The final school bell rang. Kagayama stood up, gathering her things and slipping them into her bag.
"Good morning, Yui."
Riccardo called out as he approached her desk, Nishimura behind him.
Kagayama froze, stunned that he had called her by her first name.
Nishimura noticed her expression. "Don't worry, he has zero sense of formality. He calls everyone by their first names," he said, half-apologetic.
Kagayama snapped out of it. Right… he's not used to Japanese courtesy.
"I wanted to ask," Riccardo continued, "are you busy after practice today?"
She thought for a moment. "No, nothing planned."
"Perfect. Then see you after practice?"
She turned to stone at the question.
[Evening — the lively streets of Tokyo]
A group of seven walked through the illuminated streets: Riccardo, Nishimura, Inoue, Sato, Yuzuki, Hamada, and Kagayama, all following Nishimura's lead.
Both Sato and Kagayama looked slightly disappointed. This… wasn't what I pictured when he asked me out…
Inoue leaned toward Yuzuki and whispered, "Looks like Sato's got a rival in love."
"This just got interesting," Yuzuki murmured.
Riccardo walked beside Nishimura. "So you're taking us to get ramen?"
"Yeah, there's a famous place around here. Really good."
Riccardo gave him a serious look. "I'll be the judge of that… and if it's not as good as you say, you're paying for all of us."
Nishimura blinked. "…You're joking, right?"
"Obviously," Riccardo said—though his tone didn't reassure anyone.
"That tone is terrifying…" Nishimura muttered.
The whole group laughed at their banter—except Kagayama, who watched everyone with a distant look.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a cozy Japanese shop.
"This is the place?" Riccardo asked.
"Yep," Nishimura said, heading inside.
The ramen shop had a modern look—warm lights, clean surfaces—but kept the charm of old-style Japanese eateries. The open kitchen simmered behind a light wooden counter lined with stools, and black-and-white photos along the walls told the story of the restaurant.
A middle-aged woman greeted them. "Welcome! How many?"
"Seven," Nishimura replied.
"Great. The last seats are in the back—please follow me."
Everyone took their place, with Sato and Kagayama sliding into the seats on Riccardo's right and left—stealing the spot twice from Nishimura, who could only stare in disbelief.
Riccardo noticed the ordering tablets. "Oh… tablets."
"It's pretty common here," Sato explained. "Even traditional places use them sometimes."
"In Italy it's still mostly paper menus… I need to get used to how everything here runs on technology."
"I prefer paper," Kagayama added. "Feels more human."
"Yeah, I agree," Riccardo nodded.
"I already ordered," he said suddenly, flashing a mischievous smile.
The girls stared at him. Did he ignore us, or is he pretending not to hear…?
Soon, everyone received their ramen.
Riccardo took a bite. "It's good." Then he shot Nishimura a serious look. "Seems like you're safe. You don't have to pay for everyone."
Nishimura frowned. "I still don't know if you're joking or not…"
As they ate, Riccardo spoke up, "Eijiro, I forgot to ask—how did your high-jump qualifiers go?"
Inoue wiped his mouth. "Passed the first round. Friday I finish it—one way or another."
"What about your basketball club, Kagayama?" Nishimura asked.
"We won. 81-60."
"So everyone's still on track for Inter-High," Riccardo said.
"Of course—this is Shūdan-teki. Aiming for nationals is the minimum," Hamada added.
"Especially us, right Riccardo?" Nishimura said excitedly.
"Obviously. We're taking the boys' soccer club to nationals after ten years."
Yuzuki tapped her chin, thinking. "There's something I never understood… how did you guys get strong so fast?"
"For real, your growth is insane," Hamada added.
Everyone turned to Riccardo or Nishimura, waiting.
"We didn't get strong," Nishimura said confidently. "We were already good. We just… finally learned to play like a team."
Riccardo nodded. "Yeah. I don't know much about Shūdan-teki's full history, but in the time I've been here, I've seen crazy talent everywhere. Even in the past… I'm sure the school had monsters in every sport."
"Then why… if there was always so much individual talent… didn't the team ever get results?" Yuzuki asked.
"Our coach is weird," Nishimura said. "Looks normal, but his behavior is… off. I don't think he coached properly before because something was missing—something he didn't get from past students. Something he got from us."
Riccardo slurped his ramen. "And the higher-ups must know how much of a genius Coach Ishii is. That much isn't up for debate."
Sato didn't seem convinced. "Is he really that good? Enough to be protected by the school?"
"In every way," Nishimura said. "Tactics, mentality, in-match adaptation… It's like he reads the game before it happens."
"So he's the type who can't make a team perform if he doesn't have the players he wants," Yuzuki guessed.
"Maybe he never found the right ones before," Nishimura said. "He never says it, but… you can feel he was waiting for something."
Hamada leaned forward. "Then what changed this year?"
Riccardo shrugged lightly. "This year… we have players who can actually handle his style. Aggressive, heavy football. You feel it in practice—he wants intensity. And we can give it to him."
Everyone stared, surprised—except Nishimura, who smiled slightly.
"I see…" Yuzuki murmured, still unsure.
"But that's just our impression," Nishimura added. "He never talks about this stuff."
"We might even be overestimating him," Riccardo admitted.
A brief silence fell.
"Okay, new topic," Inoue cut in. "How did your exams go?"
Nishimura froze, practically collapsing. "Terribly…"
The group burst into laughter.
[After eating]
They walked down the street together.
"It was good," Riccardo said, "but next time, I will take you all somewhere even better."
Nishimura snorted. "And how do you plan to surprise someone who's lived in Tokyo their whole life with a place no one knows?"
Riccardo smirked. "Rule number one of Italians: never challenge an Italian about food. We'll always surprise you."
"That's not even a rule…" Nishimura muttered.
The group gradually split up. Hamada, Sato, and Inoue headed off first.
Riccardo moved closer to Kagayama. "So… did you enjoy tonight?"
She blinked, startled by the sudden question. She lowered her gaze slightly, like she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to. "…Yeah. I liked it."
"Then we should do it again."
"Yes! I mean—sure. Why not."