I don't own K-ON!
Chapter 3.b and as I mentioned last time I used 3 new characters from the series.
Again refer to Season 2: Ep.18 (3:31), Ep.25 (19:33) and the movie (15:30) to know who Saeki Mika, Satou Akane and Taki Eri are.
As for Nakanishi Toshimi and Wajima Maki, refer to Season 2 Ep.25 (19:33).
For Wakaouji Ichigo refer to, Season 2: Ep.10 (11:53, 13:05), Ep.17 (5:31, 6:43), Ep.18 (3:28), Ep.22 (13:38), Ep.25 (19:12) and the movie (1:23:34, 1:28:55). Somehow Ichigo became one of my favorite characters :P
Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)
Back in the gym
When Ritsu and Mio got back in the gym, the number of audience that came to watch and support increased. Cheers for their school echoed in the whole gym while the players have their final preparations and the coaches give their last advice and orders.
"Isn't that Ichigo?" Ritsu pointed to the pigtailed girl sitting by the courtside.
"I guess she's the play-by-play announcer," Mio said after taking notice of the mic that was in front of Ichigo.
"Play by play? What's that?"
"They're the ones who give a running commentary of a game."
"Oohh~…Come on!" Ritsu then dragged Mio as she ran towards their classmate.
"Wai – Ritsu!"
"Yo! Ichigo!" Ritsu greeted. "So are you the play-by-play announcer?"
"Yes," Ichigo nonchalantly answered.
"I didn't think they'd have a commentator in a practice game and what's with this crowd?" Mio asked after realizing the large number of people at the second floor of the gym just to watch a practice game.
"I know having a play-by-play announcer is just nonsense. It's like they're saying that these people are blind. Oh well somehow I understand, both the teams and their supporters are taking this seriously they want to treat this as the real thing. These two teams are said to be rivals for so many years," Ichigo explained.
"I never thought you'd volunteer for this job, Ichigo," Ritsu commented knowing how Ichigo looks so indifferent about so many things.
"I didn't. The one who is supposed to be doing this called in sick so the coach made me do it."
"I thought so. Say, can we take the seats beside you?" Ritsu asked.
"What? We can't do that, we don't have any reason to other than to watch," Mio opposed.
"Then you could be the scorer," Ichigo suggested.
"Thanks Ichigo. Now we could have front row sea – "
Mio immediately said "Okay" and took a seat.
"Wow that was fast," Ritsu said while taking a seat beside Ichigo. She felt happy to be able to give Mio the best seat in the house.
"I'm surprised to see you two here today," Ichigo said to the non-sports club members.
"Well I invited Mio to watch and I promised Mika I'd watch their game today and the one next week," Ritsu explained.
"I see."
"Oh by the way why is Eri wearing a different colored jersey? And it's the same with that one player in the other team."
"I've been wondering the same thing for a while now, whenever I watch volleyball matches there's always one player with a different uniform," Mio said.
"That's because she's a libero," Ichigo answered.
"What's that?" Mio and Ritsu asked in unison.
"A libero is a defensive specialist that can only play at the back row. They don't count as substitution so they can freely enter/exit the court without the need to inform the referee and replace any player in the back row only. However, they are not allowed to block, attack nor serve. Her main job is to dig, pass and keep the ball alive," Ichigo explained.
"But why have them wear a different colored uniforms?" Mio asked again.
"I don't know I didn't come up with such rules."
"Right! Sorry," Mio said and looked down feeling embarrassed of her lack of common sense.
"You said dig, what's that?" Ritsu asked this time.
Ichigo sighed before answering, "Digging is preventing the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground."
"Ooohhh~ I'm learning," Ritsu said happily.
"Yeah Ichigo you know so much about volleyball," Mio praised.
"Not really, the baton club shares the gym with them for 3 years so the chance to learn something about volleyball is there."
At the Sakura High bench
"Look Mika, Ricchan's at the court side with Ichigo," Akane informed her friend.
"Really?" Mika immediately shifted her attention to the announcer's table. "Why is she there?"
"Why not? That only means she really wants to watch you closely princess," Eri said teasingly making Mika blush.
"Why do you have to say that? Now I'm nervous!" Mika complained.
"I didn't know Mio-chan's with her," Akane pointed out.
"Well Ricchan mentioned she'd invite Mio-chan today," Mika's enthusiasm dropped when she saw Mio.
"Get your head in the game! I don't want you losing focus before the match," coach Koga reminded her players.
"Yes coach!"
"Mika!"
"Y-Yes!"
"Listen," coach Koga then put an arm around her shoulder, "instead of getting conscious because Tainaka's watching use this opportunity to show off your awesome skills as a setter."
"R-Right! That makes sen – Wait! Coach you kno – "
"Everyone in this team knows…"
"What?!"
