[91] Grade 11: Tokyo and Hyogo

Inside the gymnasium of Yinju, the afterglow of the setting sun shone through the high windows onto the wooden floor, turning the entire space into a warm amber color, and the air was filled with a unique scent of sweat mixed with the fragrance of wood.

The "thump-thump" of the volleyball hitting the ground mingled with the sound of shoes rubbing against the floor.

The starting players, who had just finished a high-intensity training session, were sitting on the ground in twos and threes, with towels casually draped over their shoulders.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, the teacher in charge was staring intently at the cat supervisor who had just entered from outside, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Has Heming Hall approved the practice match application?" The teacher in charge unconsciously twisted his fingers together.

He has been busy for nearly a month in order to arrange the practice match with Hemingguan.

The cat supervisor sighed softly, shook his head, and took out the exquisite letter sealed with the school emblem of Tsurumyoukan.

The school emblem was exquisitely designed, depicting a crane with outstretched wings, its lines elegant yet sharp, as if it were about to break through the paper and soar into the sky. The crane's wings presented smooth curves, and each feather was depicted with lifelike detail.

The envelopes were made of the finest paper, and even the ink had a faint, pleasant fragrance.

"No," the cat supervisor replied briefly, handing over the rejection letter.

The teacher in charge opened the letter with disappointment.

As expected, it was the same familiar refusal excuse.

This was the third time Yinju had been politely declined. He could practically recite the official phrases on the letter, "Thank you for your kind offer, but there are no available slots at the moment," by heart.

Each reply was polite and well-written, but no matter how beautiful the words, it always ended in a disappointing way.

As for why they had a letter from Tsurumikan, it was because Otokoma did not have direct contact information for Tsurumikan's director, Fukui.

Director Fukui's contact information has always been kept confidential, and there had been no prior interaction between Otokoma and Tsurumeikan.

Although Otokoma's affiliated school, Fukutani's secret coach, has Fukui's contact information, out of respect for Tsurumeikan's wishes, Otokoma cannot obtain this contact information from the secret coach.

In fact, all members of Heming Hall, whether coaches, teachers or students from various departments, have declined to disclose their private contact information.

A media outlet once secretly provided Director Fukui's private email address to a reporter from a tabloid newspaper. As a result, that media outlet was permanently blacklisted by Tsurumeikan and could no longer obtain any interview opportunities.

Therefore, all schools that have not had face-to-face contact with Tsurumeikan and obtained private contact information can only send formal letters through the address published on the school's official website when issuing invitations.

Although this traditional method of communication is not very efficient, it is currently the only official channel recognized by Heming Pavilion.

“This is very strange,” the teacher in charge frowned. “As far as I know, Tsurumeikan hasn’t arranged any practice matches with any schools this year, has it? They even rejected the training camp invitation from Fukutani.”

He carefully recalled the information he had gathered, full of confusion: "Last year, they seemed to have only arranged one practice match with Inarisaki, and they never participated in any training camps."

The teacher in charge looked incredulous: "—Are they completely cutting off contact with other schools?"

Although he had long been aware of Tsurumeikan's "unique" status in Kyoto through various forums and media reports, he still found it hard to understand after experiencing it firsthand.

A team that has emerged as a national leader within a year should, in theory, need to continue to compete with other strong schools.

Heming Hall has won the championship twice in a year. If they want to defend their title for the second year, they should communicate more with other strong schools and learn from their strengths.

But this team is like an isolated island cut off from the world.

The cat rubbed his aching temples again: "It's not completely isolated. During the National Sports Festival, they did train with members from other schools in the Kyoto area, and there was also a national youth team training camp..."

He paused, picked up his thermos, took a sip of the slightly cooled tea, and then added, "However, I haven't heard of many instances of the entire volleyball team going out for training camps or practice matches as a unit."

The lively sounds of the students training contrasted with their somewhat subdued atmosphere.

Coach Nekomata cast a thoughtful glance at the substitute players practicing on the field, saying, "It seems that Tsurumeikan prefers to train behind closed doors."

