The first set was taken by Kageyama's team, 25–22.
Yet no one showed any sign of joy—not Kageyama, not Tanaka, not even Hinata.
They had managed to hold on and win that set, but the presence of a beast about to pounce was already wrapping around them, refusing to let go.
The source of that presence stood on the other side of the net.
Just standing there.
Even though the gymnasium was filled with all sorts of sounds, it somehow felt quiet.
Perhaps this was what people meant by the calm before the storm.
In this first set—
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had done everything they possibly could.
Even with that unbelievable quick attack and Tanaka's spikes, even when they were constantly pushed onto the defensive, they never showed a hint of giving up.
Even Tsukishima clung on until the very end.
The reason they were able to keep doing that was because the presence behind them had grown even stronger.
The one narrowing his eyes slightly, standing with relaxed composure while staring down the opponents—
was Kagami.
He kept gathering every single play, sharpening them one by one.
Sharpen your senses.
Simply put—
focus with everything you have.
Some people call it entering the Zone.
Concentration can sometimes decide the outcome of a game, raising an athlete to a far higher level.
And the higher the level of competition, the more obvious this becomes.
The moment concentration breaks, plays become sloppy.
And eventually, that leads to defeat.
"(…Look. Observe. See.)"
Kagami kept watching everything that had happened so far.
Even after that miraculous quick attack—the freak quick—started functioning, he kept observing.
This was something he himself used to do.
In the past, Kagami had been extremely influenced by manga and anime during elementary, middle, and high school.
Rather than real professional athletes, he had been fascinated by drawings on a page that performed feats impossible in reality.
There had even been times when he pushed himself recklessly trying to make those techniques his own.
Of course, there were things a human body could do and things it could not.
But even so, he believed he had absorbed whatever was possible.
And even after coming here, that habit had carried over.
(Though now it was only the manga and anime in his memories.)
Watch carefully.
Observe.
Analyze.
Then build a body capable of carrying out the image formed in your mind.
In other words—
keep putting in the effort.
Now, right before his eyes, he could witness Kageyama's godlike concentration and use it as a model to imitate.
He had watched things like this countless times in drawings and animated scenes.
So many times that the paper nearly tore.
So many times that the playback device almost broke.
And now—
he could see the real thing in front of him.
The kind of plays that people admired, longed for, and chased after—
plays that symbolized the very pinnacle of volleyball—
were unfolding right before his eyes.
How fortunate was that?
After savoring that good fortune, the next thing that came to his mind was—
how to break it.
The opponent's receiver, setter, spiker…
My team's blockers, my own position…
Keep seeing every piece of information.
Keep updating it.
It felt almost like he was looking down at the court from above.
Before long, the information on that imaginary overhead view kept updating constantly.
The positions of teammates.
The positions of opponents.
The approach paths and landing points of spikes.
Everything blinked like particles of light, continuously appearing inside his mind.
(Shōyō… right now, he still can't spike while seeing the ball. He can't vary his attack yet. All he can do is trust the toss, jump where there's no block, and swing with everything. And the course is always the same.)
At the moment, Hinata obviously couldn't freely control that spike.
Just being able to do that much was already beyond normal human ability.
If he could start varying it on top of that, all Kagami could do would be laugh.
The real thing was just that extraordinary.
And perhaps because of that, Kagami was able to sharpen his senses even further.
(…Tanaka-san's receive. Kageyama's position. …Shōyō's movement.)
It felt as if he could see each individual muscle fiber.
All the information gathered together—
and the answer appeared in the very next moment.
Kageyama maintained his concentration as he set the ball.
From the outside, it was impossible to tell whether he would toss to Tanaka or Hinata until the very instant the ball left his hands.
Now! This position! The next ball is… Shōyō!
In Kageyama's mind, the ultra-fast toss sent to Hinata should have landed perfectly in Hinata's palm during his full swing and been driven straight into the court.
But—
Perfect timing!!
The perfect hit was blocked—
by Kagami's receive.
