It seemed that considering Kobayashi Aotori was about to participate in the IH National League with everyone in Shiratorizawa, Hinata was very considerate and stopped the tutoring on the first day, saying that he had found someone in the school who was willing to teach them.
After washing up, Kobayashi Aotori yawned and looked at the information interface that kept ticking on his phone, and he clicked on it with dead eyes.
...As expected, it was another double bombardment from Hinata and Ito.
Hmm... I thought before that since the two of them had the same personalities, they would probably get along easily, but I didn't expect that they would maintain a friendship after meeting.
But...the way these two bombarded him with text messages together made him almost think that they were born from the same mother!
Taking a deep breath, Kobayashi Aotori, who was good at complaining inwardly with a calm face, replied to the two's messages matter-of-factly.
He didn't know if he talked a little too much that day, which caused the two people to try to encourage him even if they had nothing to do it. He also suspected that these two people had mistakenly joined some mysterious organization such as the 'Aotori Fans Group'.
...Even he will feel embarrassed to some extent to be praised with such nonsensical enthusiasm.
Probably because these two people praised were not perfunctory, and almost all of them were things that happened--
[Ito]: Wow! Aotori-san, your notes are so neat. I couldn't bear to turn over the page when I was copying them!
[Ito]: As expected of Kobayashi Aotori, who is a volleyball genius!
[You]: ...No, I don't think both have anything to do with the other. And please don't call me that.
----
[Hinata]: Mr. Dynamite!
[Hinata]: Mr. Dynamite is so handsome! Today we watched the match between Shiratorizawa and Seijoh a few days ago and discussed the details. Now we are watching Mr. Dynamite's highlights. Mr. Dynamite's take off at minutes three and seconds forty-two was so cool! /starry eye
[You]: ...No, even if you are accurate to the second, Hinata, I don't know which video you are watching.
I don't even know what's so interesting about my performance. His ears were slightly hot as he muttered.
But... this real feeling that someone is watching my every move on the court... is quite strange...
It was Ito before, but now there is another Hinata...?
No, that's not right!
He suddenly remembered something and his eyes widened suddenly.
What Hinata just said was not 'I', but 'we', which means...
Is everyone in Karasuno watching my highlights from the game?!
Being watched by a group of protagonists while playing?!
Even knowing them watching the replay is enough to make him collapse.
in normal games, ordinary spectators don't even stare at him, but now he has to be carefully analyzed by the key protagonists of this world--!
With a dull look on his face, he decisively threw away his cell phone, turned off the light, lay down, and covered himself with the quilt, all at once.
...In the dark night, those brown eyes stared at the dark ceiling. He couldn't help but swallow, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down.
Tonight is truly a day worth remembering he thought.
After a while, the exhaustion from studying and training during the day hit his body, and before he knew it, he fell into a trance and fell into a deep sleep.
In the dream, he briefly became his 'protagonist'.
----
Sitting in the car heading to Tokyo, Kobayashi Aotori sat by the window, beside him was the excited Goshiki who couldn't calm down, and behind him were Ushijima and Tendou.
The active Goshiki and the chirping Tendou became huge obstacles for him to sleep peacefully on the long-distance bus ride.
He opened his eyes helplessly and looked at the scenery outside the window. The lanes were crowded and the cars were not moving very fast.
He yawned lazily, glanced at Goshiki next to him who was restless as if he had lice, and unconsciously began to recall the scene when he participated in a large-scale competition for the first time--
Well, I don't remember the details. I just remember that because of my proper facial management, my nervous expression was calm, and that is why I was pushed out by the protagonists to be interviewed by reporters.
From then on, he only felt that there was nothing more painful than participating in a competition and being interviewed by the host, thus having his face appear on the ultra-high-definition screen behind him.
......Forget the past.
Just thinking about it made Aotori feel a little pain in his lower abdomen.
Sure enough, the nervousness of the time has been deeply engraved in the body's DNA.
If he were asked to stop a crowded bus in front of his classmates and coaches to solve his physical problems, he would escape from the earth and never meet again in this life.
It seemed that his random thoughts had taken effect. His stomach only stung briefly for two seconds and then calmed down.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, he finally couldn't bear it and looked at Goshiki, whose body was tense beside him, with disgust written unabashedly in his narrow eyes:
"...Are you covered with lice?"
Goshiki was suddenly startled and looked at Kobayashi Aotori. After realizing what the other party was referring to, his hair flew up and due to the heat his cheeks immediately became hot:
"me......!"
It was a bit embarrassing for him to admit that he showed such an expression because he was too excited.
Tendo, who was behind him, came forward and stared curiously at Aotori's handsome face with his big eyes:
"Eh--Aotori-chan doesn't feel like participating in a big competition for the first time at all..."
"Sure enough, you have participated in similar national competitions abroad?" He tilted his head and looked at Kobayashi Aotori. The close distance made him tilt his neck back silently.
--This guy's face is almost touching his jawline.
The heat of talking rushed to his face.
Kobayashi Aotori remembered that when the original Kobayashi was still in M country, he had indeed participated in this kind of competition. It also perfectly fits the character of a young volleyball genius. He won several youth championships when he was eleven or thirteen.
