Chapter 53 Volleyball 13

"Judging from the photo, the location should be around Wakano 3-chome... yes, it's near here." Oikawa Toru looked down at the photo on his phone while walking on the road and analyzed it.

Iwaizumi suddenly said, "No need to look."

"Why?"

"Because I've seen her."

……oh?

When Oikawa Tetsu looked up, he saw the beautiful black-haired girl he had only met once in Hyogo Prefecture. She was standing not far away, and beside her, besides Xiao Feixiong, there was a tall boy with flamboyant blond hair.

——The legendary top setter in the nation’s high schools, Miya Yuu from Inarizaki High School.

“……!”

Oikawa Toru's light brown pupils contracted for a moment.

As a setter, Miya You is undoubtedly a genius like Kageyama Tobio, and he is also the type of person who is both talented and hardworking.

Whenever I was in the same space with these geniuses, it seemed that even the air became difficult to breathe.

Gong You is even one grade younger than him. He is only in his second year of high school this year, but he has already become famous throughout the country and is recognized as the number one setter without any dispute.

However, Aoba Johsai never even made it to Spring High School. During his three years of high school, Aoba Johsai was always under the shadow of Shiratorizawa Academy and Ushijima Wakari, and was unable to move beyond Miyagi Prefecture and advance into the national level.

Even though I already knew that Kurikawa Sana was the volleyball club manager of Inarizaki High School, and I also knew that she came to Miyagi Prefecture because the club was going to play an exchange match with Shiratorizawa—

But when she actually saw the top setter in her high school, Toru Oikawa still felt an indescribable ups and downs of emotions, especially when Kageyama Tobio was also there.

Iwaizumi was stunned for a moment, then immediately noticed Okunran's emotional fluctuations. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Oikawa, don't think too much—we will definitely make it to nationals, too."

"Iwa-chan actually comforted me, that's rare, I thought you were going to punch me."

Iwaizumi: "When you're not acting crazy, I can always talk to you properly."

Oikawa Toru: “…”

"Anyway, let's go say hello first."

"Wait a moment, Iwa-chan, let me observe how the cute underclassman is surrounding the girls." Oikawa Toru returned to his smirk, "I never thought that Tobio, whose mind is solely focused on volleyball, would have such a day."

“………”

Iwaizumi twitched his lips speechlessly at first, but when he noticed that Oikawa Toru's tone had returned to normal, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"But how did Xiao Feixiong and Xiao Budian know her?"

"Maybe they took the initiative to greet Gong You, so they got to know each other."

"How is this possible?!"

"How is that impossible? Kageyama and Hinata will do everything they can to improve in volleyball, including asking a jerk like you for advice."

"You have a point." Oikawa Toru pondered and continued to observe: "Wow, when Kuri-chan laughed, the little one's face and ears turned red, and the whole person looked orange. Xiao Tobio looked the same as usual... but something is wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't really put my finger on it, but I feel like when Tobio-chan looks at Kuri-chan, it's more like... he's looking at a volleyball, not a girl."

Iwaizumi: "..."

"I look at you like you're a jerk," Iwaizumi scoffed coldly.

Oikawa Toru: "..."

"Let's not talk about this for now, Iwa-chan, she's looking over here!"

! !

Iwaizumi turned his head and saw the girl jogging towards them with a sweet smile on her face. "Iwaizumi-kun, Oikawa-kun, what a coincidence—"

Unfortunately, I came here specially to see you.

But of course, this sentence remained unspoken. Iwaizumi heard his voice, which he tried to keep steady as usual, saying, "…What a coincidence, Kurikawa-san, you're in Miyagi Prefecture."

"Yeah, because our school's volleyball club had an exchange match with Shiratorizawa, and the game just ended." Kurikawa Sana said with a smile.

From a while ago, she noticed that Iwaizumi Kazue and Oikawa Toru appeared nearby because she heard Iwaizumi Kazue's voice increasing his favorability in her mind.

Looking back, the two were indeed right behind me.

Miyagi Prefecture is indeed a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. I have seen all the possible targets here in just one trip.

As soon as the keyword "Shiratorizawa" was triggered, Oikawa Toru immediately became like a hedgehog with its barbs erected, "Did you finally defeat that Ushiwaka guy?"

