Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

"You have a good memory, this is the place."

When I was a child, I didn't have much pocket money, and this place was just right because it wasn't far from home.

Later, after entering junior high school, I trained more often in clubs. Even during holidays, I would meet up with my teammates to go to a large club with more people or to a volleyball court in a park.

"Tokyo is only so big, what's so surprising about it?" Kozume Kenma, whose head had been turned upside down and forced to look at the building, now really wanted to bite someone.

Don't think that just because you're a sheep, I won't bite you.

Naoki Manabu booked a large room for several cats to sleep together. It was the off-season, and they were the only guests in the guesthouse. The noise was not loud, and the atmosphere was cozy.

Kozume Kenma, who usually doesn't fight or compete, took the lead in occupying a corner near the door. Kuroo Tetsurou saw that Ginkawa Mina also "splat" and lay down next to Kozume Kenma.

Fukunaga Shohei looked left and right, and noticed that Kuroo Tetsuro had not chosen Ginkawa Myaya's position, so he stared at him.

"I sleep here with the other second-year students." Having easily understood what the other person meant, Kuroo Tetsuro pointed to the other side of the room.

The Yinchuan Mian also rose, but upon hearing this, it deflated like a punctured balloon.

Okay, he understands.

Fukunaga Shohei's eyes lit up, and he quickly placed the items next to Yinchuan Mianye.

Who wouldn't like Otokoma (a cat) who is both strong and beautiful?

Yamamoto Taketora, who thought the chosen location was childish (actually quite awkward), quickly put his things away and couldn't wait to go down and train. He looked very excited.

"You're full of energy!" Yoruichi patted Yamamoto Taketora on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up.

After giving everyone a short rest, Naoi Manabu brought the freshly made cats into the club.

It was a road that was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar. Yinchuan Mian looked around with a sense of nostalgia. As soon as she entered the venue, she noticed another team at the other end.

Surprisingly, the yellow-green team uniforms weren't ugly at all—because she had received an invitation and had seen the Jingtashan team uniforms, Yinchuan Mianye couldn't help but compare the two teams' uniforms in her mind.

Naoki Manabu held a notebook in his hand and read out the next training session to everyone.

The first day was not a traditional physical training session, but rather a 3v3 rotation arranged to better understand the specific situation within the team.

Since there are 7 of them, a rotation order was specified.

Naoki Manabu: "Each team plays one match, on a 15-point scale. The seven players are assigned jersey numbers from one to seven."

第1局按照，123VS456，7记分。第2局按照，234VS567，1记分。第3局按照，345VS671，2记分。

And so on, the losing side performs a diving leap around the area.

After explaining the rules, Naoi assigned numbers to everyone. "The numbers are your rotation order. Remember the rules for your rotation."

Wait, something's not right! Kozume Kenma's eyes widened as he watched Naoi Manabu hand a number 1 shirt to Wataru, and then a number 4 shirt was shoved into his own hand.

How strange, although I didn't mean it that way, but...

"Pfft!" Without thinking much, Kuroo Tetsuro noticed Kozume Makoto's resistant expression and couldn't help but laugh out loud, then realized what the other was thinking.

"Hahahaha, Captain Wataru, Ace Grinding! Hahaha!"

Yinchuan Mianye blinked, her face scrunched up, and her teammates around her burst out laughing one after another, their ears burning under their hair.

The sheep revealed its crescent-shaped eyes, staring at the boy with his hair standing on end. "Little Black is an idiot!"

"Who knows, even if I leave, it really is Captain Minaya." Kuroo Tetsuro vigorously rubbed Ginkawa Minaya's head.

However, the boy, who was initially a little awkward because of the playful atmosphere, unconsciously frowned, but then returned to normal the next second because his head was being rubbed.

I was a little unhappy, but I don't know why, so I also stuck a sticker on my childhood friend's sticker in Yinchuan.

"Alright, let's start warming up." Naoi Manabu chose to be the bad guy and interrupt their playful banter, while Yoru Eisuke stood in front of the scoreboard.

Yinchuan Mianye, Hisensehang, Fukunaga Shohei, Kozume Kenma, Kuroo Tetsuro, and Yamamoto Taketora stood on either side of the net.

"Yinchuan, how about you serve first?" There aren't that many rules in 3V3, Hisense asked Yinchuan Mianye by patting him on the shoulder.

Her cheeks puffed out involuntarily, and Yinchuan Mian also withdrew her gaze from the opposite half of the court. "Okay, Senior Hai."

Hisense was stretching on the spot when he glanced thoughtfully at the other person and realized that Yinchuan Mianye's personality was unexpectedly childish.

