Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

In the afternoon at the Sakashita store, the air was filled with the smell of stale oden and cheap tobacco.

Sunlight lazily spilled onto the magazine rack by the door, dust motes swirling in the beams of light. Ukai Shishin sat behind the counter, clutching an outdated weekly comic book in his hand, humming an unknown Showa-era song so off-key that even the original singer would probably want to call the police.

He turned a page listlessly, his eyelids starting to droop. These rural shops, except for the time after school when they're ransacked by a bunch of starving high school students, are as quiet as if they're retired.

I always feel a chill down my spine.

Uyang Shishin scratched his head of slightly yellowish-brown dyed hair and subconsciously glanced back.

That one glance almost scared the soul out of him.

A face was pasted onto the glass of the store's main entrance.

It was literally "stuck" to the glass. Its facial features were distorted by the glass, and the lenses of its glasses reflected an eerie white light. Its eyes stared straight into the store, much like a bound spirit in a horror movie, unable to attain enlightenment due to its deep resentment, staring intently at the world of the living.

"Whoaaaaah—!!"

Ukai Shishin let out a strange cry, and the comic book in his hand flew out and hit the cigarette stand next to him.

"What the hell is going on?!"

He stormed out of the counter in a fit of rage and yanked open the shop door.

The "earthbound spirit" staggered, straightened up after adjusting its glasses, revealing its signature green tracksuit.

"I'm so sorry!" Takeda Ittetsu hurriedly bowed, his movements stiff like a schoolboy who had done something wrong. "I just... I just wanted to check if there were any customers in the store, and I was afraid of disturbing you."

Ukai Shishin, clutching her wildly beating heart, rolled her eyes in annoyance: "Is it about that coach thing again? Seriously, teacher, this is harassment, isn't it? Absolutely harassment!"

"I'm so sorry!" Takeda bowed again, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot, and he didn't take a single step back.

Wu Yang sighed, leaned against the door frame, took out a cigarette from his pocket, thought for a moment, and then put it back.

"Like I said, I have my own job, and I also have volleyball gatherings in town." He pointed to the shelves in the store. "Besides, I really enjoy playing volleyball now. If I became a coach, I feel like that simple joy would be lost."

He paused, his gaze passing over Takeda's shoulder to look at the school rooftop that was faintly visible in the distance.

"Besides, I don't want to go to that stadium."

Takeda Ittetsu paused for a moment, then adjusted his glasses: "Do you have some bad memories? Like being... by the previous Coach Ukai..."

"On the contrary."

Wu Yangxi interrupted him, his voice lowering, and his usual carefree attitude becoming somewhat restrained.

"That place holds so much of my youth."

He scratched the back of his head, his expression somewhat awkward, as if he were saying something embarrassing.

"The sound of the floor scrubbing, the smell of painkiller spray in the air, and that peculiar stuffiness... Even if the gymnasium and the current activity room are exactly the same as before, I would never want to go back."

That was a privilege reserved for a specific period of time.

Those were days when a bunch of fools got together, screaming and shouting for a single ball. That space is sealed in my memory, the most perfect recollection. Once I go back as a coach, that perfect filter will be shattered, replaced by a reality full of responsibility, anxiety, and trouble.

"That was a special memory that could only exist in a limited time, an atmosphere that could only exist in that place and at that time."

U-Yang Shishin pursed her lips, trying to make herself appear less pretentious.

Takeda Ittetsu stared at him for a while, then suddenly looked enlightened and nodded heavily.

"Ah, I understand." Takeda said solemnly, "Isn't this what they call 'homesickness'? Because it's so precious, you're afraid to touch it. I never imagined that you, Ukai-kun, who seem so rugged, have such a delicate heart..."

"Shut up!!"

Uoya's heart instantly flared up, her face turning bright red. "Who's slender! Don't use such disgusting words to describe me! That's why I already said I don't want to go back!"

He turned around, waved his hand, and was about to go back into the shop. "You should go back too, I'm busy too—though there's not much business."

"Even if Otokoma High School comes, you still don't want to?"

Takeda Ittetsu's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a pebble that struck Ukai Shishin precisely on the back of the head.

Wu Yangxi's steps faltered.

For a moment, the air in the store seemed to freeze.

"……ha?"

He slowly turned around, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, his eyes filled with doubt, as if he had heard some unbelievable story.

"Otokoma?" Ukai picked at his ear. "That Otokoma from Tokyo? The old man's nemesis?"

"Yes." Takeda Ittetsu looked him in the eyes, his tone becoming exceptionally certain. "On the last day of the Golden Week training camp, they will come to play a practice match against us. This is the 'Junkyard Showdown' after five years."

Uoki opened his mouth, looking incredulous: "Why now? Didn't the two schools cut off contact a long time ago?"

Since their own devilish old man fell ill and retired, these inter-prefectural exchange matches have basically come to a standstill. To put it bluntly, Karasuno is now a fallen powerhouse; why would top schools from Tokyo travel all this way just to bully weaker opponents?

"The opposing coach is Coach Nekomata, who has a close relationship with Coach Urayo."

Takeda Ittetsu casually offered his chips, "I heard he recently made a comeback. So I tried to contact him, and I didn't expect him to agree so readily."

He observed Wu Yang's expression and continued, "Speaking of which, the guy who was the setter for Otokoma seven or eight years ago seems to be Otokoma's coach now."

Wu Yangxi's pupils suddenly contracted.

The door to memory was violently kicked open by this one sentence.

Seven or eight years ago, Yinju was the setter.

Ukai Shishin suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Takeda Ittetsu's tracksuit collar.

"Hey!" he gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. "You bastard... are you trying to incite me? Huh? You're definitely inciting me, you idiot!"

Ittetsu Takeda was being choked and was struggling to breathe. His face turned pale, and he waved his hands wildly in the air: "I-I'm sorry! I was just stating the facts...cough cough!"

"Are you kidding me!"

Ukai loosened his grip and paced around in agitation, like a big cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Such an obvious attempt to provoke me, such a low-level tactic! Do you think I'd fall for it? Huh? I'm not one of those simple-minded high school students!"

He pointed to his nose and roared, "I'm twenty-six years old! A mature adult! How could I possibly get carried away and become a coach just because I heard a former rival is coming? You underestimate me!"

Takeda Ittetsu shrank back, straightening his collar while repeatedly apologizing, "Yes, yes, I'm very sorry, it was my oversight..."

When did the practice begin?

"I'm so sorry to have bothered you for so long, I'll be going now... Huh?"

Takeda Ittetsu froze halfway through his apology.

He blinked, wondering if he had misheard.

Wu Yangxi turned her back to him, her hands in her apron pockets, her shoulders trembling slightly—from anger, but also from some kind of suppressed excitement.

"Since that Soundhorn is coming..."

Ukai Shishin suddenly turned his head, a ferocious and warlike smile on his face, the kind of banditry unique to the "Ukai" brand.

"How could I let those useless juniors embarrass Karasuno? If they lose too badly, this old man will get up from his hospital bed and beat them up!"

He pointed at Ittetsu Takeda, his tone fierce: "Hey, teacher! What are you standing there for? Wait!"

Takeda Ittetsu was stunned for two seconds, then his face lit up with immense joy, a smile so bright that it was blinding to Ukai.

"Okay, okay!!"

Wu Yang Xixin scoffed, turned and rushed into the shop, shouting at the top of his lungs towards the inner room:

"Mom—! I have to go out for a bit! Can you watch the shop for me?!"

"Huh? Where are you going to gallivant again, you brat? We haven't even restocked the store yet!" came the mother's booming voice from the inner room.

"Enough with the nonsense! This is about the school! It's about Karasuno's honor!"

Wu Yang shouted back, casually ripped off his apron and threw it on the counter, then grabbed his car keys and phone.

As he walked out, he quickly dialed a number.

The phone was answered after ringing twice.

"Feed? It's me, Qixin."

Ukai Koshin walked out of the store, glanced at Takeda Ittetsu standing by the roadside with an expectant look on his face, and a wicked smile appeared on his lips.

"Shimada? Are you free tonight? Let's invite Takinoue and the others too."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed a little confused.

"It's not about drinking."

Wu Yangxi opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, and his eyes sharpened, like a warrior about to go to the battlefield.

"Let's go to the gym. Let's give those arrogant brats a practical lesson in the 'viciousness of society'."

He hung up the phone and gestured with his chin towards Takeda Ittetsu outside the window.

"Get in the car! What are you all standing there for? Aren't we supposed to be training?"

Takeda Ittetsu hurriedly opened the passenger door and got in, his hands trembling with excitement: "Ukai-kun, thank you so much!"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Wu Yang stepped on the gas, and the somewhat dilapidated truck roared off.

"Let me make this clear first, I'm just going to take a look. If those kids are too incompetent and hopeless, I'm not responsible!"

"I believe in them!" Takeda Ittetsu gripped the handrail and shouted, "They may still have many shortcomings, but that look in their eyes—the desire to become stronger... is exactly the same as yours just now!"

"……cut."

Wu Yang turned his head away, looking at the scenery rushing past the window.

Otoko.

That infuriating "cat".

Since you're coming, don't blame me for being impolite.

"Hello, teacher."

"exist!"

"What kind of guy is that setter at Karasuno now?"

Takeda Ittetsu thought for a moment, and the image of Kageyama Tobio's face, which was always filled with "killing intent," came to mind.

"He's a genius," Takeda said earnestly. "Although he's a bit clumsy, his love for volleyball is second to none."

"A genius..."

Wu Yangxi chuckled, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"That makes it even more interesting. Geniuses need to be brutally shattered before they can learn how to be a human being."

The small truck rounded a bend, and the gate of Karasuno High School came into view at the end of the road.

Meanwhile, inside the stadium.

"Achoo—!!"

Kageyama Hiro suddenly sneezed, almost dropping the volleyball in his hand.

"Wow! Kageyama, are you sick?" Hinata Shoyo jumped out from the side like a monkey. "Idiots don't catch colds. Looks like you've evolved!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Kageyama sniffed, frowned, and rubbed the back of his neck.

Why do I have this feeling... like some terrible trouble is about to happen?

On the other side of the field, Lu Ren, who was sitting on a bench drinking water, suddenly looked up as if he had sensed something and looked towards the stadium entrance.

"What's wrong?" Qingze Yazhi was next to him, helping him record the spiking data from just now.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes, and a habitual, amused smile slowly appeared on his lips.

"It's nothing."

He screwed the cap on and gave it a gentle shake.

"It just feels like... the new DLC is finally about to finish loading."

He looked at the tightly closed door.