Realistic or Modern Pass, Set, and Spike [OPEN]

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mika walked in with her bag slung over her shoulder and her cap on her head. It occurred to her that such a thing wouldn't be around but it's not like she cared. Besides, that hat had been given to her by her brother when she was young, so it was a prized possession. She still loved the thing, even if it was worn and had some rips on the bill. She noticed the influx of students coming in and glared around. "Why are there already do many?" She muttered in slightly angry Russian. Did they all like to come to school early here or something? Or was she just perfectly on time? She sighed. Whatever. All she had to do was make it to her class and then she was in the clear for her first day. Well, as long as the teachers didn't use too much complicated Japanese. She had to take her JSL class sometime in the day which would be annoying to try to find the room number. The whole situation was annoying.

She considered going to the main office for directions since it seemed like she wouldn't have much time to wander around aimlessly in the hopes of finding her class. She pulled her baseball cap down, determined to just get through the day without interacting with someone, and started walking towards the main office. Then, someone started speaking to her. She looked around and spotted Minma, and it looked like he was talking to her too. Well, that was annoying. Especially since her goal had been to not talk to anyone. What were the odds that someone would come up to her right as she entered the building? Oh wait. Pretty high. She looked like a complete foreigner with her red head, blue eyes and slightly freckled face. Besides, some rumors might've already started getting around. Maybe it was only that they were getting a transfer student from another country, or maybe they were already spreading around information about her brother. She hoped the latter wasn't the case.

She stopped walking and stood still while Minma talked. The boy simply remarked about how he hadn't seen her before and introduced himself as Minma, a sophomore. The Japanese was easy enough to understand and she hoped it wouldn't get any more complicated than that. "I'm Mikaela." She introduced herself through a thick Russian accent. It was pretty obvious she was a foreigner from the accent and if you knew your accents you might even be able to tell she was Russian. "Transfer student. From Russia. I'm a first year. What's the word? Ah, freshman." Her sentences sounded basic and little broken as she pieced together words from her smaller Japanese vocabulary. She was making an effort though, which might've surprised Aleks if he were here, given her stance and how she avoided speaking Japanese. She trying to act friendly for now, though her sentences and accent might come off as if he was a bother which wasn't what she intended. Even if this was against what she wanted, she'd at least make an effort at school since she knew how teenagers could be. She didn't want her life to be even more like hell while here.

 

[SharkBark]

​

After giving everyone their jerseys, Akito headed off to first period. He had English where, it's literally in the name, he learns English. Akito was Japanese- African American, so he did have some English roots. But his main language was Japanese. And it's not easy to learn another language quickly.

When Akito entered his classroom, he was greeted by his friends and his teacher, Mr. Yang.

"Quickly, quickly. Sit down, Akito. We have some news for you." Mr. Yang says.

Akito looks around at the classroom, they're all staring at him with excitement now.

"Uh..what's the news Mr. Yang?" Akito asks.

Mr. Yang's face lights up.

"Have you ever heard of Aleksandr Makarov? he asks.

Akito had heard of him. He was an amazing player and Akito loved watching his games.

"Yeah, I have Mr. Yang." Akito answers with a smile.

"Well then..I'm thrilled to let you know that...his sister, Mika, had been enrolled into the school!"

Akito's eyes light up.

"Seriously?" Akito says, a little too excited.

Ale's little sister is at the school. Wasn't her name..uh..Mika? Akito had to find her. He's seen news feed of her playing with her older brother and, she's not bad.

"Now, you can get a decent player on your team! Oh, also, how many people have you recruited now? Some of your peers went around the school and asked some people to join the team for you!"

Akito smiles. He loved how supportive his class was. They were most excited for him when he first mentioned bringing the team back. He loved them all. And then, for the rest of the period, Akito spent his time telling his class about his new recruits. Minma, the genius setter. And Nozomi, the "Orange Blur" Libero.​

 

[salem.]

Connor “Connie” Müller
Angrily Journaling

Spoiler: important garbage

dum fun faks™ abt how I rp and how’s connor gonna b and how I’m gonna write them (rpn kinda glitches out and does 2 spoilers for me??? idfk i’ll report the bug later ughhhh)

Spoiler: important garbage

1- I do lotsa paragraphs, separation etc. I sometimes isolate important sentences and actions.
2- I REALLY like detail. I’m a big teller and not shower, u better bet that there’s gonna be 5 whole paragraphs abt what our fav. trauma boy is wearing (exaggerated, but I do write a big ol’ ton.)
3- i like to add funny little memes and references to ease the mood when, for example, a fight gets serious. this is very rare though so don’t expect big hahas
4- kinda relates to 2, but when needed, pictures will be shown. With connie here, I’ll be writing and drawing whatever he decides to insert on his big fat journal. So expect irl ugly emo teen boy sketching. I’m not spoilering those images. fuck you.
5- i write on mobile (my biggest sin)
6- im still not making myself responsible for misspells ok????
7- I use onomatopoeia a LOT, thunks, thuds, slaps, pops and whistle blows will be written
8- expect exaggeration with words/what my characters think and do. There will be SOME exaggeration in this post, i’ll tell u when bb don‘t worry

fun faks™ abt how im writting connor
1- I have separate colors for dialogue and thoughts. In rare occasions, his journal.
2- Despite it being a BIG part of him, I’m barely mentioning Connie’s serious problems. I find it on the nose, personally. Since everyone who read his character sheet already knows Connor’s dark past and smoking habit, I don’t want you to be reminded of that 24/7. I’ll only put small details like ‘oh he cleared his throat’ or ‘the air smells like ciggs’. His breath will NEVER smell like cigarettes because boy has crazy dental hygiene
3- I’ll try to keep Connor a bit realistic on the bully scale, to say. They’re not just gonna walk over to you and say “Good morning looser” and then shank you.
4- everyone else is short. connor will be written in the ‘lmao im a giant perspective.’ constant detail about him having to look down to see people in the face, and how intimidating he can be.

and yea das it
roll post

Life is an Ocean.
——Connor Post #1——


Time: 8:00AM. (I’m supposing?)
Class: Biology.
Interactions: None, closed. Is a senior and not even in the same class as anyone.
Mood: Bored, annoyed, irritated, everything bad.


Sigh.

It was a new day. Nothing new to see, nothing new to do.

Biology.
The BANE of his existence.

Not only was it generally boring, but they felt like if the teacher was intentionally scraping at his skin. He was resting his head over his hand, about to fall asleep. But him fiddling with a pencil in the his other hand was keeping him awake, but not for long. Despite him sleeping earlier than usual yesterday, it still wasn’t enough.

His ears were ringing, chest was beating hard and he wants to go home.

They stretched their legs and arms, going back to their position and yawning, agate eyes trying to stay open at the hearing of anything that the Biology teacher is saying, he didn’t care. And he probably never will.

I mean, he wasn’t at all angry today, just annoyed, bored and irritated that his first class was one of the worst. He continued to fiddle with his wooden pencil as the words the teacher said began to blur away, he felt as if his head weighed more than a ton, but his hand was keeping him stable. He just wanted to lay on his black, wooden, scribbled-on desk. If he could just…



THUNK!



As he suspected. Face-first into the desk. The biology book keeping their face from fully smashing though their school desk.

The noise was quite loud, catching the attention of the teacher, of course.

“Mr. Müller, please go wash your face. I don’t want you to fall asleep in my class again.” The biology teacher seemed oddly calm for this situation, even if Connor seemed like if he passed out.

‘Wash your face’. That thing never worked. Unless the water was freezing cold, which made his nose clogged and sickened him. If he wanted, they would slam their head on the desk a second time just to pass out and go home early. With a tired groan, they stood up, stretching and cracking a few bones while he was at it. To the bathroom it is.

He reluctantly opened the classroom door to get tf out. As they finally got outside with some fresh air, they SLAMMED the door shut and began walking to the bathroom with a horrible posture and sore face, mumbling and grumbling some most likely offensive words towards the teacher. He was angry, but too bored and tired to fully rage.

As he was hastily making his way to the halls, every step feeling as if the halls began to stretch further.
Maybe he need did to wash his face.

But, the moment he tried to lay a hand on the wall to rest himself, (yes, they‘re being overdramatic, or still high. They’re not EXHAUSTED I’m just exaggerating u kno me) Connor could feel paper in his grasp. He regained his posture, taking a smooth, fast turn-around to check what the paper said. A lonely flyer for applications. Nothing new…

Wait…
WHAT?!

Everything was fine and dandy until he actually focused on what the godamned paper said.
It was absolutely ridiculous.

‘Make Lakeside Great Again’, or something stupid like that. Which left Connor dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and confused as to WHY would anyone want to bring this disgusting team back, he couldn’t quite remember the exact loses they got last season, but they were a ton. This team wasn’t worth it by a loooooooooooooooooooong shot.



Not even a short shot.


He put the now wrinkled paper on the left bag of their sweater. Probably gonna mush it into a ball and throw it at someone later today… Probably whatever dumbass decided to start this lakeside team re-grouping. (I’d say ‘start praying’ but 1/2 of the characters do kick punch kick stuff so Connor should be the one praying)

Connor didn’t even go to the bathroom to actually wash his face, the thought of this alone already had his systems running back again. Who in their right mind reunite this disaster of a team? With only 3 wins past tourney/season/whatever there was no way they could manage more than 2, that is if the old teammates weren’t back.

He got back to the classroom and sat down calmly.

Whatever. At least he was more awake than before. And Biology should be a breeze if they don’t bash their head on a desk again, and it’ll be a little bit better if they manage to scribble something down on their journal. Oh, right! Connor almost forgot about his journal. He was feeling like drawing today.

Despite not being mentioned before, Müller quite enjoyed arts. He wasn’t… Very good… But practice makes perfect. They have never showed anyone these sketches, and probably never will, until they get confident and know more about drawing. They did like their drawings… At times. But this’ll be the good one. He hopes.

