Yukitaka Higashiyama

**Yukitaka Higashiyama** (Japanese: **東山 行高**, **Higashiyama Yukitaka**) is the captain of the **Golden Generation** (Japanese: **黄金世代**, *Kogane Sedai*) Group of the **Kiyose Higashi Academy Boy's Volleyball Team** (Japanese: **清瀬東 学院 男のバレーボール分隊**, **Kiyose Higashi Gakuen Danshi no Bareboru Chimu**) as well as for the Tokyo Brilliant Railway Division 1 Team.

## Appearance

Standing at 5'7", Yukitaka is the second shortest in the team, second only to Akifumi. He also appears to be thin, slender or has an average frame when wearing clothes, however he in fact possesses a seriously athletically toned muscular body due to the hardcore fitness training he does on a daily basis. He has emerald green eyes and messy black hair, as well as a fair complexion. He is most often seen in his school uniform.

## Personality

For the most part, Yukitaka has a soothing and gentle personality. He is seen as the pillar of support for his teammates both as a player for the team and as their friends, which is why often he essentially becomes what seen as "the parent" of the group. He encourages himself and all of his teammates to never give up, and to always follow their dream of becoming professional volleyball players. It is because of his gentle nature that the team relies on him for emotional support when there is no one else to turn to.

His dedication to volleyball is just as strong as everyone else on the team, and is sometimes described as close to obsession. As every time he is off the court, he still imagines himself playing and how he can actually get better. He thinks of the different kinds of training he has to go through as well as the methods to keep up with this team, before they leave him behind. He is also shown to be quite the good sport, acknowledging his opponents and their strengths and even complimenting his opponents if they get a good attack in that phased his team.

As the captain of the team, he is a very caring and responsible member of the team, he makes sure to encourage and comfort his teammates during games and making sure they are at the right mental state to play at their best. However, he also has his insecurities in that he sometimes doesn't feel worthy to be with his teammates and does not have confidence in his own abilities. He always asks himself whether or not he belongs in the team, there those who can spike really hard, others who are a lot faster and smarter. Players who are a lot taller than him.

Despite that, he is possesses a strong sense of responsibility to his teammates that drives him to improve and overcome heavy pressure. To make sure that he can cover for them at every base and will continue to support their plays as much as possible. His actions have have always been for the best interest of the team. Due to his devotion to his team and his command, he is both well-respected and feared by his team.

## Statistics

 Stamina
 Game Sense
 Technique
 Speed

Yukitaka is unlike his teammates in that he is not a genius, he does not have an outstanding physical talent nor is he nearly as intelligent as his teammates. Instead, he is an amazing all-rounded player that is proficient with every aspect of volleyball to compensate for the ridiculous talents of his teammates. He may not be the strongest spiker; he may not be the player with the highest reach; he may not even be the smartest or the fastest. Rather, as a player, he is the glue that holds the team together, the heart that keeps this ridiculously overpowered team from breaking apart and the captain that covers every hole that his teammates leave. As such, he has been dubbed as the **Iron Heart** (Japanese: **鉄心**, *Tesshin*). He is not proficient in one aspect of the game like the rest of the players, rather he is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none kind of player. Which is why although he may be considered the least talented among his team, he is also regarded as the most skilled and efficient player.

Combined with his natural sense for Volleyball as well as his incredibly dedicated mindset, he is a ridiculously skilled all-rounder that is excellent at serving, receiving, setting, blocking, and spiking. Normally, such a really determined mind to improve his techniques would not really be enough to become as good as his teammates. However, due to his exceptionally hardcore fitness training, he comes to possess an exceptionally powerful physical prowess in relation to his body size and mass. His mental fortitude is extremely strong, seeing as how his overall performance doesn't deteriorate when is faced with intense pressure, displaying the ability to pick himself up at and continue playing at his peak whilst also conserving as much energy as possible. As such, although he may not be the ace of the team, he possesses the qualities of a really good ace. He is also shown to possess a really good understanding of his teammates, enough to say that he is able to calm them down when they are angry or is able to excite them through mere words.

**Jumping Reach:** 353cm

### **Skills**

 Setting
 Spike
 Technique
 Block

* **Exceptional** **Physical Abilities:** Although, he may not be a genius in the sense that he is talented or a smart person, nor is he a naturally athletic player, he is however, shown to have an exceptionally strong physical prowess relative to his body due to his hardcore fitness training. Through his workouts, he was able to increase his own muscular strength to the state that he displayed the ability to execute a really high vertical jump and spike extremely hard, enough that he is able to spike using a one-step run-up. His workout routine has also enabled him to utilize his back and abdominal muscles to amass power with the full bend of his body by snapping forward. In addition to everything said, he has also shown other ways to reinforce his attacks that propelled him into the country's top 8 most strongest spikers, such as: an exceptionally powerful wrist snap which allows him to add a particularly nasty spin to his spikes and serves, and flexible shoulders for incredibly hard angled spikes and whip-like swings.
* **Attack Variety:** Although he has an incredible spiking strength that could rival the top 8 ace spikers in the country, he is mostly adept at technical attacks and utilizes multiple spiking varieties to score. In most of his games, he has shown incredible timing when utilizing the feints, displaying the ability to catch his opponents off-guard and when their defense is weak. He has also displayed the ability to use his really flexible shoulders to achieve an incredible inner cut shot, and an even sharper straight shot. At times, he even utilizes the net to score, making use of attacks like "*touch spike*" or a "*touch serve*". However, his strongest offensive trait is his ability to spot a block's weak points instantly in mid-air and score off said block. His understanding of blocks has allowed him to execute spikes that break through blocks by using the seams and holes of said block, or is capable of scoring them through wipe outs rather easily. Even if the block is as tight as it can get, he is able to perform an instant score wipe out by ricocheting the ball into the antenna.
* **All-Rounded Playstyle:** As a player who covers for his teammates, he is an exceptionally skilled all-rounded player with an encyclopedic understanding of the game. Aside from his spiking ability, his blocking, receiving and serving are all also at an extremely high-level in terms of skill and proficiency, and although he is not as particularly specialized or talented in other aspects like his teammates, he has shown through his play that his all-rounded playstyle is able to equal their specialized styles. Through his all-rounded playstyle, he has shown to also be an excellent supporter, a player capable of assisting in his teammates strategies with near perfection. It is through his all-rounded playstyle that he has become essentially the second best in the team overall: being the second best at receiving, just behind the Libero; has enough understanding of read blocking to shut down spikes consecutively; and has what is described as an incredibly easy-to-hit toss.
* **Jump Serves:** Aside from everything that was mentioned above, he has also displayed to be really skilled in executing a jump serve, whether be it a jump float or a spike serve. Although he isn't able to serve with extreme accuracy like Keiichiro or isn't as intense as Yoshiaki's serves, he is often described to be able to score of serves consecutively, able to serve with pinpoint accuracy and is often strategic in his usage of the serve, such as: aiming in between players; aiming at the weakest receiver or disguising his spike serve as a float serve or vice versa. His float serves alone are fast and unpredictable, enough that he could use it to score off even the most skilled of Liberos. However, it is known that he never uses his full power to execute a spike serve primarily because he believes it is a waste of energy, but when he does spike at full power with all of his muscular strength and added exceptional physical capabilities, his serves can become so powerful that they essentially become like a spike.

## Relationships

### **Hana Kuribayashi**

Hana and Yuki met the very first time, when she was playing volleyball for the girl's team back in her middle school days. However it was not until she joined Kiyose Higashi that she eventually fell in love with him and likewise, after the two spot each other playing volleyball for their specific teams. Initially, they were only in love with each other's dedication for volleyball and subsequently their skills as a player. However, as the year past, they eventually began to see the charms in their personality. They never officially dated, and their hang-outs outside of school have never really been considered dating by either of them (even though everyone else thinks that what they were doing was dating), despite that the two have a serious crush on each other and are hoping to become something more than friends in the future.

## Trivia

* **Favorite Food:** Meat
* **Current Concern:** Unable to play with his friends in the future
* **Star Sign:** Virgo
	+ **Current Concern with Star Sign:** That he'd be a virgin forever
* **Hobby:** Story Writing and Drawing