Chapter 47 Volleyball 07
Tokyo, inside the volleyball hall of Otokoma High School.
"Grind, are you leaving so early today too?"
"Well, hurry back to play games."
Kurooo Tetsuro, the captain of the Otoko volleyball team and also a childhood friend of Kozue Mamoru, fell into deep thought.
"Are you so obsessed with that new game lately? I haven't seen you this engrossed in it for a long time."
Lone Claw Grind paused, "Well, because it's fun."
Kuroo Tetsuro raised an eyebrow. "Is it interesting? That's quite high praise for you."
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Guzhua's mouth.
The game itself is quite interesting.
Or maybe it's just that the people I meet in the game are interesting.
…
*
However, when I got home, turned on the computer and entered the game, that person was not online.
Among the few friend lists on the screen, the column belonging to "kurikuri" is a dull gray.
Habit is a terrible thing. He has been playing games online with the other party intensively these days, so he was surprised when he found that the other party was not online at the same time as usual.
I don’t know when it started, but I started looking forward to the day after school, and the time when I would go home and play games after the club activities… and also, I started looking forward to the other person coming online.
Kurikuri's avatar is her favorite image of a girl with black hair and blue eyes, but it is dark at the moment.
After a moment of silence, Lone Claw Grind moved his mouse and was about to click the upper right corner to leave.
Just at this moment.
The avatar lit up.
The dull colors suddenly brightened, and the girl's profile picture frame with black hair and blue eyes shook instantly.
Guzhua Mochu was slightly stunned, and the mouse that was about to leave had already quickly clicked on the other party's avatar.
Kurikuri: [Sorry, sorry! I'm late online today because of club activities!]
Kurikuri: [Are we going to fight the new dungeon boss today? I've pulled out a high-level weapon, I'm sure we can beat it this time!]
Kozume: [Okay.]
Her gameplay is very interesting, and she can always find tricky ways to kill Lone Claw Grind that Lone Claw Grind would never have thought of. However, her financial strength is very strong, which makes up for the shortcomings of her gameplay.
So much so that playing games with her every day has become one of the sources of daily happiness.
After reviving her again after being slapped to death by the overlord, Guzhua used a big move to kill the boss instantly, and then received the starry-eyed emoticon from the opponent.
Kurikuri: [You're so awesome! I wouldn't be able to defeat you without you. QAQ]
Kozume: [This boss has attribute restraints. Only the corresponding attributes can break its shield. If the shield is not broken, its damage will be very high. If you are not flexible in your positioning, you will be killed instantly.]
Lone Claw Grinding patiently typed out his explanation. Just as he was about to continue, he saw her suddenly say in the team channel:
Kurikuri: Can we talk on the phone?
A sudden straight ball.
The blond boy in front of the screen widened his eyes in surprise.
After a long while, he finally replied: [...Okay.]
After getting his consent, Kurikuri's microphone icon instantly lit up in the team channel, and a girl's voice came from the headset -
"What's wrong? Kozume-kun?"
……!
It's a very sweet and pleasant girl's voice, the same as that of the game's official cosplayer and newly debuted model, Kurikawa Sana.
The same “栗” character, the same sound.
...It was indeed her.
After a long pause, Lone Claw finally turned on his microphone and softly said, "...Yeah."
"...You need to use the corresponding attributes to break the shield. If you don't have the corresponding attributes, you need to take enchanted medicine with corresponding attributes. You can make the medicine yourself or buy it in the city department store." He continued to explain patiently.
There was silence on the other end for a long time. Her voice button was on, but she didn't respond for a long time. She could only hear her breathing.
Lone Claw called out her nickname for the first time uncertainly: "...Kuri?"
After saying this, he couldn't help but feel that this name was a little familiar, and it was very similar to Xiao Hei's "kuro".
As if finally coming to her senses, she exclaimed, "Kozume-kun's voice... is so beautiful."
"But what did you say about how the boss broke the shield? Your voice is so nice, I didn't pay any attention to what you just said. Sorry."
Solitary claw grinding: "..."
The girl's sweet voice came clearly from the expensive headset, as if whispering in his ear.
Inexplicably, he had the intuition of a cat sensing danger, and he had a subconscious urge to retreat.
He subconsciously took off his headset and switched to an external speaker that was not so close to his ears.
Before he could respond, there was a knock on the door.
"Grind, Auntie is calling you downstairs for dinner."
It was Xiao Hei's voice.
It seems that his mother has invited Xiao Hei to their house for dinner again tonight.
