Everyone was in the middle of breakfast when a commotion came from nearby, the sound of a group laughing and joking.
"Hey hey hey!"
Bokuto spotted the Shiratorizawa players sitting in the dining hall from far away and immediately lit up. Even from that distance, he started calling out to them.
Ryosuke, who had been eating, brightened. His head snapped toward the entrance, his voice full of surprise.
"Bokuto-senpai!"
"Oh! Ryosuke!"
The two of them shuffled together like little kids and hugged. When Ushijima saw that, his brows furrowed sharply. He stood up, grabbed Bokuto by the collar, and dragged him away, staring at him with an unfriendly expression, as if he found Bokuto's behavior extremely rude.
"Long time no see."
Keiji Akaashi led the Fukurōdani players over and greeted Shiratorizawa with a smile. There was nothing else he could do. Their captain was completely unreliable. He had actually gone and hugged someone else's underclassman, so even a simple greeting had to be handled by Keiji Akaashi.
Keiji Akaashi looked at Ushijima with a hint of apology.
"I'm really sorry, Ushijima-senpai. Bokuto-senpai just got a little too excited."
Ushijima took a deep breath. He felt that he could not seriously argue with Bokuto. After all, in Ushijima's eyes, apart from his volleyball skills, Bokuto was really not much different from a child.
Haruki Koimi stood together with Yamagata. The two of them were already good friends, and they had even gone to the same junior high, but after entering high school, they had both become far too busy. Every time they met, it was either at a match or a training camp. Over time, their "Long time no see" had turned into "I definitely won't go easy on you."
They were friends, but they were also opponents who wanted to defeat each other.
The Fukurōdani players had not seen Shiratorizawa in a long time either. Every year, aside from matches and training camps, they basically never had a chance to meet.
"Do you want to have breakfast together?"
Reon asked politely.
"Of course!"
Bokuto nodded with a grin, then called everyone over to eat together.
They had arrived quite early today too. Aside from Shiratorizawa and a few schools near the gymnasium, they were among the earliest to arrive.
Although it was true that the seeded teams had byes on the first day and did not need to play, they still had to attend the opening ceremony. All the teams had to show themselves at the opening ceremony before the matches officially began.
Konoha was starving. Seeing that Bokuto and Keiji Akaashi were still talking with Ushijima and the others, he got himself a bowl of wontons and sat off to the side to eat. After a mouthful of hot soup, Konoha felt comfortable from head to toe and let out a happy sigh.
It really was great not being the captain. In any case, things like exchanging pleasantries with other teams would never fall to him. It was just hard on Keiji Akaashi.
After the two schools discussed it, they unanimously decided to go take a look at the gymnasium together after breakfast. Although they had been there many times, the courts inside the gymnasium were divided differently every year. Which venue they would end up playing in depended entirely on their luck in the draw.
After finishing breakfast, Bokuto went to the gymnasium with everyone. Only then did they realize that the venue where they had held their last training camp had also been set up as a match site.
That court was more than spacious enough for training camp, but it felt a little cramped for matches. It also could not hold many spectators. Compared to the main venue next door, it was far worse.
Bokuto sighed from the back.
"Whoever gets assigned here is seriously unlucky."
Kawanishi happened to be standing beside Bokuto. He was a little confused. Why would that be unlucky?
So he asked honestly, only for Bokuto to look at him as if he were an idiot.
"Think about it. This court is so small, so there definitely won't be many spectators. If there aren't many spectators, there won't be much cheering. And without cheering, there won't be any motivation."
Kawanishi's first reaction was that Bokuto was talking nonsense. But after thinking about it more carefully, he realized Bokuto actually had a point.
When Keiji Akaashi heard what Bokuto said, for some reason, his right eyebrow started twitching. Keiji Akaashi frowned. He had an ominous feeling... though of course, it might just have been his imagination.
Everyone wandered around the gymnasium for more than half an hour, and slowly, the number of people inside began to increase.
Cars stopped at the entrance of the gymnasium. Reporters carrying cameras appeared. Some staff members carried nets and advertising boards, while ball boys counted boxes of volleyballs one by one. A few workers blocked off the back entrance, and many security guards stood by the main gate. Spectators holding tickets were already lining up, preparing to enter. Everything was quietly getting underway.
In just half an hour, the gymnasium had become lively.
Seeing the sudden increase in people and the reporters wandering everywhere inside the gymnasium, Ushijima turned back and asked everyone,
"Should we go back first?"