They rub their gunmetal eyes, his concentration now switching completely to drawing. It’s fascinating how quick he can change topics in his mind. Alright. Drawing. He repeatedly poked the pencil on his right cheek, thinking of something to draw while the Biology teacher gave whatever lesson, that might be something good, great even. There could be no work today and only boring lecturing. Since he was in a good mood, it didn’t bother them much.

Something he liked… Something he liked... Aha! Got it!

He opened his journal on a new page, and began mad scribbling on it, careful, delicate lines to then be replaced by thick, rough lines. A few… Regrets in the corner…

Aaaand after a few minutes, done!
Oh. That turned put absolutely great.
​

(text glitch after here)
(i warned you there was gonna be images)
(you better appreciate my art i took lotsa time in this)
(and yes connor knows abt animal crossing because they got a laptop and they heard about it and they have the game on an emulator and it’s probably a comfort game and don’t i draw great)

Drawing was one of the few things that made Connor truly happy. When they turned out right, of course. It made him feel like a creative little kid again. When everything was… Better. Sigh.

‘Ughhh, Satan.’
He thought, remembering that he was in Biology.
‘I would take bashing my head open on my desk than hearing any other of his lectures any day…’
They rested their head on their hand once more, huffing. Nordic eyes rolling at the back of their head.

Connor was desperately looking for something to think of that wasn’t the class, because if then it was back to him kissing that desk.

Ohhh… Right. That flier.
God. That fucking flier.

How he despised that waste of trees. Thank god it was the only one (But that’s only what he thinks) and that he took it down. But yet again, no one would be stupid enough to take that offer, The Fuhai team will make sure they regret ever forming that failure of a team again.

But… Right now… He just wanted to close his eyes and wait for next class.


——————————————
And I’m Drowning in it.
———End of Connor Post #1———
(fun fak™: the beginning and ending titles make a cool little phrase read the thing again)​

 

[Minma]

Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf (Mika)​

That confirmed it. Her thick Russian accent. Minma was already mostly certain the girl standing in front of him was the sister of the amazing player, Aleks. Minma knew his accents and was pretty informed in the geography of the world. Coincidentally enough, he took two Russian language classes in school, Russian 1, and 2. Although he has forgotten a good portion of the material, he is still able to pick up on certain words and phrases, mostly verbs. He subconsciously slightly leaned his head to the left in reaction to Mika speaking broken Japanese. Well when he thought back on it Mika was from Russia so it wouldn't really make sense. Nevertheless, communication is key in team sports and language barriers prove to be hell sometimes. 'No worries.' He thought as he listened to her speak, she spoke with enough confidence to be able to overcome such obstacles like language barriers. Plus. she was the sister of a pro, her familiarity in the sport will prove beneficial.

After realizing it was her first day Minma thought of a genius idea. If he was to show Mika around, and help her navigate to her first class; he would have an excuse as to why he skipped part of first period. A desperate action but it was one Minma was willing to take. It was a win win in his eyes. ''A transfer student huh? So today must be your first day.'' He eyed a clock that was on the hallway near the main office. "Allow me to take you to your first class and educate you on a few things about the school and its parameter, uhh, out line.'' He tried to use different words in case she wasn't able to pick up. He ushered his hand in the direction of her first class, he knew it because he was able to zone in on it from her schedule. ''This way.'' He walked at a medium pace, allowing Mika to observe her surroundings. Along the walk Minma pointed out a few more of her classes along with where she could find bathrooms and the lunchroom. He purposely made sure to inform her on the whereabouts of the gym, for his own intentions.

As they approached the door of the classroom where Mika was meant to be, MInma stopped and pulled his gym bag around and opened it. ''Hold on a second Mika.'' As he pulled the flyers out and handed them to MIka in one smooth gesture, he spoke. ''I didn't mention this earlier, mainly because I wasn't sure I was right, but you are the sister of the pro volleyball player, Aleks right? I know because i'm a big fan of volleyball and I watched a good bit of your brothers games'' He paused and gave an awkward but charming smile. ''Well you see, Lakeside has started up a volleyball team, with me as your setter. We have some spots left open and if you were interested, you could meet me at the gym after school along with a few other members. It would be my pleasure to have you on the team.'' He fixed his gym bag. "Think about it will ya?'' And with that Minma nodded goodbye and wished Mika good Luck on her first day at Lakeside.

Minma arrived at pre calculus. It was another mediocre day. Notes, then classwork, then the teacher would pass out homework. She never forgot the homework. The rest of his classes went by fairly smooth, except for when at lunch a dime size amount of soy sauce fell onto his shirt. After packing up for his final class, Minma headed to the gym. When he arrived it was empty and the lights were off. After turning them on MInma changed into his gym clothes and began stretching. He was sure someone would arrive shortly. Whether it be Akito, or MIka. Untill then he was going to have some practice.

 

[Dextra]

Nozomi Knight
​

Location:
Gym-Class-Gym

Interacting:
Minma (Minma)
SharkBark (Akito)

Nozomi's internal celebration was a sight to behold, or would be if anyone could read minds. The number 12 was hers, and she was ecstatic; it appeared that Akito had purposefully chosen the most flashy outfit for her, which, oddly enough, while clashing with her usual style, she liked; it was the whole opposites attract situation, the orange and black being very different from her grungy usual style. Akito even gave her the nickname 'The Orange Blur,' which she couldn't help but smile at, but then after making her so happy the word 'kid' left his mouth again, honestly she had only known this man less than two days and he was already getting on her nerves, but luckily for him it was nearly time for class and as such she decided to leave it, that's twice now he has been saved by the bell. Minma's greeting surprised her. It was the first time the two had actually spoken, but the conversation had to be cut short, and Nozomi simply said "Likewise" before the trio exited the gym.

Classes were nothing more than a chore to Nozomi; if she had a choice she'd spend all her time playing volleyball. Fortunately for Nozomi, she was naturally intelligent enough to get through all of her classes with minimal effort, but that was only in middle school; with luck, high school would be the same.

Class seemed to last forever, and lunch was even worse. Nozomi didn't have a good reputation for making friends, and in her first few weeks of school, mostly due to her attitude and general demeanour, she had made exactly zero friends, so the fact that the volleyball team was resuming was the perfect opportunity for her school days to become more eventful. Classes had finally ended, and while she wasn't sure if today was the day the team was supposed to meet, she couldn't help but find herself heading towards the gym. She had hoped to be the first one there to make up for being late in the morning, but when she arrived, she was the second Minma had beat her, which meant she wasn't the only one who had decided today was a practice day, if nothing else this was a good chance to talk to Minma.


"How was class, Minma? Mine was pretty dull, but I couldn't wait for it to be over so we could get some practice in. Is today even a practice day, is everyday a club day or what? In any case, give me a few minutes and I'll be out, and we can get started." Nozomi's voice was brimming with excitement as she dashed towards the locker rooms. It had been just over a year since she had properly practised, and while she had practised with a few local teams, she was always too young or old to actually participate and spent half her time cashing balls, which she didn't mind because it helped her figure out that ball pathing easier and actually helped her. She did get some practice during these times, but not as much as she would have liked, but it was different now that she was a member of the team. It didn't take long for the young girl to change into her new uniform; while it was a little big, she'd grown into it, and baggy clothing never bothered her; it just meant she had to tuck in her top a little which was already part of her plan. Nozomi hoped Akito would arrive soon as she exited the changing room after all a libero and a setter can't do much on their own. "So what's the plan? It's a bit difficult with only us two but I'm sure we could work something out to get warmed up at least."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mika nodded when Minma commented on it being her first day. That was correct. She wished she would've come in the beginning like all the freshman so it wouldn't be as weird. But one of the reasons why she stood out like a sore thumb was because she was new, and everyone knew it. She was a little relieved when Minma offered to show her around, though she'd never admit that. She was also glad he'd switched from parameter to outline because parameter was too advanced for her. She really did need that JSL class.

"Alright." She said as she was ushered to one direction. Minma didn't seem like he was taking no for an answer, so it's not like she could object anyways. Besides, maybe if he was good at this, she could look more experienced when it came to traveling around the school. Maybe then she wouldn't seem like such an outsider. Thankfully, he was good at this. He showed her the bathrooms, lunch and gym, as well as some of her other classes. When he pointed out the JSL room, she was relieved. At least it'd be easy to get to there when she had to. Her broken Japanese might not work with other students if she had to ask. But, with Minma pointing it out, she wouldn't have to worry. She looked towards him as he was giving her information. If all the students were as nice as him, maybe this really wouldn't be so bad. But Aleksandr would never be told that by her.

They got to her first class and Mika was about to offer a goodbye and thank you before Minma stopped her and told her to wait. He'd use her nickname which was a little shocking. She'd introduced herself as Mikaela, not Mika. Aleks called her Mika, and her friends back in Russia. To anyone else, she'd prefer to be called Mikaela. Especially here. Mostly because she didn't want to get attached to anything here. They'd probably leave Japan after the summer Olympics. After all, Aleks had only brought them here to train for the Russian team. But she also didn't want to get too into Japan. She didn't want to see its beauty or the nice people living here. She still wanted to be mad about the move. And she still was.

Minma brought out a flyer and handed it to her with a smooth gesture, making her unable to not take it. She stared at the paper. Lakeside volleyball team looking for players! The words written almost made her choke purely on air alone. She started to piece it together and glared up at Minma. His words confirmed it, saying he knew she was Aleks' little sister. He was a fan, because he told her he watched her games. She was starting to see where exactly this was going. The awkward but charming smile didn't work on her either. He gave her information on the team, how he was the setter, and that Lakeside was trying to start up a volleyball team. There were still spots left and he'd be happy to have her on the team. It mostly went in one ear and out the other, her sour mood on the matter of the move getting in the way. She'd already made up her mind about him due to past experiences. He only wanted to hang out with her because of her famous brother. He only wanted her on the team because of Aleks. He told her to think about it, then left her with a goodbye and good luck. Though, Mika would definitely not be thinking about it. "I should've known it was going to be like this." She muttered in Russian before sticking the flyer into her bag, successfully crumbling it. The only reason was because she didn't see a trash can, nor did she have the time to wander around the school trying to look for one. She went into her first period class with the teacher being understanding as to why the transfer student was late.

