"Today will be cloudy, with a high of 31 degrees and a low of 20. As the Koshien tournament is underway, citizens planning to attend are advised to bring cooling patches to prevent heatstroke."
The television was still on, its thoughtful reminder echoing through the empty dining room.
"Ah, I forgot to turn off the TV." A hand reached over and switched it off, the darkened screen reflecting a young face.
"Miyuki, get over here!"
"Yeah, coming." He adjusted his glasses in the mirror, then ran after his team.
"Today's a nice day." There had been thunderstorms yesterday, but they had only lasted a while. After evaporating overnight, the field conditions should be much better today.
"The second game in five days will be cloudy too, and the third game in eight days will have light rain. Doesn't that feel like some kind of omen?"
Facing an event as grand as Koshien for the first time in their lives, the boys had begun entertaining superstitious thoughts, no matter how grown-up they tried to act.
"Ah, it's true." Someone began flipping through the weather forecasts for the next two weeks. There had been especially much rain this August, yet every rare cloudy day seemed to have lined up with Seido's games. "Isn't heaven helping us?"
"Hey, we don't have much experience playing in rainy weather either."
The noisy chatter vanished the moment Seido's three giants appeared.
Kataoka Manager swept his gaze over the players. "Let's go!"
As they entered Koshien through the Players' Tunnel, everyone's eyes began wandering of their own accord. Was this really the home stadium of a professional team? It was certainly professional, with a distinctly fashionable feel everywhere. Walking through the interior corridors, the boys could not help thinking, *Is this the path professional players usually take?