A pink-haired girl wearing a white T-shirt printed with a chibi bird, denim shorts, and a backpack stood on the second floor of the gymnasium, looking around. Beside her, a blonde girl in a white culotte skirt and blue chiffon blouse was being dragged along by the hand with a helpless expression.
"Kouha, you don't need to run so fast. The venue isn't that big."
That's right, these two girls were Hatoya Kohane and her friend Sarutobi Yuki, who had met Hayato before. They had come specifically to cheer for Karasuno, but because they had been delayed, Karasuno had already finished playing Ogi Minami by the time they arrived.
"But we're late! The girl at the front desk said Karasuno had already finished one round, and their second-round opponent was..."
"Kakugawa."
Seeing that her friend had forgotten the opposing school's name, the blonde girl, Sarutobi Yuki, reminded her helplessly.
"Right, right, that one! Ah, Uki, that's Karasuno's banner! There are girls in Volleyball Club uniforms over there too."
The moment she spotted Karasuno's banner, Hatoya Kohane grabbed her friend and ran toward it.
"Um, is this Karasuno's cheering section?"
Kouha hurriedly asked Hitoka as soon as she arrived in front of her.
"Ah, y-yes. And you two are?"
Facing two cute girls, Hitoka wasn't as nervous as usual. Instead, she looked at them curiously.
"Ah, hello! My name's Hatoya Kohane, and this is my good friend Sarutobi Yuki. We're Karasuno students too, Class 3 of the second year. We came specifically to cheer for the Volleyball Club today!"
With a friendliness much like Hinata's, Kouha introduced herself energetically. Her friend beside her nodded to Hitoka as well.
"Second-years... so you're upperclassmen. Excuse me! I-I'm Yachi Hitoka, Class 5 of the first year, and the Volleyball Club's other manager. It's nice to meet you!"
The moment she heard they were second-years, Hitoka hurriedly introduced herself and bowed. Kouha simply waved it off without concern.
"You don't have to be so formal. Has the Volleyball Club's second match started yet?"
Hatoya Kohane stepped beside Hitoka, gripped the railing with both hands, and looked down at the court. She found them easily, then shouted loudly at the Karasuno Volleyball Club members below.
"Karasuno~~ Go~~~!"
Her booming voice made everyone from Karasuno look up toward her. When they realized it was Hatoya Kohane, the second-years who had been warming up all laughed. Nishinoya even walked over and poked Hayato in the waist.
"Hayato, your fan came to cheer you on."
That wasn't entirely wrong. In the letter Kouha had given Hayato before, she had said she'd been moved by his volleyball skills. Calling her a fan was perfectly reasonable.
Though he didn't understand why she had come here, Hayato still waved at her. He also saw the friend who had been beside her before and nodded in greeting.
"Don't talk nonsense. She came to cheer for Karasuno."
Hayato answered with a serious expression, looking at Nishinoya and the other second-years watching the show without the slightest guilt. Then he heard Kouha cheering for him alone.
"Kuroba-kun, go!!!"
Good grief—having such a cute girl shout his name in the gym instantly made Hayato feel the jealous stares from the other guys. Fortunately, Kiyoko already knew about this, and her gaze remained fairly calm.
Upon hearing that cheer, the second-years' amused smiles grew even wider. But before they had laughed enough—
"Nishinoya-kun, go!!!"
Now Tanaka couldn't take it anymore. He marched over and put Nishinoya in a chokehold.
"Why do you get your own personal cheer too?"
"How would I know? Isn't it because we're classmates?"
Nishinoya struggled while patting Tanaka's arm and explaining himself. Tanaka let him go, and Nishinoya promptly patted him on the shoulder.
"Ryu, see that? If we play well this match, cute girls will cheer for us too."
"Wha—Nishinoya, you're right!"
Following Nishinoya's gaze, Tanaka looked behind Karasuno's banner and spotted the blonde girl beside Kouha. She was very cute too.
Though the goddess of the Kiyoko Protection Squad was Kiyoko alone, that didn't conflict with wanting to be popular with cute girls.