His brown curly hair was loose, making his neck a little itchy. The boy walked to the net expressionlessly and found that the person who came was Yamamoto Takeshi.

The already subtly dark aura emanating from the boy intensified the oppressive atmosphere around him.

After winning a childish game of rock-paper-scissors, Yinchuan Mian turned around and headed to the service area. Yamamoto Menghu, who lost, scratched his head in confusion, completely bewildered.

The ball hit the ground with a "thump, thump" sound. Yinchuan Mian also dribbled it a few times to get a feel for it. After a brief adjustment, she held the volleyball with her left hand, level with her line of sight.

"Huh?" Kuroo Tetsuro noticed the key point. "It's just that he gets upset when he's alone during training. That's not a good habit for a grown-up."

Kozume Kenma, who didn't want to listen but was too close to hear what Kuro was saying, muttered under his breath (complaining): "It's clearly Kuro who spoils him."

When she was little, Yinchuan Mian was also very cute, with long curly hair and no discernible gender when she wasn't speaking. She looked just like a porcelain doll.

Unlike Kozaki Grinding's clear-headed preference and indifference to form.

Seven-year-old Mian also cried in front of Kuroo Tetsuro, leaving an impression of being "weak" and "in need of protection." Kuroo Tetsuro inevitably treated him carefully, regarding him as a younger brother who needed care, and indulged his increasingly intimate behavior, which was considered excessive by Japanese standards.

Tetsuro Kuroo's ears twitched almost imperceptibly. The black-haired boy asked sharply, but his gaze never left the volleyball, "Kenma, what were you saying just now?"

He seemed to hear the grinding stone speaking to him.

The boy with the bob haircut shook his head slightly, his golden eyes fixed straight ahead. "No, there isn't."

This is happening outside, and continuing this topic would lead to arguing with Xiao Hei... It seems so childish.

Kuroo Tetsuro mimicked Ginkawa Miya's way of speaking, letting out a long "Hey."

The boy with dark brown hair moved with great skill and had a well-proportioned physique. As he ran, every muscle line stretched out a beautiful arc, and his figure in the air was both supple and powerful.

It's a pretty perfect jump serve.

"Bang-!"

Kuroo Tetsuro's gaze sharpened, and he took a step to the side, the volleyball hitting his arm and flying high into the air.

It was accepted... Yinchuan Mian also quickly followed up, not surprised by the result.

A close friend is not so easy to deal with when they are on the enemy's side.

The ball flew over Kozume's head, and Ginkawa Mianye's eyes were fixed on the ball.

Left! Before Yinchuan Mianye could even react, he sprinted sideways towards the ball.

Yamamoto Takeru, who was running at the same time as Ginkawa Mya, was startled. Kozume Kenma's movements were deceptive, but Ginkawa Mya was not affected at all!

The two jumped almost simultaneously. Yamamoto, pointing at the ball with his left hand and preparing to hit it with his right, hesitated when he saw that the opponent's blocking hand was higher than his own. He changed his original straight shot to a diagonal shot at the last moment.

Hisense quickly took two steps forward to receive the ball, but upon seeing its trajectory clearly, it instinctively dodged to the side of the ball.

Referee Ye Jiuwei blows the whistle – out of bounds, Yinchuan scores a point.

Yinchuan Mian, who had just landed on the ground, looked back at the scene and felt a little happy.

"Not bad~" Kuroo Tetsuro came to the net with a mischievous smile. "It seems the training has paid off. Let's train a little longer today as a reward."

"???" The slight upturn of her lips froze on her face. Yin Chuanmian felt like she had been petrified. If a gust of wind blew by, she would be split in two.

What is Xiao Hei saying...? When did I become hard of hearing? I can't hear anything, it's terrifying...

Kozume grinded his crescent-shaped eyes, hesitated, then pursed his lips before finally unable to resist complaining, "Kuro, don't mock everyone on the other side of the net... Mian will be corrupted too."

"...What you said really hurts. Aren't I the most polite person in the world?!" Kuroo Tetsuro said, feigning innocence as he spoke nonsense.

Kozume Kenma stared at him with a complicated expression, then finally turned his head away indifferently.

"What?! Grinding! What do you mean by turning your head away?" Kuroo Tetsuro, who had failed to pretend to be serious, jumped up and down with a grin.

Since getting a coach, Xiao Hei has become increasingly childish...

Yinchuan Mian also took the ball and came to the service line again. At this moment, his expression was more serious than before.

Defeating a friend who isn't on your team can always give you a boost of motivation.

Right, Xiao Hei, and Moyan?

He planted his feet firmly on the back of the baseline, his knees slightly bent more deeply than before, and his ball-throwing motion was fluid.

