April 2019 – Kochi, Kerala Blasters Training Facility
The Kerala summer was unforgiving — not with rain, but with heat that clung to the skin. The ISL trophy had long since found its place in the glass cabinet, flanked by marigold garlands and fan offerings.
But no one looked at it anymore.
The mood had changed.
From celebration... to anticipation.
Arjun stood in the gym, wrapping his wrists as the team physio adjusted the squat rack. He wasn't looking at the weights. He was staring at the laminated bracket sheet on the wall. The final four.
Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Jeonbuk Hyundai (South Korea)
Kawasaki Frontale (Japan)
Kerala Blasters (India)
He traced the line leading from "Kerala" to "Kawasaki." The weight of it didn't crush him. It humbled him.
> "Semifinals," he whispered. "And we're still standing."
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✦ Tactical Meeting — Uncharted Territory
Coach Sameer paced in front of a darkened screen. A still frame showed Kawasaki's last goal against Ulsan Hyundai — a fluid triangle of movement, the ball gliding across the turf like it had its own pulse.
"They don't attack. They suffocate," he said. "And they never stop running."
The room was still.
Then the coach clicked the remote.
It switched to a freeze-frame of Arjun's assist in the second leg vs Shandong Dalian — ball mid-air, Faizan mid-dive, net rippling.
"But they haven't played us," Sameer said.
"We play the first leg here, in Kochi. And I want them to remember the noise. The heat. The fight."
He looked around the room.
"You didn't come this far to stop here."
Sahal muttered under his breath, "We're 90 minutes from history."
"No," said Arjun quietly, lifting his head. "We're 180."
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✦ Outside the Camp — Eyes on Arjun
Across the street from the Blasters' facility, in the café run by former Blasters fan club members, a quiet German sat with a cup of tea.
Rainer Graf.
Chief Scout — Hannover 96, 2. Bundesliga.
He watched a replay of Kerala's buildup goal against Shandong — Arjun taking two touches under pressure, spinning past his marker, and launching a long ball with surgical precision.
He scribbled something into his leather notebook:
> "No panic under chaos. Vision through fog. He's not only a talent. He's a temperament."
He took out his phone and typed a message to his agency contact:
> "Confirm presence for first leg in Kochi. Seat behind Blasters' bench. No media."
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✦ Kalyani — Torn Between Worlds
In Hyderabad, on the final day of dubbing for her upcoming film, Kalyani sat in a quiet corridor. Her voice work had ended, but her thoughts hadn't.
She had seen Arjun's interview post-Quarterfinal. The one where he said, "They called us underdogs. Let them."
She scrolled through a fan edit that layered his goals and assists over the now-iconic fan chant:
> "Oru paadam, oru veeran... Marannilla njangale…"
She mouthed the words without meaning to.
A colleague passed by and asked, "You're going to watch the semifinal live?"
Kalyani looked up. Her smile was small, but steady.
"I have a shoot that day… but maybe I'll find a way."
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✦ Blasters Locker Room — Before the Storm
"First leg at home matters," said Faizan, glancing at the whiteboard. "If we hold them to nothing here, Japan becomes a different story."
Coach Sameer turned.
"No," he said. "We're not holding them."
He turned the lights off and let the silence settle.
"We're beating them."
He pointed at the wall — to the mural the fans had painted long ago: the golden elephant, crowned and roaring silently.
> "They'll bring Samurai. But we are the Elephant.
And this time, the Elephant remembers."
The room stirred.
And a chant began to form again, deep in their throats:
> "Elephant! Elephant! Blasters' pride!"
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✦ A Fan's Letter — And a Flag
In his DMs, Arjun opened a message from Adarsh Krishna — the 14-year-old from Thrissur who had started the stadium song.
> "Chetta — we made a new banner. For the semi. It says:
'We'll Carry You to the Rising Sun.'
Because you carried us first."
There was a photo attached: a massive yellow flag with Arjun's silhouette outlined in black, superimposed against the rising sun of Japan.
Arjun didn't reply immediately.
But he downloaded the image.
And set it as his lock screen.
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✦ Final Scene — The Semifinal Beckons
That night, Arjun walked the perimeter of the empty stadium. The stands were quiet. But in his head, the noise echoed — chants, gasps, drums.
He thought of the long road here.
The streets of Thrissur.
His father's voice.
The day he met Faizan as a rival.
The call-up to the Indian national camp.
The heartbreaks, and the songs.
And he whispered to the air:
> "This is not the end. This is where legends begin."
He stepped off the field.
Not with weight in his steps — but thunder.
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Next Chapter:
Chapter 43 – Echoes in the Rain
The AFC Semifinal First Leg. Kochi's monsoon breaks early. The rain is wild. The fans louder. And Rainer Graf is in the stands. What Arjun does tonight — could change Indian football history.
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