Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

"They only found two first-year students. How arrogant." Yamada Ichiro said with a hint of disdain and a secret sense of relaxation.

Even if a first-grader is very good, it's only the transition from soft volleyball to hard volleyball, and their body hasn't fully developed yet.

If Hisense were in the team, he might be more cautious, but now there's a slightly capable outside hitter and a frail setter... Kuroo Tetsuro is too naive.

"Heh, don't accuse us of bullying the weak if we lose."

The lineup for the senior year is: setter Takashi Inoshita, outside hitter Ichiro Yamada, and outside hitter Mori Muraka.

The two people stood in front of the net, without shaking hands or bowing.

Yinchuan Mianye: "Great serve!"

Tetsuro Kuroo: "Grind it in, serve a good ball!"

In the first round, Kuroo Tetsurou won the game of rock-paper-scissors, and the lower grades served first.

The listless Mushroom Cat, unusually, mustered some energy: "Even if you guys keep trying, I won't suddenly learn how to jump-spin."

The volleyball was hit over the net with not much force and not much speed, but it landed precisely in front of Yamada Ichiro, forcing him to kneel down to receive it!

"nice shot!"

"Grinding is good!"

Tetsuro Kuroo and Kenya Ginkawa stood in the net area, their eyes fixed on the pass, while praising Kenya Kozume.

Lone Claw grinded, spread his legs, stood firm, and observed the situation.

It was a performance that his two childhood friends would praise as "motivated".

"Bang!" The setter passed the ball to Murakamori, but it was perfectly blocked!

Murakamori had long known that Kuroo Tetsuro was quite strong, but when his spike, delivered with all his might, was perfectly blocked, the feeling of being overtaken finally emerged.

What's even more alarming is that Yinchuan Mian also caught up with Kuroo Tetsuro's rhythm, and even blocked his attack at a higher height than he spiked the ball!

Within the first two minutes, the lower grades scored the first point!

Yamada Ichiro looked at Muraka Mori in disbelief. He didn't doubt whether the lower grades were capable, but rather questioned whether his captain had regressed too much!

"Captain, are you being lenient with them?" Yamada Ichiro asked directly. "We're the enemy! Today, we're here to send them packing!"

Although Yamada Ichiro was on Murakamori's side, his fiery personality made him easily forget about hierarchy when he got carried away.

Murakamori frowned, his angry words stuck in his throat. "Kuroo Tetsuro's blocking is amazing! This was just a mistake! When did it become your place to question me!"

"Heh." Yamada Ichiro noticed as soon as he received the ball that the serve was actually quite weak for him.

It's just that the angle is a bit tricky. If the ball is so easy to receive, how good can the opponent be?

Kozume Kenma served again, and Yamada Ichiro once again knelt on the ground to receive it.

"Good ball grinding!"

"Well done!"

On the lower grades side, Yoru Eisuke, who wasn't very familiar with Kozume Kenma, showed the enthusiasm of a free agent.

"Well done! One more goal!!"

This time, the ball could only be passed to Murakamori again. Ginkawa Mianya and Kuroo Tetsuro did not rush to follow up this time. One of them was close to the net, while the other was a step behind.

Sure enough! The next second, Murakamori hit a lob, and Kuroo Tetsuro delivered a perfect A-style pass to Kozume Kenma.

Despite its seemingly weak and listless appearance, the cat's wrists are exceptionally flexible, allowing it to precisely control the trajectory of the ball.

The volleyball arrives at the net with just the right arc—

Yinchuan Mian also took a step and jumped, stretching his body in the air, and delivered a clean and powerful attack from position four. The ball slammed heavily into the opponent's court, making it 2-0!

"Good shot! Perfect!"

"very beautiful."

OvO actually wanted a small slash, but failed. Mian blinked, choosing not to say anything and silently accepting the praise.

In a match between lower and upper grades, the upper grades lost the first two points.

The long-term neglect has greatly weakened their adaptability. The usual 3v3 matches have made it difficult for them to adapt to the rhythm of the game.

...like prey being watched, it was terrifying.

The tacit understanding between the young friends was naturally good.

During holidays, Kuroo Tetsuro always liked to drag them to play pickup basketball. Even though they were in different schools, their tacit understanding was not diminished by the distance.

13: 6!

In the first game, the score difference was nearly double! The senior group was powerless to turn the tide, and their mistakes increased as the game progressed.

Halfway through the Kozume grinding competition, he told his two childhood friends to focus their efforts on Yamada Ichiro.

People with large mood swings are the easiest to control.

The obedient sheep and the trusting black cat worked very hard to carry out their plan.

Success! Yamada Ichiro's mentality had collapsed by the end of the first game.

Serve error! The lower grades score another point! The final score is 14-6!

"Beautiful!" Yamamoto Tiger couldn't help himself and clenched his fist, swinging it upwards with force!

In volleyball, in a 3v3 match, the winning score is usually 15 points. The first team to reach 15 points wins, or the team that leads the other team by two points after a tie at 14 points wins.

"One point short!!" Yamamoto Taketaka shouted excitedly.

Yoruichi glanced at the other person and fell into reflection. He had also shouted just now. Was he just as foolish?

Forget it, if we don't shout now, when will we?!

"Go for it! Kuroo Tetsuro, don't you dare embarrass the second-year group!"

"I don't need you to tell me!!" Kuroo Tetsuro, who had come to the service area, turned around and glanced at his opponent, giving him a confident smile.

"Damn it, I want this chance to show off too!!" Ye Jiuwei jumped up excitedly, grabbed the back of Hisense's collar, and almost suffocated him.

