The King, Toru Oikawa

After lunch, Hayato continued to help the two of them with their homework. Since there was no air conditioning in the room, Hayato took out an old fan from the storage room. The fan, which hadn't been used in a long time, was covered in dust, but thankfully it was of excellent quality and still worked after being cleaned.

Summer sunlight, stuffy temperatures, a spinning fan, ice cubes in a cup.

This was supposed to be a day for lying on the tatami mat under a summer blanket, dozing off and enjoying the summer. But now, Hayato could only help these two boys rush through their homework. Was there anything more torturous than this?

"Hayato, why do we have to write math like this?"

As it turned out, there was: people who couldn't even copy correctly.

After going downstairs again to refill a full pot of herbal tea, the two finally finished copying two subjects' worth of summer homework before finishing the pot.

"Still half left, thank goodness."

"I feel like my body is rusting from sitting all day."

Stretching their bodies, both of them looked exhausted, more so than after club activities.

"Oh right, Hayato, even though the teacher said we have a week off, everyone plans to continue voluntary training tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come?"

As soon as he saw them to the entrance, Tanaka remembered to mention this to Hayato.

"Voluntary training? When was that decided?"

"Last night, Daichi-senpai mentioned it while we were chatting, and then we asked others, and everyone agreed. Daichi-senpai was originally going to contact you, but I said I'd tell you directly when I came over today. Then I completely forgot once I got here."

Looking at Tanaka with a helpless expression, Hayato was speechless. Forgetting something this important was quite something.

"Hahaha, Ryu, you must have been too excited when you saw Kiyoko-senpai in her casual clothes."

Nishinoya laughed and patted Tanaka on the back.

After giving them both a glare, Hayato pushed them out the entrance.

"Alright, I know about it. Hurry back, you two. I don't provide dinner here. Remember to come back tomorrow to continue your homework, got it?"

After bidding them farewell, Hayato returned to his own room, tidied up his desk, put all his textbooks back on the desk, changed into sportswear, and prepared to go out for some exercise.

As soon as he ran to the riverbank, he encountered familiar faces on the levee. It was Hatoya Kohane, whom he had met yesterday, and her friend. Today, there was one more person. The three of them were practicing in their cheerleading uniforms.

"Yaho, good evening, Kuroba-kun. Are you exercising?"

Spotting Hayato running, Kohane waved her red pom-poms at him from a distance and greeted him. Hayato felt a bit awkward continuing to stand there, so he walked over to them and said hello.

"Good evening, Hatoya-san, Sarutobi-san, and who is this?"

The girl with the dark blue ponytail nodded at him.

"Hizume Arima."

After a simple introduction, Hayato learned that Kohane was not only the manager but also the president of the cheerleading club. Kohane also introduced Hayato to Arima, explaining that he was someone from the volleyball club she had mentioned yesterday.

After seeing the volleyball club's performance yesterday, Kohane wanted to practice more so that she could wear her cheerleading uniform and officially cheer for Hayato and the others during the prefectural representative selection matches.

After thanking Kohane for her kindness, Hayato said goodbye and continued his workout. Once he was far away, Hizume Arima placed her hand on her chest, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Although Kuroba-kun seems very friendly, his height is quite intimidating."

Except for Kohane, who was 151 cm, Arima and Uki were also not tall, only 160 cm. So, Hayato, at 190 cm, naturally made them feel nervous when he stood in front of them.

On his way back, Hayato thought about Arima's long hair. He wished Kiyoko could also grow her hair out. When he returned home, Hayato messaged Kiyoko. Kiyoko didn't mind his request. Her shoulder-length hair was already quite long, and since Hayato wanted to see her with long hair, there was no harm in letting it grow out a bit more.

Finally, they had finished their summer homework. After treating Tanaka and Nishinoya to lunch again, Hayato called Kiyoko, and the four of them went to school for voluntary training. Once most people had arrived, the tedious training began again.

Kageyama was absent from training today. According to Hinata, Kageyama had gone to scout "The King." It took Hayato a moment to realize he was referring to Aoba Johsai. Hayato was very interested in the yet-unseen ace setter of the Aoba Johsai volleyball team, Toru Oikawa, who was an ultra-offensive setter.

