"G-G-G-Great King?!"
Turning the corner of the restroom and bumping into what felt like a wall, Hinata Shoyo looked up in confusion. When he saw Oikawa Tooru's face, he froze for a second, then immediately jumped three feet in the air.
Why?
Why was the Great King of Aoba Johsai here?
"Hello there, little guy. You really do have a knack for bathroom encounters, huh?"
Even Oikawa was caught off guard by their surprise meeting, but he quickly recovered and smirked.
"H-Hello!"
Hinata greeted him politely. "Um, why is the Great King here in a place like this?"
Oikawa pursed his lips thoughtfully and said,
"Well~~ remember how our 'Ace' accidentally hurt you last time? I just came to make sure there aren't any lingering side effects… You know, to tie up loose ends."
Hinata stiffened. "N-No, I'm totally fine now! No lingering issues whatsoever!"
Panicked, Hinata quickly backed away, putting distance between them.
Oikawa's nonsense wouldn't fool most people, but Hinata wasn't most people. He was gullible to a fault.
"Giegiegie, after all, some side effects take time to show. Better safe than sorry, right? So I figured I should, you know, eliminate the problem at its root."
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
"What are you two doing?"
Just as Hinata was about to burst into tears from fear, Miki Oda suddenly appeared.
"Hurry up, the practice match is about to start."
"WAAAH! Miki! Save me! The Great King wants to silence me! Wait, no, run, Miki! Go call the police, …Wait. Practice match?"
The word clicked in Hinata's head, and he suddenly froze.
Practice match?
What practice match?
Miki Oda looked at the terrified Hinata, then at Oikawa, who was now casually whistling like none of this involved him, and started to get the picture.
Aoba Johsai's third-year captain really was as nasty as Sanashita had warned her.
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After Aoba Johsai's warm-up finished, the practice match officially began.
Miki's older brother played for Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza, a team competing in Division 2 of the V League.
Compared to a high school team like Aoba Johsai, Miki's brother, Miwa Oda, and his teammates radiated a professional air much like Mujinazaka High did.
It was the unmistakable aura of a polished, unified team.
From ace to libero, while their heights and builds varied, simply standing together made them feel like a cohesive unit.
A stark contrast to Aoba Johsai, who, despite wearing the same uniforms and standing on the same court, still gave the impression of being just a bunch of individuals.
Of course, none of that was the most pressing concern at the moment.
No, the real issue was…
"Uh… why is he here?"
Everyone turned to look at Hinata Shoyo, who was awkwardly waving hello on the court, clearly excited and nervous.
Aoba Johsai's vice-captain, Hajime Iwaizumi, immediately slammed a fist down on Oikawa's head.
"Oikawa, why is Karasuno's No.10 here?!"
Oikawa scratched his head sheepishly.
"Oh, I just bumped into him on the way to the bathroom."
"You idiot, that's not what I meant! Why the hell did you INVITE him onto our team?!"
"Hehehe… Come on, Iwa-chan, don't you think the little guy's interesting? He's got this weird charm that makes setters want to toss to him! And since little Tobio's off with the Youth Camp, I thought I'd borrow the little guy for now. It's perfect!"
Iwaizumi's face darkened.
He was livid.
Just a few minutes out of sight and this idiot had already stirred up chaos by dragging in Karasuno's infamous wild card.
Right as Iwaizumi's fist was about to land on Oikawa again, Akashi Asuka stepped in to defuse the situation.
"Calm down, Iwaizumi-senpai. Since Karasuno's No.10 is already here, why not let him join us for this match? It's a good chance to observe up close just what kind of skillset caused us so much trouble before."
Iwaizumi sighed. "Seriously… one or two of you acting out is bad enough, but both? I give up. Do whatever you want. Anyway, it's you underclassmen who'll have to deal with Karasuno next year after we graduate."
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"Hey, you guys done planning?" A voice called from the opposite side of the court.
"All set!" came the response.
"Then let's get this started! Don't let us down now. Miwa's little brother sure talked you guys up when he was with us!"
"Don't worry, senpai! By the time this practice ends, you'll be thoroughly impressed!"
But the moment the match began, Oikawa and Akashi's playful demeanor vanished.
Gone were the teasing smiles, replaced by expressions of unwavering calm and intense focus.
Hinata was taken aback.
"They snapped into game mode so fast…"
"Oh~~ That's a good look." One of the Tokai Heavy Industries players on the other side gave a nod of approval, his own grin starting to fade.
The match began.
Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza served first.
Boom!
With the sound of the whistle, a powerful jump serve rocketed over to Aoba Johsai's side.
"Whoa, what a fierce serve!" Hinata was stunned, but what shocked him even more came next.
Despite the force, Watari Shinji perfectly tracked the ball and received it cleanly, passing it to Oikawa.
Oikawa, in turn, immediately connected with Akashi for a quick attack.
On the opposite side of the net, one of Esperanza's players praised the receive.
"Nice pass. Man, even high schoolers have such solid fundamentals these days, "
BOOM!!!
Before he could even finish the sentence, a thunderous roar erupted above the court.
A blazing blur of a volleyball shot past his ear and slammed violently into the floor.
"Eh?!"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria