In a classroom, the students were silently following the teacher's lecture.
A student, sitting near the single large window that filled the entire room, visibly bored, yawned and glanced outside toward the soccer field.
A light breeze from a typical spring day blew in through the window, slightly ruffling the student's dark hair. His eyes were half-closed, tired.
We have practice today... how boring.
At the end of class, the student left the classroom and walked a bit until he was out of the building.
As he left, a tall, dark-haired boy walked briskly past him. The student noticed him, but didn't see his face.
He's quite tall...
He observed him for a few moments, then continued walking.
As he strolled around campus, he looked around and saw many students practicing on the basketball, tennis, and baseball courts. But what caught his attention most were the men and women standing near each court, intently observing the practice, taking notes, and filming with their cameras.
He stopped in front of a fence bordering one of the two soccer fields, where inside, female students in sports uniforms were practicing with soccer balls, doing drills through cones.
As he watched them, another student approached and stopped to his right.
"Good morning, Nishimura!"
Nishimura looked at the student with a bored expression. His hair was short, dark, and neat, and his eyes were bright red, full of energy.
"Good morning, Shimizu." Nishimura looked at Shimizu more carefully and noticed the duffel bag in his right hand.
"Have you worked out in the gym yet?"
"Exactly. There are fewer people at this hour." Shimizu replied with a slight smile.
"Lucky you. I've had lessons until now, but after that I'll have to face the endless lines at the gym machines..." Nishimura muttered, suddenly frowning, as if imagining the scene. This worried Shimizu slightly.
It doesn't take much to bring him back down...
A loud cheer from the soccer field reached Nishimura's ears, jolting him out of his dark thoughts. He looked toward it, a hint of jealousy on his face as he watched the girls laugh and play together.
Shimizu noticed.
"The women's team is strong this year, maybe even stronger than last year."
After observing the girls on the field, Shimizu glanced over the fence to the other side of the field, where several men were filming them with cameras and taking notes.
"And it shows... I'm a second year and I've never seen so many scouts surrounding a team, or even a single student."
"It's normal for Shudan-teki. It's the best school in all of Japan for training future champions in every sport."
Shimizu seemed a little discouraged by Nishimura's words.
"Yes, but that doesn't apply to our team..."
He turned to look at Nishimura, who was still staring at the field. Then, suddenly, he gave him a firm pat on the right shoulder, surprising him.
"But this year, the Shudan-teki men's soccer team has a real number 10. Maybe someone who can inspire the demonic coach to do something great!"
Nishimura blushed slightly at his teammate's loud words.
A few students passing by turned to look at them, including one of the players on the field.
"That sounds like an exaggeration..." Nishimura said as he walked away from the field, under Shimizu's gaze.
"See you on the field, Number 10!"
Nishimura raised a hand behind his back in a casual salute, heading back toward the building he had just left.
Shudan-teki High School: the most prestigious school in Japan if you aspire to become a future sports champion.
From this school, 85% of students who graduate go on to become professionals. Whether low, medium, or high level... it doesn't matter. The future that awaits you is the one you live through your sport, giving it your all.
Just before re-entering the building, Nishimura let out a small sigh, then continued walking.
Indeed, the most difficult part of this school, considering its success rate, is the admissions process.
All prospective students must not only pass written exams, but also undergo grueling physical and athletic tests. These are used to create personal athletic profiles, and based on these, coaches for various sports select their candidates. Of course, ultimately, you decide which sport to practice.
As Nishimura walked through the corridors, he encountered a group of students talking to a man.
"Coach, I'd like to change my training plan!"
One of the students handed the coach a piece of paper, which the coach read carefully.
"Okay... I'll see what I can do."
Nishimura noticed the students' enthusiasm at the coach's words, then continued walking.
Here, the coaches are even more important than the teachers. They're all young and promising... for them too, this school can be a springboard to the professional world. That's why they give their all: to bring results to this institution. This is the great and impeccable mechanism of Shudan-teki!
He stopped in front of his classroom door, lost in thought.
"Or at least... that's what they say."
He entered, heading for his seat just as the bell rang for the next class.
A few seconds later, the teacher entered, placing his materials on the desk.
"Everyone, take your seats."
The students did as instructed.
"Okay, shall we pick up where we left off, or..."
A knock came on the door, interrupting the teacher.
"Come in!"
The door opened, and a middle-aged man with neatly combed dark hair and an elegant suit entered. With slow, confident steps, he approached the teacher's desk.
