The Try outs

AN: Sorry for no chapters in months. I was busy with work and got out of the habit of writing. I was able to come up with a story line for the Yes route to reach a good stopping point, so I will be focusing on the Yes route. I am planning on posting one chapter a week, but I will have other chapters written in case I do not have time. I am not sure what route I will work on next, but I have been planning out some of them and playing them out in my head. Again, sorry for the lack of content.

After a few more minutes of warm ups, everyone cleared out the court for a practice game. There were a few others who were trying out for the teams. The boy’s and the girl’s teams split up to evaluate the recruits. Satsuki and Kazuma sat on the sidelines to watch.

For the girl’s team, there were nine girls trying out to join the team. To test them out, eight of the girls were put in a two versus two match, with the first test to score five points wins. The winning team were not a shoe in to join the team, though it didn’t hurt. The team captains and coaches would make their decision based on how well the player did.

The first two matches were nothing special. It was clear some of the girls had experience, but they were at best average. After the second match, Haijima stood up and called Satsuki and two other girls on the team out to the court.

“I want you to get in there for our last try out,” Haijima said once they were there. Satsuki was a bit confused. “Why not just have some of the new girls do it?”

“Because this last girl might be on a different level than any of them,” Haijima replied. The tone of her voice told Satsuki that she was dead serious. “And I want you on the opposing team to the new girl.”

“Ok,” Satsuki said, a little unsure of what to expect. And with that, the two teams formed up. The game began with Rieka making the serve.

Satsuki watched her carefully as she lobbed the ball over the net. She could tell that Rieka was no newcomer to volley ball. Her stance and serve were almost perfect. As the ball crossed over the net, Satsuki’s teammate, Saiyuri, intercepted the ball and hit it up for Satsuki to do a spike. Satsuki made her approach and jumped into the air. She quickly fired where to aim the ball and spiked it into the other team’s court. As soon as Satsuki hit the ball, Rieka took a dive to where the ball was aimed and bounced the ball off the back of her hand.

Rieka’s teammate launched the ball over the net as Rieka got off the ground. Satsuki blocked and deflected the ball to her teammate who tried to hit it over the net. After the ball was passed over the net, Rieka’s teammate struck the ball up and Rieka jumped up to deliver her own spike. Satsuki scrambled to block it, barely making it.

The game continued like this for a while. Both Satsuki and Rieka were drenched in sweat, but were still able to continue. Both where trying to out do the other, but with no success. After about 15 minutes, Haijima blew a whistle and ended the game.

As the two teams left the court, Satsuki walked over to Rieka. “You’re really good!” she said as she approached the new girl. “I’m Satsuki,” she said as she reached out her arm. Rieka briefly seemed to glare at her before returning to a more stoic expression. She slowly took Satsuki’s hand and shook it. “Rieka”. Satsuki felt something off with the shake. The girl’s grip was tight, but it seemed like she wanted to let go as soon as possible. Satsuki could have sworn that Rieka’s arm was almost shaking. After she let go of her hand, Rieka quickly walked away from Satsuki.