The rally for the first point still had not ended, and it was already clear just how long the rest of the match was going to be.
Tsutomu Goshiki was starting to worry. At this pace, by the time they finished, would it be his turn to go back on court again? Just thinking about it made him feel miserable all over.
Tendo turned his head and glanced at Tsutomu Goshiki. The intuition monster instantly guessed what Goshiki was thinking.
"You can go back and rest for a bit now. We'll record it."
Goshiki had still been deep in thought, hesitating over whether he should head back first, only for Tendo to expose him in one sentence.
"Then I'll go grab lunch first and come back after."
With that thought, Tsutomu Goshiki stood up and headed outside, practically rushing out.
Tendo-senpai was seriously terrifying. He could guess everything. If you became friends with Tendo-senpai, it felt like you would not be able to keep a single secret. He was basically a human lie detector, which was honestly a little scary.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Tsutomu Goshiki went out alone to eat. He had a feeling this match was going to last a very long time.
Ryosuke saw Tsutomu Goshiki leave and wanted to follow him, but this match was far too gripping. Right now, Ryosuke really could not bear to walk away.
He touched his stomach and realized he was not that hungry. In that case, he could just wait until noon and have lunch with everyone else.
His attention returned to the court.
"An evenly matched display! Kamomedai's Libero picked up that ball and sent it as a first pass to Setter Kazuyoshi Bessho! The pass was extremely accurate, but unfortunately, it was a little too close to the net. Kamomedai's Setter is going straight for an overpass attack!
"Fukurōdani follows up with a two-man block. It's a tip! Kamomedai's Setter chose not to force the ball through, but instead tipped it over!
"The ball crosses the net! Fukurōdani's two blockers did not react in time, and the ball went over beautifully. But what a shame! Fukurōdani's Libero, Haruki Komi, predicted it and successfully saved the ball! Beautiful play!"
To people who did not understand volleyball, this match probably just looked like the ball was flying all over the court. But for anyone who understood the game, they could not bear to look away for even a second, afraid they might miss the smallest detail.
As usual, Haruki Komi's receive accommodated the setter perfectly.
Keiji Akaashi looked at the ball that had come so close to him, and his feelings were incredibly complicated.
Komi-senpai really was considerate. Ever since Keiji Akaashi had become the starting setter, he had never once had to deal with a first pass flying all over the place.
Haruki Komi proved with his ability that he would never make the team's setter chase after those kinds of balls. What level was that? Making their great Fukurōdani setter deal with a ball like that would be an insult. Haruki Komi would never let Keiji Akaashi suffer that kind of grievance.
Keiji Akaashi could set directly from this ball. Even as he jumped into the air, he was still sighing inwardly.
Komi-senpai was just too reliable.
Then Keiji Akaashi quickly began analyzing the current situation on the court.
First of all, under these circumstances, he absolutely could not give this ball to Bokuto. That left only Wataru Onaga, Tatsuki Washio, and Konoha.
Washio was currently in position three, right in front of the net. Every time they organized an attack, he would run over there, because balls sent into awkward corners were genuinely unpleasant. Tatsuki Washio especially hated those kinds of balls, so whenever he attacked, he always spared a bit of attention for position three.
Konoha was hovering near Bokuto. His thinking was simple: if Keiji Akaashi really sent the ball over this way and still chose Bokuto, Konoha would follow behind Bokuto to cover the attack.
If the ball came over while Bokuto was still sulking, then Konoha would definitely spike it himself.
Keiji Akaashi was a little far from the net right now. Otherwise, with things this undecided, he would definitely have ended the rally with a second attack himself. But to be safe, Keiji Akaashi chose not to take the risk. After roughly memorizing everyone's positions on the court, he bent backward midair and delivered a back set, his fingers snapping the volleyball out in an instant.
Keiji Akaashi chose Washio at position three.
Washio saw the volleyball coming and calmly started backing up for his approach, preparing to attack.
Keiji Akaashi chose Washio for this hit because he believed that Washio would definitely have a way to solve this kind of deadlock.
To outsiders, when people thought of Fukurōdani, they only remembered Bokuto, or perhaps his Setter, Keiji Akaashi. Very few people would actually think of Washio. Even if someone brought him up, most people would probably only say:
"Oh, the one who's really good at receiving, right?"
It was true. Compared with the other distinctive players on the team, Washio's presence was not strong. On top of that, Fukurōdani also had Bokuto. But only Keiji Akaashi knew just how strong Washio really was.
