"With a star before my eyes, all there is left for me to do is to 'play as I have always done' and deliver. If playing as I have always done is what's required, then I can do it."
-Keiji Akaash...
As usual, my teammates already left. Our afternoon practices would just end shortly after classes. We would always just practice an hour or two.
My team doesn't particularly hate volleyball, but that doesn't mean they love it either. They have great potentials as individual volleyball players, they just lack the motivation.
I don't like it. I don't like this.
I wanted to practice more. I wanted to play more. I wanted to set to someone more often.
I wanted more.
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The next day, as usual practice ended pretty early.
While the whole team was cleaning, a classmate of mine started a conversation with me as I was carrying the equipment back to the storage room.
"Hey Akaashi. Where will you study in high school?" he asked as he clutched the balls he was holding in his arms to his chest.
"I'm choosing between Suzumeoka and Fukurodani." I replied bluntly.
"Oh! Why not Fukurodani? You earned a recommendation from them, right?
"Well, yeah... I guess."
"Apparantly, there are still high school matches happening in the city gymnasium. Wanna watch?" my classmate said as he put the balls in the box and smiled at me.
"Yeah, sure." was my only response at the boy.
Once all of us were done cleaning and changing clothes, me and my classmate went to the city gym as planned.
They were only few people watching so it wasn't really packed. The smell of mint and sweat entered my nostrils.
As soon as we opened the door to the inner court, I was surprised with what I saw.
A player from Fukurodani with round golden eyes, spiky grey hair with black streaks, and muscular build jumped very highly. When the ball was set to him, he spiked with such amazing force and power.
They claimed the score and that player began pumping his right fist upward and seemed to be shouting, "Hey hey hey!"
He was really energetic and he was also out-going. Me, who was just a bystander and watching the game from the bleachers, could feel that person's passion and excitement in volleyball.
There was also a time in which his spike got blocked. He looked really depressed about it. But after scoring another spike of his, he immediately came back into being the energetic guy and he even chest bumped their coach.
I thought that player was giving his 100%.
It was like being flashed with ice water right into the face.
