[49] Grade 11: National Youth Team Intensive Training Camp

The time for the national youth team's intensive training camp passed by quietly like flowing water.

On the last night of the training camp, the dormitory was filled with a faint scent of shampoo.

Mutu had just finished showering, and he casually rubbed his wet, silver-gray hair with a towel held in his hands.

He hummed an off-key song as he strolled to the public rest area, water droplets from his hair dripping onto the floor with each step.

In the corner, Imadegawa was sitting cross-legged on a chair, his half-dry hair falling smoothly down his neck, the hair on both sides obscuring his profile.

He stared intently at his phone screen, which was playing a videotape of a World Youth Championship. His slender fingers would occasionally tap the screen, pausing or rewinding to study a particular athlete's movements.

Wow~ Still studying volleyball so late!

Suddenly, the wooden rabbit peeked out from behind Imadegawa, and the scent of shampoo instantly wafted towards him.

“Wait…” He curiously reached out and picked up a strand of Imadegawa’s hair. “The transition of this color…”

Imadegawa stiffened slightly at the sudden touch, his eyes widening in surprise.

But soon, he relaxed like a cat used to being stroked, letting the wooden rabbit grab his hair.

—His teammates have never had much sense of boundaries, and Imadegawa was already used to their closeness. Bokuto is also someone who has little sense of boundaries, so he only hesitated for a moment before letting Bokuto do as he pleased.

"I've wanted to ask you this for a while now—Imaidegawa, is your hair color dyed?"

Mutu held her hair up to the light for a closer look. "If it's dyed, the hairdresser's skills are amazing! The gradient effect is so natural!!!"

"It's not dyed, it's natural." Imaikawa interrupted softly, reaching out to tuck the other side of her hair behind her ear.

"Eh—?!" Bokuto's exclamation drew the attention of Ooshiro and Tendo. "A natural gradient color? How amazing!!!"

Wood Rabbit excitedly grabbed her hair to show them: "Mine is natural too! Look, my roots are black, and the outside is silver-white—but my hair isn't a gradient like yours—"

He flashed a bright smile, "But he's super handsome too!"

Wei Bai leaned closer to examine him: "We also have someone in our team with naturally two-tone hair like you, but his hair color is white on top and black on the bottom, and it's not a gradient; the parting is very obvious."

He gestured with his finger near his ear, "Like this, with a distinct black at the ends."

"Wow! It's the complete opposite of mine!" Mokuto suddenly jumped up as if he had discovered a new continent. His wet hair, which was not completely dried, instantly sent out a string of water droplets, some of which even splashed onto Imadegawa's phone screen.

He dashed to the mirror on the wall, shaking his head from side to side to examine his hair color. "Look, look," he exclaimed, "my black is only in the innermost part; the outside looks like it's been faded by the sun..."

"Wait—if my hair faded from the sun," Bokuto pondered, "then your teammate Shiro's hair color, white on top and black on the bottom, is due to absorbing too much moonlight... uh, no, 'auxiliary light'?"

He frowned and racked his brains.

“Is it ‘radiation’?” Wei Bai said.

"Ah—right!!" Wood Rabbit clapped her hands. "That's exactly the word I wanted to say!"

He stood with his hands on his hips, looking smug, as if he had solved some century-old problem.

Wood Rabbit pondered again: "We two absorbed moonlight and sunlight—but what about Imaizumi? Did his gradient hair look like it was burned?"

Ooshiro couldn't help but chime in: "Following this logic, Nendo's red hair must have been completely burned off by fire, right?"

"Bingo~" Tendo squeezed into the middle of the group, grinning and spinning around. "I'm a demon who's been roasted by hellfire, you know~"

The red-haired boy with his hair neatly styled even made a face sticking out his tongue.

Imadegawa slowly pointed to Oshiro: "That Oshiro's black hair is..."

"It absorbed all the dark energy!" Wood Rabbit excitedly blurted out, "That's why it's so strong! Just like the Shadow Messenger in the comics!!!"

Everyone turned their attention to Wei Bai.

The attacker, who has been Inarisaki's scathing commentator for years, remained silent for three seconds before speaking expressionlessly: "...How boring."

"Ugh—Alan's so cold!" Tendo complained, drawing out the words. "This theory is so interesting!"

Wooden Rabbit turned to Tail White, its eyes sparkling: "Hey, Tail White! Let's go find out whose hair is missing..."

Ooshiro, annoyed by the two's noise, reached out and pressed down on their restless heads.

He squinted at the two sleek-haired boys in front of him and changed the subject: "By the way, don't you two find it troublesome to use hair gel to style your exaggerated hairstyles every morning?"

Wooden Rabbit broke free, put its hands on its hips, and said confidently, "Because this is the coolest way!"

“And it’s not troublesome at all—” He casually grabbed the hairspray on the table, sprayed it all over his hair, and quickly styled his signature hair with his fingers. “See! It only takes three minutes to do it!”

"Bokuto," Imadegawa kindly reminded her, "you just washed your hair—"

The wooden rabbit suddenly froze.

The mirror reflected his gradually growing expression of terror.

His carefully styled hair was collapsing at a visible rate, with hairspray sliding down his wet hair and forming several comical white streaks on his forehead.

An eerie silence suddenly fell over the scene.

