NOVPUB"There's no need to stick us in the same room just to 'build chemistry,' right?!"
For this week-long training camp, the Volleyball Association had arranged four-person dormitories inside the gymnasium.
For some reason unknown to anyone, Kaedehara Taichi, Nakamori Dai, Sakusa Kiyoomi, and Komori Motoya had all been placed in the same room.
"Haha, sorry, Omi-kun does have a bit of a cleanliness obsession," Komori said, pressing his palms together apologetically, his thick eyebrows bouncing with amusement.
Nakamori couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"A bit?! It's been twenty minutes already! He's still in there disinfecting the place! And isn't he spraying way too much cleaning solution?! The entire hallway reeks!"
Taichi had also retreated to a corner, holding his nose. He had thought not having to clean would make things easier—clearly, he had underestimated the situation.
"Don't be mad, Daiki-chan. He should be almost done," Komori said cheerfully. "I'll treat you to a burger tomorrow. I know all the good spots around here!"
"Oi. You two from Aoba Johsai."
Just then, a face in a surgical mask poked out of the dormitory.
Sakusa Kiyoomi shot a wary look at Taichi and Nakamori. "You guys got your flu shots, right? …If you haven't, I'm not letting you in."
Taichi: "…"
Honestly, more than a flu shot, what I really want to do is punch you, Sakusa-senpai.
-----
"Practice with me."
On the fourth evening of camp, someone unexpected stepped in front of Kaedehara Taichi.
"Heh. Is that really the tone you use when asking for a favour?" Taichi raised his chin, a teasing smirk on his face.
Sarukui Fūto froze. There were tons of strong players at this training camp—he didn't have to ask Taichi.
But...he didn't stand out much among the crowd, and he wasn't familiar with most of the others.
According to Akaashi-senpai, Kaedehara Taichi was supposedly a good guy at heart—someone who wouldn't mind teaching a few things.
"P-Please practice with me," Sarukui said, bowing slightly and lowering his voice.
"No 'senpai'?" Taichi narrowed his eyes.
"Taichi-senpai, please practice with me!" Sarukui blurted, looking like he'd steeled himself for death.
When no response came, he finally looked up—and found Taichi pointing a phone at him, grinning as he took a photo.
"Damn it!" Sarukui turned and stormed off without hesitation. "I'd rather die than be humiliated!"
"Don't go, I was just joking. I'll practice with you," Taichi said as he put away his phone, looking suddenly dignified.
"But it's not just you—I've got a few other people lining up too." He started walking off to the side. "Man, being popular is such a hassle."
After a short internal struggle, Sarukui followed him.
"Kageyama, come help me toss."
"Got it!"
"Kunimi, you coming?"
"No."
Kunimi Akira declined without hesitation.
For some reason, he kept getting grouped with Kageyama Tobio these past few days, and it made his whole body itch with discomfort. And as if that wasn't enough, his roommates were Miya Atsumu, Miya Osamu, and Kageyama. There wasn't a single normal person in the room.
"Is this some kind of divine punishment?" Kunimi thought bitterly. His expression darkened noticeably.
"…Tch. If you're not coming, don't come. No need to look so terrifying about it," Taichi muttered, already looking for the next target.
-----
"Taichi, aren't you going to spike?" Kageyama asked from across the net.
Taichi blinked. "I never said I was going to spike."
Kageyama: "…"
He'd only agreed to toss because he thought Taichi would be hitting. But now he was stuck setting for this first-year from Fukurodani?
"Just help the kid out for now. I still have to block with these two," Taichi said, gesturing toward the others.
"Thanks for your help, Kageyama-senpai," Sarukui said politely—his manners clearly the result of frequent praise from Akaashi-senpai and Kozume-senpai.
"No problem," Kageyama replied stiffly.
Well, it was still training. He could wait a bit longer.
"Let's start with a high ball," Kageyama suggested.
They'd paired up during group drills before, but Kageyama hadn't paid much attention to Sarukui's specifics—he hadn't been setting for him directly.
"Okay."
Sarukui tossed the ball and sprinted down the left sideline.
Kageyama twisted his body into the optimal setting posture, knees bent, hands forming a rounded bowl as he stepped forward to meet the ball.
At the moment of contact, he absorbed the force with his wrists and fingers, then released the ball in a clean, sharp motion—fast, fluid, and without hesitation.
