The morning sun spilled across the Vorpal campus like honey—warm, bright, and annoyingly cheerful for a team of half-sore, half-starving basketball players.

Ethan Albarado stretched his arms above his head as the group exited the gym.

"Alright, guys. Coach said rest day. That means—"

"FREEDOM!"

Louie Davas screamed before Ethan could finish, already sprinting ahead like a golden retriever let off leash.

Lucas sighed, tugging at his hoodie. "You're gonna trip before we even leave the building."

"Not my fault the world can't handle this much energy!" Louie struck a pose mid-walk, nearly colliding with a trash can. Brandon silently caught the falling lid before it hit the floor, like the team's quiet guardian angel.

Ryan Taylor laughed, tossing an arm around Brandon's shoulder.

"See that? That's my man right there catching trash for the trashiest among us."

"Shut up, playboy." Brandon deadpanned. "You flirt with one more cafeteria cashier and I'm letting you fall next time."

"Hey, she smiled first!" Ryan defended, hands up in mock surrender. "It's called natural charisma!"

"Natural disaster, more like." Josh muttered from behind, adjusting his backpack.

Aiden nodded beside him, straight-faced. "Confirmed. The casualty count increases every lunch period."

Ayumi Brooke, walking with Ethan near the back, giggled softly. "You guys never change."

"That's what makes them dependable," Ethan replied, though the slight smile on his face betrayed his amusement. "Even chaos has a rhythm."

Louie spun dramatically. "Yo, Ethan! You sound like a monk again!"

He made a mock prayer pose. "Oh great coach of the Vorpal Temple, teach us how to score without touching rim!"

"You first need to touch your brain," Ethan fired back flatly.

"OOOOOOH!"

The whole team erupted as if Ethan had just dunked on him in real life.

Coonie Smith, ever the sassy one, wagged a finger. "Louie, honey, even the gods couldn't fix that kind of stupid."

Louie gasped in fake betrayal. "Coonie, how could you betray me like this?!"

Jeremy Park patted Louie's shoulder solemnly. "You'll get used to it. It's called character development."

Ten minutes later, the team was walking through the local park. Pigeons scattered, kids dribbled basketballs on the cracked pavement, and the smell of street food wafted through the air.

"Okay, focus up!" Ethan announced. "We're grabbing food, no chaos, no incidents—"

Ryan interrupted. "You're saying that because chaos always happens when you say that."

Lucas laughed. "He's right, bro. It's like you're tempting the universe."

"The universe can wait—" Ethan started…

and that's when a soccer ball flew out of nowhere, smacking him square on the side of the head.

The world paused.

Louie froze mid-step, eyes wide.

"...That ball just… assassinated our captain."

Ethan blinked once. Twice. Slowly turned toward the direction of impact.

A group of middle schoolers stood across the park, one of them trembling, hand raised.

"Uh… sorry, mister?"

Ayumi covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. "E-Ethan, don't—"

"I'm fine," Ethan said calmly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But—"

The soccer ball rolled to Louie's feet.

Louie grinned.

"I GOT THIS!"

He scooped the ball up, juggled it twice, then attempted to kick it back.

What followed was not physics.

The ball rocketed into a nearby fountain, splashing an old man who was peacefully feeding pigeons.

The entire park went silent.

The old man blinked, dripping water, breadcrumbs floating around him like tragic confetti.

Louie froze, pointing. "Oh no."

"...You idiot," Ryan said slowly, stepping back.

"Run," Aiden whispered.

"RUN!" Coonie shouted.

The next five minutes were chaos incarnate.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU WHIPPERSNAPPERS!"

The old man chased them with surprising agility, wielding his soaked newspaper like a divine weapon.

Lucas was wheezing from laughter as they sprinted down the street.

"Louie, what even—HAHAHA—was that aim?!"

"IT WAS A WIND ISSUE!" Louie screamed over his shoulder. "THE EARTH CURVED!"

Ryan tripped over a curb, Brandon caught him mid-fall like a reflex.

"Man, if you die like this, I'm not explaining that to Coach."

"Tell him I died heroically!" Ryan yelled back.

Josh was panting, looking back. "He's still chasing us! How old is he!?"

"Ancient evil doesn't age!" Coonie shouted dramatically.

Ayumi ran beside Ethan, trying not to laugh. "Y-You said no chaos!"

"I said try!" Ethan barked, but his own lips twitched upward.

Jeremy, holding onto his glasses, yelled, "This is NOT team-building!"

Kai Mendoza beamed as he ran. "Actually, it kind of is!"

They finally ducked behind a street corner, collapsing in a heap of laughter and exhaustion.

Louie peeked out from the wall, whispering, "Coast clear?"

"Yeah," Josh muttered, lying flat on the ground. "Old man went Super Saiyan for a second."

Ryan brushed dirt off his pants. "I think he unlocked Ultra Super Saiyan Grandpa ."

Ayumi bent over, giggling so hard she could barely breathe. "You guys… you guys are unbelievable."

Ethan leaned back against the wall, exhaling. "Remind me to never trust Louie with physics again."

Louie raised a hand proudly. "Noted! But on the bright side, no one's crying, right? Team morale, baby!"

Coonie flicked his forehead. "Team stupidity, more like."

Lucas smiled quietly beside Ethan. "...Feels good, huh?"

Ethan glanced at him. "What?"

"Being normal for once." Lucas said simply.

