Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

Occasionally when traveling in Tokyo, I would pass by Furutani Academy, a very new owl house.

"Owl Valley," Yin Chuanmian pondered, recalling his impression of it, "is it very strong?"

Because the two of them had been walking slowly at the back of the group at the beginning, Kuroo Tetsurou, who was worried about them, pushed them to the middle of the group.

(Yaku Eisuke: Are you my mom? JPG.)

Kozume Kenma, who was walking awkwardly in the middle of the group, thought for two seconds.

"They are very strong and are contenders for the national championship. However, the strongest player is Itayama from Tokyo, who has won the championship multiple times and is known as the King."

The game console was in Kuroo's backpack, and Kozume explained it in great detail.

Finding that the sheep didn't leave a deep impression, Kozaki gave him an example: "It's the school that sent you an invitation back then."

"Oh," Yinchuan Mian also remembered, "so we probably can't beat Xiaogu now."

There are a lot of people at Jingta Mountain. Since Xiaogu is the second best school after the other side, there must be a lot of people there as well. We have fewer people here and less experience than the other side.

"Not necessarily." Kozume Kenma doesn't believe that the best person in the school can represent all the members.

A year ago, Fukutani experienced a period of decline in performance. The main reason they were able to return to their peak this year is their ace player – Kotaro Bokuto.

"But the chances of losing are more likely."

If you go to fight a boss right after leaving the starting village, you can indeed win if you have enough skill. However, if you get hit by the boss's ultimate move, your extremely low health will die instantly.

"Mmm." The sheep nodded, indicating that it understood.

Before the last word had even finished, Yamamoto Taketora, who was standing in front of them, suddenly turned around abruptly and said in a loud voice, "Hey! Don't say such discouraging things!"

"!?!" Mian was also startled, her blue eyes widened, and Mian also felt that the other party was acting strangely.

"!!" The cute brown mushroom head was instantly startled and popped open, like a half-drooping dandelion.

"We can definitely win!" The boy with the mohawk clenched his fist, looking full of energy.

"Hahaha!" Yoruichi took a step back, put his arm around his shoulder, and turned the other's head back. "You've got guts, I like it!"

"He's nervous." Kozume Kenma, who had easily noticed something, narrowed his eyes.

He didn't lower his voice intentionally, seemingly unconcerned that Yamamoto Takeo, who was just two steps away, would hear it.

Wow, the grinding process is amazing!

The sheep exclaimed softly, "They can see everything!"

.......

Coach Anji of Fubuki was worried that the students from Otokoma wouldn't be able to find the exact location of the volleyball club, so he called Kuroo to confirm their location and then asked Akaashi Kyoji to go to the entrance to meet them.

Curious, Kotaro followed the coach as soon as he turned around.

Konoha Akiki, wanting to see what the commotion was about, followed along.

Shirakawa noticed that many people had already gone over, so he pulled Washio Tatsuo along with him.

Komi Haruki, who had just returned from the restroom, followed hesitantly.

Sakuragi Michiichi, feeling both helpless and amused, followed Niou Sora, who was about to say something.

When Coach Anlu returned from the restroom, he discovered that none of his starting players were left.

"......?" What happened? Why didn't anyone tell me?

-

"Coach Anro, thank you very much for your invitation." Kuroo Tetsuro grasped the other's hand and bowed 90 degrees.

"Haha, it's alright, it's alright, we can all learn from each other." Coach Anlu said politely, but his eyes had already looked at Yinju several times.

"Kuroo, have all the team members from your school arrived?" Coach Anro noticed the number of members on the Nekoma team immediately. Including the free agent, it was a team of exactly 7 people.

"Yes." Kuroo Tetsuro glanced at the number of people in the two teams, his gaze firm and unwavering.

Coach Anro nodded. Just as Mr. Miyano from Otokoma had said, there were no more senior students in Otokoma's volleyball team.

He didn't know the strength of these kids, but they had the courage to rebel and succeed, so they deserved to be taken seriously and respected.

Coach Nekomata's health has been improving recently, and he might be able to return to Otokoma before IH.

Otoko and the others from Fubuki inexplicably found themselves standing on two parallel lines.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Wood Rabbit struck his signature pose, hands on his hips, and laughed heartily. "Ginchuan-kun! Long time no see!"

▼_▼?

Yinchuan Mianye: Staring—

"Hey, don't you remember me?" The boy with the owl-shaped hair and black and white highlights now had beady eyes. "Me? I'm that super awesome little slash!"

Owl No. 4... is very noisy. Yinchuan Mian remembered who he was, but didn't want to pay attention to him.

Mokuto stood in front of Ginchuan Mianye, gesturing anxiously for a while before leaning forward, trying to put his face right in front of the other person so that he could see clearly.

