After surviving the chaos of her first day, Rika thought she could finally relax.
But she had forgotten one thing—this school had Shun.
And Shun meant soccer.
The moment she stepped into the cafeteria for lunch, she heard whispers.
"She's from the girls' team, right?"
"Did you see her play with Shun?"
"She's probably insane at soccer too!"
"Wait, does that mean she's part of his group?"
And then, before she could even take a bite, she heard an annoying voice.
"Hey, Aizawa!"
She sighed and turned to see Renji, waving with his usual mischievous grin.
Next to him was another player from Shun's team—Tetsuya, the loud, overly dramatic forward who acted like he was in a superhero anime.
"We heard you're coming to practice today," Tetsuya said, dramatically pointing at her like he was challenging a villain. "Let's see if you're worthy of the Fukura training ground!"
Rika raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything about coming to practice."
Renji smirked. "Well, he said you were coming." He pointed behind him.
Rika followed his finger and found Shun sitting casually at a table, eating as if the chaos around him didn't exist.
Rika gritted her teeth and marched over. "You—why did you tell them I'm coming?"
Shun, without looking up: "You train every morning anyway. Might as well get used to Fukura's routine."
"You—!" Rika clenched her fists.
But before she could continue, another student spoke up.
"Wait… Aizawa, do you like soccer?"
Rika blinked. "Huh?"
"If you do, then why didn't you enroll in Fukura's girls' soccer team?"
Silence.
A few heads turned toward her, curiosity rising.
Rika opened her mouth to respond—but then she saw Shun looking at her, as if he was waiting for her answer too.
She hesitated.
And then—BAM!
A sudden commotion in the cafeteria.
Someone had dropped their entire lunch tray, spilling food everywhere.
The whole cafeteria turned to look at the mess.
And somehow, just somehow, the situation shifted away from Rika as the staff scolded the unlucky student.
Taking the chance, Rika slipped away from the conversation.
But she could still feel Shun's gaze on her.
Practice Match – A New Rival Appears
After school, Rika found herself standing on Fukura's training ground, stretching.
The boys' team was already warming up, and Shun was leading the drills.
Rika sighed. "Why am I here again?"
"Because you have nothing better to do," Renji teased.
"Shut up."
As the players prepared for a practice match, the coach walked in, whistling.
"Alright! Today, we've got something special." The coach pointed to the opposite side of the field.
A group of new players stood there—first-years trying to earn their spot on the team.
Among them, one player stood out.
A boy with sharp eyes, wearing a Fukura jersey with no number yet.
The moment he stepped onto the field, something felt off.
Even Shun, who had been lazily stretching, suddenly looked up at him.
Coach grinned. "This is Ryusei Kuroda. He's trying out for the forward position."
Rika didn't know why, but the air felt heavy.
Then, Ryusei spoke.
"I want Shun to mark me."
The entire team froze.
Everyone knew that challenging Shun directly was basically declaring war.
Shun stared at Ryusei for a second. Then, a smirk.
"Alright."
And just like that—the tension skyrocketed.
The match began.