Kurikawa Sana shook her head. "In the end, it was tied 2-2, and both our coaches stopped the game."

"Tsk... what a shame. I wanted to see Ushiwaka defeated."

A male voice with a rising Kansai accent rang out: "If the fifth round continues, Inarizaki will definitely win."

Oikawa Toru turned his gaze indifferently to look at the owner of the voice. The handsome blond boy had a fox-like cunning smile on his face, but it was full of distance.

"Um, let me introduce you. This is Miya Yuu, our school's setter." Kurikawa Sana quickly stepped out to act as a tool. "Yuu-kun, these two are Oikawa and Iwaizumi, seniors from Aoba Johsai High School."

"Hello, seniors." Miya You smiled and narrowed his eyes. "Tobio-kun and Shoyo-kun mentioned that you two seniors are very strong."

Now it was Kurikawa Sana's turn to be surprised, "So you're already so familiar with Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun?"

Not only do I call them by their names now, but I also chat with them privately.

Gong You: "Of course. After all, Zhiping and I are always gentle and kind to others."

Kurikawa Sana: "..."

Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyo also came over, and the former agreed with Gong You's statement: "That's right, Gong Senior has answered many of my questions."

"Oh? Even Tobio-chan said so..." Oikawa Toru smiled. When his handsome face became serious, he had the air of a senior and a sense of reliability. "Come to think of it, how did Kuri-chan and the little one know each other? What a coincidence, they're all here."

Little one? Are you talking about Hinata-kun? Kurikawa Sana's eyes shifted——

A certain orange-haired boy seemed accustomed to this address and smiled cheerfully, "We met Kurikawa-san while playing volleyball! We came here today specifically to see her, since she's leaving Miyagi Prefecture tomorrow..."

When he said the second half of the sentence, Hinata Shoyo's originally cheerful tone suddenly dropped, and the sincere boy, as always, showed all his emotions on his face.

"...?!" Iwaizumi immediately looked at her in surprise. "So you play volleyball too?"

The last time we met in Amagasaki Castle in Hyogo Prefecture, she only said that she liked volleyball and that was why she was the manager of the volleyball club. She never told me that she could also play volleyball.

Kurikawa Sana nodded, "Yes, Iwaizumi-kun."

Recalling his experience playing against the girl, Hinata Shoyo was filled with excitement, "Kurikawa-senpai is really good at volleyball!"

Oikawa Toru raised an eyebrow: "How powerful is it?"

"Is he so amazing that he was immediately invited by Shiratorizawa's captain Ushijima to their school?" Miya You looked at someone again with a resentful look.

Kurikawa Sana shuddered and muttered softly, "I didn't agree..."

Oikawa Toru: “…”

What? !

"Did Ushiwaka invite you to Shiratorizawa as well?" Oikawa Toru almost raised his voice suddenly.

Kurikawa Sana was surprised, "Also? Has Oikawa-kun also been invited by Ushijima-senpai?"

"That's right, the thing that guy said most often was that I should go to Shiratorizawa." He said expressionlessly.

Every time Aoba Johsai lost, Ushijima Wakari would appear in front of him like an NPC, saying things like "Oikawa, you've taken the wrong path", "There are obviously better places for you to show your talents, don't continue to go astray for the sake of your insignificant self-esteem", "You should come to Shiratorizawa", etc. When Oikawa Toru thought of this, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Kurikawa Sana: "..."

Oh, I didn’t expect that Ushijima-kun has such a niche hobby. He likes to help the school recruit students.

"To be able to get that Ushijima to invite me personally..." Iwaizumi couldn't hide the surprise on his face, and didn't say the second half of the sentence in his heart.

So how strong is she? That's why that Ushijima Wakari personally invited her to join Shiratorizawa—

"Kuri-chan, are you also a setter?" Oikawa Toru couldn't help but ask, with a hint of urgency in his tone.

Kurikawa Sana shook her head, "No, I play as the main attacker."

Hearing this, fellow attacker Hinata Shoyo's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "Senior is truly amazing as a main attacker! Her spikes always come crashing down with a bang, and her serves also score with a bang. I can't even keep up!"

