JSWGAS Chapter 26

If Oikawa Tōru was a little nervous when the two teams bowed and shook hands, that nervousness disappeared after the long whistle blew.

Their first opponents, Ryoi Elementary School, were not a strong sports school. They gave away a point right at the start because their serve didn’t clear the net. If they had any advantage, it would be their average height, which was much taller than the fifth-graders.

“Except for the libero, the Ryoi players are generally over 1.6 meters tall,” the coach said before the match. “Numbers one and six are almost 1.7 meters tall, which means their spikes and blocks will be easier than yours. And if you want to block them, you’ll have to put in more effort.”

But it wasn’t insurmountable.

The tallest players in Seijo Elementary School’s volleyball club were the setter, Oikawa Tōru, and the captain, Komatsu. The latter mainly focused on blocking and had a weaker attack, but he was the only one whose height could compete with the tall players blocking at the net.

Oikawa Tōru stood at position one, took the volleyball, and quietly pressed it against his forehead. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, finally condensing into the familiar, soft touch on his fingertips.

“Serve a good one!”

His teammate shouted at him, and Iwaizumi Hajime stood in front of the net, skillfully protecting the back of his head, his voice neither loud nor soft. “If you screw up, you can expect to be ripped apart.”

Oikawa Tōru: “…Koiwa is so uncute.”

He muttered softly, straightening his arm.

Not long after Oikawa Tōru started playing volleyball, he began trying to learn jump serves like the stars on TV after mastering receiving. As a result, he often missed the hitting point due to unfamiliarity and poor timing, hitting himself with a loud thud, which earned him a good laugh from Iwaizumi Hajime.

But now…

Oikawa Tōru opened his eyes. Ryoi’s number seven, who was being watched by him, couldn’t help but shiver, his whole body on edge.

Before the match, they had discussed the eye-catching tall player on the opposing team, who looked like a frivolous type who wouldn’t take club activities seriously—who said that?! Just look at his posture and you know that’s impossible!

Although he wanted to share this with his teammates, Ryoi’s number seven libero gritted his teeth and calmed down, waiting in anticipation.

—Even if it’s a jump serve, it won’t be very powerful, and maybe he’ll make a service error like us…

His expectations were dashed.

Tossing the ball upward, then running.

His eyes focused on the red, green, and white ball, his arms swinging naturally, his stride changing from small to large. Finally, his right foot took a big step, his left foot almost immediately following, bending his knees and pushing off the ground.

“That number two is jumping so high!”

“And he seems to be a setter, right?”

The muffled sound of that push-off almost exploded in Kokonoe Taka’s ears. He listened to the gasps and intakes of breath from the audience beside him, his eyes fixed on the figure that resembled a fiery comet, the corners of his mouth involuntarily rising.

“Bang!”

The ball speed and trajectory were both perfectly smooth, and the target was the same. Although the ball didn’t have enough heavy power, it was aimed at the corner libero.

Ryoi Elementary School’s libero almost only saw a dark shadow flash past. His arm lifted subconsciously, but he didn’t expect to deflect the spin of the volleyball, recklessly flying the ball.

Seijo Elementary School scored.

“Nice ball!”

Oikawa Tōru, who had scored a point, wasn’t as excited as his cheering teammates. He lifted his palm a little blankly, the area that had hit the volleyball red and swollen, with a kind of intoxicating tingling.

Iwaizumi Hajime shouted, “One more ball!”

Oikawa Tōru silently gripped his palm, retreating to the boundary.

“Of course, there’s going to be one more ball.”

Oikawa Tōru didn’t end his serving streak until the third ball went out of bounds.

Ryoi’s number seven libero finally breathed a sigh of relief. Oikawa Tōru’s jump serves had been coming straight at him, and the pressure made him have to be careful even when breathing. The number one captain clapped his hands. “Okay! Buck up, get ready for the next ball!”

Ryoi served, and Seijo’s libero received steadily. Oikawa Tōru came to the net, ready to set, but couldn’t help but click his tongue.

