Kapitel 17: Chapter 16: The Shooting Star
"Woaah, his presence is still as heavy as I remember..."
Suga looked at Tsuna, standing behind the line, with amazement. He was beside the scoreboard with Daichi.
Tsuna's court presence was crazy.
"Maybe, I should've told him to hold back a little..."
Daichi nodded, his gaze shifting to the other team with concern.
This test was meant to get the two freshmen on the other side to cooperate since they were always at odds like water and fire. If Tsuna crushed them, it would defeat the purpose.
The door slid open, but neither Suga nor Daichi noticed two members entering until they greeted them.
"Captain, have you already started the test?"
"Hmm...? I thought you were going to play with them."
"Enoshita, Kinoshita, you're late," Daichi said, shaking his head as he looked at Enoshita, the average-looking guy with dark hair, and Kinoshita, with his light brown spiky hair.
He then pointed toward Tsuna on the court. "Tsuna wanted to play, so I stepped out."
"Ah...?"
"The shooting star is back?"
Enoshita and Kinoshita mumbled in surprise, their eyes widening as they spotted Tsuna.
Back when Tsuna was actively playing, they had already quit the club.
It wasn't until Tsuna got injured that Daichi brought them back.
Even though they had been absent for a while, they still kept up with the club's news and, of course, knew about Tsuna. While they might not have interacted with him often, despite being fellow second-years, Enoshita and Kinoshita were obviously familiar with his face.
But considering how severe they thought his injury had been, they initially assumed it was someone else on the court. That was why they were so surprised.
'Shooting star?'
Kageyama overheard the seniors' conversation and blinked in confusion, 'Where have I heard of that name? That sounded familiar..'.
Whistle!
Shimizu blew the whistle, snapping everyone on the other team to attention, including Kageyama. His mind was still stuck on that name when he saw Tsuna toss the ball high into the air.
He frowned deeper. 'Jump serve!'
Tanaka cursed under his breath. "Shit..."
Hearing Tanaka curse like that was proof enough that Tsuna's serve would be strong. Kageyama locked his eyes on Tsuna, who leaped into the air.
That form... the height... and the movement of his arm.
"...It was perfect for—hold on... Shooting Star..."
Kageyama's voice trailed off as his eyes widened. His realization hit him like a wave. "Shooting Star!?"
But his words were drowned out by the deafening thunderclap that echoed through the gym. Tsuna's hand had just made contact with the ball, the sound reverberating through the air like a shockwave.
All eyes locked onto the ball as it blurred across the court, flying over the net with impossible speed.
Kageyama's team froze in place, their bodies unable to react.
"...!"
Kageyama's gaze stayed glued to Tsuna, who was now landing from his jump.
A loud thud followed.
The ball struck the floor and bounced high, the sound echoing like a lingering heartbeat in the silent gym.
Everything had happened in an instant.
No one moved.
The silence was finally broken by the shrill sound of a whistle.
"Whoaaa! What the fuck was that serve!?"
Hinata's excited voice echoed through the gym, his forehead glistening with sweat from the pressure it brought.
Tsuna could feel every gaze in the gym pinned on him.
But...
He didn't care.
Instead, his focus was on his left hand, which still tingled from the force of the serve. His fingers flexed slightly as he muttered, "I'm still lacking control, huh?"
The serve had been perfect—almost. And he fucked it up.
"Senpai, that was such a nice serv—" Hinata's words came to an abrupt halt as he turned toward the scoreboard.
His eyes widened as he noticed the score had changed. "Eh? That was our point?"
Hinata stared at the ball, now lying flat on the ground, in surprise.
Everyone outside the court was just as stunned.
"...Did he get too excited?"
Daichi mumbled, his eyes following the ball as it landed far out of bounds.
Beside him, Suga, who had just updated the scoreboard, shook his head slowly, "I don't know. Maybe."
"But that power though..."
"Holy shit, that was strong."
Enoshita and Kinoshita were impressed by the force of that jump serve, even though it might have missed the mark and flown outside the court.
'It was definitely a strong serve,' Daichi thought, the memory of the ball's speed still fresh in his mind.
He kept his gaze on Tsuna, who was walking back into position.
The sheer force reminded him of Tsuna's right-hand jump serve from last year. It was almost comparable—no, perhaps he might have exaggerated it a little bit. But it was a strong serve, nonetheless.
Still, something felt off.
Tsuna's expression hadn't changed much, yet the air around him was... tense.
Was he pissed off?
Daichi couldn't be sure. The shift was subtle. Was it just his imagination?
