Tanaka: I seem to have a childhood friend too?

Exhausted, Hayato returned to his home and collapsed onto the living room sofa in a starfish position. He really hadn't expected that the two idiots would be so hopeless when it came to studying. They weren't stupid when playing volleyball, but when it came to academics, he felt like tearing his hair out. And this was even with him and Ennoshita taking turns teaching them. He could only imagine how difficult it must have been for Ennoshita when he was teaching them alone.

"Ennoshita, my poor brother, you should reduce your training sessions from now on."

Gurgle, gurgle. His stomach, empty from hunger, let out a mournful cry. There was no helping it, so Hayato got up and made himself some udon noodles. After eating his fill and cleaning up the dishes, he glanced at the calendar on the wall.

There were less than 10 days until the exams. This year's summer vacation started on July 26th, which meant he still had several more days of torment from those two. Powerlessly picking up his school bag, Hayato trudged upstairs, changed into his pajamas, and fell asleep without even showering.

He was woken up by the sound of rain. Groggily, he brought his phone closer to his eyes and saw that there were several unread messages.

Checking the time, it was only 5:40 AM. He rubbed his eyes and gradually became more alert. Listening to the continuous rain outside, Hayato started checking his phone. The messages were mainly from Kiyoko, along with Hinata's daily questions and Tanaka's inquiries about a specific knowledge point.

"Should we have tamagoyaki or hamburger steak tomorrow?"

Curious cat emoji.

"Are you asleep?"

"Looks like you're tired from practicing with the volleyball club today. Good night."

Cat covering itself with a blanket emoji.

Looking at Kiyoko's messages, Hayato tossed and turned in bed like a worm. Then he felt a bit sticky all over, likely from not showering yesterday and sweating through the night. He got up, put on his slippers, and prepared to take a morning shower.

Splash, splash. The sound of water dripping in the bathroom, combined with the rain outside, created a melodious summer tune.

After a comfortable shower, Hayato wrapped a bath towel around his waist and walked into the living room shirtless. He took a glass of milk from the refrigerator and drank it in one gulp.

"It really is comfortable to drink a glass of milk after a shower, just like in anime."

Seeing that it was still early and it was raining, Hayato did some light exercises in his room before deciding to make himself a hearty breakfast.

He mixed Japanese mustard and butter to make the mustard butter he would spread on the bread later. For the sandwich spread, he mixed mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, honey, and coarse pepper. He then blanched the wild vegetables in boiling water for a minute or two, took them out, and patted them dry with kitchen paper. He seasoned the eggs with salt and made scrambled eggs.

Next, he poured a moderate amount of oil into a frying pan, fried the bacon until it was golden brown, and set it aside.

He assembled the sandwich in the order of bread slice – mustard butter – bacon – wild vegetables – sandwich spread – scrambled eggs – bread slice. He then pressed it with another cutting board for 5 minutes before cutting it in half. The wild vegetable and bacon sandwich was complete.

He poured himself another glass of hot milk and ate several slices in one go.

After finishing breakfast, he sent a message to Kiyoko, who had probably already woken up.

"Sorry, Kiyoko-senpai, I was too tired from tutoring Ryunosuke and the others yesterday, so I went to bed early. I want hamburger steak today!"

He sent two emojis: hands clasped in apology and a drooling, hungry face.

The message quickly turned to "read," and Kiyoko's reply came back.

"Pfft, you're tired from tutoring, not from practice?"

Cat clutching its stomach laughing emoji.

"Yeah, who knew these two would be so troublesome when it comes to studying."

"Then you must have had a hard time. Alright, I'm going to make the hamburger steak that someone wants."

Cat waving emoji.

"Good luck~! Looking forward to lunch today."

Fist-clenching, cheering emoji.

Although there were no further replies, the "read" status confirmed that Kiyoko had seen his message.

Another day of going to school together. After a morning of classes, it was lunchtime. The rain that had been falling all morning had also stopped appropriately. The sun emerged from the clouds, and its rays reflected on the puddles in the schoolyard.

