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Private/Closed Karasu...who? || A Haikyuu!! RP

For Miyaji, the rest of the warm-ups had been rather smooth, and luckily, far more entertaining than the first setting exercise. Though he clearly excelled in receiving and blocking drills (his read blocking skills had shone above his other traits), placing a satisfactory impact and strength in his spikes as well as keeping them accurate proved to be his hardest challenge. That being said, Miyaji was grateful to see that--after sneaking a few glances at his teammates for the unexpected scrimmages that began--the team on which he would be playing made it optimal for him to play the position of setter. It was unexpected, but Miyaji was excited, ready to fully exert himself and show his abilities and establish his spot on the starting line-up. From the perspective of anyone around him, he seemed confident that he would be earning a spot in the end, but his certainty simply stemmed from the fact that he always performed well when putting in his best effort, and though it may not have always been the case during warm-ups, the second year most certainly played as hard as he could in both actual matches and practice games.

Noticing Minako, who had been sitting in the bleachers next to him coincidentally, Miyaji decided to make some casual smack talk before getting up from his seat to head onto the court, stretching his arms nonchalantly. "Don't try to feel too challenged from my sets, yeah?" It was obviously a baseless tease; Miyaji was well aware that despite his improvement, his tosses were far from the level at which Minako’s were. The two had been mild acquaintances thus far, but he suspected that his relationship with fellow classmates like her and Shiro that had also made the volleyball team would be growing tighter. A challenging glint was nearly visible in his eyes as Miyaji turned to glance at her while he spoke. When the coach beckoned for he and his team to step onto the court, Miyaji took his place in the setter's position; Toba's skills seemed to focus on offence, backed up by his proficiency at spiking displayed during the hitting drills, and Yoshiro had the physique and abilities of a libero, having shown quick reflexes and solid receives. Of course, though he had no problem switching places should either one insist they play as setter, he decided to step up to the role based on his own inferences about the two.
 
In response to Miyaji’s engagement of light banter, Minako snorted fitfully. “I’ll try not to let it bother me,” she said, standing up and hopping off of the platform they were seated on. Ponytail swishing behind her, Minako snagged her water bottle from nearby, took a swig from it, and then sauntered onto the court near her teammates. Truth be told, she was somewhat irked by Miyaji’s drastic improvement in setting. While she knew that the more setters the merrier, a twang of defensiveness was nagging at her as she thought about what would happen if they became on par with the skill of setting. The thought made her tense her shoulders, and she quickly reassured herself that she’d just keep working even harder.

Wiping her hands on her shirt, Minako stepped closer to her two teammates, peering at them for a second before hesitantly offering a small smile to the pair. She gave a short nod to Shiro as a form of greeting, then craned her neck to look up at the lofty boy standing near him. He was a lot taller up close in comparison to when she had scanned him earlier before practice, and there was probably a good foot of height difference between them. Frankly, it was a bit startling. “Charles, right?” the girl managed. She’d heard his name a few times during practice. “My name is Minako. I’ll be setting, so just say the word and I’ll send it to either one of you.” She took a few steps back, standing her ground on the ten-foot line where the setter typically played. “Don’t worry about receiving,” she spoke again, now talking to both males on her team. “If you can pass it anywhere near this line, I can set it.”
 
Toba took heavy breaths, slightly drained from the rigorous hitting drills. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and enjoyed a healthy sip of water. He looked over to his teammates, then to the two coaches. He perked his head up when Touza spoke, his face full of anticipation. He was eager to play a game, but he wasn't quite sure how it would work. His questions were answered when the male coach announced they would be playing 3 on 3's; his heart seemed to flicker with excitement, and his face washed over with joy. The third years were chosen to play first, which put Toba at ease. He doubted he would stand a chance against a team of experienced and older players, so it made sense they were chosen first, it could serve as a reference to the first and even second years. Toba watched eagerly as the six got into their positions. The teams looked evenly matched, and there wasn't anybody who really stuck out. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, watching the ball fly over the net, then return back over. It seemed like they weren't a very enthusiastic bunch, or at least when they played they weren't. Even so, it was easy to spot the intensity and skill in their individual play styles, as if everything they did was meticulously thought out. It was nearing the final point, and both teams had stayed consistent throughout the entire match, which was admirable to Toba, since he wasn't always the most consistent player.

The teams were called off once the final point was scored, though he didn't catch who scored it or which team won. The coach pointed calmly to the next six, one of which happened to be Toba. He strutted over to his side, then looked casually to the others on his team. One was the relaxed-looking libero, and the other was the second year who he tossed with briefly outside. He smiled widely at them, then looked over at Miyaji, who was bantering with the girl he hadn't spoken to yet. His eyes moved to the other two. One was the extremely tall friendly blocker, and the other was the second year he did passes with.

His eyes were filled with passion, and his hand twitched eagerly. The practice match had finally begun.
 
Once everything was set up, Shiro nodded to Minako's statement. She was cool as a cucumber, as expected. The blonde teen knew Minako usually only bothered smiling whenever it was directed towards him due to his efforts of putting her the position with his optimistic demeanor, but even this time her lips only curled slightly. Taking hints from her overall aura, Shiro knew she was ready to exploit her skillset for this match.

His attention was caught as Charles approached as well, offering a greeting. He chuckled a little bit.

"Hi Charles," Shiro responded enthusiastically to his tall teammate. "Lets do our best, yeah?" He spoke, extending his arm upwards offering a high-five to the french student.

Quickly after his interactions with his current partners, Shiro went to position himself in the right side of the front row on their respective side of the court. He tried not to stand too close to net as he had learned throughout the summer that it was important to have plenty of room for mobility. The boy looked on through the net's aging ropes, assessing the three that would be facing them in this match. He knew how capable Miyaji was - he was basically one of the all-arounders he'd notice on the team so far, and while that normally was a source of Shiro's admiration, it worried him this time around.

He didn't know too much about this Yoshiro character - he had been extremely quiet and self-reserved up to this point, so his skillset remained a mystery to Shiro, and that caused him to grow simultaneously excited yet concerned. Lastly, Shiro could hardly keep his eyes from averting from Toba. He had just met the 1st Year a couple hours ago, yet he radiated such a similar energy as Shiro, and it was obvious that he was pretty skilled in offense. The blood within Shiro's veins seemed to flow at twice its regular speed, adrenaline surging through him before the match even began.

Coach Mira, who was reffing for the matches, tossed Minako a volleyball.

"Ladies first, of course."

After a few silent moments (that seemed like eternity for Shiro), Mira spoke squickly, followed by a sharp whistle. "Begin!"
 
Minako caught the ball with ease, pausing for a moment to allow everyone to settle into their positions. Swiftly, she turned around when the second passed and positioned herself several feet behind the serving line. Serving was something Minako had put a little extra effort into over the drawl of the break. In her first year at Karasuno, it was anything but outstanding -- just your typical overhand serve that'd occasionally fall a bit short for the service ace. Now, however, Minako was supporting a wicked spike serve that presented pleasing results from the practice she put into it.

Rolling the ball in her palms for a second, Minako transferred the ball to her left hand, dipping low before tossing the ball high up ahead of her. Feet taking firm, confident stutter steps, Minako leaped upwards with a hard exhale. Her arm lashed forward at the hanging ball like a whip, and it zipped forward with a clean smack. Minako lightly landed on her soles, already dashing ahead to linger near the 10-foot line.

The ball soared over the net, spinning quickly. Its trajectory rushed downwards with each passing millisecond. As Minako watched it, her eyes narrowed slightly. It was nasty, but it was receivable by all means.
 
Charles smiled pleasantly when Shiro replied to him. The boy's eyes sparkled when the other male offered him a high-five, Charles wasn't sure what he had done to earn such a gesture but he was more than happy to take it. As Charles' large hands made contact with his teammate's own palms, a large grin spread across Charles face before he pumped a fist high into the air- was this what it felt like to be on a team? He was so excited he could barely contain it. Charles took a few steps closer to the net as he positioned himself and looked ahead, unable to get rid of the slight smile glued across his lips or the sparkle in his eyes.
Eventually, Minako was handed the ball- the court silenced as the game began. Charles ducked his head slightly, something the tall male instinctively did when anything was flying through the air. The boy looked back at his teammate from over his shoulder, watching carefully as she dipped the ball before tossing it into the air. She moved so gracefully, it was elegant and pretty- and yet, as the ball whizzed above Charles' head he could feel the power the projectile had as it spiraled towards the other side of the court.

Yoshiro didn't pay much attention to his teammates after first analyzing them, as things got settled he gave a brief smirk "Let me handle the back. Not like I'll be much help up front anyways." Yoshi gave a thumbs up, somehow sounding cocky even when roasting himself. The boy squatted down several times to stretch his legs as he walked to the middle of the court, slightly behind where the others stood. As Minako took the ball Yoshi narrowed his eyes- with her slim arms there was no way her serve would be that strong. As the girl tossed the ball into the air, Yoshi let out a short breath of air. A jump serve? He hadn't seen a jump serve before in middle school, only heard that it definitely added to the speed and power of the ball. Even with this knowledge in mind, Yoshi was caught unprepared as the ball sped towards his team's side of the court. He barely even saw it cross the net. Usually, Yoshiro was good at reading his opponents spikes, but a serve- and a serve he'd never seen before, at that- was different. He had to act purely on instinct. "Got it." Yoshi said with an exhale of air as he lunged forward, stretching out his body and unfurling his right arm with a closed fist. The ball made contact with Yoshi's exposed forearm before bouncing right into the air about where Miyaji stood, almost immediately after touching the ball Yoshi shot back to his spot with a smile. Boy, it felt good to have the ball hit his skin that hard. It had been a while since the boy had a receive like that, and he had to say that he missed it.
 
