Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 448: Love for Volleyball (Double-Length)

Shizuoka and Aichi prefectures bordered one another, but compared to Aichi—home to two powerful V1 league teams, DH and the Nagoya Wolves—Shizuoka's volleyball development lagged a little behind. Their two professional volleyball clubs, the Shizuoka Leopards and Kiniro Sports Jumpers, competed in the V2 and V3 leagues, respectively.

And today, the team arriving at the DH Club for a practice match was none other than the V3 league's Kiniro Sports Jumpers.

"Never thought I'd run into Taichi again this soon. Feels kinda surreal."

"Oh? You've played against him before in high school?"

"Uh…not in an official match, but we did have a practice match against Aoba Johsai once."

"I see. He's a tricky guy to deal with, isn't he?"

"Yeah. His skills were still pretty raw at the time, but he had freakishly quick reflexes and improved at an incredible rate. It was obvious from the get-go that he had serious potential," Nakashima Takeru said, pausing for a moment. "Even though I had a hunch back then that he'd become something special…I never imagined he'd become strong enough to leap straight from his second year of high school into the pros—much less the V1 League."

"Wait, raw skills? That must've been when he'd just started high school, right?" Ōhira Reon asked, startled.

"Yeah. It was only two years ago, but it feels like forever now." Nakashima let out a laugh.

Ōhira nodded in agreement. If Nakashima hadn't brought it up, he might've forgotten that Kaedehara Taichi even had a brief 'rookie' phase. He'd faced off against Taichi so many times, all he could remember was how difficult he was to deal with.

That's right—as Taichi had guessed, the newly added players in the Kiniro Club were none other than his old acquaintances: Nakashima Takeru from Wakutani Minami, and Ōhira Reon from Shiratorizawa.

"Speaking of that practice match, Taichi actually got subbed out after a mistake," Nakashima said with a laugh.

Back then, Taichi had been a rookie middle blocker at Aoba Johsai, while Nakashima was the ace of Wakunan. And now, Taichi was the ace of a V1 team, while Nakashima had become the libero for a V3 club.

"Taichi…making a mistake…those two words don't even go together anymore," Ōhira remarked with a sigh.

"Man, I'm jealous. I never got the chance to play against Kaedehara Taichi in high school," said Ogano Daiki. "The first time I even heard about him was when one of my juniors made the youth team training camp alongside him."

"Jealous, huh…" Ōhira gave a wry smile. "You probably won't feel that way after this match."

"Huh?" Ogano blinked. "Isn't he your junior? Why are you talking like he's terrifying?"

"Don't look at me, I only played him in that one practice match," Nakashima said. "He probably doesn't even remember me now…"

"Eh, whatever," Ogano shrugged. He'd find out for himself soon enough.

"By the way, you're all from Miyagi, right? And you never met in an official match?"

"…" Nakashima gave Ōhira a reproachful look at Ogano's question.

"Hehe, Wakunan got eliminated by us in the Inter-High qualifiers," Ōhira said with a grin.

"Oh yeah, Shiratorizawa still had Ushijima Wakatoshi then…" Ogano glanced sympathetically at Nakashima. "What about Spring High?"

"Karasuno," Nakashima replied flatly.

"Ah, that freak duo!" Ogano snapped his fingers. "They were insanely strong, but it always seemed like they had trouble making it to nationals. You Miyagi folks are kinda scary."

"You know Karasuno?" Nakashima and Ōhira were both a bit surprised.

Karasuno had only made nationals at Spring High last year. Ogano should've graduated long before that.

"Oh, we all trained together at Fukurōdani's joint training camp over summer," Ogano explained. "Once you've met Hinata and Kageyama, you never forget them."

"That's true," the other two agreed readily.

Ogano Daiki—former captain of Shinzen High in Saitama. Though honestly, it was his wild brown "Broccoli" hairstyle that left the strongest impression. The "Broccoli #2" that Kaedehara Taichi and Kageyama Tobio had met during the youth camp, Chigaya Eikichi, was Ogano's underclassman.

Though the V3 league was still part of the professional system like V1 and V2, it received far less attention. In fact, even the prestigious Black Eagle Cup only allowed the top 8 V1 teams, top 4 V2 teams, and top 4 college teams to participate.

As a result, teams in the V3 league often had lower name recognition than university squads. That was also why Taichi had no idea who was on Kiniro's current roster.

Still, there was a promotion-relegation system between V3 and V2, and between V2 and V1. Teams that finished in the top 3 of the regular season and won the playoffs were eligible to move up, while the lowest-ranked teams faced relegation.