He could defend and block. He could receive Sakusa's spikes, and he could smash through Mujinazaka's block. Yet he simply was not famous. Kamomedai's Hirugami played the same position as Washio, but because of the title "Immovable Hirugami," everyone remembered him.
Washio, who had no title, was left in a slightly awkward position. He was overshadowed by the brilliance of Bokuto, Ushijima, Sakusa, and the others, all because his personality was too ordinary.
Washio had no idea how Keiji Akaashi evaluated him. Even if he did know, he would probably just smile and never bring it up.
Washio did not care about it at all.
The focus returned to the ball on the court. This play was far too obvious. Anyone could see what was happening. They were not hiding it in the slightest.
Hirugami was in charge of the block as usual, with a little tail following behind him: Kōrai Hoshiumi. Although Kōrai Hoshiumi was short, he was extremely good in aerial battles, and his blocking was also excellent. At this, Ryosuke could only quietly sigh to himself. So not all short blockers were like Shoyo Hinata.
Hoshiumi's blocking had been personally taught by Hirugami. In other words, whatever Hirugami's blocking looked like, Hoshiumi's looked the same.
The two jumped at the same time, perfectly lined up and ready to block. Hirugami was over 1.8 meters tall, and when compared with Kōrai Hoshiumi beside him, everyone finally got a direct sense of just how high Hoshiumi could jump. His jumping height was already nearly on par with Hirugami's.
Hirugami was the Middle Blocker, while Hoshiumi was the Wing Spiker. With both of them running over to block, Hoshiumi's current position was already somewhat blocking Keiichiro's line of sight. Keiichiro had already begun moving in wide arcs, trying to break free from that obstructed view.
Washio seized that exact moment and aimed an extreme sharp cross right at the edge of Hoshiumi's arm.
This kind of cross was incredibly hard to receive. You had to dive right to the Middle Blocker's feet to get it. But at that moment, Keiichiro was still moving around to shake off his blocked line of sight and did not notice it at all. The ball went straight into his blind spot.
Washio usually liked running to this position to guard against tricky, awkward balls that were hard to receive, so of course he knew a bit of that style himself. His philosophy was simple: if he had to be annoyed by it, then everyone else should be annoyed equally too. He often struck when people least expected it. Don't misunderstand. Washio was not especially competitive. He simply wanted to make things difficult for others and quietly be a little irritating.
Hoshiumi's expression changed. The volleyball was spiked straight toward the lower diagonal space beside him.
"Bang!"
"Beep-------------!"
The sound of the volleyball hitting the floor and the whistle rang out one after another.
Fukurōdani successfully took the first point.
"That was amazing, Washio!"
Konoha walked over with a smile, slung an arm around Washio's shoulders, and kept shaking him. Taking the first point gave their side a huge advantage.
"Washio-senpai, I knew you could do it."
Keiji Akaashi approached Washio, his eyes as steady and certain as always. He had always believed that Washio-senpai could break through this situation.
Then he raised his hand and high-fived Washio.
Bokuto stood off to the side, watching the two of them with longing eyes.
He wanted to spike too. He really wanted to high-five Keiji Akaashi too. He was so envious. So jealous! Jealousy really could twist a person's face beyond recognition.
Ever since he landed, Hoshiumi's expression had not looked good. The first point had actually been lost through him, and that left him extremely irritated, with a little guilt mixed in.
"All right, why the long face? We lost this point, so we'll just take the next one back."
Hirugami rubbed the soft white hair on Hoshiumi's head.
It was only when Hoshiumi was in a bad mood that he could touch his hair. That texture was way too soft.
Normally, the moment anyone touched Hoshiumi's hair, Hoshiumi would instantly bristle and never give them the chance.
"Exactly. It's just one point. Just watch. I'll take the next one back for you in a bit."
Hakuba raised his arm and showed Hoshiumi the muscles on it, indicating that he would definitely help Hoshiumi win that point back.
Hoshiumi glanced at him from the corner of his eye and snorted.
"Who needs your help? I'll crush them in no time."
He was back to his usual energy.
Seeing that, everyone finally relaxed. A Hoshiumi with no energy really was something they were not used to seeing.
"The first point is ours, then."
Coach Takurō showed off to Aaron like a child. Aaron did not get angry and only smiled faintly.
"Oh, it's fine. It's just one point. The kids on our side are all in pretty good form right now."
The implication was that someone on Fukurōdani was currently not in form.
