Chapter Text
Pre-game
Kunigami's alarm blares on at 5:30 am—she must've set it earlier by accident. Through crusty eyes, she registers that it's Friday the 13th, and that it's a game day. She groans, and snoozes her alarm, falling back asleep instantly.
Three hours later she shoots out of bed, behind on schedule, and tripping over clothes she thought she'd put away the day before. When she turns on the shower, there's no hot water. She spills coffee on herself at breakfast. In an attempt to calm herself and get her day back on track, she sets up a guided meditation on her phone, only to find that her headphones have magically stopped working for no reason at all.
She grabs an umbrella on her way out, congratulating herself on for the basic action of looking outside at the overcast skies, since it seems to be one of those days where nothing is going to go her way and she'll need all the small wins she can take. Five minutes into her first class, she realizes she's in the wrong lecture hall, and as she runs through the corridors to the right room, the umbrella pops open. After she finagles the umbrella closed, she takes a look at the time on her phone: 9:37 am.
It's going to be a long day.
On top of her influx of bad luck, she can't remember who their opponents are supposed to be, and even though it's not playoff season yet, her body sure is acting like it is; throughout the morning, she constantly feels the pounding of her heart, the knots in her stomach never unravel, and the ants crawling under every inch of her skin don't cease.
A couple hours later, just as she's about to go through the doors of the BMU Arena, she sees a black cat peering menacingly at her; and she swears its eyes are of an unnatural pink.
Hoping to minimize the chance of any more unfortunate phenomena from happening, she speedwalks the hallways to the team's meeting room. As she enters and passes in front of the whiteboard, her eyes quickly gloss over photos of players from the opposing team, and she takes ten more steps before her brain finishes processing the subjects of the photos. Kunigami freezes, jolted into remembering the team they're playing today. She backpedals to the whiteboard, and stares at the photos.
So that's why she's having a bad day, she realizes, as her eyes zero in on the red-haired girl with mocking rose-coloured eyes and a cheeky grin that always infuriates her, even when only in two dimensions.
Number fucking 44 of Manshine College. She's not in full gear in the photo, but Kunigami's spent way too much time looking at the back of her hockey jersey while chasing her down—that unlucky number will forever be seared into Kunigami's memory.
Her university, BMU, is a powerhouse in collegiate women's hockey, known for their efficient and analytical playstyle that has consistently produced results since the women's program was founded. They're perennial contenders at the Frozen Four, with multiple championships under their belt, churning out players who go on to play for national teams and/or the budding professional league that's been gaining traction recently.
Kunigami is a pillar within the team; she's an intimidating player, with her muscular physique and height that enable her to maintain possession of the puck and provide power behind her shots. But she's also built a reputation of being one of the most sportsmanlike players, rarely taking penalties and using her physicality only when necessary. It's through her diligence on and off the ice that brought her to the captaincy this year, the role model for BMU's gameplay and values.
And normally, a team like Manshine would be straightforward work for Kunigami and BMU. They would need to work for it a little; Manshine isn't lacking in talent, and their focus relies on utilizing the physical attributes of their players to the fullest, resulting in an highly offensive style. But they have a tendency to overperform, favoring elaborate plays that lead to beautiful goals, no doubt influenced by their Head Coach, Chris Prince (an avid social media user constantly posting Manshine's games to gain corporate sponsorships). That weakness isn't too difficult to exploit; they're the kind of team that's easy to read, yet challenging enough to hone their plays and fine-tune their skills on. And while their different philosophies make for an entertaining rivalry, BMU would ultimately get the job done.
In the past couple of years however, Manshine's acquired three forwards that now make up their top line offence; and for the first time in a long while, BMU has to fight for the number one position in their conference, their automatic berth to the Frozen Four in jeopardy.
And it's all Kunigami's fault. Because the Kunigami against Manshine isn't the Kunigami against everyone else. Against Manshine, she's not one of the skilled and disciplined top-scorers of BMU. Instead, she's absolute shit.
When you get down to it, she's shit because all morals and skating ability seem to fly out the window whenever Number 44 of Manshine College takes to the ice.