The wind carried the laughter of the team loud, chaotic, alive.

Ethan's expression softened.

"Yeah. It really does."

..

…

Burger Break

Later, they sat in a crowded diner.

Brandon was eating calmly, while Ryan tried to flirt with the waitress.

"Hey," Ryan said with a grin, "you look like you could use—"

Brandon threw a fry at him. "Focus on the burger."

Aiden and Josh argued about the best NBA players.

Coonie joined in just to say, "Jordan, final answer," purely to watch them explode.

Ayumi took photos from the side, smiling. "These are going in the scrapbook."

Louie posed mid-bite. "Make sure you get my good side!"

"You don't have one," Josh said instantly.

Everyone laughed.

As the sun began to set, the team walked home again, slower this time.

They were still joking, still bumping shoulders but something was different.

Calmer. Warmer.

Ethan walked ahead a little, hands in his pockets.

Ayumi caught up beside him.

"Big game soon." she said softly.

He nodded. "Yeah."

She tilted her head. "You ready?"

Ethan looked at his team, Lucas laughing with Ryan and Brandon, Louie trying to steal fries from Coonie, Kai and Jeremy filming a mini vlog.

And he smiled.

"I don't think we'll ever be ready enough," he said quietly.

"But we'll always show up."

Ayumi's voice softened. "That's what makes you a captain."

Ethan looked up at the darkening sky.

"Then I'll keep showing up. Until we're the ones everyone calls gods."

The team laughed all the way back to campus.

No systems. No powers. No destiny.

Just friends.

And for the first time since that impossible match…

Ethan realized something.

That no matter how hard they will face just laugh and enjoy the moment

Meanwhile on Miho side

The smell of fried chicken, rice bowls, and way-too-salty ramen filled the air.

The Eastgate Wildcats (Boston's golden boys) sat in the corner booth, a table that looked more like a war council than a lunch spot.

At the center of it all sat Miho Park, their captain cool, sharp-eyed, posture straight as if the cafeteria itself was watching him.

Beside him, Armi Hassuf balanced his tablet on a tray, watching game footage while eating a burrito like a surgeon conducting a delicate operation.

And Davis Conner? He was eating like a tank that hadn't been fueled in a week half the chicken gone before anyone could blink.

Then came their wildcard Jun Seo humming loudly, dipping fries into his orange juice.

A mistake.

A grave mistake.

Jun Seo: (sipping confidently) "Hmm… sweet and salty, not bad—"

Armi: (deadpan) "You are a culinary terrorist."

Davis: "You just ruined breakfast, lunch, and science."

Miho: (without looking up) "Don't. Swallow. That."

Jun blinked, froze mid-gulp and coughed the moment Miho said it.

The juice shot halfway across the table, splattering right on Armi's tablet screen.

Armi: (wiping it off slowly) "You… you know this tablet costs $800, right?"

Jun: (laughing nervously) "Yeah, but think of it this way—now it has… flavor data."

Davis: (deadpan) "You're lucky I'm too full to throw you out the window."

Miho finally sighed, setting down his chopsticks.

He hadn't laughed, but the corner of his mouth almost twitched a microscopic sign of life.

Miho: "You guys are hopeless."

Armi: "Correction: He's hopeless."

Jun: "You say that now, but when I drop 30 points, you'll call me Master Chef Jun."

Davis: "If you drop 30 points, I'll drink your orange juice fry combo myself."

Armi: "Record that. For science."

The table erupted into laughter loud enough that nearby students turned to stare.

For a moment, the "Tiger of Eastgate" didn't look like prodigies.

They were just teenagers messy, loud, and alive.

Then, as the laughter died down, Miho glanced at the clock on the wall.

His chopsticks tapped once on the table, and just like that, the mood shifted.

Miho: "We face Vorpal in three days."

The room went quiet.

Even Jun stopped chewing mid-bite.

Armi: "You think Ethan will use that 'system' thing again?"

Davis: "Of course he will. He's built different — like a player who reads the court like chess."

Jun: (grinning) "Then I'll just break the board."

Miho smirked slightly, folding his arms.

He looked out the cafeteria window, where the winter sunlight hit the snow-covered practice court outside.

Miho (thinking): (Ethan Albarado... you said last time was unfinished.)

Let's finish it properly this time.

Suddenly — SPLAT!

Jun, in his attempt to look cool, tried to flick his fry into his mouth.

It missed.

It hit Miho's cheek.

The entire table froze.

Armi slowly turned his head, eyes wide.

Davis stopped mid-sip, cup still tilted.

Jun froze, his arm halfway in the air.

Miho: (calmly wiping his face) "...Was that… intentional?"

Jun: "...Depends on your definition of 'intentional.'"

Armi: "You're dead."

Davis: "Rest in fries."

Miho stood up, slow and quiet, eyes narrowed but lips twitching dangerously close to a grin.

Then—

He flicked a fry back.

Perfect aim.

Right between Jun's eyes.

The whole table exploded.

Jun: "Captain's going rogue!"

Armi: "THIS IS A FOOD WAR!"

Davis: "NOT IN THE CAFETERIA AGAIN—"

Too late.

Fried chicken and napkins went flying.

Armi launched a spoonful of rice, Davis used his tray as a shield, and Miho — still calm — countered with a precision flick that would make Koby Bryant jealous.

Within seconds, the Wildcats were officially banned from cafeteria privileges by a shouting lunch lady who had seen too much.

To be continue

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