Both teams took the court and bowed.
Kiyokawa's captain shook hands with Kuroo across the net.
"Please take care of us."
"Please take care of us."
They had already done the coin toss before stepping onto the court, and Kiyokawa had the serve for the first set.
The ace and captain in the number one jersey walked to the service position under everyone's gaze.
A ball boy brought him a volleyball. He caught it, thanked him politely, then took a deep breath with the ball in hand. He tossed it up, took a three-step approach, and sprang lightly into the air.
Ryosuke sat up straighter. Kiyokawa's ace was pretty interesting. He was clearly a burly guy packed with muscle, so how was his jump so light? Ushijima's jump had improved, but it still carried a bit of heaviness. So what was going on here? Besides, this serve should be a jump float.
"Bang!"
Ryosuke's judgment was completely accurate. It was an excellent jump float, flawless in both speed and arc. For someone so strong, his playstyle was surprisingly delicate.
"Excellent. Kiyokawa's captain opens the match with a jump float, and Nekoma's Libero, Yaku, shows no fear at all as he receives it!"
Listening to the announcer's commentary, Ryosuke felt something strange. For some reason, he kept feeling like the commentator favored Nekoma more. When he said Yaku had received the ball, his voice sounded unbelievably excited.
Yaku was a little surprised by the jump float, but his powerful reflexes and muscle memory let him move into receiving position in an instant. He shuffled to the right and chose the spot closest to Kenma, minimizing how much the setter would need to move.
Yaku raised both hands, intending to receive it overhead. An underhand receive was definitely more convenient, but against a strange ball like a jump float, it was easy for the ball to rebound away before he could kill its momentum. Since this was the very first ball of the match, it was better to play it safe, so Yaku decisively chose an overhead receive.
Before the ball had even been received, everyone on Nekoma had already started moving. No matter what, they had to be ready at all times, because Kenma never gave advance notice before setting. It was either eye contact or pure guesswork.
"Bang!" Yaku received the ball steadily. His wrists bent, absorbing the weight of the ball. Unexpectedly, the ball was very light, though that also made sense.
Kenma stood where he was, only shifting his feet a small step before catching the first pass with both hands. He was still thinking that Yaku's first passes were getting steadier and steadier.
Kenma considered who he should send this ball to. The first point of the match affected the entire team's morale and mindset, and to a certain extent, determined whether this set would start with the wind at their backs or against them.
Kuroo was currently at the net. Kai was to his right. Fukunaga was looking for an opening to attack. Taketora was charging forward with all his might, eager to show off in this set, but Kenma felt this ball could not go to him. Taketora's hot-blooded nature could not be changed, and giving him the first ball was not exactly safe.
Kenma thought through a lot in those few short seconds, then frowned in irritation. In that case, he might as well take this ball himself.
The blockers across the net were Kiyokawa's number seven and number nine middle blockers. Both of them looked completely guileless. Kenma curled his lip, then used his gaze to draw their attention toward Kai.
The two froze, then reacted in an instant. The captain was right! A setter's intention was all in his eyes! Today, they had finally seen the real thing.
Then, as soon as they landed, they broke into a sprint, chasing after Kai's side to block.
Kenma lightly hooked the ball with his left hand, sending over a setter dump at the net. The volleyball drifted softly to the floor, looking almost weightless. The opposing Libero dove for it but failed to reach the ball. After cursing under his breath, he climbed back up from the floor.
"Beep---------"
"A brilliant second attack! Nekoma's Kenma Kozume chose a dramatic setter dump on the very first ball of the match, successfully drawing away Kiyokawa's two blockers. The Kiyokawa players failed to react in time, allowing Kenma Kozume to take the first point!"
"Kenma, you really fooled me badly," Kai said, walking over with a frustrated expression as he scratched his hair.
He had genuinely thought Kenma was going to set that ball to him. He had jumped with full confidence, only to swing at empty air.
"Hahahaha, don't you know what Kenma's like? If he hadn't fooled you too, how could he have tricked both of their blockers?"
Kuroo put a hand on Kenma's shoulder and shook him back and forth.
The two opposing middle blockers stormed over to argue with their captain, both of them looking terribly wronged.
"Captain, you clearly told us that we just had to watch the setter's eyes to know where he'd set! I looked! It didn't work at all!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
Kiyokawa's ace clutched his head in agony. I told you to watch his eyes. I didn't tell you to run the second you saw them! Every single one of you has a head like waterlogged wood. Stinking and stupid.
