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If there was one person who left the biggest psychological mark on Kindaichi during his three years at secondary school, it was undoubtedly Kageyama Tobio. No one else came close.
But aside from him, the next person was probably Akashi Asuto.
In that final middle school match, Kitagawa Daiichi lost to Sengoku Junior High School.
During that match, Kindaichi was the first to ignite the fuse of the team’s internal conflict. However, the person who pushed the ‘powder keg’ known as Kageyama to the limit undoubtedly included the man standing before him now.
“So both Kitagawa Daiichi and Sengoku Junior High are here, then. Looks like there are quite a lot of familiar faces joining Aoba Johsai this year.”
Asuto smiled and asked a question he already knew the answer to.
“You two are heading to the volleyball club, too, then?”
Kindaichi didn’t say anything. For some reason, he still felt an odd sense of pressure whenever he was with Asuto.
Meanwhile, Akira Kunimi greeted them naturally.
Mishita Ryuhei nodded.
“That’s right. Want to go together?”
“Sure.”
· · · · ·
“Hey, Iwaizumi, the freshmen should be arriving soon. Go and gather everyone and have them greet the newcomers.”
The coach of the Aoba Johsai volleyball club, Irihata Nobuteru, whose players were so outstanding that he himself looked incredibly laid-back by comparison, spoke up.
“Yes, sir!”
Volleyball Club Vice-Captain Iwaizumi Hajime, who stood at 179.3 centimeters tall and had a steady appearance that naturally gave people a sense of reliability, immediately acknowledged the order and quickly got to work.
However, just as he had begun gathering the members, a man who was almost as handsome as Asuto, yet who carried himself with the air of a prince, suddenly spoke up.
“Oho~~~ The freshmen are already here? If I remember correctly, two of this year’s newcomers came from the championship team of the middle school Nationals qualifiers, right? And one of them was even the team’s ace wing spiker.”
“Iwaizumi-chan, what are you planning to do? Want me to help give them a huge welco… OW!”
Before a certain extremely unreliable volleyball club captain could finish speaking, a volleyball came flying over at high speed and smashed directly into his forehead.
Veins bulged on Iwaizumi Hajime’s forehead.
“You damn idiot, Oikawa! If you’re so free, go organize the volleyballs already! We’re about to welcome the freshmen, and if you dare cause any weird trouble, I’ll beat the crap out of you.”
Oikawa Tooru: “(￣┏＿┓￣) …You already hit me, Iwaizumi-chan.”
Iwaizumi Hajime: “(〝▼皿▼) Hah? What was that?”
Oikawa Tooru: “(ノ￣ー￣)ノノ(_ノ)······”
······
“Um… is this the volleyball club?”
The moment Asuto’s group arrived at the entrance of the gym, they witnessed this exact scene.
For a moment…
Asuto, Mishita Ryuhei, and Akira Kunimi all fell into synchronized silence, fully intending to continue watching the show a little longer.
But unexpectedly, the simple-minded Kindaichi actually interrupted the wonderful moment right when Iwaizumi Hajime was about to beat Oikawa Tooru up again.
A truly regrettable outcome.
“FORM UP!!!”
Iwaizumi Hajime instantly snapped back to attention and roared toward the other members inside the gym.
Not long afterward…
The members of Aoba Johsai’s volleyball club had assembled neatly together.
“Nice to meet you all. My name is Yutaro Kindaichi. I graduated from Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High…”
“Nice to meet you all. My name is Akira Kunimi. I also graduated from Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High…”
“Nice to meet you all. My name is Mishita Ryuhei. I graduated from Sengoku Junior High School…”
“Nice to meet you all. My name is Asuto. I graduated from Sengoku Junior High School…”
Following tradition, as freshmen, Asuto and the others introduced themselves first. Then it became the upperclassmen’s turn.
And just like that, the simple introductory meeting was more or less completed.
Afterward, interactions between both sides gradually became a little more casual.
