[Juh, early Saturday m. Aoba Johsai's Third Gym]

  Kindaichi Yūtarō pushed open the door to the volleyball club's activity room.

  "Good m!"

  "M!" replied the group of third-year seniors in unison. The four of them were always inseparable, something Kindaichi had long gotteo.

  "Kindaichi, did y the milk bread for me?" Oikawa Tōru asked with an expet look.

  "Yes, I brought it today!" Kindaichi pced the bread oable o Oikawa.

  "Oh! Thanks! Here's the money for it." Oikaicked up the bread and pced the money oable. "Ah, the bread from near Kindaichi's house is just too delicious!"

  "Thank you, Oikawa-senpai!" Kindaichi replied happily.

  Iwaizumi Hajime clicked his tongue. "Why are you thanking him?"

  "Because, unlike Iwa-, Kindaichi's such a straightforward kid," Oikawa mumbled through a mouthful of bread.

  "More like he's easier to boss around," Iwaizumi retorted.

  "Hey, don't snder me!" Oikawa swallowed his bread. "I trust Kindaichi, so I ask him for help. And he's happy to help, too!"

  He poi Kindaichi. "This is what we call a win-win, isn't it?"

  Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at Oikawa. "Win-win? That phrase sounds shady ing from you."

  "You're so mean, Iwa-." Oikawa feigned a hurt expression.

  "If Taichi were here, you wouldn't get away with this so easily," Matsukawa Issei observed calmly. "I just picture Oikawa ending up treating Taichi to bread for free."

  Kaedehara Taichi had taken the weekend off practice, saying he was going to Tokyo to learn a new special move from a skilled senior and scout potential oppos for nationals.

  "Wouldn't that just mean Oikawa got scammed?" Hanamaki Takahiro burst out ughing at the thought.

  Oikaouted. "That's why Taichi isn't cute."

  "Kindaichi, how do you feel about being Oikawa's errand boy?" Hanamaki suddenly asked the most important question.

  Kindaichi thought for a moment. "Well, I wouldn't say I 'like' it…"

  Iwaizumi, stunned by Kindaichi's hesitant expression, asked, "Don't tell me you think that crappy Oikawa is cool?"

  Kindaichi's familiar goofy smile appeared. "Huh? Isn't he? Oikawa-senpai is really cool."

  "Open your eyes and look closely, Kindaichi!" Iwaizumi shouted in disbelief.

  "You must have a major misuanding about the word 'cool,'" Hanamaki chimed in.

  Oikawa had been nodding in satisfa at Kindaichi's answer, but his mood soured instantly at Iwaizumi and Hanamaki's swift rebuttal.

  "What's that supposed to mean, Hanamaki?!"

  "Okay, okay, I got it." Hanamaki pulled out his phone. "Kindaichi, let me show you something. After seeing this, your eyes will be wide open." Kindaichi leaned in, as did a curious Oikawa.

  Hanamaki dispyed a photo of Oikawa g after losing to Ushijima Wakatoshi's Shiratorizawa team st year.

  "Ahhh! When did you take that, Hanamaki?!" Oikawa tried to snatch the phone.

  "Oh, I have ooo," Matsukawa said, pulling out his phone. "Here's a picture of him g the year before."

  "Ahhh, Matsukawa!"

  "I've got one from his st middle school game when he lost so badly he had snot running down his face."

  "Hey, Iwa-! Didn't you cry just as badly that time?!" Oikarotested, stu the number of embarrassing records of him that had been preserved.

  Bang!

  The activity room door burst open.

  "The alumni are almost here. Coach Irihata said we o speed things up," Kunimi Akira announced.

  ------

  Kindaichi Yūtarō carried the scoreboard out of the equipment room, his expression slightly tense. Although the third gym, dedicated to the volleyball club, was usually busy, today it was even more crowded and noisy.

  The added crowd sisted of uy students.

  Today, they were holding a practice match against a team made up of Aoba Johsai alumni.

  As the volleyball club members prepared for the game, they stole g the warming-up uy pyers. Kindaichi, too, couldn't help but sneak a peek.

  They're so tall, and they look s....

  The uy students were generally taller and more muscur than the Aoba Johsai team, and their years of training were evident in their defined physiques.

