"Suker's completely gone berserk!""Did you see Cassani's face? He was stunned after the match. Poor guy!""That win was so easy!""Of course it was! Suker was doing all the attacking—we barely had to defend!"
The AC Milan players walked happily toward the locker room.
The match had been ridiculously easy!
It was basically just Suker tirelessly sprinting up front, single-handedly winning them the match.
With such a relaxed victory, it was only natural for the players to be in high spirits.
Amid the cheerful group, Kaka followed silently, as if lost in thought.
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"—Pirlo suddenly asked.
Kaka snapped out of it and smiled:
"No, I'm happy."
Pirlo looked at him—he sure didn't look happy.Which was strange.
"Don't overthink it. Suker exploding like that is a good thing. It means we won easily."—Pirlo clapped his hands, trying to lift the mood.
After a pause, Kaka said:
"Are we relying on Suker too much?"
"Huh?" Pirlo looked puzzled."What's wrong with passing to the most threatening player?"
Kaka shook his head.Everyone wants to rely on the star.And Suker was Milan's star.
Creak—
As they opened the locker room door, they saw Suker already sitting inside.
"Hey, what's with you coming back to the locker room right after being subbed off? You mad at the boss?"—Nesta teased him with a grin.
Suker sat on the bench and gave a wry smile:
"Nah. I just wanted to come back and rest."
But he didn't look particularly happy.
Which wasn't surprising.
He'd worked his butt off and got four Platinum Cards—Not a single one was an "awareness" card.
Not to mention Kaka's awareness—still no sign of it.
Suker was beginning to believe it had to be a Diamond Card.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset, clenched his fists—
"Keep swiping! Miracles come from brute force!"
Kaka, watching his clenched fist, grew more serious too.
The next morning
"Honey? Why are you up so early?"
Caroline looked surprised as she saw Kaka already preparing breakfast.
He turned and smiled:
"Getting up early lets you see a different kind of scenery."
Caroline rolled her eyes, walked to the fridge, poured milk into a glass, and set it on the table.
"Not going to mooch breakfast today?"
Kaka laughed:
"Suker's probably too busy to cook for me now."
"Is he that busy lately?""Yeah… got some things he's working on."
Caroline looked at the food Kaka set down—a burnt slice of toast, a half-cooked fried egg, and something completely black.
"What is that?"She pointed at the black blob.
"Sausage!""Then why is it black?""I dunno!" Kaka replied innocently.
Caroline sighed:
"Starting tomorrow, I'll make breakfast."
After a long silence, Kaka smiled radiantly:
"Then I'll eat at the training center tomorrow!"
Around 9 a.m., Suker arrived at the training base.
After changing into his training kit, he walked to the pitch—someone was already training alone.
In the sunlight, Kaka stood about 20 meters from goal, with a wall of training dummies in front of him, repeatedly practicing free kicks.
Sweat trickled down from his forehead, along his cheeks and jawline.
Kaka didn't even notice—he just kept shooting.
Soon, a voice came from the side—
"Really working hard, huh~"
Kaka turned.
Suker was sitting at the edge of the field, casually juggling a ball.
Kaka smiled at him.
"It can't be just one of us pushing hard. This is our task together—I've got to contribute too."
In the sunlight, Kaka's smile grew even brighter.
Suker squinted at him.
"Am I supposed to be moved right now?""Nope.""Good. Then next time, can you not drive off without me? Who the hell am I supposed to bum a ride from?"
"I got up at 6 a.m. The first bus was at 8:30. I waited two and a half hours!"
Uh…Kaka scratched his head awkwardly:
"Sorry, I didn't think about that."
Suker sighed:
"Whatever. How's the training going?"
"I'm focusing on free kicks and long shots. If I improve there, it'll give us more offensive tools. I could coordinate tactical free kicks with Pirlo—and long shots could also help us score."
"Your long shots are already good.""Not good enough!" Kaka said firmly."Far from enough."
Suker stared into Kaka's eyes.His fighting spirit had clearly grown stronger.
Even though Suker didn't know why, it was a good thing.
"Also, about 'understanding each other,' I've come up with something."—Kaka spoke up again.
Suker paused:
"You've got an idea?"
Kaka nodded:
"I don't know if it'll work—but it's worth trying."
"So what is it?"
"The boss wants us to synchronize mentally, have perfect chemistry—like you and Pippo.""Yeah?""But we can't actually do that. So let's take a step back. If we can't fully unify, we don't have to. All we need is basic coordination—smooth or clunky, as long as it works."
Suker lowered his head and thought for a moment:
"I guess that makes sense. Even if it's slower and less efficient, it could still work. So what's your method?"
Kaka, now excited by Suker's approval, came closer:
"We can come up with some hand signals. Yelling commands might work, but there's no guarantee the other person will hear. So we use gestures instead."
Kaka pointed to himself:
"This means 'me.'"
Then he made a finger-gun motion:
"This means 'I want the ball.'"
"You do the same. Use simple gestures to express your intent."
Suker raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
"Also, we should take full advantage of our unique traits!"
Kaka continued:
"I excel at surging runs. I need open space and more possession.""You're different. You can break free in tight spaces and don't rely on the ball as much."
Clap!Kaka clapped his hands excitedly:
"That's coexistence right there!"
"We start with signals to determine who controls the ball. Then you drop deeper to extract the ball in crowded zones and pass to me."
"If too many defenders focus on you, space opens up behind—you create room for me to shine."
Suker raised an eyebrow:
"And if they don't pressure me and instead mark you—then I just dribble past them!"
"Exactly!" Kaka nodded. "We're both fast, and even without the ball, we can still outrun opponents. Plus, our stamina is great."
Suker:
"So how do we coordinate shooting?"
"Signal!"
"How do I know when you'll pass?"
"Signal!"
"How do we transfer tactical resources?"
"SIGNAL!"
"Screw you!" Suker clutched his head."You want me to sprint AND throw out hand gestures like a mime? Are you nuts?"
Kaka, embarrassed:
"Well… yeah, it's a bit weird. But it could work."
Suker gave a lopsided grin.This isn't just a bit weird. This is nuts.
And signaling wasn't even the biggest issue.
They'd have to constantly monitor each other.Miss just one signal, and the rest of the play could fall apart—potentially even lead to a counterattack and a goal conceded.
Worse still, to do this, they'd have to use up one or two crucial awareness checks on each other instead of reading the game.
Even if they somehow made it work, the whole thing would be stiff and unnatural.
It'd lack fluidity.
But... there was no better option.
Unless Suker could draw Kaka's "awareness card."
But it was likely a Diamond Card...
And he just couldn't draw it.
After hesitating for a long time, Suker finally decided—
Try it.
Even if people thought they were crazy.Even if it looked stupid.
It was better than losing.