Chapter 22 — An Crazy Hypothesis

The next day, Riccardo woke up to his phone alarm, completely exhausted and irritated. He turned it off angrily.

"Damn, I forgot to turn off the alarm..." he muttered to himself.

Riccardo sighed and buried his face in the pillow again.

"I just want to sleep..."

For a few seconds, Riccardo tried to go back to sleep.

"No use... this day couldn't have started worse."

Riccardo stood up, put on his glasses and walked to the kitchen, walking unsteadily and exhausted, where his sister was staring at him.

"Good morning..." Cecilia said, puzzled.

Riccardo looked at her, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Oh... it's you."

He walked towards the refrigerator, while Cecilia continued to look at him.

"Aren't you wearing contacts?"

"I can't... I'm too tired..."

Cecilia sat down on the stool.

"Did you play yesterday?"

"Yes..." Riccardo replied, taking the milk from the fridge.

"And how did it go?"

"A draw..."

"I see. Are you free this morning?" Cecilia asked, excitedly approaching her brother, who was pouring milk into his cup.

"Hmm... I think so?" Riccardo replied hesitantly.

"Great! Come with me to do some shopping!"

Riccardo put the milk on the counter, then slowly turned to look at Cecilia, confused.

"What?"

Some time later, the two were walking through the streets of Tokyo.

"How did you convince me?" he muttered, exhausted.

"Riccardo! Let's go check out this shop!" Cecilia exclaimed, waving enthusiastically near a shop.

"I'm coming..."

Riccardo headed towards the store, noticing that it was a music store.

Inside the store, Cecilia picks up an album.

"This album was so beautiful, I really liked it!" Cecilia said, her eyes shining with joy.

Riccardo noticed Cecilia's expression and smiled, then walked over and picked up a copy of the album he was looking at.

"That's right, they've gone for a lot of different styles in this album, while still maintaining their artistic identity."

"That's right! That's why, for me, they're the best!" Cecilia grabbed the album and headed to the cashier, followed by Riccardo.

"I'll take this!" Cecilia said to the cashier.

Riccardo walked over to the counter, looking at his phone.

"Good morning, it's 2,500 yen," the cashier said. Hearing the voice, Riccardo looked up.

That voice seems familiar... Riccardo thought, just as he was about to see the cashier's face.

Finally he saw him: it was Kaneko. The moment Kaneko saw Riccardo, his calm expression turned into one of unpleasant surprise.

Damn... I didn't even recognize him because of those glasses!

The two stared at each other for a few moments.

Riccardo tried to hold back his laughter. "Good morning..."

Cecilia seemed confused by their reactions.

"Do you know each other?"

"Yes..." Riccardo began, but Kaneko interrupted him.

"No! Absolutely not!" Kaneko said quickly, handing the album to Cecilia and waving her away.

"But I'm almost certain that you're the number 9 of the Shūdan-teki, the one who even scored a goal yesterday!" Riccardo added with a smug smile.

Damn...! Kaneko thought, staring at Riccardo's devilish smile.

"Are you a teammate of Riccardo's?" Cecilia leaned towards Kaneko, visibly excited.

Kaneko blushed slightly at her excitement and closeness.

"Um..." Kaneko sighed. "Yes... I attend and play for the Shūdan-teki."

Riccardo moved a little closer.

"Do you work here part-time?" he asked.

"Yes, this is my parents' shop..."

"Ahh! Really?!" Cecilia says.

"Yes, it's a family-run shop. It's been passed down from generation to generation."

"How cool! By the way, I'm Cecilia Yui Aliberti!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Raizo Kaneko!"

So she's Aliberti's sister... I see who's the nicest! Kaneko thought, casting a scornful look at Riccardo.

"So you also play for the Shūdan-teki? Then you must be really good!"

"Well... let's say yes! Haha!" Kaneko let out a pleased chuckle.

How humble... thought Riccardo, raising an eyebrow.

