There will only be one chapter today to start the week.
I was about to post twice, but after reading the next chapter, I decided not to.
I thought it would be better to post chapter 49 along with chapter 50 tomorrow, as they complement each other, once we hit the first milestone of the power stone goal.
Anyway, enjoy the introduction chapter with new characters!
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"Karasuno High, huh? I heard we were quite the rivals back in the day..."
A chatter echoed through the long corridor leading toward an older gymnasium, its polished wooden floor reflecting the orange hue of the setting sun streaming through the tall windows.
The group of students wearing bright red jackets with bold letters on the front—Nekoma High—were walking through the corridor while discussing the matter.
Among them was a tall student with short, spiked brown hair and matching brown eyes that seemed to shine with excitement hearing these words.
His smile widened as he abruptly turned toward a shorter student with a blonde mohawk and asked, "Are you telling the truth, Yamamoto-senpai?!"
"Of course!"
Yamamoto puffed out his chest, clearly proud of his knowledge.
He placed a firm hand on the back of another teammate, the shortest among them, who had jet-black hair neatly parted in the middle.
"Even Shibayama knows this!"
Yamamoto declared loudly as if that settled the matter.
He leaned closer to the excited student and added with a tone, "You should've followed his example, Inuoka!"
"Whoaa..."
Inuoka's wide eyes blinked in surprise as he turned to Shibayama, "Is that true, Shibayama?"
Shibayama was caught off guard by the sudden attention and hesitated.
Seeing those childlike wonders in Inuoka's eyes, he could only scratch the back of his neck nervously and offer a small, wry smile, "Uh... isn't that common sense?"
"It's true, then! I had no idea!"
"Haha, see? Didn't I tell you that!"
Yamamoto laughed heartily as he pointed at an average-built, blonde-haired teenager with black roots who was holding a light with one hand and added, "Even Kenma said he's looking forward to our practice!"
"K-Kenma-senpai did!?"
Shibayama and Inuoka both turned to look at Kenma with wide eyes.
"...!"
Kenma flinched slightly under the sudden attention. His golden-brown eyes darted toward the two before he quickly returned his gaze to the light novel in his hand.
The trio continued their boisterous chatter, drawing attention from the rest of the team.
One figure, standing just a bit further away from Kenma, watched the scene with particular interest.
It was a guy with messy black hair falling over his forehead with a fringe that partly covered an eye, Tetsuro Kuroo.
Nekoma's current captain!
"Is that because of the short guy you met a while ago?"
Kuroo asked while tilting his head toward Kenma.
"..."
Kenma barely glanced up.
A while back, during their arrival at the rented gym for the training camp, Kenma had briefly gotten lost. When Kuroo eventually found him, he had been in conversation with someone—a short boy with bright orange hair.
Kenma had mentioned the boy was from Karasuno High, but Kuroo hadn't thought much of it at the time.
"...I'm just curious," Kenma replied quietly with his eyes still locked on his book.
Kuroo raised an eyebrow at his response, "Oh?"
It wasn't often that their setter showed interest in something—or someone after all.
Kuroo couldn't help but smirk as he leaned back slightly, "Must've been some impression that kid made on you."
"Is that the one they call the Shooting Star, Kuroo?"
The question came from a shorter student with sandy blond hair and sharp brown eyes.
Kuroo glanced over, "Oh? You've heard of him, Yaku?"
"Eh..."
The taller guy beside Yaku, with jet-black hair shaved into a neat buzzcut, raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're interested in the Shooting Star too?"
"Aren't you curious too, Kai?"
Yaku nodded, turning toward him.
Kai hesitated before nodding thoughtfully, "Well, yeah, I guess. The coach has mentioned him a few times."
Their coach had spoken about the Shooting Star on several occasions, referencing him as one of Karasuno's standout players from the previous year.
Though his sudden disappearance had left many questions, recent rumors suggested he was back in action.
"Yeah, I heard he was amazing last year," Yaku said, rubbing his chin. "But why'd he disappear in the first place?"
"Who knows?"
Kuroo shrugged his shoulders casually, "What matters is... if the rumors are true, we might get to see him play today..."
"It's not the Shooting Star."
Kenma's voice broke through the chatter. He had been quietly flipping through his light novel as Yaku and Kai turned to him in surprise.
Kenma didn't look up as he continued, "Shoyo, the short guy I met yesterday—he's a first-year."
"A first-year? Then the Shooting Star rumors aren't true after all?"