"That's right." Aotori mumbled, and when Tendo's unfinished "Huh--" sounded, he decisively turned his head and pretended to be admiring the scenery outside the window.
Tendo sat back in his seat with a smile, glanced at the calm Ushijima next to him, and Kobayashi Aotori who didn't care much about the previous games, and suddenly raised his eyebrows:
"Huh?! We have nothing to do anyway, so why don't we watch Aotori-chan's previous game!"
What?!!
Aotori couldn't sit still anymore, turned his head suddenly, and looked at Tendo who said "yeah" to him twice in disbelief.
...What kind of scene is this?! Although it is the original Kobayashi and not myself, we are using the same face no matter what!!
He wanted to stop him sternly, but Semi Eita behind him spoke first: "Okay! Let's take a look together!"
"Well, I'm also curious about Aotori's previous games." Shion Ohira in the back row echoed without feeling the collapse of Kobayashi Aotori.
"Where's Shirabu?" He turned to look at Shirabu next to him, only to find that he had opened his eyes at some point:
"Um."
When Aotori heard the unanimous consent of the members behind him, he couldn't help but feel a little shaken. He didn't need to look sideways, but he could feel the fiery gazes of the Goshiki beside him.
Even Hayato Yamagata and Taichi Kawanishi, who were sitting on the other side, showed great interest.
Ushijima's expression remained unchanged, but the way he was looking straight at the big screen in front of the bus showed his thoughts.
Just when he was about to ask Coach Washijo to give up the idea, he looked up and saw the teacher advisor with a smile on his face using his mobile phone to project the screen on the big screen-!
"...Teacher?!" Aotori looked at the teacher Advisor who had found the video in shock.
--Where did you find the video of Kobayashi Aotori's previous game?!
Can you find this kind of foreign competition video from a few years ago?
How does he know exactly what major games the original Kobayashi has played in...
"Huh?" The Teacher Advisor glanced at Aotori in confusion. The latter followed his gaze and saw that from who knows when, Coach Washijo, who had closed his eyes to rest, was already staring at the big screen.
...The best hopes are gone.
He gave up and lay down on the back of the seat... Anyway, it was the original Kobayashi and not him who was playing, so he just thought he was a guy who looked a lot like him!
Narrator: This is self-hypnosis.
So, no matter how reluctant Aotori was, he and everyone else turned their attention to the clear big screen in the centre of the car--
The light flashed, and the voice of the commentator sounded, worthy of the M country with its warm folk customs. The audience at the venue was full, and even the cameras next to it were full.
Goshiki next to him stopped breathing and seemed to be feeling nervous and excited.
...Your ability to empathize is a bit too strong... Aotori complained silently.
As the commentator spoke a long paragraph in English, the contestants entered--
"Look! It's a chibi Aotori!"
...What name is Chibi Aotori?!
In the lens, Aotori's face is very prominent among the team. He has short dark blue hair, which is very obvious among the blonds and blue eyes.
The kid with brown eyes raised his eyebrows the moment they met the camera, and his aggressiveness was fully displayed compared to his current face, which was slightly childish.
Looking at the cool expression on that face, Aotori didn't know that his expressionless face would look like this from time to time. Now he just felt a little bit sour.
Amid Tendo's shouts, the game started, and the first one to serve was Kobayashi Aotori.
With a relaxed and carefree look on his face, he did not feel any pressure from being under the spotlight. He threw the volleyball casually, jumped down, and served it lightly--
"Pah--!!" The voice was slightly crisper than Aotori's current service.
But no matter what, the ball passed through many figures and hit the opponent's court.
Coach Washijo nodded slightly: "When serving, considering that the physical strength was not strong enough finally turned to focused technique. Not bad."
Sure enough, Kobayashi Aotori that year was not as capable as he is now of using the simplest techniques to directly crush his opponents. He focused on using his brain and comprehensive abilities.
It can be seen that he has undergone systematic training and has sufficient theory.
In the next game, Kobayashi Aotori, who was still in junior high school at the time, perfectly explained what 'genius is. Even though the members of his team were not very strong, he was almost able to defeat the opponent's defences with his overwhelming momentum.
The cameraman also knows very well who is the highlight of the game, and the camera repeatedly puts close-ups of Kobayashi Aotori's handsome face, and the disdain and contempt on that face almost resemble him now.
This kid... his arrogant expression is infuriating! Aotori looked at the screen and thought angrily, but there was a burst of unexpected words around him:
"...so handsome!"
He was slightly startled and looked sideways at the Goshiki beside him. The latter was staring at the screen intently. He had watched the game with gusto and had a twinkling light in his eyes.
Aotori was silent. He knew that Goshiki was not talking about the appearance and expression of the original Kobayashi.
He was talking about the kind of strength that dominates the court.
The unstoppable kind, king of the court, and the absolute ace in the entire court.
Aotori looked at the young man with dark blue hair on the screen standing on the podium, holding the trophy and looking down at the camera.
Well, he is indeed quite handsome.
But this isn't me.