When consciousness returned, it wasn't soft or gentle.It was a sharp, piercing WHISTLE the kind used by referees in volleyball matches.
'What the?'
My eyes shot open.The first thing I saw was a gym ceiling. Old, wooden beams. Dusty lights. Volleyball banners hanging lopsidedly. And the faint smell of old varnish mixed with sweat.This wasn't my bedroom.This wasn't even my world because I knew this gym.
"Alright, that wraps up today! Don't forget to stretch before you go!"
That voice stern, aged, but reliable belonged to a coach I didn't know personally…
But the voice felt strangely familiar.
I slowly sat up. A volleyball rolled toward my leg and bumped lightly against my knee.
My hands trembled because these hands weren't mine.They are thinner, younger and judging by the calluses, clearly belonging to someone who spent years playing volleyball.
My breath caught.
"…No way."
Memories that weren't mine flickered at the edges of my mind.
A name…
A school…
A face reflected in a window, with black hair streaked lightly with brown and sharp golden-brown eyes Kazuki Hayama, 15 years old, first-year high school student and a volleyball team member.A wave of dizziness hit me as my own memories, my real world, my old life collided with this new existence.
'Did I… transmigrate?'
And if that wasn't enough, another realization slammed into me:
This world was Haikyuu.
Not confirmed yet but I recognized the banners. The coach's quote. The gym layout. They matched descriptions from the manga and anime. However this wasn't Karasuno.Nor Seijoh.Nor Shiratorizawa.
This was-
"Oi, Kazuki! You good? You spaced out right after coach blew the whistle."
I turned toward the voice.
Beside me stood a tall guy with dyed chestnut hair, a lazy grin on his face, and a sweat towel around his neck.
Tendo Ryuusei not to be confused with Tendo from Shiratorizawa.
This one was my teammate. Middle blocker. Second year.Strong. Reliable. Friendly.
But not from the original story.
So it's not a copy-paste world. It's a variation.
A Haikyuu world with different schools and players, but the same national structure, same professional routes, same rankings, same iconic talents…meaning Karasuno, Seijoh, Shiratorizawa, MSC, Fukurodani—they all existed out there.
Meaning monsters like Ushijima, Miya Atsumu, Sakusa, Bokuto, and Kageyama existed.
And me?
Kazuki Hayama?
A first-year outside hitter in a mid-tier school called Minamiyama High, somewhere in Kanagawa Prefecture.
I wasn't special.
I wasn't famous.
I wasn't even a regular starter yet.
Just a guy who loved volleyball.
But that's when—
The world froze.
Literally.
Sweat droplets hung in the air.
The volleyball mid-bounce halted.
The hum of the lights went silent.
In the stillness, a translucent screen appeared before me.
[COMPLETE VOLLEYBALL SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
A system.
A literal system.
Not flashy, not dramatic but clean, modern, and realistic-looking.
My heart thudded.
[WELCOME, KAZUKI HAYAMA.]
[CALIBRATING HOST STATUS…]
Bars filled slowly, line by line, as if scanning my entire being.
[CALIBRATION COMPLETE.]
And then a new window opened:
— BASE STATS —
Stamina: 42/100
Jump Height: 49/100
Power (Spiking): 46/100
Technique: 40/100
Speed: 43/100
Setting: 22/100
Receive: 31/100
Serve: 28/100
Mental Fortitude: 55/100
Game Sense: 47/100
I blinked.
Realistic values. Not broken. Not superhuman.
A genuinely average high school athlete with room to grow.
Then another notification pinged softly.
[BEGINNER'S PACK AVAILABLE]
Would you like to claim it?
Starter Skill Pack
One-Time Body Optimization (minor)
Basic Insight Passive
Recovery Boost (Level 1)
1× Random Volleyball Talent Fragment (Low Tier)
My pulse quickened.
This wasn't an "Complete Volleyball System"
This was…
A real training-assistance tool.
Something that could make me into a monster if I worked for it.
"…Claim."
The moment the word left my lips, the screen glowed.
[BEGINNER'S PACK CLAIMED.]
— You have obtained: —
✔ Skill: Spiking Fundamentals (Lv.1)
✔ Skill: Overhand Setting Basics (Lv.1)
✔ Skill: Jump Timing Sense (Lv.1)
✔ Minor Body Optimization (Height +1 cm; Muscle Efficiency +3%)
✔ Passive: Basic Insight (See minor flaws in your own form)
✔ Recovery Boost (Speeds up stamina recovery after workouts by 10%)
✔ Random Talent Fragment (Low Tier) → Result: "Discipline Freak (partial)"
Before I could read further, time resumed.
The ball hit the ground.
Sweat dropped from someone's chin.
Voices filled the gym again.
And I stood there, staring at my hands that suddenly felt lighter, more coordinated.
"Yo, Kazuki? Hellooo?"
Ryuusei waved a hand in front of my face.
"I..I'm fine," I said, voice cracking slightly.
But inside?
My entire soul was roaring.
I had awakened in the world of Haikyuu.
In a volleyball body.
With a system.
And with memories of the story intact.
That meant…
I knew who would rise.
Who would become legends.
Who my future rivals would be.
Kageyama Tobio.
Miya Atsumu.
Sakusa Kiyoomi.
Ushijima Wakatoshi.
And many others.
But I wasn't joining Karasuno.
Or any canon powerhouse.
No.
I would build my own path.
My own team.
My own reputation.
I would rise through high school as a spiker(my favorite position) but I would also develop my setting, my serves, everything.
I would become a true all-rounder.
A complete player.A future top-3 spiker and top-3 setter in Japan.
This world didn't know my name yet.
But they would.I picked up the volleyball at my feet. My fingers curled perfectly around it, the new Skill Level 1 settling into my muscles with natural familiarity.
For the first time in this second life, I smiled.
"This is only the beginning."
And in the empty air, unseen by anyone else, the system flickered:
[A NEW JOURNEY HAS BEGUN.]
[RISE, KAZUKI HAYAMA.]