Thanks."

"But, it's still worrying. Why won't he pick up his phone?" Elias wondered strolling his messages. Aigou sitting beside him gazed, "Nope, still nothing."

"Rauf must know something about it I bet." Senri entered from the garden behind. Wiping his sweat he kept his bat aside sitting down.

"If he did knew, why didn't he tell us?" Noah speculated turning the page of his book.

Isa exhaled, "Nagi? Where is Nagi?"

Nagi coming downstairs replied, "I am here."

"Do you have any news?" Isa hastily inquired.

"Nope, none of my people saw him. It's quite astonishing though." Nagi replied. Orion playing his video game eyed Isa from the corner of his eye. 

___

"They sure seem pretty worked up hun?" Silas whispered glancing at them from the room inside.

"Seriously, they are getting worked up even after messaging Alan. Just look at us, we don't even know where our teammates are. Neither can we call them nor do we know." Mikael rolled his eyes.

"You're right, we should be the ones worrying like that." Damian agreed.

Aryan laying down on his bed sighed, "I wonder what they would be doing right now?" "Yeah, are they at home or the academy? Are they playing any tournaments or not? Sigh~ who knows what's happening?" Farran added clueless.

Ines huddled in a corner, his face buried amongst his knees gazed at the ball in his hands nervously. "Brother…" he whispered.

Ebraham patted his head tenderly assuring, "It's alright. I am sure they will be fine." 

Rauf coming downstairs dried his hairs with a towel. Kazuna grasping his sight headed back to the garden behind as Isa sat silent.

"Ah, it's Rauf. Come on, sit here." Ren called dabbing the couch, gesturing him to sit.

Nagi grasping his towel handed him a sports drink. Looking around, Rauf traced the boys. "Where's Aaron?" he questioned.

"Oh, didn't you know? He received an invitation yesterday. He is selected to write the PSL anthem this year. He was so surprised, that he shut himself inside his room since yesterday to write one. We haven't seen him since then." Noah informed.

Rauf narrowed his brow, "He isn't dead or is he?"

Aigou who was drinking water instantly spurted it out coughing. "What's with that?" he uttered in disbelief. 

"It's not that bad now. He is coming out for practice and lunch, time after time again." Elias replied awkwardly, "It's just that he isn't sitting alongside us."

"I am here~" Aaron suddenly chanted heading down.

Yawning and singing at the same time, he scratched his hairs which were disheveled alongside his clothes. Grasping his sight, every single one of them gasped speechless.

"What is wrong with you Aaron?" Evan headed down beside him. Haruf too followed.

"Nothing~" Aaron replied still yawning. "Writing a song is real hard." he complained. Laying down beside Zach he closed his eyes.

Isa who sat silent for a while called, "Rauf."

Rauf glanced, "Hm?"

"Where is Alan?" Isa questioned.

Noah and Senri too looked at them curious. "Yeah, we have been sending him a lot of messages and calling him ever since he left but no reply. It's making us restless." Noah added concerned.

Rauf standing up wore his jersey pulling his hairs behind. Putting his shoes on, he peeked at Isa from the corner of his eye serious. "Get ready all of you…" he informed opening the door and closing it behind him.

A moment of silence befell over the highschoolers who sat puzzled. "Get ready…?" Noah repeated, "Get ready for what?"

Evan settling on Rauf's place looked at the confused highschoolers, "If Rauf said get ready. Then get ready all of you. What do you mean by get ready for what?"

Ren standing up dusted his clothes beside Kazuna who closed his eyes. "If he says get ready. Let's get ready then."

Elias smiled. "But it still didn't give an answer to where Alan was." Orion pointed. Haruf looking at them smiled as Isa exhaled restless.

The helicopters propelling over the base's entrance blew the trees austerely. Leaves scattering and surroundings vague, the fourteen boys one after another slid down the rope entering in. Standing up and organizing themselves the boys grinned ceaselessly. Twisting their wrists and swinging their bats, they looked at each other prepared.

Alan standing amid them reminisced the unseen sight, "It's been long hasn't it?"

Kenzo gritting kept his queen atop of his shoulder, "Tch, just standing back here makes my blood boil!"

"So what shall we do?" Azazel questioned.

"Nothing, let's take over the central headquarters and pull those pain in the necks out. Then, we'll see." Helios stated.

"Yup, aim for the emperor first." Seraph endorsed.

"But watch out all of you." Alan warned, "Those highschoolers whom you want to play against, are no kids. They know and understand tactics like these far better."

"So, what else can they do? Stop us? Or get in the way?" Ryan snickered.

"Yeah, or even throw us out of the base again?" Adam added rolling his eyes.

"Who knows, but let's be careful." Cassiel said.

"We have become strong. We have surpassed our past selves. And, we are more than ready to face our seniors and even Rauf. However, staying alert in every way possible should be our top priority right now, no matter what." Xavier advised.

"Yeah, Xavier's right. Just because we have become a little bit stronger doesn't mean we let our guards down." Poseidon agreed.

"Now if that's settled. Let's split up and head towards the headquarters." Gabriel suggested.