Kei dragged his heavy legs back home.
The original owner of this body was a teenager living alone. His parents worked away from home all year.
At least that saved Kei the trouble of making up excuses.
But he realized just how bad this body's condition was.
Part of it might be because he'd just transmigrated.
His soul wasn't fully in sync with the original body yet.
It should get better later.
He sank into the hot water of the bathtub. A dull ache spread through his limbs, and he let out a long groan of relief.
This was a normal reaction to lactic acid buildup after a hard workout.
In his past life, this level of activity would've been a simple warm-up.
But now, just receiving six or seven basic serves had drained all the energy from this body.
It was like a top-tier race car driver shoved into a beat-up old clunker on its last legs. He could hear the engine groan and feel the loose steering wheel.
Every command he gave had a half-second delay.
'Endurance, strength, flexibility, explosive power... all of it failing,' Kei thought, closing his eyes to review the facts.
'No, this isn't just weakness. This is a signal delay between the soul and the body.'
On the court, his brain could figure out the perfect movement route and passing angle in a flash.
But when the command reached his limbs, this body's reaction was always half a beat too slow.
The muscles and nerves responded weak and slow. In the end, he had to rely on the muscle memory carved deep into his soul to make the play at the last second.
This explained why his footwork was so clumsy, but the moment he touched the ball, it was like magic.
'The only things still working are my experience and awareness,' he thought with a bitter smile. 'And my strongest weapon is now trapped in a fragile prison.'
He knew full well that "lucky shots" might fool simple guys like Hinata, but they would never trick Kageyama.
That king of the court had a bad attitude, but his sense for volleyball was top-tier.
Kei's clumsy but exact receive had already planted a seed of doubt in Kageyama's mind.
This was the exact effect he wanted.
He needed to hide his weak body, but not look useless. He had to show enough value to gain a voice on this team, and then train those two problem children.
'Starting tomorrow, I have to begin physical recovery training,' Kei planned in his head.
From fixing his diet to building up his core strength to improving his lungs... a pro athlete's strict training plan slowly took shape in his mind. It was a huge task, but it was the only way for him to return to the court.
...
The next day at 5:30 a.m., the sky was still a hazy gray.
The air held the chill of early morning.
When Kei arrived at the second gym, he found two boys already waiting at the doors.
"Kitagawa-kun, good morning!" Hinata acted like an excited puppy, hopping in place to warm up.
Seeing Kei arrive, he waved his arms with a huge smile on his face.
On the other side, Kageyama stood with his arms crossed.
He leaned against the wall with an impatient look that seemed to say, 'Why are you so slow?'
"Morning," Kei nodded, a bit out of breath.
Just the walk from home to the school was a big workout for him!
"Alright, everyone's here. Let's get inside!" Hinata rubbed his hands together, looking at Kageyama.
Kageyama frowned.
He dug through his sports bag for a long time but found nothing.
Then he remembered a major problem. "I don't have the key."
"Eh?!" Hinata's smile froze on his face. "I don't have one either!"
"I thought you had it," Kageyama said in a cold voice.
"I thought you had it!" Hinata scratched his orange hair. "Then what do we do? We can't get in!"
The two stared at each other.
Their morning practice plan had hit a wall before it even started.
Kei stayed quiet.
He walked around the gym once, then stopped in a corner and pointed at a high window.
"Up there. It doesn't look locked."
The old window's latch was loose, leaving a tiny gap.
Kageyama and Hinata's eyes lit up at the same time.
"I'll do it!" Hinata offered.
He took a few steps back, ran forward, and leaped high into the air. But as soon as his hand touched the window ledge, he fell back down.
A few more tries ended in failure.
"Idiot, move aside." Kageyama pushed the noisy Hinata out of the way. He walked under the window, looked up at the height, and took a few steps back.
His legs bent tight, and his body sank low. The next moment, he shot straight up like a spring!
His jump was much stronger and smoother than Hinata's.
His body stretched out in the air, his arm reaching right for the target.
Thump!
His fingertips gripped the edge of the sill.
His core strength kicked in as he pushed off his arms, flipping his whole body inside.
The move was clean and fast.
Hinata watched from below, totally stunned.
"Damn... that's amazing..." he mumbled.
A moment later, the side door of the gym clicked open. Kageyama stood in the doorway with a blank face, looking at Hinata outside.
"What are you standing there for? Get in."
The early morning gym was quiet and empty, echoing with their footsteps. Without warming up or saying a word, Kageyama picked up a ball.
He walked straight to the net and looked at Hinata on the other side of the court.
"Jump."
"Okay!" Hinata shifted into focus, bending his legs tight.
"My toss will go to the highest, fastest spot," Kageyama's voice rang clear in the empty hall. "Don't think about anything. Just jump with your top speed and max power, then swing your arm!"