Yinchuan Mian also leaned back in resistance, and Kozume Mamo, who was standing next to the sheep, looked at the scene as if he had seen a monster with a gaping maw, and quickly moved away from the scene, leaving behind his poor childhood friend.

The parallel lines that were originally independent of each other were disrupted; the white line segment, which wanted to merge into the red straight line, was mercilessly spat out.

"Bokuto-senpai," Akaashi stopped the owl that was trying to bother Ginkawa Wataru again, "you'll be disliked for doing that."

The reliable first-year student pretended not to see the cat (Yinchuan Mianye) across the way with a sour face.

Its pretty face scrunched up, and its blue eyes were filled with alertness, like a cat about to become agitated. It wouldn't be good to scare someone's expensive Persian cat.

Upon hearing this, Kotaro Bokuto felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and stammered, "...I'm...hated..."

Wooden Rabbit performed a color-changing act for everyone present.

"???" Yinchuan Mian took two steps back without making a sound.

Is this a staged accident or a staged accident?

Kyoji Akaashi, who nodded apologetically to Minamoto Gin, sensed something was amiss and turned back into a mental whirlwind.

"Wait! Senior Bokuto, you haven't been disliked yet." Kyoji Akaashi, who had just taken on the job of raising owls, was still a bit inexperienced.

"Really?" Kotaro looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Really!" Kyoji Akaashi nodded earnestly.

"I don't believe you, you must be lying to me!" Kotaro the Wooden Rabbit regained his color for a second, then turned his head away and became even darker.

"..." Indeed, Kyoji Akaashi glanced to the lower right.

"No, Senior Wood Rabbit, cats and owls are friends, so our two schools are sister schools. You are friends, so you won't dislike each other."

What am I even saying? After saying that, Akaashi Kyoji's pupils dilated and his face was full of disbelief.

Konoha, standing nearby, exclaimed "Wow!" and stared at a certain year's setter with a "You're so scary" expression.

Sakuragi Michiichi smiled amicably.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Kotaro the Wooden Rabbit, having successfully finished coloring, once again made his signature move.

"Wow," Yoruichiro shook his head and clapped his hands lightly, "truly breathtaking!"

"Xugu Valley is surprisingly an interesting school," Hisense said.

Of course, Yoru Eisuke knew the famous Kotaro Bokuto. "That's right, after all, their ace is this kind of... formidable personality."

After shaking hands with Tetsuro Kuroo, the current captain of Fukudani, Niou Sora, said he would leave for a moment.

He went to the middle of his own team and slapped his ace on the head.

As if a toy switch had been flipped, the ace immediately stopped calling out and, with his eyes glazed over, started whimpering at the captain.

The teammates in Xiaogu get along very well; there's a harmony that transcends age differences.

Yinju is doing well now, but that's all. We're not very familiar with each other yet, so there's an unspoken politeness and distance between us. That's the difference that time brings.

Tetsuro Kuroo believed they would be better than Furutani.

......

When the group arrived at the volleyball room, Yamamoto Takeo couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, it's huge!"

The naive cats looked around, admiring everything. Even though their own cat beds were pretty good, they were still quite envious QAQ

The starting lineup for the team has just been submitted, and the team uniforms are still being made.

The manager of Fukutani noticed this and gave them vests with numbers on them.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They were all very polite, just like everyone else in Fukutani. The female manager in Fukutani was very gentle.

Everything was normal until it was Yamamoto Taketaka's turn, when he surprised everyone with a sudden change of expression.

Konoha, who was deliberately passing by, remarked, "Shinku."

The two teams separated and focused on their own tasks. The most eye-catching person from the Nekoma group, besides Kuroo Tetsurou with his strange hairstyle, was his blue eyes and cold face. He was indeed a handsome young man.

Yinchuan Mian is also a skill-based outside hitter. During junior high school, she led the Yinju Volleyball Team to the national championships, with their best result being the top eight in the country.

Actually, Fukugaya had considered sending him an invitation this year, but on the one hand, his style was not quite in line with the team's mainstream style, and on the other hand, he was clearly going to continue studying at Onkoma High School, so even if he sent an invitation, he might not come.

Each school only had a limited number of special invitation slots, so Coach Anro ultimately chose to give it to Kyoji Akaashi.

"cough."

He had only ever seen videos of Yinchuan before, either missed them or watched them, and he never knew that Yinchuan was so good-looking! Mu Ye thought to himself, "How can a boy look like a doll? Does he look like he should be playing volleyball?"

Konoha Akiki watched as Ginkawa Mian also came to the No. 4 position at the net to warm up, cleared his throat, and opened his mouth—

"Young man, you're so beautiful!"

Hearing this strange noise, Yinchuan Mian also looked up.

On the other side of the net, Konoha Akiki gave Ginchuan Mianye a wink.

"......"!

Why are all the people in Furutani such a strange bunch?!

Konoha Akiki, who is male but female-oriented, just wanted to give a compliment, but became even more excited after discovering that the other person's cat had its fur standing on end!

