Mizuki Sayeko had never been fond of the whole 'soulmates' concept, not when her past warned her of the side-effects of falling too deep into the lucid, hypnotising trap. With piercing gazes, a stone-cold heart, would her soulmates ever get through...
she had the beauty and the intelligence of a queen
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AS SHE HAD SAID, MIZUKI showed up to every afternoon training session they had that following week. She stayed dressed in her uniform, finding it unnecessary to change into different clothes when all she would be doing was taking notes on each player.
Currently in her hands was her notebook, sitting heavy in her left palm. The fingers of her right hand clutched her ballpoint pen, the writing instrument fitting perfectly between her third and index fingers with her thumb supporting it as she scribbled along the lined paper. Mizuki focused on each and every single player, dedicating a section of her notebook just for them, noting down their blatantly obvious flaws.
For example, on the first day, she chose to watch over the captain, having decided to go in the order of their numbers in volleyball. Mizuki leant against the wall as she watched her fellow third-year go through the training drills with his teammates, coaching them and motivating them. She recognised his leading abilities, observing how his team trusted him without a single doubt. Mizuki wrote it all down, recording her observations on everything. She picked up on how he was more of a defensive player, similar to the task of a Libero, which she learnt was the role of an underclassman named Yū Nishinoya. Kiyoko had informed her of the roles of every player, the roles in which she familiarised herself with the night before.
Mizuki scribbled down where his strength laid the most: receiving. She wrote down ideas on training exercises, somewhat making some of the drills up as she had no idea how volleyball practices go, though she figured it'd make the training more creative. Nevertheless, Mizuki wanted to focus on what he wasn't good at: offensive plays. While Daichi was a generally a good wing spiker, the lavender-haired beauty knew that he could do much better than that. His game sense and technique were on point, and she guessed it was because of the time he took on the role of their coach when they were in their younger years.
Following the same afternoon session, Mizuki moved onto the vice-captain, Kōshi Sugawara, another fellow third year. She could tell that he was the mother hen of the group, often tasking himself with cheering up the other players with amiable smiles.
Although the substitute setter, Mizuki noticed how others tended to play better when they were practising with the grey-haired boy. Sugawara was the unnamed pillar of the group, holding them all. He was flexible in the games he played, seemingly good at deducing out the tactics used by others when playing a match. During the drills, however, Mizuki noticed how Sugawara lacked in power. She wrote down how he'd need to improve his strength, speed, and jumps. His stamina was also relatively low, but that would gradually increase with more games and practice.
Moving onto the last third year of the bunch, Mizuki's eyes trained onto the enormous male that looked way too old for his age due to the short scruff he sported on his chin. The lavenderette recognised him as the Ace of the team, the powerhouse. His spikes were magnificent, able to break through the blocks of his other teammates. When he used his full force, as requested by Mizuki when they were practicing spiking, she could hear the sound of the ball colliding with the floor ricochet off the walls. She knew that he deserved the title of Karasuno's Ace. However, she noticed how he didn't believe himself to be it.
