Haikyuu: I Grind To Beat My Genius Twin Brother

"The Daily Life of the Kikuzawa Brothers"

A beautiful day begins at 6:30 in the morning.

"Beep beep, beep beep..."

Yuuki turns off the alarm clock by his pillow, crawls out from under the blanket, stretches, and gets out of bed with practiced efficiency.

Looking up, he sees the blanket on the upper bunk still rising and falling rhythmically. Yuuki knocks twice on the bed frame, the sound making the person inside roll over.

Seeing no signs of getting up, Yuuki knocks harder on the bed frame.

"Time to get up."

Without waiting for his lazy brother, he starts changing clothes. After swapping pajamas for training gear, he heads straight to the bathroom.

Only when faint sounds of running water come from the bathroom does Yuma Kikuzawa on the upper bunk finally open his bleary eyes, sit up, and take a moment to shake off most of his sleepiness before reluctantly getting out of bed.

6:40 AM

Yuuki, having thoroughly washed up, and Yuma, having rushed through his morning routine, stand in their backyard's makeshift volleyball court to warm up for their regular practice.

50 serves, 50 passes, followed by a 2v2 training match - Yuma and Yuuki versus their parents.

PS: Losing means enduring their mother's disapproving glare.

7:50 AM

Morning practice ends. They quickly wipe their faces, change clothes, and check their school bags.

8:00 AM Run to school.

8:30 AM Arrive at school panting.

8:35 AM Yawning through morning assembly.

8:50 AM Classes officially begin while secretly eating breakfast.

9:00-11:25 AM Four morning classes spent catching up on sleep.

11:25-12:10 PM Lunch break - Yuma squeezes in extra practice while Yuuki catches more sleep.

12:10 PM Afternoon classes begin. Yuma buckles down, aiming to self-study and complete all homework within three class periods. Yuuki continues sleeping (sometimes getting called out by teachers to stand in punishment).

3:00 PM Volleyball club practice.

5:30 PM Quick meal break.

7:00 PM Leave school running home.

7:30 PM Arrive at the gym near home for more practice.

10:00-10:30 PM Exhausted return home, wash up, review the day's gains and losses, then bed - Yuuki falls asleep immediately while Yuma hides under blankets reading manga/watching volleyball match recordings.

11:00 PM Yuma finally sleeps.

(OCCASIONALLY) Around 2:00 AM Yuuki wakes up to sneak pudding from the kitchen before returning to sleep.

Summary: Daily training averages 7 hours 40 minutes. Yuma averages 9 hours 50 minutes sleep (actual sleep 7.5h), Yuuki averages 12 hours 30 minutes (actual sleep 8h).

...

One week into the new semester, Yuma Kikuzawa has fully adapted to high school life.

Well...actually the only difference from middle school is afternoon classes increasing from one to two periods. Everything else remains identical.

"497, 498, 499, 500..."

Yuma catches the volleyball smoothly and exhales deeply. Checking the time - exactly noon, lunch break almost over - he needs to hurry back to class.

[Host's passing practice exceeds Yuuki's by 100%]

[Overachiever Points +0.1]

A brilliant smile blooms on Yuma's face.

The thought of Yuuki currently slumped over his desk in sleep-induced bliss only fuels his competitive drive.

Sleeping all the time! How can you sleep so much at your age?!

Judgmental finger-pointing jpg.

"Yo! Yuma, training again? So diligent."

Passing by, Kindaichi and Kunimi each holding sodas greet Yuma.

"Ah, no choice." Yuma flips his bangs dramatically. "For talentless commoners like us, grinding experience points is the only way to level up."

Kindaichi: "So impressive! I should work harder too!"

Kunimi: Incomprehensible.

Standing aside, Kunimi stares blankly at the two volleyball-obsessed idiots, imaginary crows flying overhead.

As a member of the "Low-Energy Quartet" (alongside Tsukishima, Kozume, and Sumi), Kunimi embodies the philosophy "Could dominate through muscle training and balanced diet, but absolutely won't."

The living embodiment of "energy conservation," he fundamentally cannot comprehend Yuma's overachieving behavior.

"Kunimi, I'm heading back to class with Yuma."

After Kindaichi's farewell, the trio separates at the school building entrance, Yuma and Kindaichi returning to Class 5 together.

Yuma stuffs his volleyball under the desk upon reaching his seat, ignoring the math teacher at the podium while stealthily pulling out Japanese literature textbooks in the back row.

Having survived China's gaokao, Japanese high school coursework poses little challenge beyond memorizing new Japanese literature concepts. Subjects like math, geography, English, and chemistry are easily aced with minimal review.

Being a Japanese high school student is bliss.

No evening self-study sessions alone warrant tears of joy.

This is what youth should be!

Thus unfolds a classroom scene: a handsome boy in the back corner completely ignores the teacher, lips quirking oddly while burying himself in study.

Teachers have grown accustomed to this.

While Aoba Johsai emphasizes academic performance, it also upholds "freedom" as a core value. For sports recruits like the Kikuzawa brothers, as long as grades meet standards and classes aren't disrupted, they're free to do as they please.

Two afternoon classes pass quickly. Yuma lifts his stiff neck, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"What an exhilarating self-study session."

The silver-haired boy looks invigorated as he retrieves his volleyball and nudges the drowsy Kindaichi.

"Kindaichi, Kindaichi! Let's go, time for volleyball club."

"Ah...okay..."

Rushing to the gym, Yuma scans the area first. Not spotting Yuuki, he happily begins serve practice.

Not all students share Yuma's compulsion to stretch every minute. Only after Yuma finishes warmups and urgently completes 10 serves do other students begin trickling in.

By Yuuki's arrival, Yuma has already served 50 balls.

Aoba Johsai's volleyball club mirrors the school's philosophy. Coach Irihata's training method cultivates player independence - matches feature player-directed strategies, while reliable Iwaizumi and moderately reliable Oikawa oversee regular practices.

When third-years enter the gym, members automatically gather.

Led by setters Oikawa, Yuuki, and Yahaba, players divide into three groups for rotation-based spiking drills. Members switch setters every thirty minutes so hitters familiarize themselves with all setters.

After two rotations, everyone takes a break.

Yuma tilts his head back, gulping water noisily from his bottle.

"Ugh...I hate spring and summer most..." Yuma lifts his shirt to fan himself. "This hot already...June onwards will be murder..."

"Hahaha! Youth truly lacks endurance!" Oikawa, making rounds, overhears and joins the conversation. "Little Yuma's stamina needs work - us seniors aren't even winded."

Yuma secretly rolls his eyes at Oikawa.

My stamina's 69 - why compare with your 87?

"Hey! Little Yuma just rolled his eyes at Oikawa-sama! How rude! Yuuki, look at your brother!"

Sitting quietly nearby, Yuuki silently drinks his water.

Closer inspection reveals Yuuki's equally sweat-drenched condition, his stamina clearly inferior to Oikawa's as well.

Yuma closes and reopens his eyes, gazing at Yuuki.

Truthfully, he avoids checking Yuuki's stats too often - it always chills his heart.

[Yuuki Kikuzawa, Age 16, 189.1cm, 71.2kg, Spike Reach 338cm, Power 88, Speed 93, Stamina 70, Intelligence 92, Spiking 88, Setting 94, Serving 93, Blocking 91, Receiving 94]

Aside from slightly anomalous stamina, all stats are outstanding.

Compared to Yuma, Yuuki only trails slightly in power and spiking while surpassing him in every other category.

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