Riccardo arrived at school and walked across the vast courtyard, admiring the facilities dedicated to every sport imaginable.
Wow... seeing it again today, it feels even more like an elite school.
As he looked around, he noticed many students staring at him as they walked by.
Word spreads fast around here...
He entered the classroom through the back door, where his desk was located.
Setting his backpack down, he took his seat.
Looking around, he noticed everyone chatting away in small groups.
School only started a little over two weeks ago, and they've already formed their own circles.
His gaze then landed on Nishimura, who was sitting alone, looking at his phone.
The teacher entered the classroom.
"Good morning!"
Nishimura put away his phone and noticed Riccardo watching him.
Riccardo gave him a small wave.
Caught off guard, Nishimura simply looked away.
[Hours later]
After classes ended, Nishimura hurried out of the classroom.
Riccardo watched him leave.
He let out a sigh and stood up.
I need to stop by somewhere first... the club supervisor told me to.
He left the classroom.
Meanwhile, Nishimura arrived at a door and stepped inside.
"Excuse me."
The changing room was already full of boys getting changed, the room buzzing with chatter and the sound of duffel bags being tossed onto benches.
"Morning, Nishimura!"
Shimizu walked over to him.
He was already wearing his training kit, with his football boots on.
"Morning, Shimizu."
"Get ready. It's Friday, which means we're having a full-squad practice match today!"
"I know. That's exactly why I'm fired up!"
Shimizu smiled at Nishimura's enthusiasm.
"Good. I'm heading out to the pitch first."
He opened the door and left the changing room.
Nishimura walked over to his usual spot, placed his duffel bag on the bench, and unzipped it.
"Hey, Nishimura! I heard about the new guy in your class!"
The voice made him turn around.
The one speaking was a boy who stood well over average height.
Years of weight training had sculpted a muscular physique that filled out his training kit.
His black hair was broken up by a striking blond fringe that fell over his forehead, while his orange eyes gave him a look that was hard to forget.
"What do you think of him?"
"I don't know yet, Noguchi."
Noguchi sat down beside him.
"This is my last year here, and I've never seen someone get in through a recommendation. Right, Kaneko?"
Nishimura followed his gaze.
A short distance away, Kaneko was leaning against a bench while tying his football boots.
His sturdy build, forged through years of training, made him look even more imposing than his height already suggested.
He calmly stood up, running a hand through his blond hair.
Then his green eyes settled on the two of them.
"Noguchi... I've already told you I'm not interested in this topic. If he got in through a recommendation, he'll be nothing but a loser."
With that, he walked out of the changing room, leaving Nishimura and Noguchi watching him.
Noguchi let out a small sigh.
"Same as always..."
He got to his feet as well.
"I'm heading out too. Don't be late."
But Nishimura reached the door before him.
"I'm already ready."
Noguchi blinked in surprise.
"You really can't wait to play this match today..."
By the time Nishimura reached the pitch, everyone was already warming up.
He looked around in confusion.
"Where's the coach?"
"Coach isn't here. Same as always..."
Nishimura turned toward the voice.
A boy, shorter than most of the team, was stretching near the touchline.
He had short brown hair, and when he met Nishimura's gaze, his brown eyes carried an almost indifferent calmness.
"Yeah, I know that, Tanaka. I meant Coach Suzuki."
Shimizu glanced at Nishimura while continuing his warm-up.
"Speak of the devil..."
Someone clapped their hands, drawing everyone's attention.
An elderly man walked onto the pitch.
"Come over here. I've got something to tell you!"
Everyone gathered around, visibly curious.
"I wanted Coach Ishii to announce this himself, but we all know he isn't here, so... the news is that you'll have a new teammate."
The excitement instantly disappeared from Nishimura's face.
He pressed a hand against his forehead in despair.
Oh no... even here...
"Come on up, Aliberti!"
Wearing the team's training kit, Riccardo walked onto the pitch under everyone's watchful eyes.
He stopped beside Coach Suzuki, facing the team.
"Good morning. My name is Riccardo Yui Aliberti. I'm a first-year student, and my main position is center forward... although I can play in other positions as well. I hope we can win a lot together!"
As soon as he finished introducing himself, the entire team looked at him coldly.
Riccardo did his best to remain unfazed.
They hate me here too...
His eyes swept across the team until they landed on Nishimura.
Riccardo smiled at him.
Nishimura immediately looked away.
"Thank you, Aliberti. Now go join the others so we can finish warming up."
"Yes, Coach."
Riccardo walked over to the rest of the team.
A little while later, the team finished warming up.
Noguchi leaned closer to Nishimura and spoke quietly.
"So that's him..."
"Yeah..."
"He seems like a decent guy."
His eyes drifted toward Riccardo, who was stretching nearby.
His physique immediately stood out.
"Looks like he trains a lot."
"Being in shape doesn't mean he knows how to play football."
Coach Suzuki blew his whistle.
"That's enough! Grab some footballs and cones. We're doing a dribbling and shooting drill."
Some players picked up footballs while others collected the cones before gathering around the coach.
After placing the cones near the top of the penalty area, Coach Suzuki walked to the end of the course.
"Everyone, take a football and line up. One at a time, you'll dribble through the cones, pass me the ball, and after I lay it off, you'll shoot immediately. The goalkeepers will rotate in goal and try to stop your shots."
Everyone grabbed a football and formed a line.
"Aliberti! Get to the back of the line so you can see how the drill works!"
Riccardo looked at him, puzzled.
"Alright..."
I seriously have to watch how to do a drill this basic...?
He walked to the back of the line.
Coach Suzuki looked around to make sure everyone was in position.
"Alright, let's begin!"
He blew the whistle, and the first player set off.
He weaved through the cones at a decent pace before passing the ball to the coach, who laid it off to his right.
The boy struck it with the instep of his right foot toward the far post, but his shot lacked accuracy and went wide.
As he went to retrieve the ball, Shimizu rested an elbow on Nishimura's left shoulder.
"Look, we've got an audience."
The two looked beyond the fence surrounding the pitch.
Several students were watching them, though their expressions were far from friendly.
"I wouldn't call them fans... more like future haters. And we both know why."
A few more players took their turns, but their shots either missed the target or were saved by the goalkeeper.
Eventually, it was Tanaka's turn.
He waited for the whistle.
It came.
Tanaka exploded forward, weaving through the cones in the blink of an eye with incredible speed.
He passed the ball to the coach, who laid it off to his right.
With a precise right-footed side-foot finish, he placed the ball into the bottom corner.
"Excellent work, Tanaka!"
Tanaka picked up the ball and went to the back of the line, but before doing so, he spotted Shimizu getting ready to start his run. He gave him a faint, almost challenging smile.
Both Shimizu and Nishimura noticed it.
"He still wants to challenge you?"
"Yeah. He's only a first-year, but he's really strong. And we play similar positions. It makes sense he'd want to beat me, but—"
Nishimura cut him off.
"But you're not going to let him pass you."
Shimizu stepped into position, ready to go.
"Exactly!"
As soon as he heard the whistle, he burst forward.
He dribbled through the cones slower than Tanaka, but with excellent technique and elegance, using the sole and outside of his foot.
He passed the ball to the coach, who laid it off to his right.
With a powerful and precise left-footed outside strike, he sent the ball into the top corner and scored.
"Great goal, Shimizu!"
Shimizu picked up the ball and went to the back of the line, positioning himself behind Tanaka, who looked at him with frustration.
"You always overdo it..."
"Sorry, it just comes naturally!"
Riccardo turned and saw them bickering.
Those two are really interesting...
He looked away again, just in time to see Nishimura about to take his turn.
Ah... I missed his dribbling!
Then he noticed a man entering the pitch.
Nishimura struck the ball with his right instep, curling it downward toward the far post.
The goalkeeper, completely wrong-footed, couldn't react in time, and the ball slipped in just inside the post.
"Good morning, Coach Ishii!"
At those words, Nishimura turned toward the entrance and saw Coach Ishii.
He walked onto the pitch with determined steps.
Tall and still clearly athletic, he looked like he was just over thirty years old.
He wore a tracksuit, and his short, neat dark hair framed a pair of stern black eyes.
Coach Suzuki approached him.
"Feeling like coaching today?"
"Funny, Coach Suzuki..."
Coach Ishii scanned the team, who returned his gaze with cold hostility.
Then his eyes stopped on Riccardo, clearly intrigued by the situation.
"Enough of this training... it's Friday! Put on your bibs, we'll play a practice match. Split into two teams, but there's a condition: Aliberti and Nishimura will play together in a 4-4-2!"
Nishimura froze.
"What?"
Kaneko immediately got angry.
"Why are you taking away my best player who can assist me!?"
Coach Ishii looked at him disapprovingly.
"Any objections?"
Kaneko clicked his tongue in frustration.
"No objections. It'll be fun to crush my rival!"
He turned and stared at Riccardo with a challenging look.
Riccardo, however, simply stared back, confused.
Why is the entire staff of this school trying to pit me against the students?
Coach Ishii observed the scene.
"I'll manage the team captained by Nishimura. Coach Suzuki will handle the team captained by Kaneko. You have five minutes to decide your squads!"
Nishimura walked over to Riccardo.
"You got your kit?"
"Yeah."
"Try to follow my movements and never get caught offside."
"Got it."
Riccardo removed his training top, revealing his shirt number: 24.