Lone Claw turned off his voice button and typed: [I'm going to have dinner. I'll call back later.]
The girl quickly replied, "Okay, I'll hang up for a while and wait for you."
Kozume: [Okay.]
He wanted to exit the game and lock the screen directly, but when he saw the two characters still standing together in a team without moving on the screen, Guzhua Momo gave up on exiting, got up from his seat and opened the door.
As soon as he opened the door, Kuroo Tetsuro had a teasing look on his face. "What's wrong, Grin? You were so engrossed in playing games that you couldn't hear Auntie calling you downstairs for dinner. You've completely forgotten to eat and sleep."
"I was wearing headphones and didn't hear anything."
Watching the blond boy turn around and go downstairs, Kuroo Tetsuro curled his lips. Just as he was about to help him close the door, he heard a girl's voice coming from the computer in the grinding room -
"Kozume-kun, are you still there?"
Kuroo Tetsuro stood there in a daze.
Directly calling Momo's last name Kozume, is this... Momo's netizen?
How would you describe this girl's voice?
It was obviously a very normal question, without any hint of coquettishness, but because of the exceptionally sweet voice, even the most ordinary words seemed so affectionate and beautiful that it made people's ears numb.
It's like a candy with its wrapper peeled off, slowly melting in the air and emitting a sweet scent.
Seeing no response for a long time, the girl on the other end of the computer sighed to herself, this time with a hint of sadness in her voice: "Sure enough, he's gone..."
"Then I'll quit the team and level up on my own."
"See you later, Kozume-kun."
When the girl's sweet and melodious voice fell, the black-haired girl character on the grinding computer screen disappeared with a "whoosh".
Kuroo Tetsuro froze in place, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.
...No way.
Could it be that he also had voice control? How come he didn't even know it? Kuroo Tetsuro subconsciously ruffled his raised hair.
No, that shouldn’t be the case, it’s just that the girl’s voice is so beautiful.
It is human nature to appreciate beautiful things, including voices. It is normal to be controlled by them, and there is definitely no other reason.
Wait, so this is why Mo Mo has been rushing home as soon as work is finished these days?
Is this... an online romance?!
…
*
After dinner, when the screen turned on again, Lone Claw Grinding saw that he was the only one left in the team.
Her avatar was still lit, she hadn't logged off, and her character level had increased by another level. She must have gone out to kill monsters and level up alone.
Guzhua Grinding clicked to invite the other party to form a team, and the other party agreed almost immediately and joined the team at the speed of light.
He clicked the voice button again and asked, "Leveling up so fast, do you want to fight the boss together?"
The girl's voice soon came from the headset: "Boss may have to call back later~ I just got a sudden notice that I have to go to Miyagi Prefecture after school tomorrow, Friday, so I have to pack my bags."
Although they are gaming friends, they often reveal details of their real lives during communication.
Just like today when she was late for online, she naturally told him that it was because of a job, so it didn't seem out of place to mention tomorrow's real-life schedule at this moment.
Plus…she didn't know that he already knew who she was.
She is going to Miyagi Prefecture.
Guzhua Lamo instantly thought of Hinata Shoyo. Karasuno High School where Shoyo was located was his first reaction to Miyagi Prefecture.
But if she said that, maybe she was going to Miyagi Prefecture for some filming activity?
He naturally asked, "Are you going to Sendai for a trip?"
"No, it's a department activity. My club is going to play an exchange match against a strong volleyball school in Miyagi Prefecture on Saturday."
Lone Claw Grinding: “…………!”
She actually plays volleyball?
Almost immediately, he spoke faster than usual, "Do you play volleyball, too?"
"I know a thing or two, but I won't be playing tomorrow... I'm the manager of our school's men's volleyball team. Speaking of which, Kozume-kun just used the word 'also', so do you play volleyball too?"
"Um... yes."
"Eh? What a coincidence, what position does Kozume-kun play?"
"Setter."
…
*
In Hyogo Prefecture, on the other side of the screen, Kurikawa Sana almost held her breath instantly.
……really!
She became more and more certain that the "kozume" in the game was one of the conquestable targets, Kozume.
She had memorized the appearances of all the possible targets at the beginning. A long time ago, she had checked the appearances of the boys she saw in her "dream" one by one by looking through volleyball monthly magazines, national volleyball tournaments, and Chungao's videotapes, and thus learned their names.
