Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

"What should we do next?"

After school in the afternoon, three second-year high school students walked together. Yoruichi stretched and put his hands behind his head, asking a question.

"We can't really field four main attackers, can we?"

Tetsuro Kuroo's joking words carried a hint of helplessness. "There's no rule against it, we can just say it's our style."

Hisense patted Kuroo Tetsurou on the shoulder, "We've come this far, just keep moving forward."

Hisense is quite fond of his position; his style leans more towards setter/opposite hitter than outside hitter. However—if, in the end, it really does require two middle blockers to rotate, then he…

"Huh!? Can't we have four main attackers on the court at the same time?" But in junior high, the pairings were sometimes pretty random!

Yinchuan Mian also blinked in confusion.

"No rules are allowed, but—" Kozume Kenma seemed to have thought of something unpleasant, his brow furrowing, "It's strange, isn't it..."

"Oh, I see—"

Mianye's drawn-out tone sounded like he was being coquettish, but in what followed, it was hard to ignore his seriousness.

"Then I'll switch to middle blocker."

"Wataya?"

Kozume was confused for a second, but instead of asking why, he listed Kozume's strengths in his mind.

He has a fast reaction time, can jump high, possesses top-notch dynamic vision, and while not exceptionally strong, he is agile enough...

He was surprised to find that, apart from getting used to the running rhythm, there didn't seem to be any other problems.

"Don't overthink it, okay? I'm in the same position as Xiao Hei now, and you're the most important one too!!"

"No..." No.

"Without the grinding stone, my brain will disappear too!" Yinchuan Mian also covered her head and tilted her face upward.

Kozaki Grinding is shorter than Yinchuan Mianye; from this angle, you can even see his nostrils.

...It's quite clean.

"Mian is an idiot too." Mushroom pushed away the sheep that was rubbing against his face with a look of disgust.

"Damn it, you actually found out!" The sheep, who is usually very enthusiastic towards his friends, tried to get face to face with them.

Seven years ago, Coach Neko tried to pat the boy's head but was dodged, and then recommended him to play as a middle blocker.

The blue-eyed boy blinked, thought carefully for several minutes, and finally shook his head in refusal.

Although it's a good fit for him... and if he plays middle blocker, he can rotate with libero and get some rest! But Xiao Hei says he really likes middle blocker!

Having no particular passion for volleyball, the boy naturally chose a position different from his friends.

Even after a long time, he still held the same thought. He didn't want to dwell on it even slightly—it's inevitable that the same topic of conversation will arise.

Things are different now! Even though someone is missing from the team, everyone still seems to like their position, and Mian herself doesn't seem to care; in fact, you could say she likes it.

That's a spot where you can take a break midway through the game!

The sheep, who clearly doesn't lack sleep, inexplicably always loves to sleep, sighed.

Sheep like to sleep in familiar places. Unless they are extremely tired, even if they are sleepy, they will only yawn.

"Mian is also very brave."

After a long standoff between Guzhao and the sheep that was trying to rub against and stick to him, Guzhao finally managed to stick to him.

"Hey! That's great!" He pressed his face against the other's, resting his chin on the other's neck and shoulder. His clean, boyish voice was clearly cheering, but the last syllable was drawn out.

"Okay, okay! Cute!" A female student passing by glanced at the two of them again and again, seemingly casually.

The aloof and cool guy in class turns out he has this kind of personality in private! Who would have thought that one day she'd be so charmed by this unexpected contrast, like something out of a manga!! Ahhh!!

Volleyball club! Great! Sure! It'll be IH soon, what's with the soccer club and basketball club! Now she's going to favor the new sports club!

She's determined to be the leader of the Otoko Volleyball Club's support group!

......

Kuroo Tetsurou tied a small bun around Mianye's head, which was soaked with sweat after training.

The blue-eyed boy spread his legs, lazily skipping the stretching, and completely surrendered his back to his childhood friend.

After tying up the small braids, Kuroo Tetsurou reached out and used the towel draped over Mianya's neck to wipe the back of his neck.

My legs are about to give way... I'll turn into noodles and never be able to walk again. Yinchuan Mian also supported herself with her hands on the ground, staring at her poor legs.

Middle blockers have such a tough job... Why do they have to jump around like that? I wish I could grow to 1.9 meters tall.

This afternoon, as soon as I walked into the volleyball club, I told everyone the good news that I was going to change positions. After rubbing the little lamb for a while, I asked him to join me in training as a middle blocker.

As a result, the little lamb pitifully expressed itself through its actions and eyes: So tired! So tired—so tired...

"Have you thought it through?" Kuroo Tetsuro knew that his childhood friend was not the type to joke about something like this.

He was relieved that the problem he had just discovered had disappeared, but after leading the training session once, he still had to ask again.

Mian had never played as a middle blocker, and all of the boy's views on the middle blocker came from him.

If it was just a momentary impulse, then pretend nothing happened.

The hand pressing down on the back of her neck applied slight pressure, forcing her body against the thighs. She felt the protest of her hamstrings.

"I've thought it through carefully." The blue-eyed boy shook his head slightly, then forcefully raised his head and clamped the back of his neck with his hand to stop it from pressing him down further.

"I think it's a good idea, and I really like the middle blocker position."

Kuroo Tetsuro couldn't help but chuckle. "Maya, you've really been a big help."

Shuo Bai vigorously ruffled the sheep's hair, which was slightly damp and had just been tied up, making it a mess again.

Kuroo Tetsuro stood up, unusually letting the lazy Ginkawa Mianya off the hook.

Yinchuan Mian also tilted her head to look at him, "You're welcome, Xiao Hei."

On one side of the volleyball court, Yoruichiro caught the last ball and held it in his hand, his other hand on his hip, panting heavily.