Meanwhile, on the court, Kageyama's focus was entirely elsewhere. His eyes were glued to Tsuna as he mumbled, "Shooting Star... So it's true?"
"Huh? Shooting Star? What is that? Is it food?"
Hinata tilted his head, confused, as he stared at Kageyama.
Sweat dripped from his temple as his lips pressed into a tight line. It wasn't like him at all, and it made Hinata wonder what this "Shooting Star" thing was.
"Of course, it's not, you dumbass," Tanaka interjected, rolling his eyes before smacking the back of Hinata's head.
"Ouch!" Hinata yelped as Tanaka smacked the back of his head. Rubbing the spot, he looked up at Tanaka, confused, a question mark practically visible over his head, "Then what is it, huh?"
"You didn't even know, despite enrolling in Karasuno?"
Tsukishima stared at Hinata with a mix of disbelief and mockery, like he was looking at an idiot.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know that!?"
Hinata angrily shouted at the mockery while throwing his hands up in frustration.
"...It's what Tsuna-senpai has been called," Kageyama said, his eyes fixed on Tsuna as Tanaka went to retrieve the ball.
There was a story—one whispered among the alumni and those who followed Karasuno's volleyball team closely.
A tale of a star player who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
He had shone so brightly, with such overwhelming talent, that people began to believe he was the key to a new era of glory for Karasuno.
But just as suddenly as he had appeared, that star had vanished.
Like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, dazzling for a moment before disappearing, leaving only a faint memory of its brilliance.
Kageyama clenched his fists at the thought, his jaw tightening.
He had always assumed it was just a rumor—a story passed down and exaggerated by those who longed for Karasuno's past victories. But now, seeing Tsuna in action, his heart raced with a certainty that left him breathless.
The Shooting Star wasn't a myth.
It was real.
And he was standing right in front of them.
Whistle!
Shimizu's whistle cut through the gym, signaling the start of the rally.
"Alright, let's get it going!"
Tanaka shouted as he sent the ball soaring over the net with a normal serve.
"..."
Tsuna stood still, his gaze fixed on the ball as it sailed toward him. He clasped his hands together, reaching toward where the ball would land.
He had been expecting this.
'I should've known...'
It was inevitable.
No matter how persistently he trained or how much effort he poured into making his left hand his dominant one, it wasn't enough.
A single year of rigorous practice couldn't completely override the muscle memory of a lifetime spent using his right hand.
By all accounts, Tsuna should have been proud.
His progress was remarkable, a feat his doctor had even called a miracle. Few could achieve what he had in such a short span of time.
But...
...why did it still feel so awful?
"Fuck..."
The ball made contact with Tsuna's hands, but the moment it did, a wave of discomfort surged through him. It was the same frustrating sensation he had felt when he first started training his left hand.
The ball bounced upward, but its path was far from where he had intended.
"Nice receive..."
Tsuna heard Tsukishima mumble as the freshman ran toward the ball's trajectory.
He knew Tsukishima was being polite and didn't mean anything by it, but to Tsuna, it somehow sounded like mockery as he gritted his teeth.
Receiving required both hands and yet, since his injury, he had rarely used his right. Now, trying to coordinate both felt foreign and stiff. His hard-won progress over the past year felt meaningless, even if he knew deep down it wasn't.
"Yamaguchi!"
Tsukishima reached the ball just in time and was able to set it to Yamaguchi. The latter surged forward and spiked it hard, sending the ball to the opposite court.
Point.
The whistle blew, and the scoreboard was changed, showing the tied score.
However...
They couldn't really celebrate as a heavy atmosphere settled over their side. Both exchanged glances before staring at Tsuna.
Despite his calm expression, something about it made them feel awkward.
They couldn't help but think, 'Did we... piss him off or something?'
---------
Author Notes
---------
Hello, dear readers, it's your masochi—favorite author here, mythoast.
As you already know, I chose a tricky premise for the MC's circumstances, which is undoubtedly delicate. And if I don't handle it right, I might fuck it up.
Badly... actually.
If I rush it, I might fuck it up, and if I prolong it, I might fuck it up too.
So, I'm letting you know that I'm taking this test arc carefully to make sure I strike the right balance while keeping the premise interesting.
The premise for now is just as fragile as my heart, after all. Once it gets through this, it'll solidify, and the introduction arc will then be completed!
So, yeah, if you're an impatient person (like me), maybe you'd want to let the chapters marinate for a bit and then binge them all at once.
Cheers! 🍻
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein