"Huff… huff…"
"So strong… Every one of them is terrifying."
Standing on the court, Hinata Shoyo was drenched in sweat, panting hard, and watching droplets fall from his chin to the floor.
On the other side of the net, the ace of Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza wore a slightly conflicted expression as he watched Hinata.
"Miwa… this is your brother's teammate? He's the one who helped beat Wakatoshi Ushijima in the high school qualifiers?"
That's right.
Even the players from Esperanza had heard of Wakatoshi Ushijima, unlike Akashi Asuka or Oikawa Tooru, who had only recently gained national attention during the first half of the year, Ushijima had long been known as one of the top high school players in Japan. A powerful left-handed cannon, he was already being hailed as the No.1 ace in the country.
Within the pro circuit, it was common knowledge: Countless teams had tried to recruit Ushijima before he even graduated.
One of the reasons the Esperanza players had agreed to Miwa Oda's invitation to train here in the first place was because they'd heard that her younger brother's team had defeated Shiratorizawa this year.
So initially, they hadn't planned to train against Aoba Johsai.
They had come to scrimmage Karasuno, the team that had taken down Shiratorizawa.
In their minds, Karasuno defeating Aoba Johsai afterward was supposed to be a given.
But to their surprise, when they arrived in Sendai, they learned that Karasuno had lost to Aoba Johsai.
Fortunately, Aoba Johsai had proven themselves to be worthy sparring partners after all, especially Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru, whose unexpected strength had been a pleasant surprise.
But when it came to Hinata Shoyo from Karasuno…
Well, it was hard to say.
Was he weak?
Not quite.
This pint-sized player occasionally exuded such intense presence that he didn't feel like a pushover at all.
But was he strong?
Also… not quite.
Compared to Esperanza's pros, or even Aoba Johsai's average players, Hinata's technical fundamentals were glaringly underdeveloped.
Aside from his spikes, his overall skill set was rough, almost like a total beginner.
"Ah, well, actually, Karasuno's strongest weapon is a first-year duo," Miwa Oda quickly explained, scratching her head awkwardly.
"But the other one isn't here today. He was invited to the Youth Training Camp, so without him, Hinata's performance is pretty limited."
But that explanation didn't convince the Esperanza players.
"So you're saying he can't perform unless that one guy is around? Come on, that just means he's not that good in the first place."
"A truly strong player should be great no matter who they're paired with. If what you say is true, then the real talent in that duo isn't this little guy, it's the other one."
The comment was cold, harsh enough to make Hinata's expression freeze.
Aoba Johsai's players heard it too. But none of them stepped in to argue.
After all, the match they'd just seen made everything pretty clear.
Oikawa Tooru was a top-tier setter, capable of drawing out a player's full potential.
But even with Oikawa feeding him perfect sets, Hinata's performance had only been decent.
Compared to what he'd shown in the qualifier finals, it was a big drop in quality.
Which could only mean one thing: Hinata's true skill ceiling wasn't all that high, and the real key to Karasuno's feared "Monster Quick Attack" had always been Kageyama Tobio.
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"Hey, Yamada, that's enough," one of Esperanza's teammates stepped in, realizing the comments might have gone too far.
They were pros, after all.
Even if they weren't trying to be cruel, they were still adults going head-to-head with a high school kid. It wasn't a good look to be this blunt.
Hinata's face darkened, a storm of doubt clouding his usually bright expression.
Hajime Iwaizumi saw this and instinctively took a step forward, ready to offer some comfort.
But before he could move, two arms suddenly blocked his path.
He turned and saw that the people stopping him were none other than Oikawa Tooru and Akashi Asuka.
"This was his choice," Oikawa said flatly.
"If this little guy had the guts to step onto the court against pros, that means he was mentally prepared for this."
"Evolution is never easy," Akashi added.
"If Karasuno's #10 can be crushed this easily, then that's all he's worth.
Having a great setter is a blessing, but it can also become a crutch.
Being away from Kageyama for a while… might be the best thing that could happen to him."
Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow.
"Wow. You two actually agree on something for once. So you're both betting on this kid's future, huh?"
Oikawa cracked a sly, villainous grin.
"This little guy's got scary potential. If I were still a second-year, I might not care. But I'm in my third year now, after Nationals, I graduate."
Akashi gave him a sidelong glance.
"Having no rivals is boring. Maybe someday, someone will appear who can surpass Oikawa-senpai, but I doubt anyone will outshine Kageyama Tobio. Instead of waiting for some mysterious future prodigy to appear, I might as well cultivate a few fun rivals myself. That way, things won't get too dull later on."
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at Oikawa.
He didn't even want to dignify that scheming bastard with a reply.
Then he turned to Akashi, genuinely surprised by the confidence radiating from him.
"You're not worried this kid might get too strong someday and turn the tables on you?"
Akashi smiled faintly.
"The future's exciting because it's unpredictable. If the outcome was set in stone, it wouldn't be fun at all."
Lately, Akashi had noticed a subtle shift in his mindset, especially after another recent breakthrough in his stats.
He was starting to feel something new…
Loneliness.
Once this year's seniors like Oikawa, Ushijima, and Kotaro Bokuto graduated,
Akashi would step into his second year even stronger than before, but with fewer rivals left.
High school volleyball wasn't like the pros.
In the professional leagues, victories meant honor and profit, so the more wins, the better.
But high school was different.
Being a constant champion was great, but if you had no rivals the entire time?
It'd be meaningless.
That's why Akashi had agreed to let Hinata Shoyo temporarily join their team for this match against the pros.
Because if Hinata could evolve faster, then maybe someday, he and Kageyama could become truly worthy opponents.
Akashi quietly thought to himself: "Maybe I should just graduate early?…No, I guess that wouldn't work. I probably won't be staying in this place much longer anyway…"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria