Backstory

Takane Nakano, was born on the 15th of May, in the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Born to a father who was previously involved in a relatively popular band in Takane’s old area, but had reserved himself to a more sleepy life as an owner of a record store outside of the hustle and bustle of a guitarist. And a mother who helped his father run the business in a small corner. Takane was often surrounded by music throughout his childhood. Whether it be looking at the cd cases on display, or the plucking of his father’s electric guitar which now occupies a much calmer life outside of the band. It was hard for him not to pick up in the trails of where his family is, and he started to show an affinity for music, the guitar in particular. But, outside of his personal life, Takane had already shown streaks of academic prowess in class, as he started to show good grades with his exams from a young age. Though Takane was also quite the anti-social kid even early on, as he’s relatively closed off to other people besides his parents, so much so that in his early kindergarten years, it was hard for his parents to leave Takane by himself in the place because of how clingy he had gotten to his parents.

His anti-social nature is what led to his parents enrolling Takane in a sport. They did so under the impression that, maybe he’d open up more to his friends as he participated in them. And, seeing as there was a little baseball club in which Takane could be dropped off to for the afternoon and make some friends, his parents figured that that was the place that Takane should be in. So, it was through that that his parents half-heartedly enrolled Takane in the nearby Baseball club, which is where he spent most of his after school activities from first grade onwards. To say that Takane had an easy start was a bit of an understatement though, as Takane had a bit of a hard time trying to get the hang of things initially. He was someone that enjoyed bashing math problems; not so softballs with a bat in a searing hot field. And, coupled with his dislike for other people, it was hard to get him on board. But, as the coach was someone that was incredibly patient when it comes to dealing with problem children like Takane, he approached him and tried to teach him more about the sport if the brunette had resigned himself to the benches.

Takane, slowly but surely, listened to the coach. And he listened to the coach about how fun Baseball was. And, though at first, Takane was skeptical, his thoughts were changed as the coach slowly taught him the ropes of the game in a more personalized, one to one way. It was through there that Takane learned his talents of innate strength, with his balls hitting far enough that he would be able to clear three bases, or even a home run in a game. Which was proven as Takane slowly grew to be a bit of an Ace in that club. And, with his friends’ praises of his batting skills, he slowly found himself home in the place. And, he slowly learned to like the people that he had met in Baseball, three years into his stint in the club. As both his upperclassmen and lowerclassmen in the club respected him for his batting skills. And then even complimenting Tak-kun on how well he would be able to do in competition. In which the latter remark would be proven in that same third grade, as he participated in Nagoya’s fall elementary baseball league.

Takane was the youngest in his club’s lineup. With the others being 5th graders and 6th graders. Though, the coach put a lot of faith in Takane, even if he was just made a pinch hitter to cover the 5th graders. Takane, naturally, did not get a lot of field time through that, though when he was able to shine in one of the preliminary rounds. He shocked the whole crowd, and then some more as he managed to pull a convincing homerun. Though his team lost that round, that home run; where he went against fielders who were three or four years older than him, only furthered his praises in Baseball as the name of the “Thunderclap Takane” was starting to brew in the little baseball scene that the city had. But, coming back to his school, Takane seemed to do just fine in it. He had good grades, as mentioned before. And became a person that you’d go to in a group project. Even if he’s still regarded as giving off a bit awkward to talk to the other students, if you hand him a paper, he’d give you the paper back with the answers. So, he grew a bit in popularity in part because of his academic skill and his recent splash that he made in the city’s baseball competition.

Takane continued to pursue Baseball as he went through grade school. With his determination to push the most out of him furthering as he received praises for his performance. Takane got better still as a hitter, as he made another appearance in his fourth grade, not disappointing his team as he managed to pull a crucial homerun to make the team progress to the quarterfinals. Though his little Baseball club made it this far, they hadn’t done so before his fourth grade. And, though they didn’t progress any further than the quarter finals. Takane was still very happy with the result that they managed. Only furthering his coach’s trust in him as he became a mainstay once he reached his fifth grade. In that same fifth grade, Takane made his appearance as a full hitter instead of a pinch one, helping the team clutch a lot of points. And, in his sixth grade, through a perfect storm of good players both as hitters and fielders, his little Baseball club managed to reach third honors in the whole city. With Takane earning his first medal in sports, something that he still cherishes up until now. Though, on his parent’s side, something else was up too.