The two adults fell silent for a moment. The teacher in charge sighed softly, carefully folded the reply, and put it away.

"I heard that last year's practice match at Inarisaki was only approved after many requests were made to Tsurumeikan." The teacher in charge lowered his voice.

"It seems like you've been invited at least ten times?"

The cat nodded firmly: "Yes."

"It seems that Inarizaki's Oshiro had established a good personal relationship with Tsurumeikan's Imadegawa during the national youth training camp, which is why he agreed. But even with that relationship, it took a long time to persuade him."

"Then we have even less hope?" The teacher in charge leaned back in her chair, her face full of frustration, and ran her fingers impatiently through her hair.

The cat supervisor slowly shook his head, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips: "Not necessarily."

Upon hearing this, the teacher in charge immediately straightened up, and the chair creaked slightly from the sudden movement.

His eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "Is there some inside information?"

“Anro told me about this a while ago,” said Director Nekomata, “that Tsurumeikan seems to want to host a multi-school training camp.”

He paused for a moment, noticing the teacher in charge's eyes light up instantly, before continuing, "--The specific list hasn't been finalized yet; it seems we'll be taking into account all the schools we've invited to practice matches."

The teacher in charge stood up abruptly, her voice trembling slightly with excitement: "Then I'll go write a new invitation!"

While the two teachers were talking, the team members resting on the sidelines were also having a heated discussion about the same topic.

Curiosity had already dispelled the fatigue of training.

Kuroo Tetsurou sat cross-legged on the floor, arms crossed, looking deep in thought.

"Where there is a will, there is a way."

"If our coach were like Inarisaki, relentlessly pursuing Coach Tsurumekan to submit practice match invitations, maybe we could actually get Tsurumekan to accept?"

Upon hearing this, Yoruichi raised an eyebrow and said, "You mean, let the supervisor pester him relentlessly?"

He imagined the scene of the cat supervising the letter-sending service to Tsurumeikan every day and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "That scene is too beautiful."

“This isn’t about pestering,” Kuroo held up a finger and shook it knowingly.

“That’s called showing sincerity. Think about it, since Tsurumeikan accepted Inarisaki’s invitation more than ten times, it shows that they are not completely refusing to communicate, but they need to see the other party’s sincerity.”

"Even Inarisaki had to send out invitations more than ten times before he finally agreed?" Yamamoto Taketora exclaimed. "Is Tsurumei-kan really that aloof?"

That's how rumors get more and more complicated. Originally, Inarisaki had only submitted ten practice match applications, but through various channels, it became more than ten.

Yaku recalled for a moment: "It seems that their minister is Imadegawa, who also serves as the student council president. He has a lot of things to deal with and doesn't have time to participate in external training and training camps."

"This year, the Heming Hall volleyball team has many competitions such as the rookie tournament and regional tournaments, and other clubs have also started to reach out to other clubs, so I guess he will have even less time."

Hisense exclaimed, "The student council president is also the head of the volleyball department... Doesn't that mean he's so busy he doesn't even have time to sleep?"

“We need to understand their difficulties, but we must also insist on expressing our sincerity. After all…” Kuroo deliberately dragged out his words, revealing a sly smile, “the opportunity to compete against the national champion is not something that comes easily.”

Yamamoto excitedly interjected, "If we can really arrange a practice match, I definitely want to play against Akiyama-kun! His spikes are incredibly powerful!"

Suddenly, Fukunaga Shohei blurted out, "Perhaps we could send a gift."

Seeing the puzzled looks from everyone, he explained, "It's a specialty of Tokyo."

Ye Jiu couldn't help but complain, "Are you trying to bribe the national champion with a souvenir gift?"

Just as the discussion was getting more and more heated, Hisense suddenly lowered its voice mysteriously: "I heard a rumor... Inarizaki and Tsurumeikan arranged a practice match, not only because their coach is particularly persistent, but also because their attackers have charmed the captain of Tsurumeikan's volleyball club."

"ah??"

A gasp rippled through the entire stadium, and even the players practicing their serves in the distance stopped and looked over curiously.

