Over time, Kayden Osawa kept the promise he once made to the team: to stay a little longer. It wasn't just a trophy they lifted after that historic final, but many more that came after. However, unlike the rest, Kayden didn't seem excited about the medals or cups. For him, the real trophies were the people.
Seeing his teammates transform, grow, and achieve goals that once seemed impossible... that's what mattered to him. Those kids who, at first, couldn't coordinate a pass or last ninety minutes without giving up, were now complete players. Players with heart, with ambition, with discipline. Each of them, in their own way, had awakened their own potential.
And that had been Kayden's true mission from the beginning.
He hadn't joined them for glory, fame, or the simple thrill of a game. He had done it to prove — more than anything to himself — that even a group of misfits could be reborn if someone believed in them enough. And now that they had achieved it... Kayden knew. His time with them was coming to an end.
Since the first championship, he had quietly been preparing them for his inevitable departure. More intense training, more complex strategies, individual sessions to polish their weaknesses. He didn't want them to depend on him, but to learn to depend on themselves and each other.
Because he knew that, sooner or later, his restless spirit would drive him to seek a new challenge. A new spark that would reignite the fire within him. That was his nature. To chase the impossible, just to see if he could achieve it. But before leaving, he wanted to make sure of one thing: that when he was gone, the team wouldn't crumble... but soar even higher.
And so, one afternoon like any other, as the sun gently bathed the field where everything had begun, Kayden stood in the center of the grass, watching his teammates train. His gaze wasn't melancholic, but satisfied.
Ren was no longer just the short guy who ran aimlessly; now he was a nimble midfielder with impressive game reading. Haruto, who once trembled every time he received the ball, had developed a confidence that showed even in his posture. And Daiki, the captain, had learned not only to lead but to inspire.
Kayden smiled. Not with sadness, but with pride.
"They're ready," he whispered to himself.
That night, after practice, he gathered everyone in the locker room. The atmosphere was relaxed, filled with jokes and laughter... until Kayden spoke.
"I want to say something."
Everyone fell silent immediately. It was rare to see Kayden so serious.
"I've decided this will be my last season with you."
The reaction was instant. Faces of surprise, confusion... even some hurt looks.
"It's not because I don't want to be here," he continued, his voice firm but gentle. "Quite the opposite. This team... you all... meant more to me than I can explain. But my role here is done. And I know you can continue without me. You don't need me to hold your hand. You can walk on your own... even run."
Daiki was the first to speak, with a nostalgic smile.
"So what are you going to do now, genius?"
Kayden looked at the ceiling, as if trying to find the answer among the beams.
"I don't know yet. Look for another disaster... something impossible. Something no one else wants to try. It's not about the destination for me... it's the journey."
And with those words, they all understood. Kayden Osawa wasn't just a soccer player. He was a catalyst. A free spirit who appeared just when things were about to collapse... and turned them into legends.
The following week, he played his last match with them.
They won. By a landslide. But this time, the shine wasn't just in his performance. It was in the way his teammates shone on their own. In how the team moved as a single unit. As a whole... without relying on a single star.
When the game ended, Kayden left his number 10 shirt on the bench. Not because he was abandoning his identity... but because he knew that soon, someone else would wear it. Someone who was already ready to take his place.
And with a backpack slung over his shoulder and the sunset painting the sky in orange hues, Kayden walked away from the stadium. No promises. No dramatic goodbyes. Just a calm smile on his face and one certainty in his heart:
There were still many fires to light.
...
—Anri... I'm bored —murmured Kayden as he dropped onto the couch with the drama of someone who had exhausted every possible entertainment in the world.
—This is the ninth time you've said that today, Kayden —Anri replied without even looking up from the book in her hands.
—But you promised you would find me something interesting to do! You said you were looking for something... Have you still not found it?
Anri closed the book with a soft sigh, but a smile appeared on her lips.
—Actually, I found something —she said with a mischievous tone.
Kayden turned toward her, his face lighting up with curiosity.
—Really? Is it exciting? Tell me it's exciting.