Miyaji whistled as the ball hurtled at an alarming speed over to his side of the court, surprised and impressed at the serve. Back in their first years, Minako's overhands had been solid, but they were nothing extraordinary; the improvement she had made since then was quite laudable. He was even more surprised to see Yoshi behind him, dart into ideal position and easily bump it to him. "Nice receive," Miyaji remarked, bringing his hands up and jumping to reach the now airborne ball, turning his gaze to the waiting Toba. We're off to a quick start; hopefully this is where we take the momentum. "Toba!" He called out, tossing the ball in a clean arc, aimed high just a few inches shy of the net. Something he had picked up while watching and hitting Minako's sets; it wasn't amazing, but noticeably better than his attempts in the previous year.
 
Toba winced as the crackling sound of Minako's palm slamming into the ball echoed throughout the grandiose gymnasium. His eyes watched in awe as the ball soared through the air, spinning quickly. He was positioned on the leftside, seeing as he was the opposite hitter. Yoshi made a clean receive, shooting the ball back up in the air. "Nice receive!" Toba was impressed by the quick save, he wasn't sure what to expect since he had hardly seen much from him, but he was obviously quite talented. Miyaji hastily got to the ball, then sent it directly to the area ahead of him, at a perfect height and distance from the net. Toba flashed a toothy grin, then took a few stutter steps close to the line, his eyes locked onto the ball. He knew that the serve was going to be good, since the second year had already shown his setting talents while they practiced, so he didn't have to worry.
After he took his adjustment step, he launched off his left foot; this was his favorite part. His foot slammed down, then after one small step closer to the net, he rocketed off the ground. His hair fluttered with his movements, and his eyes were squinted yet filled with excitement. His arm was extended outward, acting like the bow of ship, directing him through harsh waters. With all his strength he thrust his curled arm forward, his hand pounded into the ball. He grunted as he sent the ball barreling down towards the line. It was a perfect line shot, landing just in bounds. The ball bounced off the wooden floor, rolling to the side. Toba thumped back onto the ground, his grin still remained static on his face. "ALRRIGGHTTT!" Toba thrust his clenched fist towards the ceiling.
 
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Charles eyes grew wide when Yoshi received the ball. How? The boy honestly couldn't imagine ever diving for a ball- the bigger they are the harder they fall, you know? But he could've sworn that Miyaji's serve was going to tear through the wood of the court. If that wasn't enough, Miyaji effortlessly tossed the ball towards his partner- not at all phased by either Miyaji's monster serve or Yoshi's quick receive. Before Charles knew what was happening, Toba's hand made contact with the ball with a crisp slap and the object came hurdling towards there side of the net. Charles knew what he had to do, taking a step towards the ball before recoiling- that thing was coming fast and right towards his face. Taking a half a second to recover, Charles finished his block much to late and only heard the ball hit the floor as his arms shot into the air. His hands stood straight up, body facing the net as his eyes drifted slowly towards where the ball had landed, as if scare to check if it had really happened. Gradually lowering his block, Charles face saddened as a frown took over his expression. He hadn't even realized he had hesitated, the boy looked at his large hands. Was he too slow? He had one job, and he already was failing, he sent a worried glance towards the coaches knowing they certainly saw him miss before sighing. "Oh, it's ok." Charles nodded to himself mostly before offering a half hearted smile towards his team, "I'm glad the game is more than 1 point." he chuckled slightly. It was alright, he had a chance to redeem himself.
 
Miyaji kept his celebration to himself, doing a small fist pump when his toss produced good results. His face seemed to remain stoic, but his eyes glimmered with satisfaction. He also turned to shoot a glance and a smug half-grin at Minako, remembering the mild quip he had given her before the practice match started. "Nice kill," Miyaji complimented after finally turning away, giving Toba a light-hearted (but maybe physically less light) slap on the shoulder. He then directed his attention to Yoshiro, giving him a high-five. "Again, nice receive back then; Minako's serves aren't average in the slightest, and you picked it up near perfectly. Good job."

Once the celebrations and compliments had quieted down, Coach Touza handed Miyaji the ball, calling him to the serving position. Miyaji received the ball with a nod of gratitude before turning on his heel to face the court in front of him, spinning the ball in between his palms. After taking a deep breath, he tossed it up in the air with both hands, adding some horizontal spin before beginning his approach. A few steps later, Miyaji abruptly stopped before bending his knees and launching off the ground, arm bent and at the ready.

His aforementioned points of weakness that had been made clear during warm-ups came back to bite him on the serve. The contact was dead center on the airborne ball, but it was easy to see that Miyaji still need to work on delivering a swing powerful enough. That being said, the ball hurtled over the net, topspin added to the already existing spin added to the right; however, it lacked the force that Minako's had, prompting a tch from Miyaji as he watched. The ball was sent on a course toward Shiro, but the closer it got, the more it began to slowly but surely seem to curve to his left...
 
As if time has sped up, Shiro could only watch as the first point was scored in a seemingly effortless manner. Minako delivered a great serve but it seemed that the player he had not met yet was able to slide in and deny the ball access to the ground, keeping the ball in play. The kid was dedicated, Shiro admired that.

Then, it happened.

Shiro's scarlet eyes followed as Miyaji set Toba up for an attack, and with incredible initiative the latter had leaped up, slamming the ball to their side. Shiro knew he probably should've rushed up to aid Charles in blocking the ball, but it was as if he was stuck in a trance. He analyzed how high Toba had jumped, the trajectory of his arm, the area in which he was aiming his spike, and how confidently he delivered the strike. To his shock, Shiro noticed how Charles actually hesitated– and missed the block. The ball zipped right past Shiro, a small gush of wind rippling his hair as it continued down its path and slammed on to their side of the court, followed by the whistling of Mira. The volleyball was then delivered back to Miyaji.

"Haha.... it's alright." Shiro responded back to his large teammate who seemed pretty shaken up with himself over his mistake. "This next one definitely won't be so easy for them!"

He could feel his blood still rushing. He noticed the rest of the team and Coach Touza on the sidelines, watching intently. This time it was up to them to stop Miyaji's serving and take the point back - it was up to him. As Miyaji delivered a solid, the ball came hurling straight for Shiro... or so he thought. He quickly settled into a light squat and encased his hands together. This was the perfect moment, as Shiro wouldn't even have to chase the ball down to receive it due to it soaring straight towards him– however as it drew closer he couldn't help but notice something was a little off about the serve.
Suddenly, the ball cut its course and reared off to the left.

Shit, Shiro murmured under his breathe - knowing good and well his left arm wasn't as stable as his right. His thought process suddenly went into a frenzy, but it seemed like his body acted before his mind could even deliver orders. Being light on his feet, the blonde shifted his feet's positioning, giving himself a little boost as he slid towards the ball's final destination. He kept his arms structured stiffly before him, and luckily was able to present the ball with his own force, launching it up in the air.

It wasn't through the most ideal of methods, but thankfully the ball took course towards the center of the court, directly before Minako. He whipped his head towards her, calling her name quickly with a familiar tone of voice. Shiro then dashed towards the right side of the net. Obviously, the attack strategy would prove to be quite clear, but Shiro knew that it didn't matter as long as they were quick enough - and that wouldn't prove to be much of a problem as long as the pair could pull off what they did at tryouts last week.

He drew closer to the net, keeping an eye tightly on Minako's next series of movements.
 
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Minako said nothing to Miyaji as he taunted her once more, but as he turned his back, she stuck her tongue out in a huffy manner. Her own back turned after a few moments as she considered how easily Yoshi had dug her serve. Truth be told, she was fairly ticked off that it hadn't been much of an issue for him at all. He's more capable than he looks, I suppose, the teen thought, exhaling sharply as she settled back near the line.

As Miyaji fired his serve over -- tricky and brute altogether -- Minako watched with utter focus as Shiro shifted back to receive it. Her eyes darted over to where Charles was lingering for a split-second as she weighed her options. He doesn't seem quite ready yet, she told herself just as the ball began soaring upwards from Shiro's pass. Minako hastily stepped to the ball's falling destination, hands hovering loosely above her. As she heard her name ring out from Shiro's voice, a fiendish glint flickered in her eyes. "Way ahead of you," she breathed quietly, taking a short step before her feet left the ground in a small hop. The ball met her fingertips, and in a fluid motion, she tossed the ball into a straight path above and along the net where Shiro preferred it. Like a bullet, it fired along before meeting his open palm and getting slammed down the opposite court.
 
