When five-year-old Haruka Hayakawa first went to live with her aunt, the anxiety she felt in her unfamiliar surroundings was dispelled by the boy next door, Kotaro Bokuto.
It started early the morning after she moved in.
"Haru, come practice volleyball with me. I heard you get sick a lot, so this'll be good for your health."
"No."
"But your aunt already said yes."
With nowhere else to go, Haruka could only pick up a volleyball with her skinny arms and legs, hoping not to disappoint the person supporting her.
"Haru-chan, practice setting with me. I'm going to be an ace spiker someday, and I need someone to set for me."
"No."
"If your spikes are better than mine, I'll be your setter."
Knowing that would never happen, Haruka went to the school team's coach, who said she had a talent for setting, and asked him to teach her.
"Haru-chan, no slacking off during practice. Even when you're exhausted, keep up with me."
"No."
"But I'll be scared if no one can keep up with me."
Seeing the light in his usually sparkling eyes about to fade, she could only push herself to keep up with him through every fitness drill.
"Haru-chan, I want you to see the view I see. Can you see it?"
She could. Haruka Hayakawa wouldn't say it, but ever since the first time she set the ball for him and saw him leap high into the air, she hadn't been able to look away.
Bokuto never said it either, but the moment he practiced bumping the ball for a whole year without making a mistake and sent it flying over the wall, he saw the girl who had just moved in. From the first time he laid eyes on her, he believed in fate.
And later...
"Haru-chan, I like you. Will you go out with me?"
"Yes."
The neighboring story, The Setter Who Caught Tendou's Eye, is complete.
Theme: Volleyball brought us together for a lifetime.
