Chapter 24 – The Shocked Senkoku Middle School
The bus rumbled steadily along the road toward the prefectural gymnasium, carrying the Karasuno team and their companions. Inside, each person retreated into their own bubble, coping with the simmering tension in various ways.
Ichise Guren sat with his eyes closed, drifting in quiet repose—or perhaps in preparation. His calm, meditative state seemed contagious; nearby, Hyakuzawa Yudai also closed his eyes deliberately, seeking rest and mental focus in the same way.
At the very back, Hoshino Masaru occupied a single seat, gazing out the window. The scenery blurred past, but his mind was not on the view. Instead, he appeared lost in thought, daydreaming, or quietly simulating strategies in his head. To anyone watching, Hoshino gave off the calm, nearly detached aura of someone who observed but withheld judgment.
Curled together in a cluster near the middle, the other four—three short guys plus Hinata Shoyo—nursed their nervousness tightly, their hands pressed against their stomachs in a near-ritualistic gesture. Their tense faces betrayed the anxiety still clawing at them despite the exhaustion from the previous day's battles.
From his secluded perch, Hoshino's eyes flicked toward them—a look of slight disdain or tolerance, a mix of annoyance and amusement crossing his face. Then almost immediately, he looked back out the window with renewed disinterest as if shielding himself from the impending chaos these four might unleash—perhaps some kind of 'vomit attack' born from nerves.
Yet, the intense tension of their first fierce matches had gradually waned. The fear of the unknown was shedding, replaced with a cautious but growing confidence.
Disembarking at last, they stepped into the spacious gymnasium. The seven players quickly formed a tight circle, beginning the usual warm-up routine, loosening muscles and awakening their reflexes for the crucial matches yet to come.
Around the court, a handful of volunteer staff chatted in low voices while on duty.
"Look! That's the team in green shirts! They're the ones who defeated Kitagawa Daiichi!"
"Really? Show me! Where are they?"
"Whoa! Check out number 2—he's insanely tall. Their captain's gotta be at least 1.8 meters!"
"No way! Is number 2 a giant or what?"
"Hang on, why are the others so short? Looks like we got three guys barely barely hitting 1.6 meters."
"Did they seriously beat Kitagawa Daiichi? Feels like only two players are good, and the rest are just hanging out."
"Who knows? Maybe it's all because of that super tall dude—over 1.9 meters. Where else do you find a middle schooler that tall?"
Overhearing this chatter, Hinata's expression grew darker, frustration bubbling beneath his youthful features.
'Damn it,' he thought quietly. 'This match… I have to prove the opposite hitter's got serious style and presence. I won't let Hyakuzawa or Guren steal all the spotlight.'
He set this personal resolve ablaze and threw himself into warm-ups with fierce determination. Every stretch, every movement was quick and forceful.
But his enthusiastic arm stretch was abruptly interrupted as Ichise Guren's wrist shot up, delivering a precise slap to Hinata's forehead.
"What do you think you're doing? Burning half your stamina in the warm-up already?"
Startled, Hinata clapped a hand over his forehead, wincing. "Ouch! Come on, Guren, I'm just a little fired up. My stamina's unlimited!!!"
Smack.
Another sharp slap landed, this time even harder.
Ichise gave him a look of disbelief mixed with mild annoyance.
"Unlimited stamina? Seriously? Do you think you're some anime protagonist?"
"But really, if I don't sweat during warm-ups, I feel like I'm not ready at all."
"Well, then just wrap yourself up in a thick blanket for half an hour. That'll get the sweat rolling."
Hinata's face turned pale, almost scared. "Won't I get heatstroke? Guren, it's almost summer."
"Didn't you say you wanted to sweat?" Ichise shot back.
Flustered, Hinata scratched awkwardly behind his head and forced a laugh. "Ahaha, that's not exactly what I meant…"
As Yukigaoka's team indulged in their usual mix of teasing banter and warm-up antics, a group of players in deep navy-blue uniforms briskly entered the gym.
Their leader was a guy whose face was quite good-looking but bore a hint of menace in his glare. He was roughly the same height as Ichise Guren, radiating a confident, almost aggressive energy.
This was Akashi Asuka from Senkoku Middle School.
Striding forward, Akashi loudly proclaimed his intentions: "I don't care if it's Yukigaoka or some Hill Club nonsense. Beating Kitagawa Daiichi means nothing. Just watch me flatten them all!"
Two other tall teammates standing beside him raised their voices in agreement.
"That's right! I'm Kazama Jujiro, and I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"
"Me too, Omae Masato. They'll know exactly how hard I hit the court!"
Behind the trio stood two key players—Misanoshita Ryuhei and Oda Miki—wearing expressions that said, 'Let them yap away. We're not the ones embarrassing ourselves.'
But as they laid eyes on the Yukigaoka squad fully assembled, the entire group visibly sucked in a breath.
"Damn it! That guy in green—he's gotta be at least two meters tall!"
Akashi frowned, annoyed and exaggerating with an exaggerated complaint.
"That's not even a middle schooler!"
"Not quite that tall, but he's definitely above 1.95," Misanoshita swiftly corrected, trying to ease the sting of Akashi's comment.
"What's the deal? Is he a repeating student? Who grows that tall in middle school? No one else our age is that big."
Omae, their opposite hitter, looked both surprised and borderline annoyed.
'That tall? What does that even mean? We won't be able to block him.'
When height is equal, blocking is usually at a disadvantage compared to the spike approach. Now, with a guy nearly two meters tall in shoes, the challenge was massive.
How were they supposed to face someone like that?
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