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“The Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club Welcome Match is now officially underway. The White Team will serve first.”
Aoba Johsai’s team manager, Sadayuki Mizoguchi, was the referee for the welcome match. The match would follow a best-of-three format.
The White Team was the upperclassmen squad and consisted of:
– Ace Spiker: Iwaizumi Hajime
– Setter: Oikawa Tooru
– Ace Spiker: Takahiro Hanamaki
– Middle Blocker: Issei Matsukawa
– Setter: Shigeru Yahaba
The Red Team was the freshmen squad, consisting of:
Akashi Asuto (Ace Spiker)
Yutaro Kindaichi (Middle Blocker)
Akira Kunimi (Outside Hitter/Ace Spiker)
Mishita Ryuhei (Setter)
Shinji Watari (Libero)
Since this wasn’t an official match, both teams made some adjustments to their positions.
For example, when Asuto was on the court, Kunimi voluntarily gave up the ace position, shifting from outside hitter to middle blocker.
The White Team had made similar adjustments as well.
After a brief discussion of tactics, the match officially began.
······
The very first rally.
The White Team chose to have setter Oikawa Tooru serve first.
As soon as Shinji Watari saw Oikawa holding the ball and stepping behind the end line, leaving himself enough room for a running start, his expression changed instantly.
“Damn it… Oikawa isn’t going to make it easy for us at all.” Watari muttered under his breath, then immediately shouted towards Mishita Ryuhei and Akira Kunimi in the backcourt.
“Hey! Stay focused! That jerk’s serve is insane!”
“Freshmen, this is your welcome gift from your seniors; make sure you receive it properly!”
Oikawa casually spun the volleyball a few times, the corners of his lips curling into a mischievous grin. Then he gently tossed the ball into the air, took his approach, and jumped.
The instant Mishita Ryuhei and Asuto saw Oikawa’s serving form, they froze slightly.
Mishita Ryuhei felt that the motion looked strangely familiar.
Meanwhile, an absurdly cursed BGM started playing in Asuto’s head for no apparent reason.
Bang!
The next second…
Accompanied by the sharp sound of contact, the volleyball soared through the air, accelerating like a meteor. It instantly crossed the net and shot towards the gap between Shinji Watari and Akira Kunimi.
“I’ve got it!” Watari shouted as he dived forward.
With a loud smack, he managed to receive the ball one-handed. Unfortunately, he didn’t make precise enough contact, and the ball flew far out of bounds.
Score: 0–1.
“Damn it! That bastard Oikawa isn’t holding back at all!” Watari cursed.
“Ooh, as expected, that was amazing! Oikawa-senpai’s serve is still as sharp as ever!” Yutaro Kindaichi praised openly.
Oikawa had also graduated from Kitagawa Daiichi, so he had been Kindaichi’s senior even before Aoba Johsai.
Even Kageyama Tobio’s high-speed serve had been learned from Oikawa.
Mishita Ryuhei glanced back at where the ball had landed and clicked his tongue.
“Tch… that’s seriously impressive. As expected of a high school player. Whether it’s power, speed, or control, the quality of that serve is terrifyingly high.”
“Hey, you two, move closer to the sidelines. If any balls drop in the middle, I’ll handle them myself, got it?”
Even Aoba Johsai’s starting libero, Shinji Watari, felt immense pressure when facing Oikawa’s ultra-high-speed serves. But as a senior, he believed that no matter how much pressure he was under, he still had to shoulder the burden of the Red Team.
If nothing else, he absolutely couldn’t let Oikawa get too cocky.
“Oh? Watari’s expanding his defensive range on his own? But if that’s all you’re doing, it still won’t be enough to stop me.”
Seeing Watari widen his backcourt defensive coverage, Oikawa showed little reaction. After spinning the volleyball casually a few more times, he launched his second jump serve decisively.
The ball arced through the air before hurtling straight towards Mishita Ryuhei’s position.
Watari’s expression changed immediately upon seeing this.
“That bastard Oikawa… Mishita, watch out!”
Meanwhile, as Mishita Ryuhei faced the incoming serve, he was struck by an inexplicable sense of nostalgia when he saw the incredible speed behind it.
“So fast… I really haven’t received a serve like this in a long time.”
Smack!
The volleyball struck Ryuhei Mishita’s forearms before bouncing high into the air.
He received it.
However, the angle was slightly off.
After bouncing off his arms, the ball started drifting back towards the White Team’s court.
“Huh? He actually received it? Did I mess up the serve?” Oikawa looked slightly surprised when he saw Mishita Ryuhei successfully dig the ball.
“Trashykawa, you actually let a freshman receive your serve. That’s not the kind of strength a senior should show.” Iwaizumi Hajime cursed without even turning his head. “But now we’ve got a free ball chance, so make sure you take advantage of it.”
Oikawa made an OK gesture and replied gently.
“No problem. But, Iwaizumi-chan, you’d better smash this one properly.”
Before Oikawa could finish speaking… a sudden change occurred.
Just as the volleyball was about to cross the net and fall into the White Team’s court, a figure leapt high from the front of the Red Team.
For a moment, the White Team’s front-row blockers, Takahiro Hanamaki and Issei Matsukawa, felt as though they were watching an airplane take off. The massive shadow completely blocked the gym lights above them, causing them both to freeze for a moment.
“A direct spike off the first receive… Hanamaki! Matsukawa! Watch the block!”
Iwaizumi’s warning rang out in time, instantly snapping the two back to their senses. They jumped to block hurriedly, but it was already too late.
BANG!
Before Hanamaki and Matsukawa could reach the peak of their jump, Asuto had slammed the ball down with one hand in mid-air. The ball shot past the fingertips of the two White Team blockers and smashed onto the three-meter line with a heavy thud.
The entire court fell silent.
As the White Team members stared at Asuto descending from the air, only one thought remained in their minds:
“This guy jumps insanely high!”
······
Off the court, Coach Irihata Nobuteru’s eyes lit up.
“As expected of the ‘Ace’ from a national middle school championship team. He really isn’t simple. That vertical jump just now was probably around 340 centimeters.”
·····
“Nice pass, Mishita!”
“Just luck, honestly. With the speed of that serve earlier, if I hadn’t already been used to it, I wouldn’t have been confident receiving it, let alone making a pass.”
Asuto and Mishita Ryuhei lightly bumped fists and smiled at each other.
Meanwhile, Shinji Watari, Kindaichi, and Akira Kunimi, who had planned to celebrate together, suddenly stiffened and stopped in their tracks when they saw this.
Clearly, this was supposed to be a five-person match, so why did it feel like only two people had names?
Mishita Ryuhei then said:
“Speaking of which, the way this place does welcoming ceremonies is pretty unique. Even against freshmen, the seniors still go all out, huh?”
“Maybe that’s really the case. Since that’s how they’re doing it, we should return the favor properly, too.”
Mishita Ryuhei nodded, tossing the ball to Akashi Asuto as he said:
“Then let’s properly greet our seniors with a good match! Don’t disgrace Sengoku Junior High’s name, Asuto!”
“Don’t worry about it!”
(End Of This Chapter)
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