Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

As the sun completely sank below the horizon, the noise inside the stadium gradually subsided, like the receding tide.

The floor was gleaming from being mopped, and the air was thick with the smell of deodorant spray and the acrid smell of rubber. Lu Ren leaned against the metal frame of the volleyball storage cart, twirling a volleyball in his hand, his gaze fixed on the distance.

Over there, Nishitani Yu was standing in front of Sawamura Daichi with a serious expression.

"Daichi-senpai." Nishiya's voice had lost its earlier playful exuberance, becoming as deep as a stone. "Sorry, I'm not participating in that practice match."

Sugawara and Tanaka, who were tidying up their protective gear nearby, paused.

Sawamura Daichi closed his notebook, his face showing little surprise. He calmly looked at the short man, who wasn't even as tall as his shoulder: "What's the reason?"

"Shoyo is a good prospect." Nishitani Yu pointed to Hinata, who was still gesturing to the air as if he was receiving a ball. "The other first-year students all have their own flaws. That bespectacled guy has a sharp tongue, and that fierce setter only knows how to glare at people, but they are all very interesting."

He paused, his eyes shining brightly: "I think this team will become even stronger in the future. I also want to practice here and receive the balls these guys spike at me."

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow. This guy was not only a top-tier free agent, but also a top-tier favorite of the team, and he spoke with great eloquence.

"But," Nishiya changed the subject, clenching his fist at his side, "if I participate in the competition and win... it would be like proving that 'we can win even without Asahi-senpai.'"

Even practice matches are not allowed.

"I don't like that." Nishiya raised his head, looking directly into the eyes of the earth. "We've always fought side by side, we've been teammates who've suffered together. I can't just abandon him like that."

The air was still for a few seconds.

"Please forgive my willfulness." Nishitani lowered his head.

Lu Ren tossed the ball back into the basket with a soft thud. This must be what they call an overflow of "bond value." He's clearly a hot-blooded idiot, but his mind is as delicate as a story-driven player doing a side quest.

Sawamura Daichi sighed, and then a very gentle smile appeared on his usually serious face.

"I see."

Nishitani looked up abruptly, his face filled with disbelief: "Daichi-senpai?"

He thought he would be scolded, or at least slapped hard on the back, since this was a refusal to fight.

"Since that's your principle, I respect it." Daichi reached out and patted Nishiya's spiky hair. "However, you have to attend the Golden Week training camp. That's an order."

"Huh?" Nishiya was stunned. "But..."

"No buts." Dadi interrupted him with a smile, but the smile carried an undeniable captain's authority. "Not participating in the competition was your insistence, and having you participate in the training camp was my arrangement. There's no conflict, right?"

Nishitani opened his mouth, but could only manage to utter, "Yes!"

Just as the slightly heavy atmosphere was about to ease, an orange head suddenly popped out from the side.

"Nishitani-senpai! Nishitani-senpai!"

Hinata Shoyo's eyes lit up, still holding a volleyball in his hands, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere: "That 'Spinning Lightning'! Teach me again! Riku Ren's imitation was terrible, I want to see the original!"

"Pfft." Lu Ren rolled his eyes from behind.

Nishitani Yu's expression instantly changed from conflicted to smug. He wrapped his arms around Hinata's neck: "Oh! You have good taste, Shoyo! Come on, watch, lower your waist like this, and then 'whoosh'..."

Seeing the two rolling around on the floor again, Sugawara Koji smiled helplessly and walked over to Daichi: "Daichi, you really spoil him."

"There's no other way." Daichi looked at the group of overly energetic guys. "What Karasuno lacks right now is this kind of crazy, sky-piercing spirit. And... if Asahi really can come back, then this team will truly be a complete puzzle."

Break time.

The group sat sprawled on the floor, drinking water.

Hinata Shoyo sat cross-legged, wiping his sweat as he stared at the ceiling: "If Asahi-senpai can come back, Sugawara-senpai and Nishitani-senpai should feel a little more at ease."

Kageyama Tobio, who was sitting next to him, was chugging water. Hearing this, he put down his water bottle and frowned slightly: "I don't know. I don't know anything about that ace."

"Sugawara-senpai said that Asahi-senpai was afraid because he had too much of a sense of responsibility and felt that it was his fault if his spike was blocked." Hinata scratched his messy hair. "He's probably like that himself, wanting to shoulder everything."

Kageyama was silent for a moment, then covered his head with a towel: "Everyone feels they have a responsibility, right? Volleyball is not a one-person sport; you can't win by relying on just one person."

As soon as he said that, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Lu Ren was about to unscrew the bottle cap when his hand slipped, almost spilling the water. He turned his head and looked at Kageyama as if he were some rare monster.

Hinata's eyes widened like saucers, and his mouth gaped open in an "O" shape: "Kage-Kageyama... how could you say something like that?"

"Huh?" Kageyama's face darkened. "Is it strange that I said something like that?"

"Of course it's strange!" Hinata pointed at him. "I still remember your famous quote!!"

A vein throbbed on Kageyama's forehead: "Shut up, you idiot!"

Hinata wasn't afraid of death at all. He took a deep breath, suddenly raised his hands, and pressed his hair down forcefully, flattening his messy orange hair as much as possible to imitate Kageyama's smooth hairstyle.