"…Perfect." Shirakawa Kaito, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but widen his eyes. Every subtle movement Kageyama made showcased his elite technique and incredible control.
"It's like a work of art," Shirakawa thought. He'd never imagined someone could make an ordinary set look like this.
Whoosh!—
The ball soared in a straight line toward the front left of the net.
Thud!
Sarukui jumped. It was hard to describe this sensation—it felt like the ball had been placed in the air, just waiting for him to strike.
"Triple block!" Hyakuzawa Yūdai, Kaedehara Taichi, and Kai Suzuharu all leapt at once.
In that instant, Sarukui felt like he could see the blockers with complete clarity. Everything around him seemed to slow down—he had more time to process his approach and find a way through.
"So intimidating…"
Taichi-senpai's block height was on par with Hyakuzawa, who stood a full two meters tall. The straight and middle lanes were sealed off completely.
On the far right was Kai from Inubushi-Higashi, a first-year whose positioning was spot-on. But there looked to be a gap down the cross line…no, that was bait! His arm wasn't fully tensed!
It was the first time Sarukui had ever seen a block so clearly right in front of him.
"—!?"
Tap, tap, tap…
The ball hit the ground. From the sidelines, it looked like Sarukui had been overwhelmed and couldn't find space to swing.
"Ah…I forgot to spike," Sarukui muttered, hiding his face in embarrassment.
"Sorry—!" Once the shame had passed, he turned to Kageyama and shouted an earnest apology. Wasting a perfect toss like that…even he knew how unforgivable that was.
…Not to mention, that senpai didn't exactly look like the easygoing type either.
"It's not even a real match. Hurry up and get ready for the next ball."
Though Kageyama Tobio's face remained expressionless, he somehow didn't seem angry.
If Hinata Shōyō had been here, he would've definitely widened his eyes in disbelief—Kageyama Tobio being this reasonable? That was already borderline unfathomable.
"Again," Kaedehara Taichi said. "Hyakuzawa, your timing on that jump was pretty good. Compared to the prefectural qualifiers, you've definitely improved."
"Thank you! I've been doing solo training with Hakuba-senpai these past few days. He taught me a lot of details about how to respond to spikes," Hyakuzawa Yūdai replied.
"Really now? I didn't think Hakuba-senpai had that side to him."
Sarukui Fūto tossed up the second ball.
Kageyama Tobio, as precise as ever, once again delivered a perfectly stable set.
"So that last ball really wasn't a fluke?" Sarukui thought as he leapt up for the spike, unable to help but envy Kageyama Tobio's teammates.
"Three-man block!"
Boom!!
Smack!
The ball struck Hyakuzawa Yūdai's arm and flew straight out of bounds.
A clean touch-out—a beautiful point that proved Sarukui Fūto remained a legitimate threat, even when facing a towering two-meter block head-on.
Hyakuzawa Yūdai frowned. His exceptional height usually allowed him to maintain an advantage when defending against spikes. Most attackers chose to avoid the block entirely or aimed for a touch-out.
Blocking the path of a spike could be done by increasing the number of blockers or by reading the opponent's play to expand individual coverage. But how did you defend against someone deliberately aiming for a touch-out?
"Hyakuzawa, you have to use your height."
"A block that never changes is the least threatening kind."
"You have to decide when to push over, when to go for a soft block, and when to anticipate and shut it down. You have to move your block."
"Blocking is a direct aerial duel with the attacker. Seeing through the opponent's intentions is the first step to shutting them down."
"Yes!"
-----
The training camp continued steadily, and most of the participating players could feel themselves improving.
Serving, receiving, setting, spiking, blocking, offensive coordination, team synergy—whatever they wanted to learn, it was available to them. That tangible sense of growth and achievement made them forget how exhausting the daily training was, filling them with excitement for what was to come.
They were growing fast—carrying both confidence for the upcoming Japan–U.S. exhibition match and a strong thirst for victory.
Until—
A staff member from the volleyball association walked in with a grim expression, holding a video. It was reportedly footage of the U.S. national team, who had played a practice match against Kyoto University just to get their rhythm back.
Two days before the scheduled match, Hibarida Fuki gathered all the players to watch this game—a game that could only be described as a total humiliation.
