"The freshmen are already getting along well~ Excellent! Oikawa-sama is very satisfied with this year's newcomers."
A playful voice reached their ears as Oikawa twirled a volleyball in his hand, approaching the freshmen.
Iwaizumi Hajime also walked over and clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention.
"Gather up, let's introduce the new members."
Under the reliable upperclassmen's arrangement, all players assembled before the coach, who pulled the four freshmen to the front for reintroductions.
"Wait! You have to include your height in the self-introductions!"
Oikawa raised his hand, sneakily glancing at Iwaizumi with mischief in his eyes—he'd already noticed several freshmen seemed taller than Iwaizumi this year.
As Oikawa's childhood friend, Iwaizumi immediately recognized his malicious intent. A vein bulged on his forehead as he delivered a solid thump to the back of Oikawa's head.
"Oww—!"
"Ahem."
Coach Irihata ignored his clownish captain and gestured for the freshmen to speak.
Kindaichi Yutaro went first: "I'm Kindaichi Yutaro, graduated from Kitagawa Daiichi, height 189.2cm, middle blocker. Please take care of me!"
Kunimi Hideaki: "Kunimi Hideaki, also from Kitagawa Daiichi, 182.8cm, wing spiker. Please take care of me."
Kikuzawa Yuma: "I'm Kikuzawa Yuma, graduated from Tokyo Hillcrest Middle School, 188.6cm, wing spiker. Nice to meet you all, please take care of me."
Kikuzawa Yuuki: "Kikuzawa Yuuki, 189.1cm, setter."
Yuma elbowed Yuuki sharply.
Yuuki reluctantly added: "...Please take care of me."
"Hahaha Iwa-chan! All the freshmen are taller than you this year! How can a senpai fail to meet the first-years' average height ahahaha...!"
Oikawa was of course reveling in Iwaizumi's misfortune.
Iwaizumi's current height was 179.3cm—his dream was to reach 180cm—so Oikawa's taunts were pure provocation. Iwaizumi's face instantly flushed red.
"Damn you Oikawa! Shut your mouth!"
After the loud thud of fist meeting skull, peace was finally restored.
"Oikawa-senpai and Iwaizumi-senpai are as close as ever."
Kindaichi watched their "friendly" interaction with warm nostalgia. Oikawa and Iwaizumi had also graduated from Kitagawa Daiichi, having been their teammates before.
Kunimi Hideaki: "..." Is this really closeness...
Kunimi remained silent, Kunimi said nothing, Kunimi quietly averted his gaze.
Witnessing this scene, Kikuzawa Yuma felt waves of emotion.
Never did he imagine characters from an anime would one day stand alive before him.
Back when he first realized he'd reincarnated into this ordinary modern society, he thought he'd simply escaped the River Lethe's waters—until that day watching national high school volleyball championships on TV, when the commentator passionately shouted "Little Giant."
Yuma had spat his juice all over Yuuki's face in shock, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"The Little Giant"—wasn't that the idol who inspired Hinata Shoyo's volleyball journey in Haikyuu!!?
After 12 years of rebirth, suddenly discovering he's in an anime world?!
This was truly entering the intense volleyball story arc...
Once aware of the anime reality, Yuma swiftly evolved from "hard worker" to "desperate overachiever."
Born in Japan and destined for professional sports, he'd inevitably encounter original characters. Losing miserably against them on court would be ultimate shame for a transmigrator.
Cannot lose! Absolutely cannot lose!
Yet ideals are plump while reality is bony.
Despite Yuma's desperate efforts, his middle school years yielded only one national championship in third year.
First year: unlucky draw, eliminated in quarterfinals by eventual champions.
Second year: worse luck, narrowly losing semifinals against Sakusa Kiyoomi and Komori Motoya's team.
Only in third year, after those "Monster Generation" talents graduated, did Yuma and Yuuki finally claim victory.
As Yuma drowned in mental turmoil and regret, Coach Irihata observed the four tall freshmen with satisfaction. Suddenly inspired, he announced cheerfully: "Let's have a practice match—freshmen versus upperclassmen, to gauge your levels."
"Eh? A match? Now?" Kindaichi was baffled, as were the upperclassmen.
Oikawa smirked: "My my, Coach, isn't this unfair? Are we bullying the freshmen? What if our overwhelming skills traumatize them?"
His words feigned concern while his expression radiated excitement.
Coach Irihata waved dismissively: "It's just practice, merely assessing the freshmen."
With the coach's decision made, no one could refuse.
Yuma quickly snapped back to focus and joined warm-ups.
Thus began an impromptu practice match.
Freshmen Team: Wing Spikers Kikuzawa Yuma & Kunimi Hideaki, Middle Blocker Kindaichi Yutaro, Setter Kikuzawa Yuuki.
Main Team: Wing Spikers Iwaizumi Hajime & Hanamaki Takahiro, Middle Blocker Matsukawa Issei, Setter Oikawa Tooru.
Considering the freshmen's level, libero Watari Shinji wasn't fielded.
As both teams finished warming up and took positions, Assistant Coach Mizoguchi looked uneasy beside the scoreboard.
Mizoguchi Sadatoshi: "Coach Irihata, perhaps Oikawa has a point? Pitting freshmen directly against our main players seems harsh..." Don't crush their spirits.
The freshmen were four randomly grouped first-years facing four seasoned third-years—with Oikawa's villainous smirk completing the bullying image.
Though many clubs initiate freshmen harshly, there's a difference between "reality check" and "reality demolition."
Seeing Mizoguchi's concern, Coach Irihata smiled mysteriously. "Don't underestimate this year's freshmen. The Kikuzawa brothers are sports recruits, Kunimi and Kindaichi were starters at strong middle schools. Oikawa's group might get surprised."
"You have great confidence in them." Reassured, Mizoguchi turned to observe the freshmen.
The coin toss concluded, and Oikawa strutted triumphantly to serve, preening like a peacock.
"Fuhahaha... Allow me, Oikawa-sama, to demonstrate true senpai prowess!"
Before even serving, Oikawa was already fantasizing about dazzling performances that would earn him adoring kouhai.
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