It seemed Minako had known what Shiro wanted before he was even able to vocalize it. Smirking, Shiro launched himself in the air. Winding his arched arm backwards, he mustered up as much power as he could, awaiting the ball to meet him in midair in order to deliver the blow.

Surely enough, the volleyball had made its arrival to Shiro's vicinity. From his position, Shiro could see all areas of the opposing three's side of the court. He was too smart to send it anywhere near Yoshi, because if he could successfully rebuke Minako's serve, Shiro wouldn't fair any better. Within milliseconds he noticed Miyaji still had a decent amount of distance away from the net, and Toba remained directly before him.

Shiro's scarlet gaze intensified as he locked in direct eye contact with Toba from above, a grin only growing wider on his face as he nailed the ball directly with his palm - sending it down to the exposed left side of their court. The ball's contact with the ground echoed the most satisfying sound Shiro could ever imagine as he landed back on two feet, followed by a whistle indicating that teams point. His right hand tingled. Perhaps he was a bit dramatic with the play, but the contentment of having scored the teams first point left him with an immaculate sense of belonging.

"That...... was..... amazing!!" The blonde shouted, quickly whipping his head around to Minako, throwing his fist in the air. "That serve was everything I needed! Nicely done Min-"

Just as he was celebrating, Shiro was thumped in the head from the volleyball that had soared in unexpectedly. He emitted a short whine, turning his attention to where the ball came from, seeing Coach Touza standing with his whistle gripped loosely between lips.

"That was only the first point, boy wonder. Don't get comfortable."

Shiro could only stand dumbfounded as he was called out. With a pale face he held the ball as he shamefully shuffled behind the court line. He shook his head slightly, trying to get back into his zone. He looked on to the opposing side - there was no doubt they would be ready, since Shiro's serves were nothing but average. All he could do was hope that their very own baby-giant would be able to halt them in their tracks once the ball was launched back.

Keeping his feet planted, he tossed the ball upwards before taking one simple step forwards and striking the sphere. It journeyed through the air, smoothly sailing over the net but without much force at all. He hated that he practically presented them with a chance ball, but there wasn't much he could do about it now - he just moved quickly near the net, and a tad closer to where Charles was positioned.
 
Charles, who had yet to do anything beside mess up, was sweating as he watched his teammates work. He wasn't quite in the game yet, much too entranced in watching the others work. It was truly incredible, Shiro and Minako didn't so much as part their lips but they knew what they wanted so perfectly. Shiro slammed the ball with such perfect accuracy that nobody had time to reach it. Charles clasped his hands together like a cheerleader, but didn't say anything out of fear of being scolded like Shiro had after celebrating. His team was so good, he felt good just standing with them. He wouldn't disappointing them again, this time he would let them know that they could rely on him.

Yoshiro felt a satisfied hum rumble in his throat as Toba got the kill, high-fiving the setter and giving a thumbs up to their offensive star. It had been a while since he had the satisfaction of the whole team working together so perfectly. Everybody was skilled, and the pieces also fit together so well. Yoshi couldn't wait to get the ball back and feel that same feeling once more. Next, Miyaji was up to serve. Miyaji's serve wasn't Minako's, but it was good by all means- still Shiro managed to control it enough for him and Minako to show how well the pair knew each other. Yoshi's leg's tensed as his bright eyes flicked between Shiro's eyes and raised hand as he attempted to read where the boy was sending the ball. When Shiro made contact with the ball, he sent it flying to the empty spot on the other side of the court. Yoshi instinctively lunged, but was too far to connect with the ball, instead his flat hand landed just inches before where the ball slammed onto the ground with incredible force. Yoshi gritted his teeth as a quick tsk left his lips and he pushed himself back to his feet. "Damn..." the boy muttered under his breath as he walked back to his position, not saying anything about the lost point.
Soon after, Shiro was serving. Yoshi felt an extra bit of motivation as Shiro prepared to serve. He had gotten the last one on the team, but Yoshi was determined to stop this one. Much to Yoshi's surprise, however, Shiro's serve was nothing like his hit. It sailed smooth and steady over the net, Yoshi barely had move his feet as he received the ball with an exhale, easily sending right back into the air for an easy set by Miyaji.
 
There was nothing that could be done; Miyaji had been late to the block, the tips of his fingers mere millimetres shy of the quick toss that had been slammed down by Shiro. Falling back to the ground with a huff, the second year put his hands on his hips and sighed in disappointment, turning back to his teammates and bringing a hand up in apology. "My bad; I'll stop it next time." As he walked back over to his original position, he passed by Minako, clicking his tongue in mild annoyance. "That was ballsy; didn't think you'd pull that on your first play." Restraining urges to say any more, he now stood, facing the side of the court as Shiro's serve sailed over. Once again, Yoshi pulled off a perfect receive, and the ball was bumped in a smooth, high arc to Miyaji, who jumped up to continue the play.

Prior to Shiro's serve, Miyaji recalled having snuck a narrow-eyed glance at Charles; his understanding of the game and technique seemed lacking, but that height of his posed a clear threat. Keeping this in mind, the second-year once again tossed the ball Toba's way, exactly the same way he had done earlier. Once Charles starts jumping for blocks in time, it'll be hard to score points; hopefully that doesn't happen soon. Should probably get ready for a block-follow, anyway. As the ball was tossed, Miyaji quickly shot a look at Yoshi, hoping he could get his attention as he gestured with a finger to step up behind Toba; if the ball was blocked, he had a feeling the first year would come in handy to keep the ball up.
 
Toba was too busy caught up in his moment to realize Miyaji was serving, until of course the resounding smack of the ball grabbed his attention. He was impressed with the curve of his serve, even if it wasn't the most powerful. The familiar second-year shot the ball into the air with an excellently timed receive, resulting in a clean set from Minako. She moved like nothing he had ever seen before, almost like a raindrop on a plane window. He was awestruck, until he saw the second year. Before, Toba saw him as a decent player, he didn't know what to think of him. But that all changed, when for a brief moment, he looked up at his wide grin and determined eyes, and was quivered to the core. The ball flew past him, his silver hair flowed with the friction yet his entire body still remained frozen. He blinked, his gaze on Shiro celebrating the kill with the other two. After a moment, his shocked expression quickly turned into that of an agitated one. Toba's face twitched and his fist was clenched, yet he couldn't help but smile in excitement.
He locked eyes with Shiro; a rivalry had begun.

The blonde haired boy wonder gave a steady serve, and of course Yoshi picked it up with ease. It was such a perfect receive, that it seemed to glide straight to Miyaji, who was quick to send it his way. The ball was a decent distance from the net, and was set quite high. He took small steps toward it, then once again rocketed off his left foot, soaring towards the ball. He knew that the massive blocker they had was sure to react this time. So, he had to just try his best, and attempt a cut-shot thin enough to get through. Toba whipped down onto the ball with a slightly curved hand.
 
Charles watched Yoshi receive the ball and Miyaji set it, all in a perfect and fluid motion that gave Toba the optimum hitting opportunity. Charles prepared with slightly bent knees, it wasn't going to get past him this time- this time he had to be ready. The boy rocked on his heels as Toba reeled back his. Almost simultaneously with Toba's palm making contact with the ball, Charles' feet were off the ground. What the boy had expected to buzz right over his head like last time, instead began at an angle to brush past his side- Charles' gaze shifted midair as he rotated his shoulders and pivoted at the hips, moving his entire upper body to counter the ball. Charles wasn't particularly fast, and his early jump made for a bad call on his part- but his outstretched arms reached almost 80 inches and covered and intimidating about of surface area no matter what angle he held them at. Charles closed his eyes as he somewhat twisted body made a wall, only opening them once safely on the floor. The boy took a quick glance to either side of him to find that the ball hadn't fallen around him- in fact it was somehow on the other side of the net! What had happened? Did he block it? Charles hadn't even felt the ball at all. A bubbly excitement built up inside the boy though he attempted to remain focus as he knew it wasn't over yet.

Yoshiro glanced at Miyaji's gestures, giving a stiff nod and taking a step forward to block the hole in the front of the court. Honestly, he wasn't too worried about Charles or Shiro. Though Charles was a giant, he was sloppy and slow- and Shiro was the stereotypical bouncy hitter, but Yoshi hadn't seen him block all practice. Still, he took his setters instructions and dropped into a ready position as Toba struck the ball. As if the world were scolding him for underestimating his opponents- Charles rejected the ball entirely. Though at a rather awkward angle, Charles' lengthy body managed to reach across the net from where he was standing, the ball hit his wrists and came spiraling right back towards the ground with the same momentum Toba had hit it with but at an angle that seemed to go straight down. Yoshi held his breath as the ball seemed only inches away, the boy's hands twitched as his mind raced with possibilities. Suddenly, Yoshi's body went flat. With no time for a running start or jump, his legs shot backwards and his body dropped to the ground with a single flat hand extended. Much to the boy's relief, he watched the ball make contact with his skin and bounce back up in a straight line. Yoshi let out a short grunt of pain, simply from what he knew would be a bruise and court burn, as he rolled out of the way to avoid being stepped on.
 
