"Taichi, you're spacing out again all by yourself," Oikawa Toru came over.
Although he didn't know why, Oikawa always felt like his underclassman was somewhat out of sync with the team. He seemed smart, trained hard, and was polite to seniors, but there was a certain distance between him and the rest of the team.
Oikawa often saw him observing himself or the team alone, or just lost in thought on the sidelines.
That wouldn't do. As the captain and senior, Oikawa thought he had to save his introverted junior. With that in mind, Oikawa wrapped an arm around Kaedehara Taichi's shoulder from behind. "Taichi, want to get into the starting lineup? Want me to teach you a few moves?"
Taichi smoothly dodged Oikawa's friendly gesture and smiled, "Sure, Oikawa-senpai. I've got some new things I want to try. Could you pass the ball a bit higher when you set, and then…"
Oikawa, who had been a bit disappointed when dodged, nodded eagerly at what Taichi said. The other first-years gathered around to discuss the upcoming 6v6 match strategy. After all, this involved the starting lineup — not everyone was as steady as Oikawa.
Seeing Taichi interact normally with everyone else, Oikawa felt something was really changing. Good, good, my guidance is working.
Beep! The coach's whistle blew. "Both teams, take your positions. The match begins."
The match started, and the upperclassmen and lowerclassmen groups played fiercely. Coach Irihata and Team Leader Kouguchi analyzed the players' conditions with a tactic board:
Hanawa Takahiro and Matsukawa Ichizumi, third-years, were well-rounded technically and kept mistakes to a minimum. They had the longest cooperation with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and often, a single glance from Oikawa arranged their movements perfectly to execute tactics.
Second-year Wataru Shinji had a good reception level, but as a libero lacked the reliability to cover the team in critical moments — a fatal flaw when facing strong teams.
The first-years each had unique traits but obvious weaknesses. Their incomplete techniques made them vulnerable when targeted, but if used well, they could be surprise weapons.
"Block him!" Iwaizumi, Hanawa, and Matsukawa, the three third-years, lined up and jumped to block.
"Wow, the third-year seniors are ruthless."
"Three blockers!" Oikawa shouted to Taichi who was about to spike. The pass wasn't good, and Oikawa's set was a bit low — against three blockers, Taichi's attack was unlikely to get through.
Oikawa stepped back, ready to save the ball if blocked.
"Opportunity ball! Try again!" Taichi shouted. Knowing he couldn't spike past the blockers, he aimed for the top edge of the block.
Luckily, it worked — the ball bounced off the blockers' hands and fell above the lowerclassmen's court.
An accident? Oikawa watched Taichi preparing for another spike, thinking maybe not. Was this the new move he wanted to try?
Wataru calmly received the pass, and the ball flew above Oikawa.
"Go, spike again!" Oikawa set the ball perfectly to Taichi.
"Not on my watch!" The three blockers jumped again.
Taichi stretched his body midair. Thanks to the previous shot, he felt perfect. He aimed at the side of the block and spiked hard.
The ball hit the wrist of the leftmost blocker, Hanawa, and bounced out of bounds.
Blocker touched the ball out — point to Taichi!
"Ahhhhh!" Taichi shouted excitedly. Though his aim was a little off, he had found the feeling. Oikawa's sets were definitely better than self-tossing.
"Nice spike," Oikawa praised, raising his hand for a high-five.
Taichi jumped up and high-fived Oikawa enthusiastically. The last time he scored like this was using Tendou's player experience card during a practice match with Karasuno, where he'd had to work hard just to keep up with Hinata.
This was Taichi's first victory from a fierce midair duel by his own ability. This moment condensed the charm of volleyball, making him crave more of these moments — that unique joy in every jump and every attack-defense exchange.
Oikawa noticed Taichi's expression and was a little surprised. He keenly caught that hungry, never-satisfied look — a thirst for more victories and challenges.
Coach Irihata let out an impressed sigh and then looked to Kouguchi. "So, what do you think about this kid?"
Team Leader Kouguchi guessed the question referred to Taichi and thought for a moment. "Taichi's sense for the game is good, and he has talent for blocking, but his fundamentals are lacking. There's still a lot to learn…"
"I'm planning to put him in the starting lineup," Coach Irihata suddenly interrupted.
Kouguchi was stunned. "Why? The third-years are the most balanced. Even among the first-years, Kindaichi and Kunimi, who came from Kitagawa, seem more ready for immediate play than Taichi."
Irihata calmly waited for Kouguchi to finish, then looked at him meaningfully: "Do you remember Taichi from two weeks ago?"
Kouguchi blanked, struggling to recall much about Taichi from two weeks ago — probably just an ordinary player with decent speed.
Irihata smiled, "Don't underestimate the growth speed of youth. Sometimes, they just transform like that, from cocoon to butterfly."
"But…" Kouguchi still hesitated, "We could use Taichi in key moments like the practice match against Karasuno. With less than two months until the IH preliminaries, it's safer to rely on players with stronger fundamentals."
"Kouguchi! If we want to play it safe, haven't we already tried that? That way, we can't beat Shiratorizawa," Irihata's tone grew serious. "If we want to evolve, we must find a new weapon!"
"A new weapon?" Kouguchi muttered, looking at the court where Taichi's spike faced the triple block again.
Could it be the "blocker touched out" shot? But there were many errors this match too. Kouguchi stared closely at Taichi's movements and suddenly widened his eyes.
It was a tip!
Taichi tipped the ball over the triple block's back. The back-row players, Yagihashi and Onden, dove to save it but were just a moment too late. Both lying on the floor, they looked up at Taichi.
Seeing this, Kouguchi suddenly understood what Coach Irihata wanted.