Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 306: A Date (Double-Length)

The setting sun bathed the riverside grass in a warm, golden glow, accompanied by the excited voices of children playing nearby. Against this picturesque backdrop, Kaedehara Taichi and Chiba Kaho strolled leisurely down the sunlit streets of spring, their steps light and unhurried.

"You're really going to keep following me, huh? I'm not secretly sneaking off to train or anything." Kaedehara Taichi, outside of volleyball, carried a laid-back air, a kind of effortless nonchalance unique to him.

Chiba Kaho walked alongside him. Though she was a full head shorter than Taichi, she was considered tall among girls. Her delicate features, smooth black hair, and composed demeanour made her stand out even in Aoba Johsai's standard school uniform.

"We agreed on this last night, didn't we? And it's not me following you—it's you acting as my bodyguard." Kaho flashed a playful smile.

"Well then, my lady, what are your plans for today?" Taichi asked casually. It had been seventeen hours since he last touched a volleyball, and he was already starting to feel restless.

Kaho hadn't actually thought that far ahead. She had wanted to see what Taichi did outside of volleyball, only to realize—nothing.

No, maybe there was one thing.

"Taichi, are you going to buy the new release of that famous game? It comes out today."

…Monster Hunter? Taichi's interest was piqued. "I pre-ordered it online. Should be able to play it tonight." He perked up suddenly. "I was talking about it with Kenma a few days ago, but with all the matches, we didn't get to go into detail—"

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Kaho's expression. She still had that same calm smile, but Taichi sensed…danger.

"Ahem. I've never seen you play games before," he quickly redirected the conversation.

"I don't, really. But I've seen so many ads for it online lately, and it got me curious." Kaho's tone made it hard to tell whether she was serious or not. "So, Taichi, come buy it with me!"

"Huh? But I already—" The words slipped out before he could stop himself.

Kaho came to a sudden halt. Taichi turned back to look at her, finally realizing something was off.

"Uh." His instincts screamed at him to fix this immediately, but he had no idea how. A terrifying thought dawned on him—was his social intelligence outside of volleyball actually as low as a goldfish's?!

"Come with me, okay? If there's a special edition, I'll give you the bonus items."

For a brief moment, Taichi was dazed by her smile. A cool evening breeze brushed past, stirring something unfamiliar in his chest.

—Amazing. What was this effortlessly smooth way of communicating?

Sensing an opportunity he couldn't afford to waste, Taichi wisely accepted the invitation.

-----

After a forty-minute train ride, Taichi and Kaho finally arrived at the game store.

It had been a while since Taichi last visited a physical game shop. He originally planned to wander around while Kaho bought her game, but seeing the curious look in her eyes, he immediately understood—this was probably her first time in a place like this. So, he took it upon himself to be her guide, staying by her side.

However, as soon as they reached the game section, Taichi's enthusiasm vanished.

"…Huh?"

The display area was covered in Monster Hunter posters, promotional banners, and looping commercials on large screens—but the game itself was nowhere to be found.

"Eh? It's sold out?" Kaho looked mildly surprised but not particularly disappointed.

Taichi scoured the counter and finally found a small paper note taped to the corner of the desk—First shipment sold out.

"Gone already? It just came out today!"

Kaho didn't seem to mind, but Taichi felt strangely unwilling to accept defeat.

"It's probably because it's release day, so they only stocked enough for pre-orders…"

"No way. We came all this way." A fire of determination ignited in Taichi's eyes. "If I remember right, there's another game store a bit ahead."

It was highly likely that store was also sold out, but he wouldn't be satisfied without checking.

That meant more walking. Taichi glanced at Kaho earnestly.

"We've already come this far. Let's give it one more shot."

"Alright, let's keep looking." Kaho smiled gently.

-----

As time passed, the streets grew increasingly crowded with office workers heading home, packing the sidewalks to the point of congestion.

Taichi walked ahead, occasionally glancing back, feeling an inexplicable concern that if he wasn't careful, Kaho might get swept away by the crowd.

"It's funny…Taichi is so sharp when it comes to volleyball, but he's completely oblivious to everything else," Kaho mused to herself.

Even among volleyball players, Kaedehara Taichi's 188 cm frame made him stand out. Now, in the middle of a busy street, he was drawing even more attention.

Not that he seemed to notice. Or mind.

Lost in thought, Kaho absentmindedly watched Taichi's back. Then, almost unconsciously, she reached out—

And tugged lightly at the hem of his jacket.

