With the end of the award ceremony, the Miyagi Prefecture Spring High Preliminary Round also came to a close.
When the group returned to school, they were immediately greeted by the cheers of students crowding around the school gate.
Large celebratory banners were draped across the teaching building.
"Congratulations to the boys' volleyball team! Headed to the Spring High School Volleyball Tournament!"
Beneath the banners, a wave of students cheered excitedly.
Soon after, the director of education also stepped off the bus.
He had attended the matches as part of the school's cheering squad and, having witnessed such exhilarating games, was now clearly overjoyed.
"All right, students!"
"Let's go! Everyone, move aside!"
"You're all crowding here, and the volleyball team can't even get into the school!"
He waddled forward with his large frame, trying to clear a path for the players behind him.
But even so, it was hard to resist the sheer enthusiasm of the students.
The Karasuno Volleyball Club's live matches at the national tournament had previously gained them a huge fanbase.
As Karasuno students, they naturally formed the team's largest supporter group.
Now, having watched their volleyball team clinch the Miyagi Prefecture Spring High preliminaries again, the excitement was palpable.
In this high-spirited atmosphere, the volleyball club members slowly made their way through the throng and into the school.
What they didn't expect, however, was that the principal and several teachers were also waiting inside.
"Hahaha, congratulations to our heroes on their triumphant return!"
The principal, clearly prepared, stepped forward and gave Daichi Sawamura—who was walking in front—a big, warm hug.
Then he laughed and said:
"The school has prepared a celebration ceremony for you. Please come with me to the auditorium."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, the team members exchanged puzzled glances.
A celebration ceremony??
That's a thing??
But now clearly wasn't the time to object.
Under the guidance of Coach Keishin Ukai and the others, the team made their way toward the school auditorium.
...
"Huh?"
"Why isn't that guy Kageyama here yet?"
"Is he sick or something?"
In the volleyball club's activity room, everyone was changing into their training gear for morning practice.
Some time had passed since the Miyagi preliminaries, and they were now training intensively for the upcoming Spring High Tournament.
As soon as Tanaka finished his sentence, the door to the activity room was pushed open.
Kageyama walked in, bringing a gust of chilly wind with him.
Miyagi had begun to slip into winter, and the weather was turning colder.
On their way to and from school, no one could get away with wearing just T-shirts anymore.
"Hah!"
"Kageyama, I can't believe you're later than me today!"
Hinata Shōyō jumped out from behind the door with excitement.
"That makes it two wins for me today!"
"What??"
Kageyama frowned.
"What are you even talking about, you idiot? That'll happen when pigs fly!"
"You're obviously late!"
Hinata said indignantly:
"I should get both wins!"
"What do you even know! I was..."
Seeing that the two were about to start another argument, Daichi had to step in between them, shaking his head helplessly.
"Alright, break it up!"
"Change and head to morning training!"
"Yes!"
"Right!"
At that moment, Tanaka suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Did Fukurōdani make it through the Spring High preliminaries too?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
At that, Hinata jumped in excitedly:
"Kenma texted me a while back!"
"There are three spots in Tokyo!"
"And the top four were Nohebi, Nekoma, Fukurōdani, and Itachiyama!"
"In the end, Nohebi lost to Fukurōdani and didn't get a spot at Nationals!"
"And Itachiyama beat Fukurodani and secured the No. 1 representative from Tokyo!"
"That's right…"
Tanaka said thoughtfully.
"Fukurōdani's is the second representative, and Nekoma host representative in Tokyo!"
"Exactly!"
Hinata nodded excitedly.
"We might get to face them in the tournament!"
"Better draw some lucky brackets!"
...
While chatting, the group headed into the gym and began that day's training.
Not long after training started, Takeda walked into the gym with a rare, beaming expression.
"Alright, listen up!"
He wore a relaxed smile.
"I've got some big news to announce!"
"Big news??"
Everyone immediately crowded around, curious and eager.
"What kind of big news?"
"Kageyama, you've been invited to the National Youth Intensive Training Camp!"
"The National Camp?"
At this, gasps of surprise rippled through the group.
"That's for the strongest players under 19 in the country, right?"
"They select players for the Junior World Championships two years from now, don't they?"
"Isn't that where Wakatoshi Ushijima trained?"
"I heard he stayed until the end and was picked as one of the main representatives."
Tsukishima said calmly.
"So strong!"
"That's amazing!"
As the team buzzed with excitement, Takeda continued:
"And also invited this time—Akira!"
"What??"
"Akira got invited too?"
Everyone turned their heads in unison to stare at Akira, stunned.
"Didn't they say Akira is an international student?"
"Can someone like that still attend a national training camp?"
"Hahaha! It's just a training camp!"
Takeda scratched his head with a smile.
"It doesn't mean Akira is officially part of the youth team!"
"Yeah!"
Akira said with a grin:
"I heard the National Youth Camp sometimes invites young international players to participate in training."
"So it's not weird that I get to go, even as an international student!"
"Ohh!"
"That's awesome!"
Everyone quickly processed the news.
"The highest level in the country!"
"That makes two people from our team going!"
"The camp runs for five days in early December!"
Takeda added:
"It's scheduled just before the Spring High Tournament in January!"
"So participation isn't mandatory."
"I'm definitely going!!"
"It's where the strongest players in the country gather!!"
Both Akira and Kageyama had no objections to joining the training camp.
Then Takeda continued:
"Also in early December, the coach from Jōzenji High reached out."
"He's organizing a training meet for the most promising high school players in Miyagi Prefecture!"
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