““We’re sorry!””
Hina and I apologized to Tobita-senpai.
Tobita-senpai is the captain of Kinhouzan Academy’s girls’ volleyball team, which just won the Inter-High tournament. She was also chosen as the tournament MVP—a super setter.
Allow me to offer a bit of an excuse.
Kinhouzan Academy is in Osaka, far from here. Who would expect someone from Kansai to be hanging around this area? To us at Matsujo, who can’t even get past the prefectural qualifiers, people from nationals are like gods. It’s totally unrealistic to think someone of that level would even know about me, a player who only got a tiny blurb in a monthly magazine.
So really, not knowing who she is wasn’t unreasonable.
“You’re right. I got a bit carried away, thinking it was only natural for people to know who I am now. I’m sorry.”
This seemed like a moment that needed smoothing over.
…I thought I was smoothing it over! I didn’t think I’d be pouring oil on the fire!
“B-But people who know how amazing Tobita-senpai is really do know! At the last All-Japan Women’s Volleyball Training Camp, both Head Coach Tashiro and U-23 Coach Ooe said, ‘If we could’ve invited just one player, it would’ve been Tobita-senpai.’”
“Hold on a second! ‘The last All-Japan Women’s Volleyball Training Camp’—what do you mean by that? I wasn’t invited to that… but you, Yuuri, were?”
“Uh, well… a lot of coincidences lined up…”
She started asking me all sorts of questions about the camp—what kind of training we did, how to improve faster. She’s clearly an athlete who takes pride in the sport of volleyball.
This is what I mean. She’s the kind of person who should have been invited to that camp, not me.
In exchange for getting information from me, Tobita-senpai told me a bit about herself.
Apparently, her family’s originally from around here, but she lives in the dorms in Osaka while attending Kinhouzan Academy. Back in junior high, she really wanted to go to Himesaki High, which had won both the Spring-High and Inter-High when she was in 2nd and 3rd year. But she didn’t meet Coach Akai’s rule of “must be within 3 hours one-way from home.” So, as a compromise, she chose Kinhouzan, which at the time was the strongest school among those that had offered her, aside from Himesaki.
Incidentally, it takes about two and a half hours to get from her home to Himesaki by car, but by public transit, it apparently takes over three and a half hours due to the train routes.
With Inter-High over, Kinhouzan’s volleyball team got a short summer break, so she came back home. And to keep her body from getting sluggish, she came to the beach to practice open-water swimming. That’s when she happened to see us and came over to say hi.
“Now that we’ve all introduced ourselves, Tachibana-san…”
““Yes? What is it?””
“…”
“Ah, please just call us by our names. Everyone at school does.”
“Alright. I’ll do that then. And feel free to call me Mai instead. Is that alright, Hina-san? Yuuri-san?”
“Yes, no problem.”
“Mai-senpai, nice to meet you.”
“Back to the topic though—Yuuri-san, would you like to team up with me for beach volleyball?”
“Um, I’m honored, but I’m really terrible, you know?”
“Mai-senpai, my little sister may have great physical ability, but she’s a complete beginner with only five months of volleyball experience. On top of that, she’s mostly been training for spiking and serving, so her receiving skills are, well… don’t expect much.”
“But that spiking is exactly why she got called up to All-Japan, right? If things go as they are, Yuuri-san, you’ll be spiking off my tosses in the future. So getting some practice together now doesn’t sound like a bad idea, does it?”
She said it so casually, like being selected for All-Japan is a given for both of us. Seriously…?
“Yooou…ri! What’re you doing? Let’s go. Also, who’s that?”
Talk about timing, good or bad—Yuuki showed up.
・
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・
・
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Somehow, it ended up with three teams joining the beach volleyball event: Yuuki and Mary-san, Yuuta and Canal-san, and me with Mai-senpai.
Honestly, it’s just a casual beach volleyball thing, but isn’t there quite a crowd here? There’s even a surprisingly elaborate poster at the tournament sign-up.
“I heard the person on this poster is a pretty famous beach volleyball player.”
“Uh, Mai-chan, was it? She’s not just ‘pretty famous’—she’s super famous. I think she was on Japan’s national beach volleyball team before. I’ve seen her on TV. She’s probably still ranked pretty high in Japan.”
Yuuki chimed in to answer Mai-senpai’s curiosity.
Makes sense. Beach volleyball isn’t that popular in Japan. From the poster, she looks quite pretty. Maybe she’s trying to spread awareness by hosting casual tournaments like this around the country.
Actually, now that I think about it…
“What’s the difference between regular volleyball and beach volleyball? Is it just whether you play indoors or on sand, and 6 players versus 2?”
“The court’s a little smaller for beach volleyball. Also, Yu-chan, here’s what you should remember: blocks count as touches, overhand tosses are judged strictly and often get called as double contacts, and the ball has lower air pressure and is softer, so it’s harder to get speed.”
“The ball’s soft? I’d like to do a bit of practice before the match…”
Looks like Mai-san doesn’t know much about beach volleyball either.
“I can play beach volleyball!”
“Yuuri, I got the ball. We can practice now!”