Just as it became Tanaka's turn to spike, he hit one in what he thought was a pretty cool pose, then narcissistically looked toward Kouha—only to be scolded by Captain Daichi.
"Tanaka, focus on warming up!"
Daichi's authority immediately deflated Tanaka. On the other side, Nishinoya was dragged back by Ennoshita as well. Hayato couldn't help gloating, but when Daichi swept his eyes over him, he settled down too.
Karasuno continued warming up on the court. In the second-floor stands, Kouha's friend Uki helplessly covered her eyes with one hand.
"Kouha, cheering for Karasuno is enough. Why did you call out Nishinoya's name too?"
"Eh, because besides Kuroba-kun, Nishinoya-kun is the only one I know."
Kouha answered matter-of-factly. Beside her, Hitoka shifted uneasily in her seat. Kouha's shout just now had drawn everyone's attention around them, and she wasn't used to it at all.
The elementary school students who had come with the old man also copied them and shouted a cheer for Karasuno.
Being good at getting along with people, Kouha quickly became familiar with the elementary schoolers. The group chatted as they waited for the match to begin.
The old man nearby paid no attention to the children's playfulness. He looked at the giant on the court with a grave expression.
The match began soon after. This time, Hayato had proactively asked to play in the front row, intending to face this two-meter-tall opponent. From left to right, the front row consisted of Hinata, Hayato, and Kageyama; the back row was Sawamura, Tanaka, and Tsukishima, with Nishinoya rotating with Tsukishima.
Karasuno had the serve. Tsukishima served, and the ball flew over the net before being steadily received by a Kakugawa player. The setter at the net lifted the ball and sent it to the giant.
Hayato formed a three-man block with Hinata and Kageyama, ready to jump and intercept at any moment. Kakugawa's libero called out the three-man block, but he wasn't worried in the slightest. He believed Karasuno had no chance of stopping this ball.
Momozawa Yudai, the giant responsible for the spike, thought the same. He didn't put much strength into the hit at all, but as he swung, he discovered a pair of hands in his hitting path.
The Stalling Block stopped the ball dead. No one had expected that outcome, so no one on Kakugawa's side had time to save it. The volleyball simply dropped onto Kakugawa's court.
"OOOOOH!"
Having scored with a successful block, everyone on Karasuno shouted excitedly.
"Don't think you can score off us that easily, kora."
"Nice one, Kuroba."
Daichi let out a breath of relief. No, everyone did. Facing a two-meter-tall player had put tremendous pressure on them simply because of his size, but Hayato's clean block gave everyone a much-needed boost of confidence. Their morale rose once again.
"Hayato-senpai! That was so cool!"
"Yeah, Shoyo. Yeah, Tobio."
Although Hayato had blocked it himself, he still held out his hands to celebrate with Hinata and Kageyama beside him.
"Whoa, that guy is so tall, and he jumps so high too! But Kuroba-kun actually blocked him! That's amazing."
Kouha in the second-floor stands saw the scene as well, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Seriously? He blocked that?"
"Is that guy a monster? That was a spike from two meters up."
The spectators also exclaimed in surprise at the blocked ball.
Hitoka, who had still been nervous, relaxed at once when she saw the ball get blocked.
At that moment, Kouha took her hand.
The two girls looked at each other. Then, with Kouha counting one, two, and her friend Uki joining in, the three girls shouted together.
"Karasuno! Go!"
The girls' cheers raised Karasuno's morale another notch.
"Nice serve!"
Tsukishima served again. Having just failed, Kakugawa focused completely this time. Momozawa Yudai, who had been blocked, jumped once more, and this time he gave it everything he had, leaping even higher than before.
"Tch, so that guy really hadn't used his full strength on that last jump."
Hayato's fingertips barely brushed the ball, and he called out that he had touched it once. Fortunately, they had their pillar in the backcourt now—the platform, Sawamura Daichi.
Daichi received the ball in a half-kneeling stance.
"Chance ball!"
"Tobio!"
Hayato called for the ball from the setter, and Kageyama sent it to him.
"Hayato-senpai, I'm counting on you."
Before you continue