---
"Oh~"
"Another triple block? Doesn't this guy ever get tired?"
"How many times has it been now? Haishi Middle's actually pretty tough!"
······
Inside the gymnasium...
The stands near Sengoku Middle School had quietly filled with more and more spectators.
On the court, the match between Sengoku and Haishi was drawing to a close. The scoreboard clearly displayed the two sets:
First set: 25 to 13.
Second set: 23 to 15.
Oh wait.
Make that 24 to 15 now.
"Wow! I didn't notice before, but... doesn't Akashi's spike feel a bit stronger than it was half a month ago?"
With the match nearly over, the Sengoku side had relaxed a little. Omae Masato suddenly spoke up and instantly killed the mood.
Even Akashi Asuka himself turned to glance at him.
Everyone: '???'
What kind of wild thing was that to say?
Everyone stared at Omae with weird expressions that made his hairs stand on end.
"Hey... what's with those looks? I'm serious! Don't you guys feel it too?"
"Sure, during practice our double block couldn't stop Akashi. But now their triple block can't stop him either. Isn't that proof he's improved?"
Everyone: '······'
Damn. That actually made sense.
They silently turned away, faces blank. But their feet quietly shuffled a few steps farther from Omae.
They were worried his stupidity might be contagious.
Only Kazama Yujiro, Omae's childhood friend, patted his shoulder without disgust. He then said with grave seriousness, "Promise me, Omae. When we get to high school... don't join any sports that require brains, okay?"
Omae Masato: '???'
"(╬◣д◢) Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
······
While the Sengoku team suffered from Omae's intelligence attack...
A fresh wave of noise erupted from the nearby stands.
"It's Kitagawa Daiichi Middle School! Their match already ended?"
"Kitagawa Daiichi? The school with that legendary 'King of the Court'?"
"Yeah! Look... that's him. Kageyama Tobio."
At first, Akashi Asuka ignored the chatter outside the court. But when he heard the name 'Kageyama Tobio,' he couldn't help glancing up.
Not to scout an opponent or anything. Just pure curiosity.
Kitagawa Daiichi clearly wasn't here to watch Sengoku's match. No offense, but Sengoku's volleyball level simply wasn't worth their attention.
They were just passing through.
Kitagawa Daiichi's team moved with strict discipline and sharp aura. At the front of the group walked a boy with a well-proportioned build and a stern, gloomy face.
Akashi Asuka felt a strange sensation. After spending half a month slowly blending into this world, actually seeing Kageyama Tobio, the manga's main character, standing right there made that long-faded sense of unreality surge back up.
"Tch. Still feels unreal."
Akashi Asuka clicked his tongue. Then he leaped suddenly... just as a volleyball arrived perfectly in front of him.
Haishi Middle still tried a triple block.
But their confidence had shattered back in the first set. Now their triple block, whether in height, timing, or defensive will, was nothing like what it had been at the start.
In other words...
Their triple block looked scary, but it was just an empty shell.
BOOM!
The ball shot out at high speed. It hit the blockers' palms, bounced high, and smashed straight into the railing of the upper-level stands.
Right on the other side of that railing, Kitagawa Daiichi's members happened to be walking past.
For a moment...
Every Kitagawa Daiichi player, including Kageyama Tobio, turned to look down at the court below. Surprise flickered in their eyes.
But that was all.
Soon after, they continued on their way.
On the court, Akashi Asuka didn't pay it much mind. He just curiously glanced at Kageyama once before lining up as the referee's whistle announced the match's end.
For Akashi Asuka, the reason he trained so hard was simple: he genuinely enjoyed competition... okay, grinding... on the court.
It was exhausting here. It was painful. But at least on the court, a loss was a loss and a win was a win.
As for Kageyama Tobio, the protagonist... he felt curious, sure. But beyond that, the guy was just a stranger.
And that spike that almost seemed like a challenge? Pure accident.
Akashi Asuka had never been the type to provoke opponents off the court.
If he ever did provoke someone, it would only be for tactical reasons.
Match over.
Sengoku Middle School won 2 to 0 and advanced past the first round.
Afterward, Omae Masato and the others were thrilled. This was Sengoku Middle's first time advancing past the first round in an official tournament in nearly three years.
The last time they'd made it past round one... was the last time it happened.
Back then, they hadn't even enrolled at Sengoku yet.
Even Coach Shimokawa Santo wore a rare smile. After all... this was career credit!
Coach Shimokawa had actually been at Sengoku Middle for a short time only. Japanese public schools followed a teacher rotation system. Within a district, all public school teachers were reassigned at fixed intervals.
That was why schools with strong clubs often hired both a teacher supervisor and a professional coach. The latter handled actual training and matches.
But Sengoku Middle's volleyball club wasn't strong enough to justify a dedicated coach.
Usually, a regular teacher just doubled as coach.
So normally, no one would blame Shimokawa for lacking results. But if Sengoku achieved unprecedented success during his tenure? That would definitely brighten his resume.
And if they could go even further...
Like taking this no-name school all the way to Nationals...
Oho ho ho~~~
Too good to imagine. Too good.
Keep thinking like that and drool would start dripping.
"But... it's not completely impossible, is it?"
At that thought, Shimokawa, already in his thirties but not yet completely old inside, felt a sudden heat flare in his chest.
He looked at Akashi Asuka ahead, lining up and bowing with the team.
A seed named "ambition" slowly began pushing through the soil somewhere deep inside him...
······
*(End of Chapter)*
Author's Note: Shimokawa Mitsuwatari are now changed to Shimokawa Santo from now on. sorry for the inconvenient as it was a mistranslation.