Why are you here?"
"Hmm?"
Ushijima Wakatoshi turned around, somewhat surprised to see Oikawa Tooru, but quickly composed himself and said concisely, "Training."
"Huh?"
Oikawa Tooru's mouth dropped open. "Of course I guessed you were here to train! I'm asking why you're training *here*?"
Ushijima Wakatoshi said expressionlessly, "I don't know. It was the coach's arrangement."
Oikawa Tooru's raised finger trembled slightly. This guy is like a persistent ghost!
Finally, Oikawa Tooru snorted coldly, turned his head, and walked away, determined not to appear in the same frame as Ushijima Wakatoshi.
However, what he didn't expect was that no matter how fast he walked, the guy behind him always kept pace, until Oikawa Tooru arrived at Seijoh's training base, and Ushijima Wakatoshijust happened to stop at the entrance of a nearby guesthouse.
"Oh! Ushijima, you're here!"
"Oh! Oikawa, you're here!"
As if by prior arrangement, as soon as Oikawa Tooru and Ushijima Wakatoshi reached the entrance, Iwaizumi Hajime and Satori Tendoopened their respective doors and poked their heads out.
Then both of them froze simultaneously.
"Huh x2!"
"Ah~~~ Why are you guys here? x2!"
Iwaizumi Hajime and Satori Tendo's gazes met, and in that instant, the entire air seemed to fall silent.
······
······
Five minutes later. →
Inside Seijoh's training base, the entire Seijoh team and the entire Shiratorizawa team were split into two rows, looking at each other in silence.
Irihata Nobuteru and Washijo Tanji stood to the side, their faces equally speechless.
"This is too much of a coincidence! xN!"
Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces opposite them, the players of both Seijoh and Shiratorizawa instantly had the same thought.
Heaven proves that Irihata Nobuteru and Washijo Tanji really hadn't discussed this beforehand!
At the end of the day.
Seijoh and Shiratorizawa are, after all, opponents in the same district. Although they've played many practice matches, daily training clearly still needs to be separate, as this involves the confidential parts of each team.
But they never expected to meet in a place like this, and even become neighbors.
It was simply a fated encounter!
"Ahem~~ What a coincidence! I didn't expect Coach Washijo and your team to be here too. Since we've met by chance, why don't we play a practice match?" Irihata Nobuteru coughed twice, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
"Hmm! Alright, I also wanted to see how your training results are coming along." Washijo Tanjinodded in agreement.
Everyone else: "······"
Ah, this~ Shouldn't you ask for our opinion on this kind of thing?
······
Ten minutes later. →
The two teams of players, wearing their respective team training uniforms, finished warming up, and a practice match inexplicably began.
"Looks like I came at just the right time. I just finished my tutoring, and now I can give little Ushijima Wakatoshi a good beating." Oikawa Tooru said with a grin while wrapping his wristband.
Ushijima Wakatoshi frowned. "Tutoring? Oikawa, did you fail your exam?"
Oikawa Tooru: "(?д?;)······"
"Shut up! Watch me utterly defeat you today." Oikawa Tooru said, flustered with anger.
Beep~~~
The referee blew the whistle.
Both teams' players took their positions, and the match officially began.
The first team to serve was Seijoh, with Oikawa Tooru as the starting player.
"Alright~! Watch me get the first point!"
Oikawa Tooru was full of spirit. He didn't have the patience to get along with Ushijima Wakatoshi, but when it came to playing against Ushijima Wakatoshi, Oikawa Tooru not only had spirit, but a lot of it.
However, facts proved that when it came to volleyball, spirit alone was useless.
Puff~
After Oikawa Tooru's serve flew out, it directly hit the edge of the net. Although it barely made it over to Shiratorizawa's side, it no longer posed any threat.
"I got it, I got it~"
Shiratorizawa's Libero shouted, then dove out in a fish-like motion, returning the volleyball to the air.
"Ushijima Senpai!"
Shirabu Kenjiro received the first pass and decisively set the ball to Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Ushijima Wakatoshi took three steps, approached, and jumped. Seeing this, Akashi Asuka, Iwaizumi Hajime, and Kindaichi on the opposite side of the net quickly converged, then simultaneously exerted force and jumped.
"Ready, jump~~~"
As the word 'jump' left Akashi Asuka's mouth, the three of them suddenly leaped up like springs.
In an instant.
Whether it was Washijo Tanji outside the court, or Oikawa Tooru and Ushijima Wakatoshi on the court, their gazes changed.
Even Akashi Asuka, Iwaizumi Hajime, and Kindaichi themselves were startled.
"So light, so high!"
For the past three days, the Seijoh team had almost entirely been practicing on sand. This was their first time returning to play indoors.
And as soon as they jumped, the three immediately noticed the change.
The hard floor, completely different from sand, provided a stronger reactive force underfoot. When they suddenly exerted force again, their feet felt as if they had springs, not only increasing their Rebound Speed but also making their bodies feel much lighter.
The person who felt it most strongly was undoubtedly Akashi Asuka.
Because his Rebound power was already strong, and with three days of sand training, which almost daily added a small amount of [Rebound · juan wang value] to him, now that the restraints were suddenly removed, the explosive jump height directly startled Ushijima Wakatoshi on the opposite side.
"Bang!"
"Slap!"
Two crisp sounds in succession.
The first was Ushijima Wakatoshi's hitting sound, and the second was the sound of the volleyball hitting Akashi Asuka's palm.
The volleyball was not blocked, but flew high into the air above Seijoh's court······
"First touch!"
Still in the air, Akashi Asuka had already shouted out.
"It's okay, I'll get it!"
In Seijoh's backcourt, Watari Shinji also responded, then quickly leaped towards the volleyball's landing spot. However, the moment he pushed off the ground to make a fish-like dive, his entire body suddenly lost control, shooting out several meters like an arrow released from a bowstring.
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
"Oh?"
······
Watari Shinji's error once again drew peculiar glances from Washijo Tanji, Oikawa Tooru, and many of Shiratorizawa's players.
Especially Oikawa Tooru, whose inner thoughts were quite astonished at this moment.
"That's strange. It's only been three days, but why do these guys' movements feel so much more agile?"
Thud!
Due to Watari Shinji's sudden error, the volleyball fell onto the floor, bouncing a few times.
But now, everyone's attention was no longer on the volleyball. For them, the error Watari Shinjidisplayed was far more noteworthy.
Irihata Nobuteru, on the sidelines, smiled with narrowed eyes. He not only didn't blame Watari Shinji for the error but was quite satisfied.
The results of the special training had already begun to show.