Kyotani Kentarou.
A second-year player on Aoba Johsai's volleyball team.
Due to his difficult personality, he once clashed with the third-years during his first year and hadn't returned to practice with the team since.
But that didn't mean Kentarou hated volleyball, far from it. It was precisely because he loved the sport so deeply that he had fought with the seniors back then.
After all, before Oikawa Tooru joined, the environment in Aoba Johsai's volleyball club wasn't exactly ideal.
Even after leaving the team, Kentarou never gave up on volleyball. He simply found other places to continue his training, sometimes with the girls' team, other times at public courts.
Back in Junior High, Akashi Asuka had a brief encounter with Kentarou.
Not long ago, Kentarou returned to the club. After a quick assessment by Coach Nobuteru Irihata, who confirmed that Kentarou's skills had actually improved over the past year rather than declined, he was added to the team roster for Nationals.
Of course…
This was only possible because Aoba Johsai didn't have a full twelve-player lineup to begin with. According to regulations, each team can have up to twelve members during official matches. But in reality, many high school teams don't even have enough players to reach that number.
Aoba Johsai was no exception. Their main lineup, including newcomers like Akashi Asuka and Ryuhei Sanashita, barely reached ten players. Even with Kentarou added, they were still short of a full roster and had to call someone up from the second-string team just to fill in.
Had the roster already been full, then no matter how skilled Kentarou was, Coach Irihata wouldn't have been able to include him.
After all, Kentarou hadn't even participated in the qualifiers. Giving him someone else's spot would've been plainly unfair.
Still, even with Kentarou now on the team, Coach Irihata only considered him a backup, a wildcard.
He never expected this troublemaker to be of any actual use during Nationals. Even if Kentarou had gotten stronger, his lack of chemistry with the team, and his explosive temperament, made using him a double-edged sword.
The original plan was simple: Kentarou had talent, and as a second-year, he would become a valuable addition to the team after Oikawa and the third-years graduated. Bringing him along to Nationals was just to let him experience the atmosphere early.
But now, facing Kotaro Bokuto, who was about to take off in full momentum, Coach Irihata had no choice but to gamble.
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"Wait, Coach is really going to let him play?!"
Kentarou, having just been called by the coach, hadn't even reacted yet, but the rest of the team was already stunned.
Most of the players hadn't spent more than a few days around him, but they'd already learned to keep their distance from this 'little mad dog.'
Coach Irihata nodded. "Yes. The team needs Kentarou's power right now."
He turned toward Kentarou, whose eyes were beginning to burn with anticipation. "Kentarou, I've heard you've developed a pretty decent serve lately, haven't you?"
Kentarou glanced instinctively at Akashi Asuka, not far away, and responded, "That's right!"
"Good. Get ready to sub in for Iwaizumi... Oikawa, Akashi, I'll be counting on you two to keep Kentarou in check out there."
Oikawa raised his hand with a cheeky gesture. "No problem! Looking forward to working with you, little mad dog~"
Kentarou scowled. "Don't call me that! (▼へ▼メ)"
Oikawa chuckled. "Ara ara, don't be so grumpy~ We're teammates now, you know! C'mon, shake hands first!"
Kentarou: "Get lost! (〝▼皿▼)"
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The match resumed.
Fukurodani's players were momentarily surprised when Kentarou subbed in for Iwaizumi, but that was it. They didn't react much beyond that.
It wasn't that they were unshaken. They just didn't know much about Aoba Johsai to begin with. Honestly, even at this point in the game, some of them probably couldn't remember the names of the starting players, let alone the subs.
It was Kentarou's first appearance on the Nationals stage, and he was visibly tense, but his eager eyes betrayed a deeper feeling than nervousness: excitement.
"Uh... is this guy really going to be okay?" someone from Aoba Johsai muttered nervously from the bench.
"He should be fine... I mean, this is Nationals. Even he wouldn't do anything crazy... probably."
"Let's hope Oikawa-senpai and Akashi-kun can keep him under control."
Beep!
The whistle blew.
The ball came flying from Fukurodani's side toward Aoba Johsai's backcourt. Shinji Watari received it cleanly and passed it to Oikawa.
"Asuka-chan!"
Oikawa called out and set the ball high over Akashi Asuka's head.
Asuka charged forward for the spike, but suddenly, something unexpected happened.
From another direction, Kentarou also dashed toward the ball, clearly trying to steal the set.
"You've got to be kidding!"
"Is that little maniac serious?! This is Nationals, what the hell is he doing?!"
"I knew Coach shouldn't have let him on the court..."
The sudden move shocked both the bench and the players on court.
Stealing a set is dangerous in volleyball.
Not only can it disrupt team coordination, it also increases the risk of mid-air collisions, potentially leading to injury.
So when everyone saw Kentarou charging in, their faces collectively went pale.
But just as it looked like he was about to take the ball...
Kentarou stopped. Abruptly. As if hitting the brakes at full speed, he halted just at the three-meter line.
"Phew... thank god. At least he has some common sense."
Some sighed in relief, assuming he had come to his senses at the last moment.
But only a few noticed the truth.
Kentarou didn't stop because he realized his mistake.
He stopped because someone froze him in place.
"Ugh... That was terrifying!"
Oikawa, who was closest to the scene, saw it most clearly.
It wasn't Kentarou's willpower that stopped him, it was Akashi Asuka.
In that instant, Akashi had unleashed a terrifying pressure, freezing Kentarou in his tracks.
They didn't exchange a single word.
But in that moment, the sheer presence radiating from Akashi made it perfectly clear to Kentarou:
[That ball is mine. No one touches it.]
Come to think of it…
Oikawa realized this wasn't the first time he'd seen this side of Akashi.
No.
It was the second, and he remembered being just as scared the first time.
Glancing at the pale-faced, sweat-drenched Kentarou, Oikawa sighed to himself.
"Sigh... Oh, little mad dog... What were you thinking about picking a fight with him? An ace's 'absolute pride'... is not something you challen
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