Erik dismissed him eventually. Takeshi walked to the cafeteria in a daze, his mind replaying those photographs on an endless loop.
The other five kids were already there. Normal. Laughing. Isabella was trying to steal food from Marcus's plate. Kwame was on his phone.
Elsa and Oliver sat together at the end of the table, looking at Oliver's tablet.
Takeshi's stomach twisted. They don't know. They're happy because they don't know.
"Takeshi!" Isabella waved him over. "Marcus ate all the good pastries, you have to yell at him!"
He was walking toward them when Oliver looked up.
His face changed. Colour draining, eyes going wide.
"Uh, Takeshi?" Oliver's voice came out tight. "You need to see this."
Everyone stopped. Forks frozen mid-air. Isabella's smile fading.
"Now," Oliver added, something like dread in his tone.
Takeshi reached the table. Oliver turned the tablet around.
The article filled the screen. Major football website "MARCA", one of Spain's biggest sports outlets. The headline hit like a fist:
"8-YEAR-OLD JAPANESE PRODIGY COURTED BY REAL MADRID"
Subheading: "Exclusive: Los Blancos Make Move for Ajax Camp Standout"
Takeshi's vision tunneled. Words jumped out in fragments:
"...Takeshi Yamamoto, 8, has caught the attention of Real Madrid scouts..."
"...historic performance against Ajax U16 squad..."
"...four assists in a single match..."
"...Real Madrid representatives made contact during team outing to Efteling..."
"...club sources confirm strong interest..."
"...comparisons to young Messi, Ronaldo at the same age..."
The Efteling mention. The article described the encounter. How a scout approached him personally. Gave him "recruitment materials."
How do they know? Who told them?
Unnamed scouts quoted throughout "He's exactly what Real Madrid looks for... rare vision, natural leadership, tactical intelligence beyond his years."
"We're prepared to wait until he's of appropriate age. His family will be well taken care of in the meantime."
Official denials from Real Madrid's press office, but the article was packed with details only an insider would know.
"Dude." Marcus's voice sounded far away. "REAL MADRID?"
Isabella: "You met them at Efteling? When?!"
Kwame: "Why didn't you tell us?"
Elsa was staring at him, and she knew. She knew about the card but not this. Not that it would become public.
Oliver just kept scrolling. "It's everywhere. Every football site. ESPN, Sky Sports, Goal.com, and Japanese sports media is going absolutely insane."
He pulled up his phone, showed the notifications flooding in.
"8-year-old national pride"
"Next Asian sensation"
"Real Madrid youth recruitment controversy"
Takeshi's phone, silent in his pocket until now, suddenly exploded.
Buzzing. Ringing. Vibrating with notification after notification like machine-gun fire.
Texts. Calls. Messages. Unknown numbers. Japanese numbers. His parents... multiple missed calls. His father: "WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
His mother: "ARE YOU OKAY? CALL US IMMEDIATELY"
Messages from kids at his school in Japan. Old Tokyo FC teammates. Coaches. People he'd never heard of. Media requests in three languages.
His face was everywhere.
Oliver kept scrolling, showing article after article. "Twitter's trending in Japan: Takeshi Yamamoto. There are Reddit threads. YouTube reaction videos already. You've been here nine days and the whole football world knows your name now."
The cafeteria door slammed open.
Erik stormed in, face darker than Takeshi had ever seen it. Fury radiating off him in waves.
"Everyone. Rooms. Now."
Kids scrambled, not questioning that tone. Chairs scraping. Tablets and phones abandoned.
Erik grabbed Takeshi's arm. Not gentle.
"Not you."
Alone in the empty cafeteria, Erik paced like a caged animal.
"Someone leaked this intentionally." Words clipped, controlled rage barely leashed. "This was coordinated. Professional. The timing, the details, the photos embedded in the article."
He spun on Takeshi. "Real Madrid did this."
"Why?" Takeshi's voice came out small.
"Strategy." Erik's laugh was harsh. "Make it public. Now you're not a private recruitment—you're a spectacle. Every club knows. Every agent knows. Your value just went public."
"And your life? No longer yours."
Takeshi's phone wouldn't stop. Buzzing against his leg like an angry wasp.
His father, seventh call. His mother, ninth text. Messages from people he'd never heard of offering representation, opportunities, advice.
Erik shoved his own phone in Takeshi's face. Twitter trending topics. Reddit threads dissecting his every movement. YouTube reactions from Japanese sports channels. One video already had 200,000 views: "8-Year-Old Prodigy Targeted by Real Madrid—What It Means for Japanese Football."
"This is intentional pressure," Erik said, voice going cold and analytical. "They're forcing everyone's hand. Your parents will be overwhelmed with offers from agents, clubs, corporate sponsors. Other clubs will make counter-moves. Agents will swarm your family with promises."
"They're creating chaos. And in chaos, they'll slip in and secure their position while everyone else is panicking."
Takeshi sat down hard, head in his hands. Phone still buzzing. Face on sports websites around the world. Eight years old.
His life had just exploded.
"I just wanted to play football," he whispered. For once, he sounded exactly his age. Young. Scared. Lost.
Erik sat next to him. Rare gentleness in the movement.
"I know, kid. I know."
Pause.
"But you're special. And special has a price." Erik's voice carried the weight of experience. "Real Madrid just made sure everyone knows it."
Another pause. Longer.
"Few days left. Then you go home."
"Enjoy them. Because nothing will be the same after."
Takeshi sat alone in his room. Phone finally off... he couldn't take it anymore. Laptop open to the article. His face staring back at him.
Eight years old and famous. Not for winning anything. Just for existing.
The photo they'd used was from the U16 match. Him celebrating with Elsa after one of the goals. Her arms around him, both smiling with pure, innocent joy.
That was three days ago. Felt like a lifetime.
His system window flickered to life, uninvited:
[SYSTEM ALERT]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
QUEST UPDATE: SURVIVAL
Difficulty Increased: EXTREME → CATASTROPHIC
Reason: Public Exposure
New Threats Detected:
Real Madrid Official Approach (Imminent)
15+ Club Counter-Offers (Incoming)
Agent Manipulation Attempts (Active)
Media Pressure (Overwhelming)
Family Safety (Compromised)
TIME RELAY Status: Unlocking Faster
Current: 3% (Increased from 1%)
Reason: Extreme Danger Detected
WARNING: Host's exposure has accelerated timeline
You are no longer hidden
You are hunted
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Takeshi closed the laptop. Lay back on his bed. Stared at the ceiling.
Somewhere in Madrid, Real Madrid executives were probably celebrating. Their leak had worked perfectly.
Somewhere in Japan, his parents were drowning in calls and messages, panicking about their eight-year-old son being pursued by football's most powerful club.
Somewhere in this building, Erik was planning his next move in a game Takeshi didn't even know he was playing.
And somewhere—probably closer than he wanted to think—that mysterious man from Efteling was watching. Waiting. Smiling.
He'd been an eight-year-old with a secret ten hours ago.
Now he was an eight-year-old with the whole world watching.
His phone, silent now after he'd turned it off, had buzzed one final time with a message before dying:
Unknown Number: "Welcome to the spotlight, Takeshi. We'll be seeing you soon. - Real Madrid CF"
The demon of Ajax. That's what they called him after the U16 match.
He was starting to understand why demons were feared.
Not because they were powerful.
But because power made them targets for things far worse than themselves.
TO BE CONTINUED...