Chapter 828: The Return!

Just within hours, the news broke. However, much of it was exaggerated.

"Hiro Takahashi Cleared for Return—Included in Atlético Squad" — Marca

"The King Returns: Hiro Back in Training After Three Months" — AS

"Diego’s Secret Weapon: Hiro’s Comeback Timeline Revealed" — ESPN FC

The football world erupted. Social media filled with reactions as fans celebrated, pundits argued, and rivals quietly began to analyze. The hashtag #HiroReturns was trending worldwide within minutes.

But the loudest voices came from Madrid. Atlético’s training ground was swarmed with journalists, every session drew cameras, and every step Hiro took was dissected and replayed, even though he wasn’t playing yet.

However, it was a testament to the fact that the world was watching.

His first day back in training felt unreal.

The dressing room smelled exactly as he remembered, of sweat and liniment and the faint metallic tang of boots. The faces were familiar, and the banter was the same, and yet everything felt different, as though he were seeing it all through glass.

Julian was the first to greet him.

"Look who finally decided to show up."

Hiro laughed. "Miss me?"

"Like a hole in the head." Julian grinned, then pulled him into a rough embrace. "Welcome back, you bastard."

Guiliano came next, quieter but no less warm. He clasped Hiro’s hand and held it a moment longer than he needed to. "Good to see you."

"Good to be seen."

Then came Lee Kang-In.

The Korean midfielder crossed the room slowly, almost hesitantly, and stopped a few feet away. His face was a mix of things: relief, nervousness, and something else that Hiro couldn’t quite read.

"Hey," Lee said.

"Hey."

A pause settled between them.

"I’ve been holding your spot," Lee said quietly. "But it’s yours. It’s always been yours."

Hiro studied him for a moment. "It’s not mine," he said. "It’s ours. We share it."

Lee blinked, and then a real, unguarded smile spread across his face. "Okay."

Diego was waiting in his office.

A tactical board stood behind his desk, crowded with arrows and diagrams, and Hiro noticed that some of the lines looked a great deal like the sketches in his own notebook. He knocked, entered, and waited.

"Sit."

Hiro sat.

Diego studied him for a long moment. "You’re cleared."

"Yes."

"But you’re not ready."

Hiro didn’t flinch. "No. But I will be."

Diego nodded slowly. "Good, because I’m not going to rush you. You’ll be on the bench. You’ll watch, and you’ll learn, and if the match is safe and the doctors agree, you might get a few minutes. Don’t count on it. When you’re ready, you’ll play."

"I understand."

Diego leaned forward. "This team has changed, Hiro. We’ve grown, and we’ve adapted, and we’re not the same squad you left."

"I know. I’ve been watching."

"Good, because when you come back, and you will come back, you’ll have to fit into something new. It won’t work the other way around."

Hiro met his gaze. "I’m ready for that."

Diego smiled, a rare, genuine smile. "I know you are. I had a seat reserved for you in the front row, but I’ll have to give it to someone else now."

He stood and held out his hand. "Welcome back, Hiro."

Hiro took it. "Thank you, Coach."

The day of the match arrived sooner than expected.

The Metropolitano was electric.

Seventy thousand voices roared as the two teams lined up in the tunnel. Flags rippled in the stands, banners stretched across the tiers, and the air was thick with anticipation.

But the loudest roar came when the Atlético squad walked out into the light, because there, behind his teammates and dressed in the red and white stripes, was Hiro Takahashi.

He wasn’t starting, and he wasn’t even warming up. But he was on the bench, in the squad, back where he belonged.

The crowd chanted his name.

"HI-RO! HI-RO! HI-RO!"

He sat with his hands on his knees and his heart pounding, looking around at the stadium and the fans and the banners bearing his name.

A little over three months, more than a hundred days, well over two thousand hours. He had spent every one of them waiting for this moment, and now he was here.

The match began.

Atlético took control from the first whistle. Lee Kang-In pulled the strings in midfield, Julian led the line with relentless energy, and Guiliano pressed and harried and fought for every inch of grass.

Real Sociedad, Shun’s current one, fought back with organization and discipline, and they were dangerous on the counter. But Atlético were too strong.

In the 34th minute, Julian opened the scoring with a clinical finish from Lee’s through ball. In the 61st, Giuliano doubled the lead with a powerful header from a corner, and the stadium shook.

Hiro watched from the bench with his chest swelling with pride, and underneath the pride, the old voice came back, small and cold and familiar.

They’re winning without me. The team has indeed grown stronger.

He closed his eyes. Maybe they don’t need me. But I need them.

In the 78th minute, Diego turned toward the bench.

"Hiro."

His head snapped up.

"Warm up."

His heart stopped. "What?"

Diego glanced at the medical staff, and the physio gave a small, deliberate nod. Then he looked back at Hiro. "You’re going on. Ten minutes, that’s all. Show me what you’ve got."

Hiro didn’t move for a moment. Then he stood.

He pulled off his training top and jogged to the touchline, his heart pounding and his legs trembling, and when the crowd saw him, the roar was deafening.

"HI-RO! HI-RO! HI-RO!"

He waited at the fourth official’s board while the substitution was prepared, and then the board went up, showing his name and his number: 10, Hiro Takahashi.

He stepped onto the pitch.

The grass felt different under his boots, softer and more alive, more real than anything he had touched in months. The lights seemed brighter and the noise louder and the air thicker. He took a long, slow breath.

I’m here. I’m actually here.

He looked around at the fans, his teammates, and the opponents. In Real Sociedad’s goal, Shun’s eyes found him across the pitch. Shun gave a nod, small and almost imperceptible.

Welcome back.

Hiro nodded in return. Good to be back.

The referee blew his whistle, and the match resumed.