Coach Jifaar couldn't keep Gio off the field forever, he knew that, the board knew that, Gio knew that, even Viche knew that. A talent as exceptional as Giovanni Jurgen was meant to grace the field, to play in most matches.
Having already established himself as a top player in the league with only one game of play, he'd became an even larger target for top clubs, who would come knocking, but Giovanni seemed fated to Coach Jifaar.
One of the biggest mysteries in the football world was why Giovanni wasn't getting playing time. Everyone wanted to know if it was a behavioral issue. Some even liked him better because of it, and Jurgen jerseys were flying off the shelves as consequence.
As suggested by Gio, Coach Jifaar bought in an attacking midfielder to slide Gio back into a more defensive role. Gio wanted to play, but he knew he couldn't score so long as Viche lived. Either Viche must die or Gio's tally must take a huge hit. It was evident Viche was going nowhere, and Gio would like to be wealthy as well, so the choice seemed obvious.
Gio knew the truth. If he scored, he died. Armed with that truth, he was afraid to even net in mini goal games at practice. A goal is a goal, and while they didn't count in practice, Giovanni had to get used to only assisting in goals, which was a strange transition from the all-time leading scorer in the Owls' U-17 program.
Gio finally found a suitable apartment with Kat's help. She was talking about moving in with him, but he avoided those talks. He simply thought it was too soon for them to spoon in an apartment Gio paid for, who still hadn't totally given up on Sadie. He would text her from time to time, but he was just caught in her hold, and he didn't feel it was fair to Kat Drumming.
The next match in the season was a Galaxy League clash against the Troik Crows. The Turtles were huge underdogs for the match, but Coach Saleem gave Gio the green light to play. It was in a full week, so it'd be ten days before the clash took place, but Gio would be used as a midfield destroyer in the nil-nil draw where both sides could make defensive notes, and cause Gio's stock to rise.
While he was more adept as an attacking component, Gio held the lines with the best of them. Often times, when a lot was going on in a player's life, it was evident on the field, but not with Giovanni Jurgen... no one knew he was a struggling alcoholic until Saleem was quizzed in that game's press conference why number 7 wasn't called upon very often. Saleem lied through his teeth and painted the picture of a young man struggling to find himself in the world. Gio laughed when he was asked about his addiction.
"Is that what he said?" Gio smirked as he walked away.
Wanting to remain as private as possible, Gio rarely answered many questions. He was coy. He had no other option, or else, sooner or later, questions about his lack of goals would arise, but it was not the day for those questions.
The Crows were still a strong team, even potential challengers for the trophy, despite having to rebuild in recent years. Their rebuild, however, was over five years, not all at once like the Turtles this year, who have proven the difficulty of just plugging in new faces without any form of stability.
All in all, Gio was happy. He still got to play a bit. He made a ton of money, and he stood to increase the wealth of the Jurgen brand, who now had a clothing line thanks to Emile's dealings.
It was a high fashion clothing line too. And Gio could get anything for free. He felt so good about his mother's deal, she hadn't gotten complacent with Jeppe's money. She'd already nearly doubled it in Gio's lifetime. She was a very active business woman, and that hadn't changed ever.
Yet Gio felt drawn to go to Frithe. He didn't know what was there for him, but he had a gut feeling he needed to be there. So, he asked Saleem for three days off, despite two of them having a scheduled training session, and he left for Port Bal.
Kat desperately wanted to go with him, but he said it was something he must do on his own. Seeing as he wasn't old enough to fly a spaceship, he had to ask his mom about using the ship and pilot for a few days, and she reluctantly agreed to his desires.
Upon arrival, Gio started to feel strange. This was the planet the sun goddess was thought to have last been spotted. Why would Gio need to go there? The gods' sway on the world was dead now.
Something magical was happening in a land without magic. Could this be the last hooray for magic? Could this be the final dance for magic to have a way with the world? Not much was known for sure, but everyone felt it. The star was going to explode if Gio lived.
"Giovanni... Giovanni," he could hear whispers in the wind once he arrived.
"Giovanni," the voices became louder.
"Giovanni, you must die."
It was that moment that Gio knew he had to act selflessly and kill himself. He wouldn't stay the night. He would get back into the ship and travel home to tell his mother and Kat what he must do. He now knew it was his destiny.
