Chapter 5 Let's start playing volleyball at the club!
"Alright, that's all for today. Go home now!" Coach Suzuki led all the students through stretching exercises, clapped his hands, and blew his whistle to dismiss them.
After bowing respectfully to say goodbye, Sawada Tsunayoshi could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He was so tired that he didn't even want to straighten up. He hunched over, his hands dangling as he walked unsteadily toward his backpack.
He took a big gulp of water from his cup, then glanced at Hinata. Hinata had run off to find Sho. Huh? When did Sho arrive? Exhausted by volleyball, he didn't have much energy left to focus on anything else. Seeing Sho still able to play around with Sho, Sawada Tsunayoshi took another sip of water. Where did he get all that energy?
"Sawada, Hinata, you two come here for a second!" The coach called out, glancing at the two who hadn't left yet, as he scribbled on the roster.
The sound is so loud!
Sawada Tsunayoshi noticed the glances cast his way for a moment, silently put down his water glass, swallowed the water in his mouth, and his chubby cheeks immediately deflated.
After they lined up, Hinata asked, "Is there anything else, Coach?"
After signing the list, Suzuki lowered his head and said, "This weekend, which is tomorrow, a volleyball club owned by an old coach I know will be having an open day. Do you want to go?"
"Open day for the public?" Sawada Tsunayoshi repeated the word in confusion.
On the other side, Hyuga responded loudly, "Go!"
Tsuna, shocked, tugged at Hyuga's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Sho, do you know what an open day is?!"
Hinata was already itching to try, and he replied quietly, "I don't know."
"Hey!" I didn't know you agreed so readily!
"I don't know what that open day is, but it's related to volleyball, so I'll definitely go!"
He stretched out his right hand towards Tsunayoshi and made a peace sign.
Sawada Tsunayoshi's lips twitched. "Very good, this is very small."
However, since Xiangyang was going, he readily agreed that he would go as well.
Suzuki wasn't surprised by their answer at all. "I'll pick you up at 7:30 tomorrow morning and then drive you to Tokyo. I'll call your parents tonight to explain the situation."
"Okay!" the two shouted in unison.
Shoichi Irie, who had been standing quietly to the side, spoke up only after they finished speaking, "Um, Coach Suzuki, where is the club's address tomorrow? I want to go see Tsuna and Sho."
Realizing something after saying that, Irie touched his nose and said, "Ah! If outsiders can't go, then never mind what I said."
Suzuki was taken aback, then waved his hand, "There's no need to go to so much trouble. You can come with me in my car; there's just enough room for the three of you."
Sending such a young child to Tokyo alone is a crime he truly deserves to die for.
Shoichi Irie has a bit of a motherly personality, which was first evident when he prepared training menus for Hyuga and Tsunayoshi, whom he had just met. It may also be related to Hyuga's outgoing nature. Later, he even took Tsunayoshi and Hyuga to buy knee pads and wrist guards, and prepared a first-aid kit for himself.
The next day, Suzuki discovered that Sawada and Hinata were neighbors. When he arrived at their house, Irie Shoichi was already in Hinata's yard. He was wearing a fisherman's hat, carrying a backpack, and had a video camera hanging around his neck. He looked as refreshed as if he was going on a picnic. The other two, on the other hand, remembered that they were going to play volleyball and were still wearing their sports uniforms.
This time, Irie didn't bring her music bag. Suzuki said goodbye to the two mothers while thinking about it, and then took the three children to the city.
Sawada Tsunayoshi had never left Namimori Town before. He thought he would be too excited to sleep, but he slept very well. He had been keeping a good routine during this time, and the melancholy and listless aura he had previously possessed had quietly dissipated. The effects of his serious training were evident in him, making him look like a tall and straight poplar tree.
There was some distance to the destination, so Suzuki simply introduced the club, trying to pick out some interesting things to talk about, considering the child's thinking ability.
"I went to Owl Valley High School, Owl Valley, you know it, right?"
The three people sitting in the back seat nodded. After starting to play volleyball, they found that everything around them gradually became related to volleyball, or rather, because they started to like volleyball, they subconsciously paid attention to related information.
Information that one wouldn't normally pay attention to would also come to one's ears. Sawada Tsunayoshi learned about Fukutani by chance from an uncle at a spice stall while buying spices for his mother. If he hadn't met Hyuga, he probably wouldn't have taken that sentence to heart at all, let alone discussed the strong volleyball schools in high school with Sho and Masashi after returning home.
Coach Suzuki was secretly pleased. Yes, our Fukutani is that good. After all these years, he can still play. Everyone from the old to the young knows that.
On the surface, he remained nonchalant, saying, "Well, just knowing is enough, it saves me the trouble of explaining further."
"My former coach started a club after he retired. He has a heart condition, and the doctor said he can no longer take students to competitions,"
Shoichi Irie understood that the intense and exciting match was indeed not suitable for people with heart conditions.
"So, like me, I opened a club to teach kids, which is great."
Upon hearing this, Tsuna and Hinata looked at their coach with concern. Seeing their expressions in the rearview mirror, Suzuki quickly explained loudly.
