"Let me formally introduce myself."
Yuma Kikuzawa puffed out his chest, flicking his bangs proudly. "I'm Yuma Kikuzawa, a first-year at Aoba Johsai and our team's ace spiker. That silver-haired setter over there is my younger brother Yuuki. We're the brothers who won this year's National Junior High Volleyball Championship."
"C-champions?!"
Shouyou Hinata instantly transformed into an excited orange puppy circling Yuma. "National champions?! That's super, super amazing!"
Seeing Hinata's admiring gaze, Yuma felt immensely satisfied. After working so hard for that championship, of course he'd want to brag about it!
"Wait—Kikuzawa?" Tobio Kageyama's pupils contracted. "Yuuki Kikuzawa? This year's 'Best Setter' in junior high?!"
"Do you only have eyes for setters?!"
Yuma collapsed to his knees in despair. "Why does everyone only remember Yuuki?! I'm the team's ace player damn it!"
"There there, little Yuma." Oikawa hauled the utterly defeated Yuma up by his collar, patting the broken-hearted junior on the shoulder. "Ahem, anyway, with the tournament approaching soon, I'm curious to see how you'll train."
After delivering this parting shot, Oikawa dragged the color-drained Yuma away.
...
Back at the gym, the Aoba Johsai team had nearly finished cleaning up. Oikawa and Yuma seamlessly blended back into the group as if they'd never left.
Iwaizumi Hajime: "Kageyama seems to have improved."
Oikawa: "Yeah, that genius finally found a way to utilize his talents after wasting them for so long. Ordinary players probably can't beat him now."
Iwaizumi: "Oh? Even you can't win against him?"
"Only when it comes to setting. Probably no one in the prefecture can match Kageyama's setting skills now. Of course, my serves, blocks and spikes are still better than his... Ouch!"
Iwaizumi smacked Oikawa with a ball.
"At least say your setting doesn't lose to his either, you bastard! You're a setter too!"
"But I'm telling the truth!"
Oikawa pouted defensively.
"That's why we need to find weaknesses in Karasuno's receives. No matter how good the setting is, it's meaningless if the ball can't reach the setter. If we face Karasuno in an official match..."
Oikawa clenched his fists, excitement bubbling up: "I'll make them struggle just receiving, with almost no chance to set up attacks. I want to tell him 'Being amazing alone isn't enough to win matches, don't worry about it'—I really want to say that!"
Iwaizumi: "Tch."
Oikawa: "What? Don't you find geniuses annoying too?"
"I find people popular with girls even more annoying!"
Iwaizumi threw another ball at Oikawa.
"Ow! Don't be like that, Iwa-chan~"
Hanamaki Takahiro: "Hey, keep playing around and coach will yell at you."
Yuma Kikuzawa: "It's fine, we're pretty much done cleaning anyway. Let Oikawa-senpai relax a bit."
Matsukawa Issei: "...Yuuki did most of your cleaning work though."
Yuma: "Ehe~" (ૢ˃ꌂ˂⁎)
Yuuki: "..."
Amid the lively chatter, they finished the last cleanup tasks. As dusk fell, the group left the gym, with those living nearby walking together.
"Speaking of which, Kindaichi, did you talk with Kageyama after the match?"
Yuma slung his bag over his shoulder, smiling at Kindaichi.
"Not really talking, just exchanged a few words... Wait, how did you know?"
"I saw Kageyama heading to the restroom too. What do you call that, a toilet conference?"
Kindaichi flushed with embarrassment: "Stop bringing that up."
Yuma: "Okay okay, I'll drop it."
Yuuki suddenly interjected: "We need to run. Mom will get mad if we're late."
Yuma snapped back to reality, face paling: "We got so caught up chatting I forgot! We have to reach the gym by 7:30 or we'll get scolded! Kindaichi, Kunimi, Yuuki and I need to go ahead. See you tomorrow!"
The two silver-haired figures dashed off one after another, quickly disappearing around the corner.
Kindaichi: "The Kikuzawa brothers are really diligent."
Hideaki Kunimi: "I just think they're pitiful."
...
7:27 PM, small gym near the Kikuzawa residence.
"Huff...huff... Made it... Just in time..."
Yuma leaned forward, hands on knees as he gasped for breath, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"...Move... Don't block... the entrance..."
Yuuki pushed past Yuma blocking the doorway, panting as he entered the gym. The evening gym was relatively empty—just a few college students playing basketball and one serious-looking middle-aged couple silently practicing spikes in the corner.
"Mom, Dad, we're here."
The Kikuzawa brothers approached their parents respectfully.
Mrs. Kikuzawa was a woman whose strict, disciplined personality was evident just from her appearance. Unlike the typical petite, gentle Japanese housewife, she stood tall and straight—her 182cm height towering even among men.
Mr. Kikuzawa was the quintessential silent type—193cm tall with lean but defined muscles. Despite being over 40, he still looked energetic and fit.
Mrs. Kikuzawa glanced at her sons before jerking her chin toward the court, signaling them to start.
Warm-ups, serves, spikes, receives, then targeted muscle training—from 7:30 to 10:00 PM. By the time they finished stretching, the exhausted brothers could barely stand, supporting each other as they headed home.
"Ahhh... Another grueling day..."
Yuma collapsed onto his bed, stretching out like a starfish. His freshly washed hair, not fully dried, left a damp patch on the pillow.
Yuuki entered the bedroom while drying his hair with a towel. Seeing only a tuft of silver hair peeking out from the blanket, he paused before reminding gently: "Your head will hurt tomorrow if you don't dry your hair properly."
"This weather's fine, it'll air dry naturally."
"Don't you need to put medicine on your back?"
Oh right, he'd almost forgotten about his back injury. Yuma pondered the difficult choice.
"Hmm... Never mind, getting up to find the medicine is too much trouble..."
"..."
Yuuki didn't respond immediately. After a moment, Yuma felt the bed shake slightly as a silver head popped up beside him.
"Here. Medicine."
"Yuuki~!"
Yuma nearly teared up with gratitude. Only in hardship does one appreciate a good brother!
"I love you so much Yuuki! You really do care about me the most."
Yuma accepted the medicated patch with a smile.
"By the way, what did you think about today's match with Karasuno?"
"Average," Yuuki lay down on his own bed. "Aside from their setter and that fast middle blocker, the rest were mediocre. Their setter is exceptional—best setting technique I've seen so far. The orange-haired middle blocker has natural talent for speed and jumping, but his fundamentals are terrible. Feels like a complete beginner."
"That's the longest sentence you've said all day." Yuma's voice carried amusement. "Seems you're quite interested in that freak quick attack duo."
"Freak quick attack...? Hmm... Fitting description."
Yuuki rolled over, blinking as a bold idea suddenly struck him: "I think we could do it too. The freak quick attack."
"Might as well ask me to fly while you're at it. Same difference."
Yuma rolled his eyes from the top bunk.
"Why not? I have the skills. You just need to jump and spike."
"Uh... Let's discuss this later."
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