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Accompanied by the long whistle, the match between Sengoku Junior High and Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High finally came to an end with a score of 25:20.
Although the substitute setter who replaced Kageyama Tobio was also quite skilled and could coordinate well with the other teammates,
Unfortunately, talent was sometimes just that unreasonable.
With Kageyama on the court, Kitagawa Daiichi’s offense and defense were in a class of their own among Miyagi Prefecture’s middle school teams, even if he merely treated his teammates as tools for spiking and issued commands like a “king”.
However, after losing Kageyama, although Kitagawa Daiichi could still be considered a powerhouse school, they no longer possessed that ‘super middle-school level’ advantage.
Under such circumstances… Sengoku Junior High could break through Kitagawa Daiichi’s defense.
However, for Kitagawa Daiichi, breaking through Akashi Asuto’s blocks while he was in the front row became extraordinarily difficult.
The instant the whistle signalling the end of the match sounded…
Silence suddenly descended upon Kitagawa Daiichi’s court.
Meanwhile, on the side of Sengoku Junior High, everyone froze briefly, as though they still couldn’t believe it.
But immediately afterwards, an explosion of cheers erupted.
“We won! We finally beat Kitagawa Daiichi!”
“One more match! Just one more!”
“Nationals… we finally have a chance to reach Nationals too!”
……
The Sengoku Junior High players swarmed around Asuto, instantly burying him beneath a pile of teammates.
Even Shimokawa Mitsuto ran up from the sidelines, his face filled with excitement.
Although he had previously believed that Sengoku Junior High might defeat Kitagawa Daiichi, he had only thought it possible.
Now that they had actually won, even a man in his thirties like him was overjoyed like a child.
Not long after… The referee instructed both teams to line up and exchange thanks.
Kageyama also walked back onto the court from the sidelines, but he was clearly still in a dazed and absent-minded state.
After the teams had bowed to each other, the two teams left through their respective player tunnels.
Although the Sengoku Junior High players were exhausted, they were full of spirit.
After the round ended, they didn’t leave immediately. Instead, they headed to the spectator stands to watch the other semi-final match between Kosen Junior Academy and Chisei Junior High.
Those two teams battled all the way to a third set before a winner could be declared.
Ultimately, Kosen Junior Academy emerged victorious.
The finals of the qualifiers were to be held the following week.
After returning to school on Monday…
Although the members of the Volleyball Club were excited, they still maintained a certain level of restraint.
After all, there was still one final match left to play.
However, what they never expected was that the school was even more excited than they were.
From the moment news spread that the volleyball club had reached the finals, Asuto and the others occasionally heard ensemble performances from the music club whenever they passed by during practice over the next few days.
The music club was preparing support performances specifically for the volleyball club’s upcoming finals and even for the national competition afterwards.
During regular classes, teachers from various subjects also occasionally checked on Asuto and Omae’s physical condition.
As for the students, it goes without saying.
No matter where Asuto went that week… whether to the restroom or the cafeteria, he constantly heard discussions around him.
Almost every conversation revolved around two topics.
“Nationals” and “So handsome.”
It was only then that Asuto realized that he might have underestimated just how important it was for school clubs at the middle-school level to qualify for Nationals.
Not to mention anything else.
During that single week alone, almost every morning or evening, Asuto would find a different love letter waiting inside his shoe locker.
Strangely enough, though, despite volleyball being a team sport, the shoe lockers of the other Volleyball Club members rarely contained such things.
· · · · ·
“This is way too show-offy.”
On Friday evening after school…
Asuto opened his locker, ready to change into his outdoor shoes and head home.
As there was no practice today because the finals were tomorrow, he was heading home early. But the moment he opened the locker, three pink heart-decorated envelopes fell out.
“Kids these days are way too bold, aren’t they? Back in our day, if we liked someone, all we could do was secretly admire them from afar. We were terrified our parents would be called to the school. Seriously though, there’s hardly any room left at home for these things anymore.”
Beside him, Omae Masato: “ヽ(゜Q.)ノ???”
‘Are those even human words?’
As he looked at Asuto’s troubled expression, wondering how to deal with the three envelopes, Omae Masato silently took his outdoor shoes from his perfectly empty shoe locker, considering what grade of fuel he should use to set something on fire that night.
The two walked out of the school building.
As they watched first- and second-year students from various sports clubs run past them constantly, Omae Masato suddenly realized he had no idea where he should go.
After all, Sengoku Junior High always finished lessons early in the afternoon.
Without club activities, he genuinely didn’t know what to do at this time of day.
As they walked…
Without even realizing it, the two eventually arrived at the Volleyball Club building.
The doors to the gym were already locked.
Shimokawa Mitsuto was clearly worried that someone might come for extra practice today, which would affect their performance in tomorrow’s match.
Asuto scoffed at Shimokawa Mitsuto’s actions.
Secretly practicing extra?
What kind of serious middle schooler would do something like that?
Then, after turning the corner, Akashi and Omae saw all the volleyball club members gathered on the grass beside the gym.
“Hahaha… I told you these two would definitely come too. You guys lost… the energy bars tonight are on you.”
The moment the volleyball club members saw Asuto and Omae arrive, they froze briefly.
Then Kazama Jūjirō burst into laughter.
“Tch!”
Kurata Mao and Oda Miki clicked their tongues in annoyance; clearly, they were unhappy about losing the bet.
·······
“Hey, what are you guys planning to do in high school?”
The seven third-year members of the volleyball club were lying on the grass in a circle.
White clouds drifted leisurely beneath the blue sky when Oda Miki suddenly spoke up.
“Jūjirō and I will probably go to Kashiyama High School. After we start, we’re planning to play baseball. I heard that Kashiyama’s baseball club has even competed in the Koshien tournament before.” Omae Masato was the first to answer.
(Koshien- Japan’s premier annual high school baseball championship)
No one was surprised by his response.
Rather, this was the normal choice for most middle-school students.
Not everyone had the chance to become a professional athlete.
For the vast majority of middle-schoolers, the main purpose of joining a club was simply interest and enjoyment.
Therefore, choosing different clubs at school and university to expand one’s interests and experiences was the path most students took.
More importantly…
Given Omae Masato’s current academic grades, the number of high schools available to him wasn’t that large to begin with.
······
(End of Chapter)
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