Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

Return of the Pink Devils

"Two JNT players step on opposite sides of the net. What do you think will happen?" Madoka leaned back in her seat and slurped on her drink.

Tokyo University's stadium was packed for the Friday night home game. Thousands of fans for both teams were crammed into the stands. Their cheers could be heard clear across the street. Volleyball had become an even more popular sport on campus than it had been. According to the university polls, it had more views than Baseball. Which had held titles for being the most popular sport for years.

Chihiro shrugged, "I don't know, but it's going to be a fire game." She was already standing. "I don't know who to cheer for anymore!" She whined and flailed her arms at her side.

"Same!" Madoka whined along.

The entire game had everyone on their feet. There was no possible way of predicting who would win. Uehara and Lucy had an insanely good read on Saki thanks to Mitsumi. They were successfully able to either block her out entirely or slow the ball down. The downside was that Makoto was also in the same pickle.

"One touch!" Lucy called out to her teammates.

Mitsumi quickly analyzed the current formation and smirked. "Got it!" She got right to the center. The ball shot straight up to the ceiling.

This rally was getting longer by the second. Everyone would be getting a good night's rest. Sato was on the court as a second setter. She didn't play on the court often, but when she did, she knew things were going to be fiery. She was at the point of the triangle while Yuki was two people back. Her olive hair flew behind her as she jumped in the air as if she were going to spike. Miyagi's blockers moved to the center of the net.

"Eh?! Is Sato actually going for it?!" Chihiro was shocked at the bold move. As a setter herself, she knew how risky it was. Sato suddenly set backward to Yuki. The ball zoomed to the left. Yuki spiked a clean line shot right in front of Arikawa, the new captain. Chihiro grabbed her head in shock. Her jaw was hitting the floor. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

The crowd went wild at the play. "NICE KILL KANAGAWA!" Everyone cheered to the beat of the taiko drums.

The final set was now at a deuce. Just like all of the other sets. Everyone was really playing at 110% just because of their "friendly" rivalry. Tokyo wasn't going to lose to the people they had just beaten in a major National tournament. However, Miyagi wanted to prove they were able to steal the crown.

Saki rotated into the front row. She was eyeing Mitsumi through the net. They both had a clear view of each other. This was the first game that Chie didn't need to step to the service line. She knew that the libero was calculating the next play. Saki could see it in her eyes.

Makoto was up to serve. She smacked a powerful serve that curved to the left. Arikawa was pretty sure it was going to go out. Saki recognized the move, "Captain, it's in!"

Arikawa saved the ball and got it up. "Someone cover!"

...

Tokyo won the game. Mitsumi gave a polite smile as she shook hands with Saki. They had a death grip on each other's hands.

"You really suck, you know that right?" Saki gritted her teeth. Miyagi would have won if Mitsumi hadn't made a risky dive.

"I'm just doing my job. You know that." The libero was unfazed by the compliment. They both laughed before joining their teammates in thanking the spectators.

Riza celebrated with everyone in the locker room. They were celebrating the start of the season with a bang. Everyone was excitedly talking about all the crazy plays that had happened. It was like nobody was exhausted after a full game. She collected everyone's towels in a laundry basket and chucked them into the washing machine in the back.