On the morning of the tournament, Hassan shares a dream with Amir. The dream is about an alleged monster and how together they demonstrate bravery, friendship, and leadership and prove to people that it is safe to swim in the lake. When Amir hesitates when they should be starting for the tournament, Hassan encourages him, saying, "There's no monster, just a beautiful day."
And Amir has an excellent day fighting on this beautiful day. After hours of flying and fighting, he is one of the two finalists. Finally, with a bit of luck and skill, and Hassan's help and guidance, Amir wins. But, when an ever-loyal Hassan states, "You won," Amir corrects him with "We won." Hassan then takes off to run the blue kite for Amir, and after Amir yells for him to come back with it, Hassan replies, "for you a thousand times over!" Smiling, Hassan takes off after the kite.
Searching for Hassan and the kite, Amir is pointed toward the bazaar. An old man eventually points him in the right direction and tells Amir that although Hassan has the blue kite, the other boys have probably caught him already. The other boys were Assef, Wali, and Kamal. By the time Amir finds them, they have Hassan captured in an alley. Assef initially demands the blue kite in order to allow Hassan to leave, but Hassan refuses. Assef then taunts Hassan with the nature of the relationship between Hassan and Amir. When Hassan is undaunted, Assef changes tactics. Amir opens his mouth to say something, but he does not.
