"Lower your hips! You look like a gargoyle trying to take a poop!"
"Yaku-san, your metaphors are hurtful!"
The Golden Week camp was in full swing, and while the rest of Nekoma was practicing combo plays, Ryuu Gojou was in hell.
Hell, as it turned out, was a corner of the gymnasium where Yaku Yarisuke was firing volleyballs at him at point-blank range.
"Again!" Yaku shouted, slapping a ball.
Ryuu groaned, bending his knees. He was 190cm of pure muscle and ego, currently being bullied by a guy who barely reached his chest.
The ball came fast. Ryuu's Emperor's Eyes saw the trajectory instantly.
'Vector: 34 degrees right. Spin: Topspin. Speed: 60km/h.'
His brain knew exactly where the ball would go. But his body...
Ryuu reached out with his arms, but his feet were planted like concrete. He tried to adjust his platform at the last second.
Bonk.
The ball hit his wrists awkwardly and shot off sideways, knocking over a water bottle carrier.
"Garbage!" Yaku yelled. "Stop relying on your eyes! Your eyes are fast, but your feet are sleeping! You have to move your body behind the ball!"
Ryuu wiped the sweat from his forehead. "This is unbefitting of a Demon Lord. I should be crushing my enemies, not playing fetch."
"You can't crush enemies if you can't pass a simple serve!" Yaku threw another ball. "If you can't receive, you're a liability. Do you want to be the Ace who gets targeted every time he rotates to the back row?"
Ryuu caught the ball. That struck a nerve. The idea of being a weak link—a "hole" in the defense that the enemy exploited—was unacceptable for his villain aesthetic.
"Fine," Ryuu gritted his teeth, tossing the ball back. "Hit me again. Harder."
Yaku grinned, a terrifying expression on his face. "With pleasure."
__________________
By the time evening rolled around, Ryuu's forearms were bright red and throbbing.
The gym was buzzing with activity. It was "Free Practice" time. Players from Nekoma, Karasuno, Shinzen, Ubugawa, and Fukurodani were mixing, matching, and messing around.
Ryuu sat on the stage, nursing a carton of milk. He watched the chaos.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
A loud, booming voice cut through the noise.
Ryuu looked over. A player with grey hair styled like a horned owl was bouncing around the court. He was wearing a Fukurodani jersey—Number 4.
"Akaashi! Toss to me! I want to try that super inner cross!"
"Bokuto-san, you've been spiking for two hours. You'll hurt your shoulder," a calm, black-haired setter replied, looking exhausted.
"Just one more! I feel it! I'm in the zone!"
Ryuu narrowed his eyes.
'Bokuto Koutarou,' Ryuu identified the target. 'One of the Top 5 Aces in the nation. The Ace of Fukurodani.'
Ryuu stood up. His legs were tired from Yaku's drills, but his curiosity was piqued. He wanted to see what a "Top 5" looked like up close.
He walked over to the court where Fukurodani was practicing. His massive frame cast a shadow over the sideline.
Bokuto stopped bouncing. He blinked, spotting Ryuu.
"Oho?" Bokuto's eyes widened. "Whoa! You're huge! Are you a tree?"
Ryuu adjusted his collar. "I am Ryuu. The Dragon of Nekoma. And you are the Owl."
"Dragon?!" Bokuto gasped, turning to Akaashi. "Akaashi! Did you hear that? He's a Dragon! That's so cool! Can I be a Dragon?"
"You're an owl, Bokuto-san," Akaashi said dryly. "And please don't yell at the Nekoma transfer student."
Bokuto jogged over to Ryuu, getting uncomfortably close. He looked Ryuu up and down, vibrating with energy.
"You're the guy who destroyed Karasuno, right? Kuroo told me! He said you have a cannon for an arm!" Bokuto mimicked a spiking motion. "KABOOM!"
"It was more of a tactical nuke," Ryuu corrected. "But yes."
"Awesome!" Bokuto pointed at the net. "Block me!"
Ryuu paused. "Hah?"
