Monday came with clear skies
Training started light
No sprints
Just small drills and passing games
Ren felt lighter too
First clean sheet
First official win
But something felt different in the locker room
Kaito sat alone
Second keeper
Junior
He used to chat with Ren
Used to joke before drills
Today he just nodded once
No words
Ren sat across from him and untied his boots
"Morning"
Kaito looked up
"Congrats on the clean sheet"
Flat tone
Eyes blank
Ren paused
"Thanks"
Silence after that
Daigo called them out for keeper drills
Three today
Ren
Kaito
And a new face
Tall
Shaved head
Broad shoulders
Maybe seventeen
Daigo spoke
"This is Fuma. Trial week"
Fuma nodded but said nothing
They ran through warmups
Then saves from close range
Fuma moved fast
Explosive
Clean technique
Kaito watched him every rep
Ren stayed focused
But inside he felt it
Pressure
Same gloves
Same drills
But now every touch counted
After training Mizuki tossed a towel at Ren
"Coach is testing us huh"
Ren nodded
"He always does"
Taka walked past and whispered just loud enough
"Fuma looks like he eats goalposts for breakfast"
Ren laughed once but only halfway
Later that evening Ren walked home slower than usual
Sky turning orange
Breeze cooler
He replayed every save in his head
Every miss
Every command
Trying to measure himself
By the time he reached the apartment door his hands were still clenched
Inside his mom handed him a letter
"From the school. Looks official"
Ren opened it quick
Academic review
Grades fine
One note at the bottom
Athletic status
Eligible but must maintain average
He nodded
No problem yet
But more on his plate now
More eyes
More pressure
He looked at his gloves again
Dry now
But tomorrow they would be wet again
With sweat
Rain
Or maybe nerves
Did not matter
He would still wear them