"Even though in two years... we've never made it to the national tournaments," added Kaneko, a little discouraged.

"Ah... my brother told me. The Shūdan-teki hasn't made it to the national tournaments in ten years, right? Do you know why?" asked Cecilia, visibly intrigued.

Kaneko hesitated for a moment before answering.

"There are many reasons... but the main problem definitely starts with our current coach. He's been on the bench since the team stopped participating in the nationals."

"What do you mean?"

"Our coach has a personality that is... well, let's just say he's a real dickhead."

He didn't hold back, huh... Riccardo and Cecilia thought at the same time.

"If there's something he doesn't like, he gives up and doesn't even show up to coach the team. In two years, I've seen him coach the group twice, both times on the first day. Right after that, he disappeared and left everything to the assistant coach."

"If it's so serious, why doesn't the school just fire him?"

"Because he's a soccer genius!" Riccardo and Kaneko said in unison, visibly annoyed.

"I saw it with my own eyes in the last game we played... he always knows exactly what to do, in every situation during a game," Kaneko explained.

"He also manages the team environment very well, both mentally and physically." Riccardo added.

"Wait, you said before that if he doesn't like something, he gives up... what do you mean exactly?"

"I mainly mean the players. He has a very specific soccer philosophy and if he doesn't have the right players to carry it out, he just doesn't care."

"I see..."

"I'd like to ask you something." Kaneko said to Riccardo.

"Go ahead."

"You were admitted to our school with a recommendation... do you know why?"

"No, neither I nor my father know the reason."

"Okay. Do you know who holds the most power in our school besides the principal?"

Riccardo and Cecilia paused to think.

"They are the coaches of each discipline... each student is evaluated by a coach before being admitted to the Shūdan-teki," Kaneko replied to his own question. "So here's another question for you... is there a chance that someone knows something about you, football-wise?"

Riccardo seemed slightly surprised by Kaneko's reasoning, then sighed.

"You understand... I played for several youth teams of important Italian clubs. The last one was Napoli. So are you saying that coach Ishii somehow found out about me?"

"Yes. That's my explanation for your recommendation."

"It's a possible theory, but it's hard enough for people in Italy to hear about a promising Italian boy, let alone a coach from a high school in Tokyo." Riccardo replied, still skeptical.

"Right... but like we said, he disappears every year and doesn't show up again until the following season. During that time, what do you think he's doing?"

Riccardo thought for a moment.

"Is he a scout?" he replied, still unsure.

"Exactly!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I heard it from someone very close to Coach Ishii."

"I don't know much about these things, but... why would he scout for Shūdan-teki, even if it's the strongest school in high school sports? It's still a high school." Cecilia said, visibly confused.

"I'm not sure either... but I have a crazy hypothesis: he could be working for the Japan Football Federation. And he travels the world looking for kids, preferably with at least one Japanese parent, who can contribute to the development of Japanese football."

Riccardo gave Kaneko a puzzled look.

"Yes, of course, Sherlock Holmes..."

Kaneko was slightly irritated by Riccardo's sarcastic tone.

"I said it was a crazy hypothesis!"

"Well... it's not entirely out of the question," Riccardo replied, suddenly serious. "The Italian national team has been trying to naturalize players from other countries in recent years. It's become quite common."

"But one thing I can say for sure: your recommendation has everything to do with him. He hasn't been that involved with the team since you arrived." Kaneko said confidently.

"Hmm..."

Just then, two customers entered the previously empty shop.

"Good morning!" one of them said.

"Good morning!"

Riccardo patted Cecilia on the shoulder, waving her off.

"Let's get out of your way... I'll see you on Monday." Riccardo said, heading for the exit.

"Bye!" Cecilia added.

Kaneko watched them leave the store.

There was one more thing I wanted to ask him...

"Excuse me! How much does this electric guitar cost?" one of the customers asked.

"25,000 yen!"