A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to the first chapter of season four! Enjoy!
edited on march 8th, 2022 @ 2:29am
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CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE - INTRODUCTIONS
HIDEAKI WAS WITH DAICHI, SUGAWARA and Asahi as they watched Tanaka tackle down Tsukishima, ordering him to shrink. "I wish I could get that excited about getting my height measured." Asahi commented.
"Hey! All of you pipe down!" Daichi ordered.
All of them were later in the gym, jumping up to touch the basketball hoop as Yachi measured their fingertip height.
"Tsukishima-kun got 334 cm!" Yachi announced.
"Aside from Hideaki, that's the highest so far."
"Great job, Tsukki!"
"What are they doing?" A nearby basketball player asked.
"Apparently, they're measuring the highest point they can hit for the Spring Tournament pamphlet."
"Next, Nishinoya."
"Wow... I guess they really are going to nationals."
"Huh! They're jumping higher than me."
"Nishinoya's only about 150 cm, right?"
"I'm 160, damn it!" Nishinoya exclaimed.
"302 centimeters." Hitoka announced.
"Next, Kageyama." Kiyoko said.
"Here I go." Kageyama stated.
He runs forward and hits the hoop. "Um... 337 centimeters." Yachi informed.
"Next, Hinata."
"Right!" Hinata answered.
Hinata ran forward as he jumped up, shocking the two basketball players who were watching.
"How many centimeters is it?!"
"How high was that?!"
Kageyama and Hinata both shouted out in unison. "Just wait!" Yamaguchi told them as Yachi measured the height with the measuring tape.
"Let's see... 333 cm!" Yachi announced.
Hinata grabbed his head in irritation as Kageyama cheered to himself. "That's about the same as you, Asahi." Sugawara commented.
"Damn it... I'm not gonna lose." Asahi stated. "He's increased 5 or 6 centimeters from before."
"I guess guys really aiming to go higher are different." Nishinoya said.
"Higher?" Hideaki repeated in question.
Nishinoya turned over towards the ace. "Well, when you're spiking, you're usually trying to match your height with the ball, right?" He asked. "But Shoyo's absolutely positive that Kageyama will get the ball to him, so he's always trying to jump as high as he can. Form and the starting run... I think those are both important in increasing your jumping ability."
"So you're saying that Kageyama's gradually making Hinata's jumps higher." Sugawara said.
"Is everyone here?" Takeda questioned, coming into the gym.
"Gather round!"
"Right!"
The team then gathered around Takeda and bowed. "Thank you all for your hard work. This is sudden, but I have some big news." He glanced over towards Kageyama. "Kageyama-kun."
"Huh?"
"You've been asked to attend the All-Japan Youth Training Camp!" Takeda announced. Kageyama widened his eyes in shock.
"All... Japan?!"
"Japan?!" Yamaguchi exclaimed.
"Holy crap!"
"Youth... As in..." Yachi shivered a bit. "The national representatives for Japan under the age of 19... right?"
"Yeah... Wow... That's all... I can really say." Kiyoko replied.
"That's the same as Ushiwaka!" Yamaguchi stated.
"Ushiwaka managed to remain a representative until the end, but who knows if the King will actually last that long?" Tsukishima spoke.
"That's awesome, Kageyama!" Tanaka congratulated him.
"All-Japan is like super cool!" Nishinoya added on.
"If I remember correctly, it's from the players nominated today that they'll pick Japan's actual under-19 representatives two years from now. To compete against the world. They basically look for 15 and 16-year-olds all around Japan to prepare for that selection in two years, and select a tiny handful of the best of the best." Ennoshita explained.
"Just being invited to something like that is amazing." Narita stated.
"I guess we've been practicing with some insane guys." Kinoshita commented. "I mean, versus the world? They're on a totally different level."
"Please stop."
"But the training camp is going to be held for five days at the beginning of December, and right before the Spring Tournament in January, so it's not a requirement to go." Takeda informed.
"I'll go."
"He should go."
Kageyama looked towards Daichi. "Uh, we're talking All-Japan here. All-Japan. Representatives for all of Japan under 19. Do you understand that?" He asked as Hinata looked irritated.