Takurō snorted and said nothing more. Bokuto's mood swings were not exactly new, but even after seeing them so many times, Takurō still could not get used to them.
Those ups and downs really were enough to scare him into a heart attack.
Tsutomu Goshiki came back just in time to see this scene, carrying a plastic bag with some fruit inside.
He looked left, then right, before lowering his voice and asking Kamomedai's captain,
"Are Coach Takurō and Coach Aaron on bad terms?"
Reo Inube froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"No, not at all. The coaches actually get along pretty well. This is just how they interact. You'll get used to it."
Takurō and Aaron had known each other since high school. Back then, they had been the captains of their respective schools, and they had unexpectedly faced each other in a match. From there, the gears of fate began to turn.
The two of them went all out competing against each other. If one of them won a championship, the other would make sure to win the same one next time. After graduation, they joined different clubs and played professionally, continuing to oppose each other for several more years. When they got older, they became coaches, and still kept going against each other.
In any case, these two were never going to settle down. The winner between them still had not been decided.
They would keep leading their schools with that competitive spirit until the day they were buried.
After hearing Reo Inube say that, Tsutomu Goshiki immediately imagined them as a bickering pair. Once he pictured it, he found that it actually fit them surprisingly well.
Then he turned his attention back to the match.
After that last point, Kamomedai lost their serving rotation, and now it was Fukurōdani's turn.
As luck would have it, the player in position one for Fukurōdani was Bokuto.
Seeing this, everyone felt a bit of a headache coming on. Bokuto was not in form right now.
Konoha glanced at Bokuto, then turned and started making faces at Wataru Onaga.
Konoha: Bokuto can't serve like this, right?
Onaga: That's true, but there's nothing we can do about it.
Haruki Komi: Let Keiji Akaashi cheer him up.
Washio: But he's about to serve.
"So what exactly are you guys saying?"
The moment Keiji Akaashi saw them exchanging looks, he knew these guys had opened another private chat channel among themselves.
Konoha gave an awkward "hehe," then frantically gestured his chin toward Bokuto.
"What do we do about Bokuto?"
Keiji Akaashi looked at Bokuto, whose face was full of dazed misery, then shook his head.
"Don't worry about Bokuto-senpai for now. As long as he doesn't serve this ball out of bounds, it's fine."
Keiji Akaashi decided to let Bokuto stay in this state for the time being. If his condition rose later, the effect might be even better.
To put it in Kenma's gaming terms, it was like letting an ultimate go on cooldown. The longer the cooldown, the stronger the ultimate would be when it was finally unleashed.
Bokuto looked left and right, realized no one was coming to cheer him up, and his mood visibly sank even further as he walked to the service area.
He took the volleyball. The referee had only just blown the whistle when Bokuto immediately served over it, so fast that no one had time to react. If it were Bokuto's usual self, he would definitely have strutted around the service area for a few seconds first, then gone "hey, hey, hey" before serving. From the look of him now, he really was angry.
"Bang!"
Keiichiro saw that serve and was a little panicked at first.
But when he heard that the sound of the serve was not as loud as usual, Keiichiro relaxed slightly.
Then the volleyball wobbled through the air, looking like it might even clip the net, and Keiichiro's heart leaped into his throat again.
He sprinted toward the front court to receive it.
This ball sent Keiichiro's emotions all over the place and nearly scared him to death. As he received it, he was also thinking that Bokuto in this state really made people want to target him.
With that thought, Keiichiro bumped the volleyball up with both arms.
Because Bokuto's serve had been a little close to the net, this ball ended up looking very similar to the previous one, with the same angle and the same height.
The difference was that this time, no one was at the net. Kazuyoshi Bessho was keeping an eye on Keiji Akaashi and had not paid special attention to this ball.
Sometimes, when the first pass was good enough, the setter could take it easy.
Keiichiro had originally planned to bump the ball straight over the net, but the two blockers across from him were watching like predators. As long as he sent the ball over, they would absolutely block it down at once. A first pass sent over the net left almost no room to work with.
So Keiichiro chose to send the ball a little higher instead. He knew someone would definitely come to spike it.
"I'll take it! I'll take it!"
Sure enough, Keiichiro heard Hoshiumi's voice, then turned sideways to make room for him.
Hoshiumi stared at the ball with burning eyes. He had finally caught his chance. The last ball had been scored by the other side, and Hoshiumi had been feeling off ever since. This time, he was definitely going to use this ball to take that point back.
...
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