The Miya Triplets | Komori Motoya (On Pause)

Chapter 21

Throughout the school day, Atsuko continued thinking over what the volleyball coaches and players said about joining the team. Atsuko couldn't deny how liberating she felt playing with them. She felt this urge to improve, surpassing others expectations of herself, and the thought of playing at nationals with her brothers where one loss sends them packing bags home was tempting.

There was only one problem, her entire athletic career has revolved around becoming the best basketball player. She couldn't just drop years' worth of blood, sweat, and tears spent playing because others wanted her to join, seeing raw potential. Even if she wanted to it was impossible to play both sports as they were both incredibly time consuming.

While weighing the pros and cons, Atsuko was so deep in thought that Sana felt concerned, making a note to ask later.

During basketball practice Atsuko's mind was still preoccupied.

Sana: Hey, Atsuko, a penny for your thoughts?

Atsuko: Sana, have you ever thought of or imagined yourself playing another sport?

Sana: No, not really. Why do you ask?

Atsuko: Oh...well, today was my first time attending their morning volleyball practice. The coach asked me to play a practice game with them; it was fun yet physically and mentally draining. After the game, the coaches and team said I should join volleyball. My brothers even said it'd be cool to play on the same court at nationals, but so much of my life has been dedicated to basketball. They're my brothers, so when they say things like that I feel placed in a difficult situation. Sana, what should I do?

Sana: Hmm that's tough. I can see why you've been thinking so much about it all day. Well, I know whatever you decide, you're surrounded by people who'll support you regardless. Honestly, in your position, I'd stick it out with basketball for now to experience the high school tournaments. If you still find yourself yearning for volleyball, nobody is stopping you from joining. Our hearts and minds are always changing. What you may want today may be different in a few minutes, days, months, or even years. So do what current Atsuko wants, worry about the future when it comes. We're only in our first year. You have two more years to switch to volleyball or continue basketball.

Atsuko: Wow, who knew you could be so deep.

Sana: Oi, is that all you can say after I gave you advice.

Atsuko: I'm just messing with you. I'll take your advice into consideration and think it over more. Although I think I'll play basketball a bit more like you said, we haven't even experienced a high school tournament.

Sana: Well, okay, then there you go problem solved.

Over the next month and a half, the volleyball and basketball teams prepared for their Interhigh Prelims. Atsuko continued helping in the mornings without joining the team to the volleyball club's disappointment, but they understood basketball was where her heart was at.

The basketball Interhigh Prelims were scheduled a week before the volleyball tournaments. To advance to the Interhigh they have to play five rounds, semifinals, finals, and a final league. The finals determine the winner of their block, and the final league determines the overall winner for the Kansai region and the two other teams to advance.

When the girls were walking out for their first round, the first years were amazed by their school's audience section. There was an orchestra and cheer squad to distract and intimidate the other teams while supporting their own team.

A number of the volleyball players watched the girls play, showing support for their classmates and siblings. Mama Miya and Miyake also made sure to make an appearance cheering extra loud for Atsuko and Sana.

The girls team managed to win their entire block, facing off three other schools in the final league, one of them being Fushichou High. Fushichou High was the team they played and lost to at the beginning of Golden Week. The way the final league match table was created with the four Interhigh contenders had Inarizaki and Fushichou facing off last. If both teams win their other games before their match together, it would be the deciding factor to represent Kansai.

In the final game between Inarizaki and Fushichou, Coach Inoue used the same strategy as Golden Week, making all the starters first years. However, unlike before, the first years have become experts at playing loud, aggressive, and confident. During the tip-off, Anna got to the ball first, allowing Sana to grab the ball and make a layup right off the bat. The first years efficiently used the entire court communicating with each other with Atsuko leading the plays.

The amount of growth the first years had in a short amount of time really irritated the Fushichou players. Whereas, the Inarizaki upperclassmen felt proud seeing their underclassmen playing well against a team who destroyed them a little over a month ago.

The entire time the first years were in the game they led, and once they were subbed out with the second and third years, the score gap continued increasing. By the time it was the third quarter, many of the people watching felt the winner was clear, but the Inarizaki girls weren't taking any chances. They weren't going to slack off, giving Fushichou any chance to flip the score. They were going to play as if they were the challengers until the last second.

In the end, Inarizaki were victorious, winning against Fushichou by twenty-something points and all three of their games in the final league. They would be advancing to Interhigh representing Kansai as the overall winner, but Fushichou and another school also received tickets to Interhigh. Being the overall winner and runner-up, Inarizaki and Fushichou qualified for the Winter Cup Prelims, the next national tournament.

As soon as the girls won and finished their award ceremony for winning the prelims, Atsuko grabbed her phone, opening up a private chat.

Atsuko: We're going to Interhigh. Hope you ripening bananas are prepared to lose again.

Reina: Please you barely won the first time. We'll beat you this time but on a national stage. See you in two months.

A week after advancing, it was the girls turn to support the volleyball team on their journey playing the Interhigh Prelims. For them, the ticket to Interhigh required playing three rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Unlike the basketball prelims, who have three regional representatives, the volleyball prelims only send one prefecture representative.

The boys first three rounds passed by, smoothly winning in straight sets. The quarter finals were when the matches really stepped up in skill between teams, barely managing to win in straight sets. During the semifinals and finals, the boys played the full three sets, coming out the champions for Hyogo's boys' volleyball advancing to Interhigh.

Both teams were looking forward to attending the Interhigh, the first national tournament of the year. But what they were looking forward to most was facing off Itachiyama Institute for number one across the nation. The boys wanted a rematch, having lost during Golden Week, and the girls wanted to beat them again, unhappy with their super close win during Golden Week. However, they couldn't get too far ahead of themselves. They still had less than two months until the tournament and final exams were before it.