"That doesn't matter right now! As I was saying, so what if the ever-popular bassist Akiyama Mio is with her? You're popular too so this is your chance, yes we know the childhood friend often wins when it comes to love but that doesn't mean you don't have any fighting chance right? Now, make her look at only you…make her forget about Mio…show her what you've got!"
"YEAH!" Mika shouted and is all fired up once again. Her teammates could also feel her fighting spirit and was easily influenced by it.
"That's the spirit!" Eri cheered.
"LET'S WIN THIS THING!" Mika said to her teammates and raised her fist.
The rest of them did the same and said, "YEAH!"
The game is going to start in just a few seconds and Ichigo is looking at her watch, counting the time remaining before she starts the introduction. The crowd settled down a bit, the players all pumped up and ready to go – everyone anticipating Ichigo's announcement of the start of the game. 5…4…3…2… {It's now time to start this practice game} Ichigo said emotionlessly. "Hey, couldn't you do it with more energy? Or at least sound a bit excited." Ritsu whispered thinking Ichigo ruined the happy mood of the audience when cheers from everyone in the gym suddenly sounded despite the announcer's unenthusiastic start. "Why? It's a practice game," Ichigo answered the drummer and emphasized her point. Ritsu let it go since people don't seem to mind Ichigo's aloofness.
{I'm Wakaouji Ichigo and I'll be the play-by-play announcer for this match. So let's get this thing started and over with so the baton club could finally use the gym.}
"Hey Wakaouji! No unnecessary statements!" coach Koga.
Ichigo looked at her and said, {Moving on…}
"Don't ignore me!"
{This practice match will be between Sakuragaoka High and South Midori Academy. As always, this game will consist of five sets; the first team to win three sets wins the match.}
"Come on Ichigo liven it up a little, give the people a little info or trivia about these schools or something," Ritsu suggested.
"That doesn't make any sense, do you not see and hear how pumped up the audience are already? Plus the people already know everything about these schools and their players…but I guess you're right I'll give it a try," Ichigo said and then proceeded.
{The referee, assistant referee and line judges for today are…not really important…}
"Hey!" the officials complained.
{Well it's true, people don't really care about your names, they care more about the calls you guys are going to make during the game…}
"Hey Wakaouji! Do you your job right!" coach Koga yelled out.
{By the way here's another trivia about our officials today, did you know that they, together with coach Koga and coach Utagawa, are graduates of this school? They used to play volleyball together, so if ever there seem to be any biased calls later you all know why…}
"Stop ignoring me Wakaouji and that won't happen!"
"How's that?" Ichigo consulted Ritsu after taking up her suggestion completely ignoring coach Koga.
"Wow I didn't know that. That was good…well it could've been better if you didn't have such a cold tone."
"I can't do anything about that."
"By the way, what are line judges?" Ritsu asked.
"The line judges are the ones with flags and stand at the corners of the court watching the lines to indicate whether a ball in play falls in or out of the court," Mio answered this time.
"Oh I see."
{Now that takes care of the officials, it's time now to announce the first six players from Sakura High:
Number 15 – Ooba Ayu
Number 10 – Nakanishi Toshimi
Number 8 – Wajima Maki
Wing Hitter Number 2 – Satou Akane
Libero Number 1 – Taki Eri
and last but not least Captain and Setter Number 7 – Saeki Mika…}
"Eh?! Mika's the captain?!" Ritsu accidentally interrupted out of surprise.
"I'm surprised you didn't know almost everyone in this school knows. I'm more surprised with how popular she is, I mean look at how they're cheering for her," Mio said after hearing the crowd cheer for Mika.
"I think you guys have an equal number of fans so don't be jealous," Ichigo said and put a hand on Mio's shoulder.
"I'm not jealous!"
"But I noticed the Sakura High fans started cheering loudly when you mentioned the last three players, I wonder why," Ritsu said to Ichigo.
"Well that's because they're the best at what they do. Akane was awarded MVP for two years in a row, Eri was awarded as the Best Libero for two years in a row and Mika was awarded as the Best Setter and Captain of the Year for two years in a row; plus some other awards like Best Digger, Best Blocker, Best Attacker, Best Server and so on. But don't worry other players also got some award…I think. Also it's because of them that Sakura High won the national championships for the 5th time again last year, of course their teammates helped too. It's said that coaches from different universities are already planning to recruit them."
Mio and Ritsu just ended up gawking after hearing the Sakura High Volleyball Team's achievements.
"What? You don't read the school paper? The light music club is so carefree..."
"W-Well we…," Ritsu has troubling thinking of an excuse.
"Anyway, the only team that is always a great threat for Sakura High in winning championships is South Midori Academy. They're a good team but not good enough I guess since they've been hoarding silver medals for the past 5 years," Ichigo added.
"A-Amazing…," was all the two best friends could say.
