"BANG—!"

With a loud noise, everything was settled.

The sweat of both teams' players flowed down their cheeks and onto the ground. Everyone's eyes focused, simultaneously looking in the direction of the scoreboard next to the court——

Shiratorizawa's scoreboard flipped slightly, and at the moment it showed 33:31, the whole venue was silent for a few seconds, followed by noisy cheers and discussions.

Kobayashi Aotori, who had just made the final spike, supported his knee with one hand and wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead with his wrist. The stinging pain in his wrist made him frown belatedly.

Karasuno and the others on the opposite side also collapsed on the ground due to exhaustion. Although they were still unwilling in their hearts, they all smiled with conviction.

On the sides of the net, Kageyama Tobio, although exhausted, still gritted his teeth and remained standing, his eyes slightly dazed as he looked at Kobayashi Aotori, who was slowly standing up on the other side.

Lost... again.

Just like a year ago.

On the other side of the net, Kobayashi Aotori's expression was calm. His narrow hazel eyes squinted slightly as his rapid breathing slowly calmed down, focusing on Kageyama, who seemed to be lost in thought.

...If he were the same person he used to be, he would probably leave without looking back.

Kobayashi Aotori's eyes flickered slightly, but his gaze couldn't move away from the black-haired boy on the other side.

He pursed his lips, casually tore off the hair tie at the end of his hair, and coincidentally, today's hair tie still had the champion emblem on it.

His medium-length navy-blue hair fell loose, draping casually beside his face. He suddenly took two steps forward, standing directly in front of Kageyama Tobio, his eyes staring straight at him.

Burned by the gaze, Kageyama Tobio looked up blankly and saw the expressionless navy-blue-haired young man opposite him.

The youth's face was expressionless. Clearly, it was a colder look than mockery, but for some reason, he couldn't associate the man in front of him with the "Kobayashi Aotori" who defeated him a year ago.

Although the two figures looked exactly the same, even with only the length of their hair changed, but... it still felt like they were two completely different people.

Kageyama Tobio didn't understand how someone could change so much in just a year...

Of course, the answer his mind told him was a completely different message. Although he didn't want to admit it, unfortunately, at the moment, there could only be one truth——

—That is, he, Kageyama Tobio, had never truly known Kobayashi Aotori.

He has been arbitrarily using his own ideas to forcibly add an image and character standard to Kobayashi Aotori that "should" belong to him.

Once the thought was formed, it was like a flood, overwhelming and unstoppable——

The originally mocking eyes turned into bewilderment at his inability to play; the indifferent words turned into unfamiliarity and helplessness when being randomly stopped and chatted with by Karasuno's people on the roadside; the light-hearted answers turned into avoidance and probing to avoid making enemies.

...Perhaps, all along, his view of Kobayashi Aotori... was his own subjective conjecture.

A sense of blockage appeared deep in Kageyama's heart. For the first time, his expression was unprecedentedly fragile as he lowered his head, even somewhat afraid to look at Kobayashi Aotori's face.

Kobayashi Aotori on the opposite side was slightly confused. Although he didn't understand Kageyama's complicated expression, the words he wanted to say remained unchanged.

The navy-haired youth stood there, suddenly taking a deep breath. His calm voice was only audible to the two of them:

"This is our first duel, right."

Kageyama, hearing this, had his thoughts abruptly interrupted. He looked up in confusion, seemingly not understanding the key point of Kobayashi Aotori's words.

Kobayashi Aotori's focused gaze did not waver in the slightest due to Kageyama's attention, his calm voice slowly flowing:

"This time I won. I look forward to our second duel."

After saying this, he turned around and left without any reluctance, regardless of the surprised expression on Kageyama's face behind him.

Kageyama, left in place, looked blankly at Kobayashi Aotori's back.

What did he mean... by the first duel?

So, in his heart, did he... not consider their match in junior high as a duel?

...Although this thought might be too narcissistic, he couldn't help but think——

In junior high... did Kobayashi Aotori show that expression because he couldn't duel with me...?

Although there might be some discrepancies in certain aspects, luckily, Kageyama's final conclusion was roughly the same as what Kobayashi Aotori wanted to express.

On the other side, in Shiratorizawa's direction, a panting redhead heard Kobayashi Aotori's second sentence unintentionally. His expression slightly froze, and he looked at Kobayashi Aotori's back with meaningful eyes.

Tendou Satori's mind flashed back to what Kobayashi Aotori said to him in the lounge that day when he asked if he would continue playing.

So, under everyone's gaze, the navy-blue figure gradually left the court, with his hands crossed in a relaxing posture.

And while changing others, this man was also quietly changing himself.

————

A FEW DAYS LATER—

Miyagi Prefecture

Seemingly because it was already October, Kobayashi Aotori's most unbearable summer heat had quietly disappeared, replaced by the occasional "autumn tiger" showing its power.

Although the mornings and evenings were still cool, once it reached noon, Kobayashi Aotori would immediately surrender.

On the street, a tall youth wore a dark gray thin hoodie, a perpetually white baseball cap on his head, loose black pants perfectly covering his leg muscles, and casually wore a pair of black sandals with white socks, looking at his phone.

