Chapter 89 Volleyball 49

At night, at Senran High School, Inarizaki dormitory.

With a "bang", the dormitory door was blasted open by Miyaji, startling Miya You who was in bed.

"What's going on? Is there an earthquake?!" The golden fox jumped straight up from the quilt with a confused look on his face.

Miyaji: “…”

"Stupid Yuu, it's me."

"What do you mean by cure? Why are you so angry so late at night?"

Miyaji went straight to the point with a deadpan expression: "Just now when I went back to the gym to look for Sana, I saw the captain of Owl Valley hugging her."

"——And he hugged me very tightly and very hard." Miyaji said this with a hint of gritted teeth.

Gong You: “…”

????? ?????

The golden fox rushed forward, grabbed his brother's shoulders and began shaking him frantically, "What?! What did you say?! That Nike Eyebrow Captain from Xiaogu actually... How could he do that! How dare he!!"

Miyaji: “…”

Nike eyebrows? How about that?

Miyaji's eyebrows twitched fiercely, and he took a deep breath and said, "You, I think starting from tomorrow, we can't be like this anymore."

"What's going on now?"

“We are too naive now.”

Gong You thought for a moment and asked, "Zhi, don't you think Xiao Gu's Nike eyebrows are childish? I saw that the entire Xiao Gu team was pampering him. Even when he lost a goal, someone was cheering him on."

Miyaji: “…”

It seems to be true, but that is not the point.

"Anyway, I don't care what others do. We have to become mature."

Gong You: "Huh? Don't you always say that you're more mature and stable than me? If you want to change, just do it yourself. Why do you have to drag me into this?"

Miyaji: "After all, you and I have the same face. If you don't change, Sana will still think it's childish when she sees my face."

Gong You: “…”

"But I don't want to change myself. I am who I am. Sana-chan definitely wouldn't want me to suppress my nature and change myself."

Hearing the other party's rare serious words, Miyaji pondered for a moment, "What you said does make sense. Given her personality, she does want us to be well... But if we don't change, what if more enemies appear?!"

"So how many enemies are there now?" Gong You's expression became serious, as if he was facing a powerful enemy.

Miyaji began to count on his fingers, "Kageyama from Karasuno, Hinata..."

Just as she said a word, Miya Yuu interrupted her with a look of shock: "What? Wait, I know that Tobio-kun, that guy who keeps calling me 'senpai', is dangerous, but is Shoyo-kun also dangerous?!"

Miyaji nodded, and once again said expressionlessly, "Did you know Sana gave him protein powder? A unique protein powder that he even brings with him when he travels."

"What?! Sana-chan actually gave him a gift? There's actually such a thing..." Gong You suddenly felt something was wrong, "I didn't expect that Xiangyang-kun, who looks so honest on the outside, is actually a potential danger! Zhi, keep talking!"

"Kurou from Owl Valley, Kuroo from Otokoma, Sakuhaya from Idayama..."

The more he counted, the more frightened Gong You became. "No way? How did he count so many people? It's only been one training camp, and there are so many people?!"

Miyaji rolled his eyes, "What else do you think? Did you just realize it?"

"What about us Inarizaki? Do we have a rival in love in the club?"

"I don't think so, right? The Kita team seems to care about Sana like an elder cares about a younger one, while Alan-kun and Ginjima and the others treat Sana with pure gratitude and respect for a star manager."

Gong You: "Pfft... What's the point of being an elder to a younger person? Bei-senpai is only one year older than us! What about his name? You didn't mention it just now."

"Jiu Ming should be nothing, right? He is indifferent to everything and everyone, and doesn't seem to be very interested in anything." Miyaji also said indifferently.

Gong You suddenly realized: "Zhi, what you said makes sense, then we can rest assured!"

“That’s right!”

Right now.

A certain boy with brown middle-parted hair who was always ignored while sharing the same bed in the dormitory uttered a silent sound.