The rumors got worse and worse as the day went on. First period was relatively ok except for her messing up both the formal gestures and Japanese. Though, it's not like she was trying too hard anyways. Second period was the start of the rumors. It was being passed around by now that they had a transfer student from another country. Russia and Germany were being thrown around as the top suspects. Third period corrected that with everyone realizing she spoke Russian when angry or filling in for Japanese words she didn't know. How they knew it was Russian, she had no idea. Maybe some kid took Russian and knew some of the words she was speaking. Whatever the case was, she was now being looked at like an increasingly interesting science experiment. Then Aleks started getting thrown around. Someone had probably recognized her in newsfeeds or press photos of her with her brother. It didn't help that some teacher had mentioned her to their class. Some kid in that class was probably spreading it around like wildfire. By final period, she was thoroughly exhausted from hearing the whispers of Mika Makarov, younger sister of the star Russian volleyball player Aleksandr. At this point, she just wanted to go home. Though, home was in a completely other country so that wasn't happening.

The only place she felt relatively welcome was her JSL class. There weren't many transfer students, so it was pretty much one on one with her and the teacher. She felt quite safe there with the JSL teacher not being angry when she got something wrong or when her accent got in the way. She was versed in Russian and could easily use it to help Mika understand. She was also pretty informal and talked to Mika like she was a friend. The class that she thought would be the hardest turned out to be her favorite.

The other kids were heading out of the classroom, laughing with friends or running off to clubs. She could still hear rumors about her, but they were thankfully dispersing now that everyone was too busy going home or to their respective after school activities. She was just about to head out of the school and wait for Aleks to pick her up when she saw something sticking out of her bag. She took it out and glared at it with a sigh. The crumpled-up flyer for the new Lakeside volleyball team. She'd stuck it right in her bag after Minma had left, thoroughly annoyed she'd been his target for the team just because of her brother. She was used to it happening, her brother's fame the reason people wanted to hang out with her. Especially back in Moscow. Still, she hated it. It was rude and placed her right into his shadow. It was the only reason why Minma had tried talking to her, that's what she figured. If her brother wasn't famous, she'd likely be an outcast. Maybe some people would think a Russian student was cool and talk to her because of that, but the excitement would eventually die down and she'd be alone. She was stubborn and firm in that way of thinking.

She wouldn't go. No way was she going with how she had been targeted for the team because of her brother. She was being stubborn and only looking at that point. She stuck the flyer back in her bag and began to make her way to the front doors to wait for Aleks to come pick her up.

 

[SharkBark]

After class, Akito went looking for Mika. He knew of course, that it wouldn't be easy. She probably got bombarded by people who are trying to make friends with her just to get close to her brother. It was pretty sad. Everyone's being fake towards her. Hopefully by the time he gets to her, she doesn't immediately think he's like that too.

Akito's uniform could be heard rustling on his skin as he ran through the hallways towards the front doors. He had checked almost everyplace except there. Hopefully she hadn't already left. He turns on corridor 7 and gets onto corridor 9 quickly, only 1 more corner away.

"C'mon, c'mon. Hurry up." Akito told himself. Akito looks out the window. No cars were outside being bathed by the descending sun. Had she already left?Maybe he wasn't fast enough. After making the final corner,
Akito turns to see a red headed girl making her way to the doors. He didn't want to assume but, that was most likely her. She didn't have a uniform either, which happens to all new students on their first day. Akito looks closely at her backpack. The zipper isn't fully closed and he sees his flyer for volleyball. Mika and Nozomi are in the same grade, she could've given it to her. Or maybe even Minma. He has to walk through her hallway to get to his Kanji class.

"Oi!" Akito calls out to her. He watches as she suddenly starts walking faster. Akito picks up his pace equally. The two of them are almost to the door. It's whoever grabs the handle first. 7 feet till the door. 5 feet. 2 feet. And...GO. Akito and Mika reach out to the door at the same time but, of course, Akito gets to the it first, due to his wingspan.

"Hey, uh. You're Mika, right?" Akito starts. "I'm Akito Suzuki. I'm the kid who's trying to bring back the volleyball team. I see one of my teammates got to you first."

Akito points to the flyer in her backpack. He grabs it and sees that she crumbled it up.

"Listen," Akito starts, straightening out the paper. "You don't have to join. It's your choice. Honestly, I'm sure we'll do well without you anyways. We have some promising assets. Only if you want. I'm not talking to you because of your brother, we need teammates, and I've asked almost everyone. You were just next. I have to be somewhere so, that's all. Hopefully you'll come after school and help us bring the heat back to the team. Have an amazing day."

Akito hands the flyer to Mika and makes his way out the door.

Yeah, he had to go to practice but, he needed to get some new knee sleeves.
​

14 minutes later...

On his way back from the store, Akito stops at a light. He watches as another kid who looks close his age walks towards the light too. He had messy black hair with dark bags underneath his eyes. He was freakishly tall too, looking to be over 6'2. Akito was shorter than Minma, but he didn't mind. But someone THIS tall? That's another story. The guy had a gym bag on him. Akito looks at it and sees a volleyball jersey. Maybe he plays? Akito leans a little closer and finally sees it. He didn't even see the full word, but the F stood out.

𝕱𝖚𝖍𝖆𝖎

Akito gulps and leans away from the bag. Fuhai. Akito could remember it all. When he was a Freshmen, his team challenged Fuhai to a friendly match at an open gym before. It was horrible.
​

Flashback -- Akito's Freshman Year -- Tanaka's Open Gym

Akito was confident. He 100% believed that he could beat this team. But here they are. The score being 22 - 9.

Akito watched as his Libero received and the ball was on his way to the setter.

"LEFT!" Akito yells. He starts his approach towards the net. His 4 step approach. 1 step. 2 steps. Akito looks up and sees a black haired blocker coming towards him. Akito was confident though. He hadn't seen this guy block all game. 3 steps. And finally, the 4th step. Akito leaps up and cocks his right arm back. The blocker shoots their arms up, getting ready the block the ball. Akito locks onto an open spot. No one covered it. He can definitely score. His right arm flies past his face and he slams it into the ball.

"Yes! If we're going to lose, let's at least give it out a-"

The ball slams into the black haired blockers hands and fly back into Akito's side of the net. The Libero dives for it but it's too late. The point was scored. Akito and the blocker land as the whistle is blown. For a second, Akito and looks deeply into his eyes. Akito watched the flames of pure power rage infinitely. The boy smugly smirks and runs back into position.

"Let's finish these punks off!" The boy says. And they did. Each spike Akito hit for was blocked by the dark haired boy each and every time. It was soul crushing. It was also one of the main reasons Akito trained harder. They lost both sets that game. The final score of the second set being 3-25.
​

Present -- Street Light

Akito swallowed nervously. This was that same boy. Still part of Fuhai, and still possessing an intimidating aura. Akito looks at the light. Why wouldn't it just turn green?

"H-Hey." Akito begins to say to the boy. "Could you click the button for the light please?"

salem. & AlphaBlueWolf​

 

[Minma]

Interactions: Dextra (Nozomi)​

Minma placed a water bottle about halfway from the halfway mark of the net and stood positioned to the right side. He took a few deep breaths and rotated a ball in his hand. This was a practice drill he did as a setter. His goal was to have the volleyball land, and hit the water bottle. With a gentle flick of the hand, the ball was in the air. After reaching it's apex, it feel towards his hands. He glanced up at the ball, then at the water ball, before his final glance back up to the ball. His hands gently pushed off the polyester skin of the volleyball. His fingers were connected where he wanted them to, the spot which would send the ball where he wanted it, simultaneously he put the exact amount of force into the ball to get it to it's destination.

His eyes followed the ball as he flew at an arch, then landed on top of the water bottle. ''Easy.'' Minma said with a smirk on his face. Then as Minma reached for another ball out of the cart he heard the gym door open. It was Nozomi. "Class was fine. The usual boredom." Nozomi started asking him other questions. "Please Nozomi, save the questions for Akito, he's the captain, he should have the answers for you. I'm here to practice, and I'm also waiting to see if any recruits walk in." When Nozomi ran towards the locker room Minma put his hand out and said, "hurry now!"

Before long, Nozomi was coming out of the locker room. He noticed her clothes were a loose fit but the worked on her. "The plan?" He paused for a second, humming in thought. "We'll this morning I spoke to a transfer student from Russia about coming to try out for the team. I was hoping she'd be here by now. Well truthfully, by her facial expressions and mood switch when I mentioned volleyball, I'm not sure we'll be seeing her." Minma placed his hand on the back of his head and scratched. "If I was a genius, WHICH, I am, I'd say she doesn't like volleyball because her brother." He turned to Nozomi. "Right, I forgot to mention her name is Mikaela, she's the sister of well know volley player, Aleks." His hands back at his side he continued to speak. "I'd even go as far to say that she probably thought the only reason I even spoke to her was because of her brother. Their might be some truth to that, however I'm not interested in her brother, I'm interested in her. She surely knows a thing or two about volleyball, her brother being the reason for it is merely a coincidence."

