Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 290: A New Thrill

Bang!

With a sharp, resounding smack, the volleyball struck the court and bounced away.

Kindaichi Yūtarō scored with a spike.

[Aoba Johsai 25 - 14 Jisuikan]

"Tweet—!"

The referee's whistle signalled the end of the first set in Round 2, Group A of the Miyagi Prefectural Tournament.

Winner: Aoba Johsai.

—

"Wow, it's been so long since our last match—this feels amazing!" Kindaichi Yūtarō stretched his arms with a relaxed expression.

It was mid-March, and the Miyagi Prefectural Tournament was underway as scheduled.

Aoba Johsai had been placed in Group A and received a bye in the first round.

Now, in Round 2, they were up against Jisuikan High School—their first official match in front of the public since winning the National Championship.

Even within Miyagi, Jisuikan wasn't a particularly strong team. They had a consistent but unremarkable performance, usually finishing somewhere between the top 16 and top 8 in the prefecture.

The match had ended decisively enough, but failing to hold the opponent under 10 points left Kaedehara Taichi feeling slightly dissatisfied.

"Chiba, let me see the stats for the first set."

"Here."

Chiba Kaho, seated beside Taichi, efficiently handed over the match records.

Per Coach Irihata's instructions, the goal of the first set was to let Yahaba Shigeru and Honda Heisuke get accustomed to the atmosphere of an official match. A slower pace was acceptable—there were still many aspects of Aoba Johsai's new lineup that needed to be fine-tuned.

In this set, Taichi had barely attacked. He also hadn't scored with his serve, only stepping in to finish points when Yahaba's sets were slightly off-target. Even so, he had scored five points.

Kyōtani Kentarō: 8 points

Kindaichi Yūtarō: 4 points

Honda Heisuke: 2 points

Kunimi Akira: 2 points

The rest came from Jisuikan's errors.

However, Aoba Johsai had also lost 4 points to unforced errors:

Honda and Yahaba each had a missed serve.

Honda had spiked out once.

Yahaba had a setting error.

Beyond the lack of fluidity compared to their previous games, the biggest issue was their serving.

If Oikawa Tōru and Iwaizumi Hajime were still here…against Jisuikan's receive lineup, they'd have scored at least five points each—no, even ten was possible!

"Even considering this was Yahaba and Honda's first major tournament match…you can still see a clear gap between them and the third-years from before," Mizoguchi Sadayuki muttered as he discussed the team's changes with Coach Irihata.

"There's no need to rush," Irihata said calmly. "This is exactly why we're here—to identify what the team is currently lacking."

"They'll experience it firsthand on the court. The new season has only just begun."

-----

"Tweet—!"

The whistle blew, signaling the start of the second set.

Both teams switched sides.

"Reduce errors. Play steadily, one point at a time," Irihata instructed the team in a composed voice.

"Yes!"

"Yahaba," Irihata continued, "you don't need to force quick attacks right now. Both Kindaichi and Kunimi are strong hitters—they won't lose to the opponent's blockers. Trust them the same way you trust Taichi and Kyōtani."

"Got it!" Yahaba responded loudly.

"And Taichi—" Irihata looked at him. "Let the audience witness the best player in the country. Hold them under ten points."

A sharp glint flickered in Kaedehara Taichi's eyes.

"No problem."

-----

"Wow, other than that delinquent guy, the rest of Aoba Johsai's players are really handsome!"

"Right? And Taichi's eyes are so cute!"

"Did you see the way he spiked just now? That muscle definition—so cool!"

In the audience, a group of high school girls clutching Volleyball Monthly magazines whispered excitedly.

For the past two months, Kaedehara Taichi had been the magazine's cover athlete.

The cover always captured his intense, burning gaze, radiating his passion and determination for volleyball. His sharp features and athletic physique had drawn the attention of many female fans.

"Tch."

A dissatisfied grunt came from the crowd.

"This guy hasn't even done anything yet."

"The January issue of Volleyball Monthly ranked him alongside Sakusa Kiyoomi and Hoshiumi Kōrai as the 'Top 3 Aces in the Nation'—I already thought that was an exaggeration. But since Aoba Johsai won the National Championship, I didn't have much to say."

