BOOM!
A powerful spike smashed straight through a triple block and crashed onto the court.
The referee blew his whistle, and the scoreboard flipped over. The Aoba Johsai players gathered together, cheering in celebration.
The score was 25:14.
Aoba Johsai had officially won the first set of their match against Izumiishi High School.
The score difference alone was enough to show that this had been a one-sided domination.
………
“Hey, Kageyama, do you think a real Ace is supposed to be someone like Asuto-San?” Hinata suddenly asked from the spectator stands, his eyes still lacking their usual spark.
“How would I know something like that?”
Kageyama replied impatiently. However, after speaking, he seemed to realize that his tone had been a little harsh and added:
“Still, of all the opponents I’ve faced so far, he really is the player who feels most like an Ace.”
Powerful and decisive, he never hesitated to swing once he committed to an attack.
Although Kageyama had not yet officially played against Ushijima Wakatoshi, the widely recognized number one Ace in the prefecture, as things stood, Asuto was indeed the Ace Spiker who best embodied the title of ‘Ace’ among all the players he had encountered.
“That’s nice… If I had that kind of height, do you think we wouldn’t have lost today?”
“You…”
The moment Kageyama heard Hinata’s words, he realized that Hinata was once again feeling sorry for himself about his height.
Just as he opened his mouth to respond, another voice interrupted him.
“Yes.”
“Huh????”
Both Kageyama and Hinata froze.
They turned around and saw Oda Miki walking over from the side.
As he approached, he said,
“Yo, Hinata-kun. You don’t think Asuto only beat you today because he’s taller than you, do you?”
“Wasn’t that the reason? If I were that tall, I definitely would’ve…”
Perhaps because of his defeat, Hinata was feeling unusually emotional today. Before he knew it, his voice had grown louder.
Oda Miki remained calm.
He listened quietly until Hinata had finished speaking, then said evenly:
“Tell me, Hinata-kun, what exactly were you doing during your three years at junior high?”
“Hey! Oda…”
The moment Kageyama heard that question, he couldn’t help but speak up.
After all, he had asked Hinata the same question before. But once he had learned about the environment in which Hinata had been forced to play volleyball during junior high, he had never brought it up again.
However, before Kageyama could continue, Oda Miki raised a hand and stopped him.
“I know what you’re trying to say, Kageyama. I understand what Hinata went through during junior high. Not everyone gets to chase their dreams under ideal circumstances. But there’s something I want both of you to understand. I sympathize with Hinata’s junior high experience because he’s my teammate now. However, to our opponents, his circumstances aren’t worthy of sympathy. They’re just a major weakness.”
“Hinata just said that if he were taller, he could have won this match. But you’ve forgotten something important… Hinata has only been playing organized volleyball for about two months… since the start of high school.”
“A complete beginner who has only practiced volleyball for two months wants to take responsibility for this defeat all by himself?”
Oda Miki paused briefly before turning towards Kageyama and continuing.
“Unfortunately, neither you…”
“…nor Kageyama…”
“…are qualified to do that yet.”
Kageyama and Hinata Shoyo were completely stunned.
It had to be said that Oda Miki’s way of comforting people was certainly unique.
Even Sugawara Kōshi and Sawamura Daichi, who had just walked over and overheard the whole conversation, couldn’t find a single flaw in his logic.
“That’s true.”
No matter how you looked at it, both Kageyama and Hinata were first-year rookies. If anyone was to be held responsible for the team’s defeat, it certainly shouldn’t be those two.
……
“Uh~~ Oda, is this how you used to comfort people back in junior high?”
Although Oda Miki’s approach to comforting others was rather unconventional, it was surprisingly effective. After hearing his words, Kageyama and Hinata stood frozen for a moment before gradually regaining their spirits.
Seeing this, Sugawara Kōshi couldn’t help but ask,
“Not really.”
Oda Miki shook his head before continuing:
“To be precise, this was Asuto’s method of comforting a junior after our team lost at the Junior High Nationals. The only difference is that he punched the guy so hard he flew away.”
Everyone from Karasuno: “…”
‘Sent flying?’
At this mention, Oda Miki couldn’t help but recall the scene from back then, a nostalgic expression appearing on his face.
In that match, Mishita Ryuhei had been unable to play due to injury, so Nishison Tomohiko had stepped in as a substitute.
After the game ended, he kept blaming himself, convinced that his mistakes had caused the team’s defeat.
At that time, Asuto, who had not yet completely rid himself of his delinquent tendencies, had simply punched him and sent him flying.
Then he left him with a single sentence:
“You’re just a substitute. Stop daydreaming. Do you want to take responsibility for this loss? Do you even qualify to do that?”
“…”
“That’s so cool!”
After hearing Oda Miki’s story, everyone fell silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, Hinata blurted out these words.
The others glanced at him, but surprisingly, nobody argued.
“I think I’m starting to understand why this guy managed to become the team’s star player almost immediately after joining Aoba Johsai,” Sugawara Kōshi sighed.
“Exactly.”
Nishinoya, who had appeared out of nowhere, nodded in agreement. Then he turned toward Azumane Asahi behind him and drooped his eyebrows.
“Compared to him, our Ace is already a third-year, but he’s really…”
“Ahhhh!!!”
Nishinoya never finished the sentence, but every veteran member of Karasuno collectively let out a long sigh.
Azumane Asahi: ヽ(；Д｀)ﾉ!!!
‘Hey?!’
‘What exactly is that supposed to mean?!’
······
THUD!
Back on the court, the second set between Aoba Johsai and Izumiishi High quickly began.
Right from the opening moments, Oikawa and Asuto unleashed two consecutive rounds of heavy-artillery serves.
They scored six straight points off Izumiishi High, immediately pushing the score to 6:1.
Watching this familiar scene from the stands, every member of Karasuno subconsciously shuddered.
“That’s terrifying! Having even one server like that is scary enough, but Aoba Johsai actually has two of them at the same time. That’s completely unfair!”
(End of Chapter)