Riccardo walked into the classroom with Nishimura, once again under everyone's eyes.
"Will there ever be a day when I'm not the center of attention?" he muttered.
Nishimura glanced around at their classmates. "At least they look happier to see you today."
Riccardo let out an annoyed sigh. "It'd be better if they just didn't look at all…"
He set his bag down and was about to sit when a girl in front of him turned around.
"Aliberti, is it true you helped the class rep yesterday? Those two guys who were bothering her?"
"…Yeah, it's true."
In an instant, half the class crowded around him, leaving him stunned.
"How did you do it?"
"I never would've had the courage…"
Compliments and questions rained down on him, and Riccardo couldn't find a way out.
He looked toward Kagayama's desk. "Speaking of… where is she?"
"She called me yesterday. Said she wouldn't be coming today," another girl replied.
"I see…"
"Aliberti…" another classmate stepped forward. "These past few days, we realized that what happened during the exams didn't make any sense. We started paying closer attention, watching how you behave, talking among ourselves… and with the class rep. And yesterday was just the final confirmation. We judged you without ever trying to understand who you really were. But with the results you're getting in the soccer club, and with how you've been acting… we believe you're far more deserving of being a Shūdan-teki student than we gave you credit for."
Riccardo looked at her. "So… these are apologies?"
"Yes… and if you don't want to accept them, you'd have every reason not t—"
Riccardo hesitated for a moment, then allowed a faint smile. "I'll accept them… gladly. I've seen a lot of people make mistakes in my life—myself included. No one's perfect. But—" he took a slow breath "—forgiving isn't always easy. This time, though… I want to. It's worth it."
"I'm glad to hear that… Anyway, we never introduced ourselves. I'm Yuna Kirishima, from the basketball club."
"Nice to meet you…"
Another boy stepped up. "Yuto Mizuhara, tennis club."
"Uh… nice to meet you…"
One by one, the entire class introduced themselves while Riccardo stood there overwhelmed, and Nishimura watched from his seat with a crooked grin.
[On the soccer field]
Riccardo stood in line behind Nishimura, waiting for the next drill.
"What a weird day… The class changed their view of me so quickly."
"Considering what you did, I wouldn't call it 'quick'…"
The Shūdan-teki boys' soccer team was training, running technical drills under Coach Suzuki's supervision.
Coach Ishii walked onto the field. "Alright boys, gather up!"
They followed his order.
"As you already know, our next opponent is Koganei High School—a team that reached the semifinals in last year's qualifiers."
Tanaka raised his hand, and Ishii nodded.
"Yes, Tanaka?"
"I haven't seen last year's matches, but I remember them as a school that always gets eliminated early. Last year couldn't just be a coincidence, right?"
"A fair question. But I can guarantee it wasn't a coincidence. They used to be mediocre, yes, but the key is their new coach. He turned them into a balanced squad—no major weaknesses."
"Balanced meaning… they're solid both offensively and defensively?" Aoki asked.
"Exactly. They don't have our individual talent, but their strength lies in how compact they are."
"So the match will be tough because we won't find many gaps to attack…" Nishimura reasoned aloud.
"Right. Talent alone won't carry you—especially when you're young. Big matches are won with your head, not just your feet. Listen closely. They use a 3-5-2, a very balanced system. Their wingbacks must constantly read when to push up and when to fall back. Their midfielders join the attack aggressively, creating numerical advantage in the box. That's why we cannot allow counterattacks. We'll focus today on tight-space passing and off-the-ball movement, so there's always a passing option available. Understood?"
"Yes!" the team answered.
"Good. Let's get to work! We're playing on Wednesday!"
Training resumed.