"Block me!" Bokuto repeated. "I want to test my spike against a Dragon! Come on! Akaashi will toss!"
Ryuu looked at his red forearms. He looked at Coach Nekomata, who was chatting with Coach Yamiji across the gym. Nekomata had banned him from spiking, but he hadn't said anything about blocking.
Besides, blocking didn't require perfect receiving form. It required height, timing, and eyes.
"Very well," Ryuu smirked, stepping onto the court. "I will grant you an audience with the Iron Wall."
"Yes!" Bokuto pumped his fist.
Ryuu positioned himself at the net. He was facing Bokuto.
Akaashi sighed, but picked up a ball. "Just one, Bokuto-san."
"One is all I need!"
Akaashi tossed the ball. It was a perfect set—consistent, easy to hit, exactly where the spiker wanted it.
Bokuto began his approach.
Ryuu watched.
'He's fast,' Ryuu noted. 'But his form... it's loose.'
Bokuto jumped. Ryuu jumped.
They met at the apex. Ryuu's hands were high, penetrating the airspace above the net. He had the height advantage. He had the Emperor's Eyes predicting the path.
'Straight,' Ryuu analyzed. 'He's going for a line shot.'
Ryuu shifted his hands to seal the line.
Bokuto's arm swung.
But at the last micro-second, Ryuu saw it. The wrist snap. The shoulder turn. It wasn't just power. It was extreme flexibility.
Bokuto didn't hit a line shot. He contorted his body in mid-air, whipping his arm across his body.
BAM.
The ball didn't touch Ryuu's block. It flew past Ryuu's inner ear, missing his earlobe by a centimeter, and slammed into the sharp cross court.
It was an incredible Cut Shot.
Ryuu landed. He turned his head to look at where the ball had landed—way inside the 3-meter line.
"HEY! HEY! HEY!" Bokuto screamed, running in a circle. "DID YOU SEE THAT? CROSS SHOT! PERFECT!"
Ryuu stood there, blinking.
He had seen the line. He had moved to block the line. But Bokuto had changed the trajectory during the swing.
'That wasn't just talent,' Ryuu realized, feeling a strange sensation in his chest. 'That was thousands of hours of repetition. He manipulated his wrist like it was rubber.'
Ryuu looked at his own stiff hands. He had power, yes. But he didn't have that.
Bokuto ran back to the net, grinning through the mesh.
"You're tall!" Bokuto laughed. "You blocked my vision! But you stiffened up at the end! You thought I was going straight, right? I tricked you!"
Ryuu stared at the Owl. Then, a slow, dangerous smile spread across his face.
"You tricked me," Ryuu admitted. "You skilled little bird."
"I'm not little! I'm an Ace!" Bokuto puffed his chest out. "You're good, Dragon-kun! But you play like a robot! You need to go whoosh more!"
"Whoosh?"
"Yeah! Relax! Be fluid!" Bokuto waved his arms like spaghetti. "If you're stiff, you break! If you're fluid, you whip!"
Ryuu looked at his hands again.
Relax. Fluidity. Basics.
It was annoying. It was frustrating. But for the first time since transmigrating, Ryuu saw a clear path that didn't rely on his cheat ability.
"Akaashi-san," Ryuu called out to the setter.
"Yes?"
"Toss another one," Ryuu pointed at Bokuto. "I'm going to stuff this owl in a cage."
Bokuto's eyes lit up with fire. "BRING IT ON!"
___________
From the balcony, Kuroo and Kenma watched the two idiots yelling at each other at the net.
"He found a rival," Kuroo grinned. "That's good. Ryuu was getting bored of winning too easily."
Kenma looked up from his PSP. "Bokuto is a simpleton. Ryuu is a chuunibyou. If they bond, the noise level in this gym will double."
"True," Kuroo laughed. "But look at Ryuu's feet."
Kenma looked.
Ryuu was jumping again. But this time, his steps were slightly different. He was copying Bokuto's approach timing. He was learning.
"He's absorbing everything," Kuroo whispered. "Once he actually learns the basics... he's going to be a monster."