♚ CHAPTER FOUR♚
THE THIRD-FLOOR CORRIDOR WAS filled with students' whispers. It got louder and more annoying– to some teenagers, at least. But there's no denying that they stared at him for at least ten seconds or more.
In the middle of the corridor and the source of all the recent noises, Yanagi walked with sure, confident steps. His big and tall posture, towering over everyone else, drew everyone's attention, as did the way he walked with his eyes always looking straight ahead, not paying attention to others, and with that cold expression. His aura that screamed that he is a high-class person makes him admired wherever he goes, especially because he is a student council president, a famous volleyball athlete, and an outstanding student at this school.
Not a second later, his heterochromia eyes then fixed on a girl with black over shoulder length hair who was busy pasting a piece of paper on the announcement wall. He decided to approach her, stopping right behind her and looking down at the pamphlet. "Is this what's been keeping you so busy lately?" he inquired, reading word for word from the pamphlet containing the manager requirement for the boy's volleyball club.
"I'm in my third year, and I should be looking for someone to help the team after I graduate," she explained, flinching slightly at the sudden presence of him appeared behind her.
Yanagi leaned back, leaned up straight, and tucked his hands into his pockets. "As I recall, aren't there a lot of people who want to be managers?" he wondered, recalling some of the paper forms Kiyoko had given him back then.
"Yes, and their only goal is to get close to you; they have no intention of ever becoming a manager," she replied, glaring at the man a little.
"Ah yes, they're so annoying," Yanagi recalled some girls, whom he forgot their names, who, instead of doing their job as a manager, were always squealing when he was playing. When he saw the other members' irritated expressions, he asked the old Coach Ukai to dismiss him. And it lasted until now, the boy's volleyball club only have one manager.
Kiyoko turned around as she gathered some papers and her little stationery into the tote bag. Then, with a slight smile, she raised the lunch box in front of him. "I baked some blueberry muffins."
Before the teen had time to answer, Kiyoko immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the student council room. Sliding the door open, Kiyoko took a quick glance at the student council room, which she hadn't seen in a while. It was clean and tidy, as well as spacious, with several shelves containing important folders, a small meeting room with a whiteboard, two soft sofas and a coffee table in the corner, and several desks for student council members in the middle. Furthermore, there is an internal door that leads to a much larger meeting room.
Kiyoko hopped up to Yanagi's desk, opened the box she'd brought, and revealed the blueberry muffins she'd made earlier that morning. Yanagi can still smell the enticing aroma despite the fact that it has been a few hours inside.
Yanagi sat in his chair, leaned back against it, and stared blankly at Kiyoko, who handed him a muffin for him to try. "What do you think?" she inquired.
"It's delicious as usual," he commented, his face expressionless, but Kiyoko still smiled a little. They've been doing small activities like this since they were in their first year. And ever since Yanagi's accident, she had missed this moment. Just the two of them, with a little snack with them.
Yanagi was leaning against the window next to his seat, his gaze so focused on his tablet screen that he didn't notice the volleyball manager standing in front of him. "Yanagi."
The boy looked up and at the girl, who also had a flat expression on her face. "Here," Kiyoko presented him with a lunchbox stuffed with apple pies in front of his face. Yanagi didn't say anything; he just looked at the pie, then looked at her again, puzzled.
"I want you to taste it," she explained, her voice lower than usual. The dark gray-haired teen raised an eyebrow, surprised and perplexed by his manager's actions, but accepted the mini pie without saying anything.
"Delicious," he commented after taking one bite.
"Okay," she nodded then walked away, leaving Yanagi staring at her back in confusion.
That day, Yanagi did not expect that he would be surprised by the girl. And after that day, it continues and becoming their little routine. No one complained anyway.
Ah, come to think of it, Kiyoko was a little embarrassed to remember. She had no idea why she was suddenly going to Yanagi's class and telling him to taste her cake. But, at the very least, they grew closer. Oh no, please don't assume that she did that to get closer to him. No no, she clearly not. Don't misunderstand.
(lies)
As she was busy in her pretty mind, she suddenly stiffened and snapped out of her thoughts. Her mind was numb, feeling a calloused long fingers grazing on her thigh. Her thighs trembled a little as she shivered at the touch. "You're still wearing it."
Kiyoko opened her mouth and bit her lower lip. "I still don't have the courage to take it off," she replied slowly, her hand reaching out and gently grasping Yanagi's palm.
The boy hummed. "Take your time."
She gave him a small smile. "By the way, the first years. What are your thoughts on them?"
Raising his eyebrows, realizing that the girl was trying to divert the conversation, Yanagi leaned back in his chair and glanced at the sky with a look Kiyoko couldn't decipher. "Interesting."
○ ♚ ○
"Okay, practice is over. Please return home!" Ukai Keishin's scream echoed throughout the gym. Following that, they immediately cleaned up the gym while the coach had already left.
