"Make sure you go for his knee, don't miss."
"Trust me, man; your friend is done playing football."
A black long-haired boy walked down the stairs. Seeing his best friend made him happy. Daichi had been beside him from the start.
From exchanging worn-out boots to warming the bench together, Zico and Daichi became an unstoppable duo on the field.
"Hey, you know that guy? Isn't that the opposing team? Dude, coach said no conversations with them," said Zico.
Daichi faked a smile, then walked towards Zico, placing his arm on his shoulder. He didn't want his friend to suspect anything.
"Man, we're in the major league qualification finals, we've got this," were the words Daichi said that made Zico look away from the opposing team.
Zico sighed. "Never doubted it."
"Listen, the whole stadium is screaming your name. Dude, you're taking all the show. I mean, I also want to shine, but with you in the picture, it's impossible for anyone else, hahaha."
Daichi laughed along with Zico, who didn't think much about what his friend said. He just saw it as another hype Daichi usually gave during matches.
But Daichi was scared of reaching the major league with Zico. Although Real Shine City would become famous, Zico would be on top, just like now.
Ask a kid to name three players in Real Shine City; they can't, because they only know one. They believe Zico is the only player in Real Shine City.
The stadium was, no doubt, screaming Zico's name. Fans were jumping on their feet. This was Utopia.
Daichi could have asked for something else, like the opposing team tight-marking Zico, but in the past, even seven defenders were warm-up for him.
So that wouldn't do any good. He needed Zico to stop playing football. Asking politely would never be of use.
So: "Rghaaaa!"
The stadium that was once screaming Zico's name started murmuring. Their star was down in the box, yelling in pain.
"Dude, I swear I heard a crack."
"You bastard; you did that on purpose!" Real Shine City's players were pissed off, nearly starting a fight with the opposing team.
"Motherfucker, of all players it was Zico!" They were really pissed off.
While Zico kept yelling and holding his broken knee with tears rolling down his eyes, not when he was this close. "Fu... fuck, rghaaa," Zico yelled.
Daichi walked towards his friend, pushing everyone out of his way. Then he squatted beside Zico and muttered, "I can't shine with you in the picture."
The pain Zico felt suddenly numbed hearing that from his best friend. It all made sense to him now. The opposing defender that did this was the one from earlier.
"What?" was the only thing Zico said, weakly.
"Please step aside, it's the medic coming through. Room... I need space, clear the field!"
The fans were holding themselves back, only imagining the pain he felt. A kid began crying while looking at the action figure of Zico.
Real Shine City's manager was on his knees, holding the ground as if trying to balance himself, because it looked as if the field was spinning before his eyes.
That was his star player with a broken knee.
The referee blew the whistle, handing over a big red card to the opposition.
It wasn't even an accident. Before a Real Shine City player from the wing planned on crossing the ball to Zico, who was running towards the eighteen-yard box,
Before the ball was even kicked, the opposing defender had already slide-tackled from the left, and with brutal force, he destroyed Zico's knee.
Zico could no longer play football. A free kick was given, and Daichi's brilliant blitz curler found the ball in the net.
With one player down for the opposing team, Real Shine City easily got the win, 5–0. All goals were scored by Daichi.
---
[Three years later...]
"So big."
Reina looked at the pizza in front of the dining table, big enough that she wanted it all for herself and couldn't wait to dig in.
"Seriously, Dad, we have to wait for him again? But I'm hungry." Reina, who was fifteen, sounded like a ten-year-old girl.
But her dad still insisted they wait. "Yes, Reina, your brother will soon be here. His exercise doesn't usually last this long," said the white-haired man, checking his wristwatch.
"Damn, this thing is broken again," he said, tapping the head of the watch.
Reina let out a big sigh like a dragon breathing fire and placed her hands on her chin, looking outside the window.
She saw her slender, muscular brother running towards their house. Now Reina suddenly felt happy and ran to open the door.
"Hurry up, Zico, the pizza's getting cold!"
Standing beside her brother, Reina was an ant, and Zico was like a giant looking down at her. "Eew, you stink," said Reina.
"It's called sweat, Reina." Zico walked inside, seeing the big pizza and his dad tapping on his wristwatch. "I don't have an appetite for pizza."
"What? Hey, we've been waiting the whole time for you to say this?"
Zico wordlessly left them. His dad sighed and stood up, telling Reina she could wait if she wanted.
When he entered Zico's room, he saw him holding his knee. He understood the feeling too well.
He was also a baseball star before his shoulder was dislocated, and now his son.
"Hey, son, you know you can't keep haunting yourself with what happened," he said, sitting right beside him on the bed.
The doctor said Zico should never play football or he might risk never walking again, as a piece of his bone was cracked out.
The risk of using his leg too much might shatter his bone. And with an injury of no recovery, Real Shine City didn't need him anymore.
Not even as a benchwarmer. Instead, they focused all their attention on Daichi.
The last words he heard from Daichi had been haunting him. The scenes replayed as a looped nightmare.
"I mean, look on the bright side. Your team made it to the major league and even won last year's club cup. I also heard they're selecting Japan's World Cup players from Real Shine City."
Zico looked at his dad. Obviously, they didn't know his broken knee wasn't an accident but a setup. So what his dad was saying wasn't really helping.
A burden only he had to face alone. After all, Daichi was like a son to his dad in the past.
"Did they accept my recruitment letter?" Zico asked.
His father sighed and replied with disappointment. Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard, and it was Reina coming in with the pizza.
"I, um... I can't have the pizza all for myself, you know."
Zico sighed. "Fine, I'll eat."