"Why do I have to do this?"
Inside the Karasuno gym, looking at the 'Luminous Shadow Duo' and Tanaka Ryuunosuke, who were excitedly taking the court in their practice jerseys, Oda Miki's face gradually formed a mask of pain.
"Captain, why did you have to drag me onto the court? If you wanted someone to play with Tsukishima, wouldn't Yamaguchi be a better fit?"
"Hmm~~~ Don't worry about the small details. Let's work hard together, Oda!" Sawamura Daichi patted Oda Miki's shoulder, smiling warmly.
Oda Miki: "..."
I really feel like this isn't the high school life I wanted.
...
The First Rally
The match format was three-on-three.
It was the Green Team: [Sawamura Daichi, Tsukishima Kei, Oda Miki] versus the Red Team: [Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Hinata Shouyou, Kageyama Tobio].
Kageyama Tobio served first.
Holding the ball behind the baseline, Kageyama Tobio exhaled. After his mood gradually calmed, he slowly tossed the volleyball high, leaped, and powerfully unleashed a high-speed jump serve.
BAM!
The volleyball traced an arc in the air, quickly dropping toward the Green Team's backcourt.
"Oh~ What an incredible jump serve!"
Sugawara Koushi, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when he saw the serve.
But in the next second, just as the volleyball was about to hit the ground, a figure suddenly shifted laterally, and with a PPAH, they perfectly received the high-speed jump serve.
It was Oda Miki.
"Nice receive, Oda!"
Sawamura Daichi's eyes lit up. In volleyball, receiving is far more indicative of solid fundamentals than spiking or serving. Just from the quality of that one receive, Sawamura Daichi could tell that Oda Miki definitely possessed a deep foundation in volleyball.
As expected of a player from a championship team!
Seeing his first serve received, Kageyama Tobio clicked his tongue in annoyance but quickly returned to the match, shouting: "Be ready for defense!"
BAM!
No sooner had Kageyama Tobio spoken than a spike landed on his court.
The Green Team scored first.
"What a genius! In such a short time, the power, speed, and precision of his serve have all improved across the board." Oda Miki looked at his slightly reddened wrist and commented.
"I should be the surprised one. You couldn't receive a serve like that in middle school," Kageyama Tobio's sharp gaze focused on Oda Miki through the net, and he slowly spoke.
Oda Miki shook his head: "That's different. I was able to receive your serve because I'm somewhat used to it; my technique hasn't actually improved much. There were quite a few teams with powerful servers at the Nationals. If you couldn't receive a serve like that, the match would end quickly."
There was another thing Oda Miki didn't mention: their team used to have a player with a serve like that too, and it was faster and more powerful.
"Nationals..."
Hearing this, Kageyama Tobio's breathing hitched, and he subconsciously clenched his fists.
Although Kageyama Tobio was famous within the prefecture during middle school, due to various reasons, he never managed to advance to Nationals.
"Nationals... I must compete there this year..."
"Sigh! You look highly motivated. But if you're still acting like you did in middle school, you likely won't have a chance to win this year..."
"Hey, Oda!"
Sawamura Daichi's expression suddenly changed. Concerned that Oda Miki might touch a nerve with Kageyama Tobio, he sharply interrupted.
"Don't worry, Captain. I'm not mocking him. After all, it was our school that defeated Kitagawa Daiichi in middle school. I wouldn't be malicious enough to taunt a defeated opponent."
Oda Miki waved a hand: "I'm simply stating a fact. I think Kageyama knows this himself."
"Ah... I understand."
Kageyama Tobio's expression was quite calm, seemingly accepting Oda Miki's suggestion.
However, in Oda Miki's eyes, although Kageyama Tobio had changed a lot compared to middle school, some deeper issues were not so easily resolved.
But he wasn't expecting to truly mentor Kageyama Tobio, only giving him a temporary reminder.
Then, Oda Miki looked at Hinata Shouyou and said: "And you over there, I'll call you Hinata. Hinata, your fundamental technique is very poor..."
Hinata Shouyou: "Huh!!!" (Shocked!)
"But your physical talent is quite good..."
Hinata Shouyou: "({o o})" (Excited!)
"So, in the matches to come, if you want to fully utilize your potential, you should rely on your body to win, not compete with us on technique. Do you understand?"
"I got it!"
Hinata Shouyou readily accepted Oda Miki's advice. For Hinata Shouyou, who played volleyball for three years in middle school but never had a single formal practice, advice from a "professional" and "champion player" like Oda Miki felt incredibly insightful.
"But, I have a question. This is a match right now, so why are you helping us? We are opponents!" Hinata Shouyou asked in confusion.
Why?
To strengthen your skills, of course, so you can quickly defeat us and end the match sooner!
Hearing Hinata Shouyou's words, Oda Miki secretly complained. However, outwardly, his words were different: "Hahaha... What does it matter? Don't forget, we are only playing a practice match right now. We will be teammates in the future, so gaining progress in the match is more important than the result."
"Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh~~~~"
Hinata Shouyou exclaimed, his eyes shining as if a light bulb had gone off.
But the next second, he suddenly came to his senses and said: "Wait, the result of this match is very important! If we lose, we won't be able to join the Volleyball Club, and we definitely won't be able to become your teammates!"
Oda Miki: "... Huh! I think the reason you two might not be able to join the Volleyball Club has little to do with winning or losing. You are being barred by the Captain because you disobeyed him on the very first day and hit the Vice Principal's wig with a volleyball."
"..."
The air was silent for a moment. The next second, Hinata Shouyou suddenly paled and anxiously asked Kageyama Tobio: "Kageyama, what he said isn't true, is it?"
Kageyama Tobio shouted: "How should I know something like that?"
Others: "..."
Good grief. So you two didn't even know what you did wrong until now!