Junior High Athletics Meet 2

After finding out the court we will play on we set our belongings on our side of the benches and prepare to warm up. After running around on our side of the court and doing some dynamic stretches, the coach opened the ball bag and told us to start peppering.

(Peppering is where two players practice ball control by passing the ball back and forth towards each other. This may also include hitting it towards your partner so they can try to pass it perfectly back.)

"Tsutomu! I'm going to go refill my water bottle real quick. I'll be back."

Seeing him nod, I quickly went to the water fountain to fill up my bottle. Turning the corner I heard a person yell.

"In the 1st match, the 2nd, the last and in all matches nationwide. The one standing on the winning side of the court will be me!!"

Following the voice I was able to see the short kid with the messy orange hair and the guy with the scowl on his face having a face off while staring at each other. The guy with the scowl should relax his face more, I feel like he'd start to get wrinkles on his face in his first year of highschool if he continues to put on that face. After a few seconds of silence the guy with the future wrinkles turned around and left.

Did I just witness an actual real life shonen moment just now?

"It seems like you just made yourself a rival shrimpy" I spoke startling him as he didn't know someone was behind him. He looked at me with shock and quickly straightened his back.

"W-well sir I won't say exactly that's he's my rival b-but a person I must win against so that I can win and play more and more matches!" He held a steady gaze towards me with eyes that held a strong conviction.

I saw this and felt like I saw the image of someone who looked somewhat similar to me with a height of around 5'6. I shook my head and smiled at him.

"I heard that he's quite skilled, you know? And also the difference in height will be hard to overcome if you don't have the skills to back it up"

Seeing from falter for a second he regains himself and with stronger eyes from before he says.

"It's true that I'm not very tall.. However, I can jump!!"

Hearing this made me feel somewhat emotional deep inside of me. I started to smile and laugh out loud, confusing him.

"Well if you say something like that I can't help but support you!" I continued to smile

"If you somehow beat him let me treat you to a ramen place that I know nearby and if you lose well.. Just take a meal from me to cheer you up." I patted him on the shoulder and quickly went to refill my water as I originally intended.

***

"What took you so long? They did the coin flip already and you weren't here to do it so I had to fill in. By the way we lost the first serve."

After returning Tsutomu told me what happened and I just shook my head at his bad luck and told him to pepper with me so I can properly warm up. After a while my team and the opposite team stood on the base lines of their respective sides and bowed

"Let's have a good game!!"

I looked to the court next to me and saw shrimpy's team and his opponent also bowing, ready to start their own game. I smiled and wished him luck inwardly. The ref blows the whistle and we walk up to our positions. I stood at position number 4 or the left side of the front court. Tsutomu and I play opposite from each other as both of us are strong hitters so once I go to the back row our offense won't be weakened. The ref blows the whistle and the other team starts to serve..

***

Near the courts at the viewing area three students wearing black jerseys with white writing can be seen walking in.

"Daichi-san, Suga-san! It's really starting right now!"

"Ohh they seem to be really fired up right now Tanaka"

"But Daichi-san, why are we at a middle school's tournament?"

" We came to see the "King of the court" and the "Rising Ace""

""King?" and "Rising Ace?" What kind of nicknames are those?"

"Well look at Kitagawa Daiichi's #2, it's their setter Kageyama. He has accurate tosses and his control over the ball is incredible. He has a strong serve and overall strong volleyball sense making him a "King""

"What about the other one, the Rising Ace?"

"If you look at the court beside them Takaoka Gakuen's #7, his name is Haruto Watanabe. He has incredible physical capabilities and in some matches he is seen have high amounts of stamina. He has a powerful topspin serve but his real weapon is the way he can maneuver around blocks. You would need to bring a solid team of blockers to stop him and if the block is too low, well you can see for yourself.."

Tanaka and Suga both look towards Takaoka Gakuen's court. They were able to see their players make a perfect pass to their setter. Haruto can be seen quickly starting his approach and the setter giving him a normal set. The other team lines up to block but their defense can be seen as weak. Haruto jumps and was able to tower over the opponents block. Seeing that the block was too low Haruto O.T's the ball making a loud boom as it lands on the opponents floor.

(O.T is when the attacker hits the ball over top of the blocker and lands in front of the defense.)

"KYAA Watanabe-san nice kill!""Nice kill!"

Tanaka turns to his side and sees many girls screaming and yelling Haruto's name

"Tsk good looking guys should go explode."

Suga and Daichi gave a weary smile at Tanaka's words but also agreed with him.

"But it's still incredible just how much power his hits have. I wonder what school he chose to go to."

"Well with whichever one he chooses they will get a really strong offensive player."

***

Landing after getting a point for my team I was able to feel the after feeling of having that contact with the ball when hitting reminded me again why hitting is the best. We continued to pile up points for our team, winning some, losing some right until our opponents called for a time out. I took a sip of water and heard a yell from the court next to us.

"That guy took a point from us!!"

I turned and saw the guy with the future wrinkles yell at his teammates while pointing at shrimpy. I can see the looks his teammates are giving him and it seems this wasn't the first time this has happened. I looked away and went back to our court. I'm now serving and when I look at my opponents they seem to be slightly tense. I chuckled seeing this and looked towards my setter, behind his back he put up the "number 5" indicating which person we decided was their weakest receiver. I did my routine bouncing the ball 3 times and spinning it against my palm.

I threw the ball and did my approach and hit the ball towards position number 5 or the left side of the back row. The ball sped up and hit the player in number 5 on the shoulder and the ball ricochet going out.

"Nice ace!"

I huddled around my teammates and gave each other high fives. I went back to the line and continued to serve.

***

After winning the first set and taking a break I heard a loud bang and turned to my side. I saw shrimpy fall and crash into the border that was placed on each court. I wondered if he was okay but he immediately stood back up. I saw him look towards the ref and the ref put both of his arms vertical indicating it was out. He whistled indicating the end of the match. I saw shrimpy look down with his hair covering his eyes.

Hmm, it seems like a bowl of hot ramen is in store for him after this tournament... After a while I heard wrinkles yelling at shrimpy asking what he has been doing for 3 years. I slightly frowned at this, did he say that as a way to boast? But I feel like that wasn't the case. I put it in the back of my head and went back on the court. Our team continued to win

And the finals between Takaoka Gakuen and Kitagawa Daiichi began.

***

Yay the confrontation between Hinata and Kageyama ended. I was finally able to showcase what kind of player Haruto is and although he seems to be really good right now, he will also have his weaknesses. He is called a "Rising Ace" but that doesn't mean that he's the strongest with the likes of Ushijima existing he may be the strongest in junior high but he is far from strongest compared to highschool players. Anyways thank you once again for reading and Peace!