A new year had begun. January 1st—New Year's Day.
"Alright, let's go to Aoba Shrine for our first shrine visit of the year!"
Kaedehara Taiodded in respoo Kindaichi Yūtarō's call. Though Kindaichi said "like every year," this was actually Taichi's first time participating in such a tradition.
"You guys e here together every year?" Taichi asked curiously.
"Yeah! Our houses are close to each other, so we've been doing this since elementary school," Kindaichi replied with his usual enthusiasm.
Judging by Kunimi Akira's expression, though, he had probably been dragged along against his will.
Standing at the entrance of the shopping street were the three first-years of Aoba Johsai. Invited by Kindaichi, Taichi had even skipped his usual m run on the first day of the year to meet up with them here.
"I thought you'd be going with Chiba to the shrine," Kunimi remarked casually.
"Huh?" Taichi blinked. "What makes you think that?"
Kindaichi looked just as fused—weren't the three of them always together at practice?
"You two talk a lot, don't you? And wasn't Chiba's decision to bee the team manager partly because of you?" Kunimi's voice was as indifferent as ever, but his observations were sharp.
"Oh, that? I usually just ask her about match stats." Taichi waved it off. "As for why she joined, I asked once, but she old me."
"Then why didn't you ask Wonda-senpai when he was the manager?" Kunimi smirked knowingly.
"Probably because I was still weak back then."
Kunimi let out a short hiss through his teeth—this guy was impossible to trap in a versation.
Kindaichi, meanwhile, remained pletely lost—weren't they just talking about volleyball?
As the three walked toward Aoba Shrihe crowds thied, and the streets grew livelier.
On the first m of the year, it seemed like the entire neighbourhood had gathered here to pray food fortune in the year ahead.
Taichi and the others wove their way through the bustling crowd, immersed in the festival atmosphere uo New Year's.
"Now that I think about it…why am I spending my first shrine visit of the year with two guys I train with every day?"
Lining the street were vendors selling all sorts of traditional snacks and souvenirs. Sellers called out eically, their voices blending into the festive background noise.
Women in vibrant kimonos gracefully stepped onto the pavement, their smiles as warm as the winter sun.
Despite it being a holiday, every shop en, and the air was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of food—sweet sake, coffee, and steaming dango. The st was tempting enough to make aop for a bite. People strolled along, snacks in hand, their faces brimming with te and joy.
By the time the three finally reached the shri the mountaintop, a refreshing gust of air greeted them, sweeping away their fatigue. The vast, ope the summit was breathtaking—the ey sprawled beh them.
Up here, the noise of the crowd felt distant and muted, repced only by the occasional chirping of birds and the gentle rustling of the wind through the trees.
Aoba Shriood solemn and sere the peak. The three of them stopped, inhaling deeply, sav the rare moment of peace.
Following Kindaichi and Kunimi's lead, Taichi stepped forward to offer his prayers at the nameless shrine.
"So, what did you guys wish for? I prayed for our matches to go smoothly!" Kindaichi grinned.
"Aren't you supposed to thank the gods instead of asking for things?" Kunimi suddenly interjected.
"Huh?! What?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" Kindaichi's mouth hung open in disbelief.
"I do say it every year," Kunimi sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Wait, seriously?" Kindaichi defted. "Then…Taichi, what did you wish for?"
"Oh, I just hoped that the little dog he school gate stays healthy," Taichi answered nontly.
Kindaichi: "???"
Kunimi: "???"
"Yeah, tely, I think its bark has a nice rhythm to it," Taichi added offhandedly.
"And besides—there's no god on the court. The only ones who trol the game are us."
As Taichi exhaled into the crisp air, standing in front of them with unwavering fidence, Kunimi couldn't help but chuckle.
Maybe it's because he's always like this…that even I ended up ging, too.
"Since we're here, let's draw our fortunes," Kunimi suggested.
"Oh, good idea!" Taichi followed alohusiastically.
-----
[A few mier…]
"Pfft, it's exactly because you said something like that that you ended up drawing a 'bad fortune'!" Kunimi Akira couldn't help but chuckle.
Kaedehara Taichi clicked his tongue, crumpling the fortune slip carelessly before tossing it into a nearby trash bin. "What about you guys? What did you get?"
Kunimi lightly shook his slip—"Good fortune."
Meanwhile, Kindaichi Yūtarō proudly dispyed his with a triumphant grin—"Great fortune."
Taichi: "…"
"Hahaha! There really are people who still mao pull 'great misfortune'!"
A familiar burst of ughter came from not far away.
"Ah, it's Oikawa-senpai!" Kindaichi was the first to notice.
Oikawa Tōru, Iwaizumi Hajime, Hanamaki Takahiro, and Matsukawa Issei—the third-year quartet of Aoba Johsai's volleyball team—were here as well.
"Yo, it's you guys!" Hanamaki greeted them as they approached.
"You're drawing fortuoo? You wouldn't believe it—Oikawa actually pulled a 'great misfortune'! Hahaha!"
"Enough, Hanamaki!" Oikawa luo snatch the slip from his hands, but Hanamaki dodged skillfully, slipping just out of reach.
"Truly impressive, Oikawa-senpai," Taichi ented in a deliberately light tone. "Even in a pce like this, you don't fall behind."
"What about you guys?" Kindaichi, pletely unbothered while holding onto his great fortuurhe tables on the uppercssmen.
Iwaizumi—"Minor fortune."Hanamaki—"Good fortune."Matsukawa—"Good fortune."
Perfeow there were two people to ugh at.
"I feel like this might be ected to our lu matches," Kindaichi mused aloud after a moment of serious thought. "Could it be that Oikawa-senpai and Taichi pulled bad fortunes because they're the ones who trash-talk and provoke oppos the most?"
"Kindaichi!" Oikawa turo him with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "So this is what you think of me, huh?"
Even Iwaizumi was smiling too kindly. "Kindaichi, are you saying my sportsmanship is worse than yours?"
Hanamaki and Matsukawa had already joined in, closing in on the unfortunate sed year.
Taichi shook his head. This blockhead Kindaichi—just because he pulled great fortune, he went and offended everyone.
The group of Aoba Johsai pyers ughed and teased each other as they made their way back to the shopping district.
By sheer ce, they ran into another familiar group—Aoba Johsai's sed-year trio.
Watari Shinji, Yahaba Shigeru, and Kyōtaarō, who—as always—had a piece of fried chi in hand.
"Didn't expect you guys to be this chummy already!" Oikawa remarked in surprise.
Seeing Oikawa and the rest of the third-years gathered together, Yahaba and the others hesitated for a moment, almost w if they, the sed-years, had bee out.
However, Yahaba quickly recovered, excitement lighting up his expression as he pointed dowreet.
"Senpai, take a look at the shopping district!"
On the first day of the new year, most of the stores in the ercial area had put up fresh decorations.
A massive baretched across the street between two shops, the bold text deg:
"GRATULATIONS! AOBA JOHSAI BOYS' VOLLEYBALL TEAM ADVAO THE NATIONAL SPRING HIGH TOUR!!!"
As the volleyball team members stepped further into the shopping district, they were met with even more surprises.
"Spike Score Ramen!"
"Service Ace Gyoza!"
"Fwless Reception Fried Rice!"
All along the street, various eateries had reheir dishes with volleyball-themed titles.
The pyers exged gnces, and at that moment, they were reminded of all the support they'd received—family, friends, neighbours.
The uping tour was no longer just about the team or the school.
Carrying the expectations and encement of those around them—Spring High was about to begin.
"Aoba Johsai—We have to win!"
_________
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