Saturday.
The skies were clear, and the weather was perfect.
Akashi Asuka carried a shopping bag in one hand as he walked alongside Ryuhei Sanashita, heading toward Oikawa Tooru's house.
"What'd you buy?" Ryuhei glanced at the bag in Asuka's hand with curiosity.
"Well, since we're visiting a senpai, I figured it'd be rude not to bring a proper gift–" Asuka replied, his tone upright and righteous.
"A gift? Since when did you become so polite?" Ryuhei gave him a skeptical look. In his mind, while Asuka wasn't stingy by any means, he was hardly the type to be overly formal or courteous either.
"This time is different. What if Oikawa-senpai's parents or some elders are home? We can't just show up empty-handed." Asuka's voice was full of solemn conviction.
"…You have a point." Ryuhei nodded, accepting the logic, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
────────── ✦ ──────────
Not long after…
They arrived at Oikawa's house, only to find that there didn't seem to be any adults at home.
Hajime Iwaizumi, Takahiro Hanamaki, and Issei Matsukawa had already arrived. Their mission today was simple: help Oikawa catch up on his studies.
As Asuka and Ryuhei stepped into the room, they saw Iwaizumi holding a textbook in one hand, and making a fist with the other, hovering ominously above Oikawa's head like the Sword of Damocles.
Oikawa and Kentarou Kyotani were seated stiffly at their desks, posture straight as if they were about to be interrogated.
Hanamaki and Matsukawa appeared relaxed, but a closer look revealed that they had strategically stationed themselves, one guarding the door, the other the window, like prison wardens.
The three had used a volleyball-style "2-1 formation" to completely lock down Oikawa and Kyotani in the room.
"Oh! You guys are here." Iwaizumi glanced up when Asuka and Ryuhei entered, gave them a quick nod, then turned his fierce gaze back to the pair at the desk.
"Thanks for your hard work, senpai-tachi. I picked up some snacks on the way here, why don't we all take a little break?" Asuka suggested cheerfully.
At that, Iwaizumi checked the time on his wristwatch and saw that the study session had already gone on for three full hours. After a moment's thought, he nodded.
"Sure. Let's take a short break."
The moment those words left his mouth,
The two most notoriously wild and unmanageable members of the volleyball team visibly collapsed with relief, like puppets whose strings had been cut.
Asuka began handing out snacks from the bag, mostly cold drinks, chips, and soda to beat the summer heat.
When he finally reached Oikawa and Kyotani, however, instead of snacks, he pulled out two workbooks and slapped them on the table.
"Here you go! These are your gifts. Don't be shy, dig in!"
Oikawa: "…"
Kyotani: "…"
The two froze mid-reach, their faces contorting in real-time as the realization hit them.
Even Ryuhei, who came along with Asuka, was stunned for a moment, then turned to his friend with a look of pure horror.
Bro. Seriously?
Are you even human?
Who the hell gives workbooks as gifts?!
"Pffft, cough cough cough!"
Hanamaki and Matsukawa, who were munching on popsicles, nearly choked to death trying to hold in their laughter. They coughed so hard, tears welled up in their eyes.
Only Iwaizumi maintained his composure. He casually took one of the workbooks and flipped through it. After a few pages, his eyes lit up.
"Huh? Not bad! These are actually pretty well-targeted for their weak points."
Asuka gave a bashful grin. "Hehe~~ Glad to hear it. I actually reviewed some third-year material last night just to make sure I picked out the right ones for them!"
Oikawa: "Σ(Д;)"
Kyotani: "(Д)ノ"
Is this guy a demon?!
He studied in advance just to choose the most effective practice books for them?!
Who even does that?!
Even Iwaizumi, who'd seen a lot, was left speechless for a moment.
Over on the other side of the room, Ryuhei, Hanamaki, and Matsukawa all took a small step back.
Even though they didn't need remedial tutoring right now, the thought of ever being subjected to Asuka's brand of help made them deeply uncomfortable.
And so, the "fun-filled weekend" of Oikawa and Kyotani officially began.
────────── ✦ ──────────
Meanwhile…
At another location,
All of Karasuno's volleyball team members, except for Hinata Shoyo and Tobio Kageyama, had arrived at Nekoma High in Tokyo to begin their two-day training camp.
…Wait, where were Hinata and Kageyama?
Come on, do you really have to ask?
They were still in cram school!
In the original story, when Karasuno first faced off against the Tokyo-based teams in the [Fukurodani Group], which included Fukurodani, Nekoma, Shinzen, and Ubugawa, the team, missing their first-year aces, got absolutely steamrolled at first.
But this time, things were… well, even worse.
Why?
Because Karasuno now had one more member: Oda Miki.
And no, don't get it twisted.
The reason things went even worse this time wasn't because Oda held them back.
It was because when the players from Fukurodani and Shinzen heard that Karasuno was from Miyagi Prefecture, they turned savage.
The logic was simple:
"We lost to Aoba Johsai in the Nationals.
But now a team from the same region shows up to practice with us?
If we lose to them too, we'll basically be 'the losers of the losers.'
No way we're letting that happen."
As proud competitors who'd once made it to Nationals, they couldn't afford to lose face.
"Uh… is it just me, or did the Fukurodani and Shinzen guys suddenly get a lot more fired up after Karasuno showed up?" a player from Ubugawa asked, scratching his head.
"Probably because they've all lost to Aoba Johsai before. You know, Miyagi Prefecture's rep."
"Ohh… that makes sense."
Karasuno's players, of course, didn't pick up on any of that nuance.
To them, this was just their first real scrimmage against Tokyo's powerhouse schools, and they chalked it up to the difference in strength.
But just before lunch break,
Karasuno's first-year duo finally arrived in Tokyo, thanks to the help of Tanaka's big sister.
…Not that it changed much.
Karasuno still got wrecked.
But something had shifted.
The crows had begun to spread their wings.
The chicks had started to hatch.
And when a flock of hungry crows starts to stir…
No one knows just how high they'll fly.
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 678+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 337
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 279
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 227
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 209
Playing Genshin Impact in Danmachi (Danmachi x Genshin Impact) — Up to Chapter 139
Kuroko no Basket: The Phantom Ace — Up to Chapter 67
Yukigaoka: Project Ace — Up to Chapter 62
Naruto: Starting from the Duel — Up to Chapter 52