He chuckled and grabbed a volleyball, "Enough talk about a maybe." He bounced the ball on the floor a couple of time then held it. "Let's run some practice plays." He jogged over the the other side of the net. "I'll set to myself and spike, you'll receive it, set it, and spike it back over. I'm allowing you three taps. I however, can only block your spikes. As a setter I must also continue to work on my blocks, being in the front it's also my job to try and block any shots." He was hoping Nozomi was following. "If I complete a block you attempt to receive it but don't spike it back over, we'll reset for you to receive another spike. And we'll go until I say stop." He smiled and looked Nozomi in the eye. "Right. Nozomi, got that?"

Number 9​

 

[salem.]

Connor “Connie” Müller.
Who is this… Tiny… Lost child?



Maybe we can Nope out of this situation
—Connor Post #2—


There they were.
Right beside this… Garden gnome.

It took them quite a while to decipher who this was, constant eyeballing and examining until they got a clear picture. So he was basically looming over poor Akito over here, until he snapped his fingers, remembering, then putting his hands in his pockets with a snicker. It was that little delusional kid they had beaten hard at volley all those months ago. Or years? Their memory got blurry in the worst moments. He found Akito being seemingly intimidated by him a good thing. It made them feel all tall and powerful.

“I remember you.” He scoffed, in a toneless, lightly hoarse voice.

Connor politely pushed the button for the light.
It still haven’t turned red, as if it was cursed. Darn these dumb buttons that only work when they want to.

This whole moment was so awkward. Well, as awkward as standing aside someone you didn’t have a liking to for prolonged amounts of time was. They could probably handle this if they made some small talk. But god, how they hated small talk and how it went nowhere. But... Just a little chat before they headed their ways. Something to say... Something to say… Ughhh.

“Uhhh…” ‘God FUCK I have to say something before this becomes even worse.’

“You were on that lakeside team, yea?” He impatiently tapped his foot, cobalt eyes peering right ahead to the road, avoiding eye contact.

“Heard someone’s trying to get everyone back together.” Get ready.

“Sounds stupid, right?”

“I mean, your team was a complete failure. No offence, but everyone sucked. I’d rather get run over than be in that team. Eh, either way,”

“Just more wins for Fuhai, I guess.”
He gave that same smug smirk as from the time they had beaten Lakeside hard.

They got the crumbled up flyer from their sweater bags, dropping it in front of Akito, not caring if he decided to grab it or not.

Finally, the light turned red. They sighed, walking away without any goodbyes, leaving the short boy alone to his thoughts. To where??? He’d probably think about that once he got to the other side, there were still periods left, right? Ugh, he couldn’t remember. Time to stroll back to school to see what was up. Their brain was sometimes an asshole to them, but they probably deserved it. Eh,who even cared anymore.


———————————
The Lawnmower Ruined Everything.
——End Of Connor Post #2 baby i am not sorry——
( SharkBark haha forgor the pings wups)​

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Aleks hadn't gotten here yet. She pulled her phone from her bag to wait for a text from him as she walked. Hopefully he'd get here soon. She really just wanted to leave after today. She didn't like it here, just like she'd thought. It was just like the school after that summer when Aleks had won gold and became a new volleyball sensation. She'd become the most popular kid in the school in the span of just a month. She never wanted that, and she knew they were all fake. But that didn't prevent what had happened.

Mika wanted to get her head out of those thoughts. She didn't like thinking of that time. She heard the squeaking of sneakers on the floor at the last minute. Probably someone heading for a club or going home. She continued until she heard the sound of his voice. She turned and saw this kid looking at her. Crap. She'd forgotten to put her cap back on after she'd been yelled at by one of her teachers to take it off. Not like it would've helped, but she could at least hide behind it. Maybe even tuck some of her shorter red hair inside so she didn't stick out so much as a foreigner.

She walked faster, determined to just get outside of the school. But, what then? She'd gotten no text from Aleks, and she wouldn't find his car out there when she got out the doors. She'd be stuck and then she'd pretty much have to let Akito talk to her. She immediately thought the worst of him. Probably decided to come up to her and ask about either Russia or Aleksandr, the only two reasons why people seemed interested in her. Her cap was still jammed in her bag. She tried to take it out as it was sort of like a comfort thing. She had no luck though, the flyer peeking out higher in her bag as she tried to clear the gap between her and the doors. The squeak of the boy's shoes got louder as he got closer. She stopped messing around for her cap and focused on the doors. She was just about to grab the handle, but Akito's wingspan was bigger, and he was able to grab it first. "Seriously?" She muttered angrily in Russian. Great, now she had to deal with this.

The boy started out with knowing her name, her nickname no less. Then he introduced himself as Akito Suzuki, the boy who's trying to bring back the volleyball team. She'd heard about the team sucking so hard that it was disbanded. It made her think at least she wouldn't be bombarded to join a volleyball team, but she was wrong. Lakeside was known for its exceptional sports teams, but volleyball was not one of them. She hadn't put too much thought into it when she was handed the flyer by Minma, but they seemed passionate to get it started up again. After all, why else would they be putting in so much trouble?

She really did wonder why Aleks picked this school for her to attend. I mean, why would he send her here if it didn't have a good volleyball team. Maybe he just sent her here because it was a school and nothing else in particular. Maybe because of the influx in good sports related extracurriculars. She didn't know. She could never figure out the inner workings of her scheming older brother's mind. Right now, she guessed it hardly mattered with Akito Suzuki standing in front of her. Yet again, another person offering her a spot on the team. She was already suspicous of him.

Akito grabbed the flyer from her bag, noting how one of his teammates had made it to her first. Minma was supposed to be their... setter. So, what did that make Akito then? He was fast so maybe a middle blocker, able to quickly think and have good reflexes to block the ball or hit it up for his teammates. Possible Libero, maybe? Outside hitter? He was tall, well maybe she was just on the shorter side, so he could've been an outside hitter. Aleks was good at spiking since he was tall, all of the tall genes must've gone towards him, so maybe this kid was adept at spiking as well. Wait, why was she running over volleyball calculations? Why did that even matter? It's not like she was even joining the stupid team! She could see right through everyone's acts. She wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

Akito talked as he straightened out the paper. He'd likely been the one to make those since he had been the one trying to bring it back. And now he was seeing it crumpled up. Well, so what. She didn't care whatsoever. She didn't care, even though her eyes lingered on the flyer before glaring back up to Akito as he explained she didn't have to join. Uh, of course she didn't, and she wasn't. There was no way she was joining, especially not with his mentioning of her brother. Everyone seemed to know of him, especially the volleyball players. If the people back then couldn't see past her as Aleksandr Makarov's little sister, then these guys clearly couldn't. Everyone was the same. They all were...

Even though he acted nonchalant about her brother, she still didn't like being asked for a second time. It kind of felt like she was being bombarded. He saw the flyer; he knew she must've been asked or at least picked the thing up by herself. He could've left it and moved on. He simply told her she was the next one in line to ask, but still. She couldn't help herself with the past. With how things went in her last school.

Ok, so maybe Russia hadn't been as great as she wanted to believe. But Japan was no better. She still heard the rumors and got the stares. She assumed once she declined offers to be friends, because she wasn't dumb and saw the sneaks for who they were, the bullying would start. More rumors, more pain. Just because she wouldn't go along with their plans to introduce them to her brother. She was sick of that happening. Akito handed her back the flyer and told her he hoped she'd come to practice. Aleks would be here any moment and then she'd get to leave without having to go. She watched as the boy turned and disappeared behind the doors. They slammed shut, leaving her alone holding a dumb flyer. Her hand around the piece of paper tightened into a fist. She was alone again, just like she had felt the whole day, even with people filling the classroom. She thought back to Minma, the nice boy who had showed her around. Well, that seemed to be like an act now. He had known about her prior and wanted to get her on the team. Then this boy already knew about her brother. No one cared about her. Only dumb Aleks and his dumb fame.

Speaking of Aleks, he should be here by now. She peaked out the doors and only went outside when the boy was gone. When she did, she saw no cars. She tapped her foot on the ground then her phone vibrated. "Sorry, Mika. Gonna be a little late. Got stuck for a while in practice."

"Aleks" She muttered angrily. Why couldn't he just pick her up on time? Now she had to stay at this stupid school for another however long it took for him to get here. She was feeling particularly shoved aside by him at the moment. As if his career mattered more than his little sister did.

 

[SharkBark]

Akito flinches as he hears the boy say, "I remember you.." In a hoarse, low voice. This means he remembers how badly he beat their team. Shit. He still has that same intimidation as when they first battled.

"I..I remember you too." Akito weakly says. He's surprised the boy even recognized him. Well..actually, not really. His white hair, gray eyes, and dark skin are not features you can forget easily. The boy politely pushes the button and afterwards it's followed by a period of uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, the boy lets out an exhausted sound and turns to Akito. He asks Akito if he was on the Lakeside team before.

"No. I played for Suzukage's team when you had beaten me."

The boy brushes that off and continues his derogatory comments.

"Heard someone's trying to get everyone back together. Sounds stupid, right?"

Akito clenches his fists and bites his tongue. He wanted to do something but, this guy's towering over him. What could he do? But at the same time, he couldn't just let him disrespect the team like that.

“I mean, your team was a complete failure. No offence, but everyone sucked. I’d rather get run over than be in that team. Eh, either way,”

The next words that came out of his mouth enraged Akito.

“Just more wins for Fuhai, I guess.”

It took Akito every bit of self control he had not to swing on this guy. Then, the smirk. That same goddamned smirk he saw last time that enraged his soul. The cockiness this man had. It's like he had not a care in the world for anyone else. Maybe not even his parents. He acts like he's the main character of this world. Like he's so much more important than everyone else.

The boy begins to walk off, leaving Akito there in his rage.

"Just wait.." Akito says lowly. "Lakeside will break Fuhai's undefeated streak.



​

 

[Dextra]

Nozomi Knight
​

Location: Gym
Interacting:
Minma

Minma had a valid point: he wasn't the captain, so how would he know the answers to her questions? However, their captain was nowhere to be found at the moment. Hopefully, with a bit of luck, he was chasing down some leads for new players; if not, today wasn't a practice day and she and Minma just happened to end up here, which she didn't mind because the opportunity to practice was perfect for her.

