“Wow~ There are so many people!”
“Kana, look! Look! There are cameras, and TV reporters too!”
Standing in the spectator section specially prepared by the organizers, Mizuta Renko chattered nonstop like an excited little sparrow.
Akashi Kana sighed helplessly beside her. “Calm down, Renko. You’re way too excited.”
…
“The opening ceremony of the All-Japan High School Volleyball Championship will now officially begin…” The announcement echoed through the arena.
Kana quickly patted Renko on the shoulder. “Stand properly. It’s about to start.”
Athletes entering the venue!
“Representing Saitama Prefecture – Morinen High School!”
“Representing Miyagi Prefecture – Aoba Johsai Private High School!”
As the opening ceremony music played, the members of Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club officially stepped into the arena. The massive venue and the constant flashes of cameras from every direction made many of the players stiffen up. Their excitement and nervousness were written all over their faces.
“Look, look! Our school’s team is coming out!”
“It’s Oikawa-senpai and Asuto-kun! They’re so handsome!”
As Aoba Johsai entered, the other members of the school choir in the audience began buzzing with excitement as well.
Even now, Kana still felt like she was dreaming. This was the first time she had seen Asuto in a setting like this. No matter how hard she looked, the younger brother she remembered, and the Asuto standing on the national stage simply wouldn’t overlap in her mind.
The opening ceremony moved quickly. After a brief declaration, the fifty-two teams that had qualified for Nationals left the arena according to instructions, leaving behind only the teams scheduled to play in the first round.
Aoba Johsai was one of them.
[Next is the first-round match of the National High School Volleyball Championship Boys Division. On Court Two, the opening match will be between Saitama Prefecture representative Morinen High School and Miyagi Prefecture representative Aoba Johsai Private High School.]
[Morinen High School is making its fourth appearance at Nationals and can be considered one of the tournament’s regular participants. Their opponent, Aoba Johsai Private High School, is making its very first appearance on the national stage.]
[However, anyone who underestimates Aoba Johsai because of that may be in for a rude awakening. During this year’s prefectural qualifiers, Aoba Johsai defeated Shiratorizawa High School, a team that reached the Top 8 at last year’s Nationals, to earn their ticket to the tournament…]
Unlike the prefectural qualifiers, Nationals featured professional commentators whose job was to explain the game for viewers across the country, including those who didn’t know much about volleyball.
As soon as the commentator finished speaking, a wave of commotion swept through the arena. Aoba Johsai might not have much of a reputation nationwide, but Shiratorizawa, or more specifically, Ushijima Wakatoshi, was famous throughout the country.
So the moment the commentator mentioned that Aoba Johsai had defeated Shiratorizawa, it took only a few seconds before more than a dozen teams watching from the stands turned their attention toward the Aoba Johsai players.
“Whoa… that’s scary. Is Shiratorizawa really that famous nationwide?”
Being stared at by so many people at once put tremendous pressure on quite a few Aoba Johsai players.
But there was a group feeling even more pressure than they were, their opponents, the members of Morinen High School.
“Hey, hey, hey… you’re kidding, right?”
“Our luck can’t be this bad.”
“We seriously drew a team like this in the first round?”
The Morinen players had been secretly pleased when they first learned that their opponent was a school they’d never heard of, thinking they’d gotten a very favorable draw. But now someone was telling them that this same team had beaten Shiratorizawa.
That was not a funny joke at all.
Carrying different kinds of pressure, both teams began their warm-ups. Ten minutes later, the referee announced the end of warm-ups.
[Alright, warm-ups are over, and the match is officially underway. Let’s take a look at today’s game. Aoba Johsai High School versus Morinen High School. Aoba Johsai has chosen to serve first.]
[Aoba Johsai’s first server is player number one, Oikawa Tooru. As the team’s setter and captain, let’s see how his opening serve goes… ah! What a pity. It was an aggressive serve, but it sails out of bounds. Aoba Johsai fails to score the opening point.]
Oikawa’s first serve of the match missed its mark, the ball flying well beyond the baseline.
1:0
Morinen High School took the early lead.
“Lucky!” The Morinen players celebrated among themselves.
On the other side, the Aoba Johsai players encouraged one another.
“Sorry, I didn’t control that one well enough,” Oikawa admitted.
“Don’t worry about it!”
“It’s fine! Just get the next one in!”
In Aoba Johsai’s bench area, team manager Sadayuki Mizoguchi frowned as he watched Oikawa’s mistake. “Coach, that last serve…?”
Beside him, Coach Irihata Nobuteru nodded. “That’s right. Oikawa was definitely nervous.”
Serve errors were common in volleyball, but for a coach like Irihata, different mistakes had different causes. That serve just now had been caused entirely by Oikawa’s tension. His body had stiffened up too much.
“Oikawa is usually very composed, but this is still his first time playing at Nationals. The crowd, the venue, the cameras… all of these things affect players. Being nervous is perfectly normal.”
“Then what should we do? Should we call a timeout?” Unlike Irihata, Mizoguchi clearly didn’t have the same level of calm. Hearing the coach’s analysis immediately made him anxious.
“No need to worry.” Irihata’s expression remained relaxed. “Aoba Johsai may be making its first appearance at Nationals, but not all of our players are the type to get nervous.”
[Next up is Morinen High School’s serve. It’s targeted between Aoba Johsai’s libero and Oikawa in the back court. Another aggressive serve, but Aoba Johsai’s libero, Watari Shinji, manages to receive it. However, the first pass is slightly off-target. It seems Aoba Johsai’s movements are still a bit stiff. Is this the effect of playing at Nationals for the first time?]
[We can see Oikawa Tooru immediately taking the ball and setting it toward player number eight, Akashi Asuto. However, the set seems a little slow. Morinen High School has already formed a double block directly in front of Akashi. This could be a dangerous situation for him…】
BOOM!
SMACK!
Before the commentator could finish speaking, a thunderous impact suddenly echoed across the court.
Under countless pairs of eyes, Asuto soared into the air like an eagle spreading its wings. Facing the double block head-on, he didn’t dodge, and he didn’t hesitate.
He simply swung.
The next moment, the crowd saw the volleyball blast forward like a cannonball. With unstoppable force, it shattered straight through Morinen’s double block, then continued its path without slowing down.
The ball crashed into the arms of Morinen’s libero in the back court. The immense power instantly blew through his receive, knocking his arms apart. The volleyball shot high into the air, then finally dropped onto the floor more than ten meters behind him.
For a moment… the entirety of Court Two fell silent.
(End of Chapter)