she had the beauty and
the intelligence of a queen
AS SHE HAD SAID, MIZUKI showed up to every afternoon training session they had that following week. She stayed dressed in her uniform, finding it unnecessary to change into different clothes when all she would be doing was taking notes on each player.
Currently in her hands was her notebook, sitting heavy in her left palm. The fingers of her right hand clutched her ballpoint pen, the writing instrument fitting perfectly between her third and index fingers with her thumb supporting it as she scribbled along the lined paper. Mizuki focused on each and every single player, dedicating a section of her notebook just for them, noting down their blatantly obvious flaws.
For example, on the first day, she chose to watch over the captain, having decided to go in the order of their numbers in volleyball. Mizuki leant against the wall as she watched her fellow third-year go through the training drills with his teammates, coaching them and motivating them. She recognised his leading abilities, observing how his team trusted him without a single doubt. Mizuki wrote it all down, recording her observations on everything. She picked up on how he was more of a defensive player, similar to the task of a Libero, which she learnt was the role of an underclassman named Yū Nishinoya. Kiyoko had informed her of the roles of every player, the roles in which she familiarised herself with the night before.
Mizuki scribbled down where his strength laid the most: receiving. She wrote down ideas on training exercises, somewhat making some of the drills up as she had no idea how volleyball practices go, though she figured it'd make the training more creative. Nevertheless, Mizuki wanted to focus on what he wasn't good at: offensive plays. While Daichi was a generally a good wing spiker, the lavender-haired beauty knew that he could do much better than that. His game sense and technique were on point, and she guessed it was because of the time he took on the role of their coach when they were in their younger years.
Following the same afternoon session, Mizuki moved onto the vice-captain, Kōshi Sugawara, another fellow third year. She could tell that he was the mother hen of the group, often tasking himself with cheering up the other players with amiable smiles.
Although the substitute setter, Mizuki noticed how others tended to play better when they were practising with the grey-haired boy. Sugawara was the unnamed pillar of the group, holding them all. He was flexible in the games he played, seemingly good at deducing out the tactics used by others when playing a match. During the drills, however, Mizuki noticed how Sugawara lacked in power. She wrote down how he'd need to improve his strength, speed, and jumps. His stamina was also relatively low, but that would gradually increase with more games and practice.
Moving onto the last third year of the bunch, Mizuki's eyes trained onto the enormous male that looked way too old for his age due to the short scruff he sported on his chin. The lavenderette recognised him as the Ace of the team, the powerhouse. His spikes were magnificent, able to break through the blocks of his other teammates. When he used his full force, as requested by Mizuki when they were practicing spiking, she could hear the sound of the ball colliding with the floor ricochet off the walls. She knew that he deserved the title of Karasuno's Ace. However, she noticed how he didn't believe himself to be it.
Although an intimidating-looking male, Asahi was the complete opposite of that. He had a glass heart, she realised. He took everything seriously, taking it personally instead of brushing off the snide comments and teases his teammates gave him. She could see how he faltered whenever someone complimented him and teased him with the title of their Ace.
Mizuki frowened at this.
She didn't like how he underestimated himself. But it seemed the tiny second-year picked up on this every time. He was always by the taller male's side, slamming his palm onto his back (after he jumped into the air) and telling him to stop being so negative. Mizuki's lips quirked upwards when she saw the interaction between the two. She was glad that they had each other's backs, supporting and guiding them to blossom stronger individuals.
Returning back to analysing the long-haired male, Mizuki noted how he was weak in his defensive play. Since he had a tall form, his speed was limited, and it took him longer to dive to the floor to receive a ball. She'd need to get him to practice that more as well as digging.
The next player she assessed was the second year, Yū Nishinoya, the complete opposite of the male she examined the day before. She was immensely impressed by how well-focused he was, even though he was an overly energetic individual. She had taken him as the impatient type and thought she would have to get him to mediate because of that. Fortunately, she realised that would be unnecessary.
