In their third year of middle school, the club finally became an official team. They finally had enough members. And so they participated in the official tournament they had long dreamed of for the first time.
Their middle school—
their first and last official match had just come to an end.
First Set: 25–23
Second Set: 25–19
Objectively speaking, this wasn't the kind of score difference you would expect between a first-time team and a championship contender.
No—in fact, it might even be fair to say they had performed better than expected.
Everyone had brought out the very best of their abilities. They gave everything they could. Even the players with no volleyball experience contributed to the team using the skills they had cultivated in other sports clubs—especially their footwork. At times, they even made fine plays.
They truly did well. I think they should be proud of themselves.
I'm proud of them too.
But…
A sharp ache stabbed deep into the core of my body.
"—…It hurts."
The pain of losing.
The frustration.
The bitterness.
You never get used to those things.
And I never want to.
It's always frustrating. It always hurts.
If only, in that moment… in that play… during that single instant, we had chased the ball just a little more.
If only we had taken just one more step forward… maybe things would have been different.
It's all if onlys and what-ifs, but I can say them again and again. They never run out.
Even if it's pathetic. Even if people say it's not manly.
I can't help thinking about it.
Because I've never experienced a defeat that left absolutely no regrets.
There's always something left behind.
And surely, the one who had the strongest attachment to this match—
the one most starved for victory—
was Hinata.
This was his first experience with defeat.
Which meant the pain, the suffering, and the frustration must be stronger for him than for anyone else.
"...Ugh… ngh…"
Hinata, the captain, stood frozen in place.
No matter how many times he looked at the scoreboard,
the numbers never changed.
Because he was the one who revived the Yukigaoka Volleyball Club—
a club that had practically collapsed and been reduced to nothing more than a casual circle due to lack of members.
Precisely because of that, he had such deep feelings about it.
And he wanted to win.
He wanted to win together with everyone.
The ones who couldn't bring themselves to speak to Hinata right away were Izumi and Sekimukai, who stood nearby.
They were last-minute helpers who had joined volleyball for this match alone.
They weren't from the volleyball club—they had only come to make up the numbers.
But even so…
It seemed they had their own feelings about the match.
Their eyes were slightly moist.
Everyone had said it was impossible.
But even so—
they wanted to win.
That's what their expressions seemed to say.
"…Alright, everyone. Line up. Come on, Shōyō too."
The one who spoke was Kagami, the only one who had accumulated experience in a place far, far away in the past—a place he could never return to.
He felt that if he didn't support them now, who would?
Kagami himself was hurting.
And he understood Hinata's feelings more than enough.
Because he had already repeated those same questions in his own mind countless times.
But there were things that had to be done.
Sports begin with courtesy, and they end with courtesy.
Kagami placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, about to lead him away.
When suddenly—
"Why are you…? Why are you in a place like that!?"
From across the net. On the other side of the court—the side of the winners, who would continue playing in the next matches—stood Kageyama of Kitagawa Daiichi.
Looking closer, the members of Kitagawa Daiichi still hadn't lined up either.
Many of them were breathing heavily.
Even they hadn't exactly had it easy.
"With your incredible physical ability, your high-level volleyball skills, and the leadership to unite a team—someone like you—why!?"
"'Why,' you say—what do you mean by that?"
From the losers' side of the court, Kagami met Kageyama's gaze and answered.
Hinata trembled slightly for a moment,
but remained silent.
"I… I… you… damn it…"
Kageyama stumbled over his words again and again,
until the dam finally burst and everything spilled out.
"You're not someone who should end up in a place like this! Your ability—your power—could absolutely reach a much higher level! Even the nationals! You've got that much talent! The only thing you're lacking is a team! So why is someone like you playing volleyball in a place like that!?"
"W-What did you just say!?"
"H-Hey, stop it."
Sekimukai raised his voice before Kagami could respond.
He understood that they had been outmatched.
He knew they were amateurs, and that it couldn't be helped.
But he also knew how hard Hinata and Kagami had worked to play volleyball at this middle school.
"A place like that."
Those words from Kageyama.
It sounded as if he had just insulted Yukigaoka itself.
Even as amateurs, they had given it their all—never holding back, fighting until the very end.
Call it a cliché if you want,
but Yukigaoka didn't deserve to be called "a place like that."
That was why Sekimukai couldn't help raising his voice.
Even Izumi, who tried to stop him,
felt the same way.
He wasn't calm inside either.
But since the fact that they had lost couldn't be changed,
he could only grit his teeth.
Even though volleyball wasn't their usual sport.
Even though they weren't official members, just temporary helpers.
They were still frustrated.