Tendo slowly lowered his head, looking at Bokuto's gradually softening hair and the white vertical lines on his forehead, and his mouth began to twitch.

"……puff."

"Aaaaaah!" Wood Rabbit screamed and covered his head.

Tendo was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight: "Bokuto's new look~ A white striped owl soaked by the rain~"

Wei Bai sighed, "I'll go get you a towel."

But when he turned around, the shaking of his shoulders was extremely noticeable.

The farce ended with the wooden rabbit going to wash its hair again, looking dejected.

———————

In an office not far from the dormitory building, the coaching staff was holding their final tactical discussion meeting for the national youth team's training camp.

After several days of intensive training and practice, the coaching team has finally figured out several powerful lineup combinations by constantly adjusting the team configuration.

The data was clearly and intuitively displayed on the projection screen, and the national youth team coaches discussed the latest findings recorded that day.

A coach, holding a thermos, couldn't help but marvel: "Imadegawa's setter position is so perfect that he brings out the strengths of almost every attacker on the team. He sets high balls that suit Ushijima, Kiryu, and Bokuto's explosive power, and quick flat balls that target angles for Tendo and Aoyagi. It's like he's tailor-made for each attacker..."

Another coach echoed this sentiment, his tone tinged with disbelief: "What's even more terrifying is his control over the rhythm of the entire team. Leading multiple hastily assembled teams, from the 'spear' that emphasizes powerful offense to the 'shield' that focuses on an impenetrable defense, he has managed to execute the tactics with exceptional fluidity and composure."

“That’s right,” the third coach added, tapping his notebook with his pen. “If you equip him with a heavy cannon, he can precisely adjust the firing angle and relentlessly unleash shells on every weak point in the opponent’s field, throwing them into disarray.”

“If you give him a sturdy shield,” someone added, “he can immediately regain his composure, turning a tight defense into a tangled web, patiently and cunningly guiding his opponent until he walks right into the trap, only to find his efforts futile.”

Coach Jinshan's fingers rested on the tactics board, but his gaze unconsciously fell on the practice video that was being played back beside him.

The light from the screen reflected on his glasses, causing them to shimmer slightly.

He paused for a moment, his voice filled with admiration and a hint of indescribable complexity: "...The most terrifying thing is not that he can master any particular style, but that he seems to have no personal preferences at all. For him, there is only the 'optimal solution'."

The coaches in the conference room all nodded in agreement.

Coach Jinshan picked up his water glass, his face revealing undisguised pride: "He really is the promising talent I spotted at first glance!"

However, the assistant coach who had accompanied Coach Jinshan in studying the Inarizaki videotapes couldn't help but laugh and tease him: "Coach, if I remember correctly, the first time you dragged me to watch the Imadegawa videotapes, you stared at the screen for a long time, and in the end you seemed to say something like, 'This skinny, weak scholar, what's he doing playing volleyball? He should go back to his studies.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously lively atmosphere in the room froze instantly, and all the coaches' eyes turned to Coach Jinshan.

Coach Jinshan's hand trembled, and he almost spilled the water. He put down the cup, feigning composure, and straightened his collar: "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever say such a thing?"

—Back then, Coach Jinshan did indeed make such remarks because he looked down on Imadegawa's stamina and his close assistant coach.

"It was during the IH national top 16 tournament, you even said he..."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Coach Jinshan waved his hands repeatedly.

"When have I, Jinshan, ever misjudged someone? I spotted a genius setter like Jin Chuchuan at first sight!"

The middle-aged coach retorted righteously, but his eyes darted around.

The assistant coach, suppressing a laugh, flipped through Coach Jinshan's early notebook: "But it clearly says here..."

"You must have misread it!" Coach Jinshan snatched the notebook and hurriedly closed it.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh, and the conference room was instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

—What? You're saying I didn't think much of Imadegawa before?

—When was that?

Coach Jinshan: Don't talk nonsense, I don't remember, how could I possibly look down on you? You can't slander a poor, helpless old coach like me...

——————

On the day everything ended and the three of them from Tsurumeikan set off to return to Kyoto.

Coach Fukui, the head coach of Tsurumeikan, who was still in Kyoto, was sitting in his quiet office when he received a phone call from Coach Yamazaki Tachibana.

The call between the two adults was short, without any pleasantries, consisting of only a few brief exchanges.

"……ah."

Director Fukui's response was devoid of emotion.

"OK."

After hanging up the phone, Director Fukui did not hesitate at all. He exited the call interface, opened his contacts, quickly swiped his finger to the number he had pinned to the top, and dialed it.

The phone was answered after only two rings.

A clear, calm voice came from the other end of the line, accompanied by the regular clanging of a train.

Director Fukui succinctly relayed the contents of the previous conversation.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, with only faint static from the radio waves.

"...I see."

His response was concise and clear, and his voice came through the receiver clearly:

"Then let's go to their school."

————————

(Frantically patting my face) Another busy day. I'll reply to comments on Saturday night or Sunday. (kiss)

This chapter is a daily summary and wrap-up—the next chapter will most likely transition to another chapter, featuring the long-unseen ace Yamazaki Tachibana, before switching to Inarizaki. Inarizaki's practice match will feature our Mina—it's time to showcase our Mina-chan!

In the next few years, Tsurumeikan and Inarisaki will become very good sister schools—after all, they're both in the Kansai region, hehehe~