Uesono-kun Wants to Become the Best Outside Hitter

[My next project is a Haikyuu!! fic, I Want to Run the Hakone Ekiden, So I Played Volleyball. I'm preparing chapters. There are more upcoming stories on my profile. I hope you'll support them~] Uegami Toru was a boy who played volleyball at a top middle school tennis powerhouse alongside seven unlucky guys. Even worse, the seven of them always ran into some little problem right before official matches. They were clearly no weaklings, but in three years they barely played in any prefectural competitions. All they could do was crush other teams in practice matches. When middle school ended, Uegami Toru had to move to Tokyo because of a change in his parents' work. Taking this opportunity, the group made a promise: they would all go to different schools. If they couldn't meet again on the court as teammates, then they'd meet again as opponents in the Tokyo finals. After transferring to Nekoma, Uegami Toru could finally spike to his heart's content on the court! 1. Because of what happened in middle school, the protagonist will have some emotional baggage early on, but it will gradually be resolved as the matches go on. 2. I'll use software to check for typos after finishing, but some may still slip through. Feel free to point them out. 3. This is a power fantasy, and the protagonist's abilities are pretty outrageous. [My profile also has the volleyball fic The Versatile Volleyball Superstar, The Ace of Diamond fic How to Become an Ace Pitcher, and the Detective Conan fic Clocking Out at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Then Transforming into a Magical Girl.] Blurb for I Want to Run the Hakone Ekiden, So I Played Volleyball: Basketball, soccer, baseball, speed skating, archery, tennis, swimming... Over the past three years, Tsukikawa Yu, a sports prodigy, tried them all, but he never fell in love with any of them. Instead, he shattered the confidence of every talented athlete in every club. Some cried and switched sports, while others gritted their teeth and, unwilling to give up, resolved to train even harder and beat him next time. But Tsukikawa Yu, the one they all feared, didn't go on to shine in the world of sports as they expected. Instead, he faded from view and became something like an urban legend. Who would have thought that when they met again, it would be on a volleyball court? He stood in the front row alongside a brown-haired player, and no one could score against them. They were known as an unbeatable blocking duo. A sports magazine reporter had finally secured the rights to an exclusive interview with Tsukikawa Yu. Full of confidence, she went to meet him. At the time, Tsukikawa Yu was horsing around with his childhood friend when a microphone suddenly appeared in front of him. "Hello, Tsukikawa. I'm a reporter for Monthly Volleyball. Winning the national championship in all three years of high school with your team is an incredible achievement. What do you hope to do in the future?" For the reporter, this was practically a freebie, the kind of question that let inexperienced athletes express their feelings. But this champion was truly out of the ordinary. "Me?" Even with a camera and countless flashes pointed at him, Tsukikawa Yu wasn't flustered as she had imagined. Instead, he answered calmly, "What I hope to do in the future is run the Hakone Ekiden in college. It's been my dream for years, and now it's finally about to come true." "Huh?!" * Nine-year-old Tsukikawa Yu stared unblinkingly at the television in front of him, his eyes sparkling. A group of adults stood around him, just as transfixed. Together, they watched the runners on TV and the sash being passed from hand to hand. The race known as the Hakone Ekiden took root in young Tsukikawa Yu's heart. He had promised his childhood friend that he'd try volleyball with him the next day, but in the middle of the night, he called him and said, "Rintaro! I want to go running!" The next day, Tsukikawa Yu was punished for it. Then he and Suna Rintaro walked into a gym filled with the smell of Salonpas. By a twist of fate, he ended up on the court as a volleyball newcomer, playing a six-on-six match. "Rintaro, is this the blocking you've been talking about?" Tsukikawa Yu had expected to feel unsure of himself. Instead, though his words sounded timid, his eyes challenged his opponent. Standing at the net, he looked down at the player who had fallen to his knees, confidence shattered. Theme: Never give up on any possibility. Believe in yourself and your teammates.