Coach! Save me!
Yaku watched them with interest, then returned to his position when the referee blew the whistle.
On Nekoma's side, the rotation had now brought Kuroo to position one. What a coincidence. Kuroo's favorite thing was serving from position one. Whether his serve scored or not did not matter, since the other side could not score anyway. After all, everyone on Nekoma loved polishing the floor, so under normal circumstances, Kuroo could stay in position one for a very long time.
Kuroo tossed the volleyball, took his approach, and jumped, like an elegant black cat pouncing on its prey.
Sitting below the stands, Ryosuke stared at Kuroo for several seconds before sighing softly. Usually, he really had not thought Kuroo-senpai was this handsome. The smooth line of his body when he jumped looked genuinely sexy.
"Nekoma's Kuroo steps up to serve. It's a powerful jump serve! Received! Kiyokawa's Libero digs it up from below, but unfortunately, the first pass isn't perfect."
Kiyokawa's number four Libero grimaced as he received the ball. Hearing the announcer made him want to curse.
Don't make it sound so easy, okay!? That ball nearly smashed his fingers apart! What did this captain eat growing up? Was he on steroids?
"The first pass is only half in place! Cover it, cover it!"
If Kuroo had heard what that Libero was grumbling to himself, he would definitely have laughed so hard he could not straighten his back. If he did not have some real skill, how could he have become the captain of the "defensively strong Nekoma"? Yaku would absolutely have been the first one to refuse.
Seeing the Libero receive the ball, Kuroo raised his eyebrows slightly. Not bad. He's got a few tricks.
The setter wearing number five sprinted across the court, cursing the unreliable Libero in his heart.
Look at the other team! They don't even make their setter move a single step! The comparison was seriously infuriating.
The setter quickly ran to the backcourt, measured the distance, and fixed his gaze on the number nine middle blocker locked in a standoff with Fukunaga. Since that side only had one blocker, the setter locked onto number nine.
He jumped and sent over a long, flat quick attack in midair.
"Ball!"
Hearing the call, number nine turned his head, then backed up for his approach and jumped.
Everyone could tell he meant to spike it. Fukunaga thought it over as he jumped. He could feel Yaku right behind him, so it did not matter if he failed to block the ball outright. As long as he got a touch on it, that would probably be enough.
Fukunaga was the kind of person who occasionally cut corners. Not because he was truly lazy in the same way Kenma was too lazy to train, but because there were times when Fukunaga felt that whether something was done, and what result it produced, simply was not that important. That was when he took the easy way out.
Besides, Nekoma had never been the type to wipe their opponents out in one go.
Cats preferred to lure their prey into a trap, watch them struggle, torment them over and over, and only then leave them on their last breath.
"Bang!"
"One touch!"
In the blink of an eye, Fukunaga had already jumped to block. The volleyball struck his fingertips and flew backward.
"The setter sends up a flat quick, and number nine launches the attack! One touch! Nekoma's Fukunaga gets a touch on the block! The Libero moves in to cover and picks it up! Nekoma's floor defense really is incredible. Looking back at Nekoma's past records, they almost never seem to lose points through their Libero!"
Sure enough, Yaku appeared behind Fukunaga and picked up the ball. He adjusted the angle slightly and delivered a beautiful first pass. Kenma stood in place, making only a token shift of his feet. One glance was enough to tell that he would not need to adjust for this ball.
Sitting beside the coach, Inuoka looked left, then right, before whispering to Ryosuke.
"Don't you feel like those two announcers really like our school?"
Ryosuke had noticed it too. He nodded with a slightly complicated feeling.
Coach Nekomata, who had overheard their conversation, chuckled and ruffled both their hair.
"It's not as if this is something you can't say out loud. Why not share it with me?"
Inuoka lowered his head, a little embarrassed.
Lev burst out laughing. Although Inuoka looked bright and cheerful, he was actually the shyest person on the whole team.
Inuoka turned back and glared at Lev in embarrassed anger.
Nekomata stopped laughing and explained to them.
"Those two announcers used to be students at our Nekoma. They graduated many years before you. Strictly speaking, you should be calling them senpai."
There was a nostalgic look in Nekomata's eyes. Those two children had not been especially talented back then, yet even after graduating, they had still chosen careers related to volleyball. It seemed his guidance back then had not made them lose faith in volleyball. That was good. Truly good.