Last year, after adding Nakashima, Ogano, and Ōhira, Kiniro had finished fourth in the regular season and ended up as playoff runners-up. This year, they were aiming for promotion to the V2 League with renewed determination.

-----

"Nakashima-senpai! Ōhira-senpai!"

Kaedehara Taichi recognised his old high school opponents the instant he saw them.

Nakashima let out a quiet sigh of relief. He'd told the others that Taichi probably wouldn't remember him, but deep down, he'd been hoping otherwise.

Taichi, meanwhile, felt strangely nostalgic. Even though they were all professionals now, it didn't feel that different from high school. Japan really was a small place...

"Hello, Taichi. I've heard a lot about you," Ogano Daiki greeted him with his usual casual friendliness.

"And you are?"

"I'm Ogano Daiki, formerly of Shinzen High. My junior, Chigaya Eikichi, said you looked after him during the youth training camp."

"Ah! Broccoli-senpai!" Taichi said, suddenly realising why Ogano had felt so familiar.

"Pfft—" Nakashima and Ōhira couldn't help laughing.

Ogano didn't mind at all. He'd been called that by so many people already. It was only back in high school that he used to get into arguments over it.

"Ogano! Didn't expect to see you here," Iizuna Tsukasa arrived, having just changed into his uniform and come from the locker room.

"Iizuna," Ogano replied, sounding a bit awkward. He hadn't expected the guy to still remember him.

Back in his second year, Shinzen High had qualified for nationals as Saitama's representative. But on the first day of the national tournament, they'd been matched against Tokyo's top seed: Inarizaki Academy.

Shinzen had been utterly crushed.

"Shinzen had excellent teamwork, and among the attackers, your performance really stood out," Iizuna said with a warm smile.

"…Thanks."

Watching the Broccoli-headed Ogano squirm a little, Taichi suddenly had a thought.

"Iizuna-senpai…don't tell me you remember every player you've ever gone up against?" he asked quietly.

"I haven't really thought about it that way," Iizuna replied slowly, "but I do try to remember all the strong opponents I've faced."

"Just to ask…what's your standard for someone being a 'strong opponent'?"

"Hmm…" Iizuna furrowed his brow, but quickly relaxed. "Everyone's strong!"

Taichi: "…I knew it."

After meeting so many setters who were arrogant, obnoxious, manipulative, calculating, selfish, or just plain shameless, Taichi hadn't expected someone this honest and warm to exist at that position.

"What's wrong, Taichi?" Iizuna asked.

"Nothing…" Taichi smiled. If he's like this, then I guess it's fine if I'm a bit selfish sometimes too.

After exchanging brief pleasantries, the players from both teams began their warm-ups.

Although there were significantly fewer spectators for this match compared to last week's friendly against Nagoya University, it was clear that DH was treating this game with much more seriousness. After all, a team that had climbed from V3 to V2 usually possessed strength comparable to mid-tier teams in the V2 League.

This was a test between professionals.

[Ogano Daiki—Outside Hitter:Height: 195 cm

Serve: 88 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 85 | Set: 82 | Spike: 90| Block: 86

Spike Reach: 350 cm /Block Reach: 325 cm.]

He must've honed his skills for a year in the pros to reach this level. In addition to his physical advantages, his technique was remarkably well-rounded. Kaedehara Taichi genuinely felt that Ogano Daiki had a promising future.

[Ōhira Reon—Opposite Hitter:Height: 184 cm

Serve: 85 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 85 | Set: 88 | Spike: 82| Block: 80

Spike Reach: 342 cm /Block Reach: 315 cm.]

Another support-type opposite hitter—Taichi wasn't particularly surprised. After all, some hints of this could already be seen back during high school tournaments.

[Nakashima Takeru—Libero:Height: 174 cm

Serve: 80 | Receive: 90 | Dig: 88 | Set: 86 | Spike: 86| Block: 65.]

When he saw Nakashima Takeru switch into the libero uniform, Kaedehara Taichi still felt a bit unsettled. He used to be the ace of Miyagi Prefecture, second only to Ushijima Wakatoshi. And in the end, he had to compromise because of his height.

Kaedehara Taichi believed that for someone like Nakashima Takeru—who had always aspired to surpass the Little Giant and continually refined his playstyle—giving up his position as a wing spiker to become a libero must not have been an easy decision.

What he'd gone through probably couldn't be summed up by the word "effort" alone—it must have been pain and struggle.

But in the end, Nakashima Takeru still stood on the professional court. Even though his role had changed, he still held tightly to his love for volleyball.