Oikawa's ability to bring out the maximum potential of any team he joined, as praised by Ushijima, proved he was no ordinary player. And Karasuno was not the same as before. What kind of sparks would fly when they faced Aoba Johsai again?

The training continued from the afternoon until evening. As it was already dark, Kageyama returned from scouting Aoba Johsai with a grave expression.

Hinata rushed over.

"Kageyama's back alive. How were the scouting results?"

"I... I might never be able to beat Oikawa-senpai in my life."

"What are you talking about?!"

Seeing Hinata getting angry, Kageyama recounted what he had seen. The Karasuno members, who had stopped training, also listened to Kageyama's account.

Aoba Johsai was no longer content with just training matches against other schools. They had invited university teams, where their alumni played, for training matches against those adults. Oikawa, as a setter, joined the university team. Although it seemed like he was meeting most of them for the first time, after just a few rallies, Oikawa completely integrated into the team.

Kageyama, who was scouting from outside, noticed the excellent state of the team's ace spiker, who could bring out the full potential of anyone. Even if it took more time, no one could guarantee they could do such a thing, but Oikawa, right before his eyes, gave Kageyama the feeling that Oikawa-senpai could definitely achieve it.

"So, Kageyama, are you scared of that powerful King again?"

"Yes, I'm terribly scared."

Hinata was about to get angry when he saw the fighting spirit on Kageyama's face.

"Oikawa-senpai, who is this formidable, has poured three years of effort into building the current Aoba Johsai. Spring High is our only chance to face them. As a team, we must defeat them this time!"

"Ooh ooh ooh! Defeat the King!"

Inspired by Kageyama's words, Hinata shouted, holding the ball.

"That's my line, idiot!"

As Hinata was excitedly running, Hayato took the volleyball from his hands.

"We need to defeat not only Aoba Johsai, but Shiratorizawa is also our rival. Let's advance to nationals! Everyone, let's do our best!"

After exchanging a glance with Hinata and Kageyama, Hayato turned to look at the third-years. He then held the ball in one hand, raising it high, and declared his ambition.

Hearing this, everyone's fighting spirit soared.

"Alright, let's advance to nationals!"

Seeing everyone so full of energy, Tsukishima fell into thought. During the break, Tsukishima's older brother had returned home and invited Tsukishima to train with their school's team. Earlier that day, Hinata had also asked Tsukishima if he could block Ushijima.

Tsukishima, maintaining his usual calm demeanor, replied that Ushijima was an ace ranked among the top three in the nation, so it was impossible. Blocking him once or twice would be considered pure luck. While Hayato was present now, he was the ace spiker and couldn't always participate in blocking. As middle blockers, Tsukishima and Hinata were the primary blockers.

Hinata, on the other hand, said, "Since you can't do it, Tsukishima, I will!" This statement ignited Tsukishima's competitive spirit, and he changed his mind about refusing his brother's offer.

He decided to train extra with his brother outside of their regular practice sessions.

Time passed, and finally, Saturday, the day of the fireworks festival that the boys had been eagerly anticipating, arrived.

Kiyoko could still wear her old yukata, so she didn't rent a new one. Hayato took out the black yukata hanging in his closet and put it on, placing his phone, wallet, and other items into the inner pocket. With the clacking sound of his geta on the ground, Hayato arrived at Kiyoko's doorstep.

Kiyoko, having quickly put on her yukata, emerged from her house.

The water-colored lily yukata she wore further enhanced her naturally elegant, Japanese-style beauty. Because the yukata covered most of her body, the only exposed part, her slender neck, was even more striking. Her shoulder-length black hair had been tied up.

* "Hmm, indeed, the nape of a girl's neck is the most charming point when she wears a yukata. It's incredibly beautiful," Hayato thought to himself, stroking his chin as he admired Kiyoko's yukata.

"You look beautiful, Kiyoko-senpai," he said, offering his praise openly. Hayato admired her appearance with great seriousness, and Kiyoko smiled at him, holding her clutch bag.

"Thank you for the compliment. Alright, let's go."

The two walked side-by-side towards their designated meeting spot.