Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

The sound of the bus braking could be heard outside the door, and a moment later, the door was pushed open with a "whoosh".

The members of the Tomei Academy team filed in, led by General Yu.

With his hair meticulously styled with hair gel, his hands in the pockets of his team uniform jacket, he slowly scanned the stadium of Nekoma, his gaze finally settling on Tetsuro Kuroo, who was tidying up the net.

"Yo—!" General Yu drawled, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Otokoma's cat house is still so old and quiet. Kuroo, what kind of captain are you? You can't even create a lively atmosphere?"

Kuroo Tetsuro straightened up, dusted off his hands, and smiled without any politeness: "Who do we have here? It's the Admiral. What's with your hair all combed up? Are you planning to have your girlfriend comfort you after you lose the match?"

"What do you know? This is called taste." General Yu scoffed, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Kuro's head and feet. "As for you, that hair of yours... could it be that you even counted every single strand of hair just to make up for that height?"

"It's more honest than some people insisting that the decimal part is an integer," Kuroo retorted with a smile.

A few low laughs came from Tomi's side.

A middle blocker with short, neat hair and a playful look in his eyes chimed in: "Captain, I think Yinju is afraid that if things get too lively, the creaking of their floorboards will be more noticeable."

Hu Mei's coach helplessly stopped the little snakes from chattering.

The little snakes in green uniforms bowed obediently to the members of Sound Horse for two seconds.

"Nice to meet you!"

On Yinju's side, he stopped talking, his output interrupted by the sudden etiquette segment.

"Nice to meet you!"

Yoruichi snorted coldly. Hisensei didn't say anything, but instead focused his attention on the number 1 jersey on Daisho Yu.

The senior members of their club also left.

Yinchuan Mian also stood quietly at the back of the group, clearly feeling the aggressive and noisy atmosphere emanating from Hu Mei's group.

A familiar blond-haired man approached him, winked, and said, "Long time no see, Yinchuan-kun."

"Huh? Long time no see, Numai."

Numai Kazuma stood next to Ginchuan Mianye, hands on his hips, and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at his own team.

"Don't take the things we said during the game to heart; some of them were quite hurtful."

"Hmm." Yinchuan Mian also gave him a few more strange looks. Numai Kazuma didn't seem to like this kind of pattern.

Blue eyes calmly swept over the Tomi team members. The verbal exchanges between the Tomi team members were part of the game tactics, using noise and provocation to disrupt the opponent's rhythm.

"Did your seniors from the third year of high school leave the club?"

"Yes, Tomi's grades aren't good enough, so there's no need to waste the rest of her time on the volleyball club." Numai Kazuma understood the captain's choice; they still had their own futures to pursue.

"Otoko's grades will improve, and I'll let Kuro stay where he likes."

"What?! Yinchuan-kun, how am I supposed to answer that?"

"Is that your setter? I remember he was quite intimidating, why did he dye his hair?"

"...Please don't bring this up. I already regret what I did."

......

Even during the warm-up, Tomi's style was already beginning to show.

After a powerful spike, Yuichiro gestured with his chin across the net to Takeshi Yamamoto, saying, "Hey, that guy over there with his hair standing on end, he's pretty loud. I wonder if his spikes are just as powerful?"

Yamamoto's eyes widened immediately, but Hisense gently pressed down on his shoulder.

Yamamoto Taketora: Why are you attacking me again? Can't you choose a different target?

Coach Nekomata looked at the noisy arena with a smile, while Naoi Manabu was telling him about what happened when he last met Tomi.

Kuroo Tetsuro: "Come on, let's shout slogans."

A lone paw grinding: struggling, but to no avail. (Cat hissing JPG)

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

The competition has officially begun.

Yinchuan Mian also stood on the service line, tossed the ball, swung her arm—a tricky jump float shot aimed straight at the junction of Hu Mei's receiving area.

The referee blows the whistle.

Serve and score!

Otoko Hitomi 1:0

A familiar start, a familiar first goal.

Nekomata Ikufumi asked Naoi Manabu, "Does this kid from Ginchuan almost always score an outright point with his first serve?"