  Just as Kindaichi's mind started wandering, a voice broke his thoughts.

  "Kindaichi, what are you spag out for? Move aside." Kunimi, pushing a ball cart, zily looked at him.

  "We're pying against them…it's a bit nerve-wrag."

  "'t be helped. They're so tall, just standing there is intimidating." The two iserated while eyeing their formidable oppos.

  Aoba Johsai had pyed uy teams before, but not often. Scheduling was always difficult, and they usually lost these matches. For the team, these games were more like tests than serious petitions.

  However, today's oppos were alumni of Aoba Johsai. The stakes felt higher; a poor performance wouldn't go unremarked.

  Kindaichi focused his attention on the uping practice match. With the national tour approag, pying against stronger oppos today recious opportunity.

  "Alright!!"

  Reinvigorated, Kindaichi turo Kunimi. "It's rare for the alumni to e all this way. Don't sck off, or they'll think we aren't serious."

  "Yeah, yeah," Kunimi replied casually.

  Though irritated at being preemptively accused of sg, Kunimi couldn't deny that it had crossed his mind.

  Kindaichi, however, meant no harm; his bluntness was just his way of speaking.

  "Coach Irihata, gratutions on making it to nationals this year. That's incredible!" said Takahashi Ichisuke, now a third-year uy student, to Coach Irihata.

  "Haha, seeing you all still passionate about volleyball after graduating makes me proud," Coach Irihata replied, nostalgia evident in his tone.

  "Ah, it's such a shame we couldn't take you to nationals back then. That's always been my regret from high school," said Kobayashi Yuuri, a libero now in his sed year of uy.

  Two years ago, he had been Aoba Johsai's vice-captain when Oikawa and his peers were freshmen.

  "You all worked hard enough back then. High school passes by so quickly. Sometimes it feels like there's not enough time to achieve everything," Coach Irihata mented. "This time, Oikawa seized his st ce. Let's see how far he go."

  "Thank you for making time to e today. I know it's not easy," he added.

  "It's fi's fine…"

  After a brief round of reminisg, the uy pyers began warming up. They were eager to see how far this year's national tenders, their juniors, had e.

  The practice match against the uy team was about to begin. Staring at the t figures of the uy pyers oher side of the , Kindaichi found it hard to imagine his team seg a victory. Especially with Kaedehara Taichi absent, their lineup felt inplete.

  Still, losing without a fight would leave a bitter taste. The daunting feeling grew stronger as Kindaichi locked eyes with a posed uy pyer through the he overwhelming tension made him instinctively avert his gaze.

  At that moment, Oikawa's voice reached his ears.

  "Don't let their presence overwhelm you." Oikaatted Kindaichi on the back. "Listen up. First, we should thank the alumni for sacrifig their weekend for us. Then, approach this match with a mio learn."

  "Yes…Approach this match with a learning mi. No matter who the oppo is, we just o py to our usual level," cluded Iwaizumi Hajime, Aoba Johsai's former ace.

  His fident words helped ease Kindaichi Yūtarō's tension, though he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.

  "Hey, if Taichi were here…" Kunimi Akira said suddenly, "he'd probably say something like…"

  "No matter who the oppo is, we will win!"

  The Aoba Johsai team lifted their heads, their spirits instantly rejuvenated. Oikawa Tōru let out a wry smile—this was ihe moment they hat fearless guy the most.

  After a brief round of greetings and s, the match began.

  "Please take care of us!"

  Aoba Johsai's lineup was as follows:

  Front row—Setter Oikawa Tōru, Middle Blocker Kyōtaarō, Outside Hitter Kunimi Akira Back row—Wing Spiker Hanamaki Takahiro, Middle blocker Kindaichi Yūtarō and Outside Hitter Iwaizumi Hajime (Libero: Watari Shinji).

  The uy team fielded a formidable lineup of:

  Front row—Middle Blimoto Kazuya, Middle Blocker Matsumoto Kentaro, Outside Hitter Takahashi IchisukeBack row— Wing Spiker Sato Ryo, Setter Morita Heiji and Outside Hitter Uchida Subaru (Libero: Kobayashi Yuri).

