This practice match turned out to be an ued bonus for Nekoma. From Coaekomata's sharp perspective, Aoba Johsai had already grown into a team capable of peting at the national level.

  Fag off against such a team broadened Nekoma's horizons even further.

  Kuroo, of course, needed ra motivation. But even Kenma showed a flicker of i, a rare spark of petitiveness igniting within him.

  Coaekomata was delighted to see such a ge.

  Nekoma was known as the team of defehe "Cats of the Court."

  But they couldn't rely on defence alohat was why Nekomata didn't stop his pyers from switg to an offerategy during the third set. After all, cats are naturally bative creatures.

  Still, Nekomata regretted ning Lev Haiba along. Watg this match might have taught him more than any basic drills in Tokyo ever could.

  "Thank you for the game!" Both teams bowed to each other in mutual respect.

  "Kenma-senpai, what kind of games do you usually py?" Taichi Kaedehara approached Kenma during their free time.

  Kenma had already suspected Taichi might be a fellow gamer, but he didn't expect him to be this enthusiastic. Taken slightly off guard, Kenma hesitated.

  "Uh….I don't really py anything special. Just, you know, to pass the time."

  When he wasn't pying volleyball, Kenma reverted to being a shy and introverted 'scaredy-cat'.

  Taichi thought for a moment. Japan in 2012…

  "Kenma-senpai, do you py Monster Hunter?"

  Kenma's eyes lit up at the mention of the title, his i clearly piqued.

  Kuroo, watg the exge, smirked and nudged Kenma. "Didn't you just start pying some Sengoku game retly?"

  "Oh, yeah! When we arrived in Sendai, we saw the statue of Date Masamu the station. Yamamoto and the others didn't know who he was, so Kenma went on and on expining…"

  "Wait—so all of that came from pying a Sengoku game? Hahaha!" Kuroo ughed as he reted the story of their first day in Miyagi, oblivious to Kenma's sharp gre.

  "Kuroo!"

  "Okay, okay, I'll shut up. You two carry on." Kuroo quickly made his exit, still chug.

  "Was it Samurai Warriors?" Taichi suddenly asked.

  "…Yeah." Kenma finally felt certain—Taichi was definitely one of his people.

  "Do you….py it too?" Kenma timidly ventured, for onitiating the versation.

  "Not that one. But I've pyed Dynasty Warriors before!" Taichi replied enthusiastically. "That was my first Musou-style game. It felt amazing at first—so satisfying!"

  Kenma nodded, visibly more rexed. "I've pyed that too….but there are too many characters, and some parts get fusing."

  Taichi's eyes lit up as aruck him. "Kenma-senpai, have you ever read A Song of Id Fire? It's a world-famous novel by Gee R.R. Martin. You should read it, it's super iing!"

  "Is it….a historical-drama kinda book?" Kenma looked wary.

  "No, no! It's more like an epitasy. You think of it as the lore behind the game! Survival, power struggles, a violent world dominated by political realism, and of course, a touch of supernatural here and there! It's super awesome!" Taichi's enthusiasm grew as he spoke, trying to sell the idea.

  "Well….maybe I'll give it a try." Kenma found himself uo resist Taichi's passion.

  "Oh, by the way, I've been pying Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. Want to team up?"

  After a brief silence, Kenma finally addressed Taichi's initial question.

  "Sure! Let's take down Ziogether!"

  "???"

  "You mean Rajang, right?"

  Ah. Force of habit.

  Realizing his mistake, Taichi ughed. "Well, it's not like it's hard to beat anyway!"

  Kenma stared at Taichi for a moment, then smiled for the first time in their versation.

  "True. The strohe enemy, the more satisfying it is to quer them."

  --------

  "Huh?"

  "Huh?"

  "What?"

  "What?"

  In a er of the gym, Kentarō Kyōtani and Taketora Yamamotring at each other, both with equally menag expressions.

  The two of them, both sed-years with streaks of blonde in their otherwise dark hair, seemed to mirror each other in temperament. The third-years had no desire to deal with these two knuckleheads, and the first-years didn't dare intervene.

  Meanwhile, Iwaizumi Hajime approached Nekoma's libero, Yaku Morisuke, bowing early. "Could I ask you a few questions about receiving?"

  Yaku, startled by the sudden politeness, quickly bowed back. "o be so formal—just ask away."

  "To receive our ace's serves so easily….That's the first time I've ever seen someone as skilled as you," Iwaizumi said with genuine admiration. "As expected of Nekoma's libero."

  Yaku couldn't help but feel fttered. As he suspected, Iwaizumi shared the same sense of responsibility he did—a true 'parental figure' of the team.

  The two of them found a quiet er and began an ih discussion.

  Iwaizumi listened ily as Yaku expined how to predict the trajectory of a serve by the server's pre-hit movements, how to shift one's tre of gravity in an instant to handle varying speeds and angles, and how to maintain focus and recover stamina during high-iy matches.

  In turn, Yaku discovered that Iwaizumi had inally been an offensive pyer, excelling as a wing spiker. Yaku took the opportunity to ask a few questions of his own, seeking tips for improving his team's coordination during offensive pys.

  Ah, the things they did for their teams.

  "I heard you're pying a practice match against Karasuno tomorrow?"

  Nekoma's captaisurō Kuroo, and Aoba Johsai's captain, Tōru Oikawa, had somehow ended up standing side by side. Both over 180 cm tall, with well-banced physiques and the natural vitality of athletes, they made a striking pair.

  If it weren't foldeheir presence might have drawn quite the crowd of Aoba Johsai students.

  "Yeah. You've pyed against Karasuno before, haven't you? What's your impression of them?"

  "That was about a month ago. Their team wasn't plete at the time, so it was hard to get a clear picture," Oikawa said with a shrug. "But their first-year duo is really iing."

  "Oh?"

  "One is my adorable junior as a setter, and the other is a ridiculously athletic little shrimp," Oikawa said with a teasing grin.

  Kuroo listened closely. He had always been curious about their long-standing rival, Karasuno. If Karasuno's first-years had caught the attention of Aoba Johsai's setter, they must be something special.

  "Little shrimp? That wouldn't happen to be Hinata Shōyō, would it?"

  "Yeah, that's him. You've already met?" Oikawa asked, slightly surprised.

  Kuroo recalled the time when Kenma, who had gotten separated from the team, ended up crossing paths with the simirly lost Hinata. Looking back, it felt like fate.

  Kuroo briefly reted the story to Oikawa before adding, "Now Kenma's really looking forward to fag that little shrimp again."

  "Heh, I doubt you'll be disappointed," Oikawa said with a smirk. "Our little monster is eager for a rematch with them too."

  _________

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