In terms of hopefully bringing in some new players, it appeared Minma had been busy trying to recruit, but it didn't seem to go well. A transfer student from Russia, she had heard bits and bats and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a bit of a commotion in one of her classes about it. Perhaps they were in some of the same classes, but she didn't know, care, or even notice class bores her to the point where she just tunes out most of it. "Is she a first year by any chance?" Nozomi inquired, and if she was, it was Nozomi's domain. Having been through what Mikaela is going through, chances are she only needs one thing to help her out, and that is a friend, and if Nozomi convinced her to join the volleyball team as well that was just a bonus . The name Aleks went straight into one ear and out the other; she never watched much pro-volleyball because she found it boring, and as a result, she knew no players.

Minma's training session was a good idea; it was simple and provided a convenient way for both of them to practice what they needed to. He wasn't a genius setter for nothing... but he'd quickly realise why this idea wouldn't work with Nozomi. "There's one small issue." Nozomi's eyes darted around the room, as if looking for someone to help her. "I don't know how to spike." Nozomi voice grew to a whisper as she spoke and face was tinged with redness. She had been a libero since the beginning of her volleyball career; she could dig, dive, and make some incredible saves, but she had a terrible vertical and an even worse spike. "Are you any good at serving? We can work on your serve and I can work on receiving them. You can do a jump serve right? The one I got other day was my first and I really need to get better at them." Honestly, Nozomi was just trying to change the subject at this point; she was a volleyball player who couldn't spike and was embarrassed about it even as a libero.

 

[SharkBark]

After the uncomfortable encounter with Connor, Akito went back to the school and headed into the first floor bathroom and rinsed his face. He looked at himself in the foggy mirror.

"Shit..I got intimidated again. Haruto wouldn't have been like that." Akito says to himself in the mirror. Akito was indeed happy but, sometimes he found his self trying to force himself to be just as perfect as he brother. Haruto was strong, was an amazing leader, and everyone loved him. Akito rinsed his face again and looks to the side. There it is. Does the world constantly have to remind him?

There it was. A poster of Haruto. Haruto had a large smile and had a volleyball in his hands. Akito remembers that day. He was only 5 at that time. It was in 2010.

September 15th, 2010 -- Lakeside High School

Haruto was incredible. Him taking those photos made him seem like a superhero to Akito. Akito's eye's lit up while he smiled a near toothless grin. When Haruto finished up his last photo, he walked over to Akito and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"One day, you'll be doing that, and I'll be smiling at you." Haruto says with a large smile. "Just remember. Don't let that smile go out. Not to anyone. Don't fear anyone. You'll regret that in the long run."

Akito nodded his head happily and hugs Haruto.

"Whoa. Okay, little man. You're getting a little strong. You almost ran me over."

Present--

Akito slams his hand onto the sink. He was losing his smile. Which was exactly what he wanted to avoid. He wishes he could tell Haruto but, he's playing for Japan's Olympic team and, Akito wanted to see him in person. Akito then looks the the picture besides Haruto.

"That murderer." Akito says. "Why would they keep his pictures up?"

Akito looks deeply at the poster of Kawaki Senzo, the psychopath setter.​

 

[salem.]

Connor “Connie” Müller
coffee as black as their soul


News Flash: I hate people.
——Connor post #3——
Interactions are OPEN! Feel free to walk up to them and maybe spit on their face idk


The black haired boy ended up somewhat satisfied, feeling the irritation waving from Akito the other side. It felt… Good. He took out most of his complaints and bottled up feelings about lakeside to a random classmate they just happened to find. That same shit-eating smirk painted on their face as they calmly sauntered to the left. They finally remembered what they went out for, other than getting fresh air that wasn’t on school property. They were going out for a black coffee, or slushie? Both sugary drinks are fine, but the climate wasn’t exactly burning hot or ice cold. Eh, they’ll go for a coffee. Never hurts. Maybe get a snack on they way as well. Did… Did he even bring money on him? He’ll check later.

He ruffled his hair, making it look less tidy, and a little bit better. Tidy hair didn’t really fit them, they much preferred just having it messy and covering their face.

Anyways, coffee.

Connor could remember this small convenience store a few blocks away from the school, they’ll just get some coffee and head back to Lakeside, maybe some volleyball players were looking for casual matches. Yeah, they’ll check the gym later() Hopefully it isn’t empty like last time he checked, which was… 2 days ago. And they weren’t planning to start team-friendly matches themselves, by all means no. It’s not like they had a bad rep when it came to volleyball games… Oh, who am I kidding, they did.

And a serious bad reputation.

They were known to constantly rage out and get extremely furious when anyone happened to score.

Unlike other players, who just took a score as a sign to play better and harder, Connor lost control whenever anyone decided they wanted to play better than him, god forbid that happened. But instead of being benched, which is a reasonable thing to do when a player gets exceedingly heated, his vexation was treated like some sort of superpower. Müller wasn’t the one to throw angry tantrums when someone scored, quite the opposite.

Flashback— Connor’s First Genuinely Important Volleyball Match —kcabhsalF​

---

This was their first ever time participating at a tourney.

They weren’t nervous, more-so anticipating the win. He knew he had great skills as an Opposite Hitter, and sure that the Seishin team won’t even score 1 single point, Fuhai had good Liberos, Setters, Hitters, and them.

But, of course. They scored.

And the way their Hitter scored felt so humiliating to Müller. The ball, hitting the floor right in front of their face already pissed him off, but the constant cheering and shouting from the team. That was his last straw. It. Tipped. Him. Off.

Enraged, gunmetal eyes set on the ball and whoever decided to score that 1 point like a tiger stalking it’s prey.

That person was done for.

The moment the ball came just close enough to him… 1 long step, 2 long steps, and a leap.

They hit the ball as hard as their hand would let them, spiking it at never before seen force and speed for the Fuhai team, the ball came flying back at the Hitter with such drive, that when he tried to pass it to Fuhai’s net, it had broken the Hitter’s hands. The scream the player had let out turned all heads to Connor. Their reaction? Nothing. They just stood there, satisfied. Catching breath before turning around to see the hurt player, caterwauling as authorities began to take him away to the nearest hospital.

The game was, of course, cancelled and Fuhai didn’t get to the finals. But for Connor, it was a complete win.

That single moment was the start of their bad reputation in volleyball.

But Fuhai never really refused to take him away from the team, he was such a good player when enraged, great spikes and blocks. And it all came with that intimidation for the rival team, if they even dared to score, they could be the next broken hand incident. Thankfully, Connor hasn’t broken anyone‘s hand after that.


But they’ll gladly do it again.​

---

End of Connor Flashback.

Woah.
He just straight up zoned out for a little.

Like, literally. In the middle of the streets, there they were, remembering the good ol’ days when he broke someone’s hand. Ah, if only he could go back to those days… That were only some months or years ago.

Uh… What was he gonna do again?…

Right! Coffee.

They searched in their gym bag to see if they brung any money on them… And huzzah! A little bit over 30 dollars. That’ll be more than enough for a simple black coffee.

Connor happily strolled over to the convenience store, it was small, and looked rather old, inside was a flickering roof light in the right corner. And in that right, lonely corner? The fabled coffee maker. Well, not… Fabled, but, he was looking for it. They grabbed the medium sized vase? mug? Whatever, those weird cardboard-like cups (refer to images below) They confidently poured black coffee in the mug, almost filling it full. He didn’t even bother to put one of those little covers so it’ll look like a actual mug and not a cardboard vase.

Spoiler: image because i can’t describe these shits

yes its alamy stock yes shut up

Connor calmly went over to pay for his coffee, walking out while taking a sip. But as they weren’t looking at where they were stepping, Müller accidentally almost-kicked a cat.

The cat only seemed to flinch, oddly calm at the sight of this new, towering person. It was really fluffy, like, really fluffy. And rather big for a cat. (Image will be provideeeed)

Spoiler: he (cat image its the cat click if u want to see the cat)

meow

They both just stared at each other, menacingly.

The cat began meowing, maybe it was hungry? Probably. But cats are little assholes who are always hungry.

Despite not being really visible, Connor was MELTING. Seriously, he had multiple soft spots, and one of them was cats.

“T…The… The scrunkly…” ‘I look so fucking stupid right now. Get the scrunkly some food, Connor.’

He bent down to pat the cat on the head. “I’ll go get you some food, munchkin.” He had to use the most baby names for the cat, it was mandatory. The booboo. The minmin. The little baby.

With coffee in hand, Müller headed back to the convenience store, bought 2 small cat food cans. And to their luck, the cat was politely sitting outside, waiting. Connor put the cat food on his gym bag, and slowly bent down to grab the cat. Man just straight up picked a stray cat from the street. It is theirs now. The scrunkly belongs to them now. And boy, was the cat real fluffy. Connor was holding back the urge to squeal because the cat was So. Darn. Cute.

You know what? This cat is theirs now. They are keeping the little munchkin.

The black haired boy began walking back to Lakeside, deciding to sit on one of the benches, laying the cat down on the bench, putting it at his side. They opened the cat food can and placed it next to the cat, who happily began eating it. Connor set the gym bag on his lap, taking out his journal and putting the coffee right next to him. They began sketching the cat.

It didn’t turn out… Great, as most of his crazy drawings, but he liked it enough to not rip the page out…



They lightly pat the cat’s head, closing their journal and putting it back in their gym bag. Who cares if the cat had fleas, it was so cute.

They took another sip of their coffee, and continued to worship this stray cat.