"No one will understand what you're saying with all these onomatopeia." Kageyama Tobio turned his gaze to Kurikawa Sana with a serious expression. "But Hinata is right about one thing. Kurikawa-senpai is really strong. I also hope to be able to pass the ball to her one day."

Gong You: “…”

Gong You took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to comfort himself skillfully and quickly, telling himself to be patient and wait until he could return to Hyogo Prefecture tomorrow.

"...Xiao Feixiong, do you want to pass the ball to her?"

"Yes." Kageyama Tobio answered firmly, looking at the girl with a serious and sincere look.

This time, Toru Oikawa was really stunned, looking at the slender and fragile girl in front of him with a look of surprise.

As a fellow setter, he was well aware of the weight of Kageyama Tobio's words. It was a high recognition from a talented and top setter to an attacker.

What kind of strength does this person possess that could impress both Ushijima Wakari and Kageyama Tobio?!

Seeing the sudden look of surprise on Toru Oikawa's exceptionally handsome face, and his sudden gaze towards Kurikawa Sana, Miya You suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of crisis in his heart, and just wanted to take his manager away from here as soon as possible.

Damn it, after the match with Shiratorizawa, Zhi said he was extremely hungry and went straight back to the hotel to eat. Nothing could stop him from eating, which was his first priority.

Because Kakuname's spikes were blocked too many times by the opposing outside hitter, Tendo Kaku, Kita-senpai and the coach kept him behind for extra training - as a result, he was the only one left with Kurikawa Sana.

Fortunately, he came out with Sana, Gong You thought.

Otherwise, there are always strangers showing up every now and then, which is too dangerous! Just like Oikawa Toru and Iwaizumi who will appear now, I don’t know how Sana knows them.

The muscles in Gong You's arms tensed slightly as he spoke, "Sana, we should almost be heading back. Coach and Kita-senpai will be back later to review the match."

"I understand." Kurikawa Sana smiled and waved at them, "Well, see you later~"

The girl's smile was dazzling and brilliant, too beautiful to ignore. Even after she and Gong You disappeared, the remaining four remained silent.

"Senior... she's gone." Hinata Shoyo said in a lost tone, "I don't know when I'll see her again..."

"There will be a chance." Kageyama Tobio suddenly said, "She promised me that if the schedule doesn't coincide with Inarizaki's, she'll come to watch the preliminaries in Miyagi Prefecture's Harukaka."

"Eh? There's actually such an agreement... By the way, Kageyama, when did you become so close to Senpai? Damn, I'm so envious!"

Hinata Shoyo complained as he suddenly sensed a chill emanating from the two people from Aoba Johsai nearby. "Wait, if they're here to watch the Miyagi Prefecture qualifiers, then that means..."

Then wouldn't it be possible for Senior Sister to see them, Karasuno vs. Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa, or Shiratorizawa vs. Aoba Johsai? !

Hinata Shoyo shuddered suddenly.

Karasuno recently lost to Aoba Jonai in the IH (Inter-High) competition and missed the chance to represent Miyagi Prefecture in the national competition.

The so-called IH stands for the National College Sports Meet, but for high school students who play volleyball, in addition to IH, there is another competition known as the "Volleyball Koshien" during their three years of high school - the All Japan Volleyball High School Championship, commonly known as the Spring College Volleyball Tournament, abbreviated as "Spring High School".

Hinata Shoyo longs for Spring High School very much. The reason why he fell in love with volleyball is because when he was a child, he saw the little giant of Karasuno High School jumping high in the Spring High School competition on TV. That scene still inspires him today.

There is still some time before the Spring High School, and he is already looking forward to the arrival of summer vacation. There may be rare long-term training during the summer vacation, which is the best opportunity to sprint around and improve his strength.

He firmly believed that in time, Karasuno would defeat his opponents and enter Harukaka.

"Isn't that what it is?" Oikawa Toru folded his arms and looked at him, "Little guy, you don't mean to say that Kuri-chan can see you defeat Aoba Johsai, right?"

Hinata Shoyo looked at his partner and asked, "Will we win?"

Kageyama Tobio's eyes were firm, "We will win."

Oikawa Toru: “…”

These two younger generations are really not cute!!

