["If you get up early, go to bed early. Don't nap in class, you won't grow taller that way."]
["If you need to, train at the gym we used to hang out in, face recognition is enough, it's free." ]
["If you train too late, call Ayasaki-sensei. I've told him, he'll give you a ride home."] - Ichinose Guren, the Big Boss
Hinata Shoyo stared at his phone. It was a reminder text from Ichinose Guren.
He bit his lower lip lightly, his eyes starting to glisten with tears.
["Guren! Ugh… you're too touching!"]
["I'm going to rename your contact to 'Big Brother Guren' right now!"]
Wiping the tears of emotion from his eyes, Hinata quickly typed on his phone, changing the contact name back to Guren, undoing the temporary name he had set when he first learned he would be tested in a practice match against him to see if he could join the team.
"Ahchu!"
Without warning, Ichinose suddenly sneezed.
He set the phone aside, grabbed a tissue, and wiped his hands.
'Feels like being scolded and praised at the same time…'
'Also… why is Hinata still clinging to Kageyama so persistently?'
'With his current skill, even if Yamaguchi or Tanaka were setting, he'd handle it fine.'
Finishing the wipe, Ichinose paused, hand on his chin, thinking.
'Could it be that the sets Mori gave Hinata still haven't cured his "setter trauma"?'
'A guy who never misses a set and brings out the passing instinct in anyone, a passing collector.'
'Tch… truly a guy who attacks with gratitude for every set.'
'The crow style, true to its name.'
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Through morning and evening training with Kageyama, Hinata's already solid receiving skills improved even further. By Saturday, at Yamaguchi's insistence, and with Ichinose, Sawamura Daichi, and others indifferent, Tsukishima reluctantly agreeing, the team pairings shifted slightly, with the taller players gaining a little more height.
Though Ichinose and Daichi's intentions weren't entirely clear, Tsukishima's sharp tongue and habit of mocking still shone through, particularly when he referred to "the abandoned, lonely King", a dig at Kageyama.
Tanaka and Hinata fired back on the spot, standing up for their teammate. Kageyama, used to being misunderstood, simply avoided confrontation silently.
That night, under the moonlight, the clouds above were driven away by the small rising sun from Yukigaoka, that was the first time Kageyama felt someone truly speaking up for him.
Up until then, after the death of his grandfather, teammates' exclusion, and Shiratorizawa's setbacks, he had always been alone. Even during class naps, Hinata's classmates would discuss situations or play pranks, while Tanaka might get a mustache drawn on his face.
Kageyama, in his class, would always be alone, napping, walking to buy drinks, or in lessons.
To him, this loneliness wasn't unpleasant. As long as he could play volleyball, he didn't mind being alone.
Having grown up without parents, with an older sister ten years his senior, Kageyama's only remaining family had passed away. Volleyball was the only consistent presence in his life.
But Tanaka standing resolutely beside him, boldly speaking up, stirred something in Kageyama's habitual solitude.
'As long as I can play volleyball, the black night sky feels like a gentle sunny day.'
Ichinose and Sawamura exchanged a glance.
'Exactly what we wanted.'
That's why, besides Hinata, they paired Tanaka with Kageyama. Hinata and Tanaka's open, honest, and straightforward personalities would serve as the team's lubricant, helping Kageyama integrate into the team.
As both sides warmed up, Sawamura approached Ichinose, hesitating before asking:
"Ichinose, why do you believe Kageyama and Hinata can mesh, and that Hinata can push Kageyama into the team?"
Ichinose, stretching his shoulders and chest, replied while warming up:
"It's intuition. Kageyama's name has 'shadow' in it, Hinata's has 'sun.'"
"Their personalities may seem different, but inside, both crave volleyball and victory endlessly."
"Plus, Kageyama's birthday is on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. Hinata's is on the summer solstice, the longest day. When the shadow meets the sun, it always becomes light."
Having answered Sawamura's question, Ichinose called over Sawamura, Tsukishima, and Tanaka. Though Tsukishima wasn't exactly obedient, after Hinata's recent provocations, he came to listen.
"Compared to receiving, our strength lies more in blocking. So…"
Before he could continue, the whistle blew signaling the start of the match. Though unofficial, both sides quickly took their positions for the first showdown of their high school volleyball careers.
Team Kageyama was Team A; Ichinose's group was Team B. A coin toss gave Ichinose's team the first serve. This practice match wasn't meant to crush Kageyama and Hinata's confidence, so Ichinose wasn't using his full power.
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Hinata swallowed hard, staring at the three giant figures across the net.
'I knew they were tall, but… this is insane.'
'Three guys over 190cm… I rarely saw blocks this high even in Junior High nationals!'
Ichinose lightly served an underhand ball, no jump serve, not very strong, but tricky in speed and angle.
"I got this!"
Without much thought, Hinata moved to receive it. A clean pass.
Kageyama assessed the high incoming ball.
'Hmph. Receiving skill has improved.'
Perfectly judging the drop point, he positioned himself, observing the opponents' formation.
'Ichinose is marking me, let's try passing to Tanaka.'
He feigned a set, but Ichinose didn't move forward to block.
'Tch, saw through that, huh.'
Kageyama maintained a posture to keep options open until the ball landed in his hands.
Using textbook form, he executed an overhand pass, fingers controlling the ball perfectly.
The ball spun toward Tanaka.
'This serious-faced kid… he can actually set properly.'
Tanaka sprinted, jumped, and angled an inexperienced diagonal spike, hitting the ball with crisp force toward Yamaguchi.
Thump thump!
The ball landed, but Ichinose, with long legs, jumped and blocked the diagonal ball in midair.
Guren immediately updated the scoreboard:
Team A 0:1 Team B
"Damn it!"
