The restaurant fell silent.
Nobody touched their food.
Nobody reached for their drinks.
Every pair of eyes remained fixed on Riku.
Coach Daniel's question still hung in the air.
"...What do you say?"
"...Join us."
Riku stared at the table.
His reflection looked back at him from his untouched glass.
For a long time...
he didn't answer.
The memories came flooding back.
Walking away from the team.
Yusuke chasing after him.
Weeks spent convincing himself he'd made the right decision.
Returning for one final match.
Scoring the winning goal.
The cheers.
The applause.
Then...
sitting here.
Laughing with everyone again.
He slowly closed his eyes.
"...I was wrong."
The words were barely above a whisper.
Nobody interrupted.
"I convinced myself..."
"...that everyone forgot about me."
He let out a quiet laugh.
"...Maybe some people did."
He looked toward Yusuke.
"...But you didn't."
Yusuke smiled.
"I told you we had to beat Aka together."
"...Yeah."
Riku nodded.
"You did."
His eyes drifted around the table.
Takumi.
Yuma.
Ren.
Daichi.
Sora.
Tsubasa.
Hiroto.
Coach Daniel.
Every single one of them was waiting.
Not pressuring him.
Just waiting.
Riku took a deep breath.
"...When I stepped back onto that field..."
"...I remembered why I started playing soccer."
Nobody spoke.
"...It wasn't because I wanted people cheering my name."
Another pause.
"...It was because I wanted to win..."
"...with you idiots."
Yuma burst out laughing.
"You've still got the personality of a brick."
Takumi grinned.
"That's basically his way of saying he loves us."
"I never said that."
"You didn't have to."
The table laughed.
Even Riku couldn't stop a small smile from appearing.
Coach Daniel folded his arms.
"So..."
"...is that a yes?"
Riku looked around the table one final time.
The team that had frustrated him.
The team he'd abandoned.
The team he'd just fought beside again.
Then he smiled.
A real smile.
"...Yeah."
He nodded once.
"I'm staying."
For a second...
the table was completely silent.
Then—
"YES!"
Yuma shot out of his chair and wrapped Riku in a bear hug.
"GET OFF ME!"
Takumi joined in.
"So the captain's back!"
Ren laughed.
"I knew he'd crack."
Tsubasa reached across the table.
"Welcome home."
Hiroto simply held out his fist.
Riku looked at it.
Then smiled.
He bumped it.
Coach Daniel leaned back in his chair, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.
"...Good."
"I wasn't looking forward to finding another captain."
Everyone laughed.
Even some of the customers nearby, who had watched the entire evening unfold, clapped for them.
The bartender smiled from behind the counter.
"Looks like things worked out."
"They did," Coach Daniel replied.
Outside...
The streets were quiet.
Inside the storage closet, Pambara pounded weakly against the door.
"HELLO?!"
"IS ANYONE OUT THERE?!"
"...I'M STILL STUCK IN HERE!"
Nobody heard him.
Or perhaps...
nobody wanted to.
Back at the table, the conversation continued long into the night.
For the first time in weeks...
Southside felt complete again.
Not because they had won.
Not because they had completed an impossible comeback.
But because...
their captain had finally come home.
To Be Continued!