Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 311: The Third Seed

[Second-Year, Class 5—Aoba Johsai High School]

The desks and chairs in the classroom were neatly arranged, and sunlight streamed through the windows, casting scattered patches of light on the floor.

Just like in his first year, Taichi had once again been assigned a seat in the second-to-last row by the window—far from the centre of the classroom but offering a rare sense of tranquillity.

Resting his head against the windowsill, he lay quietly on his desk, a few strands of hair falling over his face, shifting slightly with the rhythm of his steady breathing.

"So cute…He's asleep."

"I saw him on TV last year! I never thought I'd actually be in the same class as him. So lucky!"

"Hehe, I was at the game in person! The whole crowd was chanting Taichi's name back then."

"Really? That's just like a celebrity!"

"He is already a celebrity!"

"Do you think he has a girlfriend…?"

The classroom buzzed with hushed conversations. The boys were mainly discussing Aoba Johsai's championship victory at Spring Nationals, while the girls focused on gossip about Kaedehara Taichi himself.

"Kaho, aren't you in the volleyball club too?" Turning away from staring at Taichi, Maihara Sakurako looked at her best friend and asked, "Have you ever spoken to him?"

Chiba Kaho sat in the second-to-last row on the opposite side of the room, near the hallway—mirroring Taichi's seat placement.

"Not really. There aren't many opportunities to talk," she answered absentmindedly.

After that 'date' the other day, Taichi had only given Chiba Kaho a game CD before vanishing again, never once reaching out to her.

"What an absolute volleyball idiot," she muttered, unaware of the faint trace of frustration in her voice.

"Huh? But Taichi was named Spring High's Best Player," Maihara Sakurako said, confused. "Is he actually kind of dumb? He's smart in class too—I can't imagine it."

"N-no, that's not what I meant," Chiba Kaho waved her hand dismissively. "I mean, all he ever thinks about is volleyball."

"Oh, and maybe video games." Remembering the CD, she added that as an afterthought.

Weird.

Maihara Sakurako's gossip radar instantly went on high alert.

Chiba Kaho was usually indifferent to most topics, only responding with a brief "Oh, is that so?" or "Mm, okay." Yet today, she had responded with three full sentences!

That was highly unusual.

"Kaho, you know Taichi pretty well, don't you?" Maihara Sakurako's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Do you like him?"

"No." Chiba Kaho saw the question coming and forced herself to remain calm.

"Really?" Maihara looked sceptical.

Kaho's expression remained impassive, her eyes as clear as ever.

"Alright, I'll believe you," Maihara Sakurako said with a sly glint in her eyes. "In that case, I'm going to chase after Taichi myself."

Kaho: "???"

She knew Taichi only had volleyball on his mind, and she couldn't even tell if Sakurako was joking or serious. Under normal circumstances, she would have just ignored it.

But for some reason, her fingers curled slightly, as if responding on their own.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to formulate a response.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you," Maihara Sakurako winked. "But I bet other girls do like him. You'd better step up your game."

"I already said, I don't—" Chiba Kaho muttered under her breath.

-----

[Second-Year, Class 6—Aoba Johsai High School]

"…And so, applying the formula, we get—"

At the front of the room, the math teacher continued writing on the blackboard.

"Kunimi, did you see the latest issue of Volleyball Monthly?" Kindaichi Yūtarō poked Kunimi Akira's back with his textbook.

"Yeah."

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"The magazine had predictions for the Interhigh Nationals at the end," Kindaichi said indignantly. "And they don't have Aoba Johsai as the favourites! Can you believe that?"

Considering they had just won Spring Nationals, it felt unfair.

"Not surprising," Kunimi replied, leaning back in his chair and using his textbook to cover his mouth as he whispered. "Oikawa-senpai graduated, after all."

According to Volleyball Monthly's predictions, the top seed for the Interhigh Nationals was still Itachiyama. The media had high expectations for third-year players Sakusa Kiyoomi and Komori Motoya—though Kunimi suspected part of the reason was simply to uphold Tokyo's prestige.

As one of the nation's powerhouse schools, Itachiyama had also recruited a wave of talented first-years from Rakunan Middle School, last year's runner-up in the National Junior High Championships. That was another key factor in their ranking.

For the same reasons, the second seed was Kamomedai Academy in Nagano Prefecture. They had gained nearly the entire roster of last year's national champion Yurisei Middle School, alongside top third-years like Hoshiumi Kōrai, Hirugami Sachirō, and Hakuba Gao.

Meanwhile, despite being the defending champions, Aoba Johsai was only listed as the third seed, tied with last year's top-sixteen team Inarizaki. The ranking had sparked outrage among volleyball fans in Miyagi Prefecture, fueling ongoing debates about the "Big Three Aces".

The Aoba Johsai players weren't happy about the predictions either. But after their unexpected loss to Date Tech in the recent Prefectural Tournament, failing to even secure the prefectural title, they could only grit their teeth in frustration.

"At first, I thought our new first-years were really strong," Kindaichi muttered. "But the other teams got just as many amazing rookies."

"Itachiyama and Inarizaki are regular contenders at Nationals," Kunimi pointed out. "Players with big aspirations naturally want to join them. If we hadn't won the championship, guys like Yūki Yōji—who made a name for himself at last year's Junior High Nationals—wouldn't have chosen us either."

"That's true," Kindaichi nodded seriously. "It just means we have to work even harder. Before, I was worried about keeping up with Taichi. Now we also have to make sure we don't get overtaken by the newcomers!"

"Kindaichi, how about putting some of that effort into your studies?"

Neither of them had noticed the math teacher standing right behind them, his face dark with anger.

"Uh…" Kunimi quietly straightened in his seat.

"You too, Kunimi!" The teacher slammed Kunimi's textbook shut. "Both of you—out to the hallway!"

Laughter erupted around the room.

That afternoon, after classes ended, the first-years received their official team jerseys and practice uniforms before heading to Third Gymnasium for their first full team meeting.

Today marked the start of yet another gruelling training session. Day after day, they would practice in this very gymnasium, pushing themselves to their limits, forging unbreakable bonds with their teammates.

With their sights set on winning back-to-back national championships, a new era of Aoba Johsai Volleyball was about to begin.

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