He was right, but that didn't mean Miyaji wasn't annoyed that it had happened already. Luckily, Yoshi had understood his gesture before the block and was in position to save the ball. Heaving a sigh of relief as the first-year had dove and kept the ball in play, Miyaji called out, "Nice receive; thanks for the save!" He clicked his tongue in irritation as he saw Charles' demeanor quickly transition into an absolutely beaming one, obviously proud of what he had just accomplished. He even read the cut-shot; man, that's annoying. However, the second-year quickly forced down his petty annoyance with a deep breath, scanning his surroundings as the ball continued to float upward. Toba had now landed back on the ground, and Yoshi had rolled to safety to avoid getting in the way; as he got into position, Miyaji made eye contact with Toba, urgently gesturing for him to move backward to get ready to spike once again. He was sure that the both of them knew that he was in no position to comfortably spike again, but Miyaji had to hope that the other team didn't catch their bluff.

Jumping up into the air with his arms outstretched, the second-year seemed as if he was about to toss, calling out, "Toba!" However, at the last second, Miyaji turned to face the front, his right arm brought back. With a quick scan of the other side of the court, he noticed that Charles was still at the front, eyes still glimmering with delight despite his visible attempts to remain focused... he could use that. Minako was also at the front as usual, and Shiro had marked his own side of the court, leaving the right side completely open. With a sharp swing downwards, the ball was slammed into the far corner, mere inches shy of the boundary line and earning Miyaji's team the point. Once again, he let out a relieved sigh and pumped a fist into the air before flashing a thumbs-up at Toba and turning to help Yoshi up.
 
Toba gritted his teeth in frustration when the spike was blocked, but he quickly regained composure when Yoshi once again shot it back up in the air. He stepped back and watched Miyaji carefully, who was signalling for another spike. He launched off the ground, winding his arm back and widening his eyes. Before the block could even prepare, Miyaji instead pulled a sly dump spike. Toba landed on the shiny wood floor, then raised his brows in surprise. "That was so cool!" He gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up back. It was a smart move by Miyaji, though he could only expect that by somebody with his experience.

Toba stretched his arm, before catching the retrieved ball that was tossed his way. His eyes scanned the other side of the net, looking for an open spot. He heaved the ball up gently, then gave it a solid smack with intense force. It wasn't a jump serve so it wasn't nearly as powerful as the other serves before him, but it would do. It soared past the net and went straight for the far left-side, hardly shaking off course. It would be quite easy to receive considering it wasn't very shaky. He knew the serve wasn't great, which made his face twitch uncontrollably.
 
Yoshi's slow breaths broke slightly when Miyaji dumped the ball for yet another point. Yoshi, who had been fairly quiet up until the last play sported a grin "Alright!" he praised his teammates and pounded his fists together. The game was moving relatively quickly, though the score was close- it seemed that once one team scored the other scored right after. Yoshi narrowed his gaze just past the net, at this point he had forgotten about the coaches and 3rd years who were watching and was focused completely on the game in front of him. Miyaji's dump had taken everyone by surprise, but it wouldn't have worked without Toba reeling for a toss- both teams worked fluidly despite the players barely knowing one another.

Charles gasped as Yoshi received his block, shifting his weight off of his toes and onto the ground to recenter himself. As unfortunate as it was that his block hadn't earned a point, Charles was feeling a new sort of high. He had actually done something! He helped the team! Charles prepared to block again as Toba stepped back and Miyaji got the ball. Focused on the hitter, Charles hardly even noticed Miyaji's subtle movement until the ball was already over the net. The boy's mouth dropped as he just watched the ball hit the floor, hardly even reacting as he blinked at the rolling ball and then at Miyaji. What had he done? He put it over? Why? Wasn't he supposed to set it? Charles' heart raced as questions flooded his mind, was he supposed to anticipate that? How could he? The boy sighed and his shoulder's slumped, his block was too good to be true. Rolling his shoulders the tall boy pressed his lips together, next time he'd be ready. It was okay, to mess up once so long as you don't do it again, right? "Sorry." the boy smiled sheepishly at his teammates, "I was not ready for that." Charles smiled softly out of the embarrassment of being caught off guard once again, but he was light hearted and din't seem too devastated about the lost point.
As Toba got the ball to serve, Charles shook his hands at the net in an attempt to loosen up before taking a step backwards. When Toba tossed the ball up, a lump built in Charles throat. The a crack could be heard before the ball was sent flying towards the boy, it wasn't a hard serve to receive but the closer it got the more the ball seemed to speed up. Charles panicked, sending a quick glance towards Minako before instinctively placing his hands above his forehead. Perhaps if he were shorter the ball wouldn't have reached him as quickly, but from where Charles stood his face would've been hit unless he back into position to receive. Still, Charles flung the ball in a sloppy sort of overhead pass towards the general area of Minako- it was in no means perfect, but the girl did claim she'd be able to set it as long as it was close to her.
 
A scowl couldn't help but flash onto Minako's face as the ball Miyaji killed dribbled on the floor of the court. With plenty of experience in the field of setter attacks, she felt a considerable amount of shame for failing to alert her teammates sooner. At the shift of Miyaji's torso, the girl had comprehended that there wouldn't be a third hit. "Sorry," she said to her teammates, glancing at either one of them and sounding irked. "I should've said something." With the combination of Miyaji's successful plays and his quips and taunts to her, Minako was slowly growing exasperated.

By the time Toba's serve soared calmly over the net, Minako had half-heartedly forgiven herself and instead focused on redemption. Minako caught the glance of fear Charles sent her as the ball hurled towards him, and a small exhale of amusement escaped her lips as his hands messily pushed the ball upwards. Once again, the girl weighed her options as the ball hung in the air. Her eyes darted to both of her teammates before she took her approaching steps underneath the falling ball. Not quite ready. Soon, she told herself as her gaze lingered over Charles. Taking a firm step, she jumped up with loose wrists, letting the ball rest in her fingers for a split-second before tossing it outwards and along the net ahead of Shiro. It wasn't as fast as their quick that they'd introduced themselves with, but it was by no means slow.
 
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"A...... dump?" Shiro muttered in a dumbfounded manner once he saw the effective stunt Miyaji pulled. He was shocked, but something like that was just like Miyaji, and for all he knew it was probably challenging sign directed towards Minako - and immediately reading her facial expressions, it seemed it had got to her.

The sandy blonde was pissed at himself for not moving quicker on his feet and lunging in to repel the ball from the waxed gym floor, but he noticed his other two teammates move on rather quickly and focus in on the next course of action, so he followed in their steps and just shook the past couple seconds out of his mind - they could still even out the score and take the lead if they were consistent.

Toba had delivered a decent serve opting out of anything too flashy; something else that the two boys seemed to have in common. Shiro's eyes shot straight to Charles as the ball glided to his side of the court. The tall boy visibly panicked once more. He had a monstrous, unique block, but Shiro noticed that Charles didn't seem to be too confident in much else. Normally, Shiro would grow tiresome with such a player, but he found the french student's determination and work ethic was endearing. Regardless of stability, he saw that Charles was able to get the ball over to Minako.

As soon as the ball made brief contact with his green-eyed teammate's fingers, Shiro took off along the net, leaping upwards. His knees bent beneath him as his arm reared back while he rose in the air - however he realized the had gotten ahead of himself as the ball wasn't honing in at the same tempo as their normal quick. Shiro decided to take a page from Charles' book, sharply angling his body to change his arms trajectory. Slowing his roll by just a smidge, he was able to make direct contact with the ball. Unfortunately he was too preoccupied correcting himself midair to plan out where to even send the ball, so he decided to simply slam his palm against the volleyball in a direct path, praying he moved quicker than any blockers.
 
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A small grin could be briefly visible upon hearing his teammates celebrate with him, but Miyaji soon redirected his full attention to the game. Toba's serve had been direct, a good amount of force for a simple overhand aimed right toward Charles, who had barely received it with an overhead pass. Determined to stop this next attack, the second-year shifted to the left in between Minako and Shiro as the ball sailed toward her. Assuming the toss would go to the latter after noticing Charles' still-rather-timid demeanor during the match, Miyaji watched with a sharp gaze, feeling slight satisfaction when his intuition proved to be correct. As Minako tossed the ball to Shiro, he noticed that it was quite a fast set, but it was slower than their previous quick, and he wouldn't let that escape him.

Having watched Shiro carefully, the middle blocker saw him struggling to orient himself before spiking and deduced that he wouldn't have time to control the direction of the spike very well. This meant that the wing spiker would be hitting it in the way that felt most comfortable, meaning straight forward. In that case, he simply needed to center himself with Shiro's arm and jump. The now spiked volleyball collided with an unwavering palm as Miyaji quickly darted to Shiro's location and jumped, arms stretched upward and hands positioned at an angle to kill the ball's momentum. It was immediately shot down back into the other side of the court; Miyaji felt a slight stinging sensation on the palm of his right hand, and there was a barely visible red where it had been struck. He tightened the hand into a fist after landing back onto the ground and turned to face his teammates, flashing a thumbs up once again.
 
