Although Aobajohsai's volleyball team followed the routine of resting every Monday, for Kaedehara Taichi, this day off couldn't suppress his passion and obsession for volleyball.
The joy of leveling up—the transformation from nothing to something, from clumsy to proficient—was like magic that captivated him, making it impossible to stop.
So, on this day, he chose to head to the park near his home alone, practicing his serves by himself and fully immersing himself in the happiness and focus that volleyball brought.
In the park, Kaedehara Taichi was drenched in sweat as he repeatedly tossed and struck the ball, performing the basic serving motions over and over, aiming for precision and power with every hit.
Not far away, a man with medium-length hair and wearing a hoodie caught Taichi's attention. The man glanced casually in Taichi's direction, and in that brief look, there seemed to be a hint of curiosity and appreciation.
He looked oddly familiar, but Taichi couldn't quite place him. Still, if he looked familiar, he was probably a volleyball player. Silently, Taichi asked the system in his mind.
"Ushina Tenma. Not a high school player. Not included in data records."
It's actually him! The former ace of Karasuno's volleyball team—known as the "Little Giant" because of his short stature yet overwhelming strength. He had once led Karasuno to Nationals and was the very person Hinata admired and the reason he started playing volleyball. That silhouette on TV had stayed in the hearts of many volleyball fans for years.
Back in high school, his short black hair gave off a powerful vibe. Now with his medium-length wavy hair... well, he looked rather soft and cute.
Taichi knew he couldn't miss this opportunity. Without hesitation, he ran up to him.
"Hello, are you Ushina Tenma-senpai?"
Ushina Tenma was a bit surprised that someone recognized him. "And you are?"
"Nice to meet you, Little Giant-senpai! I'm Kaedehara Taichi, a middle blocker from Aobajohsai. I started playing volleyball because I saw your cool figure on TV!" Taichi said quickly, without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Sorry, Shouyou—I'm borrowing your reason.
"Eh, really?" Ushina Tenma looked skeptically at the high schooler in front of him, who stood at least 180 cm tall.
"It's true! But senpai, Karasuno has a new Little Giant now, and he's your biggest fan."
"Haha, is that so? I didn't think I was that impressive back then," Ushina Tenma scratched his head bashfully.
"Senpai, could you teach me how to play volleyball?" Taichi looked at him with hopeful eyes, offering the volleyball in his hands.
"Huh?" Ushina Tenma looked a little overwhelmed. Are high schoolers this forward these days?
"Is it because I'm from Aobajohsai?"
"No, it's just... I haven't played volleyball in a long time." Ushina Tenma said it without much regret.
"How could that be?" Taichi played along, though he already knew the reason after finishing the manga in his past life.
"It really brings back memories," Ushina Tenma said as he took the volleyball from Taichi. "I'm currently studying at a university in Kanto and found myself interested in other things, so I didn't continue playing after high school."
Taichi looked at the sketchpad beside him. "Senpai, are you planning to draw manga?"
Ushina Tenma was startled—how did he know that? He hadn't told anyone yet. But then again, in Japan, becoming a manga artist wasn't such an unusual guess.
He smiled and admitted it openly, eyes sparkling with passion and anticipation: "You're right. I have a story about a zombie swordsman that I want to tell through manga."
Taichi nodded. "Can you tell me about it, senpai?"
Ushina Tenma felt a little embarrassed, but seeing the eager look in his junior's eyes…
"Alright, let's go to a family restaurant nearby and chat over food."
"That's a swordsman in a skeleton form. Precisely because he knows of false death, he doesn't understand what true death is—"
"His only companion is a crow that can't talk…"
"Oooh, what a cool setup!"
Two overgrown but still proudly chuuni (edgy/childish) guys sat in the restaurant, enthusiastically discussing the manga plot Ushina Tenma dreamed of creating.
There was a hint of mystery and shyness in Ushina's voice as he painted a picture of a world completely different from volleyball—a world of zombie swordsmen cutting their way through danger, making life-and-death decisions, and pushing beyond the boundaries of mortality with courage and conviction.
"Zobishuu has to make a super cool entrance, saving the heroine from an enemy attack. And the enemy must be someone who had a bond with Zobishuu before he became a zombie. The heroine, of course, has to be cute, strong-willed, with a fighting spirit of her own, but also inspire a desire to protect—"
As he got into it, Ushina Tenma became unstoppable.
"And then?"
"And then, the hero and heroine start their journey together." To be honest, Ushina had been stuck on how to begin the story—he hadn't even thought about the plot beyond that point.
"You haven't actually thought about what happens next, have you?" Taichi looked at him knowingly. Now he kind of understood why Ushina Tenma's future manga Zombie Swordsman Zobishuu, serialized in Weekly Shonen BYE, eventually got axed.
"I was just focused on making a good one-shot, so I haven't really thought about the rest," Ushina muttered, quietly wiping sweat from his palm. Why did he feel like he was being scolded?
As a transmigrator, Taichi had tons of great works in his head from his previous life, but he knew Ushina Tenma had his own story to tell. This wasn't the time to step in and overwrite it—it was better to help him flesh it out himself first.
"So, senpai, what's your heroine like? Surely she's not just a mascot character."
"She's the straight man type—you know, the one who does the tsukkomi. Also the protagonist's partner, I guess?"
"By the way, what is the protagonist exactly? I've been meaning to ask: aren't zombies and skeletons two different things?"
"Haha… but skeletons look so much cooler," Ushina finally gave up trying to bluff.
"If the heroine's doing the tsukkomi, then the protagonist can't just be cool, right?"
"Would it be better if he's a little dumb too?"
"That's a hard balance… Might turn into a gag manga instead."
"Hmm… Then there's the villain, the protagonist's goal, the story's background—surely you've thought about all that, right, Ushina-sensei?"
Ushina shrank his shoulders a little like a scolded kid, looking at Taichi with puppy-dog eyes. "Taichi-sensei… please guide me!"
The two stared at each other—then quickly burst out laughing.
"It really feels like we're making something!"
"Well, I am being serious about it!"
And so, the two of them continued their passionate discussion in the family restaurant, unaware that the day had already slipped into evening.