"But last month, they actually called him the 'Number One Ace in Japan'. Isn't that way too ridiculous?!"

"I mean…I came here just to watch Aoba Johsai play, but he seems pretty average."

"Exactly, I could do that too!"

"Hah—these idiots."

From the front row of the second-floor seating, a towering, purple-haired giant—at least 190 cm tall—looked down at the murmuring spectators with pure disdain.

"Anyone who actually watched Spring Nationals wouldn't be saying crap like that," he scoffed. "Even those girls screaming 'he's so handsome!' are better than this."

"Atsushi, keep your voice down!"

Beside him, a blond-haired boy, Kimura Ryōta, hissed a warning. "I don't want to get kicked out for fighting before the match even ends…"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Kamihara Atsushi mumbled lazily. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he pulled out a bag of chips from who-knows-where and casually started eating.

-----

Smack!

Jisuikan's serve was received cleanly by Watari Shinji, and the ball was perfectly controlled into the setter's zone.

"Left wing!"

Kaedehara Taichi raised his right hand, calling for the ball loud and clear.

"Huh?"

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From the stands, Kimura Ryōta noticed something unusual.

"Atsushi, look!"

This was the first time Taichi had called for the ball all match.

Whoosh!—

Yahaba Shigeru set the ball high to the left wing.

The trajectory was different from his usual sets—not particularly fast, but much higher than normal.

"Whoa, that's high!"

Even with his near 2-meter height, Kamihara Atsushi was surprised. Even for him, hitting that ball would be a stretch.

"See, Ryōta?! You have to watch Taichi-senpai's spikes in person!"

For the first time all game, Kamihara Atsushi's sluggish demeanor disappeared—he was excited.

BAM!

Kaedehara Taichi soared from the front row.

The perfect form of his jump had the press photographers on the sidelines firing their cameras non-stop.

"Triple block!!!"

Jisuikan's three-man wall rose simultaneously.

They were struggling in this match, but they refused to back down!

—Bang!—

A wipe shot over the block!

The ball landed behind the blockers, inside the three-meter line!

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[Aoba Johsai 8 - 2 Jisuikan]

"Huh?!"

"What just happened?!"

"Ryōta, did you see that clearly?!" Kamihara Atsushi turned to his friend.

"…"

Kimura Ryōta took a moment to process before slowly answering, "No, I didn't."

"It was so high! So fast! And that angle—insane…"

How did he even land that spike inside the three-meter line from that position?!

Kaedehara Taichi had barely attacked all match, yet the one time he did, it was enough to shock Kimura Ryōta into silence.

"Atsushi, could you block that if you got a touch on it?"

"Without a full approach? No way."

Kamihara Atsushi popped the last chip into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"But if I get a little taller…maybe."

Kimura Ryōta: "…"

Does he think growing taller is something you can just decide to do?!

-----

"Man, it's been so long since I played a real match…I feel really good today."

Kaedehara Taichi was pleased with that last spike.

By using a high-angle wrist snap, he had sent the ball just past the blockers' fingertips, slamming it straight into the floor.

Even if Jisuikan's backrow was in position, there was no way they could have received that.

"Yahaba-senpai, set everything to me for now."

"I want to test out numbered plays."

"Even bad sets?" Yahaba hesitated—he still wasn't completely confident.

"All of them."

Kaedehara Taichi's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"I'll score no matter what."

He had found his thrill in this match.

_________

[T/N] - How did you like the surprise(s) so far?

First off, you're getting two extra chapters today—which means there won't be an extra chapter on Wednesday.

Secondly, did those two new characters seem familiar? That's because Kimura Ryōta and Kamihara Atsushi are inspired by Kise Ryōta and Murasakibara Atsushi from KnB! And they are not the only ones.

The Author decided to introduce a bit of KnB into Haikyuu!!—kind of a loose crossover.

But here's the key thing: there will be NO superpowers in this story. No Thor's Hammer, Emperor's Eye, or anything of that sort.

Lastly, keep in mind that these characters are inspired by the ones from the anime—not exact replicas—so expect some differences!

And, If you guys want to read 50 Chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome!

Link - /Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]