Riccardo opened the classroom door, greeted by the silence of the room.
He walked toward his desk with an unreadable expression.
But as he passed by Nishimura, the boy suddenly stood up, catching him off guard.
"Good morning…" Nishimura said.
"Morning…"
"How are you?"
"Definitely not good… but better than yesterday, at least…"
"I see." Nishimura placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm always here if you need anything… friend."
"Yeah, I don't doubt that." Riccardo gave a faint smile.
"The same goes for everyone," Nishimura added, glancing at the class. They nodded in response.
Riccardo was surprised again. "Wow… this kind of unity toward me is surprising…" he said, ironical, clearly referring to their clash at the beginning of the year.
"We can still take it back—" Kagayama replied seriously.
"No, no, I was just joking. Didn't you hear the ironic tone?"
"Ah… right."
The class looked at her in confusion, thinking she might not understand irony.
Outside the door, the teacher heard everything with a satisfied smile.
"Good…"
He opened the door and walked to the desk.
"Good morning, everyone!"
"Good morning!" they answered in unison.
"Aliberti, are you doing okay?"
"A bit better now…" Riccardo gave a small smile.
"I'm glad to hear that… but I'll ask you all to take your seats so we can start the lesson. If you came here, it means you want to attend as well, right?"
"Yes, sir."
Everyone returned to their seats, but before that, Nishimura held out his fist to him.
"We're winning today," Nishimura said.
Riccardo bumped his fist. "Obviously."
The lesson began.
[After classes]
Nishimura entered the locker room, followed by Riccardo, all eyes turning toward him.
Noguchi approached him. "Let's keep it simple. We figured you'd heard more than enough about your situation… so our goal is to distract you from everything in your head with this match."
"Thanks… I really appreciate it."
"Words of a true captain!" Nakamura said, teasingly.
Noguchi blushed slightly, embarrassed.
Kaneko, standing next to Nakamura, gave him a light slap on the neck. Nakamura silently accepted the scolding.
"All right, guys, gather up!" Coach Ishii said as he entered the locker room.
"Yes!"
They all stepped closer.
"We're at the semifinals of the qualifiers. We've studied our opponents carefully, and let's be honest: Tōen High School is a team ready to compete even at the national Inter-High level. Fast and precise ball control, physical strength, and a strong competitive mentality. Nothing should be underestimated, and most of all, they have players with great potential… But can I say we're any less? The fact that we're here means we aim to face and defeat teams like them. After all, we are the—"
"Shūdan-teki!" the team shouted with fiery spirit.
They hyped each other up while finishing their preparations.
Kaneko walked up to Riccardo.
"I'm starting today. I took your spot in the lineup… but not in the way I wanted. Still, I'll make the most of it. I'll play so well that you won't get a single minute on the pitch!"
Kaneko and Riccardo exchanged their usual challenging stare.
"Then do your best…"
[A few minutes later]
Shūdan-teki stepped onto the field to warm up, noticing the unusually large crowd of students in the stands.
Yasuda looked worried. "That's a lot of people!"
Shimizu, beside him, replied, "If you want to become a professional footballer, you'd better get used to this."
Yasuda looked discouraged. "I don't think I can handle it…"
Nishimura noticed something in the stands and smiled, lightly touching Riccardo's shoulder to get his attention.
"Look… they're all here." He pointed at the class gathered to watch the match.
"Then let's not embarrass ourselves."
Kagayama noticed that Riccardo was wearing a training bib over his uniform.
"Why is he wearing that?"
"It means he's on the bench," another classmate replied.
"Why? He's strong. It doesn't make sense to bench him," Kirishima said.
"Their coach probably didn't think he was mentally ready to handle the whole match yet… I'm surprised he's even here after just one day," another student commented.
Kagayama watched him with concern.
"We made it in time!" a female voice exclaimed.
Kagayama turned around. It was a familiar voice…
She saw Yuzuki, followed by Sato and Inoue.
"You didn't have to run…" Inoue said, seeing her out of breath.
"Oh… isn't that Kagayama?!" Yuzuki exclaimed, completely ignoring him.
"She never listens to me…"
The three walked over to her.
"Good morning, Kagayama!"
"Good morning!"
Kirishima looked at them. "Who are they?"
"They're: Eijiro Inoue, a first-year from the high jump club. Tokiyo Yuzuki, a first-year from the girls' soccer team. And Shiori Sato, also a first-year, from the 100-meter club."
Kirishima and some classmates were stunned by Sato's presence.
"You're that Shiori Sato?! The big promise of the 100 meters?!" Kirishima exclaimed in amazement.
Sato blushed slightly. "Y-Yes, that's me—"
She was suddenly overwhelmed by questions and voices.
Inoue, Yuzuki, and Kagayama watched her with pitying expressions.
"We lost her," Inoue said ironically.
The Tōen players warming up on the field noticed the large crowd in the stands.
"Arata. Didn't you say no one at Shūdan-teki cared about the boys' soccer club?" asked a player wearing number 3.
Arata observed the scene. "That's what I heard. Maybe their recent wins caught their attention."
A boy wearing the captain's armband approached them.
"Nothing to worry about. Home advantage is just a mental factor. Just don't think about it."
The other two looked at him doubtfully.
"You make it sound easy, captain…" Arata said.
"As usual, if you're in trouble… pass me the ball," he said with a confident, determined tone.
"Yes!"
A player wearing number 15 was watching Shūdan-teki's half, his eyes fixed especially on Riccardo.
"Naruse, what are you looking at?" the captain asked, noticing it.
"Captain Kadoshima… I noticed that Italian-Japanese striker is starting on the bench…"
"Strange… he scored five goals in two matches."
"I heard he lost a friend two days ago…" a man said, revealing himself to be their coach.
"…Really. I feel sorry for him," Kadoshima said.
"So do I. But that can't change our approach to the match. They're here to win too, and we didn't come this far with weaker will."
"Right! We won't leave anything to our opponents!"
In the meantime, Riccardo stood in a circle with the bench players, warming up and passing the ball between them, his eyes sharp and focused on the present moment.