Chapter 15: Question Fifteen

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Faced with Tetsu Oikawa’s sudden request, Tetsuya Kuroko found himself somewhat bewildered.

Although his original intention in approaching Kuroko was to recruit him for volleyball, the rapid and smooth progress of events now filled him with a certain melancholy.

He had succeeded.

Yet, at the same time, he witnessed the fall of a dream.

If he could choose, he would rather see Kuroko—now his friend—happy.

—No matter where that might be.

Suppressing the bittersweet feelings in his heart, Tetsu Oikawa said, “I just visited a club this morning. Everything about it seems fine. But if you’re going to live here, we might need to look for another place.”

That club was conveniently located near the guesthouse he had booked, but since there was no subway station near Kuroko’s house, getting there would be time-consuming.

Kuroko stood up, leaning on a nearby chair. “No need to stay here. Let’s go back to the guesthouse you booked, Oikawa-senpai. I’ll split the rent with you.”

His home location wasn’t a secret, so people were sure to come looking for him.

Not wanting to see those people again, Kuroko decided to leave that very night.

“Alright then,” Oikawa agreed without objection. He had booked the guesthouse for a week anyway; if needed, he could extend it by a couple of days.

As for the school...

Coach Irihata would find a way to help, right?

Right!

After a simple dinner delivered by takeout, Oikawa helped Kuroko pack all his daily necessities, some clothes, and the textbooks needed for classes.

There really wasn’t much—just enough to fill one suitcase.

Most of Kuroko’s belongings were sports equipment, which he had already stored in a locker.

After turning off the gas, water valve, and circuit breaker, Kuroko carefully handled everything and stepped outside with his suitcase.

When it came to certain matters, Kuroko was always a man of action.

Years ago, he had independently developed a passing technique involving mixed line-of-sight guidance within days, all based on Akashi’s single suggestion. Now, he was similarly able to focus himself on other things.

Looking at the pitch-black house, Kuroko let out a soft breath.

The next time he came back... it would probably be a very, very long time from now.

The cab summoned by phone flashed its headlights at the end of the street.

Kuroko withdrew his gaze.

“Let’s go, Oikawa-senpai.”

“Yeah.”

Actually, Kuroko’s intuition hadn’t been wrong.

The very next morning, a persistent Ryota Kise once again appeared at his doorstep.

But this time, looking through the window, he saw an empty home and a heavily locked door.

—Little Kuroko was gone.

Realizing this completely, Kise took a few steps back in disbelief, then turned and sprinted toward the bus stop.

He refused to believe it.

Kuroko must have already gone to school, right?

#

Meanwhile, after spending the night at the guesthouse, Kuroko and Oikawa set out for the club.

Although the trial class they had booked was scheduled for the next day, Oikawa, who hadn’t touched a volleyball in several days, asked Kuroko’s opinion and decided to bring him to the club right away.

Renting a regular open court wasn’t expensive and was within Oikawa’s budget.

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They arrived early, with only the youth team on the other side warming up for the morning. The kids glanced curiously as they ran past.

Kuroko, seeing the court for the first time, quietly observed everything with interest.

Noticing his gaze, one of the kids suddenly exclaimed, “Wow! When did that big brother show up?”

The team captain shot a glare at the child and then cast apologetic looks toward Kuroko and Oikawa.

Having spent these days closely with Oikawa, Kuroko hadn’t experienced being startlingly noticed like this in a long time.

After all, he no longer had reason to suppress his presence, and Oikawa was so perceptive that it was nearly impossible to startle him.

Still, a sudden reaction like this was quite amusing.

Seeing the child being scolded and looking pitiful, Kuroko couldn’t help but smile gently.

Oikawa was momentarily stunned, then let out a relieved breath.

Kuroko had been quite repressed recently; it was truly wonderful to see him smile sincerely.

“Want to try?” Oikawa took a volleyball from a nearby cart full of balls and handed it to Kuroko.

Kuroko caught the ball and instinctively bounced it on the ground.

It wasn’t as hard as a basketball, nor did it rebound as high...

Oikawa, who hadn’t really taught anyone before, glanced sideways at the youth team practicing bump passes, then demonstrated the standard bump pass arm position to Kuroko.

“Let’s start with the basics—receiving the ball like this...” Oikawa took the ball from Kuroko’s hands, tossed it up, and bumped it upward with his arms in that posture.

Oikawa’s hands were steady; every bump was consistent in height and direction, without the slightest deviation.

