The next morning, Jin and Hitoka woke up early, ate a quick breakfast, and hurried out together.
Last night he had been so full of energy, but after being shaken awake by Madoka in the morning, his momentum had completely fizzled out.
Even after leaving the Yachi household, Jin still remembered her words at the door: "The high school tournament must be exhausting. If you win your first match, come back here and Hitoka and I will celebrate with you."
The way she bit down on the word "celebrate" made Jin's heart skip.
On the way to school, Hitoka expected Jin to chatter nonstop like always, but he was unusually quiet. She felt a little relieved, it was easier to walk beside him like this.
*Ding!*
The system's voice broke into his thoughts. A new optional task appeared:
"Find Shiratorizawa's ace, Ushijima Wakatoshi according to the indicated route. Successfully stop two of his spikes."
Reward: One-time trial of skill "Flexibility Max".
Jin's lips twitched. A one-time skill didn't interest him but the chance to face the prefecture's No.1 ace? That was too rare to pass up.
"Hitoka, here." He handed her his schoolbag.
"Eh? What's wrong?" she blinked, startled by his serious expression.
"Take this back to school. Tell the homeroom teacher I was helping my grandma across the road and she got hit by a car. She's in the hospital now."
Hitoka's eyes widened. "Y-you're skipping class?!"
She had just started thinking a little better of him… and now this. The image of "delinquent Jin" was back.
"It's too late to explain, see you tomorrow!" Jin grinned, then sprinted away.
Hitoka stood frozen, clutching his bag. She was terrible at lying… how was she supposed to tell the teacher that?
---
After running through two streets, Jin finally spotted him at a red light intersection.
Ushijima Wakatoshi.
While most Shiratorizawa students were helping with the school festival, Ushijima was heading to the school gym to train with some college athletes. Facing players older and stronger was nothing new to him, it was how he sharpened himself.
His pace was steady but quick. Running before training served both as conditioning and warm-up.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp gust brushed past his ear. Ushijima glanced back only to see a silver-haired boy cutting in front of him.
"You run fast, huh? Took me a while to catch up," Jin said, not even out of breath.
Ushijima stopped, eyes steady. His voice was calm, almost flat. "...Are you trying to sell something?"
Jin almost tripped. 'Is that really the first thing he thinks of?'
"Heh. Shiratorizawa's left-handed ace, Ushijima Wakatoshi, right? I'm Shirogane Jin first-year, ace of Karasuno and stronger than you, actually." He flashed a cocky grin.
Ushijima blinked once. He knew of Karasuno as they had been strong once, but in recent years had fallen off. A first-year boasting like this didn't interest him.
"Oh. I see. Goodbye." He stepped past Jin and broke into a run, twice as fast as before.
"What a boring guy!" Jin clenched his fists. Still, he smirked. If the system's mission was volleyball-related, then Ushijima would definitely head for the gym. All Jin had to do was follow.
Ushijima glanced back after a while. Despite his bursts of speed, the boy was still right behind him, matching every stride.
"This kid…" Ushijima only got mildly curious.
At the Shoratorizawa's gym entrance, he finally slowed down and looked over his shoulder. "Didn't you say you were stronger than me? Come inside and prove it."
Jin laced his hands behind his head, grinning. "That's the plan. I just hope you make me take this seriously, Ushijima-san."