"Set!"
Steve got underneath the lofted ball and flashed a glance at Ken on the other side of the court. In one fluid motion, he set the ball into a perfect position above the net, ready for Ken to spike it.
Ken's eyes followed the ball as he prepared to jump. His nearly 6'4 frame and long limbs were a huge advantage when it came to height dependent sports like volleyball.
However, just as he was poised to jump, everything in the surroundings began to move in slow motion.
'WHAT!?'
Ken almost lost his balance as he experienced the sudden shift in the surroundings. He had felt this feeling before, but only on the baseball field.
'My crunch time skill is activating!? But I'm not even playing baseball.'
It was true that he couldn't control the activation of the skill, but he didn't expect it to activate at such a time. Ken was forced to go with the flow, putting every ounce of power into his jump.
His head peaked over the net, but his eyes were on the ball, pinpointing the exact time and place to spike the volleyball with all of his mights.
SMACK!
DOING
"Yamete Kudasai!"
Ken's hand whipped down, sending the innocent ball crashing into the ground and bouncing up with tremendous force. The sound was so loud that everyone in the gym turned in his direction.
"Nice set." Ken said, nodding towards Steve.
Steve just stared back at him blankly.
"K-Ken… What the hell was that?" Mr. Johnson happened to see the whole thing take place and he walked over with disbelief written all over his face.
"Eh? It was a spike I guess." Ken replied, feeling a little awkward. Did he perhaps break a rule or something?
"Well yeah…" The teacher said, before shaking his head, "Have you played volleyball before? Did you want to join our team?"
Mr. Johnson's eyes were eager, as if he was looking at their ticket to the state championships. Even if Ken wasn't aware earlier, it was clear now that the man was the coach for the school volleyball team.
"Err, I don't really play volleyball sir." He responded, trying to sound respectful as possible.
'Me? Volleyball? Not in a million years.' Ken scoffed inwardly.
He was a typical Japanese Yakyu-boy, with only baseball on his mind. There was no other sport or occupation that could change his mind, especially volleyball.
"Hey Mr. Johnson, Ken already said he's joining the baseball team." Steve sprung into action, trying to protect his new friend.
Inwardly, Steve scowled at the teacher, his fangs already bared. He had already figured out who Ken was after querying him during the warm up jog around the gym.
Although he had not heard about the guy for over a year, Ken left quite an impression on him when he led Japan to the U18 World Cup win against their US team. However, this was the first time he'd seen him up close.
At first, Steve had thought Ken was arrogant and conceited when he mentioned Ryan Smith. But as things would turn out, the guy had actually beaten him, on such a large stage.
Just thinking of catching pitches from a prodigy like Ryan Smith was enough to leave him salivating, let alone the guy who was arguably better.
"Huh? Baseball?" Mr. Johnson looked torn for a moment before he screwed up his face in annoyance. He made a few gestures and told the students to resume the game.
"Umm, Sir… We'd like to forfeit." One of the students wearing glasses spoke up before the teacher left, his face filled with fear.
It wasn't just him, all the other students looked as if they were about to wet themselves after seeing the vicious spike from Ken earlier.
Mr. Johnson let out a sigh in response.
A couple hours later, Ken was brought to the cafeteria with Steve who had seemingly made it his mission to chaperon him around the school. Ken thought the guy was being overly nice, but he didn't object to the treatment.
After all, it was better to have a friend rather than be a loner.
"So what made you move over here?" Steve asked, sitting across from him.
Ken couldn't help but look at the food in front of the guy and turn up his nose. Thankfully his mother had packed his lunch, otherwise he'd have to resort to eating the cafeteria food.
He pulled out his lunch box, filled with rice and various side dishes, feeling his mouth begin to water. Ken had been a little pressed for time this morning so was only surviving on a piece of toast.
"My Dad got a job at the University of Texas." Ken said simply, pulling out his chopsticks and praying silently before digging into his food. He easily shoved rice into his mouth one by one, showing just how hungry he was.
"Oh cool, is he a professor or something?"
"Assistant Coach." Ken responded between chewing.
"For what? Baseball?" Steve's eyes widened in surprise.
"Mmm."
The way Steve looked at him changed once more, his gaze filled with respect. It was clear that Ken's background was filled with baseball, which was likely a reason why he was at the level he was now.
Steve was silent for a while, digging into his food.
"You know the season has ended right? We were knocked out in the Bi-District round before Easter." He said, looking a little apologetic.
"Eh?" Ken was a little confused. Back in Japan, they had many tournaments throughout the year, Summer, Fall and in the Spring.
"Our season is February to April, only extending if we make it into the playoffs."
Ken paused, feeling the world around him freeze. He had just got the system back, yet now he had missed out on the High School season? What was the point in coming to America if that was the case.
'Wouldn't I have been better off staying in Japan?' Ken thought bitterly.
As if seeing the sadness in Ken's face, Steve smiled, "Well, if ya still wanna play, you can join a travel team. I play for the Texas Gladiators."