Haikyuu: I Grind To Beat My Genius Twin Brother

"Alright then, Watari, you take Iwaizumi's position. Let's rearrange the third-year team formation."

The current court positions became:

Oikawa - Watari

Hanamaki - Matsukawa

——————(Net)

Yuuki Kikuzawa - Kindaichi

Kunimi - Yuma Kikuzawa

The third-years' back row was guarded by Aoba Johsai's top receiver. If even he couldn't handle Yuma Kikuzawa's serves, they might as well forfeit the match.

As it turned out, the team's main libero did have some skills.

Though it was a bit of a struggle, Watari Shinji managed to receive Yuma Kikuzawa's fourth serve.

The first touch wasn't great, but the ball immediately transformed into a perfect set in Oikawa's hands.

The ball flew precisely to Matsukawa Issei's jumping point, and he scored with a sharp-angled spike.

The two blockers from the first-year team barely reacted, only raising their hands instinctively before hearing the ball land behind them.

Yuuki tried to save it but failed, and Yuma Kikuzawa hadn't even left the serving area when the ball hit the ground.

"Woooooo!"

"Nice spike, Matsukawa!"

The third-years cheered enthusiastically.

Kunimi couldn't hide his exasperation: "Seriously, who are the rookies here?"

Kindaichi: "Well... the seniors are quite... energetic...?"

Damn it, I got careless!

Such a wasted opportunity, my tryhard points... waaah...

(ಥ﹏ಥ)

The only one truly disappointed by losing the point, Yuma Kikuzawa wiped away nonexistent tears from the corners of his eyes, trembling hands clutching his chest.

"...Sorry, I got overconfident after those first few successful serves."

Kunimi: "Ah, it's fine."

Kindaichi: "Don't worry about it."

Yuuki: "..."

Yuma Kikuzawa slowly straightened up from his crouch, fighting spirit burning in his eyes. "...Impressive, seniors! I underestimated you upperclassmen."

After rotation, it was Hanamaki Takahiro's turn to serve from the opposing side.

The "villain-faced" senior delivered a standard jump serve, but its speed and power paled compared to Oikawa and Yuma Kikuzawa's earlier serves. Kindaichi easily received it, passing to the front.

Waiting patiently, Yuuki sidestepped beneath the ball and with another effortless touch, sent it back into the air.

Both Yuma Kikuzawa and Kunimi jumped simultaneously, but Matsukawa and Iwaizumi coordinated perfectly to block only Yuma Kikuzawa.

Experience told them that in unfamiliar teams, setters tend to pass first to players they know best.

They guessed right—the ball's trajectory was indeed heading toward Yuma Kikuzawa.

The two jumped high, extending their arms to form a double block perfectly covering all left-side angles while deliberately leaving the right backcourt open—exactly where the steady-footed Hanamaki was waiting.

The spike seemed unstoppable.

All three jumpers displayed beautiful, powerful form midair. At the net, Matsukawa locked eyes with the silver-haired underclassman and saw his lips curl into a mischievous smirk. Matsukawa's heart skipped a beat.

Before he could process what the kid was planning, Yuma Kikuzawa suddenly relaxed his swinging arm, transforming what should've been a powerful spike into a gentle drop shot.

The ball sailed over Iwaizumi's head under Matsukawa's stunned gaze, landing just inside their court. Hanamaki dove but couldn't reach it in time.

Oikawa, who witnessed everything from the back row, glared at the smirking Yuma Kikuzawa: "Damn first-year brat! Not cute at all!"

Iwaizumi felt subtly mocked about his height but, being a mature senior, chose not to engage.

Yuma Kikuzawa humbly said, "Just got lucky. You seniors are really impressive though."

Iwaizumi & Oikawa: (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)!

Score: First-years 4 - Starters 1

Oikawa gritted his teeth: "That one was unavoidable. That brat jumps too high—by the time we realized it was a drop shot, it was too late."

Iwaizumi's expression darkened—no one enjoys being scored on over their head: "My mistake. Won't happen again."

Both teams reset positions. Now it was Kunimi's turn to serve.

Oikawa and Hanamaki in the back row focused with 200% intensity, their grave expressions as if facing death itself. The tense atmosphere made Kunimi speechless.

Kunimi internally sighed: Seriously unnecessary. Not every first-year can master jump serves immediately.

While mentally complaining, he tossed the ball up for a completely ordinary overhand serve.

Ah... this familiar feeling. Now this is proper rookie-level play!

Hanamaki easily received the ball, passing cleanly to Oikawa.

Both Iwaizumi and Matsukawa began their approaches simultaneously. Oikawa's body control was flawless—just watching his movements gave no hint of who'd get the set.

Noticing Yuma Kikuzawa's confused-yet-trying-to-stay-calm eyes across the net, Oikawa smirked.

This newbie's got some brains, but not enough.

In crisis moments, normal people would set to Matsukawa since he's closer to the net... that's what you're thinking, right?

Oikawa grinned as he set to Iwaizumi, delighting in Yuma Kikuzawa's stunned expression when he realized he'd charged the wrong hitter.

Got this!

Bam!

The ball hit the floor.

Rolling to rest right at the three-meter line.

—Except it was the three-meter line beneath Oikawa's feet.

Oikawa: (=°Д°=)

The third-years' expressions cycled through shock as Oikawa pointed a trembling finger at Yuuki who'd perfectly blocked the spike.

"DAMN IT—!"

Yuma Kikuzawa collapsed to his knees in despair.

He could no longer hear anything except the system's cold mechanical voice announcing [Yuuki Block Score +1 Point].

Oikawa looked incredulously between the sobbing Yuma Kikuzawa and expressionless Yuuki: "Why are YOU crying? Your team scored!"

Yuma wiped his face, internally screaming: You system-less people wouldn't understand!

Score: First-years 5 - Starters 1

Kindaichi patted Kunimi's shoulder, a grin forming: "We... might actually win this?"

Even Kunimi hadn't expected this development. Studying the Kikuzawa brothers closely, he felt a rare spark of competitive spirit ignite.

Beating the school's starting lineup as first-years? Even lazy him found that slightly exciting.

Unlike the first-years' cheerful mood, the starters' expressions had turned stone-cold.

No way they'd lose to some rookies?

Huddling together, their faces were uniformly serious.

Iwaizumi: "Even if they're good, we're no pushovers either."

Matsukawa: "Losing here would be beyond embarrassing. We're Miyagi's top four, for crying out loud."

Oikawa: "We're winning. Absolutely winning."

The opponents' rising fury practically radiated heat across the net, nearly overwhelming the first-years.

Yuma Kikuzawa was sneakily observing the seniors' movements when sudden pain shot through his lower back.

"OW—! What was that for, Yuuki?!"

Yuma glared at his younger brother who'd just punched his kidney.

Yuuki retracted his fist, lifting an eyebrow impassively: "Tricks won't work anymore."

"I know that. We're obviously outmatched physically by third-years—it's amazing our earlier tricks worked at all."

The first-years' temporary lead wasn't due to superior skill—the two-year experience gap and physical differences were too significant. Their four-point advantage mainly came from the starters underestimating them plus the Kikuzawa brothers' unconventional tactics.

Who'd expect friendly instructional matches with juniors to involve getting stabbed in the back at every turn?

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