Taketora Yamamoto saw Yaku's ball come up and knew his chance had arrived.
"Ora, ora, ora!"
He jumped and slammed the ball over with all his might.
"That's a straight-line shot from Taketora Yamamoto!"
"Bang!"
The setter and middle blocker failed to stop it. The volleyball tore straight through their arms.
"Beep----------"
"Nice one, Tora! As expected of our ace!"
"You're amazing today!"
The crowd began cheering too. Most of the spectators who came to watch Nekoma's matches were longtime Nekoma fans, and they liked this kind-hearted, hot-blooded kid. They were not stingy with their applause.
Taketora Yamamoto soaked in everyone's praise, so proud his nose was practically pointing at the sky. He laughed smugly, raised both hands high, and shouted,
"Hahahahaha! I told you! I'm the strongest!"
Kenma quietly hid behind Kuroo. Tora... this is so embarrassing.
The referee frowned at Taketora Yamamoto, then blew his whistle and warned him. If he kept yelling nonsense, he was going to get a yellow card.
The referee's glare made Taketora Yamamoto's scalp prickle, and he instantly went silent.
Kai found it a little funny. Taketora Yamamoto might look like a delinquent, but he was actually a total coward.
Kuroo stood in position one again. He had known everyone would definitely protect that position for him.
To be honest, Ryosuke was watching from off the court with little interest. It was not very exciting. This was practically a one-sided strangling.
No matter how strong Kiyokawa's attacks were, Nekoma simply would not let the ball touch the floor. They kept dragging the rally out and wearing them down.
Kiyokawa's ace looked as if he had been trapped in a cage. He could not attack, had nowhere to retreat, and was already on the edge of frustration.
After watching for a while, Ryosuke decided to look around at the other courts, then come back before this match ended. He still remembered that Kenma had said he would take him to eat apple pie.
Bending slightly, Ryosuke said apologetically to Coach Nekomata,
"Coach Nekomata, I want to go check out the other venues."
Nekomata nodded kindly. He knew that, watching a match like this, these kids might not be able to sit still.
After saying goodbye to Lev and the others, Ryosuke got up and left. Before going, he glanced over at Kiyokawa's side again.
Kiyokawa's ace seemed to have gotten his mentality back under control, but it would not do much good. Nekoma's war of attrition was among the best.
After leaving the venue, Ryosuke wandered around and eventually made his way to the main arena. It was filled with roaring cheers. Curious, he poked his head inside for a look.
He saw the crowd cheering, and at the center of those cheers stood a boy with both hands raised high, looking bright and triumphant.
Ryosuke stopped. Which school's match was this? It seemed pretty interesting.
He walked in and took a look. The scoreboard at the side of the court showed that the match had already ended. The two teams were Seifu and Soma. Ryosuke had some impression of them. They were schools that had always hovered around the quarterfinals.
As for that captain, Ryosuke did not recognize him at first glance. After looking again, though, he seemed to remember who he was. Seifu's second-year Wing Spiker, Senryu Tsuki. He had some impression of him, a Wing Spiker with a very powerful spike.
Ryosuke stood at the edge and watched him. Watching the way he cheered and smiled, he felt a little envious. That emotion was rare for Ryosuke, because in his life, it was usually other people who envied him. But Ryosuke truly envied people like this.
To stand beneath everyone's admiration, calm and proud, just like Bokuto-senpai.
Ryosuke had always defined himself as a Libero. Like Yamagata, he believed Liberos did not need cheers. But looking at that boy's proud expression, Ryosuke still could not stop himself from feeling envious.
After watching for a while, Ryosuke left, inwardly despising himself for that feeling just now. What was there to envy? Being able to guard the team's final line of defense was something Ryosuke could be proud of for a long, long time.
He wandered aimlessly for another loop, still wanting to watch other matches, only to discover that these games were all seriously polarized. Most of them were one team crushing the other so badly they were left with zero points. There did not seem to be any evenly matched teams at all. So the gap between the non-seeded teams was really that huge? Were they just here to make up the numbers?
Still puzzled, Ryosuke walked around again and found that it really was the case. Unable to make sense of it, he prepared to head back. On the way, he ran into the Miya brothers, Atsumu and Osamu.
The moment Atsumu saw Ryosuke, his eyes lit up. Then he struck a pose exactly like Oikawa's, preening dramatically as he greeted Ryosuke, fully convinced he looked cool.
...
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