Amazing I never knew that they're this good, Ritsu then looked at Mika and the others, they don't look like the classmates and friends that I know especially Mika…it's written in her face that she's all fired up, maybe because she's the captain and she probably got everyone else to feel the same. Amazing focus despite that this is just a practice game. Meanwhile, Ichigo let the fans cheer it all out before proceeding with the introductions of the other team and after a minute she finally got the chance.
{Now the first six players of South Midori Academy are:
Captain and Wing Hitter Number 9 – Kageyama Satsuki
Setter Number 20 – Aki Youko
Libero Number 13 – Andou Hikari
Number 3 – Iizuka Maya
Number 6 – Arita Yuki
and Number 25 – Usami Kaede}
Supporters of SMA cheered as loud as the fans of Sakura High, not letting them to be out-cheered by the opponent. The players are already in position and just waiting for the first whistle of the game.
{Usami Kaede of SMA will have the ball to serve…}
{And the first whistle was blown…a jump serve from Usami}
{Ball received by Eri, passed it to Mika and Akane jumped for a spi – … oh but Mika suddenly used the tip catching the SMA blockers off guard and Sakura High gets the first point.}
"What's the tip?" Ritsu asked getting curious again.
"It's when a player softly touch the ball just over the net or over the blockers," and Ichigo explained again.
"Cool! I was sure Akane will hit it."
"It was a bluff and the blockers fell for it."
"So that's what that move is called…now I know," Mio commented.
"Be sure to keep score," Ichigo reminded.
{It's Nakanishi's turn to serve for Sakura…}
{There's the whistle and~ the jump serve… a sharp serve there…}
{Received by Iizuka set up by Andou and a tip from Kageyama…and the ball went over the Sakura blockers she almost killed the ball but Eri got the blockers' back and saved it…}
{Followed by a jump set from Mika and Akane finished it fast and hard SMA didn't even have enough time to react…and that gives Sakura another point. It's now 2 to nothing…}
{Nakanishi serving again and~…oh too bad SMA libero Andou wasn't able to save it…It's now 3 to nothing and that's 1 ace for Sakura}
"Time out!" an irritated coach Utagawa shouted.
{Time out SMA…}
"Amazing! Eri saved that ball so effortlessly, it's like she already knew where the ball will land in advance Also that last attack of Sakura High was so fast and Akane hit it so hard I barely saw the ball," Ritsu excitedly commented.
"That's because Mika jump set. You do that if you want to speed up your offense because you'll reach the ball sooner," Mio explained.
"Now you understand what I mean about those three," Ichigo said.
"Yeah it's like Mika can control everyone," Ritsu said.
"Don't make it sound like she's a dictator or something. It's because she's a setter that's what setters do, they control how their offense will be plus she's the captain."
"That's so cool! By the way you mentioned something about ace for Sakura, what does that mean," Ritsu asked.
"I knew you'd ask. It's a serve that lands in the opponent's court without being touched, or is touched, but unable to be kept in play by one or more receiving team players," Ichigo answered.
"Oh I see. Man you sure know a lot Ichigo," Ritsu praised.
"SMA called a time out so early in the game. It's such a waste," Mio commented.
"Why do you say so?"
"Well because in every set, each team only has 2 time outs," Mio explained.
"But there's still the two technical time outs later. I think having 2 more for each team is already too many," Ichigo reminded.
"What happens in a technical time out? When will that happen?" asked again by Ritsu.
"I have a feeling you're questions will keep doubling everytime."
"Well I can't help it if I'm curious."
"A technical time-out is taken in each set when the leading team reached the 8th and 16th points, except for the 5th set. Technical time-outs lasts for a minute as compared to a regular time-out that only lasts for 30seconds."
"Ooh~"
"However, with regards to Mio's statement, in my opinion it was a good idea for coach Utagawa to call for that time-out."
"Really?!" Mio and Ritsu said surprised that the time-out was a good idea.
"Not only will she remind her players to keep their heads in the game it will also stop Sakura High to gain momentum."
The referee blew her whistle, calling back the players to get back in the court.
{Nakanishi with the serve…and that just hit the net. Finally giving a point to SMA… }
"See? Breaking the momentum," Ichigo proved her point. And once again the two best friends were left speechless.
{Now it's Iizuka with the serve…}
{And~ the ball is out…according to the line judges}
"What?! That was in! The ball landed on the line!" coach Utagawa protested. "I want a challenge!"
{Sorry we don't have any cameras set up for today's practice match so you'll just have to have faith that age hasn't caught up with your friends' eye sights yet.}
"We're not that old!" the officials and the coaches all prostested.
"A video challenge is an instant replay review that coaches can request to have a closer look if there were any violations made or if the ball was in or out or if the ball made contact with a player before it went out," Ichigo immediately said after making her comment. "I know you'd probably ask so I beat you to it," the announcer said to Ritsu who looked very grateful for Ichigo's info and patience.
To be continued...
I hope you enjoyed that :)
Feel free to review, comment or whatever :)
On the the next!