Rintaro Kakuname: "…………"

Kakuna Rintaro, who had once sworn in his heart that he would never complain about the twins again in his life, fell into endless silence at this moment.

I'm really impressed by these twins.

The two brothers seemed unaware of how many rivals they had missed when counting their love rivals.

Putting aside the fact that they seemed to have completely forgotten about Oikawa-kun and Iwaizumi-kun, the people Sana had invited to the Inarizaki Academy Festival, their genius elimination method alone, which eliminated Kita-senpai first, fully demonstrated the astonishing, almost zero observation skills of these two idiots—

Just take Kakuna Rintaro, a 5'85" tall man, lying there in his dorm room, and the twins were able to ignore his presence and plot loudly for so long. How on earth did they do that?!

Kakuna Rintaro now really doubts how Miya You, who is always so careful on the court, fighting wits and courage with the setter of the opposing team, and controlling the overall situation and mobilizing the strength of the entire team through magical passes, can do it with his brain power.

So is his everyday IQ and his on-court IQ split into two distinct areas? Or is Yuu possessed by the volleyball god whenever he plays? Whoever it is, get off Yuu immediately.

The same goes for Zhi. He said he wanted to become mature when he first came in, but in the end he remained the same. It turns out that twins essentially use the same set of DNA, and that can't be changed.

Just as Kakuna Rintaro was thinking expressionlessly whether he should lift the quilt to scare them but felt that was too childish, the twins' subsequent conversation made him stop and decide to continue listening quietly.

"Damn it, Zhi, after you counted like this, I always feel very dangerous." Gong You's brows were getting tighter and tighter. "No! Zhi, we have to confess quickly!"

Miyaji's frown deepened as well. "We both confess at the same time? What if she only agrees to one of us?"

"Ha, then Sana-chan must like me more."

"...I really admire your confidence sometimes, stupid Yuu."

Miyaji closed his eyes. "Have you ever considered that if she rejects our confession, we won't even be able to be friends anymore? What if, in the worst case, she quits the volleyball club out of embarrassment at seeing us?"

"Don't do that!" Gong You was horrified. "Then what should we do? Just sit there and wait for death?"

"It's impossible to sit back and wait for death. I have already thought of a solution."

Miyaji's voice sounded confident. Kakuna Rintaro raised his eyebrows in the quilt, intending to hear what solution Miyaji had come up with.

"Listen, Yuu, from what I've observed, Sana likes strong people. You see, Sakuhaya's Tokyo Ichiyama High School is the Spring High School champion, and Kurosabu's Owl Valley Academy is also a Spring High School regular. Moreover, they are both among the top five main attackers in the country. Both of them have received special attention from Sana."

"Just now in the gym, I asked Sana the same question. I asked her if she was particularly interested in Kuroo-senpai because he was one of the top five main attackers in the country. Sana looked shocked at the time, but she didn't deny it."

Kakuna Rintaro who was listening to this silently: “…”

No, she didn't deny it, she was just too shocked, right? Who wouldn't be speechless at such a bizarre question?

"I see. I understand." Miya Yuu took only a second to connect with his brother's train of thought. He held his chin and said, "We were runner-up last year... So, after we win the championship at the Spring High School this year, we can confess our love to Sana-chan?"

Miyaji nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, you finally came up with a good suggestion, Yu."

"Ohhhh, it's us! I declare that following the team that searches for the North Team's weaknesses, the Spring High Championship team is hereby established!"

"Champion of Spring High...will we win?"

“We will win!”

The two brothers have a new goal, and you can hear their excitement and energy just from their voices.

Rintaro Kakuname: "..."

Even in the pitch-black bed, he could imagine the twins' faces and expressions vividly.

Don’t be too happy too soon. Don’t set such flags randomly. Generally speaking, if you say “you will win”, there is a high probability that you will lose in the end. What if you can’t even make it to the semi-finals?

Kakuna Rintaro sighed.

Really.

He was convinced. After today, he would never complain about the twins again.

