บท 15: Chapter 15

Hinata stood in front of Shiratorizawa's gymnasium with mixed emotions. He was nervous, but there was also a bit of excitement. He couldn't believe 'this' was the special training Ukai had mentioned.

"Oya.. what's a middle schooler doing here?" asks a person in an oddly familiar sing-song voice.

The person in question leaned out halfway through the gym doors, and looked at Hinata like he was the most amusing thing he had seen all day.

The teen was tall with a medium build. He had a mop of spiky red hair and a mischievous gleam in his eyes, which immediately marked him as a troublemaker.

It was Satori Tendō. The Guess Monster himself.

Hinata's eyes widened when he saw him. He looked exactly as he had expected him to look. Well.. maybe a few centimetres short, but that was to be expected as he was still in his 2nd year.

He snapped out of it and was just about to introduce himself, when he saw Satori look sideways and grin mischievously.

"Coach.. I think we've got a suspicious person here!~" he exclaimed, in that same sing-song voice.

Hinata knew he was just being playful, so he didn't mind his antics and introduced himself properly. A few students had started to move towards the entrance, to see what Satori was up to this time.

"I'm not a suspicious person. My name is Hinata Shoyo, and I'm here because I have a delivery for Mr. Tanji Washijō." he replied calmly and pointed towards the crate of 'Sake' strapped to his bicycle.

By then, coach Washijō, along the a few other members, had arrived at the entrance. Despite being barely taller than Hinata, he cut an imposing figure. Even Tendo shut up upon his arrival.

Tanji Washijō scrutinized Hinata carefully, as well as the 'Sake' crate on his bicycle. His face looked like someone had taken a piss in his coffee, but as far as Hinata could remember, that was how he usually looked anyways.

"So you're the runt I'm supposed to let into our training huh? You don't look like much." he grunted, and then fixed Hinata with a glare.

And as if it has the intended effect, Hinata saluted him in a panic.. "Sir yes sir!" he blurted out, without even thinking about his words. This old man was way too intimidating.

"Pftt..."

Behind Washijō, Tendo clutched his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud.

Washijō kept staring at him for a while before turning around to leave. He stopped to look back when Hinata didn't follow him.

"Well.. what are you waiting for? Get changed and warm-up. I don't have all day."

Hinata didn't wait to be told twice. He took his bag and sprinted towards the changing room. Washijō then instructed the other players to carefully carry the crate of 'Sake' inside.

It didn't take long for him to change into his all black training outfit. He stepped out of the changing room and was on his way to get warmed up, when something caught his eye.

He looked towards it and witnessed the green, white, and red of a volleyball, high in the air, and the almost picture perfect form of a spiker suspended in mid-air.

It was his first time witnessing Ushijima's spike for himself, but as he saw the hand approach the ball, his focus heightened and everything went silent. His entire attention was on that ball.

He didn't even realise when he moved, but he was off in a flash, just as the hand made contact.

The ball travelled with an intense display of force, but was intercepted before it could even reach it's destination.

The spike slammed into his arms with an incredible force behind it. The left handed spin on it was no joke, but Hinata had already anticipated it. The recoil from the spike knocked him over, but he used the momentum to roll and was back on feet in a crouching position, just in time to see the ball make a beautiful curve through in the air. It would have be an easy receive for the setter, if there was one.

The sound of the ball hitting the floor echoed through the now silent gym, and the world zoomed back into focus. The first thing he noticed when he stood back up, were eyes like steel that bore into him through the net.

It was then that he realised the situation he was currently in. He'd stopped a spike from one of the three best high school aces in Japan. One that had recently represented the Japanese U-19 team, no less.

Shiratorizawa's cannon kept staring at him, but he refused to back down, and stared right back. Looking away now would be a sign of weakness, and Hinata wasn't weak. Not this time.

'Holy Shit' he thought in his head.

_____________________

Tanji Washijō had forgotten to buy the 'Sake' he wanted to gift his wife for their anniversary.

He had panicked when he realised that none of the stores nearby had the brand he needed, in the quantity he wanted.

