The room was completely silent.
The video screen slowly lit up.
The players were holding their breath.
Coach Satô stood in front of them, arms crossed, a serious look on his face.
"Here are the players called up for tomorrow's match."
The board appeared.
Goalkeepers:
Kaito Iwasaki
Rico William
Rikuo felt his heart start to race.
His eyes followed every line, without blinking.
Defenders:
Shun Arai
Keisuke Morimoto
Daichi Fujita
Toru Nakayama
Yusuke Kawahara
Ren Ishida
A few whispers spread across the room.
Some heads nodded.
Nothing surprising so far.
Captain Hirohito was not on the list.
Everyone knew it — he was injured.
Midfielders:
Minato Hikaru
Bao Zhang
Kenji Sakamoto
Ryo Tanabe
Rikuo Amada
One second passed.
Then two.
Rikuo stared at the screen again.
His name.
Rikuo Amada.
He blinked, just to make sure.
Then a wave of heat rushed to his face.
"… "
Around him, reactions started to rise.
"Seriously?"
"Already called up?"
"A kid who just arrived…"
The whispers grew louder.
"That's never happened before."
"Coach Satô didn't waste any time."
"After what he showed yesterday… honestly, he's really not bad at all."
Forwards:
Raizo Kisaragi
Rivelinho Da Silva
Yuma Okada
Yuto Mizuno
Haruki Nomura
Rikuo stayed still.
He tried to keep a calm face, but inside, it was pure chaos.
Then he felt the looks.
Minato slightly turned his head toward him.
Rivelinho gave him a small smile.
Raizo nodded, serious.
A look that said only one thing:
Now, you walk with us.
But not every look was the same.
Bao's wasn't.
Sitting a bit further away, the Chinese midfielder stared at Rikuo.
A dark, cold look.
Inside his head, anger was boiling.
"Finally called up again… after all these years… after all the work I've done here."
"And now this kid, who hasn't even done half of what I've done, is already selected."
His jaw tightened.
"I'll never accept this."
Rikuo felt that look.
It wasn't admiration. Far from it.
It made him slightly uncomfortable.
Then a familiar voice reached his ear.
"Haha… you're already called up."
Takuma was smiling like crazy.
"Do you even realize it, Riku? This is insane!"
Rikuo exhaled softly.
"Yeah… you're right, Taku."
He smiled.
"Even if I feel like I've been getting death stares for a while now, haha."
Takuma shrugged.
"So what?"
His tone became more serious.
"They're just jealous. That's all."
He looked Rikuo straight in the eyes.
"You're really talented, my friend. Today, you're ahead of me."
A small smile.
"But I won't let it end there. So if you get the chance to play… show something."
Rikuo lightly bumped his fist against Takuma's.
"Thanks, Taku."
He smiled.
"I'm ahead, and I don't plan on waiting for you.
So hurry up and catch me, haha."
They both laughed.
But deep inside, Takuma thought:
"Truth is… I'm jealous too, Riku."
"Since the day I saw you play, you have something I don't."
"A talent that draws everyone's eyes."
He clenched his teeth.
"But I won't give up."
Coach Satô spoke again.
"Alright. Here's today's schedule."
"It's ten o'clock. Until noon, you'll work with the fitness coaches in the gym."
He paused.
"Light work. Wake the muscles up. Prepare your legs."
"After lunch, we'll do tactical work to prepare for tomorrow's match."
He clapped his hands.
"Go!."
The groups split again.
Group 1 and Group 2.
Takuma and Rikuo tapped hands.
"See you later."
Group 2 headed to physical work.
No match to prepare for them.
In the gym, Rikuo walked in and noticed a familiar figure.
"Yo, kid!"
Hirohito.
"Hirohito-san?"
Rikuo was surprised.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were with Group 2."
Hirohito smiled.
"No. I'm training on my own."
He tapped his thigh.
"The pain's fading fast, so I'm pushing the strength work."
He laughed.
Rikuo looked at him with bright eyes.
"So… you're really coming back next week, for sure."
Hirohito raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, kid… looks like you can't wait to face me."
He smiled.
"I shouldn't scare you that much. I'm still young, you know."
"Young? This old man really refuses to accept reality,"
Rikuo thought, staring blankly.
Hirohito burst out laughing.
"Anyway. I heard you got selected."
His tone became serious.
"That's impressive."
He nodded.
"You kept your promise.
You joined Group 1 faster than expected.
And on top of that, already called up for a match."
He placed a heavy hand on Rikuo's shoulder.
"You're good, kid."
"Thank you, Hirohito-san."
Rikuo smiled.
"I'll go join Minato and the others."
He started to walk away.
"Wait."
Rikuo stopped.
Hirohito looked straight into his eyes.
"Tomorrow, if you play…"
His voice was calm, firm.
"Show our future opponents that a new king of football has arrived in Japan."
Rikuo took a deep breath.
Then smiled.
"Yes, captain."
There was no doubt left in his eyes.
A few hours later, the players gathered back on the pitch.
Coach Satô spoke to the group.
"Alright. After the warm-up, we'll set up the system we've always worked on."
"A 4-3-3 attacking formation."
He paused.
"Hirohito's absence in defense means one thing."
"We need to score more than the opponent."
Another pause.
"As I always say, football is simple.
The team that scores more wins."
Rikuo felt chills.
A team that plays to win.
To attack.
To create.
That was exactly what he loved.
"I'll now announce the starting eleven, unless there's a last-minute injury."
Goalkeeper: Kaito
Left back: Shun
Right back: Daichi
Center backs: Toru and Ren
The players called stepped forward and put on a yellow bib.
Then the two defensive midfielders:
Bao and Ryo.
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.
"Wait, coach. My position has always been attacking midfield.
I can't play as a holding midfielder."
It was Bao.
Coach Satô replied coldly.
"Bao. I'm the coach here."
"Out of respect for your experience, I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
"But if you say something like that again, you won't play."
"You'll be holding midfield as a 6, behind Minato."
A drop of sweat ran down Bao's face.
He grabbed his yellow bib.
"Sorry, coach."
Coach Satô continued immediately.
"Minato, attacking midfielder. You're the captain."
Rikuo thought:
"Minato as captain… that makes sense.
He's a key piece of the team, close to Hirohito.
So I'm on the bench.
It's fine. Being on the bench is already a good start."
Then the forwards:
Left: Raizo
Center: Rivelinho
Right: Yuma
"Alright. Take your positions.
The rest of you, follow the assistant coaches."
Bao walked past Rikuo.
"Hey kid. Don't get cocky. Go sit on the bench."
His tone was mocking, arrogant.
"Bao. Apologize and take your position."
Minato grabbed Bao by the arm.
Rikuo smiled calmly.
"It's fine, Minato. I expected reactions like this."
"It doesn't affect me."
Minato nodded.
"Alright then. Let's go."
Inside, Rikuo thought:
"Don't worry, Bao.
I'm on the bench today… but not for long."
"I'll take your spot soon."
His eyes were sharp.
Ready for whatever stood in front of him.