Kagami had finished his errands in the AV room, turned down all the scouting offers from various sports clubs afterward… and was now writhing in the hallway for some reason.
(I'm at Karasuno! I actually came to Karasuno High!! Back in middle school, it was just Shouyou, and at the end I only briefly ran into Kageyama… and Shimizu-senpai. But look, I'm here at that Karasuno now!! This is the real thing!! Everything starts from here!!)
Truth was, Kagami was no less excited than Hinata—maybe even more so.
He clutched a bundle of papers, his own and some things he was carrying for others, and even though they were on the verge of slipping out of his hands, he didn't care. He looked like he could break into a sprint or shout at the top of his lungs any second.
Inside, Kagami was calling up distant memories.
They came easily, pulled right off the shelf of his most precious recollections.
The manga called Haikyuu!! that he'd read more times than he could count. The anime he'd watched over and over again. Too many unforgettable scenes to even describe. Of course, in this world Haikyuu!! doesn't exist, so all of it lives only in his memory, replayable in his mind anytime.
From that work, his love for volleyball was born—and he started playing.
Elementary school, junior high, and then—he even made it to Spring Nationals in high school.
He had losses, sure. But in the end, he won it all.
From a single work, he'd soared all the way to the national championship. That spark was Haikyuu!!.
Of course, he loved volleyball outside of Haikyuu!! too. He had plenty of favorite V-League players, even met some of them in person, held interviews, even shook their hands. That alone had been a dream come true.
But this—this experience right now—surpassed even that. Sorry to say, but it did. Ordinarily, something like this could never happen. Meeting the author, maybe, but this?
Overly hyped as he was, Kagami was, at his core, not so different from Hinata after all.
A boy who admired the Little Giant and stepped onto the path of volleyball.
And a boy who fell in love with a world called Haikyuu!! and stepped onto the same path.
Different worldlines—but the same kind of story.
The only difference came here: Hinata had charged headlong into Karasuno's volleyball club, but Kagami was hesitating.
"I want to see Karasuno's volleyball… cheer for them up close. Watch a live match… but I love volleyball. I really love it. If I watch, I'll definitely want to play. And if it's Karasuno, that's only natural. But… but, still…!"
"Ughhh!" Kagami shook his head violently. From the outside, he probably looked like a lunatic throwing a fit in the hallway. Anyone who didn't know the situation would stare from a safe distance—or avoid him altogether.
"…Excuse me."
Instead of ignoring him, someone actually spoke up.
"Uuuuuh… wh-what do I do? Should I… volleyball… urghhh…"
"Can I?"
"I'm pretty confident… I won't lose. I can do this. But still, but…"
"… …"
When repeated attempts got no reaction, the visitor tapped Kagami on the shoulder a few times.
"—!!"
Kagami jumped and whipped around like he'd been electrocuted, just barely swallowing down the yelp that tried to escape.
And there she was—someone he recognized all too well.
"Kagami Seiya-kun, right?"
"Uh—wait… Shimizu-senpai?? Why me?"
He had run into none other than one of the Karasuno members he'd been agonizing over, someone worthy of being called a regular.
"Here."
She held out a paper: the important form the teacher had handed out today, something to give to his parents.
And the reason she knew his name, even though he hadn't introduced himself, became clear.
There was a sticky note attached: Class 1-5, Kagami Seiya.
"Ah… I dropped this? Sorry, thank you so much."
"Mm."
He accepted it with a bow. Shimizu, after handing it over, fixed her eyes on him.
"Volleyball club. Not joining?"
She cut straight to the heart of it.
"Uh, well… I…"
"I thought you'd be the same as Hinata Shouyou-kun, so I'm surprised. …He's already there, you know."
"That guy's basically all headlong rush. Only sees what's in front of him. Totally fearless—or at least, that's what it looks like. Actually… maybe not entirely. …That's where we're different, I guess."
Kagami gave a wry smile and looked up at the ceiling.
He wanted to watch. He also wanted to play.
Why hesitate? If he went, he'd get both. Both dreams would come true. So why was he hesitating?
"It was obvious all along, huh."
It was simple. He loved everything about Karasuno as a team.