Because of her modeling work, she needs to understand the characters of the game manufacturers so that she can play the characters without being OOC when cosplaying. Unexpectedly, she will encounter lonely grinding in the game.
Kozume, "Lonely Claw," was a unique surname. When she saw the ID in the game, she immediately thought of Kozume, one of the possible targets. Kozume, a boy with a black and gold ombre hairstyle, was the setter for Tokyo's Otokoma High School. Otokoma was known for its gritty defense, making it to nationals every year.
Another possible target for Otokoma High School is the captain, Kuroo Tetsuro. Also in Tokyo are Owl Valley Academy's main attacker, Kidou Kotaro, setter, Akaashi Kyoji, and Itoyama High School's Sakusaya Seiomi.
The concentration of attacking players among the target players is very high. Kido Kotaro and Sakusaya Seiomi are both nationally renowned attacking players. Another top-tier attacking player is Ushijima Wakari from Shiratorizawa Academy in Miyagi Prefecture - the opponent that Inarizaki Academy will play in the exchange match on Saturday.
Normally, Inarizaki Academy wouldn't travel all the way to Sendai for a competitive match. But now it was different. It was the power of money—Kurikawa Sana used it.
Through her modeling agency, Kurikawa Sana secured a sponsor for the Inarizaki volleyball club, providing strong financial support. The sponsor's boss, a wealthy woman who greatly admired her, fully supported her Inarizaki Academy, including trips to exchange tournaments and training camps with other schools.
Since they were going to play an exchange match, they naturally had to choose a school with national-level strength like Inarizaki Academy. Inarizaki Volleyball Club coach Homune Kurosu chose Shiratorizawa Academy, the strongest in Miyagi Prefecture. After consulting with Shiratorizawa Academy coach Kazuji Washigaku, they agreed to play an exchange match at Shiratorizawa Academy the next day.
But the problem is, Kurikawa Sana has never been able to find the names of those from "Karasuno High School" who are possible to be conquered.
Karasuno High School is known as "a fallen powerhouse, a crow that can't fly." It has not been able to make it to the nationals in many years, so there are no video tapes to refer to, and it is not among the candidates that Coach Inarizaki Kurosu would consider for an exchange match.
Kurikawa Sana searched through volleyball monthly magazines and finally found the name of the black-haired swan from Karasuno High School. Kageyama Tobio had already been quite famous during his junior high years at Kitagawa First Junior High School. But she couldn't find any relevant matches or reports about the other energetic orange-haired boy from Karasuno or the blond boy with glasses.
...It's not a big problem, stay calm and don't panic.
There will be a chance to meet sooner or later, Kurikawa Sana thought.
Anyway, let’s go to Shiratorizawa Academy first!
*
After school on Friday afternoon, the members of the Inarizaki volleyball club took the Shinkansen to Miyagi Prefecture, checked into a hotel at night, and had an exchange match with Shiratorizawa Academy the next day.
After dropping their luggage off at the hotel, Kita Shinsuke, Obi Alan, and the rest of the regulars decided to rest up early and be in top form for tomorrow's match against the powerful Shiratorizawa Academy. Obi Alan was particularly excited, as the top-three national spiker, Ushijima Wakari, was a real draw.
Only the Miya twins seem to have endless energy. Miya Yuu drags Kurikawa Sana out for a stroll, insisting they've come all this way and need to shop until they're satisfied. The North Team, worried and helpless, sends war correspondent Kakuna Rintaro to accompany the twins.
"I can't hear a single Kansai accent around here. It feels so strange..."
"Isn't that normal, stupid Yuu? This is Miyagi Prefecture."
"You still have the energy to argue with me, Zhi? Tomorrow I'm going to play against Ushijima, one of the top three spikers in the country. Can you beat Ushijima?"
"Shut up stupid Yuu, if you can't beat Ushijima I'll beat you."
Gong You: “…”
Kurikawa Sana listened to the palace twins' quarrel like elementary school students: "..."
Rintaro Kakuname: "…………"
As expected of twins, today is also a very harmonious day for the Gong brothers.
"That puff shop over there seems to be a very famous online celebrity shop!" Kurikawa Sana changed the subject, "I want to buy that. Do you want some?"
The twins instantly went dark, and Gong You's eyes lit up for a second, "Yes! I want two!"
Miyaji's expression immediately changed to one of awe for the food, "I want to eat three times as much as stupid Yu."
Kurikawa Sana couldn't help but burst out laughing. Just as she was about to go up to line up, Kakuna Rintaro reached out and grabbed her.