"Yinchuan is such a great junior!" The boy with light brown short hair looked at his junior who was still sitting on the ground, and he had already imagined the scene in his mind where he would drag Yinchuan Mianye to show off to people from other schools.

Feeling that he was being watched, the boy narrowed his eyes slightly, turned his head to look at the girl, and then, without any further expression, turned back to continue his light and airy stretching.

Well... Yoru Eisuke raised an eyebrow. Kuroo Tetsuro's childhood friends are both quiet types.

"It seems to be a quiet personality."

Hisense walked over to Ye Jiuwei's side, glanced at Yamamoto Menghu who was still talking non-stop on the other side, and then looked at the quiet people here.

A non-existent white light passed through my mind.

"Not necessarily," Yoruichi said, stroking his chin. His gaze hadn't left Ginkawa Mina, who was now rubbing against Kozume Katsumoto's noodles. "He seems very clingy."

Kuroo Tetsuro, who was drinking water, raised an eyebrow. Seeing them discussing this so openly, he picked up a towel and walked towards them.

"Maybe she's shy?"

"Possibly."

What? You guessed completely wrong. It's more like you hate being alive.

Scenes of Yinchuan Mianye with strangers flashed through Kuroo Tetsuro's mind.

"He's just clingy," the long, black cat silently assessed in its mind.

Yamamoto Takeshi went on and on, eventually getting into a long chat with Fukunaga Shohei across from him; the two surprisingly got along well.

Tetsuro Kuroo kept an eye on what was happening on the volleyball court. Everyone had their own companions, and no one was left behind or ignored.

Great! Now, once everyone has adapted, let's try to arrange a training match. Some schools around Tokyo should be willing to accept us.

...No need to think of a solution anymore—

Kuroo Tetsuro, like a cat stunned by a 10-pound fish, exclaimed, "Miyano-sensei, are you serious?!"

"Yes, Coach Fukutani called and asked me to arrange a practice match for the volleyball team." Miyano-sensei, seemingly unaffected by the situation, adjusted his glasses and calmly repeated his words.

"—Let's have a match! Let's have a match! Let's have a match!!!" Kotaro Bokuto sat on the ground, tugging at the coach's pants. "Coach! You clearly think he's strong too!"

Coach Fukutani, dressed in a white tracksuit, deeply appreciated the wisdom of his predecessors.

Everyone says you shouldn't get too close to students, otherwise they'll easily take advantage of you!

Coach Fukutani, who is in his late 30s (almost 40), really wants to give this owl a good whack on the head with his training watch.

Calm down, calm down—the dark path! This is the trump card you snatched from another school back then, defying all opposition!

"Mokuto, it's not that I'm refusing, but the person you mentioned is indeed very strong, but he might not get to play in his first year of high school." Coach Anro had already heard that the senior-junior culture was very strong at Yinju High School.

"Besides, even if Yinchuan Mian also plays, Yinju's overall strength is not good, so it won't be of much help to Xiaodui." The purpose of training matches is ultimately to identify weaknesses and verify strength. If it cannot achieve these goals, then it is meaningless.

"It's different!" Mutu jumped up and danced with excitement. "The setter! The one who was his setter in the second year of junior high! They're on the same team now!"

"It was that match in my last year of middle school, the one where I lost in the Tokyo preliminaries!"

The more the wooden rabbit talked about himself, the darker he became, and his whole body began to lose color.

"If it weren't for the fact that Tokyo had two spots, and the National Championships happened to be held in Tokyo that year..."

—Completely turned gray—

A boy with black and white hair, sporting a strange owl-like hairstyle, covered his face with his hands, saying, "I almost didn't make it to the national competition..."

Seeing that his ace was about to be shattered, Coach Anlu extracted the key points from what the other party had said, considered it, and agreed, "Alright, alright, I'll go arrange a practice match."

"Wow!!" Kotaro Bokuto's eyes lit up with an amazing light. "I knew you understood me best, Coach!"

The wooden rabbit, which had been crouching on the ground, suddenly jumped up, put its hands on its hips, and laughed loudly, "Hey! Hey! Hey!!"

"...Akaashi, Bokuto is sometimes pretty normal too..." Konoha offered a weak explanation to the newly arrived excellent setter, Akaashi Kyoji.

Before entering the training room, Konoha, who had praised Bokuto Kotaro's strength to Akaashi Kyoji, now really wanted to go back two minutes to shut himself up, or to cover Bokuto Kotaro's mouth right now.

However, Konoha, who could do nothing at the moment, could only give the little wooden rabbit a lecture in his heart, making the little wooden rabbit cry and pitifully hug his own leg, swearing that he would definitely become an obedient ace in the future.

"I know." Kyoji Akaashi's tone was calm, his gaze already fixed on Bokuto.

"?" Konoha inexplicably sensed certainty in the voice and felt a pang of guilt.

"Akaashi!!" Kotaro Mokuto, standing and laughing, waved his hand vigorously.

Kyoji Akaashi nodded slightly to Akiki Konoha and walked straight over.

Coach Anro returned to his office but couldn't find the current contact information for the Sound Horse Club in the address book or notebook.

After hesitating for a moment, he called an old acquaintance.

"Excuse me, Nekomata-senpai..."

---

"The volleyball club can't get a bus right now, so we'll have to trouble you to lead the team and walk there this time," Mr. Miyano said, delivering the less-than-good news.

The IH (National College Sports Games) preliminary rounds are about to begin.

All the clubs were busy with training matches and preparations. The public Otoko High School didn't have many buses, but fortunately, Fukutani wasn't too far from Tokyo.

"Yes," Kuroo Tetsuro suppressed his excitement, "Thank you, Miyano-sensei, for making this special trip."

"You're welcome. You should also keep up the good work to be invited by such an excellent school."