On the bus to Tokyo, Hayato sat beside Kiyoko, dozing off. Gradually, he leaned against her, making the two members of the bodyguard squad so jealous they wanted to hit someone. Kiyoko, meanwhile, made a shushing gesture at the two who were grinding their teeth. Seeing Kiyoko's rare expression, Tanaka and Nishinoya were both delighted and angry.
"Damn it, that Hayato..."
"So childhood friends get to do stuff like that?"
Though they were grumbling, they still lowered their voices. After all, Kiyoko had told them to be quiet.
When the bus arrived in Tokyo, Hayato woke up as well. He gave Kiyoko an embarrassed smile and got off with the others. The scenery around them was not all that different from Miyagi Prefecture.
As Hayato was thinking that, Asahi voiced the same thought beside him. Sugawara replied that it was because they were both out in the suburbs.
Kuroo Tetsurou, the captain of Nekoma High School's Volleyball Club and the one in charge of welcoming Karasuno's group, spotted the unfamiliar Hayato.
"Oh, is this your new guy?"
"Of course. Kuroba Hayato, a second-year. He's 191 centimeters tall, and his volleyball skills are excellent too. Don't be too shocked later."
Daichi introduced him with a grin. Kuroo gave an impressed sound and looked Hayato up and down.
"He certainly looks promising. But come to think of it, aren't you missing a few people?"
At that question, Daichi's face turned bitter.
"Actually..."
"So that superhuman duo is attending remedial classes right now?"
"That's right. But our new guy is definitely worth looking forward to as well."
Before they could finish talking, Tanaka Number Two—Yamamoto Taketora, with his Mohawk—dropped to his knees.
"Ahhh! Girls—there are two girls now! One elegant type and one cute type!"
Startled, Hitoka hid behind Kiyoko. Kiyoko stretched out an arm to protect her. Seeing that, Tanaka walked up to Yamamoto Taketora with the face of a bodhisattva, seemingly glowing all around him.
"See that, Tora? This is Karasuno's power. Ahaha."
Ignoring the fooling-around Ryu and Tora, Kiyoko led Hitoka away. Hayato followed after them.
"Kiyoko-senpai, have you seen my knee pads? I looked through my bag, but I couldn't find them."
"They were a little torn, so you asked me to mend them. You gave them to me yesterday, remember? Honestly."
"Ah, I guess that did happen. Sorry, sorry."
Hayato's conversation with Kiyoko dealt Yamamoto a massive blow. He pointed at Hayato.
"Ryu, what's with that new guy?"
Tanaka, who had just been wearing a bodhisattva-like expression, instantly wilted. Even the glow behind him went out.
"He's Kiyoko-senpai's childhood friend, Kuroba Hayato. He's a year younger than her and a newcomer to our club."
"Childhood... what?! Something that enviable actually exists?!"
Yamamoto Taketora was too devastated to recover. Tanaka patted his shoulder in consolation, and the two embraced as they wailed.
"Ooooooh!"
Watching the two fools fool around, Kuroo and the Karasuno third-years beside him ignored them as well.
"When you're ready, head to the gymnasium. Everyone else is already there."
Hayato took the knee pads Kiyoko handed him, then glanced back at Tanaka Number Two and stroked his chin.
"Yeah, they really do look alike. And one's a dragon while the other's a tiger."
After muttering that to himself, he caught up with the group and arrived at the gymnasium with them.
The moment they entered, a wave of heat rushed at them. The teams inside were already engaged in intense practice matches. Ikegawa High School, in green vests and yellow shirts, had powerful serves. Morisaki High School, in purple vests and white shirts, excelled at teamwork. Fukurōdani Academy, in light blue vests and dark navy shirts, was a powerhouse with a top-five ace in the nation.
And then there was Karasuno's old rival: Nekoma High School, dressed in blue vests and black shirts—the cats in the Battle of the Trash Heap between crows and cats.
Every one of them was highly skilled. Being able to play practice matches against such strong schools was practically a godsend for Karasuno.
After warming up, Karasuno's first opponent was the serve-heavy Ikegawa High School.
