Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

New Season, New Faces

Open tryouts were always an exciting time for the Tokyo University Volleyball Teams. Mei had gotten the shocking approval from Dr. Ito to try out for the team. Apparently, the no sports rule had been overturned by the university policy committee. If she made the team, she would have two seasons under her belt.

So far, she had passed the first three rounds of cuts and made it to the last day. Some of the returning players were assisting Coach Yamata by playing a full match against the two groups. Mei was shaking in her shoes. There were so many better players than her. She was a mere defensive specialist. Every time her group played against the current players, she was on the losing team.

Mitsumi had rushed over to the gym and took a seat in the back of the stands. She had just come from playing for a vocal jury. She had already fulfilled her tryout duties during the drill hour. If it weren't for the vocal juries being held, she would still be playing on the court. Although, it was nice to be a spectator for once.

There were ten potential candidates. And three of them would be selected for the women's team. The men had four open positions since Takuma, Ichiyama, and two other players were graduating. Apparently, Coach Ueno already made his roster choices, but was still holding a final game in the second gym before announcing the new players. One of those new players was actually a scholarship student who was recently recruited. So, there were three spots to be filled. It was a tight competition this season.

Kuroo plopped in a seat next to Mitsumi and observed the games. "They have some big decisions to make this season." He dropped something on the girl's lap.

"Yeah, they do. I'd hate to be the coach and captain." Mitsumi accepted the melon bread happily. She ripped right into the packaging and munged away. "Mei has been holding her ground well. Her spikes are flaming today. Same with that dirty blonde forgien chick. She's a strong blocker with some serious attack power."

Kuroo nodded in agreement, "Newbie number 5 on the men's court has tight defensive skills. Number 3 has a high vertical jump." He put his hands behind his head and casually leaned back in his chair. His spine cracked in the most earth shattering way. "Ah man, Bokuto looks like he is having too much fun without his bro."

Mitsumi snorted and covered her mouth. Bokuto had nailed a fiery cross shot and was doing a victory dance. "You're right. Jealous?"

"Nah, I was up trying to beat Kenma in a game again." Kuroo yawned. He was running on four hours of sleep and some coffee. "I read your article with Shimura, Takuma, and Ichiyama. That photo of you guys with the banner was sick."

Mitsumi turned her head to the side. "I didn't realize Takuma and Ichiyama were included in the article." She shrugged. It didn't matter to her that they also made the pages. "I haven't read the full article yet. I saw the digital post."

Kuroo pulled a copy of the Ichiko Herald out of his backpack and shoved it in her hands. He had bookmarked the article already. Chie flipped to the article and scanned the pages.

The Tokyo University Volleyball Teams see a well deserved uptick in professional player uptake. After this year's Inter-Collegiate Spring Nationals, graduating senior, Kanagawa Takuma, and freshman, Mitsumi Chie, land their spots on the Japanese National Volleyball Teams. Ichiyama Junpei and Shimura Aki have secured spots on prestigious division one teams in the Japanese V. League. Ichiyama will be playing for the Schweiden Adlers. Kanagawa will be playing for the JTEKT Stings as well as the JNT. Shimura Aki has been selected for the Nagoya Falcons. Mitsumi Chie will continue to play for Tokyo University in the Collegiate League while playing for the JNT. All of them have a unique story of how they ended up reaching the stars.

The article was praiseworthy material. Mitsumi smiled at the result. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her pencil case. She grabbed a permanent marker and turned the page to the page about her.