Toba wiped the sweat from his forehead, his breathing starting to get heavy. His serve seemed to be actually quite decent, to his surprise. Maybe it was his lucky day after all. The ball came close to Charles, who sent it to the rather decisive Minako. She quickly set the ball at an astounding speed, though not as fast as before. It seemed to hover a few inches away from the net, shooting towards Shiro's direction on a split angle. Toba wasn't able to get close enough to block, and his receives were utterly awful, this was bad. His panic was washed away when the second year of the team sky-rocketed upward and managed to absolutely stuff the ball like the alpha chad he was. Toba got goosebumps from the epic block his upperclassman just pulled off.
"WOAH! Nice block Miyaji!" He exclaimed joyfully. If he wasn't there to block it, they would've been one point down, which would've given them momentum. It was up to Toba to cut off any chance of the other team getting ahead. He just had to give them a solid serve. That's all. He took a deep breath inward, bending down to grab the ball that was rolled to him. He thought back to the first serve by Miyaji, then mimicked his exact movements. He was hoping to serve it just like he did to impress him.

Toba tossed the ball into the air, then took a few steps before launching off the ground. This would be his first jump serve, and it seemed to be astoundingly perfect so far. With a wide grin he hit the ball with all his might, his arm cracking down onto it like a whip. The power was substantial, as his hand was already stinging from the hard hit. But the accuracy, however...not so much. The ball made a b-line straight for the back of Miyaji's head. Toba's gut dropped to the bottom of tartarus and his heart shattered into a couple hundred pieces. The very person he was supposed to impress had a volleyball darting towards the back of his head.
 
Charles' eyes grew wide as Miyaji blocked Shiro's hit. The boy put his own arms in the air as if comparing them to Miyaji's before quickly putting them down after realizing how ridiculous he looked. "Yes! Good job!" Charles excitedly applauded the other team's block and then turned to Shiro. Charles thought about saying some words of encouragement, but couldn't form the right sentence before Toba already had the ball ready for his next serve. Charles dropped his body slightly, learning from his last receive, and concentrated on the ball in Toba's hands. When Toba made contact with the ball, Charles exhaled- though the ball didn't quite go where Charles' had expected. "Oh..." the boy muttered, face red from embarrassment that he was sure Toba felt. The tall boy winced when the ball collided with Miyaji's head, oops. The gym fell silent at first, followed by Yoshi's stifled laughter and the conversation shared between Toba and his upper classman, Charles stood very still as he was unsure how to respond to such a move. But, in a matter of seconds it was his turn to serve.
As the ball rolled towards Charles, he didn't react until it hit his toe and began rolling the opposite direction. When Charles picked the ball up, he felt instant dread. What if he did exactly what Toba had just done? Charles' eyes were wide as he shuffled to the back of the court, standing in the middle and glancing at both of his teammates before sighing. Charles held the ball in his lowered hand, dipping it slightly and focusing on the other side of the court. He just had to hit it over- strong, fast, and over. The boy tossed the ball into the air and took a single step as he moved his right foot forward and struck the ball with the same hand. When Charles made contact with the ball, he could feel the force ripple through his finger tips and up his arm. The ball traveled with alarming speed, he had struck it with what seemed like too much force as it barreled towards the very back of the other team's court in a straight line from where he stood.

Yoshi's mouth dropped slightly when Miyaji blocked the ball just like Charles had the turn before- if one thing was clear it was that Miyaji thrived in competition. He nodded in agreement with Toba's praise and took the moment to relax as Toba went back for his second serve. Yoshi didn't think much about it. While sloppy, Toba's last serve made it over the net just fine- but it seemed all the action had distracted the boy and he got a bit ahead of himself as his feet left the ground in what seemed like his first jump serve. As the ball came down with impressive speed, it's path was clear. Yoshiro couldn't help but smirk as the ball spiraled towards the back of Miyaji's head, and upon making contact Yoshi spit slightly and let out a single chuckle. Typically, Yoshi would be upset about such a play, but he was in a good mood from the fun of the game and the fact he hit his own teammate was hard not to laugh at. He could imagine that Toba wasn't very happy with the serve, so Yoshi did his best to keep from smiling after the outburst, "Eh, that's fine, happens to the best of us." he shrugged after regaining composure.
Yoshi watched Charles go up to serve, not exactly sure what to expect. The boy was obviously not very experienced, this could very well be his first serve in his life. The boy watched Charles and anticipated the trajectory of the serve, it was a simple and straight serve but fast and far from where Yoshi stood. Yoshi gritted his teeth, was it going out? It was hard to tell. Deciding not to risk the point, Yoshi spun his entire body around and lunged for the ball, clasping his hands and stretching out his body slightly. With his wrist at the out of bounds line, Yoshi watched the perfectly hit his forearms and bounce back towards Miyaji. The boy stood up and wiped his forehead, so it would've been in, afterall.
 
He had blinked. All he had done was blink. And yet, in that one, insignificant blink, Miyaji's world was sharply whipped downward as something made a swift collision with his head. As the ball fell to the ground and dribbled off to the side, the court fell silent; obviously, it wasn't long before quiet chuckles and murmurs broke out, even among the two coaches. Bringing up a hand to gingerly rub the site of injury, the second year winced in mild pain; luckily, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it sounded. Once the shock of actually getting sniped with a volleyball had worn off, Miyaji shook off the remaining traces of disarray and turned to glance at Toba. The poor kid looked devastated, and Miyaji's stoic demeanor devoid of warmth probably didn't help much. He strolled over to him, stopping a couple of feet from Toba, and continued to stare, seeming to gaze into the depths of his soul.

The court had fallen quiet once again, probably in apprehension of what could happen next. However, after about a minute of tense silence, Miyaji shrugged and gave the first year a fist bump. "Quite an arm you had on that one; don't worry about it." The atmosphere seemed to relax after he had spoken, and without a word, Miyaji returned to his position. Once everything was resolved, Charles was handed the ball, and he fired a simple overhand like Toba and Shiro. Charles had mostly given off an uncertain demeanor aside from his block, but it turned out that he definitely made up for his lack of experience with strength. Yoshi had gotten it up, but it might have been about the same speed as Minako's, if not faster. As the ball sailed toward him, Miyaji turned to face Toba's side of the court before pushing a toss to him, a bit higher than usual. Hopefully, the added height would give the wing spiker enough time to hit where he wanted, especially if a blocker was coming up with him.
 
Toba's knees stopped shaking when, to his relief, Miyaji let him go easy and calmly reassured him. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to get overly mad about something like that, so it was an expected reaction. Toba gave him a smile and a hardy thumbs up, then got back into position. The friendly foreign tall one was up to serve, and by the looks of his kind demeanor he didn't know what to expect. His curiosity was satisfied when he sent a power-loaded serve spiraling towards the back end of the court. As quick as ever, Yoshi valiantly lunged for the ball, making a clean receive that bounced up high and was headed for Miyaji.

Toba was standing on more of an outer position, so he could get a better angle for a cross-court shot. The second-year setter sent the ball towards the left side, though it seemed to travel at a greater height, perfect for Toba. He approached the ball with quick feet, leaping off his left foot and taking one final step before liftoff. Since he jumped on more of an angle, he was in-line to see the opening for a cross shot. His arm cracked down like whip and his hand welted the ball emphatically; the impact causing him to grunt. His eyes were too focused on the opening to notice if Charles had come up to block or not, but he just hoped the angle was enough to break through. In the past he wasn't blocked much due to his speed and precision, but now his skills were far less impressive when against the impenetrable wall that his teammate was.
 
Shiro's kill had been shut down, and before he even had a chance to clearly identify the blocker, he knew it was Miyaji. The sandy blonde made a tsk sound as the two landed back on their feet, seeing that his assumption was right. That was the first time this match that any of his attacks were refuted, and it didn't feel good. Despite being able to take advantage of their team's slip earlier, Miyaji seemed to be all over any loose ends.

"Its fine, Its fine." Shiro mumbled to himself as he childishly rattled his head side to side, stepping back into his position on the court.

This time, Toba had served.... and as if it were a gift of karma the gods had delivered in Shiro's favor, his old chum welcomed the volleyball with the entirety of his back head. Despite the silence that fell upon the gym, Shiro failed in his best efforts to stifle laughter. A continuous bellow of chuckles emitted from his mouth before he forced his own palms against his mouth in order to avoid anymore warning shots from Coach Touza. He grew silent as he saw Miyaji coldly approach Toba, and Shiro was worried he would pull a Minako and scare the living daylights out of the boy. Alas, it was revealed his nature wasn't quite as frightening as the former when he reassured Toba that it was alright.

Moving on, it was Charles' turn to serve. He watched on as his teammate launched over the ball with the power of a thousand suns - yet again being shocked by his increase in power. To Shiro's dismay, Yoshiro was able to rebound that kind of serve as well... he was beginning to believe that it was impossible for any ball within the seemingly leisure 1st Year's vicinity to ever touch the ground. The following actions went on as expected; Miyaji setting the ball towards Toba.

