33 Inter-High Summer Cup Tournament

Today, marks the day of the opening of the Inter-High Summer Cup Tournament, and excitement was prickling in the air around Nara Central Stadium.

From the pep rally earlier was wrapped up by the athletic clubs of the volleyball teams from different schools in the prefecture. During Maki's speech, lots of people from the crown eyed not just him, but all of the players from Shiroshikata Gakuen's volleyball team as well – for they are one of the championship favorites for this tournament, after their performance from last Spring.

"Please welcome to the stage our representatives in the last Spring Tournament, the Silver Stags of Shiroshikata Gakuen, lead by their captain, wing spiker, Sukiyata Maki!" The host for the opening ceremony chanted.

The team made their way in the raised platform, and Maki skimmed through the index card he's carrying for his pep rally speech. During the previous Inter-High, it wasn't their team who made it to the Nationals since they were defeated in the Finals by their closest nemesis in Nara, which is Takano High School – the other favorite to win this tournament.

"…..the Stags of Nara will once again reign supreme over the prefecture, and deliver a performance worth celebrating in the Nationals, and bring pride to Shiroshikata Gakuen. We'll make Nara great again. Once more, thank you everyone for listening, and we hope to see you all in the games. We are grateful for all your support. Shiroshikata…."

"FIGHT!" Everyone in the team background responded as Maki finished his speech.

Right after the speech of Maki, the next team to come up was Takano, since the rally was organized in alphabetical order. Takano High School is currently lead by their captain and ace, Mibuchi Reo.

[Heh – Mibuchi Reo is a character from Kuroko no Basket, one of the Uncrowned Kings. I can't think of a made-up name so meh, whatever. As for the etymology of the school name, the "taka" from Takano High School literally means "hawks". I just wanted to give them a bird of prey motif, so meh again]

"…..and the Hawks will soar higher this year, never to be defeated, and always on top. We'll reclaim what's ours, and tear through all our opponents along the way. We'll raise the banner of Takano high back up, never to be down ever again. Thank you very much for coming, HAWKS….!"

"YEAHHH!!" The rest of Mibuchi's teammates responded to his prompt.

Takano is actually the biggest powerhouse in Nara, until they were defeated in the Spring Cup qualifiers last year by Shiroshikata – like a revenge of some sort for their victory against them in the Inter-High Qualifiers. That win ended the 7-year drought of Shiroshikata in the Nationals Stage, and ended the undefeated run of Takano as the prefectural representatives.

Soon enough, when the rallies were settled, the teams rested before the afternoon activities. For Shiroshikata, they can actually return to school after the opening ceremonies. They have no concerns whatsoever in the afternoon because they aren't participating in the first round since their team is seeded.

Similarly, Takano is also the 2nd seed, so their team is also exempted in the first round. These two rival teams are on different brackets, so there is a big possibility that the final face-off will be a game between them. Funny enough, they seem to have the same wavelengths because all of their members and coaching staff remained in the venue to watch the games in the first round. The winners of the game will be their next opponents in the second round.

"Will you look at that? We have the Stags with us here! How's that taste of the Nationals? Looking weakass with those shorties, aren't ya?" Takano's third year middle blocker, Nebuya Eikichi said as he passed by the aisle in the upper box of the stadium, where they were planning to sit for a better courtwide view of the games below.

[Nebuya Eikichi is also another character from KNB, another uncrowned king. Yes, I'm lazy in making up names this time.]

Gai heard the remark and immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to retaliate, but Maki held him down without really looking at him. Instead, the captain returned the look at Nebuya, and said, "Says the meathead who sucks at blocking."

Gai, Kouen, Kouha, Hiro and the rest of Shiroshikata members can't believe what their captain just uttered. Maki, of all people, is a calm person who rarely talks back trash to anyone. So his words just now completely surprised the team. Even Nebuya was silenced by that statement, and the canned soda he was holding exploded from his tight grip. Apparently, he wasn't expecting the savage insult from Maki.

"Hai, hai, take a seat now, big man. Nevermind the bullies." Mibuchi stepped in to pat Nebuya's shoulder, who was beginning to look mad from Maki's sharp tongue. "Get a hold of yerself, yeah?"

He was successfully able to tone down Nebuya's anger, and the rest of Takano settled themselves in their seat to watch the games unfold.

Meanwhile, in Shiroshikata's side, Gai was snickering along with Kouha, and they praised Maki for his 'snap'.

"Lol Maki, never thought ye had it in ya." Kouha said, holding his laughter.

"If only Maki could be more like this, I'd die in peace." Gai followed suit.

But Maki remained silent, lately realizing what he just did. He had no regrets though, for snapping like that every once in a while actually made him feel good. Now, he thought of another thing to do to make their team earn the respect they deserve from others. "To make them shut up, we just gotta win."

His serious tone killed the gags that was brewing up with the rest of the team members. Their expression shifted along with the atmosphere of the sitting area. Maki continued, "I know it's not easy. And winning isn't always a guarantee. So we exert more effort into our practices and games. Let's defeat more along the way, and make winning our habit. Excellence becomes tradition. The further we go, the easier it gets, I think. And I guess that's the fun in winning."

Kouha, the team's vice-captain, said another thing. "The Stags sure are Wild and Free."

"Yeah, Wild and Free."

Wild and Free. The two are actually talking about the slogan printed in black along the grey cloth of their banner. For the next few days, the banner will be seen once more in its full glory when their games will begin.

As Hiro recalled the image of the banner, another memory was triggered from his mind. The ball that he wasn't able to block in their game against Itachiyama last Spring Cup. When the ball bounced after that spike, the ball hit the banner, as if mocking the message it contains.

He wonders about the meaning behind 'Wild and Free' as he fixed his gaze on the ongoing game below. But it seems that Gai was voicing out his interpretation.

"We just go out there and wreak havoc and court, being the relentless stags that we are. That's our style of play. A hybrid of sorts, unrestricted by our own limitations, since we play to surpass it all the same. Wild and free!"