Perhaps even more frustrated than when they had lost their own basketball matches.
"......"
Amid all this,
only Kagami showed no change in expression.
He simply watched Kageyama.
To be honest,
he found it a little surprising.
Because the word "team" had just come out of Kageyama's mouth.
As far as Kagami knew,
Kageyama at Kitagawa Daiichi had been evaluated as a tyrannical, selfish, overbearing king—
someone everyone wanted to take down.
At the very least,
the way he had spoken just now was honestly terrible.
From an outsider's perspective, this had been a match between an unknown school and a championship favorite.
It wouldn't have been strange if people assumed it would be nothing more than a warm-up match.
Yet despite ending in a straight 2–0 victory,
it had unexpectedly turned into a good game.
Still—
to say something like that so bluntly to their faces?
Volleyball is a team sport.
No matter how good one person is,
it means nothing alone.
Frankly, Kagami thought Kageyama was going too far in whipping the defeated side.
From the way he spoke,
even the others meeting him for the first time probably caught a glimpse of the reason behind his nickname—
"The King."
(From that Kageyama… "team," huh.)
The word that came from his mouth—team.
It was surprising that he had spoken about teammates at all.
"…A player isn't a soloist. They're part of an orchestra.
The moment even one person starts thinking, 'I'm special,' it's already over… huh. I see. Maybe that doesn't apply anymore."
"…W-What did you say!?"
Kageyama probably hadn't heard the whole thing.
He stepped closer and reached out to the net,
though he didn't cross the boundary between winner and loser.
"The reason I'm here? Because I wanted to play volleyball with these guys. That's why I'm here. …Isn't that simple enough?
—And besides…"
Kagami paused for a breath before speaking again.
"Kageyama. Maybe it's also because I wanted to knock you down a peg. If I hadn't been here, we might not have faced you today."
Kagami even smiled at Kageyama.
"Tch… What the hell are you talking about? If you kept winning, we would've met somewhere eventually anyway! I'm going to keep winning and stay on the court! If you were somewhere stronger, then you'd definitely—!"
Looking at that face,
Kageyama felt like saying even more.
After all, this man named Kagami—
had only played one match.
Just two sets.
They had never practiced together.
And yet—
he understood clearly.
He could feel it.
This man could turn the entire game around by himself.
That was exactly—
the image Kageyama had always idealized.
Sometimes Kageyama would think to himself:
"Let me handle every play… if you want to win."
Kagami was a man infinitely close to that ideal.
While pulling his teammates along,
he himself was delivering the best performance on the court.
"Let me handle every play… if you want to win."
The man closest to that ideal was Kagami.
While pulling his teammates forward, he himself delivered the best performance possible.
Kageyama still had many things he wanted to say.
But in the end, he couldn't say anything more.
And Kagami said nothing either.
Instead, Kageyama turned his attention toward Hinata, who had remained silent the entire time.
Kageyama believed Hinata's physical abilities and overall potential were far beyond the ordinary.
But when it came to actual volleyball skills, he had almost none.
And yet he was the team captain.
That fact irritated Kageyama even more—especially considering that Kagami was on that same team.
"With a guy like Kagami on your team, what the hell have you been doing, Hinata? Couldn't you at least try harder not to drag him down?"
Even this was a somewhat softened version of what he actually thought.
In truth, it had been even harsher.
It was practically abusive language.
You could clearly see Kageyama's terrible personality.
And yet, even so, Hinata remembered the desperate look on his face.
But unlike Sekimukai,
Hinata didn't argue back.
He just stood there,
unable to say anything.
At that moment,
there was only one thing he was thinking.
—I'm so pathetic.
That was all he could feel.
Eventually, the referee and their own team members warned them for taking too long to line up.
They somehow managed to form the line.
Even Hinata, who had frozen in place, was finally pulled along by the others.
Yukigaoka Middle School — Sets Won: 0
The match had lasted only about an hour.
It had felt like such a dense, intense stretch of time.
Yet now that it was over,
it seemed incredibly short.
Each of them felt that in their own way as they stood in line.
When the official match ended and they stepped outside,
the sun had already begun to set.
The sky was dyed a deep crimson.
"So if you lose… you can't stand on the court anymore, huh."
"Yeah."
"And that doesn't change… whether the opponent is strong or weak."
"Right. …It's not that the stronger side wins.
The side that wins is the strong one.
Since there are no draws, only the winners get to stay on the court."
"...…."
Hinata kept murmuring while staring up at the crimson sky.
Kagami stayed with him.
A lot had happened, but they had played volleyball together.
They were precious teammates.
Of course that included the first-years—
and more than anything, the two who had come today to help.
