Title: Altering Stalemate
Summary: She didn't know how to move on with her life after being kicked out the netball team, leading her into a rather bad slump.
"Sometimes the hardest part isn't letting go but rather learning to start over."
― Nicole Sobon
Prologue: The Problem
Miyuki Anzai, a first-year student in Tōō Academy.
Standing diligently across the gym along with the other first year students, she listened to the other first-year girls' as to why they wanted to join the girls' netball club. The responses were all pretty much similar; from being part of the netball team in their former junior school to trying the sports out for the fun of it. Miyuki was part of the latter. Having been part of the track and field club in her middle school, she chose something completely different in her high school, something that seemed far too challenging for someone like her.
But, a nice transition that would bring forth a new challenge in her life.
"The names Arata Takahiro, I want to take this team to the national tournaments!" Arata confidently stared at the captain who nodded proudly in return.
"Very well then, I hope you're prepared to show us what you got, Takahiro-san." The captain chuckled a little before standing in front of the next person.
"Yes! Arata would be much preferred, Captain!"
Miyuki nudged Arata and rolled her eyes. Arata had always had a knack for showing off to people and giving them false hope. Then again Arata was always gifted with these kinds of confrontations without seeming overly stupid. The Captain herself and the other third years were still looking at the girl with an amused expression, obviously entertained by her antics.
Arata cheekily smirked irking Miyuki, who hated this side of her the most.
The two met each other from their final year of middle school. Arata was the main reason she opted for netball. Other than Arata telling her how awesome the sports was, she founded the idea of being in a team quite fascinating. The track and field club back in middle school was more of individual sports, nothing to what Arata had experienced from being part of an actual sports team. Besides she somehow lost interest in track and field after the many practice routines and pointless running day in day out.
Going to a high school was a perfect chance to drop the sport and start something new, something exciting, different and thrilling.
After having the first years give their introduction the Captain welcomed them openly. She told the first years of the regime and how the team played. Tōō Academy wasn't well known for their netball team, the other older students laughed along with the Captain as she stated the cold reality.
"But this year, it'll be different!" she clasped her hands together enthusiastically showing her confidence as the new captain.
And it was different. From what Miyuki heard from the second year regulars, the team was average at best.
"Average is bad if you're in high school." Keiko Tanakawa mentioned in the changing rooms awhile later, "I mean, we've always lost in the preliminary rounds." She stated easily as if to back up her 'average is bad' view.
"Personally, between us –" she glanced up at Arata then at Miyuki who shrugged in defense. "I'm aiming to change this club completely."
Miyuki stared at the second year girl, nodding at what she then said about the old team. Flabbergasted at how one person could seem so haughty so effortlessly, Miyuki made a mental note to not get too close with this second-year student. The way she was on about changing the team almost made the sport feel like baseball regimes.
The prideful personality of Keiko became more apparent when Miyuki hit her second year at Tōō Academy. The moment Keiko was given some form of official authority, being the vice-captain, her ego and nagging turned a lot worse.
At the present time, Miyuki Anzai was now a 2nd-year student of Tōō Academy who has been living her life aimlessly after being removed from netball after-school club.
One thing was for sure, she was glad she didn't have to go to the dreary practices and listen to the 3rd year students go on about 'doing proper practices and following the rules' like one should. She really didn't like how the 3rd year seniors were always going on about proper practices, she and some of the other second year students wanted to do netball practices their way. It was the normal way. The way they have been doing practice ever since she started the netball team. The way that the already graduated seniors spent their day's training in the gym. The normal way which made them part of the top sixteen in the nation.
But after having a quarrel with the vice-captain of the girls' volleyball, the captain along with the coach decided to exclude her from after school activities for a while.
Everyone knew Tōō Academy wasn't particularly known for their netball team, mainly the basketball boys' team- who were very skilled in the said sport. But that was another story, the netball team last year, however, managed to be in the top sixteen, which was a feat in itself. The team had always lost during the preliminary rounds, due to their insufferable luck in having to verse the top team's right at the beginning of the tournaments.
Last year though the netball team managed to hone the few over outstanding players in the team and worked on their teamwork. Miyuki only making it on the team when the third years were either not feeling well or when the coach wanted to try new strategies out. She never was a regular despite working really hard on her skills. It was natural, though, not everything was going to work as she hoped. But the feeling of working and training thoroughly was somewhat admirable.
However, when she did became a regular in her second year, during the first term a little over two weeks before her exclusion took place, she thought everything was going great and appreciated playing with her close second-year friends.
It was weird. Just when everything was working impressively for a few weeks. To think that everything fell apart so quickly when the year hasn't even ended. When we didn't achieve anything yet, when I was just getting used to playing regular matches…
A/N: Firstly, Wakamatsu Kosuke needs more love in the knb fandom. (With the lack of Wakamatsu and an OC, I decided to do one, for the fun of it.) Hope you enjoy! This is the first time I'm trying an OC x Canon Character, so do be nice with the constructive criticism.
Re-edited: 12/12/16
