Despite Aoba Johsai's volleyball team adhering to a weekly rest day, for Taichi Kaedehara, this day felt almost unbearable, as if his passion for volleyball refused to be tained.

  The joy of levelling up—the magical transformation from novice to adept—was like an addictive spell, pulling him deeper into the sport with every step forward.

  So, on this supposed day of rest, he decided to head to a nearby park alone, immersing himself in serving practice. This private ritual allowed him to bask iranquillity of dedication and the joy of refining his craft.

  In the park, sweat glistened on Taichi's brow as he tirelessly tossed and spiked the ball, repeating the fuals of serving over and over. Each strike carried his unwavering resolve to perfect the motion.

  Not far off, a man with medium-length hair and a hoodie caught Taichi's attention. The man appeared to gnce his way, his gaze betraying a mix of curiosity and faint admiration.

  He looked vaguely familiar, but Taichi couldn't quite pce him. Still, if he seemed familiar, perhaps he was a volleyball pyer?

  Driven by his curiosity, Taichi silently asked his system for firmation.

  [Tenma Udai. Fh school pyer. Not currently iabase.]

  No way—it's him! The once-legendary ace of Karasuno's volleyball team, dubbed the "Little Giant" for his diminutive height yet incredible skill. He had led Karasuno to the Nationals, being an i of inspiration, even for Hinata Shoyo, whose volleyball journey began after watg a fleeting image of Tenma on TV.

  Ba high school, Tenma's short, jet-bck hair had exuded a fiertensity. Now, his shoulder-length, slightly wavy hair....well, it had a surprisingly soft and endearing quality.

  Taichi couldn't let this opportunity slip away. Without hesitation, he darted toward his target.

  "Excuse me, are you Tenma Udai-senpai?"

  Caught off guard by being reized, Tenma blinked in surprise. "Who's asking?"

  "o meet you, Little Giant-senpai! I'm Taichi Kaedehara, a middle blocker from Aoba Johsai. Seeing your incredible pys on TV is what inspired me to take up volleyball!" Taichi decred with unwavering fidenot even the fai hint of embarrassment.

  Sorry, Shoyo, I'm borrowing your line for now.

  "Really?" Tenma gave the t high schooler—easily over 180 cm—a sceptical once-over.

  "It's true! But, senpai, Karasuno has a new Little Giant now. He's a huge fan of yours!"

  "Haha, is that so? I didn't think I was that amazing back then." Tenma chuckled, scratg the back of his head in embarrassment.

  "Senpai, could you teach me how to py better?" Taichi's eyes sparkled with hope as he held the volleyball out to Tenma.

  "Huh?" Tenma blinked, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Were all high schoolers this forward nowadays?

  "Is it because I'm from Aoba Johsai? You don't want to help a rival?"

  "No, no, that's not it," Tenma quickly crified. "It's just... I haven't pyed in a long time."

  "Really?" Taichi pyed along, though he already khe truth from finishing the manga ages ago.

  "It's been a while..." Tenma admitted as he took the ball from Taichi's hands. "I'm in college in Kanto now, and I've found other is. So, I stopped pying after graduating high school."

  Taichi's gaze shifted to the sketchpad enma's side. "Senpai, are you w on a manga?"

  Tenma stiffened, slightly startled. How did this kid guess that? He hadn't told a. But, well, being a mangaka wasly an obscure dream in Japan.

  With a faint smile, Tenma admitted it. "You're right. I've been w on a story about a zombie swordsman that I want t to life through manga." His eyes gleamed with creative passion.

  Taiodded eagerly. " you tell me about it, senpai?"

  Though hesitant, Tenma found himself uo resist Taichi's ear expression.

  "Alright, let's head to the family restaurant nearby. We talk it over some food," he said with a sheepish grin.

  -----

  "It's about a skeletal swordsman—he uands the cept of false death, yet he himself knows nothing of true death—"

  "His only panion is a raven that ot speak…"

  "Ohhh, that's such a cool setup!"

  In the family restaurant, two rown kids still brimming with a middle-schooler imaginatiohusiastically discussed Tenma Udai's envisioned manga storyline.

  Tenma's tone carried a mix of mystery and shyness as he described a world entirely different from the volleyball court. It was a realm of thrilling adventures, a zombie swordsman cutting through perilous obstacles, life-ah dilemmas, and ce transding the boundaries of mortality.

  "Zobishu must make an epitrance, saving the heroine from an enemy attack," Tenma expined, his eyes lighting up. "The enemy should be someone Zobishu knew in his life, before he became a zombie. And the heroine—she's crucial to Zobishu's jouro being human again. Of course, she has to be cute, strong-willed, aermio fight, but still evoke a sense of protectiveness—"

  As he got carried away, Tenma became increasingly animated with his ideas flowing out like an overflowing dam.

  "And then?" Taichi prompted, fully engrossed.

  "Then... the hero and heroi off on their jourogether." Truth be told, Tenma had spent so much time agonizing over the opening ses that he hadn't even begun to think about the rest of the plot.

  "You haven't figured out the rest of the story, have you?" Taichi gave him a knowing look. He was starting to uand why Zombie Swordsman Zobishu, the manga Tenma would ter serialize in Weekly Shonen BYE, ended up getting the boot prematurely.

  "I've just been fog on perfeg the short story version," Tenma muttered, wiping his palms on his jeans nervously. For some reason, he felt like he was being scolded.

  As someone who had reinated with memories of tless incredible stories from his previous life, Taichi held back from suggesting ideas ht. He kenma had a uory to tell, and this wasn't the time to overshadow it. Instead, he decided to help Tenma flesh out his vision.

  "Alright, then, Udai-senpai, what's the heroine's character cept? Don't tell me she's just some mascot."

  "She's the snarky, straight-talking type. Kind of like the hero's partner," Tenma replied thoughtfully.

  "Speaking of which, what exactly is the hero supposed to be? And by the way, I've been meaning to ask—zombies and skeletons are two entirely different things, aren't they?"

  "Haha, but skeletons are so much cooler…" Tenma admitted sheepishly, realizing he couldn't bluff his way out of this one.

  "If the heroihe snarky ohe hero 't just be all about looking coht?"

  "Maybe he should have a bit of a goofy side?"

  "That's a tough bao strike. Wouldn't it risk turning the whole thing into a gag manga?"

  "Hmm… And then there's the antagonist's design, the protagonist's motivation, and the world-building—surely, Udai-sensei, you've thought those through?"

  Tenma slumped his shoulders, looking like a child being chastised, before casting Taichi a pleading gaichi-sensei, please guide me!"

  They locked eyes for a moment before bursting into ughter.

  "This almost feels like we're actually creating a manga!"

  "Well, we are serious, aren't we?"

  The two tinued brainst in the cosy family restaurant, their voices lively as they shaped an imaginary world. Before they k, evening had arrived, and the golden light of dusk filtered through the windows.

  _________

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