There wasn't a single member he didn't watch.
When popularity polls came around, he never voted—because he couldn't pick just one.
What if him joining changed the team? That thought scared him a little.
In middle school, he'd just filled in what was missing, so while he'd been excited, it had been doable.
But this was different. Maybe watching from behind was best this time.
Still, his experience mattered. Against Kageyama, aside from those sets, he'd held his own. Not underestimating him—but he was confident he could keep up.
Could he really just sit on the sidelines now?
"…I won't ask what you're struggling with. …But."
Shimizu's voice pulled him back.
To her, Kagami was just a no-name middle school graduate, but a rookie with tremendous potential. Anyone could see that. Sure, he hadn't left behind results in junior high, but he clearly had the skill to make an impact in high school.
But she knew this was about more than other people's expectations. He had his own conflict.
She wasn't going to force him. Even if Sawamura and the others were already excited at the idea of him joining, she wouldn't push.
But she wanted to say this:
"I don't think you can give it up. …Maybe it's because I saw that match. That's what I think."
Yes—she remembered watching that game. They lost, but right up until the end, he never gave up, kept spurring his team on to play their best. They lost, but he looked like he was truly enjoying volleyball.
"… …"
Kagami froze at her words.
Give up? On what? …Volleyball. Afraid? Of what? Do you have to match others to be allowed to play? Are you not supposed to be afraid?
He loved volleyball. He loved Haikyuu!!. He loved Karasuno.
Then all he had to do was move forward without fear. He didn't want to give up either. If either path would leave him with regret, then he'd choose both.
That was the moment his resolve hardened.
He hadn't expected Shimizu to be the one to push him forward. But if the world was already unpredictable, then all the more reason to try.
This wasn't paper. This wasn't a screen.
This was his reality.
Just then, one more sheet slipped from his pile and fluttered to Shimizu's feet.
An unsigned club application form.
"The choice is yours, Kagami. …Well then."
She picked it up, held it out to him, and turned her back.
Kagami slammed his stack of papers onto the shelf along the wall, grabbed the mechanical pencil from his pocket, and scrawled his name on the form. Then, with both hands, he held it out to her.
"Excuse me. I've made up my mind. …Is this okay?"
Shimizu turned back. The blank space was now neatly filled. Despite the rush, the handwriting looked composed.
She glanced at the paper, then at Kagami, and smiled faintly.
"Welcome to the Karasuno Volleyball Club."
Later, Kagami was helping Shimizu carry two cardboard boxes, having insisted on splitting the load. She'd first refused, saying it was a manager's job, but when he replied, "No, I'm a new member, I should help," she had chuckled lightly and let him take one.
It surprised him—he knew from memory that she always refused such offers. He'd only expected a smile and a no. The fact that she accepted this time threw him off, though he didn't show it on his face.
"…But, Shimizu-senpai. How did you know I was agonizing about something?"
"…?"
A pause, then she answered with a touch of exasperation:
"Anyone could tell, with all the writhing and grimacing you were doing in the hallway."
"…Huh?"
"And you were muttering out loud a little, too."
"…Seriously?"
"It's true."
Apparently, she'd seen one of his most embarrassing moments. And by none other than Karasuno's very own idol, Shimizu Kiyoko. Mortifying didn't even begin to cover it.
"Fufu. You know, I'm a little surprised. You always seemed so put-together. Everyone said you were the 'shadow captain' in middle school."
"Uh, well, if you could keep that just between us, I'd really appreciate it."
"Mm, got it. Ah, but in exchange, tell me one thing."
"Phew… thank you. Sure, what is it?"
Shimizu stopped walking and faced him.
Kagami thought again how beautiful she was. Plenty of Karasuno's girls were cute or pretty, but Shimizu stood a head above in the "beautiful" category. The girl he knew well in Class 1-5 was more the "cute" type.
But just then—
"Until they realize they're teammates, I won't let them join club activities even once!!"
A loud voice rang out, punctuated by the slam of a door.
They turned their heads toward the sound—and Kagami spotted a familiar back.
His eyes widened—then he broke into a stifled laugh, clutching the box to his stomach as he struggled to hold it in, while Shimizu looked bewildered beside him.