Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

"What are you spacing out for?" Kuroo Tetsuro, who had already changed his clothes, leaned against the cabinet next to him, carrying his bag. "Still thinking about the match just now?"

"Mmm," Yinchuan Mian responded, the towel still covering her head. "I want to learn how to serve from the ceiling."

Kozume Kenma slowly moved over from the side, his voice tinged with sleepiness: "Ceiling serve, I remember you paid a lot of attention to that in the video before."

"Is this a recording of the beach volleyball game?" Tetsuro Kuroo laughed.

Yinchuan Mian tilted her head and said calmly, "I want to try."

"Then let's give it a try," Kuroo Tetsuro said casually. "We're training here all summer anyway, why don't we go ask that old man now?"

"Now?"

"Strike while the iron is hot." Kuroo Tetsurou had already straightened up, then looked at Mushroom Cat, "What about you, Kenma?"

"...Hmm." Kozume made a soft, almost inaudible response, but still followed.

...... ......

The tall, thin guy who could serve from the ceiling was named Kobayashi. He was a little surprised to hear that three high school students wanted to see him serve, but he quickly agreed with a smile.

"This serve isn't anything special," Uncle Kobayashi said, standing on the sidelines of the empty half of the court, holding the ball in his hand. "You just need to toss the ball high and then wait for it to fall."

He gently tossed the ball upwards, and it rose straight up, beginning to fall some distance from the ceiling before he steadily struck it over the net.

"Wow," Kuroo Tetsuro whistled, "looks pretty simple."

"Why don't you give it a try?" Uncle Lin handed him the ball.

Tetsuro Kuroo caught the ball and imitated tossing it up.

He tossed the ball high, but it went astray. He barely managed to catch up and hit the ball, but it flew directly out of bounds.

"Hahaha!" Uncle Kobayashi laughed out loud. "See? It's not that simple."

Kuroo Tetsuro stroked his chin. "Uncle Kobayashi is amazing!"

"Haha, not at all!"

Kozume Kenma stood a little distance away and watched without saying a word.

"Mianye, you come here." Kuroo handed over the ball.

Yinchuan Mian also walked to the service line, recalling the demonstration the man had just given.

Toss the ball —

He tried to mimic the movement he had just seen, making the ball go straight upwards.

The ball rose very high, and it really felt like it was about to hit the ceiling, but just as he was about to hit the ball, he realized that he had misjudged the timing of the descent.

The ball fell faster than he expected, and he swung his arm too late, barely managing to glide over the bottom of the ball.

The ball flew pitifully a short distance before landing in front of the net.

"You did very well for your first time," Uncle Kobayashi encouraged.

"Remember, keep the throw at a fixed height, keep your eyes on the ball, and wait for it to fall to this point," he gestured in front of his forehead, "before you swing your arm. Don't wait."

Yinchuan Mian nodded and tried again.

This time he paid attention to the height of the ball's throw, and the ball's trajectory was more stable than before.

As he fell, he silently counted the time and swung his arm at the spot Uncle Lin had indicated.

Hit! The ball went over the net, and although the trajectory wasn't pretty, it was definitely heading towards the opponent's court.

"Good shot!" Tetsuro Kuroo clapped his hands from the side.

Kozume Kenma hesitated for two seconds, then took a small step in this direction and said softly, "Shift your center of gravity... a little further forward."

On his third attempt, he tossed the ball again, and it rose straight up once more. This time, he waited a moment longer before swinging his arm at the spot Uncle Kobayashi had indicated.

"Bang"

The ball was hit head-on and flew high over the net.

Although the ball landed close to the center line and wasn't very fast, it was indeed a high-flying serve that went over the net.

"Oh!" Kuroo Tetsuro clapped his hands. "We did it!"

Uncle Kobayashi laughed, his expression clearly showing surprise. "Not bad, you learn very quickly."

Yinchuan Mian also watched the ball land on the opposite side of the field, her eyes widening slightly.

He never expected to serve over the net on his first practice session. Although the serve wasn't great, the ball was high and slow, making it easy to return in a match, but it was definitely the kind of serve he was looking for.

Kozume took a small step in this direction and said softly, "Your wrist... can be relaxed a little more."

Yinchuan Mianye looked at her hands with her blue eyes and realized that she was indeed gripping them too tightly.

On his fourth attempt, he relaxed his shoulders and gently sent the ball up, and the ball's trajectory was more stable than before.

