Chapter 3: New Life of Old Friends
After two weeks, Yuihara Kaoru finally sorted out her new high school life.
I became good friends with my classmates Sakurai Rika and Yukimura Seiichi, and I understood what Sakurai meant when she said Yukimura was popular—he was a genuinely kind person who had a good relationship with his classmates. Besides his tennis prowess, he also loved painting and gardening.
He planted a lot of daisies in the school gardening room, so when Jieyuan was taking care of the yard and buying plants during his break, in addition to his favorite roses, he also bought a pot of blue-purple marigolds for some unknown reason.
Hopefully, this little flower that loves both sunlight and water can live longer in her garden.
As for the club, she is very accustomed to the rhythm of morning and evening training, which is of high intensity and requires high technical skills. There are only five freshmen left out of the twenty or so when she joined the club. During the team practice games, she and senior Hayami take turns in starting.
On the way home, I often run into the quartet of Yukimura, Sanada, Niou and Yanagi, and we've become quite familiar with them.
In their new home, the three of them finally packed up all their belongings.
In addition to the kitchen, toilet, bathroom, dining and living room, and entrance halls at the main and side doors, the first floor also has a study converted from a guest room. My mother designed and replaced the windows with large floor-to-ceiling windows, which allow you to see the beautiful scenery of flowers in full bloom in the yard.
Mom and Dad generously let her use the study - after all, she was the only one in the family who was interested in growing flowers.
Da Hu and Xiaoguai still stick to her and often try to help humans.
For example, when she was planting flowers, he helped her dig the soil, leaving muddy paw prints in every corner of the house, and then made her mop the floor under Ms. Mikiko's fierce gaze; when she was doing homework, he jumped on her homework to help her check the correctness, and often tried to destroy the homework book because he couldn't understand human words, forcing her to start a battle to defend her homework...
So it’s better to live a peaceful life, Yuihara Kaoru thought, she just likes this kind of regular and unchanging life.
When faced with emergencies, the brain is a little bit unable to keep up.
"Junior Hitani? Why are you here?" After finishing evening training, Yuihara Kaoru walked out of the volleyball hall alone.
Today is the inauguration ceremony for the new student council members. Rika Sakurai, who has just become the publicity committee member, is probably delivering her inaugural speech at this time.
Suddenly, the third-year student Nana Hinaya, the current main attacker of Santa Maria Junior High School, appeared and was standing outside the volleyball hall, looking at her with a smile on her face.
"Senior, are you surprised?"
No, maybe just fright.
Yuihara Kaoru felt a bit of a headache and asked, "Did you skip class? How did you get here from so far away?"
Nana Hinaya avoided her gaze. "I heard that my senior transferred here... I was really worried, so I wanted to come see you and see what this school is like. Well, if possible, I'll come to this school next year too!"
"Stop it!" Jieyuan Xiangcheng was a little angry. This kid always does whatever he wants.
She checked her watch. "It's already half past five, Hitani. The train to Tokyo will stop soon. I'll take you to the station."
Nana Hitani took the hand she extended and shook it coquettishly: "Senior, please don't chase me away!"
Two years ago, she had idolized the dazzling presence of Yuihara Kaoru. Following this shining star, she also began learning volleyball, constantly begging Yuihara for more guidance, even hoping for praise from Yuihara with every spike.
Unfortunately, she was a year younger, and the competition for the main attacker position in the volleyball team was too fierce. She couldn't accompany Yuihara-senpai to every game like Mizunoe Haruko and Amahiko Karin-senpai did.
At that time, she thought, it’s okay, she will train hard, and when they are all promoted to high school, she will definitely become the most trusted teammate.
But how could such a thing happen? She came here today, and she also wanted to get an answer.
"Senior, did the coach and Ito-senpai force you to leave?"
"No, it's because of me and my family, not because of anyone else."
"No," Nana Hitani said with certainty, "You clearly said before that you would make it to the Spring High School in Santa Maria and win the national championship!"
Yuihara Kaoru pulled her forward slowly. "That's all in the past now. I feel like Rikkai University is more suitable for me. At Rikkai University, my teammates will work just as hard as I do to get into Spring High School!"
Nana Hinatani stopped and said, "Senior, after the national competition, the coach of the prospective national youth team came to select players, and Ito-senpai was selected."
It's hard to describe what kind of emotion she felt. Hearing the news again, Yuihara Kaoru still trembled in her heart, saying, "It's okay, Ito... She's also very good."
As a strong women's volleyball school in Tokyo, Santa Maria is full of capable and talented children.
Everyone worked hard to join the team, but the 9m x 9m area on one side of the volleyball court could only accommodate six people.
Who wouldn't want to be one of these six? Just like her at the beginning, she just thought playing volleyball was cool, and she gradually fell in love with this sport because of the encouragement from her childhood friends.
As she grew up, it seemed as if countless hands were pushing her, forcing her to stop thinking and turn her into a machine that only knew how to train.
If you don’t work hard, you won’t be able to stand on the field.
If you stop, you will be replaced by others.