Ryoi seemed to know that their technique was a bit rough, so they simply used height to crush Seijo. Standing at the net were almost all tall players who were close to 1.7 meters. They stood in front of them like high walls, trying to block the opponent’s spikes with their height.

The only ones who could spike now were Captain Komatsu and Iwaizumi. Perhaps Komatsu-senpai’s height could break through Ryoi’s block. But his power was insufficient, and he didn’t have a high desire to attack. Then…

His hands touched the ball, tossing it out to the left without hesitation. His set was more delicate than the one Kokonoe Taka had only practiced in a crash course, filled with unwavering trust in his teammates—to be honest, hearing Oikawa Tōru say something like that sent a disgusting shiver down his spine.

Iwaizumi Hajime ran up from the left, jumping up, his hands extending like crane wings, his posture resilient and born from day after day of training, and his eyes calm yet fierce.

This ball, which had been passed in just a few short seconds between the two of them, seemed to be filled with their unspoken words. Oikawa Tōru was ordering Iwaizumi to get this point, and Iwaizumi responded to his expectations.

—The ball passed to me will definitely score!

He jumped high, rounding his chest and pulling in his stomach, his arms and wrists swinging forward quickly!

The ball was almost not ‘hit’, but ‘smashed’ onto Ryoi’s blocking fingers. Kokonoe Taka’s excellent dynamic vision clearly captured the surprise on the blocker’s face and the subconscious retraction of their fingers. And it was precisely because of that momentary retraction that the trajectory of the volleyball changed, eventually slamming into Ryoi’s white line out of bounds.

“Nice!”

Iwaizumi landed, clenched his fist, turned around and shouted, greeting his teammates’ cheers.

“Iwaizumi! Nice shot!”

Iwaizumi Hajime, who was shorter than the opponent but could always firmly break through the wall of people to get points. And Oikawa Tōru, who was youthful but incredibly calm in organizing the attack. Ryoi lost ground under the relentless attack, and the final score was set at 2-0.

…

…………

“Tōru’s serve is as beautiful as a butterfly hovering in the air, preparing to unleash a storm.”

Kokonoe Taka stood at the entrance of the gymnasium, holding the equipment bag that Oikawa Tōru had shoved into his hands. The other boy had run to the restroom as soon as he left the court, saying he wanted to wash his face and calm down.

Iwaizumi Hajime squatted beside him, tying his shoelaces, and snorted when he heard this. “I didn’t expect you to rate him so highly.” If that guy were here, his nose would be up in the air.

“That’s why I’m saying it when he’s not here.”

After tying his shoelaces, Iwaizumi Hajime stood up, grabbed his collar, and frowned as he wiped the sweat from his face.

“…Use a towel,” Kokonoe Taka said helplessly, taking a clean towel from the sports bag he had brought and handing it to him.

Iwaizumi Hajime took it. “Thanks.” He buried his face in the snow-white towel, his nostrils filled with a cool mint scent. “My towel got splashed with a drink by Trash River when we were leaving the court.” He raised his head, looking gloomy.

He hadn’t actually seen that. Kokonoe Taka didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, realizing, “So Tōru ran to the restroom as soon as he came out to avoid you?”

Iwaizumi Hajime gritted his teeth, clutching the towel tightly. “That bastard!”

To prevent their Seijo setter from being sunk into Sendai Port by the team’s Godzilla ace, Kokonoe Taka cleared his throat and quietly changed the subject.

“A-yi was also very cool,” he said sincerely, smiling when he noticed Iwaizumi’s puzzled gaze. “It felt like A-yi’s jump was like flying.”

Iwaizumi Hajime was a little dismissive. “It was just a normal jump, not as good as you said.”

“If it’s a compliment, just accept it.”

Iwaizumi Hajime wiped his forehead, muttering quietly, “You’re also a guy who can sweet-talk.”

Kokonoe Taka: “I heard that, A-yi.”

He narrowed his eyes unkindly. “I’m telling the truth.”

Iwaizumi Hajime cleared his throat, turning his head awkwardly. “…Oh.”