Hyoma Chigiri. The Red Panther. Speedster. Ice Princess. Harbinger of misfortune. Bane of her existence.
Her fingers twitch with the urge to rip the redhead's photo up.
She's vaguely aware of her teammates talking around her, but she doesn't pay them any attention, her mind too busy strategizing on how she's going to shut down the annoying pest later this evening.
"I've called her name like, five times."
"Shit, I think we've lost her to Princess."
"What, already? It's way too early—our game isn't for another couple of hours."
"I asked Coach not to put photos up, but nooo, did she listen? Now we're all going to pay for it."
"Kunigami? Hello?"
"Girl, snap out of it! Kunigami!"
"Kunigami," Head Coach Noelle Noa says firmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The meeting's about to start. Sit down."
Amidst her teammates' snickers, she takes a seat beside Yoichi Isagi, one of her closest friends and fellow linemate.
"Nice to see you awake," Isagi says. "Daydreaming about your future wife?"
Kunigami shoves her shoulder lightly. "God no. I'm thinking strategy."
"Hmmm. Debatable."
Coach Noa calls their attention to the whiteboard and starts going through the game plan for today; the line combinations they're playing, the weaknesses they need to work on since their last game, Manshine's projected lineup and the key points they need to remember in order to win.
Towards the end of the meeting, she announces the starting line: "Kunigami centre, Kaiser on right wing, Isagi on left. Kurona on left side defence, Ness on right. Gagamaru, you're starting in goal today; you haven't played much against them this season, and I'd like to see how you'll hold up before the conference tournament. Understood? Now, any last comments or questions before we break?" Coach Noa says.
Kunigami hopes no one brings up the main point that'll be the deciding factor of the game.
That lasts about five seconds, until Jingo Raichi pipes up.
"The plan's all well and good," she says, glaring at Kunigami, "but I think we're all wondering why Kunigami is even starting today? Can she go at least one period against Manshine without fucking it up for the team?"
Kunigami winces. For someone who's otherwise known for their impeccable game conduct, no one would be able to say that after watching Kunigami with Manshine. Last time the teams met, Kunigami missed a hit on Chigiri and then took it out on Seishiro Nagi—the right winger on Chigiri's line—with an uncontrolled check into the boards that landed her a 5-minute major and an almost-fight with Reo Mikage, the centre of their unholy triad.
They had been tied, and it was Chigiri who took advantage of the power play. She'd also made sure to skate by the penalty box while celebrating the goal, mouthing a condescending "thank you" to Kunigami as she passed. Needless to say, they lost that game.
"Language, Raichi." Noa turns her cold eyes to Kunigami. "Would you like to defend yourself? Help justify my decision?"
Raichi's not wrong; Kunigami's shown herself to be a veritable wildcard in Manshine's presence. If her hit on Nagi was any stronger, she might've even been looking at a one-game suspension on top of her major penalty. Honestly, she wonders why Coach is starting her as well.
But she lives for every second she gets to play hockey, and the BMU players are constantly battling to prove themselves to Noa and earn their ice time. Noa doesn't make decisions without careful consideration and analysis, driven mostly by data and objective assessments, and rarely taking emotions and feeling into account. So if she's starting Kunigami, she has a good reason, and that she's past what happened last time. Kunigami just needs to own up to it and back it up with her performance.
"Erm, I know I'm not my best with them," she begins tentatively.
"Tell us something we don't know," Raichi grumbles.
Her temper flares. "But at least I score goals," she snaps back.
Most of the team erupts into jeers and callouts, briefly turning into teenage boys.
"And besides," Kunigami continues loudly over the din, "find someone better than me at managing these two clowns." She points at Michaela Kaiser and Isagi, shooting Isagi an apologetic look for using her as a distraction. It works though, as the in-team rivalry between her linemates has been longer and more dramatic than Kunigami's ineptitude with one specific team; the hollering and teasing are now directed at the two wingers, who've somehow gravitated closer to each other and look ready to either throw down, or—
"Kiss, kiss!" freshman Ranze Kurona cries out.
