Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

The air in the stadium was filled with the smell of disinfectant mixed with sweat.

The first round of the Tokyo qualifiers was a single-elimination tournament, where losing a single match meant elimination—a brutal format where losing just one game meant going home.

The members of the Sound Horse team stood at the edge of court number three. Their red uniforms looked somewhat dim under the white lights, like blood that had been left on a cut knee for several minutes.

"Although we're playing against three schools today, it's only three games. You all probably already know who we're playing against, right? Anyone who makes a mistake because of nervousness will absolutely need to do extra training!"

Kuroo Tetsuro clapped his hands, his smile carrying his usual ease, but his tone was rather helpless.

Needless to say, Yinchuan Mian participated in many national competitions during junior high school and was not intimidated by such situations at all.

Kozume Grinding has a habit of disliking being watched by many people, but this isn't a problem when it comes to actual competitions.

He himself, Hisense, and Yejiu Weifu had also participated in several high school competitions. Although they didn't achieve very high results, they were still used to such occasions.

However, both Fukunaga Shohei and Yamamoto Taketora appeared extremely nervous. One of them, who was usually quiet because he wanted to be a comedian, suddenly lost his mouth, his lips tightly shut in an inverted V shape. O∧O

One of them, with a flushed face, was extremely excited and shouting. He was easily provoked, but his mouth remained silent for more than two minutes after he entered the room.

What are they trying to do, one moving and the other still?!

Kuroo Tetsuro's gaze fell on Yamamoto Taketora with a deep look. "Don't get too excited, you'll easily lose your temper."

"Yes, Kuroo-senpai!"

The brown-haired boy plucked a strand of his own hair and strangely pulled at it, examining it repeatedly.

"What's wrong?" Kozume Kenma, who was hiding behind Ginkawa Myaya, asked in a low voice.

"My hair color is getting lighter and lighter."

"It's because of the light, that's good." Kozume Kenma reached out and shielded the light from the strand of hair.

"But my hair was a bit darker in previous photos than it is now."

"It looks good now," Kozume Kenshin said honestly.

"?" A question mark appeared above Yoruichi's head. He suddenly admired Ginkawa Miya's focus.

"Yamamoto, learn from this!" The free man patted Yamamoto Tiger on the shoulder earnestly.

"Ha! I will! I will definitely surpass Yinchuan and become a true ace!!"

"Grind it," Kuroo Tetsuro stammered, leaning closer. "We're counting on you!"

"..." Kozume Grinding slowly lowered his head to look at the ground.

"Stop grinding like that! At least add some passion!"

Yinchuan Mianye's feet quietly moved away, Xiao Hei... how terrifying.

When he placed himself next to Fukunaga Shohei, Ginchuan Mianye's mind began to wander.

It feels like time flies by when it comes to crucial moments.

......

"Beep—"

The match at Stadium 3 is almost over.

Kuroo Tetsuro exhaled, his playful expression vanishing for a moment, his chest heaving deeply beneath his red team uniform.

The next match is Sound Horse.

The scent of Salonpas, used for pain relief, acted like a tranquilizer, reducing the surrounding noise and making the heartbeat, hidden beneath external sounds, even clearer.

Its voice told Kuroo Tetsurou that this was his first race with Sound Horse.

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams compete against each other across a net. On the same side of the net, if teammates are...

The referee's whistle blew at the right time, and both teams entered the field.

When the seven members of Yinju stood in a row and bowed, Yinchuan Mian, who was standing on the side, could hear sporadic discussions coming from the audience.

"Otoko? That fallen powerful clan?"

"That must be Yinchuan Mianye! He's still in Yinju!"

"There are no senior students on the list; I heard they all dropped out this year!"

"Their Morino team is very strong; I guess we won't win."

"There are so few people with Otoko."

"Yinchuan Mian is also very strong; with him on the team, Yinju is going to be a sight to behold!"

Yinchuan Mian also glanced at the audience with a movement so subtle it was almost invisible.

He looked up at the scoreboard again: Otoko High School vs. Morino High School, 0:0.

"Well, how about we shout a slogan?" Kuroo Tetsuro suggested.

The group of Onkoma, who had been about to shout "Go for it!", were left speechless.

On the other side of the net, Morino is shouting slogans.

Kuroo Tetsuro coughed twice, his left hand pulling Kozume Morinari's right hand...

Yinchuan Mianye: Xiao Hei, it seems like the grinding is a bit dead.