The U.S. national team's lineup:
Front row Outside Hitter: Taylor Sander (196cm)
Middle Blocker: Max Holt (205cm)
Opposite Hitter: Matt Anderson (210cm)
Back row Outside Hitter: Ethan Champlin (190cm)
Middle Blocker: David Smith (201cm)
Libero: Erik Shoji (184cm)
Setter: Micah Christenson (196cm)
Just seeing these guys take the court made the high schoolers in the AV room let out the same gasps of disbelief as the university players in the video.
"They're huge…"
Excluding the libero, the rest of the team averaged nearly 198cm in height. Among everyone watching, only Hakuba Gao and Hyakuzawa Yūdai stood taller than that.
The first few rallies of the match were still relatively back and forth.
Kyoto University had no choice but to avoid the block entirely in their offence. In relative terms, the U.S. players weren't especially brilliant at receiving. But thanks to their long limbs, balls that would've normally landed became saveable.
What truly stood out, though, was their setter. Not only was he 196cm tall, his technique was clearly on another level compared to the rest.
Even off-target first touches were instantly converted into stable sets flying cleanly toward the front row. And those front-row attackers? They completely ignored Kyoto University's block, casually hammering the ball down.
Either the ball was received, or—on rare occasions—lightly touched.
"Coach, this team was only just assembled, right?"
After a moment of silence, it was Miya Atsumu who first asked the question.
Hibarida Fuki nodded. "They didn't get a full week of practice like you did. This is their first time playing together."
"Of course, just like all of you, they were probably already familiar with one another before this."
"So they're playing this conservatively because it's their first time together?" Kaedehara Taichi asked.
"Conservatively?!" Chigaya Eikichi couldn't help blurting out in disbelief—Kyoto University was barely clinging on...
"They're clearly holding back," Taichi continued. "Those hitters aren't even jumping at full power. The only one who's seriously adjusting is their setter."
"You three—what do you think?" Hibarida Fuki turned to the team's three setters.
"His sets are getting higher and higher—he's probably testing out his teammates' hitting range," Shirakawa Kaito offered.
"Not just that. They're also getting faster," Kageyama Tobio added, his brows furrowed. "Those sets had some arc at first, but now they're turning into fast, straight-line quick sets."
Kageyama's own sets at Karasuno had been known for their speed and precision. Lacking a go-to ace, Karasuno usually broke through the block thanks to his rapid tempo. Even in multi-attacker formations, he would always deliver the ball with surgical accuracy.
Karasuno's offence was hard to stop—and that was directly related to its speed. So when their tempo was caught up with—whether through blocking or receiving—it became a serious problem.
But Kageyama's playstyle was difficult to replicate. First, setters capable of delivering high-speed, precise sets like his were incredibly rare across all of high school volleyball. And second, the chemistry he shared with his teammates couldn't be built overnight.
So the U.S. team's approach revealed two key things.
First, Micah Christenson's setting ability was on par with, if not greater than, Kageyama Tobio's or Miya Atsumu's.
Second, for the other U.S. attackers, that speed wasn't a 'quick.' It was just their normal tempo.
With bodies like that, their movements didn't seem slow at all. Underestimating them as just big, clunky players would only get you steamrolled.
Around the sixth minute, Kyoto University practically stopped scoring altogether.
Smack!
On the final point, the U.S. team didn't even bother to jump block.
Libero Erik Shoji calmly received the ball—perfect first touch.
"Right side."
Micah Christenson called the play. Matt Anderson sprinted up the right sideline.
Fwoosh—!
This set was surprisingly slow. The ball soared high and long toward the left wing.
Kyoto University's players already looked defeated, but still gave their all, charging toward the net.
"Triple block!"
BOOM!
Matt Anderson leapt.
At 210cm, his shadow engulfed the three blockers on the other side.
BOOM!!!—
A spike over the block.
Or perhaps, it no longer counted as over the block—his entire upper arm was visible above it!
BANG!
The ball slammed into Kyoto's three-meter line and bounced sky-high.
Matt Anderson scored.
[USA National Team 25 – 8 Kyoto University]
Hibarida Fuki switched off the video. There was no point watching the second set. The U.S. team had already revealed everything they needed to in just one.
Absolute height and power.
And that wasn't even them at full strength.
"What do you all think?" Hibarida Fuki asked calmly.
The AV room was so silent, you could probably hear a pin drop.
"…Man, they're amazing, those guys…" Kaedehara Taichi's eyes practically glowed. "This kind of full-body rush of adrenaline…"
"Isn't it obvious?" he added with a grin. "I can't wait to beat them!"
_________
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