Yanagi picked up a nearby ball and stared at it for a moment before looking at the two first year who was about to get the mop. "Kageyama, Hinata," he called.
"Y-yes?!" They responded nervously. Their bodies stiffened and straightened immediately. Sweat dripped from Hinata's temples, and the teen apologized in his mind several times for the events of that day. Unlike Kageyama, who kept his usual poker face and tilted his head in confusion.
"Stay here with me," then he turned to Daichi. "Daichi!"
Daichi didn't say anything, but threw the gym key at him, which he caught casually. Yanagi then walked to the opposite side of the court and threw the ball in his hand at Hinata. "Show me your quick attack once more. I'm going to block it."
"E-eh? Ah, okay!" Both of them nodded firmly. Excited that they can train longer and also demonstrate the attack to their upperclassmen.
Yanagi is standing close to the net, his gaze focused.
ｂｏｏｍ！
With a loud thud, the attack landed perfectly on Yanagi's backside of the court. He admits that the ball is very fast. The man only gave it a sidelong glance, his expression unchanged. Uninterested and expressionless. "Again."
Hinata spiked the ball again before Yanagi had time to block it. "Again."
Third attack. And Yanagi finally managed to block that quick attack. He landed, eyes looking at them with amusement at their shocked expressions. "Again."
Fourth, fifth, sixth, and so on until the ball on the bed runs out, Yanagi manages to block 17 of 24 balls.
"Ho-How?!!" Hinata exclaimed, shocked and frustrated. Panting heavily while picking up one of the balls and turning to face Kageyama, who appeared even more frustrated than he was. "Kageyama! I'm going to try to open my eyes!!"
"Huh?! You sure?"
"Yeah!"
Yanagi did not object and carried out their experiment. Despite the fact that it failed due to Hinata's inability to hit it. "Wha-Why??!!"
"First, take a seat. I'll explain," He ordered. "Your quick attacks may appear to be overwhelming and out of mind. However, closing your eyes means you have no control over where the right position is to obtain the score. Or how Hinata couldn't figure out where the block was. You guys lost to Aoba Johsai maybe because of this."
The two of them stiffened.
"If I can block it, I'm confident that other people will find it easier to read your attack," He went on. "In conclusion, your quick attack can serve as both a weapon and a hindrance to the team."
Kageyama gritted his teeth. "So, what do we have to do?"
Yanagi played with a volleyball in his hand, throwing it and twirling it at times. His heterochromia eyes then met Kageyama's. "Before that, Kageyama... Did you ever give Hinata the toss he wanted?"
He shuddered, looked down as he looked the other way, not answering. Yanagi sighed, knowing his silent answer. "You won't understand if I just explain it. Have you heard of tempo?"
Kageyama finally looked up, nodding curtly. "I think I've heard of it."
"Good. Kageyama, you'll be tossing it to me. And Hinata, you're going to block it," They took their respective positions, and Yanagi tossed the ball to Kageyama, who was about to toss it to him for a spike, demonstrating the tempo he was referring to. "How was it?"
Hinata looked at him with starry eyes. "So fast!"
"Can you block that?"
"If anything, I don't think I could do it on my own," he answered.
"First tempo. Second tempo. Third tempo. Was there a significant difference from the spiker side?" he questioned again.
Hinata was pensive, thinking back to the three tempos that his upperclassman did. "Oh! The timing of Yanagi-san running approach?"
"Correct. That's what the tempo is," then he explained. "The agility in any attack is determined by its tempo. It's not how fast or slow the toss may be, it's the timing of the spiker's running approach. And the fastest is the first tempo. It's the best way to get around the opponent's block, for example, your quick attack. In other words, your quick attacks are led by the spiker," Yanagi ended his sentence while pointing at Hinata.
Kageyama gasped, his lips pressed together, and he lowered his head in shock, staring at the gym floor. Yanagi gave him a sidelong glance before exhaling. "But, there's no better toss than one that the spiker can easily hit."
"A toss that the spiker can easily hit.." Kageyama muttered, slowly raising his head and looking at the dark grey haired teen. "What should I do?"
"A toss that stops," he said, he had thought about it as soon as he saw their match videos from Kiyoko. "What I meant is, you're going to make the spiker's highest point of impact ―the place you're going to aim for― and stop it at the smash point. You're not going to use so much force that the ball passes through the spiker's point of impact. You'll use just enough force to get to the spiker's point of impact, and―"
"―and stop it?" Kageyama continued with narrowed eyes.
"Yes. This is a difficult technique to master. Your ball control must be excellent," Then his eyes glowed. "Can you do it?"
Kageyama and Hinata immediately bowed 90 degrees. "Please take care of us!!"
Inside this quiet gym, Yanagi gave a small grin at the sight of his underclassman who was still bowed to him. No doubt. He's going to create terrifying monsters.