Sunlight filtered through the window.Riccardo sat at his desk, headphones on, listening to music.
A knock came at his door.
"Riccardo, can I come in?" Cecilia asked.
He paused the music. "Yeah."
She stepped inside, scanning the room. "Where are your picks?"
"You already lost yours?" he asked, sounding almost certain.
Cecilia scratched her head. "Well… I carry it everywhere. Something that small just disappears."
"You've lost three this month."
"…True."
Riccardo sighed in defeat. "Take one of mine. It's in my guitar case."
Cecilia lunged at him with a cheerful hug. "Thanks, brother!"
Riccardo gave a faint smile. "Glad you're happy, but… can you let go?"
She released him. A notification buzzed on Riccardo's phone, catching both their attention.
"Who's messaging me on a holiday?" he muttered, grabbing it.
Cecilia peeked at the screen and read: Genpaku Nishimura.
"He's your friend?"
Riccardo noticed her snooping. "Should that matter to you?" he replied dryly.
Nishimura was asking if he wanted to go out. Yasuda would be joining too.
"Going out… sure, why not."
[Tokyo — City Center]
Riccardo spotted his two teammates from a distance and walked over.
"Morning, guys!"
"Morning."
"Yo!"
"So? What's the plan today?" Riccardo asked, energized.
[At a shrine]
Nishimura and Yasuda each tossed a coin into the offering box and started praying with almost comically desperate expressions.
Standing a few steps behind, Riccardo stared at them, baffled.I left the house for… this?
When they finished, they bowed deeply, then looked up at the sky.
"Please… help us with the exams!" Nishimura pleaded.Yasuda nodded solemnly beside him.
They turned toward Riccardo.
"You're not praying?" Yasuda asked.
"No. I don't believe…" Riccardo replied.
Nishimura started walking off. "Let's go buy omamori."
Yasuda followed. "Yeah."
Riccardo lagged behind. "Oma… what?"
Nishimura and Yasuda paid for their omamori charms.
"You could get one too. As a good-luck charm," Yasuda suggested.
Riccardo stared at them, unconvinced. "Guys, I seriously think you need more than luck… maybe you should actually stu—"
"Let's grab fortune slips too!" Nishimura interrupted.
"Right! Let's go!"
Riccardo looked at them, bewildered. They're hopeless…
A moment later, both boys looked miserable, staring at their slips: Bad Luck.
"So even the gods agree with me," Riccardo said dryly.
He glanced at the stand. "Fine, I'll get one too. Just for fun."
"Careful…"
"If you get the same as us, even your convictions might start to crumble," Yasuda warned dramatically.
Riccardo returned holding a slip.Great Fortune.
"Well, that's pretty good."
The other two froze in shock.
"What god blessed you!?" Nishimura asked.
"No god…" Riccardo muttered.
He checked his phone. It was 11:58.
"It's noon. Want to grab lunch?"
[Fast-food restaurant]
The three sat down, setting their trays on the table as they began to eat.
"Guys, don't you think it's weird we only played one friendly match? The one against Maebashi Ikuei?" Yasuda asked.
"Yeah… I mean, I do think we've improved with training, but we never got to apply it in real games," Nishimura replied.
"It's too late to worry about it now. Our first qualifiers match is on Friday," Riccardo added.
"Right. And maybe Coach avoided scheduling more games because of exams. He probably didn't want to overload us," Nishimura suggested.
"Could be."
As Riccardo drank, he glanced out the window and spotted a familiar girl walking with a group of friends.
"Nishimura… isn't that our class rep?"
Nishimura looked too. "Yeah, that's her."
"Remind me of her name?"
"Yui Kagayama, she's a member of the basketball club."
"What's she doing here…?"
"Probably praying at the shrine too."
"Maybe."
Yasuda raised an eyebrow. "Why are you two so interested?"
"She came to the rooftop yesterday while we were eating. Basically threatened Riccardo because she thinks he's not studying," Nishimura explained.
Yasuda nodded. "Ah. So, the usual Riccardo-related stuff."
"Yeah… don't get me started," Riccardo sighed.
Seeing his exhausted expression, the two quickly switched topics.
"Anyway," Yasuda said, "I heard Maebashi Ikuei got matched against Hachioji High School."
"Whoa, that's basically an early final."
Riccardo perked up. "If you say that, it means their opponents are strong enough to stand up to them…"
"Yeah, but Hachioji hasn't reached the nationals in years because Maebashi always blocks their path," Yasuda explained.
"I bet Akagi doubled down on defense again this year," Nishimura added. "Big, smart defenders. Very organized."
"So, like one of those teams that parks the bus in front of the goal." Riccardo smirked.
"Pretty much. But when they counterattack, they're deadly."
"Yeah, they use the wings a lot. Fast, physical players. They flip the field in seconds."
Riccardo thought about it. "Interesting…"Then suddenly smiled, surprising the others. "Man, I can't wait for the matches to start. I really want to play."
His enthusiasm spread.
"Same here."
"Yeah. I can't wait."