——————————————
I GAVE THEM A CAT THEY ARE TOO POWERFUL
——End of Connor post #3——​

 

[onestepback]

Kellen passed them, waiting over. he didn't want to interrupt. so he stood there listening in. he drew in a notebook doodles galore. but he put up and talked over to conner. "Sorry to interrupt you. I'm on your team, Kellen by the way." he passed off his voice. he was getting food for his dog. he walked aside and grabbed some kibble. "hm... I don't think kimchi would like to have this. She's always munching down on that like..." he stopped in his thought. so he took out his phone and looked at a picture of the bag. "Okay. Kings Bred Kibble." he grabbed the kibble, also a toy. paid and walked out. he was surprised he met one of the people on his team. wouldn't he think he was a weirdo? he was not sure. he just joined the team but heard about him.


he looked through snapchat. annoyed about coming home to the apartment. he was tired and didn't care that he skipped school today. he just wanted to grab dog food and go home. but sure enough his brain had to come through and be nice, Ugh.


(Sorry this is short, I just joined and really don't want to write a long paragraph because soon I'm going to be surprised I did it)

Interacting with: salem.​

 

[SharkBark]

ミ★ 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦! ★彡


Of course though, he had been here the entire time. Now, he makes his entrance.

Shino breathed heavily as he struggled to push the bar up. He was bench pressing, shirtless and sweating. Currently he was doing 150 lbs, which was basically his body weight and, boy, he had never struggled so hard. He felt his biceps burn and his triceps pinched together. He pushed a little more and almost had his arms fully extended. Almost there.

With a little war cry, he finally extends his arm and quickly puts the bar back onto it's rack. His arms fall to his sides, hanging to the ground. That was gruesome.

"Oi, Shino!" The gym owner says. "I told you to keep your shirt on while working out!"

Shino quickly sits up and looks around. Everyone was staring at him.

"Oh. Heh, my bad." Shino says. He puts back on his shirt and picks up his bag. He looks at the people around him and bows. "I hope you'll forgive me."

Shino exits the gym, still being locked onto.

"Wonder if anyone's at Fuhai right now practicing. I do need a few rounds of blocking practice." He thinks. "Guess I'll head there and check it out."

Shino knows that the people most likely there are Connor and Kellen. Connor, they were, um, let's just say they probably have a ton of stress balls. They're constantly being an asshole or getting angry. You get used to it after a while though. Especially once you find out their soft spot. Cats. This person loves cats. Shino was more of a dog person so, he never truly understood why Connor obsessed over them. It's like, cats can instantly calm them down. Which would probably be useful one day. Connor might end up being an old man with 300 hundred cats when he gets older. The thought of that makes Shino chuckle.

Kellen on the other hand, he had just joined. Shino was the first person to show him around. Kellen was, a little weird. He skipped school sometimes and Shino always sees him on Snapchat. He didn't have Snapchat himself but, he had heard of it. Apparently it was addictive in America.​

Fuhai's setter, Toki, probably wasn't there. That poor kid. His story breaks Shino's every time. Hopefully his memories get triggered soon. It hurts to see someone forget about their life. All those good times, all those memories. Gone. It's horrible and makes Shino sick to the gut.

Shino opens his phone and goes to text messages. He goes to text Connor, and Shino has them nicknamed as "Angry Teammate"
.
"Yo, Connor. If you're not busy, could you come to the gym? I need you to spike for me. Thanks." He sends the message and puts his phone back into his pocket. He knew Connor would be rushing over there. They love a challenge.


Shino makes it to the gym and when he steps inside, no one's there. Huh, that's weird. He was certain someone would be spiking. Guess he'd be the one doing it.

After he changes into his gym clothing, Shino picks up a ball and begins to practice serving.

​

Mentions: salem. AlphaBlueWolf onestepback

​

 

[SharkBark]

Akito entered the gym with a smile on his face.

"Sorry I'm late. I..I ran into an old friend." He said. "Oh, I see you already started training."

Minma and Nozomi were talking from different side of the net. Something about playing a little game.

"I'll let you two get to that, I'll do some solo drills on the other side of the gym."

Akito picked up a ball and ran across the gym. He looked at the other net. It was a little shorter than their regular net but, he was cool with that. He bounced the ball a few times and then threw it into the air repeatedly. All of this is part of his warm up routine.

"That guy from Fuhai was scary." He thinks while looking over at Minma and Nozomi. "Should I tell them? I know that Minma has faced them but, Nozomi? I want her to be prepared. That'll be for another day though. I won't tell her now." Akito took a few steps away from the net and threw the ball up. Left step, right step, leap. He did only a two step approach and threw his hands into the air, reeling in his right arm for the spike. The moment that ball reached it's maximum height, Akito slammed it onto the other side of the net.

"Whew. That's a lot easier that 4 steps."

He looks out the window and sees someone outside of the gym, sitting on a bench.

"Who's that? Is someone scouting the gym so they can join?"

Akito squints his eyes and it all becomes more clear. The boy he had just encountered from Fuhai.

Akito let's out a little yelp and stumbles back a bit. What was he doing here? Is he trying to see how good they are? Or something else? If he wanted to see how good they were, Akito would show him skill. He picked pack up the ball and moved back into position. His hands were shaking this time. If he messed up, he'd seem trash. This was his only opportunity. He moved back a few steps and threw the ball up again. This time, he took four steps towards the ball. He leaped, higher than the last spike and pulled his arm back. He took a quick glance toward the window. He was still there. But now, he was a lot more clear. Akito accidentally looks into his eyes and see the same thing as when they first met. The flame burning in them.

Akito swings at the ball but misses. He got distracted. On his way down, his leg gets caught on the net and he slams into the floor. Hard.

"Ah, SHIT!" He yelled out, trying to get his leg out.

​

Mentions: salem. Minma Dextra

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Tokito had finished up with his last class at Fuhai high school. He hadn't really retained anything from the class. His grades were slipping a lot. The only reason he was barely passing was because of Kaito. The older teen made sure he was getting assignments done and handed in, and even tutored him when he had time to spare. Toki was dangerously close to leaving the team due to bad grades. He knew from Kaito that they'd do that, but he didn't know if Fuhai would do it. Kaito said they seemed like they'd dismiss that just because Tokito was good at hitting the ball, even with his mind fuzzy. He didn't care either way. Not that he didn't care, more like it really didn't bother him. He had more things to worry about. Like his memory empty head.

He looked to be in a daze with the bell having already rung. He was the only one left, well besides his emotional support dog who sat next to the desk. His leash was tied to the chair's leg, and he rested comfortably while making sure Toki showed no signs of distress. He was required to have the dog on a leash while he wasn't performing his job. Meanwhile, Tokito drew in a standard notebook issued by his therapist. He was to show the therapist the things he drew in order for them to gain an understanding of where his mind was at. And the pictures he drew usually weren't good. Flashes of what he remembered that had come back from that night. He always seemed to be in a daze when drawing these things, the memory seeming to be fresh in his head while he was trapped in it, but gone a second later, leaving him with a picture of who knows what. A pool of blood, black ink instead of red thanks to his pen, and a thing that was heavily dented. It was hard to remember the scene, even if he knew it was a car wreck. He focused in on the blood pool, his heart racing as his pen traced over it again and again. He could remember the blurry sight of the deep red color before things went black. The stench of charred metal and metallic blood. His chest got tight and his breathing heavy. Soon enough, he was getting pawed in the leg by a distressed Haru.

He snapped out of his thoughts and slammed the notebook closed, while standing up and panting. He could feel sweat beaded on his forehead, and he felt hot and sticky. Perhaps another episode, a relatively mellow one given his usual melt downs. He starred down at the Golden Retriever who had jumped up as well. He needed a good cuddle session. He left the notebook on his desk and moved to the floor where Haru was who instantly went towards his lap. He untied the leash and unclipped it from the dog's collar. He was fully confident the dog would stay with him and he did just that. He laid on his lap and stayed there. Toki brushed his hand through the dog's fur and melted in his spot on the floor. He provided this instant calming affect. So calming that, after a couple minutes of stroking his fur, he was out like a light.

Tokito had been in blissful euphoria for a while in his dormant state. He woke up maybe twenty, thirty minutes later to the sound of a loud beep and Haru's barking. The golden retriever was trying to alert him of something. He rubbed his eyes and looked to his left, following Haru's gaze. His flip phone sat there, maybe having fallen out of his bag when he'd sunk down to the floor. The small display had a small envelop with a number one written in kanji. He flipped open the old school phone and Haru stopped his barking. It was from Kaito. He was worried, something about Toki not coming out. His left vision was blurry, so it was sometimes hard to make out writing. Unfortunately, he had become a little absentminded after the accident. Sometimes this happened, where he would just fall asleep in an unfamiliar area. "Oh.. crap..." He mumbled. He looked shocked and overwhelmed. Haru gave him a nice, slobbery lick on the check and he melted once more. He wiped off the slobber and prepared Haru with his leash. He looked towards the notebook, filled with terrifying drawings about patches of fuzzy memories. He clutched it like it was some horrible monster and shoved it into his bag. He put on his bag and then headed out of the classroom with Haru promptly following.

 

[salem.]

Connor "Connie" Müller
Two birds, no stone.

You Won't Believe This False Hope
--Connor Post #4--
Interactions: SharkBark (Shino, maybe Akito too?), onestepback (Kellen)


Soon after they had taken their last sip of coffee, the place wreaked of dog. That disgusting smell coming nearer and nearer to them.

Connor wasn't... A fan of dogs. They did like some breeds, Corgis being one of his favorites. But aside from those fluffy dogs and the casual chihuahua, they DESPISED any other breed. That wasn't very surprising, as Connor happens to hate a ton of things. He rotated his head around to see from where that horrendous smell came from. Surprise surprise, it was their newer teammate, whose name started with K. He wasn't going to remember the name of someone as unimportant as him.

They tried their best to not mind the stench, even the cat seemed rather discomforted.