Iwaizumi Ichi, who had not joined their conversation, finally slowly withdrew his gaze from the direction the girl left and said to his young son, "Let's go, Oikawa."

"Got it, Iwa-chan." Oikawa Toru waved his hand. "Then, see you at the Spring High School preliminaries, little one, Tobio-chan."

"Yes, Oikawa-senpai."

*

Until he was walking on the way home, Toru Oikawa kept staring at the screen of his mobile phone, opening a Line chat box over and over again, but he was still unable to send a message as quickly and neatly as before.

It's a chat box with Kurikawa Sana.

Finally, Toru Oikawa exited the Line interface with Kurikawa Sana and opened Instagram instead. He smoothly clicked on the personal homepage of a user named "sana" and started browsing.

Iwaizumi couldn't help but tsk, "Who said that before? It's just a one-time encounter, and whether or not we'll ever see each other again is still a question. It's normal not to get too emotionally involved—and now, why is the person who said that suddenly taking it seriously?"

"It's different now, Iwa-chan! Someone who could attract the attention of both that arrogant Ushiwaka and that awkward, 'dictatorial' king, Kotobuki... one of them invited her to Shiratorizawa, and the other said he wanted to pass the ball to her!"

Iwaizumi: “…”

Iwaizumi quickly concluded in a nonchalant tone, "So, you've started to care about her too, just because your two most concerned rivals, Ushijima and Kageyama, care about her."

Oikawa Toru: “…………”

"That's right."

"Why don't you send the message then? You've been staring at the screen for most of the day."

“………”

Iwaizumi pulled the corner of his mouth and smiled, "What's wrong, you guy? Didn't you laugh at me for not daring to send her a message before? Why is it your turn now that you don't dare?"

"For someone who could make those two guys like Ushiwaka and Kotobuki care so much, even without asking specifically, I can probably imagine how powerful she is."

Oikawa Toru put away his phone and looked up at the sky. The fiery red sunset was reflected in the boy's clear light brown eyes.

"Obviously, she is one of those geniuses blessed by God, gifted and blessed with extraordinary talents."

Iwaizumi Kazuya fell silent.

Sure enough, to this day, Oikawa still hasn't been able to reconcile with the paradox between genius and mortal.

But Iwaizumi Ichi can understand Oikawa. As a childhood friend who has fought side by side with him until now, no one can understand Oikawa better than him.

During his three years at Kitagawa First Junior High School, he and Oikawa were constantly dominated by the prodigy "monster" Ushijima Wakari from Shiratorizawa Junior High School. Even in so many matches, Ushijima defeated them without losing a single game. His astonishing strength and overwhelming pressure were almost breathtaking.

It wasn't until the last match of their third year of junior high that they finally won the first game against Ushijima. But in the end, they still lost. They had never won against Ushijima before.

How can I forget such an experience? How can I forget it?

In front of him was the talented rival Ushijima Wakari, and later on there appeared the talented junior Kageyama Tobio. From the past to the present, Oikawa has always been overshadowed by the shadow of the genius.

Even though Oikawa himself has always been very strong, so strong that Ushijima has been insisting on inviting him to Shiratorizawa, and so strong that Kageyama Tobio bluntly said that Oikawa-senpai is the only opponent he is afraid of... Oikawa still has complicated feelings about these geniuses.

"So, you're going to hate her just because she's probably a genius?" Iwaizumi asked.

"...I don't know." Oikawa Toru blinked gently, and the sunset glow in his eyes seemed like fine gold.

"When we first met, she seemed to have complimented me on my nickname."

——Talent will blossom and bear fruit.

Oikawa Toru lowered his eyes and clenched his fists tightly.

——Talent requires hard work, and ball sense requires polishing.

No matter what happens to others, he, Oikawa Toru, will persevere with all his strength.

…

*

The other side.

When she returned to the lobby of the hotel where Inarizaki was staying, Kurikawa Sana suddenly stopped.

Gong You turned around curiously and asked, "What happened? You suddenly stopped."

Kurikawa Sana was stunned.

Just now, she heard a sudden favorability reminder sound in her mind.

[Oikawa Toru, Favorability +20. ]