"Got it!" Hinata shouted back. His eyes were full of a deep craving to spike the ball.
Kei walked to the sidelines and began some light stretching. His moves were slow and small, like an old man easing his joints.
But if a pro fitness coach were there, they'd notice he was targeting the most vital, injury-prone muscle groups for volleyball.
Every motion was textbook-perfect.
On the court, Kageyama tossed the ball. Hinata moved at the exact same time. His body shot forward like an orange flash of lightning.
He ran from the baseline and reached the net in just a few big steps. He pushed off the ground hard, soaring high into the air.
That scary jumping power even made Kei look up from the sidelines.
It was pure talent, a gift you couldn't get through training alone.
Still, talent couldn't fix everything.
Kageyama's toss arrived.
It was a fast, flat straight set.
It flew right to Hinata's highest hitting point.
It was a perfect King's Toss, giving a clear, bossy command to the spiker: Come here and crush it!
Sadly, the one taking that order was the current Hinata.
He jumped high, but his timing and running rhythm were all wrong. By the time he hit his peak, the ball had already flown past him.
Swish!
Hinata swung at empty air and landed hard on the gym floor.
"Idiot!" Kageyama roared. "What are you doing? Too slow! I told you to use your full strength!"
"That toss was way too fast! I couldn't even see it!" Hinata yelled back.
"A spiker doesn't need to see the ball! Just trust me and jump!" Kageyama stuck to his theory.
"You jerk..."
The air between them grew heavy and tense.
Kei picked up the ball that had rolled to his feet.
He walked over, breaking up their fight.
"Try again," he said in a soft voice, handing the ball to Kageyama. "Hinata-kun's jump just now was really impressive."
He seemed to be praising Hinata, but his eyes cut to Kageyama.
Kageyama snorted, but he still took the ball.
The second time.
The third time.
The fourth time.
The result stayed the same.
Every time, Hinata jumped with all his might, and every time, he missed that perfect toss.
Sometimes he was too early, sometimes too late. Sometimes he even ran in the wrong direction.
His energy was draining fast, and Kageyama's patience was wearing thin.
"Hey!" Kageyama finally snapped.
He grabbed Hinata by the collar and yelled, "What were you even doing for three years in middle school? Why can't you manage a simple combination play?"
"I..." Hinata was left quiet.
His middle school years had no teammates and no coach.
Most of the time, he practiced alone against a wall. He had passion and raw power, but he knew nothing about technique or teamwork.
Watching this scene, Kei sighed in his mind.
The lonely king always demanded others to keep up with his pace, but he never thought to stop and wait for his soldiers.
And that baby crow, eager to fly, only knew how to flap his wings.
He didn't know where to go.
"Um..." Kei stepped in again at the right moment.
His voice wasn't loud, but it caught their attention. "Kageyama-kun's tosses are precise, like guided missiles. They always fly to the exact same spot."
He paused, then looked at Hinata, who was panting hard.
"And Hinata-kun's jumps are like... cannonballs with no set path. Each one is powerful, but the landing point is a total guess."
Using a missile to guide a wild cannonball? The result, of course, was constant misses.
Kageyama frowned, thinking about the meaning behind Kei's words while Hinata hung his head.
"Perhaps..." Kei went on in a casual tone, "perhaps instead of making the cannonball match the missile, we could make the missile land right on top of the cannonball?"
After saying this, he picked up a ball and walked over to Hinata.
With a standard, soft underhand motion, he tossed the ball up.
"Come on, jump up. Try to spread your hand open and hit it at the highest point."
Hinata looked shocked for a second, then gave a firm nod.
He jumped and swung his arm.
Smack!
A crisp sound echoed in the gym.
It was still awkward, but he finally hit the ball in midair.
A solid, new feeling shot through his palm, making Hinata's eyes light up.
"I hit it!"
Kageyama stood to the side, watching the scene with a complex look.
In his eyes, Kei's unskilled toss was an insult to a setter.
Yet it was this kind of simple feed that let Hinata do what dozens of Kageyama's perfect sets failed to do—hit the ball.
'Why?'
That thought dropped like a small stone into Kageyama's heart, disturbing his theory of being the strongest.
"Time's about up," Kei said, glancing at the bright morning sky outside the window. "If we don't leave now, we'll get caught."
The first morning practice came to an end in an air of failure and doubt.
The three packed their things and left the gym without a word.
Walking along the campus path in the morning light, Kei fell two steps behind. He watched the two problem kids glaring at each other up ahead.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He knew that making Kageyama match Hinata, or having Hinata catch up to Kageyama, wouldn't work.
What they needed was a brand new weapon.
They needed a tactic that defied common sense, something that belonged just to the two of them.
In Kei's mind, a crazy and bold idea started to grow.
'Having the spiker hit with their eyes closed... huh?' he thought.
'Is the Freak Quick Attack coming?' he mumbled to himself.