※ This takes place before the dodgeball tournament.
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Matsubara Girls’ High School
New Teacher
POV: Kanako Saeki
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"Saeki-sensei, you have a phone call. The caller is—"
…I know their face and name, but I’ve never spoken to them directly. I wonder what this is about?
"Yes, this is Saeki speaking. I’m taking over the line."
"Ah, my apologies for calling so suddenly. I’m Kumada, the coach of the girls’ volleyball team at Tamaki Commercial High School."
"Thank you for the polite introduction. Since you mentioned you're the coach of the volleyball team, I assume this is volleyball-related?"
"Yes, exactly. Let me get straight to the point, Saeki-sensei. Since we're both public schools, our summer break schedules should line up. Do you have anything planned between August 23rd and 29th?"
"Nothing in particular. I was thinking of just continuing our usual practices."
"That works out well, then. Actually, Tamaki Commercial has a training facility on campus. We’re inviting the girls’ volleyball teams from Kichiya High School and Kurotsubaki High School for a joint training camp. Would Matsubara Girls' like to join us too?"
"…That’s a generous offer, but—"
"You're short on players and can’t hold practice matches, right?"
"Yes, that’s right."
"Then it’s no problem. This isn’t an official tournament, after all. We can provide players from our school or others to fill in."
"If that’s the case, then it’s a very kind offer, but…"
"Haha, we’re both public school teachers, after all. Let’s help each other out. That said, the training camp does come with some costs. Since we'll be using our school’s lodging facilities, we can keep accommodation fees down, but we’ll still need a small contribution for utilities, and of course there will be food expenses. I’ll send you the details first, and you can decide after reviewing them. Should I fax it to Matsubara Girls’ School? Or would email be better? I’ve also uploaded the materials to our web server, so you can download them from there if you prefer."
・
・
・
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Tamaki Commercial High School
Veteran Teacher
POV: Kumada Daigo
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I think I got through to her. Now we’ll see if that young lady takes the bait. That part’s out of my hands. After all, the camp isn’t free, and it does tie up your schedule.
…I watched the semifinal match in the prefectural Inter-High qualifiers the other day. That was a hell of a match. That damn hag tore into that baby-faced rookie coach without an ounce of mercy.
From the outside, Matsubara Girls’ looked like they were in peak condition.
Compared to when they played us a week earlier, their serve and receive accuracy had improved. They must be getting used to matches. Their movement overall was much better.
And yet, Matsubara still lost. If you ask me, it came down to the coaches.
There isn’t much info out there on this upstart Matsubara team. But even with the limited data, Himesaki’s team figured out a game plan. Then, once the match began, they adapted their strategy on the fly, adjusted for the discrepancies, and played each rally perfectly tailored to counter Matsubara.
That damn hag was the one orchestrating it all. She sees everything—hers and the opponent's.
Meanwhile, Matsubara’s young coach probably couldn’t offer any specific strategy. The fact that nothing changed during timeouts makes it pretty clear. I bet all she could say were things like “It’s okay, we’ve got this,” or “We can still catch up, don’t give up.” Just empty cheerleading and pep talks. Brutal.
Give the poor kid a break, seriously. That uptight old hag is why I can’t stand her.
Jeez...
You see something like that and, well, it makes you want to reach out.
What that young woman’s lacking is experience. No matter how much theory you cram in at your desk, you can’t improve your receives without actually practicing them. Same goes for coaching—you need more than theory. You need real reps.
But I doubt that girl has any connections to set up scrimmages with other schools. I figured as much, but they’re short on players too, huh? At this rate, they might not get another practice match until the Spring High prelims in November. That’s no good—especially when they’ve got players good enough to be hyped in volleyball magazines.
...Of course, this isn’t all just out of goodwill. Tamaki Commercial has its own motives too. In the next Spring High qualifiers, Matsubara Girls’—with that tiny #6, Tachibana Yuuri—is going to be the dark horse.
As a team and as individuals, Matsubara is still green. But that means they’ve got all kinds of room to grow.
If it were me or Ōtani, who was at Matsubara last year, we’d focus on improving their receive game. It’s easier to raise a subject from 30 to 50 points than it is to take a 90 to 95. If you shore up a clear weakness, it makes the whole team stronger.
If players #3 and #6 had been able to receive even at just a slightly below-average level compared to most girls’ high school teams when they faced us, that close match wouldn’t have happened—they’d have lost 0–2, no question.