…

*

At the same time, in the third gymnasium of Senran High School.

"Well, thank you all for your guidance, seniors." Tsukishima Hotaru leaned down and bowed sincerely.

Tonight, his childhood friend Tadashi Yamaguchi rushed up to him, grabbed his collar, and yelled at him until he woke up.

Yamaguchi erupted in a rare burst of anger, roaring, "Azuki has been lame lately. Hinata might be great, but shouldn't Azuki just work hard to beat him? Why does he have to think he's definitely no match for others?"

When Yukunran grabbed his collar, many memories flashed through Tsukishima Hotaru's mind, including the image of his biological brother Tsukishima Amimitsu pounding the ground in frustration in a dark room.

His older brother, Tsukishima Akimitsu, also attended Karasuno High School. He encountered the strongest class of the Karasuno men's volleyball team. The ace of the team at that time was Hinata's idol, the "little giant" Tenma Unai - so much so that his brother was not even a substitute in the team, let alone becoming a starting member to play in the game.

But because of Tsukishima Hotaru's admiring eyes when he was young, his brother had to weave a white lie and tell his younger brother that he was Karasuno's ace.

It was not until Tsukishima Hotaru personally arrived at the competition venue that he met the eyes of his brother, who was standing across the audience and could only cheer for the team. The other's eyes were filled with embarrassment, awkwardness and despair of having his lies exposed.

When her brother's face turned pale in an instant, Tsukishima Hotaru finally understood the truth of everything.

After that, he firmly believed in one thing.

Volleyball was just a club activity, and he couldn't understand why others were so passionate about it.

It was because his brother invested too much in his passion that he ended up suffering so much.

So, after being yelled at by Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Hotaru came to the third gymnasium. As expected, as usual, Koutarou Bokuto, Kyoji Akaashi, and Tetsuro Kuroo were all there.

Tsukishima Hotaru asked them a question, volleyball is just a club activity, why are they practicing so hard.

——"Do you think volleyball is fun?"

Koutarou Katsuki asked him this question in return.

——"If that moment comes, that's when you fall in love with volleyball."

When she heard the other party's answer, Tsukishima Hotaru was stunned for a moment. She felt that something had flashed by and seemed to be about to be caught.

A feeling of not quite understanding.

After that, Hinata and Nekoma's Haiba Lev joined them, and the six of them played a thrilling 3v3 game. Nekoma's captain also taught them some blocking techniques...

…

Thoughts return.

Tsukishima Hotaru nodded slightly and expressed her gratitude to the seniors again: "Thank you very much."

"As a thank you, how about Ayuki blocking the net for me in the next few days?" Koutarou Kyuu grinned.

Akaashi Kyoji pondered, "Is this an illusion? I feel like Kuroo-senpai is in a particularly good mood today?"

Bokuto Kotaro: "...!!!"

As if remembering something, the owl's fair complexion flushed unusually, and its tone became stammering, "Is there?!"

Akawe Kyoji: "......"

It's really suspicious.

Kuroo Tetsuro smiled calmly, "Anyway, I'm glad you figured it out. I'm looking forward to seeing the 'garbage dump showdown' between Nekoma and Karasuno happen again."

Tsukishima Hotaru nodded, "I'll try my best."

*

When leaving the third gymnasium and preparing to walk back to the dormitory, Tsukishima Hotaru stopped, took off the headphones hanging on her ears, and was forced to stay in place.

Because, on the way back to the Karasuno dormitory, before his eyes——dancing fireflies appeared.

The fireflies in the summer night are soft and gorgeous, flashing a faint but irresistible light, like stars falling to earth.

The fireflies danced slowly and gently, and Tsukishima Hotaru couldn't help but follow their footsteps and walk forward.

Until they arrived at the pond at night, and the light of the fireflies illuminated the incredibly beautiful face of the black-haired girl, Tsukishima Hotaru's breathing almost stopped.

...How come she is here?

