After the Tamaki Commercial player served, she looked like it was the end of the world, then broke down in tears. I probably shouldn't say it so lightly, but… it hurts.
If, for example, we had lost because of a spike from the other team, there’d still be some excuse. It might sound arrogant, but if my spike had been the final point, maybe people would’ve just said, “It couldn’t be helped.”
But losing because of a missed serve—that’s just painful. There’s no excuse for it.
“The serve is the one play in volleyball where you can show the results of your practice 100%.”
That’s what Mika-nee, my older sister, always said when she explained how important the serve was to us. She wasn’t joking. Was that crying, collapsed figure really the result of practice? No way. According to the pamphlet, she’s a third-year. If three years of effort led to that moment… that’s just too sad.
Volleyball is a much more cruel sport than I ever imagined.
“Yuuri. Line up. Let’s go.”
Someone called out to me as I stood there spacing out. Right. We have to line up and do the post-game greeting.
“““““Thank you very much!!”””””
Both teams lined up along the end lines, with the net between us, and bowed. Then we ran up to the net for handshakes.
Since we had fewer members, after shaking hands with a few of them, the ikemen-senpai actually came over to me.
“You’re Yuuri-chan, right? You were amazing.”
I couldn’t tell what she was really feeling, but outwardly, her voice was calm and gentle. She seemed so tense before the match… maybe this is the real ikemen-senpai?
“Ichikawa-senpai, you were amazing too! I’ve never seen a player who could do so many things like you!”
That was my honest impression—no exaggeration at all. This ikemen-senpai really was incredible!
Still, now that we’re this close—close enough to be shaking hands—I can clearly see that every part of senpai’s face is really well put together. I ended up staring a little too much, and then all of a sudden, she pulled my right hand—still holding her—toward her and hugged me.
Even though ikemen-senpai is, well, incredibly ikemen, she’s still a girl, and there was a soft, gentle scent about her.
“I’m really glad someone as amazing as you was our final opponent. Now I can retire with no regrets.”
After whispering just that, she let go of me. Then, one more time:
“That was a really great match.”
And she returned to her team.
It had been on my mind before too, but yeah… for third-years, losing really does mean retirement, huh…
I kept trying not to think about it, but… what’s going to happen to Eri-senpai and the others?
There were 54 schools in the prefectural qualifiers, if I remember right. In just two weeks, that’s been narrowed down to four. That means 50 schools have been eliminated. If each school had three third-years, that’s 150 people retiring from high school volleyball in just two weeks. Some might go on to aim for Spring High, but I doubt that’s even 20% of them.
…Does that mean Eri-senpai and the others will retire too if we lose?
That thought made me feel sentimental—but there was one more thing I noticed. Still, this wasn’t the time or place to ask. I’d wait until we got home and ask her directly.
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“Yuu-chan? What did you want to talk about? If it’s not urgent, I’d really like to go to sleep already…”
That night, after the fierce match with Tamaki Commercial. We were in Hina’s room at my house.
Two matches in such a short time, and one of them went all the way to the third set—it had been a tough battle. Because of that, the full-body fatigue was hitting me hard, and still going strong.
After the match, I dragged my worn-out body home, had dinner, took a bath, and now it was time for bed. But there was something I wanted to ask. For the record, we were both in our pajamas, and just like Hina said, I was completely exhausted from today’s match, so I wanted to sleep too.
During the match, I was running on adrenaline, so I didn’t notice it much, but honestly, I was totally wiped out. I’d probably get scolded if I did it, but right now, I really just want to jump into Hina’s bed and sleep.
“Oh, is this talk maybe to thank me for the pajamas?”
“…Are you serious? I’ve got nothing but complaints about them.”
The pajamas I was wearing now were something Hina had bought—super girly in design. And with my kiddie-meal build, they suited me pretty well. But still, I felt like the design was a little too childish for a high school girl to wear.
On the other hand, Hina’s pajamas were a calm, mature design—something an adult might wear. With her tall figure and nice proportions, they looked great on her. But again, not something a high school girl would usually wear.
If a stranger saw us like this, no one would think we were the same age.
…And to anyone who thinks we don’t look the same age even beyond the outfits—because of our figures—you owe me ten times your age in sit-ups.
“Ehh~? But Yuu-chan, you look so cute in those…”
“Then you should’ve bought them for yourself.”
"...Yuu-chan, they don’t sell that pajama in a size that fits onee-chan."
Ah, this again.
Back when I first turned into a girl, Hina and both of my older sisters kept trying to dress me in super girly clothes. I figured they just wanted to embarrass me—me, someone who still thought like a guy. But maybe… just maybe, it was their way of doing something nice. Like, since they couldn’t wear those kinds of clothes themselves, they wanted me to wear them freely instead.
A small kindness, a big nuisance, though.
"I'm not here to talk about pajamas. It's about today's match. I realized something from playing against Tamaki Commercial—volleyball is more complex than I thought."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Up until now, our team basically just had Hina-nee toss the ball to me or Reiko for a spike, and that was it, right? Sometimes Asuka, Eri-senpai, or Yui-senpai would spike, but even then, it was usually just one player. But today, with Tamaki Commercial, it felt like they were really playing as a team. Their attacks weren’t just about one person—they came from all over, and in different ways."
