The morning practice started peacefully, but it didn't take long before it turned into a battle.
Shun and Rika stood on opposite sides of the field, staring each other down like they were about to enter a duel.
"All right, let's see who lasts longer."
"You're on."
They started with passing drills, but soon, Rika started hitting the ball harder just to throw Shun off.
"Oi, stop trying to kill me with the ball!"
"You said you wanted to train."
"Yeah, not dodge bullets!"
Next, they moved on to shooting drills, but now it was Shun's turn to mess around.
Instead of just shooting normally, he tried some fancy tricks.
"Watch and learn, shorty."
"Who are you calling short?!"
Shun flicked the ball up and went for a bicycle kick—but he completely missed and landed on his back.
Rika burst out laughing, bending over.
"PFFT—What was that?! Are you trying to impress someone?!"
Shun sat up, grumbling.
"Tch. Miscalculated."
Rika smirked.
"If you're gonna show off, at least do it right."
"Oh yeah? Let's see you try."
Rika flicked the ball up—and landed a perfect shot.
Shun just stared.
"Tch. Lucky shot."
"Heh. Jealous?"
Just as Shun was about to challenge her again—
A loud voice interrupted them.
"SHUN!"
Shun froze.
He slowly turned his head and—
Coach Tanaka was standing there, arms crossed, looking furious.
"Did I not tell you to stop training on the field at this hour?!"
Shun scratched the back of his head.
"Uh… technically, I didn't train alone—"
"I DON'T CARE! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST IGNORE MY RULES?!"
Rika, standing beside Shun, tried not to laugh as he got scolded.
Then, the coach suddenly paused, his eyes narrowing as he noticed Rika.
"Wait a second… you're not one of my players."
Shun gulped.
Oh no.
Rika, still unfazed, just tilted her head.
"Nope."
Coach Tanaka looked between them. Then, a small smirk appeared on his face.
"Hoh… so that's how it is."
Shun panicked.
"Coach, it's not what you're thinking!"
Coach Tanaka ignored him.
"Shun, my boy… I see you've finally found some motivation outside of soccer."
Shun's soul left his body.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS IS!"
Rika, now grinning, leaned closer to him.
"Shun, you didn't tell me you were such a troublemaker."
"I'M NOT—STOP ENJOYING THIS!"
Coach Tanaka chuckled, patting Shun's shoulder.
"All right, all right. I'll let it slide… just this once. But no more training at this hour, got it?"
"Yes, sir…"
As the coach walked off, Rika turned to Shun with a mischievous look.
"So… outside of soccer, huh?"
Shun sighed, covering his face.
"I hate everything."
Rika just laughed.