KOBAYASHI AOTORI was actually teaching volleyball techniques seriously for the first time. Although he didn't know what gave him the qualifications, since he had agreed, he was determined to teach well.

So, after a long while, Haiba Lev, confident after witnessing many demonstrations by Kobayashi Aotori, clenched his fists:

"You need to be careful when moving so as to block the spiker's spiking position, compressing the space where they can spike, right? I completely understand now!"

Seeing Haiba so confident, Kobayashi Aotori raised an eyebrow. Although he was still skeptical, he thought maybe Haiba was just that kind of naturally gifted player.

Thinking this, he walked towards Kuroo and the others—

Suddenly hearing some noise from that direction, he wondered, standing on the outskirts to observe, and then saw Tsukishima standing opposite Kuroo and the others, his eyes lighting up.

Someone has arrived! Does this mean I'm not needed anymore?

He had never anticipated Tsukishima's arrival so much as today. He couldn't hide the smile on his face, walking up to Bokuto, who was beside Tsukishima, and smiling at him, who had just had his questions answered by Bokuto.

Oh, what a pity, I missed the famous line "That's the moment you fall in love with volleyball."

However, Kobayashi Aotori just came to find an excuse to leave, unaware that everyone present suddenly turned their attention towards him—

"Aotori! Aotori! What do you think about volleyball?" Bokuto leaned in curiously, while Kuroo also smiled slightly, seemingly waiting for his answer.

"...What?" Suddenly being called out, Kobayashi Aotori was a bit confused. Then he reacted, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked at the people opposite him.

"If it were before, I would have answered without hesitation that it's just an ordinary ball game, no different to me from badminton or basketball."

Kuroo caught the key point in his words, raising an eyebrow, "Before?"

Kobayashi Aotori's eyes reflected Kuroo's image, the smile on his face unwavering, nodding slightly but not explaining his current thoughts.

Bokuto looked blankly at the tacit understanding between the two, his beady eyes blinking, completely not understanding their conversation.

Kuroo then changed the topic: "How's the teaching with Lev going?"

At this point, even Kobayashi Aotori felt a bit uncertain, letting out a long sigh, "...He said he completely understood it, but I'm not sure whether it's true or not."

"Why not test it out?"

"Ah, I just..." Kobayashi Aotori was about to decline when Kuroo called out loudly to Lev and the others:

"Lev! Come show us your results!"

Upon hearing this, Lev confidently trotted over, proudly puffing out his chest under Kobayashi Aotori's resistant gaze, "Don't worry! Aotori-senpai! I've completely understood what you taught! I can do it right away!"

Kobayashi Aotori still looked at him skeptically.

Tsukishima, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow with interest, "Aotori... senpai?"

Hearing this title come out of Tsukishima's mouth, Kobayashi Aotori's body stiffened, immediately waving his hand to explain, "Don't misunderstand, it's all Kuroo's idea to make Lev call me that."

He brushed his bangs aside, helplessly looking at Lev, "Didn't I say not to call me Aotori-senpai..."

However, the two people were walking forward arm in arm in arm very excitedly, and had already reached the net, not hearing a word Kobayashi Aotori said.

Kuroo paused, looking back to see Kobayashi Aotori and Tsukishima still standing there, and Bokuto pulling them along:

"Hey! Where are you two going?!"

Kobayashi Aotori resisted, "You already have Tsukishima! You don't need me anymore!" Saying this, he eagerly pushed Tsukishima forward, adhering to the principle of "better the fellow suffere dies than the poor Daoist," and promoted him vigorously.

T.N.: 秉持着"死道友不死贫道"的精神 (bǐng chí zhe 'sǐ dào yǒu bù sǐ pín dào' de jīng shén): "Adhering to the principle of 'better you than me'" - using the idiom "死道友不死贫道" which literally means "better the fellow sufferer dies than the poor Daoist," implying self-preservation by pushing someone else forward.

"Tsukishima is an exceptionally strong blocker, and his overall skills surpass mine. Having him as your partner is definitely a great idea!"

"Huh?!" Tsukishima's face darkened, then immediately displayed a classic expression, grinding his teeth with a "friendly" smile.

"I'm far from being as good as 'Aotori-senpai' who won the Interhigh League Championship. Compared to Mr. Dynamite, I'm just an ordinary player!"

"...I'm the weaker one!"

"In terms of being weaker, Mr. Dynamite is still no match for me!"

"Huh—?!"

So, Bokuto watched as the two suddenly broke free, arguing over who was weaker, looking at Akaashi with beady eyes for help.

Receiving Bokuto's pleading look, Akaashi sighed and exchanged a glance with Kuroo, and both walked towards the two arguing over the title of "weakest"—

Kuroo put his arms around Tsukishima's neck, smiling cunningly like a sly merchant who had gotten his way, "Tsukki, did you forget our agreement? We told you the answer, so you have to practice with us today~!"