Hayato was in the starting lineup as well. The lineup consisted of setter Sugawara Kōshi; wing spikers Sawamura Daichi, Azumane Asahi, and Tanaka Ryunosuke; middle blocker Tsukishima Kei; and libero Nishinoya Yuu.
Because of the libero substitution rule, there were seven players taking the court today.
The libero substitution rule was as follows.
First, during a single set, the libero could only substitute one specific player on the court one-for-one. He could not substitute different players in the same set.
Second, the libero could only replace a player who had rotated into the back row, and only after that player had served and the following point had ended, giving the other side the serve.
Third, after the libero completed the three back-row rotations—positions one, five, and six—and rotated to the front row, he had to be replaced by the player he had substituted for.
Naturally, Tanaka was the one rotating with Nishinoya in the first set.
Since this was Hayato's first appearance before other teams, Coach Ukai gave him the serve after winning the right to serve first.
"This is your first time showing yourself in front of other schools, so I'm giving you the serving duty. How about it? Feeling confident, Kuroba?"
With the coach placing so much trust in him, what else could Hayato say? He nodded.
"Leave it to me, Coach."
Once the players took their positions, Karasuno's front-row players covered the backs of their heads in advance. Then everyone shouted for a nice serve. As the whistle blew, Hayato took a deep breath and tossed the ball up. Then he slammed his hand down.
Bang! Like a cannonball, the jump float serve crashed into the opponent's court for a direct service ace.
"Eek... No matter how many times I see it, Kuroba-senpai's serve is terrifying."
Hitoka, sitting courtside, let out a cry. It looked like the serve had frightened her again.
Ikegawa High School's players were completely stunned. That serve, comparable to an ace's, made them deeply question whether they were really facing Karasuno or some powerhouse with a star ace.
Bokuto Kōtarō, Fukurōdani Academy's captain, had just finished his previous match and was resting nearby. His eyes lit up.
"That number 13 is pretty good."
"He certainly is. Judging from that one ball alone, he might even be stronger than you, Bokuto-senpai."
His vice-captain, Akaashi Keiji, mercilessly jabbed at him.
"Akaashi, we don't know who's stronger yet!"
Seeing that Hayato had stunned both the watching players and Ikegawa High School's players, Coach Ukai, seated at the side of the court, smirked.
"Didn't expect that, did you? Karasuno has a rookie comparable to an ace too."
Hayato scored three points straight off his serves, but the fourth ball was received. As expected of a strong school—they adapted quickly. Hayato silently praised them, then hurried into a defensive position.
Unfortunately, although the rally continued for several exchanges, Ikegawa eventually found an opening and scored with a spike.
Having finally broken their zero, Ikegawa High School's players shouted and celebrated together.
Next came the other side's serve, but Karasuno's back row was now its strongest defensive lineup: Daichi, Nishinoya, and Hayato. They received the opponent's ball, and Asahi in the front row immediately spiked it, but it was unfortunately deflected back by the block.
"It's fine, I've got it!"
Hayato shouted and brought both hands together, receiving the ball off his wrists.
"Chance ball!"
Because he had received it well and the ball remained on Karasuno's side, everyone shouted "Chance ball!" and began setting up their attack.
"Sugawara!"
Calling out his setter's name, Hayato retreated three large steps from the three-meter line, then began his approach. He jumped from behind the three-meter line, and when he reached the highest point in the air, Sugawara's set stopped perfectly in front of him. Hayato swung his arm down, driving the volleyball accurately into the opponent's back court for a back-row attack score.
To explain, a back-row attack had to be jumped from behind the three-meter line to avoid a fault. It was fine to cross the three-meter line after jumping.
That beautiful back-row attack score was the Signature Move Hayato and Sugawara had practiced together recently. It scored on its first use in an actual match, and Sugawara, overcome with excitement, rushed over and jumped onto Hayato.
"All right! It worked!"
"Nice one, setter."
Hayato praised him generously. Asahi was a little disappointed, but seeing his friend so happy, he stopped dwelling on those unpleasant feelings and joined in the celebration.
For the rest of the match, Karasuno kept scoring with Hayato as the center of their offense. But their opponents were no pushovers either, and the score remained close. In the end, Karasuno finally claimed their first victory, 25–21.
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