Kenma shrugged slightly, "Don't know. Haven't seen the whole team yet."
"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Kai said, crossing his arms.
Kuroo chuckled as he added, "Either way, Karasuno's bound to be a challenge. Should be a good game, don't you think, Kenma?"
Kenma didn't reply, instead turning to another page in his book.
"Oi, are you even listening?"
Kuroo poked Kenma lightly on the shoulder.
"I'm listening..."
Kenma furrowed his eyebrows a bit before finally looking up. "I just don't see the point in speculating. We'll know when we play."
He didn't bother continuing the conversation and looked down at his light novel again.
Kenma rarely opened a light novel. He preferred playing on his game console. But with the release date of the second series, Harry Poggers and the Chamber of Gooning, just around the corner, Kenma decided to re-read the first series.
He wanted to make sure he remembered all the details before moving on to the second.
"Hmm, I thought you'd read that before, Kenma?"
Nobu and Yaku were curious. They had read the light novel too, but not as seriously as Kenma. Re-reading the entire series felt like a lot of effort to them.
Meanwhile...
"I'm looking forward to seeing their manager!"
Yamamoto placed his hands behind his head. Inuoka and Shibayama gave him wry smiles before one of them asked, "You're still so fixated on that?"
"Of course! We're rivals. I'm sure we have many similarities..." Yamamoto's expression turned serious.
A tear slowly formed at the corner of his eye as he clenched his fist, "That's why I won't forgive them if they have a woman as their manager."
"..."
Inuoka and Shibayama shook their heads. They thought Yamamoto might have misunderstood the word rival.
"You don't understand..."
Yamamoto stepped in front of the group. They somehow understood where this was going.
"...?"
Everyone turned to look at him as he shook his head. He seemed to have tried to share his wisdom.
"There are many things we compare as rivals. If they have a female manager and a beautiful one at that..."
Yamamoto turned ahead again and added, "That could only mean we're going to lose one aspect without even a fight since our manager is a dude... huh?"
He froze mid-step, and his eyes widened in shock as if he'd just seen a ghost.
"Why'd you stop all of a sudden...?"
The rest of Nekoma's team came to a halt behind him, confused by the abrupt pause. Following Yamamoto's gaze, they all turned to see what had caught his attention.
"...!"
Before them stood a stunning girl clad in a sleek black jacket that framed her slim figure. Her shoulder-length raven hair swayed gently in the breeze as she rushed toward them.
For a moment, everything seemed to slow down.
Their eyes widened in unison, their cheeks tinged pink.
She was beautiful, graceful, and...
"...Huh?"
The girl didn't stop. She sprinted past them without a second glance, leaving them feeling a bit confused and... disappointed.
Shibayama blinked and murmured, "Uh... I thought she was going to greet us...?"
"She's..."
They all turned to look at the back of her jacket, where bold letters spelled out, Karasuno High.
"...from Karasuno," Inuoka finished, his voice tinged with awe.
Yet, to everyone's surprise, she sharply went toward a door to an empty room.
She flung it open, slipped inside, and carefully closed it behind her as if she were hiding from something—or someone.
"What's going on here?"
The Nekoma boys exchanged bewildered looks.
"It's over..."
All heads swiveled back to Yamamoto, who now looked pale as a sheet. His shoulders sagged in defeat, and tears streamed dramatically down his cheeks.
Inuoka and Shibayama stepped up, each giving Yamamoto a consoling pat on the back.
"Senpai," Inuoka said solemnly, "you owe us ice cream today."
Shibayama added, "Yeah..."
Yamamoto gawked at them, his despair deepening. "You guys..."
"These guys..."
Kuroo shook his head as he watched the loudmouth trio, who seemed to have made some kind of bet.
Before anyone could comment on it, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.
"W-what is it this time?"
Everyone turned again, startled.
This time, a tall guy in the same black jacket as the girl appeared. His sharp, predatory eyes scanned the corridor; his expression twisted with an intensity that made them somewhat feel intimidated.
He muttered to himself as he walked past them, "Where'd you hide? I won't bite, you know..."
"...!"
All of them collectively held their breath, they felt like they had just walked into a drama. Maybe a crime one as Kuroo furrowed his eyebrows at this. He couldn't help but seriously consider a possibility as he asked out loud, "Should we... call the cops?"
"..."
The hallway remained still, save for the faint sound of footsteps fading in the distance.
Maybe they should.
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