Then, his face darkened, his eyes turned sinister, and he lowered his voice, speaking in an arrogant tone:

"It would be better if I handled everything myself: receiving, passing, and spiking."

The entire room fell silent.

A second later, Lu Ren burst out laughing, so hard he leaned back and almost bumped into the wall behind him.

Kageyama's face instantly turned a deep liver color, a color born of extreme shame.

"You, you bastard—!!"

"I'll take care of everything." Hinata was still repeating his sentence, even adding a look of disdain like Kageyama was giving him.

"Shut up!!" Kageyama roared, grabbing Hinata by the collar and lifting him up like a chick.

"Let go! Let go, Kageyama! I'm being strangled!" Hinata kicked his legs wildly in the air.

"Go to hell!" Kageyama tossed Hida aside without any politeness.

Hinata displayed amazing balance in the air, landing steadily like a cat, and then quickly jumped up and said, "As long as we're on the same side of the net, we're all teammates. I don't like teammates harboring resentment towards each other."

Kageyama was panting heavily, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, but he didn't rush forward to punch anyone again.

Just then, Lu Ren stood up.

He dusted off his backside and walked up to Kageyama with a serious expression.

Kageyama was taken aback. Looking at Lu Ren's serious expression, he subconsciously straightened up, thinking that this "strategist" who often made surprising remarks had some important tactics to talk about.

"Lu Ren?" Kageyama asked doubtfully.

Lu Ren did not speak.

He simply reached out and, with lightning speed, quickly brushed Kageyama's hair across his head, making Kageyama's originally smooth bangs even flatter against his scalp.

Then, he lowered his head slightly and whispered in Kageyama's ear in a voice even deeper, more childish, and more irritating than Hinata's:

"I'll take care of everything."

The moment he finished speaking, Lu Ren slipped away, activating the "Disengagement Sprint" skill he had honed in the game, and dashed out of the stadium gate.

"Lu Ren!!!"

Behind them came Kageyama's roar that nearly shattered the glass, and Hinata's boisterous laughter that seemed to thrive on chaos.

……

On my way home, the night breeze was slightly cool.

The streetlights cast long shadows of the two women. Qingze Yazhi carried a backpack and held a carton of strawberry milk she had just bought at the convenience store, the straw making a soft slurring sound as she bit into it.

"So, what kind of person is this ace named Dong Fengxu?" Ya Zhi asked, turning her head to the side.

Lu Ren strolled along slowly, hands in his pockets. "How should I put it? He's basically a berserker with maxed-out strength but negative mental resistance. He has the face of someone who's a gangster, but inside he's a fragile, delicate woman."

"Pfft." Ya-zhi almost choked. "Your description... seems to indicate that you're a good person who's been misunderstood."

"He's definitely a good guy, just a bit weak-willed," Lu Ren shrugged. "In this volleyball club full of monsters, normal people seem out of place. But, if we drag him into a dungeon and fight a boss once, we should be able to cure his PTSD."

The two arrived at a fork in the road, where the traffic light was counting down.

Lu Ren suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Ya Zhi.

"What's wrong?" Ya-zhi blinked, looking at him with a straw in her mouth.

Lu Ren scratched his hair, glanced to the side, and then looked back: "Well, didn't I say before that I'm going back to China this winter break?"

"Yes, I heard it from Auntie." Yazhi nodded. "She said she's going back for the New Year and will also have some authentic Sichuan cuisine."

"Yes." Lu Ren cleared his throat. "Um... I wanted to ask, would you like to come along?"

Ya-zhi paused for a moment, the straw slipping from her lips: "Huh?"

"My parents also said they want to take you back home." Lu Ren's speech quickened slightly, as if he was trying to hide something. "Besides, haven't you been saying you wanted to go to Chengdu to see the giant pandas? And hot pot too? The hot pot here isn't authentic at all, it's all just watery broth..."

He went on and on about a bunch of reasons, as if he were listing the loot drops for a difficult team quest.

Ya-zhi looked at him quietly, the dim yellow light of the streetlamp casting a soft glow on her face, making the smile on her lips appear exceptionally gentle.

"Then," she softly interrupted Lu Ren's rambling, "would you like me to come along?"

Lu Ren's words came to an abrupt halt.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment, leaving only the sound of vehicles passing by in the distance.

Looking into Yazhi's smiling eyes, he felt his ears start to burn. This was even more nerve-wracking than soloing a boss.

What is this? A finishing move?

"I think so." Lu Ren turned his head away, not daring to look her in the eye, his voice barely audible, "Going back alone... would be quite boring."

Ya-zhi smiled even more broadly. She took a step forward, leaned closer to Lu Ren, and tilted her head slightly: "Then, in what capacity should I go? The childhood sweetheart from next door? Or... something else?"

Lu Ren felt his face heating up at a visible speed; this was definitely a debuff called "overload".

"Anything, anything is fine..." he stammered, his usual sharp tongue completely gone. "As long as you go... any identity is fine."

The green light is on.

Ya-zhi didn't press him any further. Instead, she picked up the straw again and walked briskly onto the zebra crossing.

"Oh well."

She waved with her back to Lu Ren, her voice sounding particularly cheerful in the night breeze.

"I'll prepare well, Captain."

Lu Ren stood there, watching her back, and after a long while he finally let out a long breath and covered his burning face with his hands.

"This game... is way too difficult."

He muttered to himself, but couldn't help but smile as he quickly followed.