In a classroom, the students were silently following the teacher's lecture. A student, sitting near the only large window that stretched across the entire wall, visibly bored, yawned and glanced outside, towards the soccer field. A light breeze of a typical spring day came in through the window, gently ruffling his dark hair as he squinted his tired eyes.
Today we have practice... how boring.
When class ended, he slowly made his way outside, glad to leave the building behind. As he stepped outside, a tall boy with dark hair walked briskly past him. The student noticed him, but did not see his face.
He is quite tall...
He watched him for a few moments, then continued walking.
As he walked, the student looked around and saw many others training on the basketball, tennis, and baseball courts. But what caught his attention the most were the men and women standing near each court, intently observing the training, taking notes, and recording with cameras.
He stopped in front of a fence that surrounded one of the two soccer fields. Inside, several girls in sports uniforms were training with the ball, doing exercises with 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. He had short, dark, and rather neat hair and bright red eyes, full of energy.
"Good morning, Shimizu...", Nishimura looked at Shimizu more carefully and noticed that he was holding a gym bag in his right hand.
"Already trained at the gym?"
"That's right. There are fewer people at this hour," Shimizu replied with a slight smile.
"Lucky you. I've had class until now. I'll have to deal with the endless lines at the equipment later." Nishimura suddenly frowned, as if he were imagining the scene, which worried Shimizu a little.
It doesn't take much to make him depressed...
A round of applause from the soccer field reached Nishimura, snapping him out of his moment of sadness. He looked at the field, almost enviously, at the girls enjoying playing together.
Shimizu noticed.
"They're strong again this year... maybe even stronger than last year."
After observing the girls for a moment, Shimizu glanced across the field, over the fence, where he saw several adults with cameras pointed and notebooks in hand.
"You see... I'm a second year and I've never seen so many observers surrounding a team or a single student."
"It's normal at Shūdan-teki. It's the best school in all of Japan for training future champions in every sport. This should be the norm here..."
Shimizu looked a little put off by Nishimura's words.
"That's right, but that doesn't apply to our team..."
He looked back at Nishimura, who was still observing the field, then patted him on the right shoulder, surprising him with the sudden gesture.
"But this year, the Shūdan-teki men's soccer team has a real number 10. Maybe one who can push the demon coach to do something great!"
Nishimura blushed slightly at his teammate's loud praise, so loud, in fact, that several students nearby turned to look at them, including one of the girls from the soccer team.
"That sounds like an exaggeration...", Nishimura said as he walked away from the field, with Shimizu watching him go.
"See you on the field! Number 10!"
Nishimura waves as he heads toward the building he just left.
Shūdan-teki High School... the most prestigious in Japan if you aspire to become a future champion in any sport. At this school, 85% of graduates become professionals, whether they are low, medium, or high level... it doesn't matter. The destiny that awaits you here is to live your sport and give everything for it.
Just before entering the building, Nishimura sighs, then continues walking.
In fact, the most difficult part of this school, considering its success rate, is the admissions process. Each prospective student must not only pass written exams, but also pass grueling physical and athletic tests. These tests are used to create technical profiles, and based on these, coaches of various sports choose their candidates. Of course, you can still choose which sport to practice.
As Nishimura walks through the hallways, he passes by some students talking to a man.
"Coach, I'd like to change my training program!"
One of the students hands the coach a piece of paper, who examines it.
"Okay... I'll see what I can do."
Nishimura notices the students' excitement at their coach's words, then continues walking.
Here, the coaches are even more important than the teachers. They are all young and promising... for them too, this school can be a springboard into the world of work. That's why every coach gives their all: to bring results to this school. This is the great and infallible system of the Shūdan-teki!
He paused at the classroom door, lost in thought.
"Or at least, that's what everyone thought..."
He enters the classroom and heads to his seat as the bell rings, signaling the start of class. Immediately afterward, the teacher enters and arranges his materials on the desk.
"Everyone, return to your seats."
The students follow the teacher's instructions.
"Well, let's pick up where we left off—"
A knock comes at the door, interrupting the teacher.
"Come in!"
The door opens and a middle-aged man enters, with neatly combed dark hair, elegantly dressed. With slow, purposeful steps, he approaches the teacher's desk. The teacher, seeing him, gives a slight bow of respect.