This was his chance. The last thing Shiro wanted was for Toba to show off another successful spike. Without thinking much, Shiro took off towards the net, noticing he was closer to it than Charles. He leaped in the air, his limbs extended stiffly outwards. Shiro didn't have the best physique for blocking, but he figured if he stuck to the basics he would be alright. However, a quick glare to Toba's killing arm indicated that the trajectory of the ball was not as he expected. It looked like Toba was attempting a similar cut-shot as Shiro had done earlier. Once more without thinking, Shiro widened his reach by slightly adjusting his left arm - however his efforts proved futile as it only caused the attack to burst through both of his small hands like a raging dam.

"Agh!" He muttered as he whipped his head around, noticing the ball heading for Charles. Its paced was slowed, but still came barreling down with a decent amount of force.
 
Charles watched in awe as his serve, in what was a miracle in his eyes, went over the net. He almost got caught staring while outside of the court, but the crisp sound of Yoshi's receive brought him back to the game and he quickly rushed back to the net. Charles, body still tingling from his serve, clenched his teeth as Shiro had already slapped the ball towards the opposite side of the court. Before Charles could move, Shiro took flight with arms extended. Charles smiled slightly, glad that his teammate had covered before he could make another mistake, it seemed that something had shifted inside of Charles- the slightest difference could be observed from the tension he had lost and the more relaxed posture he know held. The ball broke through Shiro's extended arms, but the other blonde's attempted block managed to slow the speed of the ball and shift it's direction only the smallest bit. Charles managed to catch sight of the ball as it passed Shrio's limbs, extending his back slightly and pushing out his arms with palms clasped together. The receive was solid, granted his form was far from perfect. Charles watched the ball spin as it popped back into the air and Minako's direction. The boy looked down at the perfect red circle on his forearms and winced before glancing toward Minako, Shiro wasn't anywhere near position and Charles was still a few paces back from the net- What could she do? They put her in a bad position! Charles seemed to panic for the girl, even knowing that she was skilled enough to handle it.
 
Minako couldn't help but snort as the ball spiraled directly into the back of Miyaji's head off of Toba's serve. It was quite lucky, she thought, that it struck Miyaji, of all people. There were few worse people to nail with a volleyball, in her opinion. But the rigidity of the situation was resolved soon enough, and Charles stood at the line with the ball.

The girl watched with an expression of slight awe at the brute strength of his serve as the ball advanced wildly to the edge of the opposite court. She took a mental note of the untamed strength that the foreign student possessed as Yoshi managed to stop its trajectory. Her eyes were watching intently as the ball traveled from player to player, allowing a small smirk to slip onto her face as Shiro got his hands on the attack. Minako already knew, at that point, that her options were very limited when it came to setting something up for her teammates. As she took a few steps to get under the pass from Charles, she made hard eye contact with both of her teammates before taking a short step and jumping upwards. As her hands were mere inches away from the ball, however, Minako let her right hand falter below while her left hand brushed against it gingerly. The ball hit the tape behind Minako's head, rolling over the net and landing in the opposite court with a soft thud as she landed. Eyes narrowing ever so slightly, Minako glanced at Miyaji with a snippy expression before she whipped her head around to face her teammates. She nodded shortly in the general direction of her teammates before clearing her throat. "Nice support, both of you. Let's keep this momentum going," Minako uttered coolly.
 
