"I'd be trying to stop Virat, if I were you," was how Rohit greeted Rahul in the corridor.

"What's he up to again?" asked Rahul.

"He's searching online for unethical surgeons."

"What on earth for?"

"Who can be hired to stitch an idiot's mouth permanently shut."

"What?" asked Rahul.

"Of course we have to capture that idiot first, making sure he doesn't know it's us behind it," continued Rohit. "That's what Hardik and Yuzi are working on right now. I think Virat tried to take Jinks into the plan, too."

"Er—"

"He tried to recruit us all as well, of course, and mind you, I agree with his sentiment, but his ways are always a bit too wild to be implemented, so..."

"Rohit," sighed Rahul. "I'm sure you think you're being really clear and all, but honestly, I don't have any idea what you're going on about. Can you please start at the start?"

Rohit's eyebrows flew up. "Did you not hear what that dratted former owner of yours has been saying?"

"What? Oh—yes, I heard."

"And did you somehow expect Virat to take it calmly, Rahuliya?" demanded Rohit.

"I didn't think about it," admitted Rahul. "If I had, I'd have guessed Virat would overreact. When does he do anything but overreact?"

"He's not overreacting," said Rohit sharply, the change in his tone very noticeable to Rahul. "Like I said, his methods are too much, but he's right to mind it. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Rahul suddenly felt very much on the backfoot.

"What—what did I do?"

"You're acting like it's nothing to even think about twice. And what's worse, you believe that, too."

"It isn't something to think about twice," said Rahul, frowning. "Sanjiv sir is a very disagreeable sort of person, in general. This is quite normal for him."

"Sir?" Jassi's voice came from behind him. "Why do you call him sir?"

"Because—because he'd older to me," said Rahul, baffled.

"Sir is someone you address with respect," said Jassi. "Sanjiv Goenka has done nothing in his life to deserve respect."

"He hasn't," said Rohit. "He removed Mahi bhai from captaincy in his stupid temporary franchise—who gave him the right to do that?"

"Um, Ro, it was his franchise," Rahul tried pointing out, and was immediately silenced by Rohit and Jassi's raised voices.

"That doesn't give him the right to insult Mahi bhai!—"

"And LSG being his team does not give him the right to insult you—you're a national-level player, Rahul, act like it!"

Rahul felt he was being unfairly censured.

"And what about that silly thing about that special jersey you guys had to wear in Kolkata?" asked Jassi.

"Yes, that is kind of silly," said Rahul. "It's the jersey of Sanjiv—sir's—" At Jassi and Rohit's glares, he hastily went on with, "—Mr. Goenka's football team based in Kolkata. Half the people of Kolkata are really passionate about that team, so he gets us to wear that jersey at the Eden Gardens to change the support of the home crowd."

"And that is the person you call sir?"

"Well, I suppose I needn't, any longer, since I'm not part of his team anymore," said Rahul.

"You're an idiot," said Rohit bluntly. "I thought you were the sensible one amongst the ones I have to deal with, but you're actually the biggest idiot of the lot."

"You and Sanjiv si—er, Mr. Goenka seem to agree on that," said Rahul, hiding a smile.

"This is exactly what makes you an idiot!" said Rohit. "Go and talk to Virat!"

"All right, all right, you don't have to order me to go and talk to Virat like I haven't done that few hours back—"

"You haven't since that miserable entitled brat made that public statement," said Rohit. "And it's beyond me to deal with this attitude of yours."

"I didn't do anything," said Rahul, nettled. "You're talking like I made a rash, stupid statement on air..."

"Look, Rahuliya," said Rohit, catching Rahul's arm in an iron grip to make a point. "I admire self-control, I admire it a lot. But at some point, you have to realize that sometimes you're sacrificing your own self-respect to stay in control."

"Sometimes?" said Jassi. "You sure you don't mean all the time, Rohit bhaiya?"

Rahul scowled at him.

The closer he got with Jassi, the more often he appeared like Hardik to Rahul. Only, he was really good at pretending to be, in Hardik's words, an 'angel' and had pulled the wool over all the seniors' eyes successfully.

Jassi was a Hardik with brains.

Ah, yes, that was it.

Before Rahul could point that out, Rohit was pulling him along to Virat's room like he was a schoolkid caught at misdemeanor by a teacher (Rohit) and Virat was the headmaster of the school.