In the end, they still shouted out this passionate slogan—

Kozume Kenma doesn't like the slogan, but he doesn't hate it either. It's something he can barely accept, and he can't face it even if he's dragged into it. He can only watch from the sidelines.

As for why he didn't break free, it was, after all, a form of recognition for him.

Morino has the right to serve.

"Beep—!"

Morino's players did not time the 8-second countdown, nor did they serve immediately upon the whistle.

Morino's jump serve went straight to Nekoma's backcourt, and libero Yoru Eisuke appeared like a ghost!

The white jerseys, which make up most of the team's size, stand out against the red of the other team. The ball-passing motion is clean and crisp, and the ball is accurately passed to the lone claw grinder.

"That was a beautiful first pass!" someone in the stands exclaimed. "I thought only Yinchuan Mian would be interesting to watch!"

The lone claw grinded, barely moving at all; this perfect A pass only made him adjust by half a step.

His hands seemed to lift effortlessly, even with a hint of laziness in his movements, but the way he passed the ball was incredibly precise!

A red shadow started moving two steps behind the three-meter line, and Yinchuan Mianye's jump was almost silent!

This series of movements was fluid and seamless. Morino was always a step behind, and it was this subtle time difference that caused Morino's blocker to misjudge the situation. The ball passed between the two blockers and hit the floor!

"Bang!"

1-0, Yinju High School takes the lead!

The Morino team members looked at each other, offering words of encouragement and comfort.

Just a moment ago, it was as if their blockers had voluntarily made way for them.

Yinchuan Mianye's speed wasn't particularly fast, was it?

I can see every step clearly, but I just can't catch up.

They complained that Yinju was lucky to have a strong teammate.

Blacktail Tetsurou and Mianye gave each other a high five, and Blacktail Tetsurou casually rubbed the sheep's head.

The subsequent matches gradually became one-sided.

The number of disapproving voices in the audience is decreasing.

Yinchuan Mian also didn't like the people from Senye High School; they seemed to be constantly complaining.

Yamamoto Takeo leaped with all his might, his muscles exploding and sculpting like a fully drawn bow.

"ah--!"

The volleyball hurtled towards the opponent's court like a cannonball. The opposing libero managed to catch it, but it flew directly over the net.

Opportunity ball!

Fukunaga Shohei was already waiting at the net, and a delicate drop shot landed in the no-man's-land.

"pretty!"

"nice shot!"

Cheers erupted from the audience, the girls' voices piercing through the air and reaching the ears of everyone in the Sound Horse group.

Morino High School called a pause.

Yamamoto Taketaka eagerly glanced at the audience, then fell silent, his face flushed red.

With one hand on his hip and the other drinking water, Kuroo Tetsuro met the gaze of the equally perceptive Yoru Eisuke and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Yoru Eisuke: I know it's funny, but don't laugh yet.

The reliable freelancer, with an undisguised smile on his face, patted Yamamoto Taketaka on the shoulder. "Yamamoto, holding that water glass but not drinking, meditating?"

"Ah! Yes!"

"?"

During a break, Naoi Manabu said, "They're starting to panic, but we still need to be careful. They might still have a trick up their sleeve. Don't let your guard down or become complacent."

"Yes, Coach!"

"Kozume, is there anything you want to say?" Naoi Manabu asked, looking at the mushroom who was taking small sips of water.

"They will most likely pass the ball to their ace at the power forward position next."

Kozume Kenma recalled the opponent's positioning just now. Nekoma is now leading by 5 points. Morino will definitely be anxious. For a setter, passing the ball to the ace is the easiest way to score.

"Mianye, you must always keep an eye on the opponent's ace's movements."

Kuroo Tetsuro still switched positions with Yoru Eisuke, and he used the IH qualifier venue to let Ginchuan Mianye train.

"it is good."

The timeout ended, and just as Kozume had predicted, the ball flew toward Morino's ace.

Nekoma was prepared. When Morino's ace jumped, there was not only Yamamoto's block in front of him, but also Ginkawa Myaya who quickly moved from position 3.

Double block!

More importantly, Yinchuan Mianye's fingers completely blocked the straight angle!

A hint of panic flashed in Morino's eyes. He barely changed his route and took a small diagonal shot, where Ye Jiuweisuke had been waiting for a long time!

"One touch!"

The volleyball, raised high, flies precisely towards the lone claw grinding.

People in the audience watching section 3 were praising loudly.

"Great pass!!"

"Otoko's free agent play is so solid! How many A-passes has he made now?!"