The blonde, blue-eyed duo is full of energy. They even went and got a ball!
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Perspective change
Best friend of Tachibana Yuuji
POV: Yuuki Sawada
＝＝＝＝
Pardon the crude phrasing, but there’s a term out there: “boob-bounce volleyball.” Volleyball is a sport full of jumping, so it kind of comes with the territory.
So, what would you think if you saw that up close?
“Hebuh!!”
Probably nothing but murderous intent.
“Nice key, Yuuri!”
“Nice toss, Mai-san!”
Even someone like Yuuji, in a swimsuit and jumping that much, well… yeah, there’s movement. But there’s no time to gawk. I took a ball straight to the face trying to receive.
It’s been a little while since this casual beach volleyball tournament started. It’s mainly for community bonding and to help promote the sport. More like recreation than serious competition.
Most of the other teams are playing in good fun. But those two idiots in front of me? They’re going all out.
Well, maybe they are enjoying themselves in their own way. They’re calling each other “Mai-san” and “Yuuri” like they’re good friends already, and laughing, high-fiving, praising each other’s plays.
They got tons of faults in the first match from misunderstanding the beach volleyball rules, but we’re talking about the strongest high school girl setter and a freakishly athletic monster.
They’re insanely strong. After that first rough match, they went on a rampage—dominating every game until they reached the finals. Their opponents in the final? Us.
Apparently, Mary-san and Canal-san used to play a bit of volleyball back in their home countries, and they’re pretty good.
Add me, a guy who’s got more physical stamina than girls and has been training hard for the past month and a half thanks to Yuuji’s nagging. That got us through. Or maybe we just got lucky not facing Yuuji’s team until now.
“Yuuki.”
“I’m fine. This is nothing.”
Mary-san looked at me with concern. By the way, that jerk Yuuji does at least have the decency not to aim his killer spikes directly at people—he’s been aiming for empty spots all tournament.
But for the second round against Yuuta and this final match against me? He’s going for the body on purpose.
He must be trying to kill me!!
Sensing my fiery resolve, Mary-san spoke up.
“Yuuki, let’s win this.”
Win? No, that’s not enough!
“Mary-san, no. What we need is—‘KILL THEM ALL!’”
She blinked in shock at my dangerous words, but then gave me the biggest smile of the day and said:
“OK! Let’s bust them up!”
…Well, heart alone doesn’t win games.
We got utterly destroyed, and Yuuji took the championship.
＝＝＝＝
Perspective Shift
POV: Tachibana Yuuri
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I only realized what had happened after I beat the daylights out of Yuuki—physically—and won.
“Yuu-chan, you never know how to read the room, huh? Oh wait, is it that you don’t know how to read it at all? You know it’s not pronounced karake, right?”
When I asked what she meant, apparently we were the only ones who went all out in what was supposed to be a fun and friendly recreation match.
...Wait, seriously?
“I can’t hold back when it comes to volleyball. Besides, what’s wrong with playing to win in the first place?”
Mai-san replied to Hina’s comment with a completely straight face. I’ve figured something out about her—Mai-san’s not just some battle nut or anything like that. She’s a full-blown volleyball fanatic.
She’s the kind of person who truly loves volleyball, wants to get better, and is willing to put in any amount of work to improve.
Asuka has that side to her too, but when it comes to passion, she can’t hold a candle to Mai-san. If Asuka’s a volleyball maniac, then Mai-san is on a whole different level—a super volleyball maniac.
“And the next match is the kind where you shouldn’t hold back. Fufu... to think I’d get the chance to face the Japan national team, even in beach volleyball, in a place like this.”
Mai-san gave a fearless smile.
This little beach volleyball event—turns out the winning team gets to play an exhibition match against a pair of former Japan national players.
It’s supposed to be like a “special treat,” the kind of thing where the winner of a kid’s sumo tournament gets to face a yokozuna (who’s holding back, of course).
But Mai-san? She’s going into this exhibition to win.
“Yuuri, listen closely. With you, we can win. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ll set the ball—you just spike it. That’s how we’ll win.”
Yup, she’s a junkie for this stuff after all!
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Apparently, our opponents had been watching our earlier match too. There wasn’t even a hint of “exhibition” in the air—the game started with a serious, tense atmosphere.
The course of the rallies, the speed of the exchanges—this was a whole other level from the fun match earlier.
Even so, we were holding our own—if not more.
There were a few reasons why. Beach volleyballs are lower in air pressure compared to indoor ones, so they don’t travel as fast. The court is also smaller, making it easier to reach the ball somehow.
Since our strategy was simple—Mai-san sets, I spike—it often meant I had to make the first touch.
Originally, the plan was for me to block and then Mai-san to set from the deflected ball, but it didn’t work well. From midway through the tournament, we ditched that plan. Unless the ball came in at a high arc that allowed Mai-san to set it right away, I’d be the one doing the first touch.
My receiving skills are honestly... not great, but Mai-san is amazing. Even my sloppy passes, she somehow turns into solid open sets.
This person is incredible!
She’s the first high school girl I’ve seen who’s clearly more skilled than Hina!
That title of “best setter among high school girls” isn’t just for show!
