Vikram and Rakshith got into another eye fight as soon as Kulkarni sir left making the others shake their heads. It was in the past yet those two are not ready to let go of their ego and reconcile.

"Will you both stop staring at each other like some long-lost lovers?" Nithin finally exclaimed, irritatedly fed up with their cold wars every now and then. Both of them looked away flustered while the others giggled at his words.

"Guys, I know you both had a misunderstanding in the past but can you both act normal from now on? We have a big responsibility on our shoulders and we can't work properly with a cold war going on between you," Ananya tried to make the hot-headed men understand the situation that she was doing from the day of their fight. 

"I won't let our rift affect our work," Both said simultaneously and scoffed, making the others roll their eyes.

"They are either twins or star-crossed lovers," Bhavin muttered to Shika who gave him a you won't change look.

They all formulated their strategies for the rest of the day and finally, they got their fake ID cards. A colleague handed over the fake IDs to Vikram and left from there. 

"Here are the IDs, guys. I am the production co-ordinator, Rakhshith will be the director, Shika will be our IT support, Ananya will be the host, Bhavin will be the camera operator and Nithin will be the sound engineer." Vikram explained to them their roles. 

"Who's going to be the scriptwriter then? We should have a script right?" Ananya questioned looking at her team. They all just shrugged in reply.

"It's not going to be telecasted anyhow. We will do something about it later," Rakshith suggested and everyone nodded in reply. 

"But what's the need to do all this roles assignment when they already told the cricketers that we are central government employees who are going to make a documentary about them?" Shika asked glaring at her ID card. She's not happy becoming the IT support which forces her to wear those glasses all the time. Those make her eyes itch. She tried to make Kulkarni sir understand that every IT person doesn't wear glasses but that old man never listens.

"Maybe because we are still going to take their interview and should make it look realistic?" Nithin exclaimed with a raised brow making Shika groan knowing he was right.

"I think we should leave now. We have to pack our bags and guys please wear something that matches your role," Shika said the last part to the boys who rolled their eyes in reply. The person who makes a fuss about wearing glasses is warning them to wear appropriate clothes. 

"That means I should wear those frocks, bodycon, and skirts?" Ananya exclaimed. Her job made her a shifter making her wear all types of clothes but she still complains every time she gets a new role. She remembered she didn't have many of those clothes and they didn't even have time to buy them.  She pouted looking at her team with her puppy eyes and earning a flicker on her forehead from Bhavin.

"I have a few of them. I will bring them for you," Shika's words made Ananya grin with a nod. That was the best part to have friends whose clothes fit you. Ananya hugged Shika and shouted 'I love you' making the boys roll their eyes.

They all went to their respective homes to get ready. Her entire family was home by the time Ananya reached home. She hugged her father who was busy watching badminton and moved to her room to pack her things.

******************************************************************************************

Shaurya walked out of his bathroom with a towel loosely hanging around his hips. His body was shining with water droplets and it was drool worth with his toned abs and puffing muscles. He picked up his phone from the dressing table, gently running his fingers through his hair, shaking his head a little to get rid of the water droplets. 

"Good evening, Shannu," He wished their team manager, balancing his phone between his shoulder and cheek as he grabbed a shot from the cupboard. 

"Good evening, Shaurya. A few journalists are going to join us for our upcoming trip. It looks like the PM permitted them to make a reality show kind of thing with us to let people know more about the sport. They will be traveling with us taking a few interviews and making a report on the team's activities," The manager explained making Shaurya close his eyes in irritation.

"You mean to say they are going to be with us for 2 whole months?" Shaurya exclaimed in a disapproving tone. His jaw clenched in irritation thinking about all the discomfort they were about to face due to the media. 

It's not like he hates media and paps. He feels they as the bridge between him and his fans but there are times when the media forget the boundaries and try to breach his and his team's privacy for their ratings which causes them a lot of trouble. 

"It seems so.  The head coach tried to convince the president, hell, he even argued with him but that man is adamant about it and so is the honorable PM. The coach even reached out to him. All he said is 'everything is for the best interest of the nation'," Shannu ranted, expressing his displeasure of having media stay with them for two months.

"We can't go against them now, can we?" Shaurya asked, even though there was no going back after the PM and BCCI president themselves gave their permission for doing whatever the shit show they are planning to. 

"I'll bear them only if they stay out of our personal life. The moment they try to pry into our lives, I am out of it and so is my team," Shaurya declared, with a determined tone. He can at least try to tolerate them for a few days if they stay within their limits, right?

He's not sure. 

"Try not to get into any heated arguments with them," Shannu warned, knowing very well about the captain's anger issues. Shaurya is a very down to earth person who is fun to be around and loves making people laugh and entertain them but when his aggressive side takes over, none can bear his anger. 

"Okay," He replied in a single word and threw his phone on the bed frustratedly. He ran his fingers in his hair one more time, tugging on them a little, heaving a sigh of exasperation. 