The teacher bowed slightly at him.
"Good morning, Vice Principal... what brings you here?"
"Good morning, everyone!"
The Vice Principal, smiling, stopped beside the desk and looked at the teacher.
"I'm here to announce the arrival of a new member to this class!"
The students were surprised by his words and immediately began whispering among themselves.
With his right hand, the vice principal gestured toward someone waiting outside the door.
"Come in!"
"Excuse me."
With the entire class watching, a boy entered, walking toward the teacher's desk with a folder in his right hand.
Nishimura, looking more closely, realized from the boy's height that it was the same person who had passed him at the school entrance.
It's him...
The boy had short, dark hair and was tall, probably around 180 centimeters.
His eyes, an unusual mix of green and brown, stood out clearly. But what was truly striking was his face: decidedly Western, unmistakable features.
Many girls were visibly fascinated by his unique appearance.
Once he reached the vice principal, he stopped to his right. The vice principal turned to him with a smile.
"Introduce yourself, introduce yourself to the class."
"Of course."
The boy cleared his throat.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Riccardo Yui Aliberti, and I'm from Italy, specifically from a city near Naples.
As you can probably tell from my double last name, I'm half Italian and half Japanese. My mother is Japanese, and my father is Italian.
I hope we'll have fun together from now on!"
After his introduction, the class applauded, and some girls began whispering among themselves.
"Did you hear that? He's Italian!"
"He looks so serious and mature!"
Nishimura heard the girls' comments, then looked at Riccardo again.
He truly has a strong presence, both in his appearance and in the way he carries himself. But in the end, it's all just a facade...
Once the applause died down, Riccardo stood still for a few moments, waiting for some instruction from the teacher. He looked at the man, but it seemed the teacher was also waiting... for something else. The rest of the class, too.
Confused, Riccardo turned to the vice principal.
"Um... what should I do now?" he asked quietly.
The vice principal seemed to think for a second, leaving Riccardo even more perplexed.
"Oh, right! In cases like this, everyone is usually curious about your athletic profile... but obviously, you don't have one yet!"
At those words, Riccardo turned to the class, which looked absolutely shocked, as if they had just committed one of the deadly sins.
He noticed their reaction, then glanced at the vice principal with a confused expression and a slight, embarrassed smile.
"And that's... what exactly?"
Meanwhile, the entire class erupted in murmurs, criticizing the situation among themselves.
The vice principal smiled at Riccardo.
"Your athletic profile is the result of your physical tests. Obviously, you should have taken them before the written ones, but you only took the written ones!"
Why does he only shout out the negative things?! - thought Riccardo, stunned by the scene unfolding before him.
A student jumped up, her tone aggressive.
"So he got in thanks to a recommendation!?"
The class grew even more restless, and the teacher tried to calm them down.
Riccardo tried to speak.
"Wait..."
The vice principal interrupted Riccardo.
"Yes, that's right! The principal himself recommended it to me. I don't know why... but I know Aliberti will take the physical tests sooner or later!"
He did it again! - Riccardo was speechless at the vice principal's frankness.
The class grew even more angry.
At that moment, Riccardo realized how serious the situation was: his entire class was already starting to hate him.
The vice principal took his phone out of his jeans pocket and checked a notification.
"Well then..." he put the phone back in his pocket "I have other business to take care of. Have a good day, everyone!"
And with that, he left the classroom.
As he passed Riccardo, the boy lowered his gaze, sinking slightly into himself.
Thanks for your help...
The teacher looked at Riccardo with sympathetic eyes.
"Aliberti," Riccardo looked up at the teacher "I'll go ask you for a desk and a chair."
"Thank you, teacher."
The teacher left the room, and Riccardo remained standing in front of the class.
Many students began to hurl accusations.
"How did you manage to get a recommendation from the principal!?"
"Do you really think you're good enough for this school!?"
Riccardo looked at them all wordlessly, his head held high.
Nishimura, still seated, watched him silently, his gaze thoughtful.
I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now...
The teacher soon returned with a staff member carrying a desk, while he carried a chair.
They entered through the back door of the classroom and rearranged the furniture.
"Aliberti, come sit here."
"Okay."
Riccardo walked past his new classmates, many of whom shot him disapproving glances, but he ignored them.
He sat down as the teacher returned to the front of the class.
"Aliberti, do you have your textbooks yet?"
"Yes, I do!"
"Good. Please open your Japanese textbook to page 95."
Riccardo took out the book and turned it to the next page.