He accurately lifted Hinata's perfectly struck spike toward Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.
Because both of them had been blocking, there was no setter ready.
But using his height, Tsukishima immediately performed a two-attack, dropping the ball into the opponent's court and scoring.
Score: 5–11
"Phew… sorry for the wait. I said one set, but it ended up taking until the middle of the second set."
Kagami had received Hinata's spike.
Put into words, that was all it was.
Maybe just another ordinary play during practice.
Yet the way the entire gym erupted from a moment of silence—
that was anything but ordinary.
"Hahahahaha!! That's insane, insane!! He grabbed that thing right away! Man, is he Dekisugi-kun or what!? Even the serious part of him is like Dekisugi-kun!!"
"The moment that gets the biggest reaction during a match is always when an amazing receive happens. Looks like that's exactly what happened. Right now the crowd's louder than it was for Hinata and Kageyama."
"…It felt like something was released. Like Kagami had been storing it up this whole time, and it burst out in that instant."
They had endured Kageyama's godlike tosses and Hinata's no-look spikes.
Endured and endured—
and then answered them.
It almost looked as if Kagami was evolving more and more during the match itself.
"After Hinata's spike started working, it was totally Kageyama's team making the comeback… but Kagami turned it around in no time."
"But he only received it once, right? There's no way he can keep getting those over and over."
"Yeah, probably not. With only three players on the court, the area they can defend is limited. But the fact that he did receive it—and that expression Kagami had, like he was saying he'd get the next one too—means Kageyama and Hinata probably aren't feeling very calm right now. …Though they still look like they're having a blast."
Sawamura and Sugawara turned their eyes back toward the court.
"Damn it!! He got it again!!"
"Heh heh~~ Shōyō basically charges straight ahead like a boar, so he's super easy to read. And besides, have you ever managed to fool me before?"
"Grr… next time!! I'll get it next time!!"
"(He figured that out right away… amazing.) …But this is getting interesting. The attack depends on the toss I make. Next time, you won't read it!"
"Bring it on!!"
Kagami had always seemed somewhat mature.
But watching the three of them now, it almost looked like they were kids visiting a friend's house and competing in a game.
The battle continued back and forth.
Hinata's attacks weren't being cleanly received as often as at the start, but Kagami was steadily lifting them and covering the court.
The success rate was clearly dropping.
"Haa… haa… man, some ridiculous guys have joined the team."
Tanaka muttered while wiping sweat from his face.
Despite that enormous amount of movement, Kageyama and Kagami were only becoming more precise.
And Hinata—who was probably moving the most—still had plenty of energy left.
Tsukishima wasn't flashy, but he built solid blocks at the crucial moments.
Yamaguchi still looked like he was mostly following instructions, but he was keeping up.
(Ahh… those must be the guys people call geniuses. Completely different from me. I feel like I've still got the advantage in strength… but everything else… And even Hinata, who's still pretty clumsy, is amazing…)
For a moment, Tanaka felt as though a huge wall had appeared before him.
Excitement at having dependable juniors.
And the fear that they might quickly leave him behind.
Seeing true talent made him reevaluate himself.
The realization that he might be ordinary.
"Funnu!!"
Tanaka suddenly cut off his thoughts and slapped both cheeks hard.
"Kageyama! Send one over here too!! Support your juniors—that's the duty of a senpai!!"
"—Yes, sir!!"
Hearing Tanaka's famous 5–7–5-style line in person made Kagami laugh without thinking.
He never expected to hear it here.
But the moment he looked at Tanaka's expression, he quickly focused again.
This wasn't his imagination.
Tanaka looked as though he had evolved one step further.
Tanaka imagined gathering all his strength into his hand.
(Alright then, ordinary me… when a junior is running full speed ahead right in front of you, do you really have time to stand still?)
The fire in Tanaka's momentum began to grow.
Others were inspired by it.
Seeing the team getting more and more fired up created a chain reaction.
Something stirred in everyone's hearts.
