5

Yoshikami stared at the piece of paper in her hand. She dropped it back on her desk, stared at it, and picked it up again. She dropped it again, covered her face with her hands, peeked through her fingers, picked up the paper again, and dropped it back on the desk again. This kept on going on for 10 minutes.

Ushijima looked up from his notebook, getting annoyed at the scrape of paper constantly sounding from behind him. He faced the small girl. "If you're going to keep doing that, I'll tear that to pieces."

Yoshikami groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I don't know, Ushijima-san. Should I?" Ignoring what he said, she peeked at him through her fingers.

Ushijima leaned over and grabbed the paper. Yoshikami leaned over her desk, her head over her arms, watching Ushijima's every move. He looked over at Yoshikami, then turned the paper over. His eyes widened slightly. It was a volleyball form. For the girls' volleyball team. He looked over her critically, from head to toe.

Yoshikami sighed at the action, sinking her face into her arms. "I shouldn't, huh?"

"Shouldn't what, Hoshi?" Ohira asked. He had just returned from his bathroom break. He saw the paper in Ushijima's hands and peered at it while leaning against Ushijima's desk. He looked at Yoshikami after reading it. "You want to join the girls' volleyball club? Isn't it the final day of try outs today?"

Yoshikami looked up from her arms, eyes wide with hope. "Well, yeah…" She pouted. "…it's not like I can get in, but…" She looked over at Ushijima. There was a pleading glint exuding from her features. "…I just want to try."

Ushijima looked at the paper again, then sighed. "Honestly, Yoshikami-san, I don't think you are fit for the sport."

Ohira glared at Ushijima. "At least sugarcoat it a bit, Ushijima-san."

Ushijima continued, unperturbed. "I'm just stating the truth." He returned the paper to Yoshikami's desk. "Even her height alone disqualifies her to play the sport." He turned away and returned to his notes.

Yoshikami's eyes shadowed over and her face sunk back into her arms. Ohira sends a glare at Ushijima, but the teen ignores it or didn't even notice it. The dark-skinned teen then turned to the short girl who remained silent. He sat down, facing Yoshikami, and patted her head.

"Ignore what Ushijima-san said. It may be true, but if you truly love the sport, you should try it out." He moved the paper closer to Yoshikami's arms. Sensing that she would not reply, he sighed and turned back to his own desk.

Yoshikami looked up from her arms. Pink tinged the lines of her eyes. She rubbed her eyes hoping it wasn't clear that she was about to cry. She looked down at the paper before her. It taunted and mocked her for all that she was. She stopped herself from screaming. The short girl hated Ushijima for what he said. Good for him, he has everything she wanted! He had the height, talent, and skills. And him sitting before her mocked her very existence.

She gritted her teeth, eyes blazing with a flame of determination. She glared at Ushijima and decided then and there. She was going to prove him wrong. She picked up a pen and jotted down her name, year, and position.

Yoshikami Hoshi, 1st Year, Wing Spiker/Middle Blocker.

The same position as he was. She flared her nose and stood up, folding the paper into half.

Ohira watched as the short girl stomped her way out of the classroom. Ushijima simply looked at her blankly.

Ushijima didn't understand why she would be interested in volleyball in the first place. Did she not realize that her height was half the size of his? She was mocking the very essence of volleyball and it irritated him to point of anger. He shook his head from his thoughts and read over his notes to see if anything was missing.

The day passed by in a blur. And finally, it was afternoon, exactly 3:00, time for the final day of try outs.

The captain, a third year named Kagami Rin, stood at the front of the aspiring female volleyball players of Shiratorizawa Academy. She held a clipboard in her hands, tapping it with her pen impatiently. After a few more minutes, she faced the girl holding the gymnasium door open.

"Izumimoto-san, close the door. We're going to start." The 2nd year libero nodded, closing the door shut and locking it.

The captain looked at the 1st years and 2nd years. Most were confident, pride oozing out in large amounts. Others were hopeful, wishing to just join the team. And there were some who did not care, trusting in their own abilities.

She cleared her throat. "Well then, introductions will be done after we know who got in. I am simply Captain to you right now. Yesterday, the first day of try outs, we had a total of thirty first years and second years combined, only five got in. Four of which are 1st years and one 2nd year. Today is no different."