As Nishinoya played, Mizuki didn't need an expert to tell her that his defensive skills were unparalleled. He was very flexible, his game sense on point all the time. His reflexes were incredibly fast and due to his short height, so was his speed.
In order to sharpen those, she scribbled down training ideas like getting him to receive differentiated spikes and see which he struggled with the most as well as running drills along the court. Mizuki didn't need to focus on offensive skills as liberos weren't allowed to be spikers. However, a weakness she noticed was how he struggled with receiving overhand serves and jump floaters. She made a note to pair him up with the Ace and improve his skills.
The second player she focused on that afternoon was another second-year named Ryūnosuke Tanaka. Mizuki knew right off the bat that if Asahi hadn't been on the team, Tanaka would've been the Ace. His spikes were impressive, his power almost on par with the third year. She was impressed by the sly trick he'd play on the blockers, changing his form and egging them to move a different way, assuming that he was spiking elsewhere, only for him to spike in the opposite direction.
For his training, Mizuki wanted to sharpen his spiking skills, noticing how he moved on instinct, resulting in a lack of technique and game sense. Moreover, she needed to focus on improving his receives and his defensive plays. He also needed to work on his stamina because no matter how much he tried to hide it, Tanaka got really tired after playing a third set.
The third day, Mizuki focused on the remainder of the second years. Ennoshita was the first one she did. The lavenderette immediately recognised him as the second captain of the group, able to reel in the two boisterous second years. Kiyoko informed her that he was the most likely candidate for captain next year — when all the third years graduate and leave. That was why Mizuki wanted to mould him into being the next one. She knew he lacked confidence, believing himself to be incapable of taking on such a huge responsibility. Still, she knew that he was already the backbone of the team, mostly towards his fellow second years and the first years.
Overall, Ennoshita was average in all areas. He wasn't very standoutish, which may be the cause as to why he was a substitute for the team. Since he was a wing spiker, she wanted him to focus more on power. He'd also need to work on his digs and receives, becoming a reliable defensive player.
The next player was Hisashi Kinoshita, a wing spiker and a pinch server. Mizuki observed how anxious he was of his abilities. He wasn't as good as the rest, nor did he share the same burning flare in his eyes. He was more of a background character, a substitute to fill out a spot if one of the players got injured.
Nevertheless, he was still in the club and just like everyone else, he had lots of room for improvements. Mizuki figured she'd get him to work on his spikes, sharpening his accuracy that she noticed was quite marvellous. It was his best trait, but it wasn't enough. She'd get him to train with hitting different spikes, fine-tuning his ability.
Much like Kinoshita, Kazuhito Narita, his fellow peer, was also a background character. He was a middle blocker, his skills mediocre — he fairly good at spiking though. Mizuki noticed how he was more compatible with Sugawara, most likely due to the fact they had been playing together for quite a while. His difficulties with Kageyama as the setter was apparent, so she planned to ensure the pair trained together.
Thus bringing her onto the ninth player, who she recorded notes for on the fourth day.
Tobio Kageyama, the volleyball prodigy.
Kiyoko informed her all about his derogative nickname 'King of the Court' and his foul attitude to others during his middle school years. The dark-haired third year did mention how he was changing, improving for the better and having come a long way since the beginning. Mizuki noticed how well he played with the orange-haired first year, their compatibility and complete trust with one another amazed her.
And with her astute eyes, Mizuki spotted the mark that sat at the bottom of the setter's ankle. It was a pair of orange wings, similar to the ones on the decoy's ankle: a pair of blank wings.
That's why they're such a good team, she realised, her eyes roaming over each individual and how they interacted with each other — the lingering stares, the subtle touches, the comforting smiles, and the love shining brightly within their eyes.
It was all so apparent when one placed themselves in that frame of mind. The connection between them was strong, the trust they shared going through the roof. They were a perfect team, one that flowed consistently.
They're all soulmates.
Mizuki didn't dwell on the thought for long, a bitter taste developing in her mouth at the concept.
