Haikyuu: Rise of Sengoku

If there was anyone who left the deepest shadow over Kindaichi during his three years in Junior High, it was undoubtedly Tobio Kageyama, no one else comes close.

But aside from him, it was probably Akashi Asuka.

In the final match of Junior High, Kitagawa lost to Sengoku Junior High. That game was where the internal tensions within the team first ignited, but what truly pushed Kageyama, this ticking time bomb, to the edge was the influence of the man standing right before him now.

"Kitagawa and Sengoku… looks like there are quite a few familiar faces joining Aoba Johsai this year!" Akashi Asuka smiled knowingly and asked.

"You two are planning to join the volleyball club as well?"

Kindaichi stayed silent, he still felt some inexplicable tension around Akashi. Akira Kunimi, however, greeted them naturally.

Ryuhei Sanashita nodded: "Yeah, want to join us?"

"Sure!"

…

"Hey! Iwaizumi, the new recruits will be here soon. You should gather the others to welcome them."

Because the players were so talented, the Aoba Johsai volleyball coach, Nobuteru Irihata, often looked like a worn-out fish, but he still gave the order.

"Got it!"

Hajime Iwaizumi, the club's calm and steady vice-captain standing 179.3 cm tall, acknowledged and quickly began to rally the team.

Just as Iwaizumi started gathering the members, a young man appeared. He was only slightly less impressive-looking than Akashi, but carried an air of nobility, like a prince.

"Oh~~~ The new recruits are here already? If I'm not mistaken, two of this year's newcomers are from the team that won the national Junior High preliminaries, right? And one of them is apparently the team's ace spiker."

"Iwaizumi, what are you going to do? Want me to give them a big welcome, Ah!" Before the boastful captain could finish his sentence, a volleyball came flying and hit him square on the forehead.

Iwaizumi's forehead veins bulge: "Oikawa, if you're so bored, go clean up the volleyballs. We're about to welcome the freshmen. And if you pull any funny business, I swear I'll beat you up again."

Tooru Oikawa grinned: "You've already done that, Iwaizumi."

Iwaizumi: "What did you say?"

Oikawa: "·····"

…

"Um, is this the volleyball club?"

Just as Akashi and his group arrived at the gym entrance, they saw this scene.

For a moment, Akashi, Sanashita, and Kunimi all fell silent, choosing to watch a bit longer.

But Kindaichi, in his usual clueless faReon, interrupted the beautiful moment just as Iwaizumi was about to deal Oikawa another beating.

"Line up!!!"

Iwaizumi snapped to attention and shouted to the rest of the volleyball club.

Soon after, the Aoba Johsai volleyball team gathered.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kindaichi Yutaro, and I graduated from Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High School…"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Akira Kunimi, also from Kitagawa…"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ryuhei Sanashita, from Sengoku Junior High…"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Akashi Asuka, also from Sengoku Junior High…"

As usual, the newcomers introduced themselves first, followed by the returning members. The brief introductory meeting was almost complete.

Afterwards, the atmosphere became a little more relaxed.

"Ohhh, the new freshmen are all so tall! Hey, what's your name, the shortest one there? How tall are you?"

Sanashita turned to the upperclassman who pointed at him, slightly surprised, then answered, "About 179.5 cm four months ago when I last measured… not sure if I've grown since."

"Pfft~~ hahahaha! Did you hear that? The shortest freshman this year is still taller than Iwaizumi!"

The third-year seniors at Aoba Johsai were stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Iwaizumi: "(▼ヘ▼#)"

Let me reintroduce: Hajime Iwaizumi, 179.3 cm tall, the team's main spiker, with the lifelong dream of hitting 180 cm before his growth stops.

Under Iwaizumi's death glare, the other seniors stopped laughing quickly.

Except one fearless guy, who tried to stifle his laughter behind his hand.

That fearless guy soon got another beating from Iwaizumi.

"All right, now that everyone knows each other, next up… let's start the match!" After some chatting, Coach Irihata clapped his hands and said.

"Huh? What match?" Kindaichi and the others were caught off guard.

"Freshmen, don't worry." Oikawa smiled warmly like spring sunshine and said, "Just think of it as a normal entrance test. Don't worry, the upperclassmen will go easy on you."

Maybe because Oikawa sounded too gentle, Kindaichi got a little nervous and hurriedly said, "Got it, thanks, senpai."

That comment made even Akashi and Sanashita, and Kunimi, who was also from Shiratorizawa, look at him strangely.

Why had this kid never seemed so obedient before?

Could he really trust senpai's words?

"Hey, Kindaichi, don't go easy in the match later, got it?" Kunimi patted his shoulder and sighed.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Don't ask why, just trust me."

"Oh, okay then!"

…

"With you newcomers, that makes ten players. Let's do a 5-on-5 match! What positions did you play in Junior High?"

Kindaichi Yutaro: "Middle blocker."

Akira Kunimi: "Outside hitter."

Ryuhei Sanashita: "Setter."

Akashi Asuka: "Outside hitter."

Irihata nodded: "Hmm, your offense and blocking are covered. I'll assign a defensive specialist to your side to balance the teams."

"Watari, you're with the newcomers this time."

"Huh? Why me?"

"Don't argue."

"Alright…"

Watari Osamu, the second-year starting libero, wasn't thrilled but obediently joined the newcomers.

That made a perfect 5-on-5 match.

"Hahaha, don't worry, Aji. I'll go easy on you in the game." said Yahaba Shigeru, another second-year, grinning as Watari joined the newcomers.

"You jerk, just wait until the game ends. I'll make you regret it."

Watari's expression darkened. It was a tradition in Aoba Johsai volleyball to hold matches right after joining the club.

Though it was called an entrance test, it was anything but ordinary.

When Watari and Yaguchi first joined, they got absolutely wrecked in this test.

Thinking of that, Watari said seriously, "Hey, newcomers, hold your ground out there! Don't lose too badly, got it?"

Akashi, warming up, blinked, then nodded, "Okay, I'll do my best!"

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