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Perspective Shift
POV: Tobita Mai
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Thanks to how things played out, I got the chance to face professional beach volleyball players. And it’s all thanks to this girl—Tachibana Yuuri.
I didn’t like her much at first.
She was just some amateur relying on physical ability. No ambition. Always looked kind of spaced out.
But after talking to her a bit and playing beach volleyball together, my impression changed. Her physical talent is real, and I love that quiet competitiveness she tries to hide.
She complained at first, but once the match started, she threw herself at the ball with incredible determination. When I asked her why she tried so hard—
“Do I need a reason to hate losing?”
—that’s what she said. What a great kid.
Even balls that seemed impossible—ones flying into the soft sand where footing’s awful—she managed to pick them up.
I love players who never give up and chase the ball until the very end.
What holds her back is the lack of technique from inexperience. Even if she gets under the ball, she’s not great at lifting it up properly. But that’s enough. As long as she can lift it up, even if it’s not a perfect A-pass—
“Yuuri!”
I set an underhand open toss to the center spot she likes, slightly away from the net.
This is where things really get strange. She just made a diving save a moment ago, but she’s already in the air for a spike. And high.
That jump easily clears 330 cm. And let me repeat—this is sand. How on earth is she jumping like that?
Beach volleyballs are low-pressure and don’t move fast. But she just slammed it down with so much power that it went faster than you’d believe.
Even in regular indoor women’s volleyball, you don’t often see spikes this fast. Another point.
I glanced at Yuuri’s face—she still looked like she had plenty of energy left.
Her jumping ability, reflexes—all remarkable. But the most shocking thing might be her stamina. It’s like she has no limit.
How did her high school not make it to the Inter-High finals? Sure, her receiving’s a mess, but her spiking more than makes up for it.
Maybe their floor defense is really weak, or maybe the setter is... not very capable.
But with me, I can bring out all of Yuuri’s speed, power, height, and stamina.
“Yuuri! Just three more points! Let’s win this!”
“Yes!”
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Perspective Shift
POV: Tachibana Yuuri
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I ignored the mood and won the exhibition match. Apparently, a local TV station had been covering the event, and it turned into a bit of a scene.
Originally, the plan was probably to run a nice story like, “A famous former Japan national player visits the hometown~”... but instead, they got “Local high school girl beats her.”
I don’t really qualify as “local,” and even though Mai-san is from here originally, she goes to high school in Osaka, so I doubt she counts either—but whatever.
Still, a total unknown high school girl winning—that had some real impact.
...Although calling her “unknown” is pushing it. Mai-san is the starting setter for Japan’s U-19 team, after all.
Anyway, we got interviewed on TV.
“I think they were going easy on us. Otherwise, I can’t imagine two amateur high school girls winning,”
Mai-san answered smoothly next to me. You do not get to call yourself an amateur!
When it was my turn, I gave safe, vague answers like:
“We won thanks to Mai-san being amazing.”
“I was so focused during the match, I don’t remember much.”
“Some local older boys brought us to the beach.”
That got me through.
...
“I’m starving~~”
We’d moved to a beach hut by then. Time for a late lunch using our 5,000-yen meal voucher—the prize for winning.
“...I just kind of joined in like it was normal. Is that okay?”
“Of course! And it’d be way too much if I took the whole prize myself!”
“I didn’t join for the prize or anything. I had a great time thanks to you, so it’s totally fine if you keep it, Yuuri.”
“Then let’s make it a victory party! Mai-chan, congrats on the win and exhibition match victory! Let’s go all out!”
“Just saying, the initial budget for this party is your and Yuu...ri’s prize money, though.”
After that, the four of us, plus Mary-san, Canal-san, and Mai-san—seven in total—held a little celebration.
The overpriced curry from the beach hut actually tasted amazing, probably because we were so exhausted. Why does cheap food taste better at places like this?
Later, we played beach volleyball again as a “rematch,” swam in the sea (I didn’t go past where I could stand), and spent the whole day having fun.
Before we parted ways, Yuuki and the others even exchanged contact info with Mary-san and Canal-san. Like, seriously, stop flirting and give them a proper ride home!
“Are you dumb? The car only fits four people. If it were just you, we’d leave you without a second thought, but Hina-chan’s with you. And she’s not going anywhere without you. Today, we’re your guardians—that’s how it is.”
Hmph. So in the end, we held them back. Next time, they should enjoy themselves without tagalongs like us.
And so, our beach day ended—or so I thought.
“Yuu-chan, not fair! You went and played beach volleyball without inviting me!”
“OI, JAPAN! You went to some funky event without me?! I’m jealous, dang it!”
The Matsubara Girls’ High School volleyball team’s private SNS was being flooded—mostly by Asuka and Mirai.
Apparently, it became news that we beat the former Japan national team players earlier, and once they saw it, they got mad.
And to top it off, when I turned on the TV earlier... my awkward interview was airing on national broadcast!!
Why though?! That was supposed to be a local station!!
Panicked, I opened the internet. It wasn’t quite front-page news on sports sites, but the article was high up—and this whole thing had turned into something bigger than I’d expected.
...What am I even supposed to do now...
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