Her Captain, The Gamemaster

Thrice Is A Pattern

I walk to my team, who was stretching. They were preparing to verse the representative team from XinShan, China who were stretching on the other side.

I spot all the scouts and reps on the benches with Lang Ping or, as I now call her, Jiao Lian (教练).

Our coach and Cheng'er's Coach would be refereeing our game as well so I wasn't worried. 

Well, technically, I'm never worried.

I poke Wren on the shoulder and as if on in instinct, her sisters also turned in my direction, followed by Annie.

I give them a look, meaning that we would be playing using our typical strength for the beginning. They nod and we go line up. I see our coaches and I walk over to them, where the other team's captain waited for me.

'You two know the drill. Li, your call,' she said, tossing up a coin.

I catch a glint as the gym lights hit the edge and I calmly spoke. 'It's gonna land on heads. Tails,'

Surely enough, the coin did land on heads and they looked at me, except my coach who rolled her eyes at me, used to my attitude. 

The other coach clapped her hands together with a smile. 'Well, why don't you choose anyway?'

'Not very excited at making decisions when the outcome is gonna be the same,' I lamented.

'What's the outcome?' the happy coach asked in curiosity.

'My team is gonna win,' I state, in a monotone voice.

The two strangers blinked but she smiled again. 'It's good to have confidence. How about you guys serve first?'

I shrug.

They think I'm just overconfident.

The only reason I can get away with saying stuff like that is because I know I'm right. I've never been wrong.

I pass the ball to Annie who would serve first. She lays her right palm on her left shoulder; her typical serve routine, before throwing it high and landing a nice jump serve which was picked up by Cheng'er's libero.

I stand in my red jersey, wearing the same colour and pattern as my teammates but with the number 1. I wanted to wear my libero jersey but Soo-ah said to use this one because we needed more offence against Cheng'er.

'She always does her research,' I think as their setter sent the ball to the Jeon girl, who was running along her left.

As if it was staged, the triplets ran up and blocked the ball.

1-0.

'3, 2, 1...,' Soo-ah counted.

'TAKESHIMA,' my teammates chanted, followed by our signature 3 claps.

Annie served again and after 10 minutes, we were up 5 points and the other team still hadn't gotten a point yet.

At this point, it was getting boring but I prepared myself to receive a ball as Jeon called for the ball. 'MIDDLE,'

She was running down the middle and I see the triplets preparing to jump and just before they do-

'NOW,'

Wren, being the middle blocker (well, technically they're all middle blockers but she was the one in the middle of the triple block) didn't jump and left the path clear for Jeon to spike down the middle.

I received her spike, feeling it's weight.

The ball went to Soo-ah who spiked it, earning us another point.

6-0.

Even with my eyes closed, I could sense stares. Sometimes, no matter how hard I disappear, I get dragged back into the spotlight. Its really hard to disguise my presence when people are searching for me specifically.

My teammates grinned at me and did their dumb chant again but I kept my eyes on Jiyeon, who was in shock.

Explanation?

Sure.

~Flashback~

After gaining our first point, I couldn't help but notice Jiyeon's footwork when she ran up to spike. She kept it light, holding herself back.

After my teammates cheered, I poked Soo-ah so she called the rest over.

'Number 11 is holding back. When I give the mark, switch to total defense,'

I instruct them. They never question me but I know they will bug me after the game.

~Back To Present~

I recall the weight of her spike. I call over the team who just finished their dumb cheer.

'Continue with this formation. Annie, watch your angles. Soo-ah, keep them on their defence,'

As a captain, I need to be precise with instructions. Short, brief and calm.

Slowly, we gain point after point with only a few mistake and after about half an hour, we took the first set, 25-8.

We take a break and accidentally, my sensitive ears pick up the other team's conversation with their coach.

'Aim for anyone but their captain. Overwhelm them with your strength and aim,'

I was about to grab a snack because I got hungry but some scout wanted to watch me play as a Libero so I go change my jersey into my reverse coloured one, humming the lyrics to Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo.

As I walk out, I hear mumbles and a squeal coming from Jiyeon and I walk to my bag and pull out a box of mangoes with were frozen into little cubes.

I pop one into my mouth and defrost it using my body heat, enjoying the sweet and slightly sour fruit.

I turn to Soo-ah, who then tossed me a milk bread which I stuff into my mouth.

'Calm down, Li-ah. You should just eat it bite-by-bite,'

Inhaling it is faster.

She looked at me weirdly but she wasn't the only one. The bun had puffed up my cheeks and Annie took a picture.

I send her a glare before getting back on court, this time with my eyes open.

I'm still chewing when my opponents made eye contact with me, making them sweat-drop. I sense frustration coming from behind me from Soo-ah and I block my head. And just like I predicted, the ball came rushing at the back of my head nanoseconds later.

Ouch.

I walk over to a Soo-ah in distress and glare at her.

'I'm literally in the back line next to you. How did you even hit me?' I ask her, making her wail louder.

I pull her up, brushed off the dust on her jersey and pushed her closer to Esme so she can stack with her.

We continue to play the game for a while and after a few rallies, it was the opponents turn to serve again. The score is currently 4-3.

Just as the opponent served, we dash to our positions and I overhand the ball to Soo-ah who accidentally sets backwards.

Are. You. Serious.

She covered her face with her hands and I dash across the court, my body slowly getting closer to the ground.

I time my dive and as I become a few feet away I dive but just before I reach the ball, I use my left elbow to spin myself around, instead using the top of my shoes to smoothly send it over the net to the far side of the opponents court, earning us a point.

I get up, ignoring the mumbles of my opponents and the cheers of my teammates to glare at my best friend, sending chills across the court.

What. The. Hell.

Author's Note:

✌

thxx.