The youth's medium-length navy-blue hair was tied up in a small ponytail at the back. He lazily yawned, his eyes slightly dazed as he scanned the content on his phone, his steps seeming somewhat dragging.

...Hot.

Kobayashi Aotori irritably raised his face, his eyes roaming around the roadside, finally landing on the entrance of a nearby cold drink shop. There weren't many people, probably because the hottest part of the summer had passed.

He quickly changed his route, heading towards the cold drink shop, contentedly bought a bottle of ice water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. Feeling the cold sensation like a knife cutting through his throat, his face remained expressionless, but inside, he was secretly delighted.

Fortunately, the Spring High National Tournament would be held in the spring of the following year. This meant he didn't have to play in the hot weather, and the next encounter with other schools could be postponed until next year.

Kobayashi Aotori liked playing volleyball, but only for internal training. If it extended to large-scale matches, practice matches were fine, but once it became a do-or-die type, he would involuntarily resist.

This is probably what it feels like when I am happy studying alone, but then you tell me that I have an exam tomorrow, and I suddenly feel that studying becomes painful.

He breathed a sigh of relief, carrying his bottle of ice water, planning to head to the department store to buy his things and then immediately return home. At that moment, a similarly tall figure appeared behind him, also heading to the cold drink shop——

A ominous premonition instantly enveloped Kobayashi Aotori's back. For some reason, he suddenly had the urge to quickly leave...

However, just as he quickened his pace, a slightly surprised male voice behind him instantly shattered all his previous joy:

"Eh? Isn't this Kobayashi Aotori——!"

Kobayashi Aotori: Deceased.

————

TWO TALL FIGURES walked on the street, their handsome appearances causing passersby to frequently turn their heads, making the perpetually expressionless and socially anxious Kobayashi Aotori feel extremely uncomfortable.

The tall youth beside him had a bright smile, his lips slightly curved up, "You don't know me, right? I'm Terushima Yuuji from Johzenji High School!"

"...I know."

Of course I know, I just saw that face of yours two days ago!

Also, you dressed like a delinquent blond youth with a tongue piercing, don't get so close to me! Originally, that guy Oikawa Tooru falsely accused me of school violence, and now you're acting so familiar with me, dressed in a way that's easy to misunderstand, aren't you just giving people ammunition to catch me?

Even Oikawa Tooru probably never expected that the words he said just to irritate Kobayashi Aotori would be remembered by him to this day.

However, after hearing his expressionless whisper, Terushima Yuuji was surprised and widened his eyes, drawing out his voice: "Eh—?"

He was surprised as he walked in front of Kobayashi Aotori. Due to their height difference, he looked up slightly, examining the expression on Kobayashi Aotori's face under the baseball cap, speaking in a very surprised tone:

"You actually know me?"

Kobayashi Aotori, feeling somewhat uncomfortable under Terashima Yuji's gaze, looked around without making eye contact. Terushima Yuuji didn't mind, he was just trying to determine if Kobayashi Aotori was serious or joking.

After saying that, Terushima Yuuji jumped back to Kobayashi Aotori's side. The sturdy youth put one hand on his hip, seemingly waiting for an explanation from Kobayashi Aotori.

Kobayashi Aotori, holding his ice water with one hand and feeling its cold touch, calmly said, "I went to watch the match between Johzenji and Karasuno."

"Ah! You actually watched it!" Terushima Yuuji was very surprised by this. He raised the corners of his mouth and suddenly raised his eyebrows:

"But of course, Shiratorizawa had just played against Karasuno two days before, right?"

He grinned, showing a smile, placed his hands behind his head, and said in a loud voice with a nonchalant attitude, "Haven't congratulated you yet on winning the final match in the qualifiers?"

He referred to "you," not "Shiratorizawa."

"I thought you only lost to the first-ranked team, but your last match was really intense!" he exclaimed, with the scene of the last match he saw that day unconsciously resurfacing in his mind—

Kobayashi Aotori's sweat flowed down his cheeks onto the ground, but the person seemed oblivious, his eyes focused solely on the volleyball.

In the last set, Kobayashi Aotori displayed his terrifying dominance on the court, no longer half-playing and half-crushing as before, but showing absolute strength.

Everyone could see that Kobayashi Aotori was extremely serious, but correspondingly, the power and angles of each of his shots left all the spectators astonished. Even Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime in the stands couldn't help but widen their eyes.

In other words... Karasuno's loss was inevitable.

If they had played with the same intensity as in the first three games, the outcome might have been uncertain. But if it was Kobayashi Aotori in his fourth-set state...

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that if Kobayashi Aotori had entered this state in the first three set, then...

There wouldn't have been a fourth set.

—Terushima Yuuji snapped out of his recollection. Even for him, even though the match had long ended, just thinking about it made his heart heat up involuntarily, his hands feeling hot as if burning.

Recalling the manager's words after the loss, his gaze deepened, his smile changed subtly, and he remembered the rumors——

It was said that Kobayashi Aotori not only had immense talent in matches but also excelled in teaching players. He had a "born-to-compete" mind, and all his techniques seemed to be developed for survival on the court.