"Of course, I do!" He shouted.
"So... The only one who got an invite was Kageyama-kun." Takeda informed as Hinata was taken aback.
"Kageyama, make sure that when you get interviewed, you tell them that your wonderful senpai named Sugawara showed you the ropes." Sugawara said.
"Right..."
"Stop trying to slip in suggestions."
"No fair trying to get ahead, Suga-san!" Tanaka shouted out.
"Honestly, I'm wondering why they haven't invited Nishinoya." Hideaki pointed out.
"True... But we are kinda biased." Sugawara agreed.
"Well, in cases like this, I'm sure they considered talent and potential, but I hear they look at how balanced a player is overall, too. There will be a lot of players meeting for the first time, so they probably consider how well they play with others, too. And for a libero, I mean... they'll probably invite someone who's a bit more mature..."
"Mature... Right."
"I can't even argue with that."
Takeda clapped his hands together. "All right, listen up! I have one more piece of news." He announced. "Also happening in the beginning of December... There will be a special training camp for promising rookies in Miyagi Prefecture. Coach Anabara from Johzenji High School just gave me a call. It's apparently an idea to try and level up Miyagi Prefecture's volleyball skills as a whole. This is apparently only open to first-years... It's basically a mock youth camp."
"A mock youth camp?" Daichi repeated.
"One of our players has been invited." Takeda continued on. "Tsukishima-kun."
Tsukishima nodded as Yamaguchi widened his eyes at him. "That's so awesome, Tsukki!" He exclaimed. "You're one of the best first-years in the prefecture!"
"A training camp?" Tsukishima said in defeat.
"I mean, Tsukishima was amazing in the finals!"
"What the hell? Why is it only first-years?" Tanaka exclaimed.
"Sensei! What about me?!" Hinata asked once more.
"Um... Well, Tsukishima-kun was the only one invited to this one..." Takeda repeated as Hinata screamed in shock.
"I mean, the Spring Tournament is right around the corner, so I'll pas—" Tsukishima started to say.
"Do your best out there, Tsukishima!" Daichi interrupted.
"Yeah! It's rare for you to get a chance to have guys from other schools mess with you." Sugawara added on.
"Yeah, I get enough of that already. Thanks." Tsukishima commented.
"Okay, I'll go ahead and tell them you'll both be participating." Takeda announced before leaving the gym.
"Hey." Kageyama spoke, getting Hinata's attention as he smirked. "I'm going on ahead."
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"I see. So Tobio is good enough for the All-Japan Youth Camp..." Oikawa mumbled as put a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.
Hideaki chuckled a little. "Don't give me that look, Tōru. Your student is amazing." He informed,
"He's not my student! Iwa-chan said the same thing!" Oikawa denied. "Anyway... that call that you had gotten earlier. Are you going to accept?"
Hideaki sighed and stabs the ice cream with his spoon. "I don't know. They gave me time to think about it. Playing for Argentina is a huge opportunity." He responded.
"And you get to be with me!" Oikawa exclaimed.
"Oh, that too." Hideaki bluntly said as Oikawa yelped at the insult.
"Well, you got until graduation to think it through."
"Yeah. You're right."
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"I wonder if Kageyama got there okay." Sugawara stated.
"I heard that Take-chan gave him detailed directions, so I'm sure he'll be fine." Tanaka reassured him.
"I hope he included furigana so he can read the kanji..." Ennoshita spoke.
"Huh?"
"Something wrong?" Asahi asked.
"Actually... Hinata's not here yet, right?" Yamaguchi questioned.
"Oh, yeah. He's usually here by now." Hideaki agreed.
"Sorry, what?" Sugawara questioned, hearing the news.
"Apparently, Hinata infiltrated that rookie training camp. I guess he's at Shiratorizawa right now." Ennoshita announced. Yamaguchi spits out his water at the news.
Tanaka then started laughing. "Way to go, Shoyo!" Nishinoya cheered.
Daichi held a dark look on his face. "He sure does some crazy things." He mumbled, making Tanaka flinch.
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A/N: Another chapter is finished! Thanks for reading!