The gym was buzzing with noise, but the volleyball court where Akashi Asuka stood was completely silent.
Especially his teammate, Kentaro Kyōtani, who just stood there dumbfounded, mouth agape, unable to say a word.
After a few seconds...
Someone from the Red Team was the first to burst out laughing. Soon, the entire Red Team joined in, filling the court with a lively, cheerful atmosphere.
"Hahaha... Nakazawa, the guy you brought along really has some energy!" Chiba's laugh was the loudest.
Kentaro Kyōtani's face flushed red, a rare sight.
Meanwhile, Nakazawa, the Blue Team's setter who had been addressed by Chiba, looked a little grim, though not angry.
For one, it wasn't exactly dignified for university students to lose their temper over a high schooler.
And two, as a setter, Nakazawa had seen plenty of players with all sorts of personalities. Sure, this kid seemed a bit rough around the edges, but it was within the range of what he could handle.
"Sorry, I just couldn't hold back after not touching the ball for so long." Kyōtani apologized to the Blue Team setter. Seeing that, Nakazawa found it even harder to get mad.
Akashi Asuka smiled quietly at the exchange.
He had some understanding of Kyōtani's personality. Overall, the guy was definitely difficult, but most of the time, he only lost his temper with players who were technically inferior, even if they were seniors.
On the other hand, if the person was skilled, whether teammate or opponent, Kyōtani might be competitive and a bit stubborn, but otherwise manageable.
Since Kyōtani gave away the last point, the Red Team took the first set.
During the break, Chiba handed Asuka a bottle of sports drink.
"Thanks, Chiba-senpai." Asuka said, taking it.
Chiba smiled slightly. He had a good impression of Asuka, or rather, in a multi-sport gym , unless someone's personality was awful, people with good skills tended to get along better with others.
"Hey! Which school are you from? I've never seen you in any official matches." a voice suddenly cut into their casual chat.
Asuka looked up, and sure enough, the only person who could speak with such a rough tone here was Kentaro Kyōtani.
"Sengoku?" Kyōtani blinked. "Where's that? I don't think there's a high school called Sengoku in Miyagi Prefecture."
"Sengoku isn't a high school, it's a junior high. I'm currently a third-year Junior High student."
Before Kyōtani could respond, Chiba and several other Red Team university students burst out laughing.
"Cough cough cough... What? You're a Junior Higher?" Chiba was already coughing tears out from laughing, though he had no time to care at the moment.
If he was shocked by Asuka's skill before, now the whole Red Team looked like they had seen a ghost.
"No way. Absolutely no way. Asuka, this joke isn't funny at all. Don't pull it again." Chiba shook his head frantically.
"I'm not joking. I really am still in Junior High."
At that moment, not only Chiba but even Kyōtani was speechless.
Kyōtani had come here intending to challenge a 'senpai,' but suddenly the 'senpai' became a 'kouhai.' That threw him off completely.
Kyōtani's personality was fearless when it came to challenging stronger opponents or pulling off an upset.
But bullying a Junior Higher? Even the 'mad dog' had some pride!
For a moment, the whole scene became awkward.
Kyōtani didn't know how to respond next, while Chiba and the others were questioning their entire life choices.
"What did I even practice for all three years of high school?"
Recalling his own three years playing volleyball, and then seeing Asuka's skills, Chiba suddenly felt like those years were a complete waste.
People really are incomparable.
The two teams played five sets in total.
Asuka's Red Team won three and lost two.
Part of the reason for the losses was Asuka's experimentation with serves and spikes, which cost some points; otherwise, the score could have been even higher.
Still, Asuka's skills had earned everyone's respect. They exchanged contact info, promised to play again, and then each went their separate ways.
Asuka read a bit and reviewed some high school knowledge.
Since coming to this world, he'd been using his phone much less, but don't get the wrong idea; it wasn't that he quit, just that the electronics in this country left a lot to be desired.
At 9:30 p.m., Asuka went to bed on time.
At Kyōtani's house, freshly showered, he wasn't sleeping yet.
Instead, he sat cross-legged on the tatami, intently watching a volleyball serving tutorial on TV.
As usual, Asuka trained in the morning, focusing on fitness and basic skills.
In any sport, solid physical conditioning and fundamentals form the essential foundation, without which, it's hard to get far.
In the afternoon, he practiced serving.
Since the Sendai City First Multi-Sports Gymnasium was far from home, it wasn't feasible for him to practice there every day due to the time wasted commuting.
He planned to keep playing matches every three to five days, steadily improving according to his training schedule...
Day by day passed quickly.
The final semester of junior high was about to begin.
The day before school started, after a whole summer break with no contact since training camp, Asuka's volleyball club teammates suddenly all sent him friendly messages at once, like they'd agreed to do it together.
And they all asked to borrow his summer homework.
Since there were so many, Asuka took photos of his assignments with his phone and created a special chat group.
Then, a miracle happened.
Though the Sengoku Junior High volleyball club only had seven players total, starters and substitutes, within less than an hour of the group being created, Asuka watched in amazement as the number of people in the chat exploded from seven to one hundred and twenty-three...
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