"…Huh?" Taichi turned around, confused. "What's wrong?"

"N-no, it's nothing." For the first time, Kaho seemed flustered. "I just thought…this way, we won't get separated."

"…I see." Taichi narrowed his eyes slightly, as if suspicious of her reasoning.

"Excuse me, may I have a moment of your time?"

A man in sunglasses and a suit suddenly stopped beside them.

"You have an impressive presence. Would you be interested in becoming a model?"

Kaho: "…"

She had no particular opinion on this suspicious old man, but she had to admit—his timing was impeccable.

Sensing a trace of unease in Kaho, Taichi instinctively stepped slightly in front of her.

"Dude, this kind of pick-up line is ancient."

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"No, no, I'm serious! I work for an entertainment company—here's my business card." The man hurriedly pulled a card from his pocket. "Or you too, young man! We're also looking for someone with your looks—"

"Not interested." Taichi didn't even bother taking the card.

"Taichi, let's go." Kaho gently pushed him forward.

"Yeah." Without a second thought, Taichi turned and grabbed Kaho's hand, walking away quickly.

"You two really have potential! You could be stars! You'll be famous—" The man's voice faded into the background.

-----

"They don't have it here either?"

Exiting the second game store, Taichi looked visibly disappointed.

Kaho was about to say it's fine—after all, she hadn't been that invested in getting the game in the first place. They had spent time together, walked around the city, and even held hands. Honestly, things had progressed much faster than she expected.

But seeing Taichi's seriousness, Kaho found it…amusing.

"Huh? There's an arcade here?" Taichi suddenly turned to her, eyes lighting up.

"Uh…should we go in?" Kaho hesitated.

"I knew you'd like this place!" Without warning, Taichi grabbed her hand again and pulled her inside.

As the automatic doors slid open, Kaho winced slightly at the deafening noise from within, but Taichi was completely unfazed. He strode forward, drawn in like a moth to a flame.

Watching his rare expression of pure excitement, Kaho murmured, "So he does have this side to him when he's not playing volleyball…how unexpected."

After exchanging some tokens, they played a variety of games together. Though it was Kaho's first time, it didn't take much to start having fun, and she soon found herself enjoying the experience.

At one point, they stood behind a pair of players engrossed in a fighting game—a muscular martial artist and an old white-haired master battling in a ruined arena.

"This one looks fun," Kaho commented.

She watched the screen for a moment before noticing something.

"…He keeps losing."

"…What?!"

Her words, spoken with complete honesty and at full volume, coincided perfectly with the moment the losing player turned around—his face twisted in irritation.

His frustration lessened slightly upon seeing Kaho.

Then his eyes landed on Taichi.

And his anger doubled.

The man stood up, only to realize that he was actually a head shorter than Kaedehara Taichi. He even seemed to be slightly shorter than the girl standing beside him.

So, he sat back down.

"You think you're all that, huh?" Unwilling to back down just like that, the man redirected his hostility toward the one he deemed a privileged pretty boy.

Kaedehara Taichi wasn't sure how the conversation had taken this turn, but he had no intention of letting himself be looked down upon.

"I'm probably better than you."

He hadn't played this particular game before—but in his mind, he silently added that fighting games all followed similar structures. He had watched a few matches just now, and at the very least, he had already memorized the moves of the character the man was using.

"Hah! Then why don't you give it a try?"

Perhaps it was the atmosphere of the arcade, but the man suddenly seemed fired up, gesturing for Taichi to sit at the opposite station.

Taichi was mildly interested, but he hadn't come here alone today. He had no intention of getting too involved.

Clang!

Kaho inserted two game tokens into the adjacent fighting game machine. The screen jumped to the start menu, accompanied by the loud, energetic opening music.

"Taichi! The game's starting! Crush him!" Kaho's eyes sparkled as she looked at Taichi.

"..."

Without a word, Taichi walked back, sat down, and smoothly placed his right hand on the buttons while his left hand gripped the joystick. He tested the joystick a few times to check the response, then nodded slightly.

"Why don't you sit beside me and watch?" he said calmly to Kaho.

So, this rich young lady was quite the troublemaker too.

The man had thought Kaedehara Taichi was going to back out, but seeing him return to his seat, he didn't hesitate to insert his own token. He chose the same muscular martial artist character he had been using earlier, a cruel grin appearing on his face.

"Kid, don't cry when you lose, alright?"