Miyaji sucked in a sharp inhale of breath as the ball fell past the net and hit the floor just out of his reach, and upon catching Minako's look, his face twisted into an amused smirk. After heaving a sigh, he rolled the ball under the net after shooting a curt, "Nice play," to the girl beside him. Miyaji turned to glance at his own teammates and held up a hand in apology. "My bad; I should've seen it coming. It's okay, though," He added, turning back to stare at his opponents. "We'll be taking that point and some more soon enough."

~~~

Using his shirt to wipe the sweat off of his face, Miyaji felt his chest heaving with exhausted breaths, as he found himself remaining on the court for... too long. The match had been consistently intense so far, with both teams scoring points back and forth, but although Miyaji's team was more consistent in terms of technicality, Minako's flawless sets every play had given them more of the momentum, and now they were one point away from getting a break and winning the match. It was now the girl's serve, and as he waited for everyone to get into position, an idea came to mind, and Miyaji turned to glance at a coach, signalling with a finger for just a few minutes' timeout. When the coach nodded, he pulled Toba and Yoshi aside, asking, "Can we try something?" Soon, his voice became a hushed whisper as Miyaji's team formed a loose huddle, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Finally, the whistle blew, and the three got into their positions: a v-formation that seemed just the slightest bit tighter than before. Minako was given the ball for the serve, and as she had done consistently since the game had started, she fired a nasty spike serve that barreled across the court over the net. However, as soon as Minako's hand had made contact with the ball, Miyaji shouted, "Now!" and immediately, Yoshi--who had been in the back--switched places with Miyaji, putting the latter in the back of the court as Yoshi darted up to the front-middle. Luckily, there was plenty of time left after the two had switched for Miyaji to receive Minako's daunting serve, and having dealt with the first of her many attempts at such a high-speed serve, Miyaji was able to pick it up with ease, bumping it smoothly to Yoshi. With a quick nod to Toba once he had his attention, the second-year began his approach from the right, trusting Toba would follow suit as he watched Yoshi with a hawk-like gaze.

The plan had been for both to approach the net, but since Toba had gotten in the most hits and provided results with many of them, Miyaji was counting on the focus to be on the first-year wing spiker. However, if all went according to plan, the ball would instead go to the second-year, throwing off at least one player on the other team. The plan ended up progressing smoothly, and soon, the ball was tossed high, set on a course for Miyaji's side of the court. He took a few steps, arms brought back before he launched off the ground, begging his tired legs to jump as high as they normally did. His body was facing inward, suggesting a cut shot from the interim opposite hitter; unbeknownst to the other team, however, Miyaji planned to slam the ball down the line, and once the ball was in reach, he whipped his arm downward to do just that. His open hand struck the ball with more force than he felt himself use than usual, and sure enough, the ball was sent on a course to touch the floor, centimeters shy of the sideline.
 
Charles' entire body heaved with his shallow breaths, mouth gaped open as he attempted to get more oxygen into his tired body. Never in his life had he felt so tired, and yet at the same time he had never felt such a rush of adrenaline before. When he was 8, Charles took 3 weeks of ballet lessons. It was at that point in time the boy realized that he was not an athlete, he tripped over his own legs and accidentally bumped into others. And yet here, with only the net in front of him and his teammates beside him, Charles felt unstoppable. The lost points were earned back so easily that they no longer mattered- Charles was fully focused on winning. Physically, Charles had peaked somewhere during the middle of the game when he was all warmed up but not quite tired- now his athletic ability was starting to fade as exhaustion wore down his body. However, mentally, Charles improvement over the single practice match was astounding. After a solid couple of hits thanks to Minako's steady and consistent sets, Charles gained confidence. He grew more familiar with the patterns of each player and the various options of hitting techniques and directions, and his usually mellow gaze was wide with alertness.
When Yoshi and Miyaji switched, Charles' gaze followed the pair as they crossed paths meaning that Yoshi would instead be hitting. Things seemed to slow down as the soared through the sky from Yoshi's palms and towards both Miyaji and Toba. Toba had a good arm, he undoubtedly could hit a ball like that with a lot of force. And while Miyaji had yet to strike the ball, his serve was solid, and it didn't make sense for him to not be setting unless he wanted the hit. Of course, he could just be a distraction so Toba had a more open shot at the court. Charles gritted his teeth as his mind raced, the ball began it's descent towards the hitter and Charles immediately knew it would be Miyaji hitting. The muscles in Charles' calves twitched with eagerness to launch him from the wooden floor, the other boy's posture hinted at a cut shot, but Charles only jumped at the slightest hint from the other boy's eyes which suggested he'd be hitting it forward. Charles, who's vertical jump couldn't have been higher than 20 inches, reached his long body high above the net and he narrowed his eyes as both his palms cupped the spinning ball slightly before sending it flying back towards Miyaji while the latter was still in the air. It all happened so quick it was hard to capture with the naked eye, Charles face was briefly riddled with a hint of competitive triumph before it quickly melted into a cartoonish expression of gleeful relief as the score showed a win for his team.

Yoshi's small body glistened with sweat, the occasional red patch or court burn that marked his body served as evidence to the intensity of the game. Time seemed to slow as the match moved on, not a moment was dull and no player lasted more than a rally without some sort of action. The game was so back and forth that it'd be impossible to predict a winner, even a few of the third years seemed to take interest in the game. When Miyaji called a huddle for the group of three, Yoshi's body relaxed while he could as he listened to the older boy with tired eyes, the plan was fairly simple and it hadn't been done yet so the other team couldn't possibly expect such a play.
As the team executed their play, Yoshi grinned at his set. It wasn't on the same level as Minako or Miyajo, but it was well enough that the play should go smoothly. Much to the boy's excitement, it went exactly how Miyaji planned it out. Toba went up with near perfect posture, one would assume the ball was right in front of him until the crisp smack of Miyaji's hand forced the ball forward. One could simply hear how much force the ball would barrel over the net with, it appeared Miyaji could do more than just block and set.
Yoshi's clenched his fist as Miyaji hit the ball, though it appeared that within mere milliseconds of when Miyaji made contact with the ball, Charles did as well. The ball was forced back between Miyaji and Toba, who both were barely recovering from their jump. Yoshi, who was on the other side of the court, made a desperate dive but was simply too slow as the ball crashed in front of him. "Ah-" Yoshi let out a single vanquished gasp of air as he laid, splayed out in defeat.
 
To say Shiro was worn-out would have been an understatement. Although his immense stamina had done him well thus far, he hadn't realized how exhausting a match with only three members could be. The opposing team of his classmates had proven to be shaped up quite formidably, but by some miraculous form of consistency, Minako and Charles alongside himself had been able to take the lead and were at game point.

After a quick time out, Shiro had kept a close on Miyaji after the game resumed, knowing that he most likely conjured up a more-than-average scheme to heighten their chances of winning the match. However, despite his best efforts, he could barely make sense of what had just been played out in front of him, except the absolute shutdown Charles had delivered. Suddenly, the sandy blonde had become much more grateful for his large, aloof teammate - because Shiro himself had to admit he would not have been able to keep track of that sort of trickery Miyaji and Yoshi pulled off. It seemed Charles' primal instincts had taken over and been able to reflect the immense force the ball had been hit with.

Just like that, Coach Touza had sounded the whistle, indicating their victory. Shiro, careful not to have himself embarrassed once more, leaped for joy while containing the shouts he wished to unleash. Overjoyed and whelmed with excitement, he ran up to Charles, leaping onto the the back of his french teammate and patting his head.

"Yesssssssssir!!!! That was the cleanest block I have ever seen!" He praised. He also looked over to Minako, flashing the most enthusiastic thumbs up of his lifetime. "And of course without miss bad ass we probably would be in a totally different position right now."

Collecting his excitement, he looked over to the twin Coaches who would soon usher the six teenagers off of the court, allowing a new group to begin their match.
 
Apparently, consistently setting to only two other teammates takes a toll on one's physical performance. Minako had very quickly discovered this, and frankly, she wasn't a huge fan.

The relief that flooded throughout her body when the ball was stuffed directly into the opposite court by Charles, however, was plenty to instantly replenish her drained composure and bring a smile onto her face as her teammates celebrated with high spirits. "Nice work, both of you," she spoke to her team, sounding somewhat chipper. Yet, among the pride and solace that was brimming inside of her, a small pit of dread was evident -- only as her eyes drifted to glance at Miyaji, though.

While the group of players was urged off of the court, Minako snatched her things from nearby and wiped her sweaty face on her sleeve, then strode out of the gymnasium while guzzling down her water. Turning away from her male counterparts to the route of the girl's locker room, a troubled expression grew on her face. The afterglow of winning was already beginning to wear off and was replaced by hesitant thoughts of a specific middle-hitter in a matter of seconds as Minako pushed open the locker room door. The room was empty, leaving Minako to change into a significantly less sweaty set of clothes, as well as come to the devastating realization of her newfound feeling of dismay. A crush. The girl instantly froze, dropping her fitted joggers on the floor with widened eyes.

Minako truly didn't want to believe it, hell -- it seemed so sudden! Surely it wouldn't just pop out of nowhere!

Truth be told, it hadn't popped out of nowhere; it'd been brewing inside of her since she first started playing with Miyaji at Karasuno. Snippets of memories involving the male zipped through her mind, each one stabbing her pride as they reminded her of each time she found him attractive. The teen sat on one of the long benches in the room, a look of bewilderment on her face as she clumsily shoved her arms through her windbreaker. A moment of shocked silence passed before she audibly groaned, standing up abruptly and furiously stepping into the white sneakers she'd brought. She shoved her sports bag into her locker and slammed it shut, letting a string of curses be uttered under her breath. Her backpack was tossed violently onto her shoulders before she stormed out the door and sauntered toward the gym's entrance, where she spotted Miyaji, likely on his way home. Her face was quick to betray any intentions of appearing aloof, and became flushed in a matter of seconds as she stopped in her tracks.

Taking a deep breath, she sank slightly into the collar of her jacket before jogging ahead and halting in front of Miyaji. "Yo," she said, not having the faintest idea of what she was doing. "Come to the convenience store with me." She probably looked distressed, but in all fairness, it's because she was. It had never really been in the girl's plans to suddenly realize her restrained feelings for her teammate.
 
It had felt good, and it probably was good, but as he dropped to the ground, Miyaji noticed the towering frame of Charles in the air as well before rejecting his spike with a perfect block. Whipping his head around to watch the ball that had been deflected back onto his team's side of the court, he winced upon seeing Yoshi fail to dig it back up and keep it in play. The whistle blew, signalling the victory for Minako's team, and with two hands on the back of his head, Miyaji heaved a defeated sigh and stared at the ceiling. After a few more seconds of staring, the second-year helped Yoshi up from the floor and placed a firm but comforting hand on Toba's shoulder. "Nothing we could have done about that; you both played incredibly well." As the coaches instructed the six players to exit the court for the next teams, Miyaji stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked, quickly losing himself in thought and reflecting over what he could have done differently during the match.

After a few more matches had concluded, the end of the first practice soon followed. Most of the players immediately made their way to the locker rooms to change, Miyaji among them; after taking a long drink of water and even pouring some on his head, he used a towel to wipe his face and torso as dry as he could before changing into his clothes. Now dressed in a white tee and cargo shorts, Miyaji threw on his bomber jacket and backpack before putting his sports bag into his assigned locker. The entire time, the teen had still been immersed in self-reflection, so the world around him was tuned out. It had only been the first day, but for some reason, Miyaji felt certain that the starting lineup had already been decided; he himself had been playing rather well for a small game, and he was confident that his performance had made a good impression on the coaches. Charles was nearly unstoppable at his best, Toba and Shiro were both highly proficient hitters despite their height, Yoshi could receive pretty much anything, and Minako -- well, her setting even in just one practice match did all the talking. With his thoughts finally reaching a conclusion, Miyaji took yet another deep breath before waving to his new teammates and leaving the locker rooms to start his walk home.

"Yo."

He had been a couple of minutes into his walk, just a few feet shy of leaving the campus grounds before a familiar figure came into view. Miyaji nonchalantly stuffed his hands in his pockets and listened to Minako's request -- unbeknownst to him the trouble he had unknowingly caused her just by existing -- though he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the location on which she decided. "The convenience store?" It was an interesting proposal, but he knew the curry buns were extraordinary. "Sure."

~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the locker rooms of a different campus, a third-year tucked away a turquoise and white sports bag into his locker before taking a quick sip of water. Once he had drank his fill, he turned to the side and called out, "Oi, Getsu! Are we hitting up the convenience store today?"
 
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Toba took heavy breaths, his chest bobbing up and down with his exasperated movements. One of his glaring weaknesses was his lack of stamina, even though he was a cross-country runner. It's probably because he put all his might into every spike, so after a couple smashes he gets worn out. His legs started to shake, and his hair was soaked with sweat. He couldn't believe the tenacity of the other team; they never seemed to let up. He almost felt bad for his teammates, as he was the primary source of scoring points and once he started to under preform, he automatically dragged the team down significantly. Toba's eyes moved to Shiro, who seemed to be exhausted as well, but not to the same extent. He grit his teeth, then wiped the sweat from his forehead with his shirt, placing his hands onto his knees. Miyaji mentioned a clever game-plan to the two, briefing them on the strategy in a huddle. Toba knew exactly what to do, it was quite simple on his part. He was to act as the decoy for Miyaji to deliver a spike, catching them off guard (or so they thought).

Minako gave another killer serve, one that was picked up easily by Miyaji. The second year bumped it to Yoshi, who was in position to set. Toba grinned then started towards the net, his arms swinging at his sides, giving him momentum. He launched off the ground with all his strength left, then raised his arm, seemingly going for a spike. Yoshi sent the ball barreling to Miyaji, who delivered a satisfying smash that made Toba's hand stung just hearing it. He smiled widely, they finally were going to break ahead and then ultimately win! His optimistic thoughts were interrupted by a resounding smack; Toba's gaze slowly shifted to see Charles stuff the ball back onto their side. Toba's eyes followed the ball as it landed on the wooden floor, watching it bounce away from the sheer force of the hit. Yoshi was sprawled out on the ground in an attempt to stop it, but it was far too late.

They had lost, much to Toba's dismay. He landed onto the ground with a grunt, his body sore from all the jumping he did. Toba had his fist clenched tightly, and his optimistic smile turned to a bitter frown. He faced his team who were gathering themselves reluctantly, "S-sorry guys. I'll do better next time." He always hated losing, especially when he could taste victory. Though, it didn't bother him too much since it was just a practice match. Toba took a hefty gulp of his water and wiped the remaining sweat from his forehead. The other team played and not long after they all wrapped up the practice. Toba waved to the coaches and placed his arms behind his head. Even though he lost, he couldn't help but feel excited. His team was full of highly skilled players, and he hadn't even seen what they could really do yet. He knew they were going to go far.

Toba was just heading out of campus when he turned to see a couple of his teammates. They were talking about heading to the convince store, with lit a light bulb over his head. "Wait up!" He stumbled to catch up. This was a perfect chance to bond with his team! Though, he felt embarrassed if he straight up told them why he was going, so he had to be clever. "I'll come with you guys! I uh- have to get uh- eggs. Yeah eggs."

○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○-○

Getsu was standing at his locker, nibbling on his nutrition bar his mother recently started forcing him to eat. He winced when a familiar voice called to him, and offered to go to the convenience store. The jolt caused his bar to get stuck in his throat, causing him to GHACK. He looked up from his bar then grinned, "You know it! I need to pick up some snacks since I'm low." He jogged a bit to catch up with his friend, "It's on you by the way, haha! No seriously I forgot my money at home..." He chuckled as they headed out of campus.
 
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As if it didn't fully click at first, Charles stood grinning like an idiot after the ball pounded on the floor. His tired gaze didn't quite match his smile as he processed what had just happened. The single blow of a coach's whistle caused him to snap back to reality. "Sacrebleu." The boy whispered under his breath, unable to express his disbelief in anything but his native language. They had actually won. It's not that Charles doubted his team's ability, but, despite it being a mere practice match, this was Charles very first win in volleyball- it was his very first game! When Shiro suddenly jumped onto the larger males back, Charles stumbled a bit before regaining balance, actually Shiro was a lot lighter than one would expect. As shouts of praise resonated in Charles ears he grinned back at his team mate, "Uh huh." He shook his head in over exaggerated agreement with Shiro's comment about Minako. "Thank you, Thank you both so much." The boy exclaimed happily before the excitement slowly faded as everyone left the court to rest and watch the other matches.
When practice had finally ended, Charles let out a long sigh before picking up his bag in one hand and his bottle in the other. The boy trotted to the locker room and changed at a mild pace. He could definitely feel it now, all his muscles ached and groaned with the slightest bit of movement. He let out a tired huff upon neatly placing his sports bag into his locker and closing the door. He had simply changed back into his school uniform, the only other pair of clothes he had brought, with his backpack hanging from his shoulders. Charles straightened his jacket and fixed the cuff of his sleeves before running a hand through his somewhat sweaty hair and leaving the locker room.
On his way out, Charles thanked the coaches and waved to just about everyone he passed before catching sight of a familiar pair. Charles was on his way to say goodbye to the pair when he caught a bit of their conversation. Convenient store? Charles face lit up. He lived near the convenient store, if they were going that way then he wouldn't have to walk alone. Not realizing that he could be, and was, interrupting something, Charles smiled "Ooh, can I come too?" Charles inquired with wide eyes that would be hard to deny as he happily walked up to the others.

Yoshi stayed still for what seemed like a long amount of time as he replayed the memory from just minute ago as he was just seconds late from getting under the ball. "Damn-" Yoshi huffed as he accepted Miyaji's hand and got to his feet. The boy clicked his tongue his tongue at Miyaji's comment, but nodded reluctantly. The truth was that they all played as hard as they could, and sometimes you just don't win no matter how hard you try. For a moment Yoshi seemed really upset, but the angry that washed over him faded just as quickly as it had appeared. "Don't sweat it, dude. Real matches aren't 3 on 3 anyways." Yoshi shrugged towards Toba, who was obviously distressed. As he scratched the back of his head and sauntered off of the court with his hands around his neck, Yoshi let a yawn escape his lips.
The rest of the practice, the boy spent day dreaming up until they were all released to get changed and go home. Yoshi walked to the locker room at such a slow pace that one would wonder if he knew what he was doing. He then rather probably shedded his sweaty clothes and changed into what he had packed. The boy wore a pair of black sweatpants and regular tennis shoes, he also sported a white sweatshirt, a bit too big for the boy, with a large image of a piece of burnt toast on the front and back. Yoshi dug through his bag for a moment in order to find his phone, where the headphones were still attached, as well as a small bottle of chocolate milk and a reusable straw, which Yoshi claims any avid snacker should always have on them.
The boy made his way out of the gym with one earbud in while the other hung by his chest, his open bottle of chocolate milk in one hand and his phone the other hand as he placidly scrolled through his social media feed with his thumb. Occasionally guiding the straw to his lips and sipping his drink, Yoshi wandered loitered around the school for a bit- not really feeling like beginning the long walk home. Eventually, when he circled back around to the entrance of the school, the trio of students who he had played during practice caught his attention. What were they all doing gathered there? Yoshi sort of snuck towards the group (like the gremlin he is), and at mention of the convenient store he could feel the drool in his mouth beginning to form. Up until that moment he had felt completely content with his chocolate milk, but at mention of the shop his mind wandered towards the well-known curry buns that were offered there and he suddenly felt really hungry. "I'll go." the short male piped up suddenly as if he were invited.
 
"Great idea, guys!" A familiar, high-pitched voice filled with excitement emitted from behind the group of teenagers.

Still elated from his teams win, Shiro walked with an excessive amount of pep in his step. He had washed himself off in the boys locker room and threw on an unzipped white jacket after retying his sneakers. His dufflebag hung from his left shoulder, comfortably diagonal across his torso. A lingering scent of vanilla also secreted from him... a result from the boy dousing himself in cologne in the locker room to cancel out the horrid smell of sweat he was so easily revolted by.

He was heading out of the gym when he had spotted Charles, and at first he was simply amused just by watching the tall male (for some reason unbeknownst to even Shiro), but then he had noticed the rest of the teammates they had just played against slowly grouping up. Among them, he had heard his closer friends Miyaji and Minako mention taking a trip to the convenient store, causing him to happily speak up and invite himself alongside the others. Charles mentioning that he was tagging along only sold the deal for Shiro even more.

"I can't remember the last time I stopped by there...." He continued. "My mom would always get pissed because I always bring home too much chocolate milk–" Suddenly, it had seemed as if stars were conjured up in the blonde boy's pupils. "Yeah, we definitely have to go!"
 
As the party of two grew, so did's Minako's frustration. It took nearly all of her willpower not to roll her eyes and snap at her teammates as they enthusiastically invited themselves, but she managed to keep a fairly stoic expression -- well, hopefully. She could still feel her heart stupidly beating against her chest while the splash of red remained on her ears and cheeks.

Quietly sighing, the girl stuffed her hands in her pockets and glanced around at the other players. "The more the merrier," she said, quickly whipping around so that she wasn't facing her newfound acquaintances with a look of dejectedness. Minako began sauntering ahead and off of campus grounds, assuming the other boys would follow suit and join her. Truth be told, she didn't need anything from the convenience store -- she'd only said it on a whim. Oh well, she thought, figuring it wouldn't hurt to pick up some juice or something.

###

Meanwhile, in a certain rival school's locker room, a tall first year's ears perked up at his upperclassmen's mentions of going to the local convenience store. A grin was quick to grow on his face as he hurriedly stuffed his bag into his locker and threw on his sweatshirt, quickly jogging to catch up to the pair who had mentioned the idea. "Hey, wait up! Lemme come with, too," the boy, Hatsuo, cheerfully told the pair, walking beside the older of the duo. He didn't really know boundaries, so he was tagging along regardless of if they wanted him to come or not.
 
Miyaji snuck a glance at Minako's expression upon the gradual increase of party members on the trip to the convenience store, and though her verbal reaction suggested her approval, her eyes and overall demeanor more than assured him otherwise. Her flushed face and the ever so mild panic in her eyes prompted a fair amount of concern from the male, and though he had considered asking her what the problem was, Miyaji felt he wouldn't be much help, anyway. Soon, the merry men -- and women -- began the walk to the convenience store, which was only about a few minutes away.