"Yeah, that’s true. But don’t get the wrong idea, Yuu-chan. It’s not strange that you didn’t know about that style of play. We never taught you. And whether Matsubara Girls needs that kind of style is kind of iffy, too. After watching today's match, I want you to recognize something again—Reiko aside, your height is practically cheating, Yuu-chan. Tamaki Commercial got that strong through years of training, but you’ve gotten to their level in just two months. So your style of play isn’t wrong. Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to work on things like spike variation or improving your receives, but the core strategy doesn’t need to change."
Mika-nee, the second daughter of the Tachibana family and even a member of the national team, also told me to use my height to my advantage. I trust both Mika-nee and Hina—they know way more about volleyball than I ever will. So I won't deny that the basic strategy is sound.
But...
"Hey, Hina. You’ve been holding back when you play volleyball, haven’t you?"
"Hmm? A little sister calling her big sister without honorifics—what a troublesome girl—"
"Sorry, but I’m being serious. You probably wouldn’t answer properly if I asked as Yuuri-chan, so I’ll ask as Yuji-nii. You’re not just holding back... that’s not quite it. You’re... limiting yourself—like playing under a self-imposed handicap, right? Am I wrong?"
Hina’s eyes widened for a moment.
"...Why do you think that?"
"The Tamaki Commercial match was the main trigger, but I started sensing something off during last week’s Kurakami High match. The setter is supposed to be the team’s playmaker, right? But you hardly ever give out directions yourself. That’s strange."
"I'm just a first-year, you know? Didn't it occur to you that I might be holding back out of respect for the third-years?"
"Nope."
"Wow. That was fast."
"I’ve been your big brother since before you were even born, you know? You’re not the kind of person who holds back around older people. So? What’s the truth?"
"...You remember that I played volleyball in elementary school, right? Did you ever see any of my matches back then?"
"I did. I didn’t really understand the rules at the time, but I could tell you were crazy good."
"...And that’s the problem."
"Why’s that?"
"...Sorry. There are things I don’t want to talk about, even with you. Let me ask instead—what do you think makes an ideal setter?"
"Hmm... someone who gives good tosses?"
"I think so too. So I believe a good setter is one who brings out the best in the whole team, not someone who tries to do everything alone."
・
・
・
...You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s way too dumb...
"...Ahh, I see. That’s what it was. Sorry. I guess I was the one at fault."
Hina’s probably capable of giving all sorts of creative tosses like we saw from Tamaki Commercial. But the ones on the receiving end—me (and Reiko)—can only hit open tosses.
It’s like... in baseball, having a pitcher with all sorts of nasty breaking balls, but the catcher’s so bad they can only throw fastballs.
"That’s... that’s not it! You’ve got it wrong—"
"Ah—sorry, Hina... I mean, ahem. I apologize. Hina-onee-chan. You're kind, so you were just being considerate toward us, right?"
I switch to little sister mode to smooth things over with Hina.
Now that I get it, all I can do is apologize. Holding back? Please. I was the problem. I should’ve figured this out way earlier!
Hina was just adjusting her coaching to suit the skill level of volleyball newbies like me and Reiko.
When I said I wanted to try quick attacks and special spikes, she told me, “It’s too soon. Learn to vary your spikes first.” She’s been spending a lot of practice time tossing for me and Reiko.
If she had left us alone and practiced more advanced combo plays with Asuka, Eri-senpai, and Yui-senpai, we would’ve tried to join in even though we couldn’t keep up. That would’ve only caused trouble.
"Ughhh! Geez, Hina-nee! If that’s how it was, just tell me from the start! You’re not even the bad guy! I’m just the clown!"
"...That’s not really it..."
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
"Nope. Just... see, if I’d explained everything to you and Reiko as you are now, you’d both just get confused, right? So I didn’t say anything."
"Yeah, I get that. Okay, Hina-nee! I want to try that spike we saw today where it looks like a C-quick but it suddenly cuts in diagonally for an A-quick!"
"Eh? You mean an air fake? Hmm... Let’s start with learning a basic quick first. And you’ll also need to practice hitting tosses that come from below..."
"It’s called an air fake? Huh? And what do you mean, tosses from below?"
"Usually you spike open tosses—balls that come down from above, right? But with the quick, I’ll be tossing the ball up from below, so—"
After that, Hina and I got really into a volleyball discussion. And that was the problem.
Somehow, we ended up sitting on her bed while talking. That was the second mistake.
Next thing I knew, I’d fallen asleep mid-conversation.
And then... the next morning, I opened my eyes and saw Hina sleeping right beside me.
Turns out we’d shared the same bed.
Panic.
When I asked her about it after she woke up, she told me I’d dozed off while we were talking last night.
She could’ve carried me easily—I'm light, after all—but she was too tired and just went to bed like that.
"Hey, I mean... sleeping in the same bed with a guy—your brother, even—aren’t you scared or something?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? Last night, I... I mean, I slept with my adorable little sister, didn’t I?"
So that’s how she sees it. Just great. There goes another piece of my dignity as a big brother...
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