Tanaka glared at Ichinose across the net.
'No wonder he's MVP, fast, high jumps. Just like the Iron Wall at Date Tech… these guys just graduated Junior High?!'
Biting back his pride, Tanaka finally accepted that these three tall first-years weren't just tall, they were a formidable wall at the net.
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Chapter 64: The "Iron Wall" Proves Ineffective
In this irregular-numbered practice match, rotations were much more casual. The server could even join the block, something that would be a definite violation in an official match.
Ichinose Guren didn't hold back just because it was a practice match. On the contrary, he went all out with relentless blocking, switching positions, and full-force coverage that drained every bit of his stamina.
Sawamura Daichi had already been told the purpose of this match: to use the "iron wall" of three 190 cm-plus giants to pressure Kageyama and Hinata.
The goal was to see if this high-pressure, super tall wall could force the proud Kageyama and the passionate Hinata to operate as a cohesive unit, helping Kageyama understand the meaning of teamwork.
But there was one unexpected player affected by the block: Tsukishima.
'What is going on with these guys? They're all the same age… how can there be such a difference?'
Tsukishima, also towering at 190 cm in shoes, found his block completely suppressed by Ichinose Guren's jump. Setting aside the already-giant Sawamura, Ichinose dominated the height contest.
'No wonder he's MVP… it makes sense I can't match him.'
Ichinose's eyes scanned Tsukishima's face after blocking the ball.
'He's such a competitive guy… yet he hates showing it.'
'Partly his natural pride, partly not wanting to burden his older brother with his passions.'
Even though Tanaka Ryunosuke's spike had been perfectly blocked by Ichinose, scoring was followed by pure, heartfelt praise from a little fan:
"Ah! Tanaka-senpai! That hit sounded amazing!"
"It looks so powerful! Is this what it means to be a man?"
Hinata's impulsive, enthusiastic personality made his flattery natural, almost innate.
Tanaka, unused to such praise, smiled faintly. Normally, when he scored, close teammates would jeer or tease him. And this spike had been blocked, yet someone still called him "senpai" and cheered.
In a rare moment of playful self-image, Tanaka tapped Hinata on the shoulder, adopting a low, calm voice:
"Nothing much. I got blocked this time. Next time, I'll score."
"Oh! Even more manly now!"
"Yeah! Hahaha, I think so too!"
Tanaka couldn't maintain his calm for more than five seconds before laughing loudly with Hinata.
Moments later, a few second-year teammates at the scoreboard jeered:
"Blocked by the bald guy, huh?"
"Spike stopped by the baldie."
"Senpai, let's see that point!"
Ichinose ignored the second-years' teasing and continued serving, this time targeting Tanaka, who had just spiked.
Every move Ichinose made was carefully calculated to push Kageyama into the team, starting with coordinating with Hinata.
By letting Tanaka handle the first ball, Kageyama, as the natural setter, would naturally not attack.
Even if Sawamura, a defense specialist, could legally spike in this practice, he had no practiced offensive technique, useless in effect.
Thus, Kageyama's sets would only go to Hinata.
The ball came faster than before. Tanaka scrambled to receive Ichinose's quick serve, but his weight shifted, leaving him temporarily unable to move.
'Good… exactly the effect I wanted.'
Ichinose advanced to the net, ready to block, marking the setter while maintaining defensive coverage.
Hinata, whose skills had greatly improved, leapt toward the double block, attempting a spike.
But Sawamura, with his long arms, blocked it in midair.
'The wall… it's massive,' Hinata thought, dazed. 'It's like facing Yukigaoka alone, or even in the gym tournament… yet against Kitagawa Daiichi's high walls, Yukigaoka lost cleanly, 2-0.'
In that previous world, he had felt the same frustration, helpless, gritting his teeth, only able to hurl threats at Kageyama afterward, still tasting the bitter tang of defeat.
Seeing Hinata's dazed expression after being blocked, Ichinose felt a pang of worry.
'Did I shelter him too much in Junior High?'
'Just one block and he's shaken?'
He called out, encouraging Hinata in his own way:
"Shoyo!"
Hinata looked up, startled, meeting Ichinose's serious gaze.
"Shoyo, we three just formed this block. We don't have synchronized timing, even our jumps are based on instinct."
"The iron wall of Date Tech, focused on blocking, might be slightly shorter than us, but their coordination and blocking skills are far superior."
"It's likely even stronger than what you're facing now."
"If you can't get past our block, you certainly won't stand on the court the longest."
Hinata froze slightly at Ichinose's words, then Ichinose continued:
"However, in the past two years, Date Tech was suppressed by Aoba Johsai, only reaching the top four."
"And Aoba was blocked for two years by one of the country's top three, possibly strongest, spikers: Ushijima Wakatoshi."
"Do you understand what that means?"
Ichinose locked eyes with Hinata, waiting for a response. He didn't want to hear even a hint of defeatism, it would be worse than bringing Sawamura back to Shiratorizawa Middle.
"I know."
Hinata lowered his head, the shadow of his bangs hiding his orange eyes.
Even Ichinose, who wasn't fazed by reaching the national top four, felt a moment of tension.
Then Hinata's head shot back up, eyes sparkling with excitement.
'Does this mean… in Miyagi Prefecture, I get to face truly strong opponents?!'
There was no hesitation, no daze, just pure exhilaration. Like a child seeing their favorite toy, a kitten spotting a feather, a dog finding a bone.
The shadow was only an illusion. The sun always shone brightest, and Hinata never wasted time giving lectures, he expressed himself fully and gave his all.
Like the sun, he burned brightly.
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Note: This will be double chapters because webnovel is having a problem with chapter 64.