Fall, wait, hit the ball.

This time, the ball's trajectory after clearing the net was even more beautiful, landing in the back row.

Uncle Lin smacked his lips. If he remembered correctly, his opponent had already used both jump serve and jump float serve in the match, and now he had also learned the overhand serve.

Wow, genius.

"Good shot!" Kuroo Tetsuro said, clapping his hands enthusiastically. "That's pretty good, isn't it?"

Yinchuan Mian also retrieved the ball. Every time he learned something new, he felt it was magical. The brown sheep tried ball after ball.

Uncle Lin watched for a while, then nodded. "That's enough for today. Your ball toss has a good feel for it, and you timed your shot well. Next, you just need to practice more to make the move more proficient."

"Thank you," Yinchuan Mianye said earnestly. He hadn't expected to serve like that on the first day; although it wasn't accurate yet, at least he saw a possibility.

"Don't mention it." Uncle Lin waved his hand with a smile, and my heart softened when I saw his blue eyes. "Young people are so great. You're so talented, you'd better keep it up."

Kuroo Tetsuro gradually became interested and picked up a ball. "I'll give it a try too."

He tossed the ball, hit it, and this time the ball went over the net, but the arc wasn't high enough, unlike a ceiling serve.

Very good, a standard underhand serve.

"It's still not right." Kuroo Tetsuro scratched his head.

"You threw the ball too hard," Yinchuan Mian also leaned in. "The ball is thrown up, not sent up."

Kuroo Tetsuro paused for a moment, then laughed: "Oh, so Wataru-kun has already started instructing others?"

Yinchuan Mian also blinked, "...It's just a matter of what you see."

"Yinchuan is right." Uncle Kobayashi nodded. "Kuroo-kun, you're moving a bit too fast. Try slowing down."

Kuroo Tetsuro tried a few more times and gradually got the hang of it. The ceiling serve wasn't particularly difficult, although his serve wasn't as consistent as Ginkawa Mianye's, he still managed to get one or two successful serves.

Kozume Kenma stood quietly to the side, looking somewhat tempted to play the game.

After glancing at it, Kuroo Tetsuro leaned over and handed him the ball: "Want to try grinding it out too?"

Kozume Kenma shook his head and took half a step back: "...I'll pass."

"Give it a try, just once!" Kuroo Tetsuro shoved the ball at him.

The lone claw grinded, its fur slightly bristling.

He looked at the ball in his hand, hesitated for a few seconds, and then slowly walked to the service line.

Mushroom Cat tossed the ball very gently, and the ball's trajectory was very smooth.

As the ball fell, he swung his arm to hit it. The ball went over the net with a high arc, but the force was too weak, and it fell down after going over the net.

"It's over the net!" said Tetsuro Kuroo.

"...Hmm." Kozume put the ball back in the basket, as if he had completed some troublesome task, and returned to his original position.

Uncle Lin checked the time: "I have to go. If you guys continue practicing, be careful not to overexert yourselves. Just get into the swing of things on the first day."

"Thank you!" the three of them said in unison.

After Uncle Kobayashi left, Kuroo Tetsuro stretched and said, "How was it, Mina~ You had a pretty good day, didn't you?"

Mian looked at her hands and nodded vigorously, "Mmm!"

He really didn't expect that what he originally just thought was interesting and wanted to see how to serve would actually work after trying it again and again under guidance.

Although it's still very inconsistent, with only three or four out of ten servings managing to get the ball over the net, and even those that do lack threat, it is indeed the kind of serve that matters.

"You've always been very diligent in learning," said Tetsuro Kuroo. "You observe carefully and aren't afraid of failure when you try new things."

After packing his things, Kuroo Tetsuro walked ahead, followed closely by his two shorter childhood friends.

"It's harder to practice after going back to school," said Tetsuro Kuroo. "The ceiling at Otoko's stadium isn't high enough."

It's not that you can't practice outdoors, but there's wind outdoors, and practicing in a distracting environment might not be suitable for indoor volleyball in the end.

"Okay, I understand."

Although the three houses were not far apart, Kozume Kenma's house was always the closest.

In the end, the three cats of the Sound Horse gathered in one of the people's houses, ate dinner, and then went home to sleep.

It's worth mentioning that Kuroo Tetsuro gained a close friend despite their age difference.

A sheep cat and a mushroom cat exclaiming in amazement (JPG).