The significant progress of both Aoba Johsai and Karasuno was reportedly due to Kobayashi Aotori's exchanges and training with these two teams during the summer vacation.

If he initially doubted this rumor, he believed it 80% after being "forced" to watch Aoba Johsai's match footage and clearly noticing techniques similar to Kobayashi Aotori's.

In addition, recalling the oppressive feeling during the match against Karasuno further solidified his belief.

His eyes unconsciously focused on the expressionless Kobayashi Aotori beside him.

Meanwhile, Kobayashi Aotori, brainstorming how to find a suitable excuse to escape perfectly, suddenly felt a chill down his back. He blinked reflexively and gripped the ice water bottle tightly.

...Hiss, so cold.

He let go instinctively, his expression slightly relaxing, while Terushima Yuuji's expression also rapidly changed—

Kobayashi Aotori's face remained unchanged, but internally he became highly alert.

Wh-what does this mean?! That look!

Am I about to be attacked?!

Could this be a crossover world?! And a crossover with a certain child detective?!

————

ON THE COURT

Kobayashi Aotori held the volleyball, his dead-fish eyes staring at the Johzenji players on the other side, who, despite having different expressions, all had undisguised excitement and anticipation in their eyes.

...So why, even though it was just a chance encounter, did they still catch me to play volleyball?

And what's more! We are not familiar with each other at all!!

How on earth did he become so familiar with others?!

How did it get to the point where someone could casually pull a stranger to play volleyball on the street with such confidence?!

How could this guy with a delinquent face do something so goofy!

Narrator: The person who agreed is of suspicious nature.

Despite Kobayashi Aotori's internal collapse, since he had already agreed, he would never go back on his word.

On the other side, the group of Johzenji players were chatting and laughing, showing no resentment about being pulled out to play volleyball. On the contrary, they were full of enthusiasm, as if they were going to a party rather than a volleyball practice.

Tsuchiyu Arata, the only one with conscience, blinked and blurted out, "Won't this be a bother..." but was quickly drowned out by his teammates' cheers—

"Oh— we get to play with 'Dynamite'!!"

"Yoshi! Super excited!! He's a champion!"

A group of people laughed and hooked shoulders. In the front, Terushima Yuuji, hands on his hips, smiled as he looked at Kobayashi Aotori, who tilted his head expressionlessly and looked at them, "So, like I said earlier, let's do a 3v3, okay?"

Kobayashi Aotori shrugged indifferently, about to agree when a delighted voice came from not far away:

"Oh!! It's..."

Upon hearing this familiar voice, Kobayashi Aotori instinctively wanted to escape, but it was too late—

"Mr. Dynamite!!"

A certain orange head burst out of the crowd, leaping up and clinging to the tall Kobayashi Aotori, his smile so bright it could burn.

Kobayashi Aotori felt himself getting hurt.

————

WATCHING THE ENCOUNTER between Karasuno and Johzenji, Terushima Yuuji stood firmly in front of Kobayashi Aotori, using his height advantage to look down at Hinata:

"Hey, let's talk about first-come, first-served?"

His teammates stared at him with dead-fish eyes, thinking, "Since when did you become so rule-abiding?"

However, their thoughts were not much different from their captain's. It was rare to have a chance to play with Kobayashi Aotori. Even though they had just said they wouldn't mess around anymore and would focus on training, now another team suddenly came to steal their opportunity?

Hinata blinked in confusion, then, after seemingly imagining some scenario, raised his eyebrows defiantly and said loudly, "Ha! We won't lose to you!"

A drop of cold sweat slid down Sugawara's forehead as he watched the Johzenji become hostile due to Hinata's nonsensical comment. He quickly stepped forward, along with Daichi, to explain that they were just passing by.

However, while they were explaining, Terushima Yuuji and Hinata continued their confrontation. Behind Terushima, Tanaka directly flipped him off, only to be swiftly subdued by Sawamura Daichi, who smiled and pressed it down with veins throbbing on his forehead—

"Aotori is ours!"

"Ha—? You wanna fight?"

"Who's afraid of you!"

Thus, an unusual scene unfolded in the not-so-large gym: two teams faced each other, with one group negotiating peacefully on the side while another group glared at each other, ready to brawl any second.

Standing outside the commotion, Kobayashi Aotori lazily yawned. He had no idea why these high school boys were arguing.

...Or maybe, is this how Japanese high school students communicate?

Am I really that old?

Casually patting the volleyball in his hand, his long hazel eyes swept over the crowd, and he tilted his head, "Since you guys met by chance, I won't bother you."

With another team around, there was no need for them to cling to him, right?

Johzenji probably just wanted to train and exchange techniques with other school members, thought Kobayashi Aotori, assuming he understood Terushima Yuuji's intentions.

However, in the next second, the previously quarreling crowd suddenly turned their heads, staring at Kobayashi Aotori, who looked like he was about to flee.

Suddenly being stared at by so many eyes, Kobayashi Aotori felt a chill down his spine.

Um... did I do something wrong?