He and his team already have enough public attention and now they want to show every damn thing about their training and other things to the public. Can't this media let people have their privacy for a while? And why did PM permit that stupid show? He wondered.

What the hell is wrong with everyone?

*******************************************************************************

"Where are you going this time?" Rashmi asked standing at her doorstep with her hands folded under her chest.

"To find a son-in-law for you," Ananya replied with a chuckle making Rashmi roll her eyes. She walked into the room to help Ananya pack. Her daughter never disclosed her mission details to them and she understands her compulsion.

"I will find a groom for you. You just come home in one piece," Rashmi said grabbing a frock from the bed and folding it neatly. They both packed the bag and moved to the dining room after calling Vansh to join them.

"Papa, I am going on a mission tomorrow. I will be back in a month," Ananya informed her father who nodded with a smile not asking any further questions. Vansh became dull hearing about her departure and Ananya noticed it. It is a regular occurrence in their house every time Ananya goes on any on-field missions.

She served two scoops of ice cream in cups and walked to his room. She knocked on the door and entered after he asked her to. Placing the ice cream cups on the table, she went to her brother who was sitting on a beanbag with a gaming console in his hands, his fingers moving swiftly and his lips formed in a thin line, his eyes focused on the screen in front.

"Upset ho?" She asked sitting beside him on the other beanbag in front of him. Vansh shook his head in denial but refused to meet her eyes. She cupped his jaw and angled his face towards her, his eyes gave away his true feelings. 

(Are you upset?)

"Just 2 months Bachhu. I will be back to you after that," She explained to him softly. She doesn't go on missions regularly but Vansh always feels scared whenever she goes on one.

"What if something happens to you? I don't want you to get hurt, Di," He mumbled with teary eyes making her heart clench. It was not easy for her to get her family's approval for her job. The toughest part of it was convincing Vansh. He was not ready to even imagine sending her into a dangerous situation.

"Nothing will happen to me. I have superpowers you know," She chuckled flexing her biceps in front of him making him roll his eyes, scoffing.

"I am not a kid anymore," His reply made her sigh. She understood his fears as a brother but her job was her passion, something she wanted to do all her life. 

"Just a few more years baby. Once I turn 35, they won't send me on those operations even if I request them to," She grabbed the ice cream bowl and fed him a spoonful. Vansh nodded at her not wanting to make his sister sad. 

"You have to stay with me all the time after that," Vansh demanded the same thing he always does whenever she informs them about her missions.

"Your wife would kill me if I stayed with her husband 24/7" She tried to ease the tension and it worked as Vansh blushed at the 'wife' word making Ananya pull his cheeks. They talked for a while with Ananya feeding him ice cream while he explained how his idol Shaurya motivated him and how he liked his views.

Shit! I am going to stay with him for 2 entire months. 

Ananya's eyes widened at the realization. She prayed to god to make Shaurya forget about their awkward morning encounter. She was in her thoughts when she felt something cold on her nose. Her trance broke and she looked at Vansh who was laughing at her face as she looked like a clown with that ice cream on the tip of her nose.

"Vansh ke bachhe!" the siblings got into a fight after which both of them dozed off on the ground with Ananya's head resting on Vansh's stomach. 

"Vansh! Anu, get up! Kya karu mai in kutton ka?" Rashmi shook her head at her children who were rolling on the floor with empty cups lying on the table. Ananya opened her eyes hearing her mother and sat straight with messy hair, rubbing her eyes.

(What should I do to these dogs?)

"Good morning, Mumma!" She wished her mother with a smile not knowing Rashmi was in a really bad mood and was about to explode.

"How many times did I tell you to tie that hair? It looks like a bird's nest. Again you complain about hair loss," Rashmi chided and Ananya silently slipped away from there understanding her mother's mood. She did her morning chores and took a quick shower. 

She descended the stairs with her bag as Vikram was going to pick her up. The family had their breakfast and she walked out with her bag after taking blessings from God and bidding bye to her family. 

"Good morning!" She chirped slipping into the passenger seat. Vikram just nodded at her with a grumpy face making her roll her eyes internally. He became less expressive after that girl's incident. Ananya curses that girl every time she sees Vikram with that expressionless face. 

"Good morning!" Nithin and Shika exclaimed from the back seat. They reached the airport and parked the car. A man was already assigned to take the car back. They walked into the airport and found the support staff waiting for the main players as they were yet to come. 

"Does anyone want coffee? I am going to grab one," Shika asked after waiting for 15 minutes. Ananya decided to tag along not wanting to sit there with those boys who were discussing the salaries of the support staff and their work. 

"They call us talkative and start talking with anyone whom they see for more than 5 minutes," Shika rolled her eyes looking at her friends who were busy talking to others like they were some long last best friends.

"You know the best part, they will discuss their entire life starting from qualifications to salaries with strangers and we will be called out for sharing secrets with our best friends," Ananya added with a scowl.

"Hypocrites!" Both of them said at the same time and chuckled to themselves before grabbing their coffees and moving back to their seats.