Around the time December had passed its halfway mark. With Spring Nationals just around the corner, third-years Tobita Mai and Miyamoto Chizuru from Kinhouzan Academy were headed for Tokyo.
It was for the U-19 national team training camp, which was being held in the city.
With Spring Nationals so close, it would have been perfectly reasonable to decline the invitation. But if players from rival teams were going to be there, then for the reigning queens to skip it and prioritize Spring Nationals would’ve been a blow to their pride.
And more than anything—
“There’s one girl from Matsubara Girls’ High joining too, right?”
“Tocchan, how many times you gonna bring that up? Yeah. Yuki-chan wrote on social media, ‘One of us is going too,’ didn’t she? You already knew that.”
One from Matsubara Girls’ High would be there. Naturally, that meant Tachibana Yuuri.
They had seen the recorded footage of the Spring Nationals qualifiers. When she spiked, it wasn’t just her arms but her whole upper body that rose above the net. Reading the volleyball monthly released just the other day made that make sense.
Her max reach: 378 cm.
A raw jumper alone isn’t too scary. But unlike in summer, she now seemed to have technique as well.
If possible, they wanted to check her out before the actual match.
That was also part of their reason for deciding to attend.
“Still, if our reasons for going are things like ‘Didn’t wanna look like we were running away’ or ‘Want to scout out Yuuri-chan,’ doesn’t that make us sound kinda petty?”
“Shut up.”
＝＝＝＝＝
Tokyo, somewhere —
The venue where the All-Japan Women’s Volleyball team had trained in summer was now hosting the U-19 national team.
Even if you’re reliable teammates here, by next month you could be opponents. And so—
“It’s been a while. You look well.”
“Same to you. Glad to see you’re doing good.”
Tobita of Kinhouzan and Tsukanezawa of Ryuusenzan shook hands as they exchanged greetings. But there wasn’t much warmth in the air.
To Tobita, Matsubara Girls’ High was a fearsome unknown. But Ryuusenzan was a fearsome known.
January’s Spring Nationals, August’s Inter-High, September’s National Sports Festival—each was a narrow win. Especially Tsukanezawa standing before her—up through August, she relied heavily on raw physical power, but by September, she had added technique to her game. The video from November’s Spring Nationals qualifiers showed she’d polished it even further. Already boasting towering height and exceptional athleticism, now she had skill too. That was a lot to handle.
If one were to point out a flaw, perhaps it was her lack of teamwork? This might sound biased, but based on past experiences, there were moments where, even in situations where a Japanese player would usually pick up on the atmosphere and go along with the group, she would stick to her own way.
Meanwhile, from Tsukanezawa’s point of view, Tobita was a formidable opponent she couldn’t afford to underestimate. Her core strength and balance were remarkable. Even if the first touch was slightly off, she could still set up quick plays like it was nothing. Being teammates on the U-19 squad, Tsukanezawa had experienced firsthand just how accurate her sets were. The ball would land exactly where it was needed. Yet her form had no quirks, making it impossible to predict where the set would go when she was on the opposing team.
Her only real flaw in volleyball might be her stubbornness. Tsukanezawa had seen many of her inflexible, high-handed sets. Of all the Japanese players she knew, Tobita was the only one more oblivious to the mood than she was herself.
(If she weren’t so stubborn, I feel like we could get along a lot better...)
Unfortunately, neither of them realized they were missing each other’s good intentions.
On the other hand, some had already cleanly separated Spring Nationals from U-19 in their minds.
“Oh! Isn’t that Kanade-chan? We’re finally on the same team!”
“Yes! I’m looking forward to it, Miyamoto-senpai!”
Kinhouzan’s third-year ace Miyamoto and Ryuusenzan’s first-year ace Kanade Kindaichi were on good terms.
In the small world of competitive volleyball, players who stand out from a young age often have relationships that go beyond simple acquaintances, even if they’re from different years.
And—
“Ah, it’s Kanade!”
“Kanade! Long time no see!”
“Ah! Chika! Masami! It’s been forever!”
U-19 representatives weren’t chosen only from players who were going to Spring Nationals. From Himesaki High, which had just missed qualifying, first-years Okino and Tokumoto were also invited. Kanade, Okino, and Tokumoto had all played together on the U-16 team and had been close since then.
“We couldn’t make it to Spring Nationals, but since we got called up, we came anyway.”
“I didn’t even play in the qualifiers—I was a sub—but somehow I got picked anyway.”
“Hmm, maybe the selection isn’t just based on the qualifiers. They probably look at Inter-High and the Sports Festival too. More importantly, though—Chika, your team’s opponent in the qualifier finals was amazing! I saw the video—they said someone jumped like two meters, right?”
Flinch!
Tobita and Tsukanezawa both reacted.
“Ah, that foreign jumper, right? She was incredible.”
“When she spiked, her belly button was above the white tape on the net! It didn’t even make sense!”
“I totally thought that footage was edited! Either that, or wire-fu!”
“Right?!”
The first-years chattered excitedly.
Tobita and Tsukanezawa, listening in, were clearly affected by the conversation.
(Tocchan, Tsuneyan, if you wanna join in, just go ahead and join...)
