Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

Tempo Check

Mitsumi was busy teaching Kizano about various defense moves the team uses regularly. According to Coach Yamata, the new libero was struggling to read every one. In all respects, it wasn't easy. Even Mitsumi struggled with it in the beginning.

"We call this the 'v-form' defense." She drew some circles on a piece of paper to form a V. "This is when we purposefully keep the middle of the court open so the libero can get to the center and get the ball up high." She carefully explained what every play was in different situations. "Yuki, or whoever is setting, is the point of the triangle. The blockers are behind her, and then the spikers. I prefer to stand on the back row to the back right in this formation so the spiker in the center has room to run. But normally, I'm in the back center."

Kizano nodded. This was much easier to understand than just listening to her teammates and coach explain it to her. It was a relief Chie had come back in time to help her out. She had no idea how her senior had figured this all out on her own. "TokyoU really is a war machine."

"We do what we can to protect the crown," Mitsumi said with a closed-eyed smile. "Now, Coach Yamata wants us to work on the left side 'V' approaches." She pointed to the rest of the team, who were working on spiking in said position. "I'll show you how the dig is done, and then you can try it."

Riza was impressed with Mitsumi's ability to teach things quickly and effectively. She took the piece of paper from Kizano and clipped it to her clipboard. "I can hold onto this for you while you watch." She smiled and hugged her clipboard to her chest. "Did that help?"

"I'm a visual learner, so it helped a lot!" Kizano beamed, "It's a shame she isn't around for long." She definitely didn't feel like she could feel such large shoes when Mitsumi was gone. They had a training camp with Matsukawa University a couple of weeks back, and it was Kizano's worst playing ever. At least her teammates were patient enough to deal with her slow learning.

Lucy, Uehara, and Takahashi were on the other side of the net as blockers. Mitsumi was a blur of black and neon blue as she got underneath the ball in the center after sprinting from the left. without having to dive for it. Her receive was flawless and sent the ball high up in the air.

A move like this allowed one of two things to happen. Yuki could set the ball for a back-row attack. Or, one of the wing spikers on the sides of the triangle could set the ball for Yuki to spike. Another pro to the formation was that it came in handy for when the ladies were worn out towards the end of a match. Since the ball was high, it gave everyone the chance to breathe and think things through. The spike went to Mei, who was easily shut out by the triple block.

Coach Yamata blew his whistle after a few runs. "Kizano! You're in!" He called out to the second libero. "Mitsumi, give us some of those serves!" The temperature of the gym suddenly dropped. Anytime Coach called for her to serve, things were going to get a whole lot more difficult.

Mitsumi jogged to the sideline and got a quick sip of water. "Aye aye!" She had picked up that habit from the JNT. It had become an inside joke to respond to their coach and captain that way.

Kizano gulped at the sudden turn of events. She had to get one of Mitsumi's serves up. "You got this, girl!" Ishida flashed the nervous libero a thumbs up. "This is what practice is for!"

The ball came zipping over the net faster than the ring of the whistle could dissipate. Kizano was fast but not as fast as Mitsumi. But, she managed to touch the ball just barely. She groaned as it flew out of bounds. "I knew it was fast, but I didn't realize it was THAT fast."

"Her serve is pretty nasty." Makoto sang from across the net to lighten up the mood. "You'll get the next one!"

That was enough encouragement to get through the next serve. By pure luck, and if Kizano could add, the grace of God, that she nailed it on the second try.