Serve and score!

15: 6!

The lower grades team won the first game!

"Good shot." Kozume Kenma slumped his shoulders and gave Kuroo Tetsurou a high-five before picking up his water bottle in the rest area and starting to drink.

"Xiao Hei is amazing! That's fantastic!" Yin Chuanmian's blue eyes shone brightly as she gave him a high five, then she started drinking water as well.

"Maya's jump shot is also great!" After clapping, Kuroo Tetsurou casually rubbed Maya's head.

Actually, the senior group is not weak, but they played too stiffly in the first set. They seemed unaccustomed to the absence of middle blockers, and they would subconsciously jump with others. When the ball was blocked, they would even blaming the setter.

Yamamoto Taketora, who always thought Yinchuan Mianye was aloof, remarked, "He wasn't like this yesterday, was he?"

Those blue eyes of his seemed so cold when I looked at him yesterday!

"What? It's obviously because you guys aren't familiar with each other," Yoruichi patted Yamamoto Taketora on the shoulder. "Kuroo Tetsuro sometimes calls Ginkawa Wataru 'Sheep' too."

"?!" Yamamoto Taketora was shocked.

"Sukko-ichi, sheep, pfft!" Fukunaga Shohei, who had been quiet for a long time, suddenly said.

"???" Yamamoto Taketora felt something was very strange.

"!" Kozume Grinding was startled by the sudden sound.

After the break, the senior team tried to catch up in the second set, but the hidden dangers left by their long period of slackness became apparent: they were not active in running, did not cover in time, and made frequent mistakes when they had the right to serve.

Tetsuro Kuroo and Kenjiro Ginkawa were well aware that Kenjiro Kozume's stamina was not up to par, so they ran even more actively for the setter position in this match.

The senior high school students who weren't present were increasingly unable to hide their complaints. They started to feel ashamed and wanted to distance themselves from the situation, but they were too embarrassed to approach the lower grades.

Another Ace was passed to Kozume Kenma's head. The boy with the bob haircut turned and jumped, looking to the right. Muranaka Mori and Yamada Ichiro in front of the net felt a jolt in their hearts and ran to the right following Kozume Kenma's gaze.

The volleyball flew lightly to the left, and Kuroo Tetsuro spiked it into an empty space, comfortably giving his setter a high-five.

Little Black is so strong... Mushroom Cat shook his hand.

This was practically a one-sided victory, but the team they were crushing were the seniors from their own volleyball team. This wasn't something to be happy about; on the contrary... it was a bit pathetic.

Kuroo Tetsurou lowered his eyes. If the other party had observed more carefully, they would have found that Kozume Momo's stamina was weak and could be exploited, and that Ginkawa Miya's blocking ability was not strong enough and could be directly opened. Moreover, his own strength was not great either... A strong blocking net could stop him.

However, not only did they fail to notice, they also threw themselves into disarray.

In the crucial final point before the end of the game, the seniors finally started to fight desperately to keep the game going. Attacker Yamada Ichiro finally seized the opportunity, bypassing the block and spiking the ball over the net, and it looked like he was about to score.

Yinchuan Mian also reacted extremely quickly, diving to save the ball and setting it up for a pass!

"Well done!"

"Good job!"

Kozume Kenma passed the ball to the right. Kuroo Tetsuro jumped up and looked at the two pairs of arms in front of him. Instead of slamming the ball in, he flicked his wrist and lobbed the ball into the gap behind the two senior players. All three of them fell towards the ball and missed!

15: 7!

They won 2-0!

The game ended with the Warriors winning. The exhausted Mushroom Cat stood up and took a couple of breaths. He tried to sit down, but was hugged by the sticky Sheep.

The long black cat patted each of their heads and gave the two childhood friends, who hadn't grown taller yet, a big hug.

"nice shot!!"

"Kuroo-senpai is so cool!!"

"Well done!"

The younger students outside the venue surrounded the three of them, sharing their joy!

"You have to accept your loss, seniors!" Finally finding a chance to show off, Yoruichi stood in front of the net, looking down at the three who were getting up.

"Yaku Eisuke! We've treated you well, haven't we?! You traitorous bastard!"

"We've been so good to you! We've respected you so much! Don't you feel any remorse?!"

"First, you guys are nice to me because I'm the only free agent on the team. Second, it won't hurt."

Behind the seemingly carefree smile of the young free spirit, however, lie many dark tendrils.

"Here's what we'll do: as a reward for your kindness to me, I'll go and get your resignation application done for you, so you don't have to make another trip."

Ye Jiuwei didn't care about their so-called kindness; it was nothing more than a self-righteous act of charity from a person in a higher position to someone in a lower position.

Is showing respect to others something so remarkable? Shouldn't it be something we should all be doing?

Respect is mutual, and the days of saving the ball from behind these noobs are finally over. It's infuriating to see a ball you desperately saved treated so carelessly.

"You! You wait, all of you wait!"

"The seniors aren't going to be sore losers, are they?" Kuroo Tetsurou shoved the sheep off him and jumped onto his body, then walked to the net.

The sheep that had fallen to the ground had incredibly beautiful blue eyes in the twilight. Their excited expressions hadn't faded yet, and their hair, still soft and fluffy from the earlier excitement, was bathed in pale golden light.

"Ahem, you can hug me." Yamamoto Taketaka extended an invitation to the beautiful man—Ginchuan Mianye, a handsome boy.

The beautiful Persian cat (the lamb of the feline world) completely ignored the tabby cat's invitation. (Sorry, we're not familiar. Refusal.)