As the rent prices hiked in their little store, and their sales flattened. His parents made the decision to close up shop and re-open elsewhere. And, that elsewhere was surprisingly Tokyo City, as their parents had managed to secure a spot that was, albeit smaller, nearer to the city center with the hopes of getting more sales through that. Though Takane was at first, understandably upset that he would have to leave his hometown of Nagoya. He slowly came to terms, and didn’t seem to mind this change of pace that much as he moved along with his parents. They opened another record store, and that’s where his parents are up to this day. But, to not go a bit too fast in the story, we’ll go back to Takane and talk about how he handled the move to the big city. As he moved into the new public middle school that was near his house, he tried to search for any Baseball clubs. But, he came up empty handed. Though, seeing as the school has a relatively strong volleyball team, he figured that it wouldn’t hurt for him to try doing that. He figured that, in the end, he was still hitting a ball, which was why he signed up to the Volleyball team sight unseen, not knowing what he’s gonna be in for the team. Though, as he was about to learn, his skills in Baseball were not to waste.

Takane, at first, was assigned Libero. His height was then, 5’2”, and it only made sense that someone of that stature be a Libero to bolster the team’s notoriously impressive defenses. Though, as the team would quickly figure out, his baseball roots did not translate quite well to being a Libero. He tired too fast, he couldn’t aim his receives quite right, and he seemed not to be enjoying the position as much. Though, one day, as he talked to his coach about his displeasures of being in the team, the coach did a bit of reassigning to Takane as he tried to adjust to what position might be best for him. The first thing that he did was to try and serve some balls at the other side of the court. And, it was through those initial serves that the coach discovered Takane’s true strength that he hid in plain sight. As though his overhands netted, quite a lot. The strength that he exerted into those same serves were most definitely felt from afar from the shockwaves it exerted on the air near him.

It was in that instant that the Volleyball coach started to put him on a path to becoming an Outside Hitter. It was also then that he got to know the Setter more. And, by chance, he came to link up quite well with his old team’s setter, who had a tendency of tossing balls low, a habit Takane still retains to this day which is not helped by his middling jumps. But besides his role as an outside hitter, he grew to be quite highly regarded in the team, gaining, or rather re-gaining the nickname of “Thunderclap Takane” as the biceps that he built as a Baseball hitter translated well to his strength and speed. Takane continued to immerse himself into the world of Volleyball as he continued to practice wherever he could and whenever he could. From him learning basic techniques to him mastering things such as jump floaters in his third year of playing Volleyball, he made quite the jump of improvement due to him continuing to further his knowledge in volleyball on the court and off the court.

Takane slowly, but surely furthered his experience in the sport. Moving from normal spikes to cross shots, from underhands to floaters, it’s quite impressive how fast his progression is in just three years or so. And, the team also shared a similar consensus, as he was made his old middle school’s ace. Although he still had bad stamina, something that he had ever since he stepped foot in the wooden flooring of his school’s court. He grew to make amends with it as he learned to make way for other students that want a chance to play, and know when he’s tired. The team, as a result, deployed him more in endgame situations, where the team needs to gap some crucial points. And his ability to spike hard and execute fairly complex techniques only won the team over further on him. Though, this progression, even if it’s positive, did result in some other unintended consequences for Takane.

Although he was slowly turning into a person that the team could rely on in the clutch. Takane was becoming a bit less, approachable. Because of his want to improve in Volleyball, he started to distance himself more from other people that aren’t in his volleyball club so that he could practice more. Which made him give off a bit of an intimidating aura as he started to grow a way to tell people he isn’t interested. Which also followed him in his volleyball path, as he grew to be a more fierce person in court to his adversaries. But, after middle school was over, he figured that he wanted to keep doing Volleyball. Because, to be honest, he found it fun. Sure, he now lost his competitive touch and luster with the waters that he used to call a second home for so long. But, he also grew a bit accustomed to being completely soaked in sweat with his jersey, something that he used to dislike. Because, though he was all too accustomed with working by himself, teamwork is nice too, he thought.

So, for his High School, he moved to Nekoma Metropolitan High. Although his reasoning was that the school was closest to his house. Which isn’t that wrong, as it only takes a few steps for him to get from his house to the school. He was also a bit drawn into the school’s volleyball program, and the possibility of making it in the nationals. Which is where Takane is now in his second year of High School. Takane luckily didn’t regret his decision, and he grew to fill a similar spot in his new team as he did in his old team. Where he was switched in to make up the difference in points in the dying stages of a game.