"Yoichi would be so lucky," Kaiser says, reaching out and tapping her hand under Isagi's chin. "But being her first kiss, it would ruin her for everyone else."
Isagi slaps her hand away. "I've kissed before," she says, rattled. "…And who'd want to kiss you?" she asks, a beat too late. A few seats down, Alexis Ness clears her throat, looking a bit too eager to answer the question.
"Who wouldn't want to kiss me? But today I have my eyes on Mrs. Kunigami, so you better impress me Yoichi, or I might stray." Isagi clenches her fists and crouches, getting ready to lunge at Kaiser.
"…How do you know my mom?" Kunigami says, holding Isagi back while the rest of the team howls with laughter.
"Seriously? And I'm the clown here?" Kaiser scoffs at the pair.
"That's enough," Noa warns in a voice that brings them back in line. "Any further grievances you have with each other, settle it on the ice. Puck drop is at 6:00, warm-ups are at 5:30, be here no later than 5:00. Dismissed."
Chairs scrape and conversations are picked up again as the girls stand up and start exiting the meeting room; Kaiser puckers her lips at Isagi—who snarls in response—before being pushed out by Ness. As she takes her leave, Coach Noa sends a look to Kunigami that conveys the message, 'Get it together—don't make me regret starting you,' to which Kunigami nods in understanding.
"Thanks for throwing me under the bus, by the way," Isagi spits out at her when they exit the arena.
"Sorry! It's just been such a shitty day already, and I just needed people off my case."
"Ugh, I hate her so much. Fucking Michaela, 'Yoichi'-ing me everywhere," Isagi says, absentmindedly rubbing her chin.
"I still don't get why you two can't find a way to work together. The two of you are actually so similar; like you're both water but then act like the other one is oil."
"That's a terrible analogy."
"You know what I mean."
"All I know is that she's a manipulative, psychopathic bitch who needs therapy," Isagi says, particularly spitty this time.
Kunigami side-eyes her, and doesn't say anything. Her normally shy and soft-spoken friend is such a completely different person when it comes to hockey, or Kaiser, that she often thinks whether Isagi could benefit from just a session or two herself. She's too chicken to ever bring it up though, not wanting Isagi's wrath directed at her.
Isagi continues, "I swear the next time she touches me, I'm going to punch her in the mouth."
A corner of Kunigami's mouth turns up. "You sure that's all you want to do with her mouth?"
"Ew, please stop listening to Hiori's delusional theories. I hate Kaiser."
"Mmmm. Debatable."
"Get off your high horse. The day I like Kaiser is the day you ask Hyoma Chigiri out on a date."
Kunigami makes a face. "That's not—she's not even—what? No."
"Exactly. A cold day in hell for us all."
They continue walking together, with Isagi forcing Kunigami to brainstorm with her on different ways to destroy Kaiser, as payment for the earlier betrayal. Kunigami gives begrudging suggestions, and adds reminders that they're all on the same team, which Isagi blatantly ignores.
"Oh this is me," Isagi says as they reach a major intersection. "Watch out for the—"
It's too late; Kunigami's already has her foot on a large crack in the pavement. At least it's consistent, Kunigami thinks tiredly; hopefully all her bad luck will have run its course by the start of the game. But most likely not.
"Since when are you this superstitious?" Kunigami asks.
"Well, it's you…and it's Manshine, so…" she trails off.
"So even the brainy and rational Yoichi Isagi thinks we can't win today without divine intervention."
"I'm merely trying to create conditions in the environment that are conducive to victory."
"Yeah okay, Professor Ego," Kunigami says, referencing their Sports Psychology prof. "You should leave before my luck causes a pigeon to shit on you."
Isagi laughs, but looks a little too relieved to hurry away.
After she leaves, Kunigami stays in place, looking around to get her bearings.
"Damn it," she says under her breath. She'd been going in the wrong direction this whole time.
She turns around and starts jogging, looking out for more cracks on the sidewalk, and dreading even more what the rest of the day has in store for her.