Kozume Kenmaru, whether to conserve energy or for some other reason, passed the ball cleanly and crisply, without any unnecessary movements.

This made it impossible for Morino's blockers to predict.

Hisense jumps! Smash for a point!

The score gap widened, and Senran's players' performance deteriorated.

They were at least a top 32 team last year...

Yesterday, Mingming was still excited because their first opponent was Yinju High School, a once-powerful team that had fallen on hard times!

But today, the opponent so easily widened the score gap to 6 points!

Use up the last pause.

Morino's teammates looked bewildered. Of course, they knew their own strength level, but being beaten so badly by an opponent they used to look down on was something they couldn't ignore!

The subsequent matches almost became training for Sound Horse, who used these matches to calm their racing hearts.

Yamamoto's powerful cannons became increasingly consistent, Fukunaga Shohei unexpectedly hit a shot out of bounds, and Ginchuan Mian also became increasingly skilled in positioning and running routes.

The last ball landed, and the referee blew the whistle!

The final score between Otokoma High School and Morino High School was 25-15.

"Beautiful! Great shot, Mianya!" Kuroo Tetsuro hugged the sheep that came to his side.

"Great shot! Yinchuan!" Hisense praised.

The first match was won with great ease.

With two games remaining, Naoi sat in the coach's chair, occasionally taking notes.

On the first day of the qualifiers, Yinju was not lucky enough to get a bye. The intense selection process left only 32 teams out of more than 200.

On the second day, the top eight were determined.

On the third day, the two seeded teams that will advance will be determined.

On the final day of the qualifying rounds, two seeded teams competed to determine the champion.

......

After bowing, the cats were in pretty good spirits. Although they had sweated a lot, they weren't particularly sleepy.

Except for a certain sleepy Persian cat.

Naoi Manabu tried to hold back, but finally couldn't resist and reached out to the sheep-headed man who had leaned close to him, looking sleepy.

Yinchuan Mian, who was almost asleep, opened her eyes wide, looked up warily, and found it was the coach!

Naoi Manabu was certain that he saw in those blue eyes a range of emotions: [Should I slap his hand away?] [No, he's the coach.] [Never mind, let him touch me.] [But I don't like it!]

Yinchuan is such an interesting place.

Leaving aside the head of brown curly hair under his hand, Naoi Manabu reminded Ginchuan Mianye not to sleep either.

Since the next match wasn't being played here, Naoi and his teammates watched the game from the stands for a while before heading to Court 5 ahead of time.

......

Kuroo Tetsuro stood with his arms crossed, watching from near the door leading to court number 5.

The audience seats generally don't allow you to see inside the door; besides Onkoma, other teams also rest there.

Yinchuan Mian also yawned, and the cat crept over, snuggling up to Heiwei Tielang. After receiving a pat on the head, it slowly squatted down.

He searched on the ground for a while before finally choosing to sit down next to Kuroo Tetsuro's legs.

If you sleep next to someone who is resting, and accidentally roll over onto them, they won't be able to rest well.

Actually, the sheep wanted to sit on the black sheep's feet, but the considerate sheep thought that there was a competition in a while, and what if it accidentally broke the black sheep's feet? So it gave up.

The brown-headed man rested the lower half of his face in his arms, his blue eyes focused intently on the other teams' matches for a while, then he looked away and buried himself in the darkness he had created.

"Beep—!"

"Teiko wins!"

The two new teams walked onto court number 5, bowed, and then began the match.

The two teams were warming up and didn't rest with Yinju. Yinju will warm up when their match is halfway through.

Kuroo Tetsuro went from standing with his arms crossed to standing with his hands on his hips.

Looking back, my teammates were already sitting on the benches, some resting and some chatting.

"?" Captain Black Cat was puzzled; it seemed one was missing.

Before the word "Mianye" could even be uttered, the foot that was moving kicked a heavy object.

Kuroo Tetsuro looked down—the first thing he noticed was the brown head and the conspicuous number 13 on the back of the red team uniform.

Wow, the cat is at my feet.

"Mianye." Kuroo Tetsurou called out to the person at his feet, but there was no response.

Wait...did she fall asleep again?

"Mianye, wake up! Don't sleep on the floor, there's a match this morning!"

After pawing at Mianye a couple of times, I reluctantly led this cat, who was sleeping and urinating anywhere, to the bench where we were resting.

Half-asleep, Yinchuan Mian also yawned, and some physiological tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Kuroo Tetsurou vigorously rubbed the sheep's head, trying to wake him up.