IN THIS SUMMER SEASON BRIMMING with the vibrant energy of young boys and girls, the preliminaries for the Interhigh tournament quietly arrived.

On the second floor of a small building, Kobayashi Aotori, now dressed in home clothes, straightened up slightly. He marked another circle on the calendar placed on the table, indicating tomorrow, the 2nd of June, the day when the Interhigh preliminaries would commence.

Finally—

——It's coming!

Interhigh!

—————

INSIDE THE MIYAGI PREFECTURE VOLLEYBALL ARENA

A bustling crowd, high school students in various uniforms, and one figure in casual clothing stood out—

A young man with navy-blue mid-length hair tied in a small ponytail at the end was seen. He wore a white baseball cap on his head, a black sleeveless T-shirt on his upper body, white knee-length shorts on his lower body, and a pair of black ordinary sneakers on his feet.

However, what he was carrying... was Shiratorizawa Academy's uniform and sportswear, right...?

His hazel eyes lazily scanned the various players, seemingly searching for something. His exceptionally handsome face made it impossible for people to look away.

Such a handsome figure attracted the attention of the crowd.

But...

Passing volleyball team members felt a strange familiarity with the boy's face, as if they had seen him somewhere before... but couldn't quite recall... where exactly?

Unable to figure it out, one of them patted his teammate's shoulder:

"Hey, do you know what that guy's name is... what's wrong with you?"

He looked in surprise at his teammate, who was staring blankly at the boy's retreating figure, completely stunned, and shook him vigorously:

"Hey! Hey! It's not that serious, right! Isn't it just someone from Shiratorizawa? Is it worth losing your mind over?"

"Snap out of it! We have a match soon! I'll go with you to ask for contact information later..."

"It's, it's him! It's him!!" His teammate suddenly shouted, startling the boy. He looked at his teammate in confusion, only to hear him saying,

"'It's, it's him! It's him!!' his teammate suddenly shouted, startling the boy. He looked blankly at his shocked teammate, 'W-what...? Who is it...?'

"That guy, that guy is..." After struggling with words, he finally declared, "That's none other than Kobayashi Aotori!!"

"..."

"Ha?" The boy's pupils dilated, then abruptly contracted the next moment. He took several steps back, exclaiming, "So it's Kobayashi Aotori! No wonder he looked so familiar!"

"Isn't he the one who gave up his spot in the national tournament but became more famous than the actual champions?!"

"Yeah... because with his skills, everyone thought he should've been the real champion!"

"Hiss——Such a terrifying guy... I actually stared at him for so long... Am I going to be stuffed in a sack...?"

T.N.: "stuffed in a sack" is slang for getting ambushed or beaten up.

"Good luck with that."

"Sobs... This year's Shiratorizawa is even more unbeatable..."

—————

KOBAYASHI AOTORI felt the commotion behind him, and was confused but didn't show it on his face thinking that he had become irrelevant and didn't need to be as nervous as he was before the start of the school year.

Fortunately, most people had gone to attend to their own matters, and some were watching other matches, allowing him to come and watch Karasuno's match.

As for changing clothes...

I could just change in the locker room during noon.

After walking a dozen steps, Kobayashi Aotori still hadn't seen a familiar figure. Instead, the noise around him grew louder.

...Why haven't I seen anyone from Karasuno yet? Could it be that they haven't arrived yet?

Suddenly, Kobayashi paused, pushing through the crowd to see a black mass.

...As expected, only Karasuno would dress like a flock of crows.

He smirked and headed in that direction——

On the other hand, Karasuno's conspicuous group attracted a lot of attention and discussion from the surrounding people. Whether it was the 'wild' third-year, Azumane, the beautiful Kiyoko Shimizu, or the 'King' Kageyama, they all drew frequent glances.

"However... that shorty over there..."

A player nearby was curiously looking at Hinata standing next to Kageyama.

"He's probably not simple either..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hinata, with an excited expression, was already looking around like a country bumpkin who just entered the city. The companion beside the boy observed with dead-fish eyes commented, "No, he's probably just an ordinary person."

