[11] Grade 11: Crane Pavilion
Two days later.
The sports reporter from the Kyoto Shimbun, who had been accepted by Tsurumikan for an interview appointment, set off early with his equipment to the Tsurumikan campus.
Tsurumeikan's campus is located in the suburbs of Kita Ward, Kyoto, and is not directly accessible by train.
Fortunately, the senior reporter from the Kyoto Shimbun was a winner in life, owning a car and a house in Kyoto. His license plate number had been registered with the department's leaders long ago, and the department reimbursed his fuel costs every time he went out on fieldwork.
He picked up the new reporter who was renting an apartment in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, and drove him to Tsurumeikan.
We passed Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Rokuonji Temple, and Imamiya Shrine before turning onto a side street away from the city.
The further you go from the city center, the more tranquil the surrounding environment becomes, with the modern buildings on both sides of the road gradually disappearing into layers of greenery.
The new reporter rolled down the car window, enjoying the fresh air on the road. "If we keep driving, will we reach Kamigamo Shrine?"
A veteran reporter confirmed the route last night: "It's not that far, probably near Kōetsu-ji and Genkō-an."
The new reporter stroked his chin. "I haven't been there yet. I've just passed by all the worthwhile tourist attractions around here on the map, right?"
“It’s a place that’s not marked on the Kyoto map,” the veteran reporter said. “If the director of Tsurumeikan hadn’t sent me the location via LINE, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to find the exact address.”
"I thought a century-old prestigious school like this would be built in the city center? I had only heard that Tsurumikan was built near Imadegawa-dori before."
Imadegawa-dori, a road running through the heart of Kyoto, spans the Kamigyo and Sakyo wards. This road is adjacent to famous Kyoto landmarks such as the Kyoto Imperial Palace and Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, and has always been a bustling thoroughfare.
"Perhaps the school relocated sometime ago, but they wouldn't reveal such things to ordinary people like us. Besides, these classy schools like to be built in remote places where there's little disturbance."
After passing Koyukuji Temple, there were no other cars to be seen on this road.
The car made one last turn, and the two arrived at the main gate of the Heming Hall campus.
The century-old school building's main gate is highly characteristic of its era. The gateposts and the surrounding wall are built with Western-style red bricks, but the main gate itself is designed with wooden doors wrapped with iron edges, and a traditional Tang-style roof is erected on top.
The wrought iron crane-patterned school emblem is inlaid in the center of the lintel, and on the top of the five-meter-high red brick pillars on both sides are two crane statues, with the school motto of Tsurumeikan hanging on the pillars respectively: "Tsuru wa kyūga ni meki" and "Sei wa aten ni kōyu".
The red brick wall to the side was covered with ivy, submerged in greenery, blending with the distant trees so that the end could not be seen at a glance. The deep sound of the school bell, accompanied by the clear chirping of birds, swept over the roof of Tang Pofeng.
The door was ajar, and a man dressed in modern clothes was standing at the door waiting.
The two reporters who were still sitting in the car were stunned.
“…So classic.” The new reporter said with some awe, “I’ve only ever seen this architectural style in tourist attractions and TV dramas.”
It felt like stepping into another film set.
They parked the car in the parking area not far from the entrance, and the two of them, carrying the equipment, walked towards the man waiting at the entrance.
This is the teacher in charge sent by the Men's Volleyball Department of Heming Hall to coordinate.
After exchanging pleasantries at the entrance, the teacher in charge led them into the Crane Cry Hall.
They hadn't walked far when the teacher in charge led them to a pavilion and asked them to sit down: "Please wait a moment, the shuttle bus has not yet arrived."
The new reporter looked at the teacher in charge with a hint of amazement.
"Is the volleyball club quite far away?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, the volleyball court is at the northernmost part of the campus," the teacher in charge nodded. "It's a bit of a distance from the main gate."
The veteran reporter asked, "Can we just walk around?"
"I'm so sorry, the student council has already planned a route based on everyone's visit today," the teacher in charge said with a slight apology.
"Oh, alright then," the veteran reporter said regretfully.
Unseen by them, the teacher in charge was sweating profusely.
Can I say you can't wander around because our school is still in a mess?
The only passable route was the one that the student council president and the principal hastily constructed yesterday...
The two reporters didn't have to wait long before the car arrived.
The vehicle was an unremarkable modern-style open-roof electric sightseeing car, with the school emblem and cloud patterns printed on the body.
Sitting in the mobility scooter, the two enjoyed the scenery inside the Crane Cry Pavilion.
Tsurumeikan, built during the Meiji period, thoroughly embodies the eclectic style of Japanese and Western architecture. The school gate is full of Japanese-Western aesthetics, while the roofs of the Western-style buildings inside the school are a combination of Western-style pitched roofs and the sloping roofs of the Kazue family's mother-in-law house. Many crane motifs are also incorporated into various Western-style reliefs.
In addition, dry landscape gardens are scattered among various Western-style buildings in square courtyards enclosed by Western-style corridors, and several Japanese-style buildings seem to be located deep in the courtyards hidden by the shadows of trees.
Occasionally, students in uniforms would hurry past in the corridors.
A dozen minutes later, the mobility scooter took them to a stadium.
The venue covers a huge area and has an overall shape of eagle wing bracket structure. The roof is a hip roof of the He family, but the upper part of the exterior wall is covered with a clear one-piece glass window. The collision between modern style and He family style does not look out of place and is integrated with the other architectural styles of Heming Pavilion.