“Ohohoho~~~ This year’s freshmen are all so tall! Hey, you, what was your name again? The shortest one over there. How tall are you?”
Mishita Ryuhei looked at the senior pointing at him. He froze for a moment before replying:
“Four months ago, when I last checked, I was 179.5 cm. I’m not sure if I’ve grown any taller since then.”
“Pff… HAHAHAHAHA! Hey, did you all hear that? The shortest freshman this year is already taller than Iwaizumi!”
The third-year members of Aoba Johsai froze for a second before completely losing it, bursting into laughter.
Iwaizumi Hajime: “(▼ヘ▼#)”
Allow the introduction once again.
Iwaizumi Hajime.
Height: 179.3 cm.
Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club Ace Spiker.
His greatest dream in life was to reach 180 cm before his body stopped growing.
Under Iwaizumi Hajime’s death glare, the other third-years laughed for a while before gradually calming down.
Except for one fearless idiot who was still covering his mouth and snickering in secret.
And then that fearless idiot got beaten up by Iwaizumi Hajime again.
“Alright, now that everyone’s gotten acquainted…” Aoba Johsai Coach Irihata Nobuteru walked over and clapped his hands. “Let’s start the match.”
“Huh? What match?” Kindaichi and the others froze.
“Freshmen, don’t worry.”
Oikawa Tooru smiled warmly, his expression as gentle as a spring breeze.
“Just think of it as an ordinary entrance test. Relax, your seniors will go easy on you.”
Perhaps because Oikawa Tooru’s attitude was far too gentle, Kindaichi instead became even more nervous.
“Yes, I understand! Thank you, Senior!”
The moment those words came out…
Not only Asuto and Mishita Ryuhei, but even Akira Kunimi, his good teammate from Kitagawa Daiichi, couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
How had they never noticed before that this guy was this honest?
And he actually believed what a senior said?
“Sigh… Kindaichi, when the match starts later, absolutely do not hold back. Got it?” Akira Kunimi patted Kindaichi on the shoulder and sighed.
“Huh? Why?”
“Don’t ask why. Just trust me.”
“Oh… okay then.”
······
“Counting you freshmen, there are exactly ten people here right now, so we’ll play a 5v5 match! What positions did you all play in middle school?”
Yutaro Kindaichi: “Middle Blocker.”
Akira Kunimi: “Ace Spiker.”
Mishita Ryuhei: “Setter.”
Asuto: “Ace Spiker.”
Irihata Nobuteru nodded.
“Mm. Your side doesn’t lack attackers or blockers, so in that case, I’ll assign one backcourt defender to your team to balance the overall strength.”
“Watari, you’ll join the freshmen team this time.”
“Huh? Why me?”
“Quit complaining.”
“…Fine.”
Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club’s second-year starting libero, Shinji Watari, looked somewhat unwilling, but he still obediently walked over to the freshmen side.
That made the teams a perfect five-versus-five.
“Hahaha! Don’t worry, Shinji. I’ll definitely go easy on you during the match.”
Seeing Shinji Watari assigned to the freshmen team, fellow second-year Shigeru Yahaba immediately started gloating.
“You bastard! After this match, I’m definitely going to make you pay for that.”
Shinji Watari’s expression darkened.
Actually, having new members immediately play a match after joining the volleyball club was a long-standing tradition of Aoba Johsai’s volleyball club.
And this kind of match really was an entrance assessment…
Just not nearly as “ordinary” as it sounded.
At the very least, when Shinji Watari and Shigeru Yahaba had first joined the club, they’d been absolutely crushed during this exact entrance test.
The moment he recalled that, Shinji Watari’s expression immediately became serious.
“Hey, freshmen! Hold the line out there later, alright? Whatever happens, don’t lose too miserably, got it?”
Asuto, who was currently warming up, paused briefly before nodding.
“Got it. I’ll do my best.”
······
(End of Chapter)
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