"Yes, Yinchuan's serve has always been a key factor in Yinju's scoring."

"I see," Coach Neko, who was hunched over, looked up at the ceiling of the arena. "He's better suited to a wider space."

Naoki couldn't understand how the topic had come up again. Following Coach Nekomata's gaze to the ceiling, he couldn't see anything.

......

2:0

Yinchuan Mian also served again.

"I'll take it!" Hu Mei, the libero, shouted, moving sideways to receive the ball, but the first pass was slightly too high.

Their setter moved into position quickly and, without hesitation, pushed the ball towards position four with both hands.

"The left side is open!" Almost as soon as the ball was passed, a player in the front row shouted, whether to remind his teammates or to interfere with their judgment, it was unclear.

General Yu took off from position four with a running start, his movements fluid and explosive.

Kuroo Tetsuro and Yamamoto Taketora quickly joined forces to form a double blocking net, their arms raised high.

What... is the problem?

Blue eyes were fixed on General Yu's body orientation, arm swing angle, and subtle wrist movements as he jumped. His posture was deliberately oriented towards a straight line, but the angle of his open shoulders hinted at another possibility.

In just a second, Yinchuan Mianye's body reacted before his consciousness. He quietly took a small step to his right, in the diagonal area, lowered his center of gravity, and prepared his arms.

Sure enough! General Yu made a tiny twist in mid-air, tucking his abdomen, and then sharply twisted his wrist as he swung his arm to smash the ball—

The volleyball drew a swift diagonal line, heading straight for the position that Yinchuan Mianye had anticipated!

"Bang!"

The ball slammed heavily onto Mian Ye's forearm, which was clenched together, with a dull thud.

The immense impact made his arm go numb, but the angle of his arm was just right, cushioning the fierce force. The ball obediently bounced up, drawing a high arc, and flew straight towards the top of Mo Ren's head.

"Great pass!" Ye Jiuwei shouted from the warm-up area.

"So beautiful!"

"Well done! Mianye!"

Kozume Kenma was already waiting at the net, and he didn't make any extra movements until the ball touched his hand, making it impossible for Tomi to anticipate his block.

Kuroo Tetsurou took a running start and jumped, his body fully extended in the air. Tomi's block was a beat too slow, and a clean and crisp back row attack hit the ball in the center of Tomi's court.

3-0, Soundhorse takes an early lead of three points.

"Tsk, luck." After landing, General Yu clicked his tongue and glanced at Ginkawa Mianye.

"Good judgment, Yinchuan-kun," said Daisho Yu on the other side of the net, his tone ambiguous as to whether it was praise or something else. "However, there are always times when you guess wrong when flipping a coin."

Yinchuan Mianye: ?

A puzzled sheep tilting its head (JPG).

Yinchuan Mian calmly walked back to her seat and gently moved her still slightly numb arm.

I hate people who are strong!

Yinchuan Mian also serves.

He stood on the service line, tossed the ball, jumped, and swung his arm.

It was another floater, but this time there seemed to be a problem. Just as the ball was about to go out of bounds, Tomi's libero hesitated for a second.

"Oh no!"

The ball bounced back in the next moment!

He managed to broach the ball, but his pass was high and close to the net, almost directly into the net.

"Feel sorry!"

Don't worry about it!

Kuroo Tetsuro wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

He jumped up the instant the ball crossed the net, raised his arm high, and met the slightly awkward pass with a fierce spike, smashing the ball back onto the court.

The referee blows the whistle! Kuroo Tetsuro scores with a block.

Otoko Hitomi — 4:0

The opening four points sealed Tomi's fate.

On the next point, Tomi finally found an opportunity to interrupt Ginkawa Myaya's serve and scored the first point of the game.

"Ginchuan Mianye's growth rate is terrifying!" Daisho Yu boasted that he had made great progress during the summer vacation, but he was somewhat powerless in the face of Ginchuan Mianye.

The first game progressed steadily in this atmosphere. With a more stable defensive system and meticulous, organized play, Nekoma gradually built up her advantage.

Tomi relied on the powerful attacks of her general and the occasional bursts of individual ability from her teammates to keep the score close.

25:19, Yinju won the first game.