  The uy pyers were noticeably taller than their high school terparts, with all but the libero aer exceeding 180 height. The star outside hitter, Takahashi Ichisuke, stood an impressive 193 cm tall.

  The match began with the uy team serving.

  Uchida Subaru's powerful serve forced libero Watari Shinji to make a challengiion.

  Though Watari had grown aced to handling Oikawa's devastating serves, this one made him wince slightly. Even so, he mao pass the ball ly to Oikawa.

  With a quick assessment of the court, Oikawa decided the best opportunity y on the right side.

  Simultaneously, Iwaizumi, Hanamaki, Kunimi, and Kyotani uhemselves forward in synized attacks. Oikarecise set found Kunimi on the right, who smashed the ball into the open court for a point.

  [Aoba Johsai 1 – 0 Uy Team]

  "Oh, this is iing," remarked Takahashi Ichisuke as he observed his juniors.

  A multifaceted attack strategy, nearly abandoning defence, executed perfectly with the assistance of an exceptional setter. The uy team couldn't pinpoint the attag pyer until the st moment, leaving a one-on-one sario that Kunimi capitalized on effortlessly.

  "So, that's Oikawa Tōru? Impressive…no wohey mao defeat Shiratorizawa," Takahashi mused.

  Aoba Johsai served . Without a clearly identifiable threat among them, Kunimi opted for a serve targeting the setter.

  His serve zipped towards Morita Heiji, the uy team's setter.

  "I got it!" libero Kobayashi Yuri moved into position to assist with the reception.

  "Takahashi!" Morita shouted, direg the ball to their ace.

  Morita's pass set the ball perfectly above the akahashi, with his t height and formidable reach, unched into a devastating spike that soared well above the outstretched arms of Oikawa and Kyotani's double block.

  Bang!

  The ball nded with for Aoba Johsai's court, boung high before dropping.

  At that moment, the memory of fag Ushijima Wakatoshi fshed through their minds, except this attacker was even taller by a few timetres.

  Takahashi Ichisuke's anding spike equalized the score.

  [Aoba Johsai 1 – 1 Uy Team]

  "Hey, kids, don't uimate your seniors!" Morita Heiji taunted Kunimi with a grin.

  The Aoba Johsai team quickly regrouped, realizing their initial serve strategy had iently set up an advantageous position for the opposier.

  Not only was the ace lethal, but the setter was also formidable.

  With the serve ba their hands, Sugimoto Kazuya stepped up to the line.

  Tossing the ball high, he executed a powerful float serve that veered uably toward the seam between Iwaizumi and Watari.

  "I got it!" Watari moved to intercept, but as he positioned himself, the ball swerved slightly to his right.

  Smack!

  The serve nded near Iwaizumi's feet. Sugimoto's serve had earhe uy team a direct point.

  [Aoba Johsai 1 – 2 Uy Team]

  "Too slow! You o act faster!" Sugimoto shouted, real-time tips.

  "Yes, sir!" Watari and Iwaizumi responded in unison.

  Sugimoto served again. This time, the ball came directly toward Iwaizumi. He stepped forward to receive it, but just as his fingers were about to make tact, the ball dipped and shifted forward.

  The ball grazed Iwaizumi's fiips and dropped behind him.

  The uy team secured yet another point with secutive service aces.

  [Aoba Johsai 1 – 3 Uy Team]

  Sugimoto smirked. "Your timing is crucial. Don't it to your reception staoo early. Wait for the trajectory to bee clearer before moving."

  "Uood!"

  Although the match had only just begun, Iwaizumi was already sweating profusely.

  Sugimoto stepped up for his third serve, his approaoticeably quicker.

  "A jump serve?!" Kunimi observed the subtle ge and immediately lowered his stance, ready to dive.

  Thwack!

  The ball rocketed toward the court like a missile. Reag instantly, Kunimi dove and barely mao dig the ball.

  "Cover!"

  Watari rushed forward to set up a pyable ball. Oikawa, seizing the opportunity, executed a powerful spike to break their streak.

  [Aoba Johsai 2 – 3 Uy Team]

  Sugimoto looked at Kunimi with a sly grin. "Not bad, kid…"

  _________

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