Yamamoto nearly dropped the volleyball: "Who?"

Fukunaga Shohei rarely showed a confused expression, tilting his head: "...???"

Yoruichi's eyes widened, and his voice unconsciously rose eight octaves: "Ooshiro Aran?"

Kurowei shook his head in disbelief, his shoulders trembling with laughter: "He still has that kind of strength???"

Without looking up, Kozume Kenma muttered under his breath, his fingers still flying across the phone screen: "...This sounds like a rumor, doesn't it?"

"Wasn't it because Ooshiro had a good relationship with Tsurumeikan during the national youth team training camp?" Yamamoto asked innocently.

Hisense immediately chimed in, as if it had seized some crucial evidence: "Didn't Inarisaki get the practice match through connections with Ooshiro?"

“…That makes a lot of sense.” Kuroo’s shoulders continued to tremble violently.

Meanwhile, far away in Hyogo Prefecture, Inari Sakio Shiro was standing in front of a vending machine, hesitating.

His fingers moved back and forth between milk and beverage, and he finally chose milk—after all, post-workout replenishment is more important.

He suddenly sneezed without warning, as if sensing something.

"Huh?" Wei Bai rubbed his nose, looking bewildered. "Is someone thinking about me?" He muttered to himself as he took out the milk, the cool touch making him a little more awake.

He walked back with the milk, recalling his recent training sessions and thinking about the upcoming practice matches.

The familiar sound of a volleyball hitting the ground echoed down the corridor, accompanied by the shouts of teammates.

"Alan!!!"

At the entrance of the stadium, Gong You's signature voice echoed throughout the corridor.

The blonde setter was excitedly waving her phone.

Before Ooshiro could respond, Miyako rushed in front of him and shoved her phone screen in his face: "Look! It's all over the volleyball forums! I heard you seduced Imadegawa of Tsurumeikan, which is why Inarisaki and Tsurumeikan arranged a practice match!"

Gong You leaned against the wall, laughing so hard he could barely breathe, his golden hair trembling with his laughter: "I never knew you had this skill!!! When did this happen? Why didn't you tell us?"

Wei Bai froze on the spot, his coffee-colored skin unable to conceal his flushed face.

He snatched Gong You's phone and quickly browsed the forum posts, his eyes widening: "Where did this rumor come from?! I only met Jin Dechuan during the national youth team training camp!"

At that moment, Miyaji also strolled out of the gymnasium, holding a rice ball in his hand.

He added, "So last year's practice matches were won by using your looks?"

"Does Alan need to continue his efforts this year?"

"Even you!" Wei Bai was so angry he was incoherent. "This is slander! I'm going to have the forum administrator delete this post!"

Kaname appeared around the corner at some point, leaning lazily against the wall, and took several photos of the chaotic scene with his phone: "This is valuable material, Ooshiro."

"Character name! No filming!"

Ooshiro reached out to stop him, but was restrained from behind by Miyako.

"Don't be shy, Alan," Gong You said with a wicked grin. "Tell me how you 'seduced' Imaichi Kawa?"

In this chaotic moment, Kita Shinsuke walked by carrying a volleyball.

He calmly glanced at his teammates who were making a ruckus: "Don't spread false rumors."

But the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

————————!!————————

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!!! Wishing all the little ones and their families a joyful and prosperous year!

Let me suck on everyone's paws—

I felt something was off about writing 2,000 words yesterday, so I changed my approach. This chapter is a foreshadowing of the training camp (though it's not exactly foreshadowing, it's quite clearly explained). However, the training camp plot will be brought up again at the end of IH, and the next chapter will feature our second-year high school student, Xiaohe ww

Tonight's chapter might be a little late ww It's only a little over 1k right now, I'll stay up all night and try to finish it before 3 AM at the latest. If I haven't finished writing it by 3 AM, it might be because I've fallen asleep, so I'll finish writing it tomorrow after I wake up and post it.

I forgot it was Mid-Autumn Festival today. My family was quite busy during the festival, so I didn't have time to finish. Otherwise, I should have been able to finish before 1 a.m. (I'm exhausted)