Hearing the footsteps behind her, Kurikawa Sana turned around and smiled at him with her eyes curved.

"What a coincidence, Tsukishima-kun."

She took a step forward and looked up at the boy, "Tsukishima-kun, do you like these fireflies?"

“……!”

After a long while, Tsukishima Hotaru finally heard her own voice: "...Did you catch it? Fireflies."

"Yeah, I tried to catch them for a long time, in the bushes on the back mountain. I even got bitten by mosquitoes a lot." Kurikawa Sana stretched out her hand, and her slender white wrist was covered with several conspicuous red mosquito bites. "But I finally succeeded. After I caught it, I put it here. I wanted Tsukishima-kun to see it."

“…Why?” he asked.

"Because... I want to apologize to Tsukishima-kun. Last night... I shouldn't have made those comments."

Her evaluation last night was that "from an objective point of view, Hinata's contribution to the team is slightly stronger"... Tsukishima Hotaru lowered his eyes, feeling that there seemed to be nothing to apologize for. At present, it was indeed the fact. His condition these days was to the point that even Yamaguchi couldn't stand it and wanted to scold him to wake him up.

And this scolding did have an effect. Tsukishima Hotaru felt that he had finally figured out some problems that had troubled him for a long time.

Whether it's volleyball or other aspects, it seems that everything has been figured out.

"I want to apologize to Tsukishima-kun for catching fireflies. Fireflies have the same name as Tsukishima-kun, both have the character 'hotaru' in them—they're beautiful, aren't they?"

As she said this, the smile on Kurikawa Sana's face became even brighter. The moonlight and the light of fireflies shone on her delicate and beautiful face, making it impossible to look away.

Especially when she mentioned fireflies and that his name both contained the character "火", the girl's tone was cheerful and excited, and Tsukishima Hotaru's pupils shrank slightly in surprise.

After a long silence, Tsukishima Hotaru finally let out a low "hmm" from her throat.

"Thank you, Sana...senpai."

Really, there's nothing we can do about her.

What Yamaguchi yelled at him to wake him up today not only made him realize that his long-held belief that "volleyball is just a club activity" was just a self-avoidance mechanism out of fear that he would get hurt like his brother Tsukishima Amimitsu...but also made him understand another thing.

That’s right, admit it, Tsukishima Hotaru.

You've already liked her.

Up until this moment, you've been pushing her away like a volleyball.

You are more rational than anyone else. You just know clearly that the cooler you act, the more attention you will get from her.

It turns out that this method really works. She has always relied on this method to get her strawberry pudding, strawberry cake, and the gorgeous fireflies tonight.

But it seems that it has reached its limit.

I can no longer pretend to be indifferent, and I can no longer hide my concern for her.

Yamaguchi is right. Your opponent might be strong, but isn't it enough to just try to beat them? Why assume you can't compare to others before you've even tried?

What Mr. Kuroo said is right. When a certain moment comes, that is the moment you fall in love with something.

And now, under the boundless moonlight, the scene of fireflies flying all over the sky is that moment.

"As a return gift, this is for you," he said softly.

Tsukishima Hotaru took off the headphones hanging around his neck. Under Kurikawa Sana's puzzled gaze, the boy gently put his headphones on her ears.

The moment the headphones came on, Kurikawa Sana opened her eyes wide in surprise.

The music playing in the earphones that the boy always kept with him was actually a piano piece with an extremely familiar tune.

"Experience", a piece of music composed by Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi.

It was the song she played at the Inarizaki School Festival.

Kurikawa Sana stood there in a daze.

He actually remembered... and could actually listen to this song.

As the music covered her hearing, Kurikawa Sana saw Tsukishima Hotaru gently open her lips and make a mouth shape.

——I’m really defeated by you.

He said, I really lost to you.

At the same time, the other party's favorability report sounded in her mind.

Just as the system said, after breaking through a bottleneck, surging emotions will come rushing in.

[Tsukishima Hotaru, Favorability +30.]