So he had resorted to asking an old friend for a favour, in order to avoid the calamity waiting for him at home, if he couldn't get it in time.

He had ignored his pride and dialed Ukai's number. The old fart had a grandson, and that grandson had a store. He could only pray that the store had what he wanted, and could deliver it to him on short notice.

The old fart had laughed at his predicament, and had hung up with a promise to take care of it. He had then called back a few minutes later.

"Keishin can get it delivered to you in an hour, but it won't be cheap. Full price and a favour."

Washijō gritted his teeth in annoyance. While a favour was hardly something compared to his wife's disappointment, he didn't like owing Ukai anything.

"Let me hear the favour first. I can never be too careful with you."

Ukai laughed that ugly annoying laugh of his that to him, sounded like someone was scratching his nails against a board.

"You are too cautious. Well.. I'm sending you a boy to deliver the 'Sake' and you're gonna let him join Shiratorizawa's training. Good?"

"Why?" he frowned.

"That's not important. Now.. do we have a deal or not?" he could tell Ukai was having quite the time.

"Fine. Your boy can join." he said and hung up. While Washijō was curious about why Ukai had taken interest in some random boy, he refused to spend his time thinking about it. Anything that concerned Ukai wasn't worth his time.

When the kid finally arrived with the delivery, he was even more puzzled.

The boy barely about 165 cm tall, with striking orange hair and hazel eyes. He looked fit, and had a good looking face. But other than that.. Washijō couldn't find anything special about him.

His eyes twitched in annoyance when he thought about letting some random kid join his practice.

He sent the kid to get changed, and ordered some of the players to put the crate in the staffroom. He decided to give the kid a reality check. Ukai was really naive, if he thought he was gonna go easy on his boy.

**************

He noticed the kid as soon as he emerged from the changing room. He decided to call for everyone's attention to announce that they'd be running laps around the court. That boy had to learn that volleyball wasn't all fun and games. He was just about the call for them, when his voice got stuck in his throat.

Washijō watched the kid move with incredible speed, and the next thing he knew, the boy was already intercepting the spike from his strongest weapon.

His lean body couldn't handle the recoil, but he skillfully rolled back to his feet.. while the ball made a beautiful curve and went to the place it needed to be. It was perfect.

Washijō eyes widened in shock and he gasped a mouthful of air. It was only after the ball had landed, that he was able to breathe normally.

The kid stood up, and didn't back down when he met Ushijima's stare. Instead, he returned it with the same intensity. It was then that Washijō knew he had underestimated Ukai.

That old fart didn't send him some random kid, he sent him a monster.

Washijō gritted his teeth. Was Ukai trying to mock him by telling him that Shiratorizawa's defence was lacking? Well.. he wouldn't be totally wrong.. seeing as they lacked a strong defensive player, and Washijō had been on the lookout for such a player.

And now, his old enemy sent him a boy that didn't fit anywhere near his picture of strength, but was exactly what he needed. Was that old fart trying to give this boy a future, or was he trying to just piss him off?

If only he knew that Ukai senior had nothing to do with it, and it was his grandson that was responsible for this.

Washijō repressed his own grin. He hadn't been challenged for a while, and he was going to enjoy seeing the extent of Hinata's skills. This was just a continuation of his and Ukai's old rivalry over their conflicting ideologies about the sport.

His watched as Hinata got an excited scream from Tendo, while the other players started to swarm him too. Some with excitement on their faces, and the others with a rivalry. Washijō already knew how he'd test him.

If he wanted to challenge Shiratorizawa's strongest cannon, then so be it.

"Everyone calm down" he called and all of his players immediately followed. "We'll play 2v2 today. Your pairings will be written on the board, but until then, all of you are going to run some laps. Understood?"

They didn't look that eager at the mention of laps, but shouted their affirmation anyways. They knew from experience that complaining would only make it worse.

The boys got to work and Washijō turned towards his assistant coach.

"I'll be the one deciding the teams today." he stated, with a dark smile on his face.