Chiba Kaho was just an ordinary first-year student at Aoba Johsai High.

  After spending a semester adjusting to her new enviro, she had grown aced to high school life.

  Csses, teachers, the school itself—once she got familiar with everything, it didn't feel all that different from junih.

  Yet, even as the y wore off, Kaho still enjoyed her daily life at Aoba Johsai.

  Yesterday had been the opening ceremony for the erm. Predictably dull and almost sleep-indug. The afternoon's club recruitment speeches and pledge ceremonies didn't seem to have much to do with her either.

  Perhaps it was because, apart from good grades and a well-off family, Kaho didn't have any particur skills or is.

  That is, until the volleyball club's representatives took the stage—their captain and their ace.

  Both were strikingly good-looking. Oikawa-senpai was already quite famous at Aoba Johsai, even among students who didn't follow volleyball.

  Kaho herself had heard of him.

  But that wasn't what caught her attention.

  "That guy aichi Kaedehara…he looks kind of familiar."

  "So, he's the ace of the volleyball team…"

  He was tanned and taller than the image in her memory, but that zy demeanour—made her fident she hadn't mistaken him.

  Taichi's speech, however, was dull and formal, far less eaining than Oikawa-senpai's pyful delivery.

  Yet, at the end of his speech, Kaedehara decred three goals:

  Nationals! Number ohe stro!

  Even someone like Kaho, who had never been involved in sports, could sehe weight behind those words.

  Aaichi's tone carried absolute fidence. His eyes sparkled uhe lights of the auditorium.

  How Iing.

  A smile spread across Kaho's face. She wasirely clueless about sports, but she had never joined a sports club, simply because none had ever piqued her i.

  But now, she was curious. She wao see what volleyball was all about and witness for herself how Kaedehara Taichi po turn those bold words into reality.

  -----

  Thus, an ued visitor appeared outside the doors of the Third Gymnasium.

  Kaho stood at the entrance, peering ihe volleyball team was hard at work in the midst of an interaining session.

  The court was scattered with bright blue-and-yellow volleyballs, their vibrant colours catg the light.

  The pyers on the court were moving with full effort. Nearly everyone erf dynamic, full-body movements, and the squeaking of their sneakers against the floor was sharp and pierg.

  "Up close, this is really amazing…" Kaho murmured to herself.

  Oher side of the he pyers were doing everything they could to keep the ball from hitting the ground—running, jumping, and p all their energy into the game.

  Kaho sed the court until she spotted Kaedehara Taichi.

  "Touch!"

  Just then, a volleyball flew off the court, hurtling toward her at an arming speed.

  Simultaneously, Taichi, stationed in the back row, sprioward her.

  "—!"

  Kaho froze in pce, uo make a sound. Her mind, usually calm and collected, went pletely bnk.

  Taichi didn't know why a girl was standing there, but it was clear she was terrified.

  "Don't move!" he shouted.

  Kaho stood rooted to the spot as the ball zoomed toward her.

  Taichi, despite being behind the ball, leapt forward in a diving motion, as if he were about to sm face-first into the ground.

  "Ah—"

  Kaho gasped. If someo hurt because of her, she'd rather take the hit herself.

  But nothing happened.

  A hand suddenly appeared beh the ball, sending it s bato the court in a graceful arc right before it could reach her.

  Even more astonishing, the collision she had feared never came.

  Taichi, who seemed destined for a fat, somehow rolled seamlessly upon nding and was ba his feet in an instant, sprinting toward the .

  Kaho stood dumbfounded, uo process what had just happened. Her eyes followed Kaedehara Taichi as he darted bato the game.

  "Taichi!"

  The ball was set high into the air, and Taichi, who had just returo the court, leapt effortlessly to meet it.

  "So high…" Chiba Kaho couldn't help but murmur as she watched his perfe suspended midair.

  —Boom!

  A deafening sound followed as Taichi's spike hit the court. He nded gracefully, and his teammates immediately surrounded him in celebration.

  "Was that a point? That's incredible…" Kaho muttered under her breath, still in awe.

  "Excuse me, are you okay? You didn't get hurt, right?"

  Kaho snapped out of her daze, realizing there was a boy standing beside her.

  Yahaba Shigeru adjusted his uniform and ran a hand through his hair, striking what he thought articurly refined pose.

  "Are you ied in volleyball? I help expin things to you," he said smoothly.

  Kaho g him briefly before turning her gaze back to the court. The pyers were already drenched i despite it being so soon after school had ended.

  This was a team with a clear goal, one where everyone was w hard together to achieve it. She wondered if someone like her, an outsider, could really fit in here.

  The doubt flickered in her mind for only a sed. Despite her delicate appearance, Kaho had always been a decisive person.

  "Hello, I'm Chiba Kaho, a first-year. I heard the volleyball team is looking for a manager, and I'd like to give it a try."

  Yahaba's eyes filled with tears of joy. This is it! he thought.

  He'd waited two years for this moment.

  Could it really be this easy? Maybe his charm had finally caught up to Oikawa-senpai's! Yahaba silently gratuted himself.

  "Wele, Chiba-san! I'm Yahaba Shigeru, a sed-year. Do you have a club application form with you?"

  "Yes, I do," Kaho replied.

  Yahaba's heart leapt. It looked like the team was about to gain a new female manager!

  Walking briskly alongside her, Yahaba led Kahh the gym, passing curious gnces from the other pyers. They headed straight toward one of the senior members, who was anizing equipment.

  "Senpai, this is Chiba Kaho. She's very ied in joining our volleyball team. I thought she could start by learning the manager's responsibilities. What do you think?" Yahaba's tone was filled with anticipation and fidence.

  The third-year senior paused what he was doing and turo face Kaho. His gaze was warm and weling as he sized her up before her a kind smile.

  "Of course! We'd be happy to have you, Chiba-san."

  With that, the senian expining the daily operations of the volleyball team iail—from scheduling matches and managing equipment to coordinating the pyers' training regimens and ensuring proper nutrition.

  Kaho listetentively, occasionally asking thoughtful questions.

  Yahaba chimed in now and then, adding his own expnations. The new semester was shaping up to be full of surprises, and Yahaba felt an unpreted sense of optimism about the team's future.

  The training mat the court eventually came to an end, and the pyers began to gather around, intrigued by the newer.

  Standing tall and radiating fidence, Yahaba prepared to introduce their eam member with great fanfare.

  But before he could say a word, Kaho stepped forward.

  "Taichi-kun, do you remember me?"

  Her clear, fident voice rang out. She walked up to Kaedehara Taichi and looked him straight in the eye.

  Yahaba froze, his expression torted in fusion. "???"

  The se was oddly familiar—except the st time this happehe target had been Oikawa-senpai. Now it was Taichi.

  Taichi was stunned. He scrutihe girl with her delicate features and oval face but couldn't pce her at all.

  "Do we know each other?" he asked, genuinely perplexed.

  "Hiss—"

  The entire Aoba Johsai team collectively sucked in a sharp breath, as if brag for an explosive rea.

  But instead of anger, Kaho's eyes lit up. She broke into a bright smile and said cheerfully:

  "Well, now you do. I'm Chiba Kaho, a first-year and soon-to-be manager of the Aoba Johsai volleyball team."

  _________

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