"What? That libero from Kiniro used to be an even better spiker than you?" Kubo Wataru looked genuinely stunned.

"Uncle Kubo, you're being way too dramatic," Kaedehara Taichi rolled his eyes.

"Hehe." Kubo Wataru tucked away his shock with a grin. "But now that you've said it, I really admire him."

"At the very least, he was a formidable ace all the way through to high school, right?"

"Yeah, so it does feel a bit regrettable," Taichi admitted. "But not everyone can be like Hoshiumi-senpai."

"But he's in no way inferior to Hoshiumi," Iizuna Tsukasa added. "Being able to stand on the court as a libero is no simple feat."

"Haha, Taichi, did you hear that?" Kubo Wataru waggled his eyebrows teasingly. "A libero isn't just a position for people who aren't tall enough."

"I never said that," Kaedehara Taichi mumbled. Though, deep down, he realised his words had indeed been somewhat insensitive.

Being a libero—this was the path Nakashima Takeru carved out for himself in volleyball. It wasn't a compromise—it was proof that he never gave in.

-----

"Tweet—!"

Warm-ups ended. The match began.

"Let's have a good game!"

Kiniro's starting lineup:

Front row—Middle Blocker Akiyama Kazuhiko, Setter Kobayashi Takuya, Outside Hitter Ogano Daiki.

Back row—Outside Hitter Kitamura Yūichi, Opposite Hitter Ōhira Reon, Middle Blocker Kikuchi Rinnosuke (Libero: Nakashima Takeru).

DH's starting lineup:

Front row—Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi, Setter Iizuna Tsukasa, Middle Blocker Tom Wilde.

Back row—Middle Blocker Nitta Asahiro (Libero: Kubo Wataru), Opposite Hitter Yoshii Hiyu, Outside Hitter Kitajima Kippei.

This was Kaedehara Taichi's first full starting match since joining DH Club, and the player rotations were still in the experimental phase.

DH served first—Kitajima Kippei jumped and unleashed a powerful serve.

BOOM!!

Smack!

Libero Nakashima Takeru received it effortlessly—a perfect first touch.

"Nice receive!" Kobayashi Takuya called out enthusiastically.

Kiniro's front row middle blocker Akiyama Kazuhiko and wing spiker Ogano Daiki both launched into a synchronised attack.

Whoosh—!

The ball flew toward the left wing.

Compared to the 202 cm Wilde on DH's right front, the baby-faced Kaedehara Taichi seemed much easier to deal with—or at least, that's what Kobayashi thought.

Iizuna Tsukasa read the path of the set but didn't jump up to block with Taichi.

For a player like Taichi—who focused heavily on clean blocks—it was often more effective not to crowd him by jumping simultaneously.

BOOM!!—

—Smack!

Kubo Wataru had already moved into the ball's projected trajectory, but—

Thud!

Kaedehara Taichi blocked the spike mid-air, sending the ball straight back to Kiniro's court.

Point for DH.

[DH 1 - 0 Kiniro]

"We got completely read…"

Akiyama Kazuhiko's spike was fast—but Kaedehara Taichi's arm swing was even faster!

"It's like running into a moving wall," Akiyama thought. "No, wait—technically, I have the height advantage…"

But Kaedehara Taichi paid no attention to the opponent's gaze. What he noticed instead were the two Kiniro back row players already moving up to cover.

"Even blocks…might still get picked up?"

DH served again. Kitajima Kippei sent out his second serve.

Though Kitajima's serve lacked speed and power, it excelled in precision. This time, the ball flew to the far left back corner—away from the libero.

Smack!

Kitamura Yūichi received the ball.

Kobayashi moved into position and once again sent the ball to the left wing. Akiyama Kazuhiko leapt to spike.

"At the very least, I need to understand their blocking habits."

Kaedehara Taichi jumped to block once more.

This time, Akiyama slowed his swing and focused intently. He quickly noticed that Taichi's eyes were locked directly onto him.

"There's no room to spike…"

Even though it was a single blocker, Akiyama could feel all the space in front of him closing in.

"This is ridiculous."

Tap!

Akiyama feinted the ball gently over the net toward DH's back row.

"Chance ball!" Kubo Wataru called out, easily receiving the tip with a perfect pass.

Iizuna Tsukasa jumped to set. Kaedehara Taichi and Tom Wilde charged in from opposite sides.

Akiyama braced himself for the block.

Just as Iizuna's fingers were about to release the ball, it suddenly twisted direction mid-air—

Boom!—

Thud!

Before anyone could react, Iizuna Tsukasa scored with a setter dump!

[DH 2 - 0 Kiniro]

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