Hiro made himself comfortable in the sidelines and began taping his fingers for their upcoming practice drills later. Tomorrow, after this freshman briefing, they will have a practice match against each other. He knew this because their captain informed them of it beforehand. He was joined by their setter, the resident emoboy with his sideswept bangs not later on. Ginoza Kouen unzipped his bag and brought out his nail file, and he began to groom his nails without saying another word.
The loud voice of his elder brother, Ginoza Kouha sounded from the court, and Kouen looked up, annoyed to hear that annoying voice. Hiro thinks that the two only pretends that can't stand each other, but in truth, their sibling combination on court is really formidable – almost comparable to that of the Miya twins from Hyogo.
Their setter-spiker duo solicited fear in the prefecture, and they contrinuted a lot for Shiroshikata in the last volleyball season.
A few minutes later, two more freshmen arrived to try-out for positions in the team. The four applicants lined up and met the scrutinizing eyes of the captain and manager of the team.
"First off, let's begin with introductions. Let's start with - " He paused to look at the paper. "Asuma Genji."
The redhead stepped forward and his voice rang the eardrums of everyone in the gym.
"GOOD AFTERNOON, MINNA-SAN! I'M ASUMA GENJI, FROM CLASS 1-C. I'M 168 CM AND I PLAYED AS WING SPIKER BEFORE IN YOHOKU MIDDLE SCHOOL! PLEASED TO MEET YOU ALL!" And he bowed in exaggeration.
Hiro had to cover his ears from that one. This spunky, little redhead sure is a loudmouth. Maki gestured for the person next to him to continue.
"I'm Takumi Ikuya from Class 1-A. I'm 176cm and I played as setter before in Mori Middle School from Tokyo."
Now, it was the tallest guy's turn to speak. "My name is Kakuzo Ryohei from Class 1-C. Last time I checked, I'm 191cm. I only started to play volleyball a few months ago. Please train me some more!"
'Hmmm, shame he's a newbie at the sport. But he definitely got potential in the middle. We could use that height.' Hiro thought.
Finally, it was the last guy's turn to introduce himself. "I'm Rikubami Sai from Class 1-B. 169cm. I played libero before in Shonan Middle School. Nice meeting you all." He too bowed after his short speech.
Maki clicked his tongue after their introductions, then spoke in his commanding tone. "I'm the team captain of the Stags. Left wing spiker, Sukiyata Maki. The others you see around are the rest of the members of the team. We will have a drills later so we can take a look at your skills in the basics and fundamentals of volleyball. You will also be assigned positions for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" The one called Takumi asked.
"Yes, tomorrow. We will have a practice match against each other to determine which of you can make the cut for our line-up. Depending on your performance, you might earn a spot in the regular line-up. Our coach will be arriving later to facilitate the grouping."
"Erm – " Kayo cleared her throat, getting Maki's attention.
The captain sighed and said, "And this girl right here is our team manager, Hijikata Kayo." He gestured towards Kayo who was already eyeing the new members of the team with utmost curiosity.
"What do you think, Kayo-san?" The captain asked her.
There was a short moment of silence before she said, "Hmmmm… Take your shirts off." That earned her puzzled looks from the four newbies.
"Eh?" The redhead, Genji said.
"Take your shirts off." Kayo repeated, so the new members reluctantly did as they were told.
Ginoza Kouha smirked from the sidelines and softly muttered, "Here we go again…."
Kayo is actually someone who is skilled at 'scanning' the athletic capabilities of any person when she tries. By just looking at their bodies, she can read them like statistical data, and determine 'quantitatively' their potential in playing for a certain sport. Right now, this is her goal that's why she asked for the freshmen to take off their shirts.
Her eyes visibly lit up at the sight of Kakuzo's body – like she's seeing maximum potential from all his muscles in display. She gave an approving nod at Takumi, while she squinted when she looked at the two shortest newbies as if having extreme difficulty in finding out their selling points. Her eyes dwelled on Asuma's legs and Rikubami's broad torso.
"Oi, don't judge a book by it's height." Hiyorin Gaito, the team's third year starting libero, commented upon seeing the look on their manager's face.
"I think you mean 'cover', Gai." She responded without averting her gaze from the freshmen. After a few minutes, she clapped her hands and said, "You may wear your shirts again now."
She then returned to her bench and started writing on her notebook. Everyone except the first years knew that she must be tabulating the data she just collected earlier.
"Guys, get your asses here." Maki called for the rest of the team and they all gathered up in the center to face the first years. Hiro now realized that he's not anymore the tallest member of the team, now that Kakuzo already joined the fray. Meanwhile, Gaito remained to be the shortest, which kinda irked him a little.
The other regular members of the team too introduced themselves, the positions they played and their personal goals for the team.
"Our goal is to win both the Inter-High and the Spring Cup for the volleyball season this year." Hiro declarared to the others seriously. He's really adamant to get these championships. "We will beat them all."
"Hell yeah, Hiro-boi." Kouha enthusiastically agreed. This guy too wants to win so bad, especially now that it's already his last year to play volleyball for the team. The others didn't really say it, but they share this common goal to reach the top.
Asuma's eyes sparkled – for he too wanted to be a part of this team who wants to win them 'em all. He's just beyond excited to play against his senpais in the practice later and on their destined match tomorrow.
The team's coach, Soma Yage arrived and Kayo and Maki approached him for the practice set-up. He read the notes on Kayo's notebook and divided the team into two equal members. They will begin their practice drills soon.
They began their usual drills and stamina training later. The freshmen showed potential – from the jump floaters of Takumi, Kakuzo's fast reflexes, Rikubami's nice receives and Asuma's unlimited energy.
'They're quite an unusual bunch.' Kayo thought. But judging from these skills, her assessment seems to be right. Takumi can be good pinch server. Rikubami can relieve Gai's burden on floor defense. Kakuzo would be a great addition to the middle and Asuma…. there's more to him than meets the eye.
Just before the practice ended, Coach Soma gathered all the members of the team and showed them the division he made for the practice game tomorrow. "Be here at 4:30 PM sharp. You're dismissed." The coach said, and everyone got ready to leave for home.