—More than you can imagine —she responded, setting the book aside and crossing her arms—. It's a... special place. Very competitive, stimulating, and full of opportunities for someone like you. I know because someone I know was there. She told me about it, and since then, I thought it would be perfect for you.
—Now you've got my attention —Kayden said, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees—. Come on, tell me more about this place.
—It's called Advanced Nurturing High School —Anri said with a gleam of admiration in her eyes—. It's an elite school, one of the most prestigious in the country. Founded by the government with the goal of shaping the best of the best. Once you enter, everything you know changes. They have a unique internal system and teaching methods you won't find anywhere else.
Kayden raised an eyebrow.
—A school? Is that it?
—Don't get confused —Anri said quickly—. It's not like any other school. There, students don't just compete for grades; they learn to excel in every possible way. They take kids with potential and place them in an environment designed to extract that potential to the maximum. They teach you to live, to lead, to face the world. It's not a place where you just go to study... it's a training ground for the future.
The words hung in the air for a moment as Kayden silently processed them. His eyes rose to the ceiling, as if in the small imperfections of the paint, he could find an answer. That feeling of stagnation he'd been carrying for weeks... could this be what he needed to break it?
He remembered the training, the matches, the trophies won through hard work... and also the emptiness that followed. Like each victory lost its flavor once there was no one worthy to defeat. What if this place could offer him something more?
—It sounds... different —he finally said, not taking his eyes off the ceiling—. It sounds like something that could interest me.
Then he slowly turned his head toward Anri, one eyebrow raised as he noticed that she wasn't saying anything else. She was hiding something.
—But still... how can I know if it's really worth it, if you can't tell me everything?
—Because you can't know everything —Anri replied with a mysterious smile—. That's the condition. To enter, you have to agree to do so without knowing the details. You'll have to discover for yourself what makes it so special. But what I can assure you, Kayden, is that once you set foot there... you'll never say you're bored again.
For a moment, silence filled the room. Then, slowly, a smile appeared on Kayden's lips.
—... Now I'm interested.
—I knew you'd say that —Anri said with satisfaction—. Get ready. Because if you decide to join, this new chapter in your life will be completely different from anything you've ever experienced before.
Kayden reclined again, but this time his gaze was lit up. A new environment. A new game. And maybe... the challenge he'd been searching for all this time.
...
And yes, it was definitely interesting for Kayden.
From the first day at Advanced Nurturing High School, that seemingly casual decision of Anri's had led him to one of the most intense and enriching experiences of his life. And although not everything had been perfect —because of course, disappointment is an inevitable flavor in any real challenge—, every moment in that unique environment had captured his attention like few things had before.
The special exams were more than academic tests. They were carefully designed mazes where intellect, intuition, and psychology clashed in a constant dance. It wasn't just about solving problems... but about anticipating, manipulating, resisting. The conflicts between classes, charged with tension and pride, were not simple school rivalries. They were battlefields where every decision could elevate you... or bury you.
Kayden, of course, adapted quickly. But he also understood something crucial early on: his true limit wasn't his intellect, but the collective understanding of his classmates.
Because as brilliant as his plans were, designing strategies so complex that only he could understand them was of little use. What set apart a true leader wasn't how high they could fly alone... but how far they could take others with them.
So Kayden took a different approach. He refined his style. He created plans that were simple in structure, but impossible to divert in execution. Gears that seemed easy to understand, but once set in motion, trapped even the most cautious opponents. It was like setting invisible traps in an open field; no one knew they'd lost until there was nothing they could do.
And the best part was that it worked. That rhythm —between the methodical and the unpredictable— offered him the kind of fun that even football, at its best, had never managed to keep up with for so long.
For Kayden, this school wasn't just a place where he studied or competed.
It was a giant chessboard.
A theater where each person was a piece with its own will.
And he, rather than wanting to be the king, had chosen an even more complex role: that of the mastermind at the front of the board, exposed to all eyes, but always one step ahead. He didn't hide in the shadows... he shone with his own light, daring the world to keep up with him.
Without a doubt, he regretted nothing.
This school... had been, and continued to be, one of the most exciting things he had ever lived.