"Hey, Suga."
"Hm?"
Unable to properly put his rising emotions into words, Sawamura simply stared at the court.
"…I wanna join in too."
And that was all he said.
.
The second set that followed was taken by Kagami's team.
The set count returned to an even 1–1.
Third set.
The intense 3-on-3 had become something that truly resembled a real match.
Three players shone brilliantly as they ran ahead with everything they had, and not a single other member was left behind—everyone clung on and kept chasing them.
Kageyama kept delivering tosses so precise they seemed capable of grinding down one's nerves.
Hinata ran around the court several times more than a normal player would.
Kagami unified the team, constantly updating all the information on the court, never stopping his positioning or his reading of the game.
And chasing after those three with sheer determination were Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Tanaka.
Kageyama scored a service ace, gaining a break—
but Kagami immediately took it back.
In fact, he attacked even more aggressively than Kageyama in order to reclaim points.
Tanaka barely managed to land a spike to escape a tough moment.
Hinata's freak quick.
Kageyama's spike off a second touch.
Tsukishima's block.
Yamaguchi's spike.
Because Kagami's team was often forced into defense, their finishing power was lacking, but they made up for it with serves, receives, and Tsukishima's blocking.
The back-and-forth struggle continued until the game reached deuce.
And then—
after a long, long rally, the match was decided.
31–29
Set count: 2–1
The victory went to Kagami's team.
"Corpses everywhere" was the perfect phrase.
Everyone had dropped to their knees or collapsed onto the court.
But their eyes—
their eyes were far from dead.
"O-one more time!!"
"N-next time… we'll win… We're not… done yet…!!"
"…A-alright…! That means it's a five-set match… right!? It's not decided yet… right!?"
Hinata said it first, and Kagami looked ready to accept the challenge.
Yamaguchi—and even Tsukishima—both had expressions that clearly said "Seriously, stop."
But neither had the energy left to say anything.
Tsukishima didn't even bother with his usual sarcasm anymore.
He was simply completely groggy.
"Hey, hey, you guys. Sorry, but the time we can use the gym today is limited. We can't go on that long. We only have the morning. …Honestly, I never expected a 3-on-3 match to drag on this long. So that's it for today."
"B-but… we still…"
For Kageyama, those words from Sawamura-san were practically a death sentence.
In other words—
Kageyama had lost.
Meaning he wouldn't be allowed to be the setter.
Watching that, Kagami didn't regret going all out.
If anything, he felt grateful that he had been able to play such an exhilarating match—such incredible volleyball.
But more than anything—
the idea that Kageyama wouldn't be able to play as a setter because of him was too sad.
"S-Sawamura-san… I'll take proper care of these guys, so… I'm sorry. Could you please give them… another chance?"
With that, Kagami forced his exhausted body to move and walked over to where Kageyama and Hinata were.
He grabbed both of their heads and pushed them down in a bow.
(For the record, Kageyama thought something like "What do you mean 'take care of us'!?" but since Kagami was on the winning side and both he and Hinata were equally exhausted, they ended up just going along with it.)
"...…"
Sawamura stared at the three of them with a completely straight face.
Just like Tanaka said, he was usually kind.
But Kagami knew very well that when a senpai like him got truly angry, he was terrifying.
Maybe that was universal—no matter the country or even the world.
Sawamura scratched his head lightly and spoke.
"The kind of player I said we didn't need was a selfish commander who challenges people with individual skill and loses. If someone like that is the setter, the team can't win. I still believe that."
After letting out a deep, heavy sigh, he grinned.
"But let me ask you guys something. In that match just now… did you see a selfish setter? Hey, Tsukishima—what do you think?"
"Haa… haa… haa…"
The one being addressed was Tsukishima.
But he was so out of breath that he couldn't even make a snide remark.
He simply stood there, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
"Hahaha. Maybe now's not the best time. Then Tanaka—you were on the same team. What do you think?"
"Guh… guh… haa… haa… M-me…? U-umm… haa…!"
