NOVEL WEB Chapter 12: Chapter 12 - First Set
Aoba Johsai High School, Third Gymnasium.
Under the bright lights, the Seijoh players in matching blue T-shirts ran, set, and spiked in orderly warm-up drills.
"Wow... they're so tall... both the gym and the players..."
Hinata Shouyou, who had just returned from the restroom, looked pale and trembled uncontrollably.
At only 160cm tall, he stood out like a child lost among adults.
Sawamura Daichi led the Karasuno team in exchanging greetings with Seijoh. Both sides changed into practice jerseys for final preparations.
Kikuzawa Yuma stretched by the court, frequently glancing at the noisy Karasuno players across the net, excitement practically bubbling from his eyes.
The original protagonists! Hinata Shouyou! Kageyama Tobio!
So exciting! The story characters are right in front of me!
He pulled up their stat screens:
[Hinata Shouyou, 16 years old, 162.8cm, 51.9kg, Jump Reach: 333cm, Power: 36, Speed: 94, Stamina: 96, Intelligence: 30, Spiking: 65, Setting: 55, Serving: 45, Blocking: 63, Receiving: 50]
Incredible speed! 96 stamina?! The highest he'd seen among peers. No wonder he's the protagonist - probably never gets tired. A stamina-deficient guy like me could never...
[Kageyama Tobio, 16 years old, 180.6cm, 66.3kg, Jump Reach: 337cm, Power: 88, Speed: 88, Stamina: 90, Intelligence: 93, Spiking: 80, Setting: 95, Serving: 91, Blocking: 86, Receiving: 82]
Four stats over 90?! No weaknesses - a perfect all-rounder. Even better at setting than Yuuki. No wonder Oikawa acknowledged him as a genius setter.
Overcome with excitement, Yuma gave Yuuki a playful punch.
"Yuuki! See that grumpy-looking guy? His sets are better than yours!"
Yuuki rubbed his head and quietly distanced himself from his occasionally crazy brother.
"Beeep—!"
"Teams to positions! Practice match between Karasuno High and Aoba Johsai High begins now!"
"Please go easy on us!" ×N
Lineups:
Matsukawa Issei Kikuzawa Yuuki Iwaizumi Hajime
Hanamaki Takahiro Kikuzawa Yuma Kindaichi
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Tanaka Ryuunosuke Sawamura Daichi Hinata Shouyou
Kageyama Tobio Tsukishima Kei Ennoshita Chikara
Kindaichi eyed Hinata: "That shrimp's really a middle blocker?"
Yuma wagged a finger: "Don't underestimate opponents, Kindaichi. You'll regret it."
Sawamura desperately tried calming Hinata: "Hey! Get it together! Just breathe!"
Hinata, drenched in sweat: "Y-yes! I'll try!"
"Beeep—!"
The referee's whistle signaled the first serve from Seijoh's Matsukawa - a standard overhand serve.
"I got it!"
Sawamura positioned himself, but Hinata suddenly dashed in front, completely whiffing the receive.
Kageyama's shark teeth appeared: "Dumbass Hinata! That wasn't your ball!"
Hinata panicked: "Sorry—!"
Luckily Ennoshita saved the stray ball, setting up Tanaka for an attack. But Karasuno's messy offense was easily read - Seijoh's triple block shut Tanaka down.
"Beeep—"
Seijoh 1 : Karasuno 0
Kindaichi smirked: "First point secured."
Hinata's voice shook: "I'm so sorry! Really sorry—!"
Everyone could see the tiny middle blocker was completely overwhelmed.
Hinata's mistakes piled up - accidentally blocking Tanaka, tripping into Kageyama, even colliding with the referee...
Before Yuma could even try, the score reached Seijoh 24 : Karasuno 8.
At match point with Hinata serving:
Kageyama thought: Of all times?!
"Relax, Hinata!"
"Is he even breathing?"
"How should I know?!"
Tension filled the air - Karasuno worried about Hinata, Seijoh affected by their panic.
Trembling, Hinata approached the service line. As he tossed the ball, the referee's sudden whistle startled him - the serve went disastrously low.
What followed would be remembered forever.
The ball sailed merrily forward... directly smacking into the back of Kageyama's head with a satisfying thunk.
Good sound? Then it's a good hit.
Yuma swore he saw flames erupt behind Kageyama.
"Beeep—!"
Seijoh 25 : Karasuno 8. First set over.
Three seconds of stunned silence, then uproarious laughter from Karasuno's side.
Tanaka: "Pfft— Your head okay?"
Tsukishima: "Nice receive with your skull!"
Sugawara: "Stop adding fuel to the fire!"
Kageyama's face darkened as he slowly, ominously advanced on Hinata, backing him against the wall...
"K-Kageyama...! L-let's talk about this... Aah—!"
Kageyama loomed like a thundercloud.
"Tell me..."
His expression was terrifying.
"What were you so scared of? Their height? First practice match?"
He slowly raised his left hand to his throbbing head.
"What could possibly be scarier..."
"...than serving into my skull?"
Iwaizumi: "Should we intervene? They might actually fight."
Matsukawa: "That setter looks murderous."
Yuma: Iconic scene!
Yuuki: Can we just play?
After switching sides, a thoroughly scolded Hinata knelt before Tanaka.
"Hey Shouyou, you think you need to play like everyone else? How arrogant."
"I...I didn't want to get benched..."
"Don't insult us! We all know you suck! Listen - in volleyball, everyone on this side is your teammate!
Suck all you want! Be a nuisance! Drag us down! We'll pick you up - that's what teammates do! What senpai are for!"
Hinata: "Ooooh—!!"
After this "pep talk," the little sun regained his spark.
While Karasuno evolved, Seijoh grew bored.
Yuuki grabbed Yuma's arm: "Why did you use a basic serve? Holding back?"
"Yeah. My full power would end this too fast. No fun."
"I'm telling Mom you're sandbagging."
"Pfft—" Yuma spat out his water, glaring at his traitorous brother. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Beeep—!"
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