How interesting! The boy, who looked fresh and clean, had a lewd grin on his face.

"Wow!! Akaashi, look at him!" Kotaro Bokuto pointed at Konoha with one hand and pulled Kyoji Akaashi with the other.

The reliable first-year student turned his head helplessly, his language system pausing for half a second, "...Konoha-senpai are probably having a friendly exchange before the match."

"Huh!?" Wood Rabbit's eyes widened into beady ones. "Is that so? Damn it!! They seem more professional than me."

If that's the case... Wood Rabbit's eyes shone.

"No way, I'm the ace!"

"Wait!" Akaashi instinctively told herself that she had to stop it, but her outstretched hand grasped nothing.

"Hello, SoundKoma setter! You're so pretty!!"

As the setter, Otokoma, tossed the ball upwards, it slipped from his hand, causing his smooth hair to stand on end. He turned around abruptly, staring warily at Mokuto with the eyes of someone looking at a monster.

Kyoji Akaashi covered his face, wishing he could turn back time to a minute earlier.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Wood Rabbit looked at Konoha defiantly.

"You two—" Kuroo Tetsuro appeared at the net, veins popping on his forehead, and with a smile, he pushed his two childhood friends to the backcourt.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I would prefer you to describe it as strong."

The two people, who were still laughing and teasing the cat, suddenly felt a chill down their spines.

Just a second ago, Bishop Fubuya, who was arguing with Kuroo, suddenly felt inferior.

"Konoha!"

"Bokuto-senpai!"

Niou Sora and Akaashi Kyoji each took one away.

The warm-up continued, and the two, who had been inexplicably harassed, coordinated to launch a fast attack.

Yinchuan Mianye has a quick understanding and reaction speed. He doesn't miss any major problems after changing positions, and he corrects minor problems quickly as well. He only occasionally makes positioning mistakes in actual combat.

A beautiful diagonal line, stopping precisely near the baseline.

"???" Wood Rabbit, whose gaze had not yet left Sound Horse, looked confused.

"No! No! That's not right!"

Just after Akaashi Kyoji left, the bewildered Bokuto ran to the side of Sakuragi Road and almost bumped into someone.

"Wooden Rabbit?" Sakuragi Michiichi (currently the third-year starting setter) asked his little ace.

Why is my mental age forever only 6 years old? What happened this time?

"Am I seeing things?! I just saw Yinchuan Mianye's running route! He... he's a middle blocker?!"

"Isn't he the main attacker?! You must be seeing things, I must be imagining things!"

"Sorry, I didn't see Bokuto," Sakuragi Michiichi replied, while also wondering why Ginkawa Myaya was running the middle blocker route.

"Look! Look!"

On the other side of the net, Yinchuan Mian also made a quick run and once again accurately hit the ball near the baseline.

Kotaro Bokuto frantically shook Michiichi Sakuragi to show him.

"Alright, alright, I see it now, it's probably moved to a different position." Sakuragi Michiichi was dizzy from being shaken around, so he gave Bokuto a tap on the head.

"Warm up properly."

Sakuragi Michiichi didn't think there was anything wrong with the opponent changing positions, after all, it was their business, he just needed to pay more attention during the game.

The wooden rabbit blinked its beady eyes blankly, let out an "oh," and looked extremely pitiful.

His most valued rival, an enemy like Sakusho Seishin, a destined nemesis and friend, has somehow switched places...

The wooden rabbit gradually turned to stone and lost its color.

Sakuragi Michiichi sighed helplessly and chose to throw the ball to the others first to warm up.

Yinchuan Mian also landed lightly on the ground and moved around a couple of times.

Feeling good today, he turned around, blinked like a claw grinding, and said, "I can ask for a few more balls."

A volleyball bounced from the side and Yinchuan Mian caught it steadily and held it in her arms. It was given to her by Xiao Hei. Yinchuan Mian looked in the direction from which the ball came.

"Mian, don't always act all cute. I also want to play more balls." Kuroo Tetsurou walked over and couldn't help but rub the sheep's head.

Yinchuan Mianye gently raised her head, looking adorable.

"Practice your jump serve, don't get too fixated on fast breaks." Perhaps because they just switched positions, the two of them have been focusing more on fast breaks during their pre-warm-up activities lately.

However, playing only fast-paced games won't work.

"Oh." OvO

Since I got a haircut during the Lunar New Year, my hair always falls out when I play sports, so I only tie it up when I'm not exercising. Even that hair is now frizzy from being rubbed.

Yoruichi thought to himself, "It feels really good."

Upon seeing this, Sakuragi Michiichi glanced at his own ace, who was actually quite cute too.

Kozume Kenma picked up a ball and waved to Fukunaga Shohei. Hisense and Yamamoto Takeo warmed up, waiting for the setter to pass them the ball.