~~~~~

"You kidding me?" Senji asked as he turned his head to stare at Getsu, eyes wide with incredulity, but it soon faded into an amused chuckle as he finished organizing the contents in his school backpack. "Fine, but you're awfully lucky I brought a little extra cash with me." Upon hearing Hatsuo ask to join them, Senji turned to glance at him and flash a thumbs-up. "Yeah, feel free! The more the merrier, right?" With the group's members seemingly decided, the third-year slung his backpack over his shoulder and prepared to leave the campus.

~~~~~

The Karasuno group arrived... well, a few minutes later; the walk had been fairly quiet -- or, as quiet as a walk could be with two rambunctious wing spikers, a very wholesome middle blocker that liked to play along, and an extremely talkative libero. Miyaji noticed that Minako had seemed to be keeping to herself, speaking with a half-hearted smile only when addressed, usually by an enthusiastic Shiro or Toba, and although he wasn't completely silent, Miyaji -- out of concern for the unusually flustered Minako -- had resolved to stay rather quiet in order to not give the girl an even worse headache than it seemed like she already had, what with the constant background noise. Upon entering, Miyaji waved and greeted the familiar shop owner and made a beeline for the selection of freshly made breads; after using a pair of tongs to gently pick up a curry bun and deposit it into a paper bag, he also grabbed a chilled Thai tea from the refrigerated aisle and made his way to the front counter to pay what was due.

After concluding his business all in just below a minute, Miyaji turned to glance at Minako, paper bag and cold glass bottle in hand. "Got anything in particular you want? I can pay if you need."
 
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