Meeting the girl's surprised gaze, Kakuna Rintaro loosened his grip and said calmly, "It's unreasonable for girls to queue up. I'll go buy it. You guys just wait here for me."
[Kadona Rintaro, Favorability +3. ]
!!!
Kurikawa Sana was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.
Kakuname-kun, you're so nice! Helping me queue up for dessert will increase my favorability!
…
The other side.
The volleyball team of Karasuno High School finished their training, and the four first-year players were walking home together.
"So, why should we go with these two guys?" Tsukishima Hotaru's tone was full of genuine confusion.
His childhood friend, Yamaguchi Tadashi, quickly waved his hand and said, "Because we just finished training, and the first-years just finished cleaning up together, we're all going back together..."
After smoothing things over, Yamaguchi Tadashi looked at Kageyama and Hinata cautiously, only to find that the two didn't care at all. The former was staring straight at a direction not far ahead, while the latter was staring at Kageyama curiously.
"Kageyama, what are you looking at?" Hinata Shoyo looked in the direction of Kageyama Tobio, "You've been staring in that direction since a while ago..."
After looking over, Hinata Shoyo's voice stopped abruptly like a magnetic tape. After a long while, he stammered, "N-I didn't expect Kageyama to stare at beautiful girls..."
Tsukishima Hotaru: “…”
Yamaguchi Tadashi: "???"
Both of them were surprised by this statement and looked in the direction of their gaze.
Not far away were three DK boys and JK girls wearing brown khaki student suit uniforms. The two boys were tall and handsome, with dazzling blond and silver hair. They had identical faces and were obviously twin brothers.
The girl surrounded by them on the left and right had a delicate and beautiful face, and her raven-feather black hair was as deep as ink, which made her skin look even whiter and more dazzling. She was incredibly beautiful.
Yamaguchi Tadashi was stunned and subconsciously said, "Isn't that the super popular model Sana recently? The super beautiful girl who has appeared in many fashion magazines!"
Tsukishima Hotaru paused and looked away, "Yamaguchi, you actually read fashion magazines."
"No, A-Yue! She's just so popular. The girls in the class are passing around every issue of her magazine and trying to imitate Sana-chan's outfits. And I heard that Sana-chan is about to enter the entertainment industry. I didn't expect to see her in person here..."
Hinata Shoyo suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. I didn't expect Kageyama that you're such a fan."
"Huh? I'm not looking at that girl, boke! I'm looking at the twins. Those two are the famous Miya brothers, the strongest twin duo in high school volleyball!"
Kageyama Tobio was instantly furious. "Their school, Inarizaki High School, is also a favorite to win the national tournament and Spring High School. Especially the blond one, Miya Yuu. That guy is the top setter in the country's high schools."
"Number one in the country? Does that mean he's even better than you and the king?!" Hinata Shoyo was shocked.
Kageyama Tobio: “………!”
Seeing Kageyama Tobio choking, Tsukishima Hotaru concluded, "It seems that this is correct. At least for now, that person is stronger than Kageyama."
"But why would such a talented player suddenly appear here? If I remember correctly, Inarizaki is a school in Kansai..."
Before Yamaguchi Tadashi could finish his mumbling, he was shocked to see the orange-haired boy jogging towards the twin brothers.
"A-Ayue, what is he going to do?"
Tsukishima Hotaru calmly adjusted his glasses and said, "Looks like he's going to say hello to the twins."
After a moment of hesitation, Kageyama Tobio immediately followed.
…
Kurikawa Sana was shocked to see that Karasuno High School's black-haired pool noodle setter Kageyama Tobio and an unknown orange-haired boy were running towards them.
Not far away were two boys also wearing Karasuno school uniforms. One was a freckled boy with dark green hair, and the other was an unknown cool and handsome boy with light yellow hair who was one of the possible targets.
This, this, this...
I didn't expect that when I came to Miyagi Prefecture to play an exchange match with Shiratorizawa, I had already met the three mysterious people from Karasuno High School before I even met Shiratorizawa.
Kurikawa Sana wiped away tears in her heart, feeling so moved. Distance is indeed not a problem. You can see the person you want to see sooner or later.
Seeing two people walking towards them aggressively, Miyaji and Miya You immediately looked at each other.
"You, do you know him?"
"I don't know him. Did you offend any enemies?"
"You must be kidding. I just arrived in Miyagi Prefecture."
…
When Hinata Shoyo approached, because they were of similar height, his eyes immediately met with the black-haired girl standing in the middle.