"...Damn it!"

On the other side, Akaashi stood in front of Kobayashi Aotori, looking at him calmly: "Since Lev's positioning was taught by Aotori-san, at least stay to see how he does."

Kobayashi Aotori's expression went blank, looking at Lev chatting happily with Hinata over there, helplessly nodding.

Bokuto, admiringly watching how Akaashi and Kuroo settled the "conflict" that he couldn't resolve no matter what, shouted with starry eyes, "Amazing!!"

————

SO, Kobayashi Aotori stood behind the service line, looking at Lev on his left, giving him a thumbs up, and Hinata on his right, smiling expectantly.

His eye twitched slightly, sighing inwardly, taking two steps back, and tossed the ball under everyone's gaze—

"Boom—!!"

Facing such a serve for the first time, Tsukishima's pupils shrank slightly, watching the volleyball flash by, feeling an undeniable sense of resistance.

He was resisting contact with such a serve.

Bokuto laughed heartily beside him, patting his back, making him lean forward slightly, "No worries, no worries! Aotori's serve is like this, you'll get used to it after a few times."

No, trying a few more times would drive anyone crazy.

This isn't something that quantity can overcome. Tsukishima deadpanned, looking at the laughing Bokuto.

At the scoreboard, Kuroo patted the scoreboard, attracting everyone's attention, making a tube with his hands:

"We can't let Aotori-senpai serve anymore. If we keep failing to receive it, Lev will never get the chance to show off his stolen... ahem, show the positioning techniques he just learned from Aotori-senpai!"

"...Did you just say 'steal techniques'?" Yaku, standing next to him, looked at Kuroo with disdain. Kuroo exaggeratedly whistled and looked away:

"No way, how is that possible? You must have heard it wrong!"

Kobayashi Aotori didn't care about the learning comment, not knowing what was valuable to steal from him, but...

Kuroo, you sly old senior, why are you also calling me senpai?!

Although no one cared about Kuroo's half-joking title, one person was different—

Hinata, looked at Lev in shock: "Your master is Mr. Dynamite! So cool!!"

"Oh—! Master? Then I can't call you senpai anymore! I have to call you master!"

Kobayashi Aotori couldn't stand it any longer, "Stop deciding that on your own!"

—THE NEXT DAY, when Kobayashi Aotori arrived at the gym, he heard Bokuto excitedly telling him that after he left yesterday, he had also taken Hinata as a disciple, and then Lev loudly called him master in front of everyone, creating an embarrassing scene.

But that's a story for another time.

Akaashi looked sympathetically at the utterly confused Kobayashi Aotori, while Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding why Aotori would rather compete to see who's weaker just to escape.

Although what Kuroo said sounded like an asshole, it still made sense. Kobayashi Aotori tossed the ball to Hinata, swapping places with him.

He gestured to Lev, indicating he would spike, and Lev should position accordingly.

Lev confidently gave an "OK" gesture.

For some reason, Kobayashi Aotori felt even more uneasy.

But the game must go on—

Hinata served a standard ball, which Tsukishima received, bumping it towards Akaashi, who observed the positions—

Kobayashi Aotori was in the front row, seemingly to help Lev position better—

But there wasn't much time to think. Akaashi set the ball to a familiar spot—

Bokuto leaped high, smiling brightly, seeing Kobayashi Aotori's blocking position, and noticing an undefended spot, his eyes lit up. But before he could make up his mind, a figure flashed by—

It's Haiba Lev!

He stood there confidently, and under everyone's shocked gaze, suddenly spread his arms and legs wide like a giant spider. Everyone was speechless—

Kuroo, "Did Aotori teach him that...?"

Yaku shook his head firmly, "Absolutely not. He must have misunderstood."

Though such a move would get a teammate punched off the court in a real match, the current spacious court and Lev's move simulated many teammate blocking scenarios perfectly.

Bokuto had no choice but to spike forcefully towards Kobayashi Aotori's block—

"Snap!"

With a crisp sound, the spike was blocked and bounced back to the court.

Bokuto's expression turned to stone, almost slipping into his emo mode before Akaashi's shout snapped him out of it. After all, it was just a regular 3V3.

...But Aotori's block was too precise.

Tsukishima frowned slightly, watching Kobayashi Aotori land, recalling his blocking move, and couldn't understand.

Why was he so sure Bokuto would be forced to spike there? It was only the first time he and Lev had worked together, right? And Lev had only just grasped the concept. How did he know that Lev would be able to do it?

However, the next moment, Kobayashi Aotori's actions answered his question—

Seeing Kobayashi Aotori land, take a deep breath, then suddenly scowl and turn:

"Lev! Why were you doing that just now?! Are you a gecko?! Do you want to punch your teammates to death on the court?!"

"Huh—?! You saw that?!" Lev was shocked.

"Of course! I saw it clearly out of the corner of my eye!"

"Isn't it cool?"

"...Are you a child?"