Riccardo and Nishimura walked through the schoolyard.
"What are your practices usually like?" Riccardo asked.
Nishimura thought for a moment."Incredibly relaxed…"
Riccardo frowned."Is that… good or bad?"
"Usually, our assistant coach, Suzuki, runs the practices. He basically tries to teach us what Coach Ishii wants… but the results aren't great."
They entered the locker room and spotted Kaneko alone, frantically rifling through his bag.
"Where did I put them…" he muttered.
Finally, he pulled out his cleats and sighed in relief.
Then he noticed Riccardo and Nishimura watching. Embarrassed, he quickly straightened his posture, wearing a haughty expression."What are you looking at?"
Kaneko snapped on his cleats and left, leaving the other two looking confused.
"That was… unexpected," Riccardo muttered sarcastically."Yes…" Nishimura replied, equally puzzled.
When they arrived at the field, the rest of the team was already waiting.
Shimizu waved."Hey—"
Something made him pause. The two looked around suspiciously.
"Did we do something wrong?" Riccardo asked.
Nishimura turned—and froze. Coach Ishii was standing there behind them.
Everyone went silent.
"Good morning!" the coach greeted.
The team hesitated. "Good morning…"
Soon, Coach Suzuki joined him.
"Now it almost feels like a real soccer team…" Nakamura whispered to Tanaka, smirking.
"Let's be careful," Tanaka replied. "It might rain today…"
Coach Ishii watched them chuckle, then stepped forward."From today onward, I will personally lead all your practices!"
The team froze, shocked.
"Start with the usual warm-up with Coach Suzuki, then grab the cones and balls!"
The team began stretching and collecting the equipment.
Coach Ishii addressed them again."We have a friendly match next Friday."
Excitement rippled through the team.
"Who are we playing against?" Nishimura asked.
Coach Ishii glanced at him, then spoke to everyone."Maebashi Ikuei."
Everyone reacted with a mix of shock and excitement. Everyone except Riccardo, who looked confused."Who are they?"
Yasuda practically bounced in his seat."Maebashi Ikuei won the national tournament last year! They're an insanely strong and talented team!"
"Exactly," Coach Ishii said. "This match will show you the level of the opposition and give you a chance to apply the tactics I'll teach you. Less than two weeks until the national qualifiers, so get ready. I will push you to your limits."
Nishimura watched as Coach Ishii moved to a section of the field set up with cones and mini goals.
Shimizu approached Nishimura, a confident smile on his face."Finally… after a whole year, we're actually practicing seriously."
That confidence soon vanished. Shimizu collapsed onto the grass, completely exhausted.
The entire team gasped and wheezed, struggling to catch their breath.
Riccardo fell to his knees, panting."Mamm' mij…" he muttered.
Coach Ishii surveyed the team, then smiled with satisfaction. He grabbed a ball and tossed it to Kaneko."Okay, last exercise for today: a rondo! Form a circle. Tanaka and Nakamura, you're in the middle!"
The two protested immediately."Why!?" Tanaka snapped.
Coach Ishii's gaze darkened."I saw you laughing earlier. Now it's your turn to entertain us. Also, Aoki, you join in—I want to test your anticipation."
The players formed a circle as instructed. Coach Ishii placed cones around the circle to mark the boundaries."You may move freely, but do not leave the cones. Maximum two touches. If you complete thirty consecutive passes, the players in the middle will run two laps around the field."
Shimizu's face paled. Two laps if I lose?!
Riccardo studied the circle. Just two steps to move… and with so many players, managing space would be tricky.
"Start!" Coach Ishii barked.
Kaneko passed to Koyama, who passed to Sugimoto, who nearly lost control under Tanaka's sudden pressure."Almost…" Sugimoto muttered.
The ball went to Ono, who passed to Nishimura under pressure from Tanaka and Nakamura. Nishimura saw an opening and used the outside of his foot to deliver a precise pass to Yasuda. Yasuda quickly played it to Riccardo—but Aoki intercepted."I did it!" Aoki exclaimed."Ugh!" Yasuda groaned.
Aoki moved into the circle, taking Yasuda's place. He passed to Ueno, who immediately played to Shimizu.
Shimizu noticed Tanaka rushing toward him. He saw a small gap between Tanaka's legs and tunneled the ball through. He smirked as Tanaka exploded in anger."Damn! Always you!"
Tanaka surged harder toward the ball.
The ball reached Kaneko, under pressure from Nakamura and Yasuda. He saw Riccardo unmarked but ignored him, instead passing to Hamada. Hamada, surprised, controlled it skillfully, then chipped the ball forward."Watch out!" he shouted.
The ball landed near Riccardo just as Tanaka and Nakamura closed in. Riccardo scanned the field, controlled it with a backheel, and moved left. Using his strength and speed, he shielded the ball from both opponents.
Tanaka froze. What kind of monster is this?!
Riccardo passed to Kaneko, who was astonished at how cleanly he handled it. Should I even try to compete with him?
Kaneko made a no-look pass to Nishimura.
Seeing the intensity rise, Nishimura grinned and immediately backheeled the ball to Ono. Ono evaded Yasuda by shifting toward the center, then used the outside of his foot to pass to Tamura. Tamura first passed to Noguchi.
Noguchi miscontrolled the ball, and Tanaka pounced, taking possession."Good!" Tanaka cheered.
Noguchi high-fived him."Great interception!"
Noguchi replaced Tanaka in the middle.No one's throwing me out now! No way I'm running two laps! Tanaka thought happily.
Play resumed, passing quickly. The ball returned to Tanaka, under Yasuda's pressure. He shifted it to Aoki, but Noguchi slid in to intercept.
Tanaka's eyes widened.
"Excuse me, but I'm taking my place back!"
Noguchi patted him on the shoulder. Tanaka returned to the center, frustrated.
As the sun began to set, they finally completed thirty passes. Everyone was utterly drained.
Tanaka, Shimizu, and Hamada remained in the circle."Well done!" Ishii said.
Coaches Ishii and Suzuki approached."That's it for today. Tomorrow, I'll explain the tactical systems I want you to use. And remember: I'm still evaluating who will start in the upcoming matches. Give it your all!"
Everyone slowly left the field.
Tanaka, Shimizu, and Hamada tried to slip away with the others."Not you three," Ishii called.
The trio froze."Go run your laps."
"…Okay," they muttered, exhausted, and began their first lap.
Coach Ishii and Suzuki watched. Suzuki smirked."Looks like someone finally cares about this team…"
Ishii's eyes were serious."Yes. This year's players reflect my philosophy of soccer."
Suzuki grinned."Then this year will be fun. I'll finally see Takumi Ishii's real soccer again."