Tanaka was also completely exhausted.
But as a second-year, he couldn't let himself stay silent.
Just as he was about to speak, the gazes of Kageyama, Kagami, and Hinata all turned toward him.
Tanaka received the hopeful look of juniors relying on him.
"I-it's fine, isn't it? I got to spike a few balls really nicely… Well, this guy received them though."
"Ahaha…"
"Thank you so much, Tanaka-senpai!!"
"U-wahahaha… w-well… that's what senpai are for…"
After taking several deep breaths to steady himself, Tanaka spoke again.
"I never imagined these guys could pull off attacks like that at first. I'm surprised Daichi-san saw it coming. But I think their teamwork was solid. Yeah—no doubt about it."
"Eh!?"
Sawamura was caught off guard by that answer.
Then Tanaka turned his gaze toward Sugawara.
"Right, Suga-san?"
"Huh!? Of course not. I just meant he should toss something easier to hit! I thought Kageyama's real strength came out because Hinata's still bad and couldn't hit normally—but then Kagami casually goes and receives that very strength, and now I've got no idea what's going on anymore. I'm getting so excited I want to play volleyball too!"
"Ah… I see…"
It seemed Sugawara was fired up too.
Just like Sawamura.
"Well, I can't say I understood it from the start either. I just thought Hinata might be fast enough to match Kageyama's crazy tosses. …But they surprised me—in a good way."
"S-so then…!"
"Yeah. In a three-set match, Kagami's team would win. But I never said that. …If I kept saying 'we'll decide it later,' it might affect our official matches too. So this kind of thing is a one-time deal."
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"Taking back my words isn't exactly cool. But as the captain trying to make the volleyball club stronger, I can't bury talented players like this."
"Th-thank you!!"
"And besides, I got your word earlier about taking care of them, Kagami. Honestly, that part made me happier. I'm counting on you, first-year leader."
"W-what…!? L-leader!?"
"Well, that's what it means to take responsibility for them, right?"
You can't take back words once you've said them.
Since he had said it himself, Kagami braced himself.
Then he looked at Kageyama and Hinata and smiled brightly.
"Since Sawamura-san nominated me—and since I said it myself—I'll do my best. But there are things I can do and things I can't. …So don't pull something like that again, alright?"
""Y-yes, sir…""
Kagami's strangely intimidating smile—
somehow managed to move Hinata and Kageyama, even though they were completely exhausted.
"Tsukishima, you alright?"
"Haa… somehow. Seriously, how monstrous are those guys?"
"Haha, I agree. So how was it? 3-on-3. You guys won pretty convincingly—against Kageyama, too."
"…It doesn't mean anything. The reason us ordinary people could beat the 'King' is because we had a hero on our side who could defeat that king."
"Hahaha. If Kageyama's the king, then Kagami's the hero? That's funny. …But if that's the case, wouldn't Kageyama be more like the Demon King?"
"…Whatever."
After saying that, Tsukishima drank the sports drink handed to him by Shimizu in one go.
"But still, I know you were serious out there. Good work."
"...…"
Tsukishima still looked like he had mixed feelings about it.
After that, Hinata and Kageyama submitted their club registration forms again.
They also received the Karasuno Volleyball Club jerseys that had just arrived today.
Proof that they had officially joined the team.
There was no better word for it than deeply moving.
"Well then—welcome to the Karasuno Volleyball Club!"
"Osu!"
After everything was finally finished, Sawamura let out a sigh.
"Phew… I guess that wraps things up for now. Suga, Tanaka—you guys helped out a lot behind the scenes, didn't you?"
"Wha—!? N-no, not really!?"
"Well, things settled nicely in the end. I'm really glad all of them joined the club safely—in more ways than one. …Thanks."
Seeing Sawamura looking even more tired than usual, Sugawara and Shimizu both patted his shoulders at nearly the same time.
"Good work."
And with that simple gesture, they showed their appreciation.
=================================
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