Bokuto nodded repeatedly, and the rest of Fukurōdani also looked like they wanted to avoid the place as quickly as possible.
As a Tokyo team, Fukurōdani drew a lot of attention every year during the tournament, especially their ace, Bokuto. At first, Bokuto could still smile during interviews, but over the past two years, those reporters had become more enthusiastic than the last. Countless microphones were shoved toward Bokuto's face, along with the nonstop clicking of shutters, camera flashes, and the reporters' sharp questions.
Because of all that, Bokuto had once developed a psychological shadow toward press interviews. Now, the moment he saw a reporter, he ran faster than a rabbit.
The other Fukurōdani members had also been harassed by reporters to varying degrees, so the moment they saw someone carrying a camera, they genuinely felt nervous.
After getting everyone's agreement, Ushijima did not stand on ceremony and led them away. Everyone needed to go back and find their own coaches. Each team needed proof from their coach to enter the venue, or they would be stopped outside.
Shiratorizawa and Fukurōdani had only just left when a group wearing yellow-green uniforms, looking like a bunch of mangoes, arrived at the gymnasium right after them.
Sakusa's expression was dark. Even his mask could not hide his terrible mood. It was all these people's fault. Getting up so early for no reason was already bad enough. After they finally arrived, he had only wanted to doze for a bit, but Komori and a group of teammates had dragged him to the gymnasium under the noble excuse of checking out the venue.
Now the place was crowded and noisy. He would rather go back to the dormitory.
Sakusa hid in the farthest corner, wishing he could shrink himself into a patch of shadow. The germs in the air were making him physically uncomfortable.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Sakusa shoved both hands into his pockets and slipped away openly.
Komori had no idea. He was still talking excitedly.
"Kiyoomi, the way they organized the schedule this time is actually pretty good. It saves us a lot of time... Kiyoomi? Where's Kiyoomi?"
When Komori turned around, he saw the empty corner. Only then did he realize he had lost his cousin. He instantly panicked and was about to go look for him, but Daishio Kazuki grabbed him.
Daishio Kazuki looked a little helpless. Komori-senpai was great in every way, but whenever it involved Sakusa-senpai, he somehow became anxious for no reason.
"Komori-senpai, Sakusa-senpai isn't a child anymore. How could he get lost? Besides, we've been to Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium so many times. Sakusa-senpai already knows the way."
Only then did Komori suddenly realize that Sakusa was no longer a child.
He smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"You're right. Forget it, then. He's a grown person. It's not like he can actually get lost."
So he led everyone to carefully look over the venue again.
At the back entrance of the gymnasium, the Nekoma group looked at the tightly shut door, then looked at one another. In the end, their accusing gazes all landed on Kuroo.
Yaku angrily kicked a small stone on the ground. He had said long ago that the back entrance would not be open on match day, but Kuroo had insisted on going through the back door and claimed it would be closer. He just would not listen. It was infuriating!
Kenma glanced at the tightly shut gate and felt his vision go dark. The distance from the back entrance to the main entrance was not short at all. Just walking here had already made Kenma feel like he was about to collapse, and now they had to circle around to the main entrance. Was this the legendary heaven trying to destroy him?
Fukunaga blinked and ran over to support Kenma, afraid he would collapse in the next second. This was Nekoma's brain, after all. They could not let him get exhausted.
Kenma naturally leaned against Fukunaga, tilting his head and rubbing against him.
A pair of sharp catlike eyes fixed on Kuroo. Kuroo was already breaking out in cold sweat. With Kenma looking like that, he was definitely unhappy.
But Kuroo was the captain. He could not lose face in front of everyone.
The next second, Kuroo put on a pitiful act.
"I'm sorry, everyone. Yaku, I should've listened to you. Don't be mad... Kenma, don't be mad either. If you can't walk, I can carry you. Don't be mad... Sigh, I'm really so pitiful. I haven't even eaten breakfast, and you're all still mad at me. I really am too pitiful."
Kuroo's pathetic expression was almost unbearable to look at. A proper captain actually putting on that kind of face. This side of Kuroo was rarely seen.
Kenma rolled his eyes neatly and ignored him.
Yaku jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Who's mad?! I'm not mad!"
It did not look convincing at all.
Lev looked at Yaku in confusion, then said with complete honesty,
"But Yaku-senpai clearly looks really mad... Ow!"
Yaku kicked this guy who had exposed him without mercy, glaring at him angrily. He never saw Lev working that hard during training, but when it came to saying nonsense, he was full of energy. What anger? Who was angry? Why did he have to say something so painfully true?!
