Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

Excuse Me, What?!

Mitsumi stepped off of the train and rolled her suitcase behind her. Her gym bag bounced on her shoulder as she weaved through the station crowds. She followed the directions on her GPS as she weaved through the crowds of people. Even if she had trained at the Ajinomoto National Training Center several times in the past, she still would always get lost without directions.

She sported her white National Youth Volleyball Team jacket and red joggers. They had asked her to show up in her now-former team's uniform. If all went well over the camp, she could be sporting the famous white jacket with red sleeves. And she wasn't opposed to it as long as it didn't interfere with school.

There was a good number of candidates selected this year. Mitsumi signed in at the stadium check-in desk and passed her luggage off to a worker, who placed it on a cart with some other people's luggage. She put her participant badge on and walked to a quieter part of the lobby to snap a picture of the crowd.

Mitsumi Chie: Made it safely!

She sent the photo to Suga and her parents.

Sugawara Koushi: Have fun! Call me tonight if you aren't busy. <3

"MISTUMIIII!" The familiar voice of an old teammate boomed from across the lobby. "How is Japan's most famous libero doing?! It's been too long!" A girl with a short raven-colored pixie cut launched herself at Mitsumi. She sported the same uniform.

Mitsumi flinched at the sudden contact. "Long time no see, Akira." She didn't even bother fighting it. She and three others had graduated from the Youth Team together. "Are the others here yet?"

"Mayu is here. She's in the restroom right now. Saki is with her. They got here right before you did." Akira looked out at the crowd. There were a few other groups from a different camp leaving the stadium. "There are fourteen of us this year. Seven vets and seven noobs."

This was their first year at the candidate camp. So, even though they have more experience than the other three newbies, they were still classified as noobs. Mitsumi stood with her hands in her pockets and her left hip popped out to the side. "So there are three new faces then."

"There they are!" Saki was with Mayu. They jogged over to them with a wave. They greeted the other duo with hugs. "Chie, did you grow a few centimeters?" Saki rested an elbow on her best friend's shoulder.

Mitsumi glared at her. "Shut up, Saki! What kind of greeting is that?"

"Oh ho ho!" Mayu smirked a bit, "Already irritated?" She crossed her arms. "Mr. Romero is waiting for us in Stadium B. We should head over there."

...

Mr. Romero was talking with one of the stadium employees when the girls turned up. He wrapped up the conversation before turning his attention to the returning players. "Welcome back! It's been a while."

Mitsumi waited for a few moments. It seemed that she was still the group's official spokesman. "It's good to be back! Do you need something?"

"Ah, yes. I wanted to tell you that three players have been selected that weren't on the youth team." The boss looked down at his clipboard with a sigh. He didn't want anyone scaring new faces away. He then pointed to some boxes next to the bench, "Also, I need help taking these over to the youth camp. I couldn't find anyone who could help and I assumed the four of you would be together."

The four girls sighed heavily. They were called over to help haul boxes. Great. They agreed to help out. There was no harm in it. They had made it earlier than anticipated. Apparently, the vets hadn't arrived yet. So, he couldn't snag one of them.

Mitsumi couldn't see over the box of t-shirts that she was holding. "Excuse me!" She shouted as she dodged people to the best of her ability. She stepped right into someone and almost fell over.