“Pfft! Oda’s expression is hilarious!”
Mishita Ryuhei was standing in the spectator seats when his gaze suddenly landed on Oda Miki in the substitute area. He immediately burst out laughing.
Asuto froze for a moment before also looking towards Oda Miki.
After just one glance, he too found it impossible to hold back his laughter.
“Looks like this guy really didn’t get to enjoy his high school life during this period, huh?”
At that moment, Oda Miki’s expression could be summed up in eight words:
Battered by life, weathered by hardship.
Asuto knew a little about the goals Oda Miki had originally set for himself for high school.
Back then, he didn’t have any particular opinion about them. After all, the kind of life a person chose was ultimately their own decision.
But what Asuto never expected was that this guy would actually end up joining Karasuno.
He wanted to enjoy the carefree life of an artistic youth while simultaneously joining the Karasuno Volleyball Club.
That sounded like a dream.
……
The match on the court had officially begun.
Karasuno’s first opponents were Tokonami High School.
This school could be summed up in two words: Complete amateurs.
Their volleyball club was basically just a recreational club.
Gathering together for fun and enjoyment was usually perfectly fine.
However, once they were placed in an official tournament, their weaknesses became painfully obvious.
Karasuno won the first set in less than fifteen minutes with a score of 25:12.
The second set was much the same.
Once again, Karasuno claimed victory in less than fifteen minutes, this time with a score of 25:14.
Final score: 2–0.
Karasuno successfully advanced to the next round.
“All right, next it’s our turn.”
After Karasuno’s match had ended, Irihata Nobuteru clapped his hands and led the Aoba Johsai members away from the spectator seats so they could prepare for their own match.
Aoba Johsai’s opponent had already been decided:
Ōmisaki High School.
During the break… Irihata Nobuteru finalized the starting lineup:
Setter – Oikawa
Ace Spiker – Asuto
Ace Spiker – Iwaizumi Hajime
Middle Blocker – Yutaro Kindaichi
Middle Blocker – Issei Matsukawa
Libero – Shinji Watari
······
Just because Asuto had taken over Iwaizumi Hajime’s position as the “Ace” did not mean that he had become a substitute player.
The two had simply swapped roles.
Overall…
Even without the ‘Ace’ title, there were still few players at Aoba Johsai who could surpass Iwaizumi in strength.
This lineup could certainly be described as luxurious.
Leaving everything else aside, their height alone created overwhelming pressure.
This was evident from the expressions on the faces of the Ōmisaki High School players opposite them.
The two middle blockers were 189 cm and 187 cm tall, respectively. Meanwhile, the outside hitter Asuto and the setter Oikawa were both slightly over 184 cm tall.
Even just the four of them standing casually at the net cast enormous shadows over the opposing side.
Looking straight ahead, the opposing players could barely see their heads.
“Oooh! Aoba Johsai’s average height this year is really impressive!”
“So that’s Oikawa? What an incredible presence!”
“Whoa! Why is that guy at Aoba Johsai?”
Someone in the audience suddenly noticed Asuto and was instantly startled.
“That guy? Who?” his companion asked curiously.
“It’s Number 8.”
“Number 8… Huh? That face looks unfamiliar. I’ve never seen him before. Is he a first-year this year? It’s amazing that a freshman has already been given a single-digit jersey number.”
“Obviously. That guy was last year’s junior high ‘MVP ace spiker’. He led the previously unknown Sengoku Junior High School team all the way to the Nationals single-handedly. Why did someone like him join Aoba Johsai? I thought Shiratorizawa would definitely recruit him!”
Asuto’s first official appearance in a high school tournament sparked a lot of discussion.
When the players of Ōmisaki High School overheard these conversations, the pressure already weighing on their hearts became even heavier.
A moment later…
With the referee’s whistle, Aoba Johsai’s first match officially began.
Oikawa was Aoba Johsai’s opening server for the first set.
Ōmisaki High School had clearly prepared well in advance and were aware of how powerful Oikawa’s serves were.
So, when he walked to the service line holding the ball, every player on the opposing side… front row and back row alike, immediately assumed a tense defensive stance.
“There’s no need to be that nervous. It’s not like I’m some kind of demon,” Oikawa said, wearing a faint smile as he casually bounced the volleyball a few times.
Oikawa smiled faintly as he casually bounced the volleyball a few times.
Then his expression sharpened and his eyes became calm and focused.
The next second… accompanied by an imaginary background soundtrack that seemed to spring into existence, Oikawa lightly tossed the volleyball into the air.
Bang!
Like a sudden gale, the ball tore through the air and shot towards the court at Ōmisaki High School.
Thud!
The sound of the volleyball striking the floor echoed out.
The Ōmisaki High School players failed to react in time, allowing Aoba Johsai to score the opening point:
1:0.
“So fast! Even from the recordings, we knew their serves were powerful, but I never imagined they’d be this quick. There’s no time to react at all,” one of Ōmisaki High School’s players muttered while wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
“What rotten luck! We ended up facing Aoba Johsai in only the second round…”
“Don’t give up. The match has only just started. Until the very last moment, nobody knows what might happen.’
Encouraging one another, the Ōmisaki High School players quickly regained their fighting spirit.
Standing beyond the service line, Oikawa looked at their faces and sighed with disappointment.
“Eh? Honestly, you could just give up now. If you can’t even lose properly to me, then when that other person gets on the court, you’ll truly despair.”
Bang!
As soon as he had spoken, Oikawa leapt and launched his second jump serve.
This serve was not as fast as the first, but it was much trickier to place.
The ball landed precisely where the libero and opposite hitter in the back row overlapped.
Faced with such a serve, the libero and opposite hitter of Ōmisaki High School froze simultaneously.
‘Should I receive this ball, or should he?’
The same thought occurred to them both.
And the result?
Neither of them moved.
They could only watch helplessly as the volleyball hit the floor.
2:0.
After that, Oikawa served three more times in succession.
As expected, an ordinary high school team simply had no ability to resist serves of Oikawa’s caliber.
Aoba Johsai easily took another three points.
The score became 5–0.
It was only on the sixth serve that Oikawa finally made a mistake, hitting the ball too hard and sending it out of bounds.
The score changed to 5–1.
This finally allowed Ōmisaki High School to breathe a sigh of relief.
They regrouped and resumed the match. However, Aoba Johsai immediately reclaimed the next point, making it 6–1.
Then the right to serve returned to Aoba Johsai once more.
This time, after the rotation, it just so happened to be Asuto’s turn to serve.
(End of Chapter)