"Good morning, Vice Principal... what brings you here?"
"Good morning, everyone!"
The smiling Vice Principal stops by the desk and looks at the teacher.
"I'm here to announce the arrival of a new student in this class!"
The students react with surprise and begin to whisper among themselves.
The Vice Principal gestures with his right hand toward someone outside the door.
"Come in!"
"Excuse me!"
Under the attentive gaze of the entire class, the boy seen earlier at the school gate enters. He walks to the desk, his briefcase in his right hand. Nishimura, looking closer, realizes that it is the same boy who had passed him at the entrance.
It's him...
The boy had short, dark hair and was tall, probably around six feet. His eyes, a curious mix of green and brown, stood out. But what really caught everyone's attention was his face: unmistakably Western features.
Many of the girls were clearly fascinated by his unusual appearance.
Once in the front row, he stands to the right of the vice principal. The vice principal smiles and turns to him.
"Please introduce yourself to the class."
"Of course."
The boy clears his throat.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Riccardo Yui Aliberti and I am from Italy, specifically from a city near Naples. As you can probably tell from my double last name, I am half Italian and half Japanese: my mother is Japanese and my father is Italian. I hope we will have a lot of fun together!"
After Riccardo's presentation, the class applauds and some of the girls start whispering among themselves.
"Did you hear? He's Italian!"
"He looks so serious and mature!"
Nishimura hears the girls' comments and then looks at Riccardo again.
He really does have a strong presence... both in appearance and character, but everything is still up in the air...
When the applause ends, Riccardo waits for a moment for a signal from the professor; in fact, the boy looks at him, but it seems that the professor expects something different from him, as does the class.
Confused, Riccardo looks at the vice principal.
In a low voice, Riccardo says: "Um... what should I do now?"
The vice principal seems to think about it, leaving Riccardo perplexed.
"Oh, right! In these cases they are curious to know the values of your technical sheet... but obviously," Riccardo's expression becomes worried, as if he already knows what is about to happen, "at the moment you don't have one!"
At the vice principal's words, Riccardo turns to the class, which is practically in shock from the news, as if Riccardo had committed the gravest of deadly sins. Noticing their reaction, Riccardo gives a weak smile, but remains visibly confused as he looks at the vice principal.
"What's that supposed to be?"
Meanwhile, the class is murmuring to themselves, criticizing the situation.
The vice principal smiles at Riccardo.
"The technical sheet contains the results of your physical tests. Of course, you should have done these tests before the written ones..." Riccardo's expression becomes worried again. "But you only did the written ones!"
A girl stands up with an argumentative look.
"So he was admitted thanks to a recommendation!"
The class becomes even more agitated, as the teacher tries to calm them down.
Riccardo watches the situation unfold.
"Wait—"
Riccardo is interrupted by the vice principal.
"Yes, that's exactly right! The principal himself recommended it to me. I don't know why... but I know that sooner or later Aliberti will take the physical tests."
Riccardo's eyes widen in disbelief at the vice principal's casual admission.
The class gets even angrier and Riccardo realizes he's in a difficult situation, hated by the entire class.
The vice principal takes his phone out of his jeans pocket and checks a notification.
"Well then..." he puts the phone back in his pocket. "I have things to do. Have a good day everyone!"
The vice principal leaves the classroom, but just as he passes by Riccardo, the latter becomes discouraged.
Thank you for your help...
The teacher looks at Riccardo with a compassionate expression.
"Aliberti," Riccardo looks at the teacher, "I'll go ask you for a desk and a chair."
"Thank you, professor."
The teacher leaves the classroom, while Riccardo remains standing in front of everyone.
Many students criticize him.
"How did you get a recommendation from the principal!?"
"Do you really think you're good enough!?"
Riccardo watches them in silence, his head held high.
Nishimura, sitting, watches him thoughtfully.
I wouldn't want to be in his shoes...
The teacher returns with a staff member carrying a desk, while the teacher carries a chair. They enter through the door at the back of the classroom and set down the desk and chair.
"Aliberti, come sit here!"
"Okay."
Riccardo walks past his new classmates, who glare at him, but he pretends not to notice.
He sits down and the teacher returns to the front of the class.
"Aliberti, do you have your textbooks yet?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, take the Japanese book and open it to page 95."
Riccardo takes the book and opens it.