“You seem to have a lot of opinions about me. How come I never noticed it before?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why don’t you turn around—” Kokonoe Taka rubbed his hands together. “Hurry up and turn around, Koiwa!”

Kokonoe Taka called him by the nickname that Oikawa Tōru gave Iwaizumi as he pounced over, grabbing his face and making him face him directly. He rarely used such a gooey nickname for Iwaizumi like Oikawa did. Hearing him say it jokingly like this, Iwaizumi felt a chill run down his spine and became extremely uncomfortable.

He struggled and shouted, “Don’t copy Trash River! And be normal!”

Kokonoe Taka was furious. “Isn’t it because A-yi, you’re sometimes as honest and upright as a fifty or sixty-year-old man! Quickly accept my praise honestly!”

Iwaizumi Hajime: “What…?!”

He showed a shocked expression of being sunk, looking disbelieving as if to say, ‘You actually think of me that way,’ and his resistance weakened a lot.

Before he could come back to his senses, another fastball came: “I think A-yi is really cool when he breaks through the high wall!” Kokonoe Taka stared at him. “It’s like the Singularity Godzilla who destroyed the artificial satellite!”

Password correct.

The Godzilla fanatic’s ears burned.

“Even though he’s shorter than the opposite side,” he stretched out his hand to compare the heights of the two of them. Kokonoe Taka was about the same height as the Ryoi players, and Iwaizumi was standing in front of him, half a head shorter. “He can still slam the ball down.”

Turning weakness into strength, turning disadvantage into advantage, this was something that had been thrilling people since ancient times. And Iwaizumi Hajime’s jump and landing were like intensely uplifting drumbeats that drove the emotions, each beat incomparably captivating.

“I’ll grow taller!” Iwaizumi Hajime bared his teeth. He could only show an expression like this of being poked at his sore spot when he mentioned his height.

Kokonoe Taka echoed with two “mm-hm” sounds, “A-yi, you’re the team’s ace, very reliable, and it feels like you can do anything.” He pulled out the chocolate that he had blackmailed from Oikawa Tōru from his pocket and stuffed it into Iwaizumi’s hand, appeasing the mood of his friend who had lost his temper. “It looks like you have wings when you jump, and the force of the spike is also very refreshing. It’s so cool.”

After thinking about it, he added, “A little cooler than A-Tōru.”

Iwaizumi Hajime glared at him, still seeming a little sulky, but his eyes smiled as he replied, “That’s only natural.”

“If that guy Oikawa is going to become the most outstanding setter…” He narrowed his eyes, tore open the wrapper, and stuffed the sweet-tasting, slightly bitter aftertaste of the chocolate into his mouth. “Then I’m going to be the most amazing ace spiker.”

“Mmm.” Kokonoe Taka curved his eyes. “If someone else said that, it would feel like they were just bragging, but if A-yi says it, I believe you can do it.”

“—Can do what?”

A third voice interrupted the conversation that was about to continue.

Oikawa Tōru walked over from the direction of the restroom, but the smiling expression didn’t last long before he was kicked by Iwaizumi Hajime, who had been waiting for him impatiently. “Where did you run off to? Why were you so slow!”

Oikawa Tōru dodged nimbly, finally simply shrinking behind Kokonoe Taka and yelling, “I was surrounded by enthusiastic older sisters when I just came over, so I was a little late—it wasn’t intentional!”

Iwaizumi Hajime glared at him. “Do you remember that there’s a game this afternoon! Get serious!”

“Of course, I remember.” Oikawa Tōru was reluctantly pulled out by Kokonoe Taka. “–Shiratorizawa, right?”

He took the bag from Kokonoe Taka’s hand, humming a little tune, and walked towards the outside of the gymnasium.

“Wait and see as Oikawa-sama defeats them all! And then advances to the nationals in one fell swoop! Make them all worshipfully say, ‘Ah, that setter is too amazing!’ Or ‘I really want him to set for me’—”

The emotional imitation won the other two’s comments.

“…Trash River, you really don’t blush at all.”

“Sometimes I have to sigh at the thickness of your skin!”