End of the First Preliminary Round

Terushima Yuji and his teammates gradually walked away. A teammate who had been silent until now looked back at Hayato.

"You're really brave, huh? Didn't you see that guy was on the verge of exploding?"

"Wow, I didn't expect that cute manager to have a boyfriend. But Kuroba Hayato, huh? He's not an easy guy to deal with."

After the two walked away, Hayato returned to normal.

"Alright, let's go too. Daichi-senpai will get angry if we're any later."

"Hayato, thank you for earlier."

Kiyoko smiled at him, and Hayato returned her smile.

Hinata, standing nearby, instantly felt like a third wheel.

"Ah, right, this, Hinata, you forgot this, didn't you?"

Guessing from the fact that Hinata had just run back, Kiyoko handed him the bento box, which was wrapped in a cute animal-patterned cloth, that she had found at their Karasuno resting area.

"The cloth for the box is really cute."

"Shoyo, you use such cute things?"

Hayato also saw it and teased Hinata, resting his arm on his head.

Embarrassed in front of his two respected senpai, Hinata quickly took the bento box and hid it behind him.

"No, this is Konatsu, my sister's. It's definitely not mine."

After nervously explaining, he didn't wait for the two. He bowed, said he had found his bento box, and left, disappearing in a flash.

Watching Hinata run away in a panic, Hayato and Kiyoko exchanged a smile.

"That was really manly."

Blinking at Hayato, Kiyoko looked very happy. After all, he had appeared just in time to protect her when she was being hit on.

"That kid Shoyo is even faster than me. He's really manly too."

"Mhm~ Indeed~"

As they walked towards the gymnasium entrance chatting, Hayato suddenly walked behind Kiyoko and buried his forehead on her shoulder. Feeling Hayato's movement, Kiyoko stopped. Then she heard the voice from behind her.

"I hate that guy. How dare he hit on you, Kiyoko-senpai? If we get grouped with Josenji, I'll definitely beat them."

Such childish words made Kiyoko laugh and cry. She reached out and ruffled Hayato's hair, which was buried in her shoulder.

"I just praised you for being manly, and now you're acting like a child again."

"This isn't childish. I'm jealous."

"Okay~ I'll make you croquettes tonight, how about that?"

After comforting Hayato again, the matter was resolved by promising him delicious food.

Unlike them, the Josenji team, who were coming out of the gymnasium, bumped into Karasuno right at the entrance. Recognizing them as Karasuno's players from the logos on their clothes, Terushima Yuji scanned the others with the condescending gaze of a delinquent.

This ignited the anger of Tanaka and Nishinoya, who glared back.

"You brat, what are you looking at?"

As soon as Tanaka finished speaking, Daichi's cough interrupted him. The two immediately became well-behaved, shifting their gazes elsewhere.

It had to be said that the most terrifying person in the Karasuno Volleyball Club was the captain, Daichi. The second most terrifying was the second-year Ennoshita, who had just scared Tanaka and Nishinoya by asking if they had finished their summer homework.

This was also why the third-years and the Karasuno coach discussed making Ennoshita the vice-captain. Now, Daichi was the strict one, Sugawara was the kind one, and the second-years Hayato and Ennoshita were the opposite. This kind of pairing was necessary to manage these problematic members.

Meanwhile, Terushima Yuji of Josenji was still staring at the Karasuno members, appearing very curious about them.

"Sorry, we came out late."

Hayato, Kiyoko, and Hinata, who had caught up with Hinata later, walked out together. Once everyone had gathered, Daichi led them to the bus stop to go home.

That evening, Hayato got to eat the croquettes and miso soup Kiyoko made with his own eyes.

Kiyoko's busy figure in her apron in the kitchen made him forget all his troubles.

There was still a week until school started, and club activities were also suspended to give everyone a week off to rest. The second-years, especially the idiotic duo, naturally found Hayato, begging him to lend them his summer homework to copy. Ennoshita had already said he wouldn't help them, so Hayato was the only one who could help them now.

Thus, the day after the first preliminary round ended, Tanaka and Nishinoya came to Hayato's house.

"Oh, oh, oh, this is Hayato's house."

"Next door, is Kiyoko-senpai's house next door?"

Hayato covered his face in exasperation, unable to do anything about these two idiots.

"Stop with the useless talk. How much have you guys written? Summer homework."

Receiving the synchronized answer that they hadn't started at all, Hayato grabbed them by their collars and dragged them upstairs to his room to start catching up on their homework.

"Speaking of which, there's a fireworks festival on Saturday. Should we go?"

Sitting on the carpet, the three of them formed a circle. Nishinoya and Tanaka were hunched over the small table, frantically writing. Hayato looked at his phone and suddenly saw the news about the fireworks festival, so he asked.

"Huh? Fireworks festival? What's the point of a bunch of guys going?"

Tanaka, who was copying homework, didn't even look up. Nishinoya, on the other hand, reacted and hit him on the back of the head.

"Idiot, isn't Kiyoko-senpai still here!"

"Are you saying we'll get to see Kiyoko-senpai in a yukata!"

Tanaka and Nishinoya, finally catching on, looked at Hayato with expectant eyes. They knew that if Hayato asked, Kiyoko would definitely go.

Seeing their expectant gazes, Hayato rested his chin on his hand.

"Well, it's not impossible. Ah, right, I added Hatoya-san as a friend yesterday. Do you want me to ask her and her friends?"

"Please do!!!"

To be honest, the two of them weren't really idiots. They had long since noticed the relationship between Hayato and Kiyoko. Of course, even if they noticed, Kiyoko-senpai was still their goddess.

However, with girls around, maybe they would become more popular too.

Just then, Kiyoko's voice came from outside the window.

"Hayato, I'm going shopping. Want to come?"

Kiyoko, standing on the balcony, called out to them. She had seen someone in the room when she was changing. Since Hayato was sitting with his back to her, and she knew from him this morning that Tanaka and Nishinoya were coming, she had originally intended to treat the two of them to lunch.

"Sure, wait for me."

Hayato replied and stood up. Nishinoya and Tanaka, sitting opposite him, had faces like Bodhisattvas, muttering nonsense about childhood friends being the best.

"You two, stay here and finish copying your homework. I'm going shopping with Kiyoko-nee, and we'll grab lunch too."

The two nodded. Hayato went downstairs to find Kiyoko, leaving the two unfortunate souls behind.

"Aaaah~"

With a simultaneous sigh, the two once again realized the cruelty of reality.

On the way to the shopping street, Hayato told Kiyoko about the fireworks festival he had seen earlier.

"Are we all going together?"

"Yeah, there's a festival there too, with lots of good food and fun things. We've all worked hard this vacation, with training and competitions, so it would be good for everyone to relax together. What do you think, Kiyoko-nee?"

Hayato said leisurely, interlacing his hands behind his head.

"That's true. I'll go look for mine when I get back. I wonder if my yukata still fits."

The yukata here refers to clothing similar to a kimono, commonly worn during Japanese summer festivals and fireworks displays.

"It's Saturday anyway, so there's still plenty of time. If it doesn't fit, we can rent one."

"Hmm~ That's true. Then I'll ask everyone."

The two quickly finished buying groceries and returned to Hayato's house. They called Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were still copying homework, down, and the four of them ate cold noodles together. It was summer, and they couldn't stomach hot food at noon.