égoïste [Akaashi Keiji]

raison #31

The ball painted the line, scoring a point for Team B. Team B cheered, high-fiving each other as they shouted "Nice serve!", "Another!" at their server, Shiori.

The Maebara exhaled, feeling how clear her vision and head was. She caught the ball given to her for her next serve and dribbled it a couple of times before proceeding to serve.

She waited for the whistle to blow before she threw the ball up into the air, hitting a jump floater. As it went over the net, the other team was a mess as they rushed forward to get it, allowing for a free ball.

Alright!

Shiori landed on her feet and watched as the ball came to their side, in which a quick was already set up for the wing spiker to hit.

Have they worked together before? She wondered post-game. Her drink bottle emptied as she sat with her temporary teammates, who were cheering because they won. They were waiting for the other game to finish up on the other court, before everyone would get together.

Currently, Shiori was at a venue in Tokyo that held the weekend practices with prospects for the future Japan under 19s team.

Of course, she was only there to test the waters, but the level in which they played was high - as expected of an activity that was restricted to invite-only.

Originally, Kuroo had mentioned that it was a free practice, but when he sent the information to her later and gotten permission for her to join, he said that he was wrong.

The players are on par with the players of Fukurodani, was what Shiori thought as a first impression. That was an overall feel, but for each player their skill sets varied. The experience on the court as well as familiarity with the ball also differed with each individual.

Seeing everyone getting along and playing well with each other, made Shiori wonder if she walked into something that she had no place in.

After all, she wasn't personally selected and invited - she got in through connections. She would understand why others would be hostile towards her if they find out this fact.

I should keep it under wraps, she placed the bottle down and heard the whistle blow, indicating the end of the game and the session.

~~~

"Interesting girl, isn't she?" One of the representatives of the Japan team overlooked the matches by the prospects of the under 19's women's team. They were standing on the sidelines, watching along with the coaches of the women in the makeshift teams.

"Which one?" An assistant coach of the current women's Japan team looked up at the representative, wondering which one they meant. After all, there were more than a standard team there.

"The newcomer, Maebara." He held a light smile on his lips as he remembered her play, comparing it to what he remembered of her from a few years back.

"Her plays need more honing. Serves are good, but other plays need work. Why did you agree to let her in?"

"I think we'll see something interesting." The representative left it at that, heading over to the girls who were packing and leaving.

Most of them had already left, but Shiori was checking her phone to see if she got any messages from the Fukurodani boy's volleyball team. There were a couple of messages, from Yukie and Akaashi, with Yukie celebrating their wins of the day in a super happy tone, and Akaashi mentioning that they had advanced to the next round.

She didn't even realise the corner of her lips curled up slightly and her eyes started to liven up.

"Hello there, did something good happen?"