After about ten bumps, seeing Kuroko’s thoughtful gaze, Oikawa bumped the ball toward him.

Kuroko was initially caught off guard, but when he realized the ball was flying at him, he instinctively reached out and caught it with his palm.

Oikawa glanced at Kuroko’s hands.

His movements were smooth and graceful, without any hesitation.

After staring at the volleyball for a moment, Kuroko tossed it up and tried to bump it up, imitating Oikawa.

But the ball hit his arm and bounced sharply to the left.

“Ah...” Kuroko looked at the ball on the ground, suddenly feeling a bit confused.

How did it deviate so much?

Even if he couldn’t match Oikawa’s skill, he thought he should at least be able to receive it properly.

Oikawa began laughing unabashedly: “Hahaha... What’s up, Kuroko?”

“Oikawa-senpai!” Kuroko pretended to be angry.

It was his first time touching a volleyball; making mistakes was only natural!

But beneath the laughter, Oikawa could clearly see where the problem lay.

“Your posture’s like this. Don’t flare your arms out; keep them close together...” Dutifully, Oikawa helped adjust Kuroko’s form.

“Like this?” Kuroko corrected his posture as Oikawa instructed.

Oikawa nodded. “Right. Also, try to control the ball so it doesn’t spin—I'll teach you about spin later.”

“Okay, I think I get it.” Kuroko nodded.

After understanding Oikawa’s explanation, he grasped roughly what receiving the ball entailed.

“Want to try again?” Oikawa motioned.

Kuroko repeated the motion. This time, the ball didn’t bounce away but rose under his control.

Though still unstable, it was enough to take a couple of steps and catch the next one.

“Keep going.” Oikawa encouraged him to continue bumping.

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Kuroko didn’t stop, repeating the bump pass over and over.

From a shaky start to a stable performance, he took fewer than twenty attempts, never once dropping the ball as he had at first.

Years of central passing work on the basketball team had helped Kuroko adapt quickly to the softness and weight of a volleyball.

Although the arm position for bumping differed from the palm he usually used to pass, the control logic was largely the same.

Oikawa held a hand to his lips, concealing the corners of his mouth that had involuntarily lifted.

Kuroko’s talent was astonishing.

—Far beyond his expectations.

Especially in controlling spin, Kuroko was even better than Oikawa.

Because Oikawa had told him to avoid spin, Kuroko completely eliminated it, keeping the ball moving straight up and down with no deviation.

Watching Kuroko’s bump passes, Oikawa decided to give him some straightforward, practical training.

“Kuroko! Come here.”

Standing in the back half of the court, Oikawa beckoned.

“Let’s skip these boring basics and jump into some real gameplay drills!”

Kuroko was full of question marks.

Wasn’t this teaching going a bit fast? He didn’t know the rules or how to play yet—how could they jump into actual gameplay?

Oikawa told Kuroko to stand still while he took the ball to the baseline on the other side of the net.

“Kuroko, just make sure the ball doesn’t hit the ground directly. You can use your hands, arms, even legs and feet. Just keep it alive; don’t worry about where it goes next.”

Hearing this simple rule, Kuroko nodded.

Oikawa stood still, tossed the ball lightly, and tapped it gently toward Kuroko.

The ball floated toward him.

After judging its speed and position, Kuroko decisively raised his hand and pushed the ball upward with his palm as it passed above his head.

The ball bounced high, then landed somewhere inside the court.

“Is that okay?” Kuroko asked.

Oikawa nodded. “Perfect.”

Volleyball doesn’t restrict which part of the body receives the ball, so in theory, any comfortable method is fine.

“Next one.” Oikawa took another ball from the basket.

This time, without much force, he deliberately sent the ball toward the court’s edge.

Kuroko didn’t hesitate. Judging the ball’s landing wasn’t central, he stepped left and caught it with his arm.

“Good. Next.” Oikawa served again.

This one was stronger and faster than the previous two.

The ball fell closer to the front. Without enough experience, Kuroko nearly missed it but relied on his reflexes to dive and catch it before it hit the ground.

Oikawa’s eyes lit up. “Nice!”

Rubbing his aching knee, Kuroko got up from the ground. “Next.”

He’d already noticed that Oikawa was gradually increasing the difficulty.

That last rough catch only fueled his competitive spirit.

Seeing Kuroko’s determined expression, Oikawa broke into a wide, exuberant grin.

“Here we go.”