Box 0123 opens with a soliloquy by Tsubaki, who laments that he's not feeling well. He's worried about the team's defense and worries that the front line has been replaced with Tono and gabriel. He also worries about the back line, which has been cobbled together by the likes of Ishigaki and Sanjiro. He wonders if there's a hole in the rear line that they can poke through. He thinks that both teams are "streaky" and that the match will be decided by how well they start the game. He compares the number seven on his hat to a dog, and says that if the team loses, it will all be for naught. He then turns to Kyoko and asks her what's up with her weird pose. She says that the dog bites her a lot, but that she bites him only if he loses. She's cute and fluffy, he says, and he wishes that the team could win. He says that they need to play hard if they're going to win, and that if they lose, it's all because of the dog's bite.