_________________________

Virat was glowering into his tab and didn't appear to notice when his door opened.

"Still searching for unethical surgeons for hire?" asked Rohit with a cough.

Virat looked up. His glower deepened as his eyes fell on Rahul.

Rahul tried to back away, but Rohit had already slipped out and shut the door.

"I can't figure out where I went wrong with you," said Virat.

"Wh-what?"

"You're my favourite younger brother, and I'm your favourite elder brother, and then you just go and—I mean, I'd understand if Jinks was your favourite, but mind you, Rahuliya, even Jinks never took such crap. Bhuvi didn't. Mahi bhai of course didn't. Jassi doesn't. All the calm-dignified-people have some respect for their dignity."

"I know, Virat, but Sanjiv sir—"

"Sir? SIR?"

"Sorry!" said Rahul hastily. "Mr. Goenka isn't a very well-mannered person, so whatever he says isn't worth—"

"Fine, what he says isn't worth taking notice of! Did you try to talk BCCI out of your ban after that stupid show where you didn't say a bad word?"

"Of course not, it was the BCCI—"

"I talked myself out of a ban in Australia when I abused the crowd. To the same BCCI."

"Oh, er—that's you, Virat, not everyone—"

"Forget me. Have you seen any franchise owner yelling at their captain in public? Ever?"

"No, but—"

"They wouldn't dare, Rahuliya. That Sanjiv sir of yours, however ill-mannered a person he is, wouldn't dare to try that on me or Rohit or Shreyas or Hardik. Not to be arrogant or anything, but at the level we're in, we deserve to be treated with a basic amount of respect."

"Yes, but—"

"WHY DO YOU NOT HAVE ANY SELF RESPECT? WHY DO YOU LET PEOPLE TREAT YOU THIS WAY? WHY CAN YOU NOT STAND UP FOR YOUR DAMN SELF?"

Rahul jumped out of skin.

"AND WHY ARE YOU LISTENING QUIETLY?"

"Listening what...quietly?" asked Rahul.

"LISTENING TO ME," exploded Virat. "FIGHT BACK. LEARN TO FIGHT BACK."

Rahul was terrified. "Um—"

"See?" said Virat, lowering his voice back to a normal volume. "If you insist on being submissive, surely you'll have something to justify yourself with?"

"Well," said Rahul, taking a deep breath, "that day he yelled at me on the field, I did play really badly."

"Demeaning yourself is your way of justifying yourself?" Virat sniffed. "Look, you might have played badly that day..."

"And I didn't play particularly well in the season, either—"

"All right, you might have played badly a whole season." Virat got up to pull Rahul to sit beside him. "That doesn't cancel out who you are, Rahuliya. After all your contributions to Indian cricket, an IPL team owner can't just insult you in front of everyone. In an ideal world, no one should insult good people who don't know to stand up for themselves, but this isn't an ideal world. Still, no one would dare insult a national cricketer if they were known to have a minimum amount of—sense—to stand up against it."

Rahul studied his feet.

"If you haven't learnt it in thirty one years, I have full faith you'll never learn it, though," assured Virat.

"Okay," said Rahul, who was severely put out by the disappointed, almost-apathetic tone Virat had switched to. "Since I can't be of help to you in looking for an unethical surgeon to hire, either, I'll go and send Jaddu. I don't know why Rohit brought me here."

"Because someone needs to tell you that you are the last person who deserves this shit and negativity around you," said Virat, tenderly. "You're an idiot, but you're one of the best people I've met in my life, Rahuliya, and that alone cancels out most of your stupidity."

"I don't know if you're scolding me or praising me," said Rahul, honestly.

"Both," said Virat. "I have to keep doing both, because I'm responsible for you."

Rahul confirmed the door was shut and that he'd get enough warning time to retract if someone opened the door before putting his arms around Virat's waist and burying his head in his shoulder.

Virat clasped him back immediately.

"And a hell lot of a responsibility that is, too," he said, ruffling Rahul's hair.

At that point, Rahul was simply glad that Virat had stopped sounding angry or disappointed.

____________________

"I don't think the surgeon idea is going to work," said Virat, later than evening.

"Big surprise," said Rahul, who was stretched on the bed, drowsily.

"I'll drop that halfwit a message, though." Virat reached over to pat Rahul's forehead. "He knows you won't stand up for yourself. But he also needs to know you have people who will."

Rahul thought it was best he stayed out of the composition of that message.