The orange-haired boy's face suddenly turned red.
What a beautiful person... She's even more beautiful up close. I can't even look at her for more than two seconds. She's too dazzling...
"What do you want from us?"
The silver-haired boy among the three spoke first. It was unclear whether he was the older twin brother or the younger. His voice was a deep, magnetic Kansai accent. Although his tone was apparently very calm, it sounded strangely oppressive.
"...I'm from the Karasuno High School volleyball club, my name is Hinata Shoyo!"
A handsome black-haired boy followed, his deep blue eyes blazing with seriousness. "My name is Kageyama Tobio, also from the Karasuno High School volleyball club! You two are Miya-senpai from Inarizaki, right?"
Kurikawa Sana looked at them quietly.
——So your name is Hinata Shoyo.
What a fitting name! The fair and handsome young man with orange hair lives up to his name, like a blazing little sun, emitting a warm aura full of energy.
"That's right." Miya You touched the back of his head, his tone nonchalant and full of doubt, "Karasuno? I've never heard of this school. Zhi, have you heard of it?"
Miyaji said calmly, "No."
Hinata Shoyo: “…”
Kageyama Tobio: “…………!!”
Kurikawa Sana also fell silent.
How should I put it, this pair of twins are actually really, really despicable.
It's not intentional to belittle or look down on the other party, they really can't remember schools they have never heard of.
When Gong You was at his craziest, he would expressionlessly question his junior high school teammates, asking why they couldn't score even though he passed the ball so perfectly, without caring at all that he would be disliked by his teammates.
Miyaji has the same blood as Miya You, and both of them can only see strong enemies who can compete with them.
"So, you two from Karasuno, what do you want to talk to us about?" Miyaji asked again.
Kageyama Tobio bowed politely and said, "I'd like to ask for your guidance, Senior Gong!"
Hinata Shoyo also mustered up the courage to ask, "Please, could you please compete with us?!"
Miyaji: “…”
Gong You: “……???”
Kakuna Rintaro finally finished queuing up to buy cream puffs and came back. Seeing this, he asked, "What happened?"
"They suddenly showed up and said they wanted to play a game with us." Gong You was about to refuse when he heard the girl who had been silent suddenly speak.
"Okay, Hinata-kun, Kageyama-kun."
“…?!!!”
Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio looked up in surprise, feeling a little flattered.
They had originally only mustered up the courage to try and ask, just like when they first met Ushijima-senpai.
...I didn't expect the other party would actually agree!
Miyako and Kakuna Rintaro also looked at Kurikawa Sana in surprise. The girl blinked and continued, "I want to play ball. Can you play with me?"
"Since Sana-chan wants to fight, then of course I will accompany you." Miya You turned his gaze back to the two junior students of Karasuno with some surprise, trying to find the reason for Sana's sudden interest.
Kurikawa Sana: "Then it's 4v4, okay?"
"I'm fine, Ji, how about you?" asked Kakuna Rintaro.
Miyaji turned his gaze towards Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou, "That's fine with me, but aren't there just two of you?"
Hinata Shoyo was overjoyed and said in great surprise, "Great! We still have two people left. Please wait for us for a moment, seniors!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the orange-haired boy rushed towards the other two people not far away with full of energy, so excited that it seemed as if bubbles were coming out of his head.
…
When seeing Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio actually talking to the twins, Tsukishima Hotaru was speechless, but at the same time, he really admired the social status of these two guys from the bottom of his heart.
I heard that Kageyama and Hinata did the same thing. While running, they directly greeted Ushijima Wakari whom they met on the road, and then asked Ushijima-senpai to take them to visit Shiratorizawa Academy.
Before leaving, Hinata challenged Ushijima and left behind the famous quote "I am Hinata Shoyo who grew up in concrete. I will defeat you and enter the national competition."
Yamaguchi Tadashi's face was filled with worry. "Ayue, is this really okay?"
Tsukishima Hotaru said expressionlessly: "It's none of my business..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw the dazzling orange-haired girl running back towards him and Yamaguchi, with a brilliant smile on his face.
Tsukishima Hotaru suddenly had a very bad feeling.
...No way.
Could it be what he thought?
"Great! Miya-senpai and the others agreed to let us play a 4v4 match!" Hinata Shoyo danced with excitement, "Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, come and join us!"
Tsukishima Hotaru: “………………”
Hinata and Kageyama, these two troublesome guys...!
As expected, I shouldn't have gone home with them just now.
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