The moment the palm touches the ball, there is no extra force; the fingertips precisely slice through the ball's sidespin point, and the ball, with a steady spin, glides along the edge of the net.

This time, volleyball is no longer like a fleeting shooting star, but rather more elusive, like a feather floating in the air. Those who have spent several days with Yinchuan Mianye and witnessed its strength will not underestimate its destructive power.

It's a jump float!

The ball wobbled towards Kuroo Tetsuro's vicinity. Just as Captain Otokoma stretched out his hands to catch it with his overhand, the volleyball, which was slowing down, shifted to the right and descended just a second before his fingers touched the surface!

With quick reflexes, Kuroo Tetsuro decisively tumbled to the right, his fist clenched, and almost instantly appeared beneath the ball, striking it upwards back into the air.

Yinchuan Mian also had a blank face, her mind racing. Well, when she was on the same side as her childhood friends, she didn't feel much, but as soon as they became rivals, that sticky, inescapable feeling crept up on her.

"Not good enough, Mianye! You're far from it!" The blue-eyed Persian cat in his mind hissed, and Kuroo Tetsurou couldn't help but smile, revealing his teeth without restraint.

"It's alright, next goal." Hisense glared at the unruly captain, Kuroo Tetsurou.

Seeing Tetsuro Kuroo stand in the service area, Shohei Fukunaga said "Oh" in distress.

Hisense retreated to the back half of the court while keeping an eye on the ball to prevent a jump serve.

"My serve isn't as good as Yinchuan Mian's..." Kuroo Tetsurou muttered, as the opponent was on high alert.

Naoi Manabu ignored every ball that was stuck together, and circled the name of the server behind Yinchuan Mianye's name.

Yinchuan's "serve" was excellent for a high school student. Naoki held a pen in his hand, and the pen body randomly hit the plastic record board, making irregular sounds.

After all, children of this age are not yet fully developed physically, and their core control and the smoothness of power transmission throughout their bodies are still being honed.

Tetsuro Kuroo stood behind the service line, his eyes calmly fixed on the opponent's court.

He made no unnecessary movements, lightly pushing off the ground with both feet for a two-step run-up, then leaped into the air using the momentum—the height wasn't particularly exaggerated. As he jumped, he raised his arm and slammed his palm firmly onto the descending volleyball—

There was no deafening roar, and while the power didn't seem top-tier, it exuded a steady and reliable strength.

After a long wait, Yinchuan Mian arrived at the ball's landing point in a few steps—

Exactly!

......

Score 11-13, Kozaku Grinding is behind.

The boy with the bob haircut frowned slightly; he didn't want to have to do a diving tackle after already exhausting training.

It's just a 3v3 practice match, Mianye, you're taking it so seriously, that's out of character...

It's Tetsuro Kuroo's serve again.

Tetsuro Kuroo stood behind the service line, raised his hand and tossed the ball over his head, then jumped and swung his arm. The ball grazed the net and flew straight towards the feet of Shohei Fukunaga on the other side.

With full concentration, Fukunaga Shohei reacted quickly, bending his knees to pass the ball up, and Hisense stepped forward and smashed the ball into the bounds, scoring the first point.

When it was Fukunaga Shohei's turn to serve, the ball speed wasn't fast, but the landing point was in the gap near the three-meter line.

The black tail extends its arm to place the ball in place, and then grinds it with the claw.

As soon as the ball left his hand, Kuroo Tetsuro began his run-up and jumped.

Kozaki passed the ball to him.

Yinchuan Mian also stared at the ball, closely following her own black-haired childhood friend.

Instead of launching a strong attack, Kuroo Tetsuro deftly lobbed the ball into the corner of the opponent's court at the highest point of its trajectory.

The ball grazed Yinchuan Mianye's hand as it fell.

Hisense rushed over to save the ball, which bounced up but flew directly out of bounds.

A strange feeling spread again, and Yinchuan Mian couldn't help but rub her arms after regaining her balance, her blue eyes blinking in confusion.

I'm being led around... Even though my side was clearly in the lead, it still feels so uncomfortable...

The score was close, and neither side was using brute force (except for Yamamoto Kou), but instead relied on positioning and passing to find weaknesses.

15:17

Yinchuan Mianye also won!

The sheep happily arrived at the scoreboard, feeling relieved, even though it was because of the transformation achieved through the combined efforts of Makoto and Yamamoto.

"Mianye!" Kuroo Tetsuro vigorously ruffled the sheep's head. "You need to practice your blocking more!"

"......oh."

Naoi Manabu also drew a circle around the word "blocking net" after Kuroo Tetsuro's name.

The black ballpoint pen flowed smoothly, filling the entire paper with circles and notes.

The children left behind by Otoko are all outstanding in their own way...