Nearby, Miyamoto gave a wry smile and decided to throw them a lifeline. By the way, “Tsuneyan” came from the “tsu” in Tsukanezawa.
“Hey, hey. Kanade-chan, Chika-chii, Macchan—mind telling us that story too? That girl who jumps super high, her name’s Yuuri-chan, right?”
“You know her too, Miyamoto-senpai?”
“Just her name. But if we’re gonna be in this training camp together, I’d like to get along, y’know?”
Miyamoto said with a bright smile. For reference, “Macchan” was a nickname from Tokumoto Masami.
But then—
“We actually came here together with the girl from Matsubara Girls’ High, but Tachibana-san isn’t participating in this camp.”
“What?!”
“Pleased to meet you.”
Miyamoto’s shout and the new arrival’s polite greeting overlapped perfectly as the representative candidate entered the arena.
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
"Got it. Your name’s Rei-chan, huh? I’m Chizuru. You can call me Chizuru-neesan."
"You don’t have to take what this dummy says seriously."
Miyamoto’s offhand comment is immediately countered by Tobita. Incidentally, it’s “dummy” (アホ) and not “idiot” (バカ) thanks to nearly three years of dorm life education in Osaka. And the one selected from Matsubara Girls' High wasn't Tachibana Yuuri—it was Murai Reiko.
"But it’s a bit of a letdown. I heard one person from Matsubara was coming, so I thought for sure it’d be Yuuri."
"Sorry that it’s just me."
"It’s not like I’m mad or anything. I was just wondering why Yuuri didn’t come."
Tobita voices a perfectly reasonable question.
"Maybe it’s because of nationality stuff? If both your parents are Japanese like you guys, you probably haven’t dealt with this, but one of her parents is foreign, right? Unless she clearly states her nationality as Japanese like I did, it can get complicated."
That comes from Tsuganezawa, who also has a foreign parent. Her mother is Dutch, but since she was born in Japan and raised by her paternal grandparents, she only speaks Japanese in her daily life.
...Her mother-given name "Annaliese" is probably weeping.
"No, it’s not a nationality issue. Yuuri was called to a different training camp, so she’s not participating in U-19 he—"
“What?!”
Reiko’s explanation is cut off by Tobita, who instantly catches on.
"Tch… Now that I think about it, that makes sense. Of course she’d be called over there…"
"Mai, what’s going on?"
"Anna, I’m pretty sure Yuuri’s in Yokohama right now."
"Ah!"
"Wait a second, Tocchan, Tsuneyan. Don’t just figure it out between yourselves. Let me in on it too."
"Before that, let’s just confirm—Yuuri is doing a 6-night, 7-day training camp in Yokohama at the same time as ours, right?"
To confirm, Tobita asks Reiko. Her answer is—
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
One day earlier
Somewhere in Kanagawa Prefecture
Perspective: Tachibana Yuuri
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
There’s this huge, fancy gym in front of me that looks like it could totally host an international match. …Well, in about nine months, it actually will.
"There you are! Yoo-hoo, Yuu! Man, with that hair and your school uniform, you really stand out!"
"Would it have been better if I wore a suit like Mika-nee?"
"You’re cute and eye-catching no matter what you wear, so it doesn’t make much of a difference, honestly."
"…More importantly, Mika-nee, why am I here?"
"Huh? You came here on your own, didn’t you? Or did Ryou-nee tag along or something?"
"That’s not what I mean! I’m asking why I was invited here!"
"Well, duh. Ryou-nee as your guardian, plus me and Hina’s family, we all agreed on it."
"What about what I want?!"
"Yuu, the world runs on democracy, okay? And Ryou-nee, me, and Hina all voted yes. You get where this is going?"
"That’s just tyranny of the majority!"
Just side note, when the Tachibana family does a household vote, there are eight total votes. The breakdown is four for Ryou-nee, two for Mika-nee, and one each for me and Hina.
It might sound unfair, but in principle, Ryou-nee and Mika-nee don’t flex their vote power and usually prioritize what I or Hina want. That said, when Ryou-nee really puts her foot down, her decision becomes the family’s direction.
"Okay, but let me flip the question—if your big sister asked, 'Come participate with me,' would you say no?"
"I’d say yes without hesitation."
"Then it’s fine, isn’t it?"
"It’s not fine! The process matters!"
I really wish they’d put themselves in my shoes.
One day out of nowhere, my homeroom teacher Sakakibara-sensei tells me, “You’ll be officially excused for the training camp, so don’t worry about school and give it your all.”
But the one who answered wasn’t me—it was Hina. And she said, “It’s okay! Our whole family is behind her 100%!” Like, how am I supposed to process that?
"But honestly, if people around you hadn’t pushed for it, I doubt you’d have signed up on your own."
…My sister really knows me too well. If they’d asked me in advance, there’s a pretty high chance I’d have said, “It’s too soon.”
sigh…
How did it come to this?
I entered the gym with Mika-nee. On the schedule posted at the entrance, under usage for the next seven days, it read:
All-Japan Women’s Volleyball Team – Domestic Training Camp
No comments:
Post a Comment