"The Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club Initiation Match now officially begins! The White Team will serve first."
The referee for the Initiation Match was Seijoh's manager, Mizoguchi Sadayuki. The match was best two out of three sets.
The White Team (Upperclassmen Team) members were: Wing Spiker Iwaizumi Hajime, Setter Oikawa Toru, Wing Spiker Hanamaki Takahiro, Middle Blocker Matsukawa Issei, and Setter Yahaba Shigeru.
The Red Team (Rookie Team) members were: Wing Spiker Akashi Asuka, Middle Blocker Kindaichi Yutaro, Wing Spiker Kunimi Akira, Setter Mishita Ryuhei, and Libero Watari Shinji.
Since this was not a formal match, the positions of the two teams were adjusted appropriately.
For instance, with Akashi on the court, Kunimi Akira instinctively ceded the Wing Spiker position and shifted from Wing Spiker to Middle Blocker.
The situation on the opposing White Team was similar.
After a brief discussion of tactics, the match officially began.
...
Oikawa's Serve
For the very first point, the White Team chose to have Setter Oikawa Toru serve first.
When Libero Watari Shinji saw Oikawa Toru walk to the baseline with the ball and reserve enough space for a running start, his expression immediately changed.
"Damn it, that miserable Oikawa! He's really not showing any mercy!"
Watari Shinji complained under his breath, then immediately shouted to Mishita Ryuhei and Kunimi Akira in the back row: "Hey, focus up! That bastard's serve is extremely powerful."
"Rookies, this is a welcoming gift from your upperclassman! Better receive it properly!"
Oikawa Toru gently spun the volleyball a few times, a 'naughty smile' slowly forming at the corner of his mouth. He then lightly tossed the ball into the air, took his run-up, and jumped...
The moment they saw Oikawa Toru make the preparation for the jump serve, both Mishita Ryuhei and Akashi were slightly startled.
Mishita Ryuhei found the opponent's preparatory action strangely familiar.
In Akashi's mind, however, a nonsensical background music suddenly started playing.
BAM!
The next second, as the sound of the ball being struck echoed from the other side, the volleyball flying through the air suddenly accelerated. Like a shooting star, it instantly flew over the middle block, dropping straight down between Watari Shinji and Kunimi Akira.
"I got it!"
Watari Shinji shouted, diving forward in a fish-like sprawl.
With a 'smack' of contact, Watari Shinji received the volleyball with one hand. Unfortunately, the contact point was not precise enough, and the ball flew far out of bounds.
Score: 0:1.
"Damn that Oikawa Toru! He didn't hold back at all!" Watari Shinji cursed under his breath.
"Ohh~~~ That's really amazing. Oikawa-senpai's serve is still so sharp!" Kindaichi Yutaro, however, openly praised him.
Oikawa Toru was also a graduate of Kitagawa Daiichi, so he was Kindaichi Yutaro's upperclassman not only at Aoba Johsai but also back in middle school.
Even Kageyama Tobio's high-speed serve was learned from Oikawa Toru.
Mishita Ryuhei turned his head to glance at the ball's landing point and whistled: "Tch, that's impressive. As expected of a high school player. The quality of that serve, in terms of power, speed, and control, is terrifyingly high!"
"Hey, you two! Fall back slightly towards the sidelines! Any ball dropping in the middle will be received by me, got it?"
Even Seijoh's own main Libero was under considerable pressure when facing Oikawa Toru's super-high-speed serve. But as an upperclassman, Watari Shinji felt he had to shoulder the responsibility for the Red Team, regardless of the pressure.
If nothing else, he couldn't let that bastard Oikawa Toru get too arrogant.
"Oh? Watari-chan, you've voluntarily expanded your defensive range? But if that's all, it'll still be difficult to defend against me!"
Oikawa Toru saw Watari Shinji proactively expanding his back-row defense. His expression didn't change much. After gently rotating the ball a few times, he decisively launched his second jump serve.
The volleyball carved an arc through the air, then rapidly descended toward Mishita Ryuhei's position.
Watari Shinji's expression instantly changed: "That bastard Oikawa... Mishita, watch out!"
Mishita Ryuhei, facing the incoming volleyball, felt a strange sense of nostalgia when he saw the extremely fast serve: "So fast! It's been a long time since I've received a serve like this!"
SMACK!
The volleyball landed on Mishita Ryuhei's forearm and bounced high into the air.
He caught it.
However, the angle was slightly off.
The ball, after rebounding from his forearm, seemed to be arcing back toward the White Team's court.
"Huh? It was received? Did I not serve well enough?" Oikawa Toru was slightly surprised to see Mishita Ryuhei receive the ball.
"You trash Oikawa! You let a rookie receive your serve! That's not the kind of skill an upperclassman should be showing!" Iwaizumi Hajime cursed without turning his head: "But this is our chance ball right away, so you better make good use of the opportunity."
Oikawa Toru gave an OK gesture and said gently: "No problem. Iwaizumi-chan, you better spike this one well..."
Akashi Strikes
Before Oikawa Toru could finish his sentence, an unexpected change occurred.
Just as the flying volleyball was about to cross the net and drop into the White Team's court, a figure suddenly leaped high from the Red Team's blocking front.
For a moment, White Team's front-row blockers, Hanamaki Takahiro and Matsukawa Issei, felt as if they saw a jet taking off. The enormous shadow directly covered the gymnasium lights, causing both of them to freeze momentarily.
"First-pass direct spike... Hanamaki! Matsukawa! Watch the block!"
Iwaizumi Hajime's warning sounded promptly. The two instantly snapped back, hurriedly jumping to block, but it was too late.
BAM!
Before Hanamaki Takahiro and Matsukawa Issei could jump to their maximum height, Akashi in mid-air had already slapped the ball down. The volleyball flew over the fingertips of the two White Team blockers, smashing heavily onto the three-meter line with a dull thud.
The court fell silent.
The White Team players looked at Akashi descending from the air, and at that moment, they only had one thought in their minds.
"This guy jumps so high!"
...
On the sidelines, Coach Irihata Nobuteru's eyes lit up: "As expected of the 'Ace' of the middle school champion team! He's certainly not simple! That jump height just now... 335 { cm}... no, it must have been 340 { cm}."
...
"Great set, Mishita!"
"Just luck. With that serving speed, if I hadn't been used to it before, I wouldn't have been able to receive it, let alone set it."
Akashi and Mishita Ryuhei lightly fist-bumped, exchanging smiles.
Watari Shinji, Kindaichi, and Kunimi, who were about to come over to celebrate, instantly froze when they saw this scene, subconsciously halting their steps.
It's supposed to be a five-person match, so why does it feel like only two people exist?
Mishita Ryuhei then said: "Speaking of which, their initiation method here is quite unique! Do they really go all out even against rookies?"
"Perhaps so. If that's the case, we should return the favor!"
Mishita Ryuhei nodded, tossing the ball to Akashi: "Then let's give our upperclassmen a proper greeting! Don't embarrass Senkoku, Akashi!"
"Don't worry about it!"