Lev clutched his backside with an aggrieved expression, looking terribly pitiful.
And so, on the first morning of the IH, before they had even officially faced an enemy, the cat team had already started infighting. It was truly an unlucky start.
At the main entrance of Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, a certain blond setter was currently fighting with his twin brother. The entrance was extremely lively. Quite a few people had stopped to watch, and some had even taken out their phones to secretly record videos.
Inarizaki's Suna was weaving through the battlefield of the two brothers in all sorts of poses, taking out his phone and snapping photo after photo to record this wonderful moment.
Aran covered his forehead and could not bear to look anymore. These guys had brought their embarrassment all the way to Tokyo. Was that still not enough?
Someone really needed to come and deal with them.
Perhaps heaven heard Aran's prayer, because the great Captain Kita returned from the bathroom.
As soon as Kita Shinsuke came back, he saw this scene and felt a terrible headache coming on. He usually did not need to worry about the entire team. He truly felt everyone was very self-aware, except for the twin brothers. Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya could start fighting regardless of time or place. They were clearly already teenagers, almost adults, but once they got together, they were like elementary schoolers fighting. Childish and annoying.
Kita Shinsuke often felt like he was taking care of two children, and they were the most troublesome kind.
"It's all your fault! Otherwise, how would my phone have broken?!"
Atsumu Miya tugged at Osamu Miya's collar and shouted angrily. Osamu Miya rolled his eyes hard.
"Isn't that because some pig asked me to wash his clothes last night?!"
"Hah?!"
The cause of the whole thing was that last night, while Atsumu Miya was packing his luggage, he found some dirty clothes. It was the black jacket he usually wore. At the time, he had not thought much about it and asked Osamu Miya to throw it into the washing machine for him.
When Osamu Miya came over, he saw a black jacket lying on the bed and thought it was that one, so he casually tossed it into the washing machine. But that jacket was actually the one Atsumu Miya had just taken off, and his phone was still inside.
Neither of them noticed anything until this morning, when Atsumu Miya could not find his phone no matter what. Only then did Osamu Miya realize things had gone very wrong.
And then, early in the morning, in such a serious place, the two of them started fighting.
They were fighting fiercely when Atsumu suddenly stopped for no reason. Suna had been happily taking photos and could not understand why the two of them had stopped. Then he felt a chilling gaze behind him. Suna seemed to understand why the two had suddenly behaved themselves.
He stiffly turned his neck and looked back. Sure enough, Suna saw Kita Shinsuke with his jacket draped over his shoulders, staring at them with a threatening expression. His face seemed to say, "If you keep causing trouble, I'll make sure you don't live to see tomorrow's sun."
The moment Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya saw Kita, they immediately became unbelievably obedient. There was no trace of the fight from earlier. To everyone in Inarizaki, Captain Kita was the most terrifying person besides the coach, because he alone could keep the most unruly twin brothers under control.
Kita Shinsuke realized they were still at the entrance of the gymnasium. It was a public place, and there were so many people around. Scolding them here did not seem like a very wise thing to do.
Kita Shinsuke quietly sighed in his heart, then turned and led everyone away. After taking a few steps, he noticed that Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya were still standing there. He looked back at them.
"What are you standing there for? Let's go."
"Coming, coming!"
Seeing that Kita Shinsuke had not scolded them, Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya suddenly felt like they were fine again. The two stopped arguing and happily trotted after him.
When the onlookers saw that there was no more drama to watch, they naturally began to disperse.
At this point, most schools had either already arrived or were on the way, and the gymnasium was becoming noisy.
Every school had to attend the opening ceremony. Before taking part in the opening ceremony, they would wait in the preparation hall to line up, then enter the venue.
Seeing that there was just over half an hour left before the ceremony began, Coach Washijō appeared among the Shiratorizawa team like a ghost and led everyone toward the preparation hall.
Before they even got close, they could hear the noisy commotion inside the preparation hall. It sounded like quite a few teams had already arrived. Coach Washijō brought them to the entrance and did not go in. He turned and headed toward the waiting area for coaches instead. The coaches would also be dragged around to meet a lot of people, and this was the thing Coach Washijō hated most every year.
When Shiratorizawa appeared in the preparation hall, the voices inside suddenly stopped, as if someone had pressed mute. Everyone was observing Shiratorizawa. Of course, some people were also too intimidated by that so-called aura of strength to speak.
"Yo, long time no see."
...
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