Passion and interest are like a handful of candies to coax children. They are scattered by adults and thrown on the ground, and no one cares.
Faced with the coach's inhuman training, faced with the humiliating punishment after defeat, faced with the single, rigid rhythm of the game, the thoughts of unwillingness and freedom often emerge.
I don’t seem to like volleyball as much anymore.
During his junior year in junior high school, he gradually began to disobey orders and wanted to explore a playing style that suited him better, but was stopped by the coach again and again.
Don't play recklessly - the coach said, if you still insist on doing this, you will be suspended for two games.
On the day of the competition, she ran to the seaside of Kanagawa alone. The howling sea breeze dried her tears and cleared her mind.
It turns out that what I want is a free soul who loves volleyball.
Return to the volleyball team, participate in the weekly main attacker ranking competition, continue to return to the ace position, represent the school in the competition, wear the captain's badge, obey the arrangements, and reach the national finals.
"For this last game, please let me be myself."
She bowed deeply to her teammates, and amidst the tears that everyone understood and the coach's roar - she became herself.
Break away from all old shackles, control the game with your teammates according to your own ideas, and take off bravely.
It turns out that the feeling of jumping freely is so good, and the feeling of not being planned is so good.
So, Yuihara Kaoru adjusted her expression: "I want freedom, Hitani-chan."
"I achieved that freedom." After winning the trophy, the first thing I did when I returned to school was to submit my application for withdrawal from the team. Thus, I missed the opportunity to join the quasi-national youth team.
By the time the second-year group came back from training, the third-year group had already graduated, and those stories had become the unspeakable secrets of the volleyball club.
"So...go and become strong, Hitani. Only when you become strong can you have true freedom."
Rigu looked at the person opposite her, who seemed to shine even brighter on the playing field. The setting sun also gilded her, making her want to cry.
Holding back her tears, she lowered her head and pulled out a handmade doll with short red hair from her schoolbag. She placed it in Yuhara Kaoru's palm and said, "I made this for you. It's a gift I've always wanted to give you to celebrate your victory in the competition."
"I think I must give it to you personally."
"Thank you, Hitani." Yuhara Kaoru took it solemnly and put it in her schoolbag.
Goodbye then, Nana Hinaya thought, I still won’t give up coming to your world.
"Powerful freedom?" Yukimura, who was about to go to the volleyball club to find Yuihara, stood at the corner and watched the two people go away. "It's really rare to find people who think like me."
After seeing off Nana Hinaya, Yuihara Kaoru returned home and placed the doll in the cabinet in her bedroom, sitting next to other cute dolls.
Then I remembered something, took a picture with my phone and sent it to my good friend Haruko Mizunoe in Tokyo. She replied immediately: [? ]
Yuihara Kaoru: [I don't know who told Hitani that I was at Rikkai University, and she came to see me and gave me a gift.]
Mizunoe Haruko: [Back when she had red hair~]
Yuihara Kaoru: […Let’s not talk about her dark history, and she said she’d apply to Rikkai University next year.]
Mizunoe Haruko: [Oh my, I've gone from being a fan to being a stalker!]
The two chatted about their lives. Mizunoe Haruko had given up volleyball and didn't go straight to Santa Maria. Instead, she took the entrance exam for Hyotei Academy, which was closer to home, and was accepted into Hyotei's high school preparatory class.
Mizunoe Haruko: [There's a really cute boy in our class named Akutagawa Jiro who keeps pestering me to become the manager of the tennis club.]
Yuihara Kaoru: [So, did you agree?]
Mizunoe Haruko: [No, I'm still hesitant, mainly because I don't know much about tennis.]
Yuihara Kaoru: [Come to think of it, I mentioned to you that several of the boys at Rikkai all play tennis. After volleyball took over, the world has been taken over by tennis~]
[Please put away your 2D thoughts, Orange Sauce!]
[Lol~ But I still have to be brave and try new things. If I lose interest in volleyball someday, you can still give me some guidance.]
[Will that ever happen? With your single-minded volleyball mind?]
Who knows what the future will be like? Isn’t it the unknown future that is so frightening?
[Yeah... Just like back then, we always said we'd play volleyball together after high school, but then you went to Kanagawa and Hana went to Osaka, and we didn't know when we'd be able to meet again.]
Yuihara Kaoru stared at the phone screen, tears streaming down her face.
When she slapped her application for resignation in front of Coach Yamashita, Mizunoe and Amahiko also took out the same application and handed it to the coach in front of her astonished gaze.
The two people who came out were still laughing and mocking her for being useless. Mizunoe smiled smugly and said, "With your single-threaded brain, we can guess what you are going to do with our toes!"
"That's right, you still want to leave us!" Tianyan Huali pulled her arm and walked forward.
"Ah, you guys are really..." Yuhara Kaoru's voice trembled: "This is too much, what are you doing..."
The three of them hugged each other with red eyes. Mizunoe said softly: "We all know that you are unhappy...so we won't leave you alone."
[No matter where you go, it will feel much better if you remember that you are not alone.]
[So be brave and pursue your dreams. Find what you want to do. As a good friend, I will always support you.]
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