Returning back to Kageyama, she knew that the raven-haired's only flaw was his communication skills. A setter's job was to bring out the best in their spikers. Mizuki was going to have him pair up with every single player, getting familiar with how they preferred their sets. He needed to start paying attention to his spikers' conditions and adjust his tosses accordingly instead of forcing them to match up to him all the time.
Next was the setter's soulmate, Shōyō Hinata. When she first entered the gymnasium, she was impressed and amazed with his speed, reflexes, and jumping power. They were unbelievably incredible.
Mizuki, when she first saw their quick attack, was fucking stunned. Her jaw dropped, the scene flashing by in just a second. The way the younger male ran from one side of the court to the other was absolutely astonishing.
It was like he was flying.
But one thing that concerned her was how his eyes sealed themselves tightly after making his jump, his hand hitting the ball and slamming it down in front of him on pure instinct. Mizuki frowned. She wondered why he didn't open them. If he could see the court in front of him, it would allow him to spike the ball in a direction where there were no blockers. Mizuki scribbled that down in her book, circling it to remind herself to voice her questions.
Nevertheless, no matter how impressive their quick was, the attack did not make up for his clumsiness whatsoever.
Hinata's game sense and technique were absolutely appalling. Although the star of the show due to his almost inhuman abilities, Hinata was their weakest link, a disadvantage Karasuno's volleyball team could not have.
That's why, in order to fix that, Hinata was going to have to work harder than everyone else. His training program was going to be hard, consisting of many rounds of basic exercises like receiving and digging — his main flaws. Though, she had no doubt that he wouldn't be able to complete it. Hinata's determination and passion for volleyball burned brightly behind his eyes, something that both intimidated and inspired others.
Up next was the blonde first year, Kei Tsukishima. He was the tallest player on the team, giving him a fantastic advantage when it came to blocking. However, he put in no effort, worrying the female third year. Tsukishima didn't have the same drive and motivation as the other regulars did. He wouldn't push himself like the others, his lackadaisical attitude agitating her because she could see the potential stored within him.
Mizuki wondered if he didn't enjoy the sport, but that wouldn't make any sense. He still remained in the club, still bothered to show up to every training session. Mizuki noticed how he was the opposite of Hinata, his game sense was always on point and the blocks that he performed when he got riled up by his teammates were amazingly accurate.
There was something holding the teenager back, something Mizuki was determined to find out in hopes that she could help him come out of this rut he dug for himself.
In the meantime, Mizuki made sure to create a training program that consisted mainly of him improving his blocks and gaining muscles on those frail-looking arms, noticing how he struggled to hold his blocks. Mizuki observed how he didn't move on instinct, preferring to gather information with eyes before making his move.
Mizuki knew without a doubt that if the blonde managed to find his burning determination and not waste his talents, Karasuno's defence would skyrocket.
His soulmate, Tadashi Yamaguchi, was also in a similar place, she noticed. Mizuki had heard about his serve failing in the last match they played. She could tell that he was still upset about it, who wouldn't be?
However, instead of spiralling deeper into his own self-pity, Yamaguchi was using his failure as fuel to the burning flame of determination that was slowly sparking itself back to life.
Mizuki was going to have his training program consist of improving his serves and his arm strength. She'd get the two soulmates to pair up in hopes that they would motivate each other. Mizuki knew that the dark-haired boy was special, he was more than just a background character. He was just shy and reserved, preferring to be in the shadows rather than the spotlight. Mizuki wanted to change that. She could see great potential in him.
Yamaguchi's weaknesses mainly resided in his weak-heartedness. He thought of himself as useless compared to the others. Mizuki needed to improve his technique and focus on getting him some more experience.
In fact, the whole team was lacking experience. In order to grow collectively, they would need to play against other teams, preferably stronger ones. Though she'd leave that to their coach and Takeda-sensei, who she met during the week.
Right now, her job was to come up with the best training plans for each individual.
Even if it meant giving up her weekend.