"Thanks for today, you two. Come on, first-years—say thank you too. If these two hadn't come, we wouldn't have even been able to play."
"""THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!"""
"Hey, hey, cut it out. That's embarrassing. But man, that was seriously intense. I should be thanking you guys. Honestly… I might've been more fired up than during my soccer retirement match."
"Hahaha. Yeah, same here. I've never gotten this fired up from just one game before… and I've never felt this frustrated either. It was frustrating, but still— being able to push a championship favorite that far… that actually makes me a little happy."
Just as Kagami and the others were exchanging thanks—
"YOU!!!"
Hinata's voice suddenly rang out loudly.
Everyone instinctively turned around.
At the bottom of the stairs near the entrance of the municipal gymnasium stood Hinata.
And in front of him—
was Kageyama of Kitagawa Daiichi.
"If you're the 'King' who rules the court— then someday, I'll definitely defeat you!! I'll be the one who stays on the court the longest…! I'll never let you say things like that again!! I'll get stronger too— I'll definitely get stronger!!!"
Hinata shouted his declaration through tears.
Kageyama received it head-on.
"…Only the winners get to stay on the court. Even if you're strong… if you don't win, you can't remain there. If you want to keep surviving, you've got no choice but to become stronger. …Then become stronger. If you don't want to be called weak again, become stronger."
Perhaps both Hinata and Kageyama had finally cooled down.
The insults Kageyama had thrown earlier on the court—
and Hinata's silence—
were gone now.
Hinata would become stronger from this point onward.
Using this defeat as fuel.
Kagami knew that.
That was why he wasn't worried at all.
Hinata wasn't the kind of man who would break here.
"Hey."
"Hm…?"
Next, Kageyama turned his gaze toward Kagami.
"You. What's your name?"
Kageyama still had those sharp eyes.
Even when he was just being normal,
it felt like he was glaring at you.
Then Kagami realized something—
he knew Kageyama's name,
but Kageyama didn't know his.
So he answered.
"Kagami Seiya."
"......"
After hearing the name,
Kageyama stared intently at Kagami's face.
After a few seconds,
he turned around and faced away.
"Kagami… right now, I'm still not on your level.
—We won the match.
But you're still above me.
…However, someday,
I'll definitely surpass you.
I'll become a player stronger and more incredible than you."
"That's an honor. Then let me give you my reply too. Not me— us."
Kagami took a deep breath,
holding the words in for a moment before letting them out.
"We'll make you say 'gyafun' in volleyball someday. Again and again."
"I never said 'gyafun'!!!"
All the matches had ended.
Both players and spectators began heading home in scattered groups.
And everywhere you listened,
people were talking about the best match of the day:
Kitagawa Daiichi vs Yukigaoka.
The same went for the members of Karasuno.
"Man, today was one surprise after another. I'm really glad we came."
"Seriously, getting a match like that in the first round? How high is the level here? Though… it kinda felt like only Kitagawa Daiichi's match was insanely high-level."
"That number 2 guy—think he'll come to Karasuno? First impressions are important. If he needs proper guidance, I, Tanaka, am more than willing—"
"I agree with the first half, Tanaka. But not the second. That guy doesn't look like someone who needs 'guidance.' …Not in the slightest."
"Ahh, Daichi's talking about the last part, right? When they were leaving after the match? The Yukigaoka team didn't even have substitutes on the bench, and it didn't look like any school supporters came for them… but they still brought everyone together and bowed toward the spectator stands."
That had happened after the match ended.
Even while everyone was returning with frustration written on their faces,
Kagami had urged them to go thank the spectators.
Many people had come to watch Kitagawa Daiichi, the championship favorite.
Others were just watching the games in general.
But before anyone realized it,
they had started cheering for Yukigaoka.
They had given them generous applause and encouragement.
It's common for players to lose awareness of their surroundings when they're focused on a match.
But even during such an intense game,
it seemed Kagami had clearly heard those voices.
And honestly, after losing a match,
it's normal to be too frustrated to notice anything around you.
They weren't even in high school yet.
And for middle schoolers—
especially a hastily assembled team with so few members—
that would be even more understandable.
Yet Kagami had gathered everyone together
and showed proper respect.
"That guy's like the perfect model student. If you tried to intimidate him, Tanaka, people would totally boo you. Right, Shimizu?"
"Whaaaat!? I would never do that! I swear I wouldn't, Shimizu-san!!"
"......…"
"Getting completely ignored here actually hurts pretty bad! At least tell me you understand!!!"
Tanaka's desperate plea
never reached Shimizu, in the end.
(As usual.)
And then—
time passed.