She took a breath. "Before me, there are fifteen of you. We will only look for the best of the best. I don't care if you have the height; if you don't have the talent, you're off the list. I hope none of you are here to waste any of our time." She glared at the players before her, landing on a short, white-haired player. She narrowed her eyes, but remained quiet.

"Warm ups are in order first. Do your own stretches then ten laps around the gym. You have ten minutes." The captain blew her whistle and everyone began doing as what they were told.

After ten minutes, all the players returned to the center court. Kagami pursed her lips. "Next, we're going to judge you base on your agility to receive the ball. Our vice-captain and wing spiker over here…" She motioned over to the 3rd year and 2nd year standing at the side. They waved at the players. "…will be taking care of you. Make one line, then after receiving return back to the line. Go!" She whistled again, and everyone ran towards the edge of the court.

Yoshikami was at the 3rd to the last. She bit her lip as she slowly moved to the edge of the court. Her nerves were at its peak and it didn't help that she could hear the players curse when they miss the ball.

"Look, its Hoshi!" Tendou yelled, pointing over at the short girl. He was wearing his gym clothes. With him were Ohira and Semi.

Semi grumbled. "We're just staying for ten minutes, Tendou. Coach will kill us if we miss practice."

Ohira wondered why they were even crouching behind a bush, peering through the window like a bunch of creeps. Though the window was small, it managed to let the three guys look into the gym.

Yoshikami felt a chill down her spine. She hoped she didn't catch a cold. Though why did she feel as if there were people watching her… Maybe God was showering His blessings on her.

She gulped, once the person before ran after the ball that was spiked far left of her. She noticed there was a pattern in the spikes. Like a zigzag motion- first the far left, then behind the far left, then the middle court, behind the middle court, and so on so forth. It was where the six players of the court were situated.

"Fuck!" The girl cursed slipping over and missing the last ball.

Yoshikami didn't have time to pity the girl. It was her turn already. She sprinted to the far left, knees down and wide, and returned the ball to the spiker. The vice-captain furrowed her brows and spiked the ball again, down the far left. Yoshikami was already ahead, backtracking and returning the ball perfectly to where the setter would be.

The short girl panted after the last ball. Her thighs were tired, not used to the strenuous efforts she did to receive the ball. She practiced volleyball in courts, but was never really able to play in a team before.

The short girl ran to the back of the line. She failed to notice the glares and curious stares sent towards her.

Semi was honestly shocked. He nudged Ohira. "Was she this good?"

Ohira was also shocked and shook his head. "This is the first time I saw her."

Tendou scoffed. "You should have seen her play last week." The two blinked at the red head. He looked at them with a 'what' expression.

Semi narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

Tendou shrugged. "Coach stopped us from practicing last weekend so I stopped by one of the available courts nearby my place. Hoshi was there practicing her serves and receives with middle school students."

Ohira nodded his head in understanding. "She'd fit in quite nicely there."

Tendou snapped his fingers. "I know right?"

Semi rolled his eyes and returned to peering through the glass.

Yoshikami held her hips, refraining herself from slouching. It was a bad thing to do since she wouldn't be able to breath properly. Her head was held high as she breathed deeply.

The captain looked down at her clipboard then towards the tired players. ��Next is serves. First 5 take a ball and serve. You have five chances. Go." She whistled again and the players immediately lined up.

Luckily, Yoshikami was in the first five. So, she was able to rest after doing the five serves. She accepted the ball and walked backwards away from the line. She breathed and positioned herself for a serve.

She didn't seem to notice that the other four with her were all staring at one another critically, watching who would make the first move.

The captain got annoyed at this and was about to blow the whistle when the short girl threw the ball in the air and did a full run up. Yoshikami stopped, two steps before the white line, and jumped spiking the ball with full force. A loud bam echoed throughout the gymnasium.

Once she landed, there was a still silence in the court. Only the bounce of the volleyball she had spiked echoed once before being still on the floor.

"Four of you should be embarrassed!" The captain barked at the shocked players. Yoshikami jumped at the shout and stared at the captain wide-eyed. "You are almost twice her size and are hesitating to serve!" The players recovered from their shock and began their serves.

Yoshikami's first serve disturbed them from doing their best. Four of the players either missed the court or didn't reach the net.

The short girl sighed in relief that all her serves got in and she leaned against the wall, taking a breather.