"...Hey." They sneered. Connor eyeballed the new person, with a ray of such hate. This newfound hate was rather sudden, and most likely a passing thing, but for now, they felt very sour with this teammate of theirs.

They patiently waited for that K guy to go away, looking over at their cat.

"What a weirdo, right?" He asked the stray, who surprisingly nodded in agreement.

Connor softly smiled.

Woah, WHAT?! DID THEY SMILE?

The simple fact that they were feeling any sort of genuine happiness shocked them, it... Had been so long since they have felt this kind of delight. He did feel happy, but not the... True kind. You know, the type of joy that authentically made you feel happy? It was hard to explain, but in short: They felt really nice.

This rash of happiness was quickly disturbed by a buzzing on their phone, sheesh.

Connor took the phone out of their pocket, which was surprisingly big enough to hold a whole phone without it falling. It was from 'Purple-haired emo' AKA Shino. One of the few teammates' names he remembered. He was asking if they could spike for him. Seems cool enough. They stretched on their chair typing their response, when...


SLAM!


A loud noise resonated between his ears, he didn't flinch, despite being shocked by said noise. Instead, they lightly twitched their eye, one of their body's subtle ways to show nervousness or even fear.

Connor looked around to see what created that sound. Lo and behold, it was that stupid little kid from Lakeside, and he seemed to be caught in the net. They couldn't help but lightly snort at this odd, yet humiliating situation. They chuckled as the kid shouted. They went back to their phone.
(text color is green!!!!)

'Yeah yeah, I'm on the way.'
'But you really have to look at this man'

Connor had the habit of typing most of his text separately, mainly because it just grew on them, and because they had somewhat shaky hands.

He grabbed their gym bag and politely threw away the container for the cat food, the coffee cup? Eh, they'll probably refill it later.

They took a picture of the net-caught Akito and sent it to Shino, chuckling lightly as they sauntered away back to Fuhai. He just chilled at Lakeside because the outside looked kinda pretty.

'dude you won't fucking believe this'
'so like'
'i was hanging out on a bench on lakeside drinking coffee'
'and this dumbass kid got caught in the net fr'
'lakeside showing real talent right now'

He chuckled lowly once more. How does someone get caught in a sports net? Oh man, what a laughing stock.

Their cat followed aside from them, which melt Müller's heart. Alright, this cat's officially theirs. They'll give it a bath when they get home. He should probably start thinking about a name.

And alas, they arrived at Fuhai. He bent down, looking at the cat in the eyes.

"Promise me you'll stay right here, my munchymoo." Connor pet the back of the cat's neck before walking off.

They eventually arrived to the gym, half-ready to begin spiking, and not bothering to knock or make their presence known before barging in. And not even bothering to change to their gym clothing, what they had was WAAAYYY more comfortable than any gym attire.

"Yo. Sorry for coming later than usual." 'Do I tell him about the cat? Tell him about the cat.' "I found a stray cat and it's mine now." 'Jesus christ not like that.'

"So, uh- Right. Spikes." How... How did you talk, again?

There was an evident change with Connor today, they were calm as all heaven. They're usually more excited or generally energetic about these things, but their mind was soothed by the cat. He should probably think up a name...



---------------------------------------------
An Offer I Could Definitely Refuse
----End of Connor post #4----
​

 

[Minma]

Interactions: SharkBark (Akito) Dextra (Nozomi)

( Dextra Take note the serve Minma does is one of his trump cards. It is extremely unlikely any character is able to counter it this early on)​

Minma's whole world froze for a second when Nozomi explained that she wasn't able to spike. A slight nervous chuckle came from his mouth along with a muffled ''right.'' He could tell she felt humiliated and decided not to make any hurtful jokes about the topic, for now. He could understand how she would see it unneeded to practice other positions, but Minma knew it to be beneficial to learn the ins and outs of every single position. He continued to listen as she offered an ultimatum for spikes, the one move in volleyball in which every player, minus the libero, needed to learn to do, and that was serves. ''Not a bad shout. My serving skills are close to par with that of my setter skills. If you can master the serve, you control the game.'' He smirked and gripped the volleyball while jogging back of the court and waited for Nozomi to get in position. ''I want you to give it your total concentration. This serve has been adjusted and trialed numerous times. Although it's my best serve yet, it has the lowest success rate of them all. That's because I've only used it once, in a street game. Where i'm getting at is, don't let anyone in on what i'm about to show you. It's a trump card.''

Just as he took his first of three deep breaths, Akito walked in the gym. MInma paused to greet him before he went on his way. Now that Akito was in the gym, he had to make sure to be careful to not allow him to see it. ''Right.'' He looked straight at Nozomi through the white net, before closing his eyes and zoning out. For this serve Minma needed total focus, he couldn't afford to be off, not even by a straw. Here it came, his first deep breath, then the second, and lastly the third. As MInma blew out his final breath he simultaneously opened his now piercing eyes and looked across the court. The ball was rested in his left palm with the air-hole down on his hand. Minma knew the air-hole was the heaviest part of the volleyball and having it at the bottom facilitates its ability to float which was crucial for his play. He took his first two steeps fairly slowly then his others rapidly before tossing the ball in the air, slightly above the normal height for a floater and simultaneously jumped. As he swung his arm his made sure he maintained a stiff palm. When he connected, he popped the ball in the top middle, following through only halfway. When he felt the ball leave his skin, he knew it was good and a small smile crept upon his face. He pulled off his trump card serve, the top spin floater.

Combining the complicated top spin, with the unpredictable path of the ball. Minma managed to create an impossible serve. A serve with top spin and a floater are two of their own kind and are very different with how they are to be pulled off. That of itself should be enough to make it difficult to pull off, but adding the fact that a floater requires you to tap the middle of the ball, while a top spin requires you to make contact with the top, should make it impossible. That is if you're not the genius setter, Minma. He's keen eyes allowed him to pinpoint a point on the ball where he was able to combine the too, and the room for mistake was none. As gravity took its toll on his body, sending him back down. His eyes never left the ball. It was perfect. Minma doubted Nozomi could manage his floater, and even if she somehow managed, no matter, the fierce top spin wouldn't allow her to send it where she wanted, it wouldn't come back over the net. 'A truly spectacular move' Minma thought as he connected with the hard gym floor.

AFTER PLAY IS DONE AND NOZOMI AND MINMA HAVE THEIR INTERACTION

MInma notices Akito falling into the net and he ran over to him, quickly untangling him and flipping him back on his feet. Minma knew something was up, you don't just get entangled with a net. He must've been distracted by something. ''Are you alright Akito. What caused you to run into the net like that.'' MInma couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. He tried to hide it to not have Akito feel like he was picking at him, but it was too late.

Number 10​

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Tokito moved out of Fuhai high school while leading his emotional support dog. Kaito would be waiting in the car for him. He'd have to apologize to his brother figure and mentor. He'd started doing stuff like this a lot out of the hospital. Not being able to focus and also losing track of time. Maybe it was some of the reason why his grades were slipping. Kaito and his family always got worried when he did that. He could've gotten lost or in trouble. Worse, hurt and landing right back in the hospital. It would've been fine for any other kid, but Tokito was in a fragile condition. They couldn't risk anything with him, so it was a constant worry for the people who took care of him.

He rubbed his left eye, the one with the damage and scarring. It was pretty much always blurry which sucked. He had a complete weakness in his left eye. A blind spot that opposing teams would be able to use if they figured it out, aiming the ball to his left side and hoping none of the team would be able to cover him. He didn't want to let the team down with it, especially not Connor because boy could he get mad, but it was pretty much out of his control.

He could hear a slight sound, a rustling on the ground. Haru gave a playful bark in its direction. A sound came back. He stopped rubbing his eye and, with his good eye, he caught sight of the cat. Ever since he had gotten Haru, Tokito had figured out he loved animals and the comfort they gave.

He was doing it again, getting distracted and spaced out, but he couldn't help himself. He walked over to the cat and crouched down. "Hi." He murmured in a gentle voice. Haru sniffed at the cat and went into a play bow, pawing at the cat with his tail wagging wildly. "Haru, heel." He called and the dog obeyed, coming closer to him and sitting down. He didn't want to make the cat feel threatened even if Haru was just looking to play. He extended a hand, palm up, to let the cat sniff at it. That's what he did for dogs so cats should be the same, right? "See, it's alright." He said gently.

salem.

 

[KaiMedia]

Haruto Takahashi
Location: Gymnasium
Interactions: Minma (Minma) SharkBark (Akito) Dextra (Nozomi)​

Haruto was pleased to have finally gotten through his first day of school everything about the school aside from the language seeming foreign to him having grown up in Russia. Luckily he spoke plenty of Japanese at home with his parents so he at least had that going for him. His natural reserved personality paired with him not looking like a foreigner had allowed him to slip by relatively unnoticed and avoid all of the "new kid" attention. He wasn't exactly happy to be here and that didn't just mean the school, He wasn't happy to be in Japan that fact only made worse by the fact he had no idea if his family would ever return to Russia the place he considered home. The place where his friends were, where his favorite restaurant was, and the place where his team was. Haruto had trained extra hard over the summer just to make sure he would make the team is first year of high school only to be ripped away from all of it before they even had their first game. However right now Haruto was trying to look on the bright side of things. At least this school had a volleyball team right? At least he would still get to play. Haruto was still wearing his school uniform as he stood outside the doors to the gym his school bad thrown over his left shoulder and gym bag secure in his right hand. Remember just make a good first impression He thought to himself as he inhaled deeply grabbing the door's handle and slowly swinging it open as he stepped in.

