The youth opposite him suddenly fell silent, rubbing his chin as if racking his brain for an answer.
Rishia Heisuke froze for a moment, subconsciously speculating about the possible answers in his mind.
Setter? Libero?
But in the next second, Hinata Shoyo's voice rang in his ears: "An ace.. probably."
Rishia Heisuke fell into an odd silence for a moment. "Why is your tone so uncertain?"
Hinata hesitated for half a second before finally answering, "Because I've only played in one match, so I didn't have time to carefully assign positions or anything."
Thinking back on it now.. I should have been divided up better; I should have been the ace!
Rishia Heisuke hadn't even had time to feel sad about Hinata Shoyo's initial words before he was interrupted by the serious analysis that followed.
Is that even the point?!
Hinata's eyes were already burning with fighting spirit: "Dad said the volleyball club at Fujisaki Junior High is quite good. Although the third-years should be retiring, he said if I ask, he'll definitely let me in."
This time, the boys' volleyball club.. won't just be for him alone.
Um.." Rishia Heisuke's voice interrupted Hinata Shoyo's thoughts. "After the All-Japan Youth, the club's training won't run very late.
I know there's an older volleyball court in the area where my family lives. If you don't mind, we could play together.
Hinata's eyes lit up: "Really? Are you sure?"
The memory of that match against Kitagawa Daiichi flashed through his mind in an instant, Hinata's previously heightened emotions calmed down slightly.
He added with a somewhat lonely tone, "But.. I.. I didn't play well."
Rishia Heisuke waved it off. "It's fine, my play is actually nothing special either. Besides, when it comes to volleyball, having one more person means there's just a bit more to practice."
Hinata was almost at the point of rushing forward to give Rishia Heisuke a bear hug: "Please, you must take me with you when you play volleyball!"
An unfamiliar environment and unfamiliar people can indeed cause one to feel fear.
But..
Hinata Shoyo had all the volleyball he needed.
It wasn't until Rishia Heisuke saw the volleyball rolling to the side and Hinata Shoyo standing there like a wooden chicken that he realized exactly what level of "bad" Hinata's words referred to.
Sorry! I'll definitely catch the next one!
Rishia Heisuke emptied his mind.
Thinking of how the ladies from both families had smiled and given him their instructions before they left, he realized it was already too late to return the goods.
Watching Hinata Shoyo rush frantically to pick up the ball, Rishia Heisuke calmed his mind.
No one is born a volleyball expert; through day after day of accumulation, one day they will break free from this fledgling-like predicament.
As for the reason for playing volleyball? The two words "pure passion" are heavy enough.
The sun set toward the west, staining the sky in shades of gold and crimson.
The sound of striking echoed from beside the riverbed, without even having to look down, Miya Atsumu knew exactly what it was.
It was.. the sound of an arm colliding with a volleyball.
That sound had accompanied him from beginning to end over the past few years; even just hearing it like this made one unable to resist stopping to watch.
—And so, Miya Atsumu stopped in his tracks.
It seemed to be middle school students, playing a 3v3 match at the old net in the riverside clearing.
Sorry, sorry! Hinata, save the ball!
Beautiful!
Miya Atsumu's mouth twitched.
Where is it beautiful? This ball is already about to fly into the sky.
It might be barely manageable if he did it, but it would be impossible for these few people.
The youth in the blue hoodie sent the ball back to the front of the net, Miya Atsumu showed no sign of surprise.
See, it was a tip.
Won't a spike from this angle be blocked immediately?
Tsk, the opponent's block didn't keep up either. He actually managed to score with that?
Was that serve a home run?
And there's another one with a jump serve, ah, it's out of bounds.
This set was such a poor toss from the setter.. At this rate, even if he tried to chase it himself, he wouldn't be able to catch it.
Right at that moment, an orange shadow flashed past his line of sight.
The evening breeze brushed past Miya Atsumu's ears, ruffling his hair, his gaze involuntarily followed that figure.