Tendou's eyes sparkled. "Her serves are awesome!" Semi hesitated to nod in agreement. It was true it was amazing- coming from the short girl and all, but was it enough? He looked at Yoshikami who was watching the other girls serve in awe. She has the greatest disadvantage in the sport; she has to have the skill and talent to cope with that disadvantage. Most importantly…

"Can she jump though?" Ohira voiced out Semi's thoughts. Both looked over at Tendou who whistled away.

"Well…" He scratched his head. "…I'm not too sure. I only saw her receives and serves when she played at the back line. Never really saw her play up front." He scrunched his nose. "I think she has a decent jump, I guess?"

Semi karate chopped him on the head. "Don't answer if you don't know, idiot." He stretched his sore muscles. "We should go now. Practice is about to start soon." They must have stayed well over ten minutes already since his legs were going numb from crouching.

Ohira nodded. "Yea, we should." Tendou grabbed both their arms.

"Wait, we're getting to the best part!" He looked at them mischievously. "Do you not want to know if she can jump?" Semi and Ohira looked at each other.

"Okay, but after we see her jump, we leave. Coach is going to kill us." Semi groaned. The three shivered at the thought of going through hellish 100 serves, receives, and laps, which should be done in the span of an hour.

"Okay, next, we're doing sets. Those who are trying out for setters please come forward." The captain announced and from the 15 girls, 3 stepped forward. "Okay, split into three groups and I will see if you are good enough for the team. After that, you may leave and we will give you the results tomorrow."

Yoshikami, feeling a bit insecure for her short height, went with a nice-looking group, away from tall scary ones with big melons. She stood behind the tallest first year, almost as tall as Semi. Yoshikami looked at her chest and sighed in relief that it was flat.

Her nerves were acting up again so she wrote person on the palm of her hand. Though she looked quite distressed doing so.

A few minutes passed and finally it was her turn. Tendou pressed his face on the glass, feeling on edge and excited. The others were only curious of what would happen. When the setter took a ball from the basket, a voice from behind made the three guys jump. Tendou and Semi squealed while Ohira gasped.

"There you are." They turned and saw Ushijima peering over them above the bush. The three sighed in relief. Tendou grabbed Ushijima by his arm and pulled him into the bush to join them.

The red head exclaimed. "Are you here to watch Hoshi try out as well?"

Ushijima's eyes widened hearing this. "She tried out?"

Ohira nodded, though his eyes stayed glue to the window. "Yea, she did really good by the way. Better than those twice her size." He emphasized what Ushijima said earlier.

"It doesn't change the fact that her height is a disadvantage."

Tendou rolled his eyes and grabbed Ushijima by the ear. "Just watch!"

Yoshikami did the run up and positioned herself with her arms straight behind her back then jumped, causing the others to gasp in shock when she spikes the ball above the net with a loud bam like the others. She landed back on the ground with a soft thud and smiled gratefully at the setter. "That was a great toss." The compliment made the 1st year blush and she complimented her as well.

"That was a great spike." Yoshikami blushed and immediately scurried away.

The captain eyed her throughout. Her pen tapped on the clipboard thoughtfully. She shook her head and returned to watching the other players.

The four boys gaped, well in Ushijima's case he simply stared wide-eyed, at what had just happened. Tendou began shaking Ushijima.

"Did you see that?! Her jump was high! It was high!" Tendou exclaimed rather dramatically. And a bit too loudly. Semi and Ohira pushed him down, covering his mouth.

"Ssh, you idiot!" Both said simultaneously through gritted teeth.

Ushijima's eyes never left Yoshikami's form. She was sitting on the ground drinking water from a bottle. He closed his eyes then shook his head.

While he was doing this, the three were wrestling on one another. Semi's right hand was over Tendou's head and his left hand was pushing against Ohira's chest. Tendou's left foot was pressed against Semi���s stomach and both his hands were struggling to push off Semi's right hand. Then Ohira was pulling Tendou's hands while his right leg was shoving off Semi's hand.

After a while, he stood up. "The coach told me to look for you. He said that he'll give you a hundred laps if you guys weren't there in five minutes." Without even sputtering an argument, the three got up and sprinted away to the boy's club, leaving a dust cloud behind them.

Ushijima briefly looked back at the small window, eyes still on Yoshikami, before following his teammates. Though unlike them, he walked.