Taichi: "..." What kind of weak villain dialogue is this?

The machine announced the start of the match.

(FIGHT!)

Kaho watched Taichi with anticipation.

However, the white-haired old man character Taichi had chosen was either attacking completely irrelevant spots or jumping into the farthest corners of the screen. He was taking hits one-sidedly, his health bar depleting steadily.

"Huh? Wait, does Taichi not actually know how to play this game?" Kaho watched as his character got beaten up mercilessly, feeling like she might have made a mistake.

Taichi's expression remained calm. Although he was defending well against his opponent's attacks, any attempt at countering led to him getting comboed.

"Hahaha…What a joke! You're playing like a total newbie." The man sneered. "And here I thought you were something special, running your mouth like that."

Chiba Kaho grew more and more uneasy. She stared at Taichi's blank face, feeling as though he was getting angry.

"You wanna go through the same routine a third time?" As his health bar turned red, Taichi suddenly muttered under his breath.

"Huh?"

The moment Kaho spoke, Taichi's white-haired old man character lightly jumped, dodging the martial artist's attack before executing a dazzling combo.

Kaho heard Taichi mumbling nonstop—

"Crouch block, throw, then low attack, jump, light punch, heavy kick…"

"So predictable." Kaedehara Taichi smirked, the familiar mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. He started his counterattack, and his opponent's health bar began to shrink.

"W-Wait! Hold on!"

Panic crept into the man's voice as his character was cornered. His health bar shifted from green to yellow, then rapidly turned red.

[YOU WIN!]

Taichi's victory screen appeared. Chiba Kaho jumped up in excitement.

"Taichi! That was amazing!"

Taichi smiled faintly. "Games like this are always more fun when playing against real people."

"One more match!"

The man slammed a pile of game tokens onto the machine's slot, glaring at them over the screen. When Taichi saw the opponent select "Continue", his expression turned playful.

"I mean…I don't mind. But isn't this just a waste of time?"

"Brat! Don't get cocky! I was this close to winning just now!"

Taichi's eyes reflected the glowing blue screen.

(FIGHT!)

The match started. This time, Kaedehara Taichi's white-haired old man character went on the offensive immediately, moving at high speed.

He constantly glanced at the move list in the top-left corner of the screen, trying out new moves and linking them together based on his understanding of the game.

"Oh? This is a special move…Then if I do this, will it connect? Oh! It worked!"

Muttering to himself, Taichi ended the second match even faster than the first. Kaho clenched her fists and struck a victory pose.

"Taichi, you're incredible!"

Taichi simply stared at the screen, a faint gleam in his eyes. His expression resembled that of a predator toying with its prey.

"This kid was playing dumb…Completely ruthless."

"Yeah, he didn't hold back at all…"

Unbeknownst to them, a crowd had gathered around. Some were just watching the spectacle, while others were waiting in line to play.

"Chiba?" Taichi still remembered to ask Kaho's opinion.

"Crush them all!" Chiba Kaho cheered excitedly, pumping her fist in the air.

(FIGHT!)

The booming sound effects, dazzling visuals, and the surrounding cheers—

The passionate arcade night had only just begun.

-----

[On the Train Ride Home]

Chiba Kaho hugged an oversized panda plushie—the prize from Kaedehara Taichi's 30-game win streak at the arcade.

"Uh…sorry about that." Taichi looked a bit guilty. He was supposed to be accompanying Kaho to buy a game, but in the end, he had ended up playing the whole time.

"It's fine! I had a blast today!"

"That's good. I used to feel the same way, just watching other people play games made me happy." Taichi nodded in understanding.

"That's completely different." Chiba Kaho muttered under her breath.

"Hm? What'd you say?"

"Nothing! Let's go out again sometime!" Chiba Kaho beamed.

"Sure." Taichi nodded naturally.

So she really did mind not getting the game after all…Taichi thought to himself.

-----

[The Next Morning]

When Chiba Kaho opened her locker, she found a small package inside.

"Thanks for hanging out with me yesterday. –Taichi."

Her eyes widened slightly, surprise and curiosity bubbling up in her chest. She hadn't expected a follow-up to yesterday's events. A smile unconsciously formed on her lips, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she carefully unwrapped the package.

Inside, lying quietly in the centre—

A brand-new Monster Hunter game disc.

Kaho: "..."

Should've known. Her expectations had been too high.

And just like that, another ordinary day at Aoba Johsai continued.

_________

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