Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

The barbershop they chose was in a quiet alley behind the commercial street.

The three of them agreed to come over together in the morning. Since no one was home in Yinchuan, it would be too much trouble to cook, so they simply bought a steamed bun on the way for breakfast.

"So why do you two stay up all night on weekends? You can play games during the day too."

Kuroo Tetsuro asked again the question that he had never understood.

Yinchuan Mian also looked down at her big steamed bun, took a huge bite, making her cheeks bulge, and chewed innocently.

Kuzume silently hid behind the big sheep, thinking that this road was really a long one.

The sheep, having stuffed a huge bun into its mouth in five bites, finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel before its guilty conscience arose.

The glass door was spotless, the lighting inside was warm, and the only sound was the low hum of a hairdryer. He had his hair cut at this barbershop, and the barber was very nice.

The shop owner was a man in his forties, wearing a dark apron and thin latex gloves. He smiled when he saw Kuroo: "Oh, it's you guys, Tielang!"

"Yes, sir."

"Huh?! Kuroo-senpai!"

As soon as they pushed open the door and greeted the store manager, the three of them heard a familiar voice.

Yinchuan Mianye and Kozume Kenma curiously peeked out to look at the person speaking.

It was Yamamoto Taketaka, with a plastic sheet over his head, looking at the three of them with a surprised expression.

"Yamamoto, what a coincidence! Are you dyeing your hair?"

"Hahaha, yes! We at Otokoma don't have a rule against dyeing hair, right?! I'm going to dye my hair a super cool color and defeat Tomi's viper!!"

"As expected of Yamamoto! He's incredibly motivated!"

"Oh, so you know each other! What a coincidence!" The middle-aged man wearing an apron took off his gloves, looked around the three heads, and then stopped at the top of Yinchuan Mianye's head.

"What hairstyle is Miya planning to get this time?"

Yinchuan Mian also licked the corner of her mouth and shook her head, "No, I'm getting a haircut."

"Huh?" The shop owner hesitated and looked back at the other two people. Their hair length was just right.

"I'm looking to dye my hair, sir. Can you recommend a color?"

"What? Mamoru, you finally want to dye your hair!" Yamamoto Taketora looked up in surprise after just replying to his sister's message.

"..." Kozume Kenma was gently pushed out, not wanting to answer Yamamoto Taketora's question.

"I feel that your face is very pretty, so any color will be fine as long as it's not too exaggerated." The shop manager thought for a moment and then handed over a list with many colors. "Choose from the ones on the list, but I'll pass on these fluorescent ones as they make your skin look darker. Matte ones like these are much better, or this misty gray."

As the shop manager approached, Kozume Kenma stiffened for a moment, then forced himself to remain calm and took the order form to look at it. He just wanted something inconspicuous...

"Uncle, I'd like to make a more... common, inconspicuous color," the kind-hearted sheep said.

"Gold, gold is very common! I dyed mine gold, and that General Yu, right? He dyed his hair gold too!" Yamamoto Taketora became interested.

The shop manager was stumped by the common, inconspicuous hair dye color. How could dyed hair not be noticeable?

Yamamoto Taketaka's words brought people back to reality: yes, gold is the most common color dyed in barbershops.

"Yes, many customers choose blonde for their hair coloring."

After selecting from several gold options on the list, Guzha Polishing ultimately chose a slightly darker, off-gold color.

"This." The grinding sound was very soft.

The shop manager leaned closer to take a look and nodded: "Okay, this doesn't need to be bleached too much, so it'll be less damaging to the hair."

He gestured for Kozume to sit down in the chair. "Want to wash your hair first?"

Kozume Kenpachi's body stiffened visibly, and all four pairs of eyes in the small barbershop were staring at him.

Yinchuan Mian could almost feel his impulse to run away at that moment.

But Kozume Kenma still sat down, placing his hands neatly on his knees and keeping his back straight, as if he were participating in some solemn ceremony.

"Pfft, haha—" Kuroo Tetsuro chuckled not too quietly.

Yinchuan Mianye stared intently at that spot with her blue eyes, grinding something wonderful.

When Yamamoto Taketaka was alone here, he was playing on his phone. Now that he has someone he knows, he has started chatting with them.

Yinchuan Mian sometimes thinks that Yamamoto Menghu is a very interesting person. Although he seems a bit rude and speaks loudly, he is actually a very thoughtful person.

The two of them responded to him casually, listening to him talk about his sister.

The sound of water began, and Kozume, with his eyes closed, let the shopkeeper wash his hair. His expression was calm, but Yinchuan Mian also saw that his hands, which were on his knees, quietly clenched into fists and then slowly relaxed.

After washing his hair and putting on an apron, the middle-aged man carefully combed his polished hair with a comb, his movements very gentle.

"Your hair is really soft," he remarked casually, noticing everyone else was talking. "You probably don't take care of it much, do you?"

"...Hmm." The socially anxious cat responded with a soft sound, its voice half-dampened by the noise of the hairdryer.

The smell of hair bleaching solution filled the air; I could smell it as soon as I entered, but it wasn't as strong or pungent as it is now.

The fine-toothed comb evenly applied the medicine to the boy's hair, which was being ground by Lone Claw. The boy kept his eyes closed the whole time, and only occasionally did his eyelashes flutter slightly when the medicine touched his scalp.

While waiting for his hair to bleach, the man went to the back to prepare the dye, while Kuzaki sat alone in front of the mirror with plastic wrap wrapped around his head, looking somewhat comical.

Kuroo Tetsuro found it amusing and leaned over to take a picture, standing next to his chair. "How does it look?"

"...Something's weird," Kozume said softly, opening his eyes a crack as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"It'll be over soon! We'll both be the coolest two players in the Otokoma volleyball club in no time!"

Yinchuan Mianye: OvO

He had a feeling that if Yamamoto continued talking, his childhood friend would die.

Yamamoto Taketaka arrived a bit faster than the others. By the time the three of them arrived, he had already finished dyeing his hair. When it was time to wash his hair, he waved goodbye to the three of them because he had to spend time with his sister.

"Tiger is a very good older brother." Kuroo Tetsuro patted the sleepy sheep's head.

He looked up at the person with slightly moist blue eyes, pondered for two seconds, and then answered very seriously, "Xiao Hei is also a very good older brother."

Kuroo Tetsuro suddenly covered the upper half of his face with one hand, lowered his head, and fell silent.

Yinchuan Mianye: "?"

Having witnessed the entire process, Kozume Kenpachi exclaimed, "Pfft—"