Hayato eagerly took out his bento box and opened the lid. There were no water droplets left on the lid from the steam, indicating that Kiyoko had packed the food after it had completely cooled down. This detail showed Kiyoko's meticulousness.

With gratitude towards Kiyoko, Hayato clasped his hands together and said, "Itadakimasu." Ryunosuke, who was beside him, leaned over.

"That's nice. This hamburger steak was made by Kiyoko-senpai too, wasn't it?"

Hayato pulled his bento box away from Ryunosuke. He really didn't want to share with him today.

"Kiyoko-senpai made this hamburger steak especially for me today, so I'm not sharing it with you."

"What! Especially for you!"

After chasing away Tanaka, who had tried to get a bite, Hayato enjoyed the bento made by Kiyoko all by himself. When he finished everything, he clasped his hands together in satisfaction.

"I'm done eating. What's wrong, Ryunosuke? Still sulking? Is it really that big a deal?"

Hayato asked knowingly, putting an arm around Tanaka's shoulder.

Tanaka shot him an annoyed look. He really didn't understand why Kiyoko-senpai was so nice to Hayato. Was it the magic of childhood friends? Damn it, why didn't he have that?

Suddenly thinking of something, Tanaka fell into a daze. He seemed to have one too, but Hayato's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Ryunosuke, I'm going to buy something to drink. Do you want anything?"

"Ah, green tea is fine."

The sudden question broke Tanaka's train of thought, but his personality prevented him from dwelling on it further.

After lunch break, the afternoon classes were quite grueling. People who had eaten felt like the teacher's lectures were a hypnotic spell, making them drowsy. Finally, when school ended, and his classmates were heading home together, Tanaka loudly cheered himself on.

"I didn't fall asleep in class today, good job, me! Hayato, it's time for practice!"

"Idiot, I've already got my stuff. Let's go."

Leaning against the classroom door, Hayato, who had been waiting for a while, playfully cursed at Tanaka to hurry up. Tanaka didn't mind, picked up his sports bag, and followed Hayato. On their way downstairs, they ran into Nishinoya, who was also heading to the locker room.

Once they arrived at the locker room together, the first-year duo had already gotten there. Hinata excitedly reported to Hayato about his significant progress with the "Tool" technique, while Kageyama wanted to have a private training session with Hayato today. As a setter for the team, having an ace player like Hayato meant that if he didn't cooperate well, mistakes would happen on the court.

It was clear that Kageyama had already assumed Hayato would be playing in the match.

After calming down the two noisy underclassmen, Hayato helplessly rubbed his temples. These young guys are just too energetic, he thought. He changed into his practice clothes with a sigh and followed the rest of the team to the gym.

"Please take care of me today as well!"

The team first greeted Coach Ukai before starting their basic training for the day.

Volleyball's basic training consisted of serving, receiving, and spiking. Although the Karasuno Volleyball Club had excellent offensive capabilities, when it came to defense, aside from the "Guardian God" Nishinoya and the team's pillar Daichi, the receiving skills of the others were not bad, but not particularly good either; they were at an average level. Hinata, however, was an exception – he was genuinely terrible.

After the basic training concluded, Hayato found Coach Ukai and shared his idea of increasing the training load for the substitute players. Coach Ukai neither agreed nor refused, only saying he would consider it. Hayato didn't push the issue and continued with his training after speaking with the coach. Despite only recently joining, Hayato's skill and ambition had left a deep impression on Coach Ukai.

This was also a characteristic of sports clubs. Valid suggestions from strong players could influence a coach's decisions. With a limited number of skilled players, if you didn't value them now, they would go elsewhere. Those powerhouse sports schools wouldn't hesitate to offer their recommendation slots. Having an outstanding player emerge from their school, potentially even becoming a national team player, would bring significant benefits to future recruitment efforts.

What, you might ask, about Hayato not having any fame yet? With his current abilities, where couldn't he shine?