Quirkless Volleyball (Adopted)

Chapter 16

Today was it, the match. Against Aoba Johsai. 

If it were any other team, he might, just might, have been a little more relaxed. But Seijoh was a powerhouse school when it came to volleyball for a reason. Midoriya wouldn't have been surprised if that reason was mostly because of Oikawa. After all, Oikawa did teach Kageyama and had more experience than him. 

He had splashed cold water onto his face in the bathroom, trying to wake himself up faster. They would be fine. Their strategies would be stable. It would be alright. 

It would be alright. 

That was all he could hope for before the match. 

----------

After brushing his teeth and changing into his clothes, Midoriya went outside, where everyone else was eating breakfast. Grabbing a plate, he got some waffles and fruit before sitting down at the table where Iida and Todoroki were. 

"Hey, guys!" he flashed a smile at them. 

"Hello, Midoriya!" Iida greeted him.

"Hey," Todoroki replied.

"How's the training going for you?" Iida asked. 

Midoriya thought about it for a second. "I'd say it's pretty useful," Midoriya finally decided to say, "I don't have much control on my quirk and if I don't want to overdo it, I have to figure out how much power to put behind everything, because not everything is just 'hit it as hard as you can', you know?"

Iida nodded. "Yes, I do," Iida said. "The Wild Wild Pussycats had me run several 5000s, for endurance of my quirk. They wanted to see how long I could go with using my quirk and how fast it would be."

"Weren't you in a bathtub?" Midoriya turned to Todoroki, who nodded.

"I send out a glacier with my right side and melt it down with my left," he explained, "so that I learn how to control my left side."

"Well, that's good!" Midoriya cheerfully said as he bit into his breakfast.

"Mm," Todoroki nodded once more. "I have to catch up with my left side, especially since I haven't used it before this year and I'm not left handed."

"Say, Midoriya," Iida began, "yesterday afternoon, where did - "

"Kero, hello," Asui interrupted as she sat down next to Iida, across from Todoroki. "Oh, sorry, Iida, did I interrupt you, kero?" Uraraka, who was with her, sat down besides Asui.

"No worries," Iida said, "I can just repeat it. Midoriya, where did you go yesterday afternoon?"

"What do you mean?" Midoriya tilted his head. "Didn't you run past me several times?"

"Yes, but I didn't see you at all for over an hour!" Iida replied. "And then you reappeared again."

"Oh, then," Midoriya realized, his mind scrambling for an excuse. "Tiger said he wanted me to use my quirk in the hot spring."

"The hot spring?" Uraraka asked. 

Midoriya nodded, "Yeah, because you know how molecules are closer together in liquids and how when you try to run in water, you go really slow? Tiger wanted me to work on agility without using more than I'm used to. And if I do go over, the water will help stop me, or at least, that's the theory."

"That makes a lot of sense, kero," Asui said, her finger on her cheek. "Water does slow you down. And if you can find a way to go faster but without using more power, it'll help when you're out of water as well."

"But how would that happen?" Uraraka asked.

"It's technique," Todoroki responded. "The finer details of it."

Iida nodded, "Like with running. When it comes to running, like Todoroki said, technique affects how fast or slow you run. If one were to run with a small stride, they'll be running slower than someone who opens their stride by pumping their knees up. Not only that, but what the rest of your body is doing is important. For example, your arms can help with opening your stride but if you over-exaggerate them too much, you're essentially just wasting your energy."

"And with jumping as well," Asui put in. "Your arms are still important when you jump, even if you do have great leg strength, kero."

"Oh!" Uraraka hit her fist on the palm of her other hand, "Kinda like how when I use my quirk, I have to concentrate on how much or less gravity I apply onto the object!"

"Yep!" Midoriya said. 

"That makes more sense now, thanks."

"You're welcome, Uraraka!"

"Does anyone know what time it is?" Uraraka then asked. "I want to know how much I can eat before training, I don't want to throw up too much." Her face turned pale. "That'll also be really queasy," she thought out loud before shuddering.

"It's 5:10," Iida said, looking at his watch. "If we are to start at 5:30 like yesterday, then you'll have twenty minutes. I suggest eating for ten or so minutes and using the other ten minutes to allow your stomach to digest all of the food."

"Oh, thanks, Iida," Uraraka thanked him as she picked up her muffin and took a bite out of it.

The five finished their breakfast and chatted for the remainder of the time until it turned 5:30.

"Alright! It's time to do some training!" Pixie-Bob yelled, waving her hands around. "Get your bodies up and moving! You know what to do! Go to either me, Mandalay, Ragdoll, or Tiger depending on who you went to yesterday!"

"Here at lunchtime?" Todoroki asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Midoriya shrugged.

"Okay then! See you guys later," Uraraka waved at them before walking off. 

Midoriya walked off towards Tiger. He could spot Aizawa in the corner of his eye as he walked towards Tiger.

"Aizawa told me about your quirk, or at least more details about it," Tiger said as he stared at Midoriya. 

Midoriya froze. What did that mean? Which quirk was he talking about? What details?

"I didn't think that you had to consciously figure out how much power you use," Tiger continued, "We'll have you working on precision today and tomorrow, we can continue with our power buildup agenda."

Midoriya almost let out a sigh of relief. Aizawa didn't tell on him. And not only that, but this could give him an easier time, allowing him to do better at volleyball today. 

With that in mind, he followed Tiger to do his training.