Just as they unanimously agreed on this idea, a figure approached Hinata. A tall boy patted Hinata's shoulder and greeted him.

The two discussing boys instantly turned into statues.

No, there's no way an ordinary person would know the great demon king, Kobayashi Aotori!

So, the real boss of Karasuno is this short orange-haired guy?! This team is too terrifying!

After exchanging greetings with the Karasuno's members, Kobayashi Aotori walked towards the banners, standing by the railing with his hands hanging on it, below which hung Karasuno's unique slogan—

Fly.

Speaking of which, the seats here in Miyagi's spectator area are really well installed, providing a much wider view.

"This morning, Karasuno's match is..." Kobayashi Aotori murmured softly, "Karasuno versus Tokonami."

He thought of those familiar faces and looked down at the court where Karasuno and Tokonami were warming up.

"Eh——it's Mr. Dynamite~"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out. Both of them turned to see the approaching Aoba Johsai team.

The one speaking was none other than Oikawa Tooru, walking side by side with Iwaizumi.

Hands in his pockets, clad in Aoba Johsai's sports uniform, Oikawa cheerfully waved at Kobayashi.

Hmm... This somehow makes me look out of place, being the only one in casual clothes.

Standing out like this makes people notice Kobayashi Aotori's handsomeness at a glance. Internally, he felt a bit uneasy about being too distinctive.

Not knowing that his strikingly handsome appearance made him immediately noticeable, Kobayashi Aotori felt uneasy about being too conspicuous.

"Hey, Grand King," he leaned on the railing and waved at Oikawa, nodding calmly to indicate acknowledgement to the calm Iwaizumi.

"Hmm... Is Mr. Dynamite here to watch Kageyama and Shorty's match?" Oikawa suddenly theatrically wiped nonexistent tears, "Even though we're in the same venue, I can't even get a glance from Mr. Dynamite..."

Seeing Oikawa's theatrics, Iwaizumi's face turned dark in embarrassment, and Kobayashi was at a loss for words.

"Bang!" This was Iwaizumi's iron fist.

"Ouch!" This was Oikawa's exaggerated scream of pain.

Behind him, Kindaichi's eyes shrank in fear, and he instinctively hid behind Yahaba. Yahaba snickered, seemingly amused by Kindaichi's reaction as if he had seen a ghost upon seeing Kobayashi Aotori.

With the brief interlude concluding, Kobayashi's gaze returned to Karasuno and Tokonami.

Kobayashi Aotori smirked. To be honest, in his eyes, he and Tokonami's team were the same, just background characters for the protagonists.

But...

He looked down at the motivated Tokonami team below and suddenly smiled.

The background character who quietly perseveres, compared to the flash-in-the-pan genius.

T.N.: 昙花一现的天才 (flash-in-the-pan genius): Refers to someone who shows a brief moment of exceptional talent or brilliance but does not maintain it over time. The phrase "昙花一现" literally means "as fleeting as the epiphyllum flower" which blooms briefly and fades quickly.

What were they lacking?

For those who found joy in volleyball, they only cared about whether they gained more happiness from volleyball than others did, not whether the world saw them.

With one hand in his pocket, Kobayashi was pulled by Ito to sit on the sidelines, his eyes flashing as volleyballs flew by at high speed.

But well, is there really someone who could both enjoy happiness and be the protagonist?

He laughed at his own foolishness. These people right before him were exactly that.

They might win or lose, but in his eyes, they were the true protagonists.

But speaking of which, he needed to focus on the match now.

Otherwise, the speed of Karasuno's play might be too fast for him to follow.

————

"BEEP!——"

The crisp whistle sounded, signaling the start of the match. He stood up from his seat, walked to the railing, and eagerly watched the game below.

At this moment, not just Kobayashi Aotori, but also Aoba Johsai sitting beside him, and the members of Shiratorizawa on the other side, were all attentively observing the preliminary match between Karasuno and Tokonami.

Kobayashi Aotori felt something strange. Watching a manga and witnessing it in person were different.

Now he truly understood that on today's court, Karasuno had already taken flight.

And they were unstoppable.