Aoba Johsai High.
One of the top five private academic high schools in Miyagi Prefecture.
For years now, the school wasn't best known for its volleyball team, or any club, really, but for its exceptionally high university acceptance rate.
That was the true point of pride for people associated with Aoba Johsai.
Most of the students accepted here, unless they came from particularly wealthy families, had fairly strong academic performance.
Even someone like Akashi Asuka's older sister, Akashi Kana, whom their parents often described as "nothing special", was only average by Aoba Johsai's standards. Compared to students at other schools, her academic stats were far from weak.
As for the volleyball team, none of its members were rich kids.
Their family backgrounds and athletic levels were… average. Respectable, but not extraordinary.
Since no one got in through money alone, the club members all had decent grades in class.
But of course,
There are always exceptions.
Just like in a dorm room with seven kids, there's bound to be one or two troublemakers.
In the volleyball team's case, those "problem children" were Oikawa Tooru and Kentarou Kyotani.
Let's talk about Oikawa first.
If you know, you know.
Though Oikawa always seemed to hate Kageyama Tobio, the reality was… in some ways, he was just a bigger version of Kageyama.
Was he dumb?
Absolutely not. In fact, Oikawa was quite sharp, had high emotional intelligence, strong determination, and a firm sense of purpose.
He was a strategist, a thinker, someone with plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
But none of that changed one simple truth:
Oikawa Tooru was a complete academic disaster.
It was ridiculous, honestly.
Even his teachers couldn't figure it out.
Even Iwaizumi, his childhood friend who knew him best, couldn't wrap his head around it.
How could someone as crafty as Oikawa consistently score so poorly?
As for the other problem case, Kyotani Kentarou?
Let's not even go there.
The fact that either of them got into Aoba Johsai at all was purely thanks to being admitted through a special sports recruitment program.
If they had to rely on their academic scores alone, they probably would've ended up at Karasuno.
Karasuno Duo: "Heh~~ What, you think joining Karasuno means you don't have to take final exams?"
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ACHOO! ACHOO!
At Karasuno High School, just after finishing their final exams, both Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyo suddenly sneezed in perfect sync, as if someone, somewhere, was talking about them.
Next to them, Koushi Sugawara couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Hahaha~~ What's this? You two sneeze together now, too? Looks like your bond's gotten real strong, huh?"
Hinata: "…"
Kageyama: "…"
In the past, a comment like that would've instantly sparked a loud argument between the two.
But this time, they didn't even bother responding.
Not because they were ignoring Sugawara, but because their minds were completely preoccupied with something else:
Their final exam scores.
"Come on, guys–" Sugawara tried to lighten the mood. "There's no point stressing out now, the exams are over. Relax! Breathe a little!"
"…Alright. Hoooh…" Kageyama let out a long exhale, trying (and mostly failing) to calm himself down.
"By the way, Sugawara-senpai–" Kageyama asked, "do we have anything planned for summer break this year?"
"Planned?"
Sugawara blinked. "Summer break is, well… summer break, right? It's time off. What kind of plans would we have?"
Kageyama looked confused. "Wait, Karasuno doesn't have a summer training camp or anything?"
"Oh, that? Nope!"
Sugawara crushed Kageyama's hopes with a smile and explained:
"We're a public school, remember? Compared to private schools, our budget's pretty limited."
By the end of that sentence, Sugawara was still smiling…
But his eyes held no joy whatsoever.
Kageyama: "…"
Just then, Oda Miki happened to walk by and overheard the conversation.
"Pfft, "
Kageyama turned to her. "Oda? Why are you laughing?"
"Ah, nothing–" she said, barely holding it in. "I just remembered something funny… pfft!"
"What was so funny?"
"Oh, my dog gave birth recently! Triplets!"
Kageyama blinked. "That's… it? That's what you're so excited about? They're not even your kids."
"Yeah, yeah, I mean, no! Sure, they're not my kids, but I've got a great bond with my dog, so I'm happy for her!"
"…Right."
Then, Oda quickly added, "Hey, I just heard you say our school doesn't do summer training camps?"
"Yeah. School's broke–" Hinata chimed in bluntly.
"Aww, what a shame~!"
Oda Miki said it with exaggerated regret, but it was clear she was just barely holding back from bursting into laughter.
The thought of a whole summer with no club activities?
Absolute bliss.
She could already see herself relaxing, goofing off, and not sweating through volleyball drills.
"Hey, Oda–" Kageyama suddenly asked, "do you know what Aoba Johsai's plans are for summer?"
Caught up in her imaginary beachside freedom, Oda answered without thinking:
"Oh, they're going to the coast for a month-long training camp."
"WHAT???!!!"
Her words had barely landed when a chorus of shocked voices exploded around her.
In a flash, nearly the entire volleyball team swarmed in.
"Oda, what did you just say? Aoba Johsai is doing a month-long training camp?!"
"Are you sure you heard that right?"
"A whole month?! At the beach? Is Aoba Johsai secretly loaded or something?!"
Oda was overwhelmed by the sea of eyes glaring at her like hungry wolves.
She quickly raised her hands in defense. "No, I didn't get it wrong! I heard it was a special reward for making it to Nationals."
"Crap! This is bad!"
"We already couldn't beat them before, if they're training for a whole month, the gap between us will only grow!"
"Coach! Say something!!"
"Calm down… let me think…"
Even Coach Ukai Sr. was rattled by the news.
A whole month of summer camp? At the beach?
That had to cost a fortune!
Meanwhile, off to the side, Oda Miki quietly started slapping herself in the face.
"Why did I say that out loud?! Stupid! Stupid! Why can't I just shut up?!"
Just moments ago, she had been glad she didn't get into Aoba Johsai.
Now, it felt like Aoba Johsai was haunting her from every direction.
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