That old hag Akai—if it were anyone else, maybe not, but when it comes to #6, she’ll focus solely on honing her spikes and serves. Volleyball's a sport where you can’t win without scoring points. Matsubara Girls has a solid libero, so she’ll probably build a team that’s prepared to take some hits but aims to be the first to 25 with their strongest weapon.
So, what about that young coach? What direction will she choose? If I don’t figure that out, I won’t know how to prepare. But Matsubara placed third in the prefectural Inter-High qualifiers. That means they’re exempt from the first stage of the Spring High prelims. The second stage starts in November, and there are no official matches until then. The one and only ticket to Spring High gets handed out in November. If we only start analyzing Matsubara then, there won’t be time to react.
Which means, I need to figure out their direction in August, use September and October to prepare, and get my revenge in November.
Yeah… that’s the plan.
In November, I’ll return the favor from June. And I’ll beat Himesaki too.
What’s this crap about “polishing a hidden gem in the volleyball world”? Don’t furrow a kid’s brow and force them to play volleyball. If kids stop smiling, it’s game over.
And “kids these days are so clever”? Kids have always pulled clever stunts, then and now. Sure, we should respect their autonomy, but it's still our job as adults to take responsibility and protect them.
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That night
From a certain SNS used by the four(?) Tachibana sisters
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[Hey, Yuu. Are you free from August 9th to 11th?]
[I’m free for now, but why?]
[Well, see… our coach seems to have taken a liking to you and wants you to come to our training camp.]
[I don’t know anything about volleyball though. Can you and Yuuri really practice together in a meaningful way?]
[If it’s technical training, maybe not. But when it comes to physical training, Yuuri actually has the advantage.]
[Mika-nee, that’s cold.]
[Hina, that wasn’t a pun. So, what do you think?]
[What do I think? What about the money, time, gear and all that?]
[Oh, sorry. You don’t need to worry about the money. Lodging, meals, travel expenses—everything is covered on their end. Though they won’t cover stuff like souvenirs. Since the 9th starts early in the morning, you’ll probably stay near the meeting point in Tokyo on the 8th. And you don’t even have to worry about the cost of the overnight stay. As for what to bring—just some changes of clothes, volleyball shoes, and maybe kneepads. Actually, the sponsor is footing the bill, so even that stuff might be provided. They’re more like “Please wear it,” so honestly, as long as you’ve got underwear and a toothbrush, you’re good.]
(Ah. Tenma University had a corporate sponsor, didn’t they. And Mika-nee was chosen for the All-Japan team. I guess sponsors want athletes like her to practice in their branded gear as a form of advertisement.)
[I’m okay with the practice clothes, but I’d like to use my own well-worn shoes…]
[They won’t push you on that. It’s not mandatory.]
[Mika-nee, was Yuu the only one invited?]
[Sorry, Hina. Yeah, the only one invited was Yuu.]
[Well, I figured. I can’t beat Yuu-chan when it comes to physical ability.]
[Hina-nee, I’ll bring you back a souvenir.]
[I want something better. During summer break, give me one day where I get to coordinate your outfit.]
[Oh, then I want that too.][Wait, I want that more than a souvenir!]
[Hold on a sec. What the heck is this "outfit coordination right" thing?]
[Yuuri, your speech slipped back into boy mode.]
[No, that’s not the issue here! I’m not your dress-up doll!]
[Obviously not. Yuuji is my precious little brother, and Yuuri is my precious little sister.]
[When you put it like that, I get all embarrassed…]
[Which is exactly why we want to dress you up nicely!]
[Why would—]
[Right? As expected of Ryou-nee.]
[Ryou-nee really is amazing.]
[Yuuri’s got good raw material, but she’s completely indifferent when it comes to fashion. What’ll we do if she gets haunted by the ghost of wasted potential?]
[Hey, when’s a day in August when everyone’s free? Let’s make that “Yuu-chan Day.”]
[Now that you mention it, it’s been almost a year since Yuu came back. We should throw a celebration!]
[Hina. Mika. Great idea. As head of the Tachibana household, I officially approve. …Now that she’s in high school, Yuuri should have at least one set of nice lingerie, right?]
[Yes! And as sisters, it’s our duty to pick out some cute clothes that Yu-chan doesn’t already have!]
[Oh man! I’m getting hyped! Ryou-nee, can we make Yuu Day last like, a whole week instead of just one day?]
[That’s a bit much. How about three days?]
[Wait, hang on—what about my opinion?]
[Yuuri. Have you heard of democracy?]
[Ryou-nee, that’s not democracy. That’s just three-to-one brute force.]
Some time later, a few new outfits would mysteriously appear in my closet—ones that obviously couldn’t be washed in a machine—but that’s a story for another time.
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