Zodiac Pack - Discontinued

Chapter 3

"We're having a practice match!" Coach Ito announced once you were all gathered. His graying hair and widow's peak suited his face which was firm and strong yet defined like a carved rock. His eyes were sharp as an eagle with those amber orbs watching every movement, body built despite his age. Beside him was your Volleyball adviser, Nakamura Akito, who was a lean yet built man with dark brown hair tied in a high ponytail, a thin face with aqua eyes, and thin-rimmed glasses.

"With who, sir?" Kazumi asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. Nakamura Sensei smiled. "Mori Junior High requested a practice match this Friday, so I want you to practice as much as you can since this is your first Practice match this year. Got it?"

"Yes."

And from there, you guys practiced till 6 pm, resulting in a very tired trio when you all got home to Miyagi. Coach Ito decided to switch players during the sets, with the starting players in the first set while you freshmen in the second. Haru and Arata were the pinch servers while the twins were substituted middle blockers or spikers. It was a tactic so it will change the flow of the gameplay and the players as well.

The training consisted of diving drills, receives, spiking practice, etc. It made your arms sore and legs wobble a bit while also feeling like you're on fire. But you endure till Friday came. Jogging around the neighborhood, receives, spikes, dives, and repeat. You noticed that Tamaki keeps trying to get the attention of the manager, Haruhi Fujioka, who's also Haru's fraternal twin sister.

You sense a love triangle for some reason.

Friday came and after school's useless lessons, you headed straight to the gym, after changing, then joined the other members. You went outside of the school, where you'll start your jog in pairs. Paired with Suzuki had to be luck. While you wait for your turn at the pedestrian lane, you ignored the 'intimidating' stare that the delinquent gave you. When will he ever let it down?

"Ready?" Tamaki raised his hands in a clap position, you and your delinquent partner both readied in position. The moment he clapped, Suzuki and you ran at different speeds. While you ran at 50%, Suzuki ran at a full 100%. You had to shout at him to slow down since he could get lost, but he ignored you and continue to run. This made you raise your speed to 60% and ended up making you run after him.

He ran off course and into an unfamiliar street, which was straight from where he ran. You finally managed to catch up to him when he started to slow down either due to a decrease in energy or cause he finally noticed the surroundings. "Finally you stopped." You were huffing a bit and irritated, but you chose to shove the negative feeling down.

Suzuki turned to you and snarled. "Why didn't you stop me?!" You deadpanned at his stupid thinking. "I shouted at you how many times before I gave up and decided to catch you. Better to save my breath than waste it." You were salty at this point, not bothering to show a bit of irritation. Suzuki had a tick mark. "HAH!? WHAT'S WITH YOU AND YOUR SNARKY REMARKS? YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN EVERYBODY CAUSE OF YOUR JUMP AND ALL? YOU DON'T EVEN SHOW ANY GUTS WHEN WE WERE IN PRACTICE?"

You felt your irritation meter spike higher, like a sound wave of some sort. "Not everything has to have guts."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Not everything has to have guts, do you need hearing aids?"

Your last statement was innocuous since he seemed to have good hearing, maybe the shouting got to his ears? Suzuki gritted his teeth. "WHY YOU-

"Excuse me."

You whipped your head to see a ridiculously pretty guy with dark messy locks with sharp yet big metal gun blue eyes, skin darker than yours yet a shade lighter than your Filipino friends. He's taller than you by 3-4 inches, and body lithe and slender. He wore a volleyball jacket, shorts, and sports shoes. The guy's eyes flickered with uncertainty before speaking. "Are you two from Odatanai Academy?"