Haruto walked into the gym stopping after getting about five feet past the doorway he surveyed the room. He saw two boys that looked like they were probably upperclassmen and a small young looking girl who he figured had to be a first year as well. Okay okay just remember what dad taught you. Bow they bow to show respect in Japan. Clearing his throat a bit he bowed at about a 30 degree angle in a classic Keirei as he began to speak. "Hello my name is Haruto Takahashi... Is this the volleyball team... if so I would be honored to be given the opportunity to try out and hopefully join your team." Haruto was using nothing but the formal versions of every word he spoke. This of course was likely overkill in the situation heck the bow may have been overkill but Haruto was like a fish out of water here and was simply trying to do his best at making a great first impression. Remembering everything his mother and father taught him about respect and formalities in Japan. He figured he was both speaking to upperclassmen and asking something of them plus one of them had to be team captain so according to everything he had been told this was exactly how he should act.

 

[SharkBark]

Shino raised an eyebrow at the photo. Was that a kid...stuck in a volleyball net?

"lakeside showing some real talent right now"

Wait, Lakeside? The shitty ass team that lost horribly before they disbanded? No way that's them. Why the hell would they start back up their team? Shino got extreme second handed embarrassment just thinking about them. They never got over 15 points in any of their games. Whatever though, he'd just ask Connor when he got there.

Shino throws up the ball again. Another serve. As it comes down, Shino pulls his arm back in a hammer like form, his palm stiffen along with his finger.

"3 seconds." The ball is just above Shino's head. "2.6 seconds." Now the ball is just approaching his hairline. "1..and.."

Shino swings his arm past his head, perfectly connecting his palm with the ball. The ball flew across the court, beginning in a straight line. And then, out of no where, the ball makes a deep curve to the left and slams into the floor. The curve ball. Shino's favorite type of serve. The amount of teams he's crushed using this move is absolutely incredible. He has had the most service aces out of all the team members since last year, and he planned to do it again. He almost won the award for "Best Server" last year, but some other guy had beat him with their aggressive jump serves that bruised the arms of those who received it.

"Still got it." Shino told himself. He hadn't practiced in a few weeks, and needed to make certain he could still perform well, since the season started in less than a month. As he ran over to retrieve the ball, Connor walked in. "There you are. Took you long enough."

Shino listened as Connor said something about a cat.

"Cool. Make sure you clean it, I don't need you getting tapeworms."

Connor spoke in a nervous, robotic voice when he mentioned spikes.

"Yeah...spikes. Stop talking like that." Shino tossed the ball to Connor. "Let's start."

Interactions: salem.
​

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mika had heard when Aleks picked her up from school that Haruto Takahashi was here in Japan. What was more, they were going to the same school. It was an absolute miracle they hadn't bumped into each other. Or maybe that was because Mika tried to keep her head down as much as possible. She used her signature cap to keep her face from being shown, only she hadn't been able to use it for long before the teachers were coming after her about school policy. That was a total drag.

In any case, the news about Haruto made her forgive her brother for being late. Aleks was good at weaseling his way out of her wrath. But he immediately got back in when asking about the stupid flyer. She'd forgotten about it, crumbled back into her bag. And Aleksandr was an annoying pest about it, bugging her about what it was. Lucky for her, he was driving and didn't have any time to try to grab it out of her bag. That was for the best. She really didn't want him trying get her into that. Knowing Aleks, he wouldn't let her explain about it. He'd just get the joyful idea of his cute baby sister following in his footsteps. That was the least of what she wanted to do. Volleyball and the joys of it had been thoroughly destroyed when Aleks had become famous. She liked it better when he wasn't famous and they could just play together, with Aleks teaching her the ropes. She longed for that time, and maybe also to feel the ball hit her hands again. Wait, no way was she thinking that! She hated volleyball! She hated Japan and she hated this school! She stayed silent the rest of the way home, even with Aleks poking and prodding her about the flyer and its mysterious contents.


They'd had dinner, traditional Russian meal. Was Aleks trying to make her more homesick? She didn't know if the meal was more helpful or harmful. She guessed more harmful with the addition of Japanese side dishes. He was pushing her way too fast. She just wanted to be back home instead of stuck here. Another problem created from Aleks' fame and profession as an Olympics volleyball star. Honestly, that seemed way more important to him these days. Its like he couldn't even hear her voice.

That's why she was excited when she got the opportunity to text Haruto. Finally, someone who could understand her. Even if he was Japanese, he had spent what? Like his whole life in Russia. He seemed more Russian than Japanese to her. Even if he had an easier time with the language and culture, he would definitely understand the struggles of moving to a completely different country after spending your life in the same place for so long. He also knew what it was like to have a family member in the Olympics. His father definitely wasn't as famous as her brother and she felt bad for the rest of the team. But Aleks was new, young, and had scored way more points than even their team's opposite while being an outside hitter. No wonder everyone was obsessed with someone like him. He was the one all the team's had to watch out for. But she was also slightly jealous of Haruto. His father made sure to be with him even while being on Russia's Olympic team. That just made her wounds reopen and sting like hell. Nonetheless, he knew the struggles of a family member being on his countries Olympic team.

Mikaela tore through the house after dinner and up the stairs to her bedroom, with a slight protest from Aleks as she went. Though, she paid his goofy calls no mind. She had way more important things to do. Like contacting an old friend who would be the only person to understand what she was feeling. She plopped onto her bed and took out her phone. The sun had set, the sky a navy blue with white flecks of stars. Haruto would definitely be home at this point, right? Would he really be the person to look for a club or sport? She knew he had done volleyball back in Russia, but he surely wouldn't be doing it on his first day. Was it even his first day? The questions just served to confuse her. They could play catch up and chat about that stuff. But first she actually needed to text her old friend.

So, Mika pulled up his contact on her phone. She could see their last messages when she did. The Russian letters were a comforting sight. She typed only in Russian, but she knew he would understand from having lived in Russia. Besides, even if he couldn't, she was still struggling with Japanese and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to type out her words in Kanji. "Hey." She typed out. "Why didn't you tell me you were in Japan too? You're at Lakeside, right? And you didn't even come see me on my first day? I could've used someone who actually knew Japanese. You could've been my personal translator. I swear, it sounds like gibberish to me." She chuckled a little bit to herself.

When the message was out and sent, her foot began tapping the floor as she waited for a response. She looked over to her bag and remembered her stupid school. No, the stupid flyer is what she remembered, paired with the students who had recognized her and given it to her. A frown displayed on Mika's face. She got up and went over to the bag, took the flyer out, and looked at the trash can next to the desk in her room. Aleks. No way could she leave it out in the open for him to find. She looked at the stupid thing. Lakeside's new volleyball team. Why the hell did a school that was pretty much focused on sports need a new volleyball team? She hadn't yet heard the rumors of the old one, pretty much only because she was fighting the ones about her. If Aleks hadn't grown in popularity, she doubted there would be so many rumors. After all, Haurto's father didn't have nearly as much fame, which had allowed him to skate by the whole day without rumors. Mika assumed there were none about him, given she hadn't heard anything apart from the ones about herself. Or maybe because it wasn't obvious. He had a Japanese name after all. Japanese features, while you could look at her and immediately see that she was a foreigner. He'd been saved by his heritage.

Nonetheless, it just seemed strange that they would need a new team. Great, now she was curious. She'd promised herself to hate the school and do a total of nothing there. No extracurriculars, no clubs, no sports, no friends- not that anyone would want to hang out with her for any reason other than Aleks being her brother- no caring about stupid Lakeside. But now her brain just wanted to know why they needed to start up a volleyball team again. She needed to get this damn team and school out of her head. Volleyball needed to be erased from her memory. So, she started with folding up the flyer and throwing it into the far reaches of under her bed. Aleksandr wouldn't be going under there. There should be no reason he ever saw that thing again. Not the crumpled one at least.

 

[KaiMedia]

Haruto Takahashi
Location: Gymnasium
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Haruto was working hard as the two senior members put him through his paces. Haruto of course was no stranger to hard training having basically trained like an Olympic athlete for as long as he could remember. He had to admire the tenacity of his teammates they certainly weren't making this easy for the fourteen year old. Eventually though they slowed down and decided to take a break to get some water and recoup. Something Haruto was very thankful for having felt the need for some water for the last five minutes but refusing to let himself be beaten he worked through it.

The whole time though one thought wouldn't leave his mind where was Mika? He thought for sure he would see her today if not during school he was certain he would see her here. However she was nowhere to be found sure he heard all the rambling and gossip about the new foreign girl. But somehow they had missed each other. Haruto made his way over to his gym bag grabbing his water bottle and taking a nice long swig. He glanced down at his phone seeing a new text. Probably dad making sure i'm at practice he thought as he picked up the phone. To his surprise and delight the message was from Mika he smiled unlocking his phone and reading the text. Haruto glanced over his shoulder making sure nobody was paying attention to him as his dad always got on him about staying off his phone during practice. But Haruto was a young teen in the 21st century and like most his phone was basically part of his identity.

"Oh hey!! Yeah it was kinda a last minute thing ya know? We just got in yesterday and here I am at school as if missing one day is gonna kill me right? lol. I wanted to surprise you but well I guess we just missed each other all day. But I don't know how much help I would have been I mean yeah I know the language but I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around all the Japanese stuff like the bowing and all the rules and stuff its crazy. and Like everyone just expects me to know it all!?! like hello I know I look Japanese but umm I'm basically Russian I don't even remember this country. I just want to go home ya know? Also I thought for sure I would see you here at practice where are ya? Thought we would do this together! OOOHH wait I know your still holding your breath aren't you?" Haruto's message was in Russian as well having lived there basically his whole life he had always set the language to Russian. Besides even though he spoke fluent Japanese he wasn't to confident in his Kanji skills. Sure he could read and write fine but it felt like a struggle to him.

Haruto smiled as he hit send Eager to talk to the one friend he was lucky enough to have move to the same country has him. Mika would likely not be surprised by the length of the boy's text. He almost always seemed to send miniature novels when he texted. It was either that or to word responses there wasn't much in between for Haruto. He took another long drink of his water as he waited for Mika to reply glancing at his phone every couple of seconds. ​