The orange little guy came to a sudden halt at the edge of the net, crossing the entire net to catch up to the ball that had been sent flying by the setter in an almost impossible manner.
Miya Atsumu frowned slightly.
Should he spike? At this height?
It would have been a better choice to strike a bit further forward and jump directly over the net.
Besides, on this kind of muddy ground, even a normal person wouldn't be able to jump..
A thud rang in Miya Atsumu's ears.
The gentle breeze became his wings, as if the entire land itself were supporting him, the youth's figure suddenly leaped upward.
Despite his clearly not-so-tall stature, he cleared the net so easily, reaching out to touch that high-flying volleyball.
For a split second, Miya Atsumu felt as if no one could catch him.
And that was indeed the case.
The blocker on the other side of the net didn't touch the ball at all; the blocker, who was nearly 1.8 meters tall, was completely outplayed by that little guy.
With a loud thud, the volleyball landed on the opposing court.
The boys' cheers erupted, but they failed to awaken the dazed Miya Atsumu.
Without even realizing it, he had stood there and finished watching this match, which could only be described as a "clash of amateurs."
See you tomorrow!
See you tomorrow! Hinata, Rishia!
Rishia Heisuke packed up his things: "Shoyo, you missed far fewer serves today."
Hinata responded excitedly, "I also feel like my form is amazing today!"
It wasn't until he saw this face head-on that Miya Atsumu, standing above, realized why he had felt he recognized him.
This person.. should have already been specially recruited into Inarizaki and is a freshman for next year.
He watched the orange-haired little guy say goodbye to the others, then looked toward that future freshman who had already been specially recruited by Inarizaki: "That Inarizaki High School is truly amazing!"
“Yesterday's match left me feeling so fired up! That dark-skinned senior was truly amazing! He just smashed right through the block like that!”
Influenced by the excitement of that match, Hinata felt full of energy: "I want to practice a little more."
Rishia Heisuke's eyes went dark upon hearing this: "Forget it for today. We just rode back from the stadium and played a three-on-three match.."
As he tried to refuse, he suddenly noticed Hinata looking up.
Following his gaze, Rishia Heisuke saw the blond high schooler crouching up there, observing them.
He knew this person; they had even watched his match yesterday.
Inarizaki High School's setter, Miya Atsumu.
Before Rishia Heisuke could even greet the other party, Hinata's voice had already rang out.
Excuse me!
Miya.. senior is the setter, right!
Under Rishia Heisuke's gaze, the youth bathed in the sunset raised his head and looked toward the person crouching by the road atop the embankment.
Those eyes were burning and dazzling, making it impossible to look away.
"Yeah, so what?" Miya Atsumu rested his chin in his hand, looking at the little guy.
Hinata Shoyo's voice drifted over, every word filled with earnestness: "Do you want to play volleyball together? It seems like you've been watching for a long time, Senpai."
This was the second setter he knew besides Kageyama, he had noticed the opponent since the halftime break just now.
In short, he is interested in them.
Then..
Under Rishia Heisuke's shocked gaze, Hinata Shoyo spoke words that shook the heart.
Miya-senpai, can you set for me!
Miya Atsumu watched the two people below with composure, one being bold, the other looking exceptionally flustered.
After a long silence, he spoke, "First, there's Miya 'Atsumu'-senpai."
Next..
I won't give the ball a soft touch.
Author's Note:
The story is starting! Today, Rishia Heisuke is being baked by the direct sunlight!
(Whispering: At this rate, I'll end up becoming the straight man sooner or later [shy].)
I'll write a story about superpowers next to change things up, for the one after that, I'll probably choose between basketball and volleyball. [Cat Paw]
Next story: Kuroko's Vanishing All-Stars
Synopsis:
After graduating from junior high school, Kuroko disappeared, vanishing completely from this world.
Just as Akashi Seijuro was at his wits' end, his father brought back two people.