"Hey, don't overthink it! My heart is perfectly fine, there's nothing wrong with me at all!"
Relieved to have received their answer, the two looked away and continued to listen quietly to the story.
"I came back to teach you guys volleyball because I still like volleyball. After graduation, I had nothing to do, so I decided to come back to Bingsheng. Our coach can't stay idle either. Some of his other students have started their own clubs. Around this time of year, the coach will hold several club open days. His former students will bring their own students to participate, and everyone can play volleyball together and learn from each other."
"I haven't been able to participate for the past few years because I haven't settled down yet. But now that I'm almost done with things, it's perfect to take you guys out for some fun."
Suzuki smiled as he spoke, not finishing his sentence. He naturally loved volleyball, but hadn't made a name for himself over the years, so he hadn't been in the mood to visit the coach who had given him his opportunity. Thinking of this, he glanced at the rearview mirror again. He hadn't planned to go this year either, but these two kids had touched him.
Suzuki certainly noticed her passionate, seemingly tireless love for volleyball.
The three children were all sensitive, and although Coach Suzuki spoke lightly, they could sense a little sadness.
Hinata replied energetically, "Coach, don't worry, we definitely won't let you down!"
“Mhm!” Sawada Tsunayoshi echoed.
“Eh? No, I didn’t,” Suzuki said, somewhat amused. “Well, it’s good to be competitive, but today is for fun. Just relax and have fun.”
"But Coach, you've brought me and Xiaoxiang along. Won't other people laugh at you if we perform badly?" The kids probably thought their coach was worried about this.
Suzuki thought to himself, "If those people wanted to laugh at me, they would have already done so. Why would they use two kids as targets?" He didn't say it directly, but instead, he reached behind him and gestured towards the two children in the air.
"Then you two tell me, how can we perform well so I don't become a laughingstock? Are you going to rely on your terrible catching skills?"
Hinata and Tsuna remained silent.
"Hmph." The coach chuckled, using this as an excuse to change the subject and talk about other things.
"Wow-!"
After parking the car, a spacious and brightly lit building came into view. Hyuga and Sawada Tsunayoshi couldn't help but exclaim in amazement; this place was even bigger than the volleyball court at their school. Even Irie Shoichi was surprised, finding it hard to believe that such a formal venue was just an old coach's club.
Suzuki, carrying a bag, caught up from behind. Looking at the child's wide-open chin, he proudly introduced...
"Isn't it impressive? At first, this place was just a large space. In recent years, after everyone started working, they wanted to improve it. With the help of some students' parents, it has become what it is today."
Sawada Tsunayoshi's gaze shifted from the name beside him, which read "Fukutani Children's Volleyball Club - Central Division." Even the club was bearing Fukutani's mark. Speaking of the Central Division, doesn't it also have branches?
His gaze inadvertently fell upon the coach's wistful expression; the coach was also staring at the nameplate. A ray of light shone in his heart. Although Coach Suzuki's club was called "Nammori Volleyball Club," in a sense, it was a branch.
Just then, Suzuki also came to his senses. He turned to look at Tsunayoshi and said without much explanation, "Let's go in."
"Just a moment." Irie Shoichi raised his hand, holding a camera, his gaze intense.
"Can I take a picture of Xiaogang and Xiaoxiang? It will be done soon, I promise it won't take too long."
Suzuki naturally had no objection. He stretched out his hand to Irie, "Give me the camera, I'll take a picture of the three of you together."
Upon hearing this, Irie Shoichi's expression lit up, and he decisively handed the camera to the coach, saying, "Okay! Thank you, Coach Suzuki."
With a press of the shutter, the figures of the three young boys were captured, their expressions cheerful and bright, making Suzuki unable to help but smile as well.
That's great, everyone's gathered here because of volleyball.
After handing the camera back to Irie Shoichi, a male voice interrupted from behind.
"Hey, isn't this busy Suzuki? What brings you here this year?" This sarcastic tone clearly indicates that the coach knows him.
Sawada Tsunayoshi and the others turned their heads to see who was speaking, but they couldn't see the face. They could only see two long legs swaying in front of them. Hinata and Tsunayoshi sadly raised their necks and finally saw the person in front of them, their chin.
"Wow, he's really tall, probably 1.9 meters," Irie Shoichi thought, rubbing his neck.
The other person had shoulder-length brown hair, but an exceptionally muscular build; his muscles looked like they could take on twenty men. Sawada Tsunayoshi couldn't help but turn to look at his coach. Although his coach was over 1.8 meters tall and not short, he was noticeably shorter next to this person.
Hinata tugged at Tsuna's shirt and whispered in his ear, "What do we do? It looks like the coach can't beat this guy."
Sawada Tsunayoshi became anxious at these words. He nodded hastily and met the eyes of the student behind the imposing tall man.
A note from the author:
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I've started writing about a new character.
No prize quiz – Can you guess which baby it is? It's Xiaogu, so the range is quite small.
Ultimately, I guess I'm really just writing about cubs (kneeling).
To be honest, I always thought I had enabled the comment section, but when I checked today I found out I hadn't (but it's enabled now! (starry-eyed hint))
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