Sean stepped out of the shower, using a comb to rat out his hair. Wrapping his towel around his neck. Looking up as Kurai sat over by the window, writing in a notebook.
"What're you up to, Kurai?" Kurai perks a bit and turns, his hair, albeit shorter now, was slightly uncombed.
"Oh, writing in my journal about the game from today" Sean raised an eyebrow and prepared his bedsheets.
"You do that? What exactly do you write about in there?" Kurai spins the pen in his hand, taping it to his chin.
"Nothing special, just strategies and other things" Sean nods and turns away.
"I could care less about strategy… Winning is all I care about" Kurai looks up as Sean continues.
"Don't slow the team down with your strategies just because it might give us an easier chance to spike" Kurai exhales as Sean turns to look at him, towel draped over his shoulders and all. Sean continues further.
"Don't underestimate your teammates" Kurai straightens his posture.
"I don't underestimate your strengths, experience trumps talent, or so they say…" Kurai's eyes glow slightly as the air in the room goes cold.
"Everything I do on the court, is not to slow you guys down when it comes to scoring points, but to make it easier for you to score… and if I slow you down, then I guess you need to put more effort in the keep up with me" Sean stares silently as Kurai continues, pointing his pen at him.
"I won't be moving so slow that you drown, but I also won't slow down to make sure y'all can keep up with me… I shouldn't have to slow down to make up for your slow reactions, because remember, everything I do… is to give you more chances to score… it should be you who looks up at me, not me looking up at you" Sean grits his teeth, suddenly, Kurai says one last thing.
"Good work on that court today, Captain"
-----
Sean sits on the bench in the locker room, the 20+ members of team USA walking and talking around him. He leans forward and clasps his hands, looking down at the number 1 Jersey he wore. He exhaled and closed his eyes. His breathing laboured in excitement for the game as Coach Copley wandered into the locker room. Coach Copley spoke firmly to the team.
"Alright, y'all… This is a big game for us. We've plowed through Argentina, Australia, and we just dominated Canada Yesterday… This game today decides if we're going to the silver, bronze, and gold level matches… today we're up against a Team that's known for being fast, precise, and strong straight out of the gates in japan… we've watched their matches and we've seen their skills personally, but we also have the same intensity in both offense and defense!" Sean exhales and looks around as the team shuffles. He leans over tying his shoes. 'This is it… the Team that defeated us last year, gave us fourth place in the VNL' Glancing around, Sean can see his teammates all lost in their thoughts. Tyler is bouncing a volleyball in his hands, eyes locked on Coach Copley, ready for whatever comes next. Max, a little further off, stands quietly with his arms crossed, a hard look on his face. Kurai, of course, is calm, almost meditative. There's a quiet intensity in the air. Coach Copley continues.
"You know what to do. The game plan hasn't changed. We're going to be aggressive on offense—powerful, precise. We're going to give them everything we've got from the start, because I know they'll try to throw us off with their speed. Stay focused. Take it one point at a time." Kurai looks up, exuding cold air.
"Stay in your pace, don't overwhelm yourself in an attempt to throw off your opponents… leave it to me to bring you the exact set you need" Coach Copley nods.
"We've got this, Team USA!" everyone shouts.
"Yeah!"
-----
Sean stood under the dim lights of the entrance hallway into the arena. His breathing was audible over the sound of the roaring crowd and loud music just at the end of the hall.
"Sean" Sean jumped slightly and turned to look back at Kurai who nodded. 'Right… no time to be nervous about losing again… I'm the team captain now, if we lose here, my role as the ace and captain will be questioned' He exhales as the music dulls, and the announcers begin the introductions. 'I've done this several times before… why does it feel… different, this time?' Sean takes a step forward and out of the tunnel, looking at the 3 tier arena full of spectators cheering, some for the US and others for Japan. The sounds of drums and swirling lights filled his ears amongst the stomps and jeers of the crowd.
"Some players to watch for on Team USA this year include Kyle Hendricks, the Agile Libero of the US, having made some incredible saves and proved his worth in the previous match against Canada just the other day!" Kyle smirked as he exited the tunnel with short, blonde hair and piercing green eyes.
"We should also watch out for Sean Maners, the powerhouse outside hitter and team captain of the USA, having broken through even Australia's insane blocks!" Sean glared with a strange uncommon, but intense, glare.