[At the end of the third exam day, in a small park.]
Riccardo, Nishimura, Shimizu, and Yasuda were passing a ball around on a small pitch.
"And that's everything," Riccardo said.
"Incredible… some people can really hit rock bottom," Shimizu muttered, still stunned.
Yasuda trapped the ball and passed it to Nishimura. "Riccardo, aren't you just making the class hate you even more doing stuff like this?"
"I don't care. I don't need their approval to keep living." He received the ball again and nudged it back to Yasuda. "As long as they got the message."
"You should've seen their faces when Riccardo started dropping facts on them," Nishimura laughed.
"Still, it's impressive you handle these things so calmly. How do you do it?" Shimizu asked.
"I've dealt with worse situations back in Italy."
Shimizu passed him the ball again. Worse than this? I don't even want to know…
Riccardo checked his phone: 18:03.
"I gotta go, guys."
He waved, put on his earphones, and walked off.
[Fourth and final day of exams — in the hallway]
Riccardo and Nishimura were heading for the stairs.
Kagayama noticed them, hesitated, seemed like she wanted to say something… but didn't move.
"Hey!"
The two turned around to see Noguchi rushing toward them. "Coach Ishii told me—after the exams he wants a tactical meeting for tomorrow's match!"
"Got it!"
"See you later!"
They continued upstairs. Kagayama stayed behind, missing her timing again.
They entered the classroom just as the teacher walked in."Alright everyone, take your seats."
Chairs scraped the floor.
"As you know, today you also have your Physical Education and Health exam—very important here at Shūdan-teki, especially for you first-years. So focus."
"Yes, sir!"
The bell rang."Begin!"
Riccardo stared at the sheet. Let's get this over with… even I'm tired at this point.
[Later — the team at the field]
The guys chatted about the exams while warming up.
Coach Ishii walked onto the field with Coach Suzuki behind him.
"Good afternoon, everyone! Gather up, I've got a few things to say!"
The team closed in.
"Starting today, things get intense. We'll be training morning and evening to stay in top form for the Inter-High qualifiers. You know how it goes—two matches a week. This tournament has always been used to test stamina and conditioning, but that doesn't mean we're not aiming to win. We want every school to know Shūdan-teki is serious this year."
The team started buzzing with excitement.
"Warm up for now. After practice, we'll talk about tomorrow's match against Akagi Seishin."
"Yes, sir!"
They continued training while several students watched from the sidelines—Kagayama among them, her eyes fixed mostly on Riccardo.
[After a while]
Nishimura curled a free kick right under the top corner and exploded in celebration.
"Excellent!" Coach Ishii clapped. "That's all for today. You can go!"
The team headed off the field. Riccardo walked last, towel around his neck. Sato passed by, focused.
"Hey, Shiori!"
She froze, startled. "O–oh, hi…"
"Still training?"
"Yeah, but I'm about to stop… you guys just finished?"
"Yep. We wrapped up preparations for tomorrow's match."
"Tomorrow's the first Inter-High game, right?"
"Yeah… hope it's not also the last one," Riccardo said jokingly.
"Let's hope so. I'll come cheer for you guys," she said, embarrassed.
"Thanks. I'll do the same for you on Monday."
Sato blinked. Riccardo noticed.
"You're running on Monday, aren't you?"
"Y-yeah, but how did you know?"
"Inoue told me yesterday."
"Ah… Inoue…"She forced a smile. Damn you, Inoue…
"So you'll be cheering for me, and I'll be cheering for you. Sounds fair, right?"
Sato's heart pounded. He's coming to cheer for me…
"Y-yeah, I like that."
"Alright then. See you."
"See you!"
Sato watched him walk away. Knowing he'll be watching me… I don't think I'll be able to keep it together…
[In Riccardo's room]
Riccardo sat on his bed, strumming his guitar and humming a melody.
In the living room, Cecilia and their mother could hear every note drifting through the hallway.
"When he does that," Cecilia said, "it usually means he's trying to focus."
Her mother nodded faintly. "Makes sense… they play tomorrow," she said, sounding almost indifferent.
Cecilia picked up on it. "You're still not talking to him?"
"No. He disappointed me too much."
"He's still your son," Cecilia replied, sharper than she intended.
"I know… but I can't forgive him yet."
Cecilia didn't answer at first. Then something crossed her mind."You know Saturday is Mother's Day, right?"
"No, I didn't."
"Well, expect something from Riccardo. He always finds a way to make things right."
Her mother froze for a moment, the words landing harder than Cecilia expected.
The soft sound of Riccardo's guitar filled the silence again, pushing the mother into deeper thought.