"Come this way." The teacher in charge led them up the steps and into the venue.
"This is the main hall of our volleyball stadium, where the regular players usually train."
Upon entering the venue, the two reporters were once again awestruck by the sheer wealth and power of the Heming Pavilion.
The series of professional-level training systems that Xiaofeijiu equipped the volleyball hall with might not be immediately recognizable to the new reporter from the former arts department who was transferred to the sports department, but the constant temperature and humidity system installed throughout the hall is the most direct physical sensation.
Just by stepping into the volleyball hall, they could feel the temperature was slightly different from that outside. The astute veteran reporters even noticed the slightly different humidity levels.
Upon entering the training ground, the two were once again taken aback.
This veteran journalist, who has been involved in high school volleyball for nearly a decade, has never seen a volleyball hall with such comprehensive facilities before.
Several new reporters observed some familiar players casually practicing receiving serves using a high-powered ball machine.
On the other side, several tall players were in front of a multi-angle ball-throwing machine, aiming at volleyballs with unpredictable trajectories and smashing them towards the other side of the court.
Several other players were practicing against a specially designed rubber wall. The wall was equipped with pressure-sensitive areas, and every time a player smashed a ball against the wall, the force of the shot would immediately be displayed on an electronic screen next to them.
Each player has a wearable sensor attached to their ankle—this is used to detect the players' jump height and landing impact.
"Coach Fukui."
The teacher in charge led them to the supervisor of the Crane Cry Hall.
"These two are the reporters who came to interview us today."
The supervisor stood up from the coach's chair and nodded to the two.
The two sides exchanged pleasantries.
"Halls 2 and 3 are next to the main hall. If you need to take photos later, please go to that office and find me. I will take you there."
After completing their task of leading the way, the teacher pointed to a small door to the side and left.
Two reporters first completed their interview with the supervisor of Heming Hall, and then, without affecting the players' training, took photos of the members of the Heming Hall Men's Volleyball Team from outside the court.
During filming, a veteran reporter asked the supervisor, "The captain of the men's volleyball team doesn't seem to be here?"
Coach Fukui replied as if it were commonplace, "He was called away to handle student council affairs and will be coming to training later."
"Oh—besides the volleyball club, there are student council positions too?" The veteran reporter exclaimed, touching his camera. "Truly, heroes emerge from among the young."
The rookie reporter jotted down the news in quick succession.
After interviewing the selected players, relevant teachers and coaches who had finished training, the two reporters went to the second and third halls of the men's volleyball department to shoot some footage. After completing a series of interviews, the captain of the men's volleyball department in Heming Hall had not yet come to the volleyball hall for training.
In order not to waste the two reporters' time, the teacher in charge decisively said, "I'll go and contact the student council."
He went to a corner to make a phone call, and when he returned, he asked somewhat awkwardly, "Would you mind filming and interviewing at the student council office building? Imadegawa can't get away from there for the time being."
“Of course we don’t mind!” the two reporters readily agreed.
Prior to the interview, the only filming locations coordinated between the two parties were the volleyball court, the school gate, and the planned route to the Heming Hall. Now that a new interview location has been unlocked, providing another place to film, the two reporters are naturally overjoyed.
The car was parked in front of a four- or five-story European-style building.
The teacher in charge explained to them, "This building is the student council's office building."
"Does this entire building belong to the student council?" a veteran reporter asked.
The teacher in charge confirmed, "Yes."
Stepping through the building's archway, the teacher in charge led them through the lobby and stopped next to the elevator.
"The second to fourth floors are the office and meeting areas for student union members and are not open to the public. We are now going to the president's office on the fifth floor."
"Wait, is Imadegawa the student council president??" the new reporter asked incredulously, raising her voice.
"Yes." The teacher in charge smiled subtly.
Even the seasoned reporter was stunned for two seconds: "The student council president of a first-year student?"
It hasn't been long since the first year of high school started, right?
Although first-year club presidents are rare, he has seen them before.
After all, most university sports clubs emphasize strength, and if the upperclassmen are too weak, the leading role of the club may indeed be taken over by the freshmen.
But it's really rare to see a student council president in the first year.
The student council is involved in the allocation of resources and organization of various activities across the school, and it has always been highly bureaucratic, essentially serving as the students' adult workplace. The position of president has traditionally been held by third-year or second-year students.
If the president had stepped down early in the last semester of his first year of high school and then been elected president, the two reporters might not have been so shocked. But now, in the first semester of high school, it means that the volleyball team president had fought for the position from upperclassmen.
Under normal circumstances, without absolute power and status to suppress others, it is impossible to "overthrow superiors" and become the leader of this group of self-interested beings.
The veteran journalist exclaimed once again, "What a heroic young man!"
The elevator arrived at the fifth floor.
After walking down a corridor, the three arrived at the door of the president's office.
The teacher in charge knocked on the door.
"Please come in—"
The heavy wooden door was gently pushed open.
The golden-eyed boy, who became the head of the volleyball team and the student council president in his first year, looked up from his desk.
The huge floor-to-ceiling window served as his backdrop, and the light refracted through the glass reflected in his eyes, instantly revealing an inexplicable coldness in his golden eyes.
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This chapter is a special feature from the Crane Cry Pavilion~
Probably at the end of the next chapter or the chapter after that, they'll fight across the country.
Just a quick update on my day—I recently ordered the Taiwanese version of Haikyuu!!, and I'll revise the outline later based on the artbook.
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