Hoshiumi's speed seemed to have broken through his own limits once again.
Hoshiumi landed steadily, then locked eyes with Bokuto.
Bokuto scratched his hair, not quite understanding why Hoshiumi was staring at him like that. After thinking for a long while, he praised him.
"Hoshiumi, you're amazing?"
Keiichiro swore he definitely saw the veins bulging on Hoshiumi's head.
Why was it a question? If you were going to compliment someone, then compliment them. What was with that questioning tone?
Hoshiumi had not been staring silently at Bokuto because he wanted Bokuto to praise him. He had been trying to act cool and aloof. Hoshiumi thought that looked very cool, but he had not expected Bokuto to actually praise him. And why did he have to say it like a question?!
Hoshiumi rolled his eyes hard at Bokuto, who still had no idea what had happened, then said sarcastically,
"You're so amazing~"
Bokuto felt that Hoshiumi's tone was a little strange, but he could not quite say what was strange about it.
Then Bokuto was dragged away by Konoha, who really could not bear to watch anymore. Konoha was genuinely afraid Bokuto would get jumped and stuffed into a sack later.
Hoshiumi looked gloomy. He had scored, sure, but why did he not feel any sense of accomplishment at all? Was Bokuto's brain empty?
Hoshiumi's little head was filled with big questions.
Both sides returned to their positions, and the match continued.
Hoshiumi also pushed all those messy thoughts out of his head and walked to the service line.
That's right. It was Hoshiumi's turn to serve now. He had earned his own service rotation. Hoshiumi was a self-reliant kid.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle.
Hoshiumi bounced the volleyball in his hand, then looked at Fukurōdani's court before finally shifting his gaze to the scoreboard.
The score was now 15:14. With the block Hoshiumi had just made, Kamomedai had taken the lead.
What they needed to do now was widen that one-point lead a little. Ideally, they would make it a three-point lead.
Of course, that was a little difficult.
Hoshiumi tossed the volleyball up, then ran and jumped after it. Holding in a breath of strength, he smacked the volleyball out with a bang.
It was an extremely loud sound.
Haruki Komi received again. He felt like he had been receiving serves nonstop this entire set.
Komi lowered his center of gravity and stretched both hands forward.
"Bang!"
Haruki Komi felt as if he had been kicked by someone weighing about 200 pounds. It was brutal. These people's serves were getting fiercer one after another. Komi did not even know if he could still hold on in the third set, so the best outcome would be not having a third set at all. Of course, that was not very realistic.
Hoshiumi's serve angle was extremely tricky. He was trying to force Komi into a dead end with the placement. He copied Suwa and sent the volleyball straight toward the area in front of Komi's chest, trying to make Komi fail to receive it.
But Haruki Komi had learned his lesson. The moment he saw the ball's position, it felt very familiar, so he took one step back and received it directly.
The volleyball still flew very high.
Part of the reason Haruki Komi was so sensitive to this ball was because Suwa had served something similar before, and Komi had nearly fallen for it. Another reason was that a jump float and a Jump Serve were different. When one ball had spin and the other did not, the opening was easy to spot at a glance.
Keiji Akaashi started running again.
"I've got it!"
He would not blame Komi for failing to turn this ball into a perfect first pass, because he knew it was not that Komi did not want to. It was that he simply could not do it right now. At times like this, Keiji Akaashi just had to put in a little more effort.
"Sorry, Keiji Akaashi!"
Komi called out.
Keiji Akaashi ran without saying anything, but he held up one hand and waved it lightly, meaning it was fine.
The first pass had not gone into position, that was all. It was not as if the ball had not been received.
Keiji Akaashi once again ran into position to set, while Bokuto had long since started running along a wide diagonal path.
This scene felt familiar. Bokuto had just been blocked by Hoshiumi exactly like this.
When Bokuto went to spike and saw that there was still only Hakuba blocking at the net, he also felt something was wrong. It was almost exactly the same as the previous ball.
Then Bokuto glanced at Hoshiumi's position from the corner of his eye and saw that Hoshiumi was now at position four, just about to rush over. Bokuto instantly understood. Hoshiumi wanted to block him again. Judging by his running path, it seemed to be the same as the previous ball. He wanted to jump beside Hakuba and block Bokuto's diagonal shot.
Once he realized that, Bokuto decisively spiked the volleyball toward Hakuba's other side.
He had originally wanted to hit a straight shot, but he had seen Keiichiro flash past behind Hakuba. His instincts told him that if he aimed a straight shot at Hakuba, it would still be blocked.
But then something unexpected happened. When Bokuto spiked toward the right, Hirugami appeared, just like Hoshiumi had suddenly appeared in the previous rally.
Hirugami had not been there when he blocked or jumped, but the moment Bokuto spiked, Hirugami appeared.
He jumped from where he stood. He did not need to jump especially high. He only needed to maintain the same height as Bokuto.
Then Hirugami's hands covered Bokuto's spike with perfect precision.
Bokuto's golden pupils shrank. Damn it. This ball was definitely going to be blocked.
It was not that Bokuto had no confidence in himself. Hirugami's blocking was just too good.
He had played practice matches against Ryosuke during the National Youth period, and Ryosuke's Blocking was also excellent. Tendo's Blocking was also extremely precise.
But the Blocking Bokuto hated most was still Hirugami's. Compared with Hirugami, Ryosuke still lacked a little experience. Tendo did have experience, but his arm strength was still a little worse than Hirugami's. Besides, Tendo relied on instinct to block, so there were always times when he made mistakes.
Hirugami's Block was like a net. A net calculated with precision to capture a wild owl.
Bokuto thought of the score on the scoreboard. This ball absolutely could not be blocked. Just as the volleyball was about to smash into Hirugami's hands, Bokuto changed the angle of his spike at the last moment.
He drove the volleyball hard toward the sharp downward diagonal, the spot by Hirugami's feet.
This kind of spike was an extreme sharp cross. It had a high chance of misfiring, but in the current situation, an ordinary diagonal shot definitely would not score. An extreme sharp cross, however, still had a chance.
The volleyball was driven toward the area beside Hirugami's feet.
"Bang!"
Hirugami saw through Bokuto's intention and raised an eyebrow. An extreme sharp cross?
I won't let you have your way.
Bokuto watched his ball. Just as it was about to hit the floor, Hirugami stretched his foot out to reach it, but he did not manage to receive it.
At this moment, it was Nozawa's turn to appear. He ran over from position three, then dove and slid right beside Hirugami's foot, bracing his palm against the floor. Nozawa watched the rapidly falling volleyball, seemed to sense that the angle was wrong, and twisted his wrist against the floor.
After twisting his wrist, the volleyball slammed into Nozawa's fingertips the next second and popped up. For an instant, Nozawa thought his fingers were about to snap, and his face twisted in pain.
Hirugami, who had just landed, jumped again and reached out to press the ball down.
Konoha had been behind Bokuto the whole time. Seeing this, he tried to receive the ball, but he was a step too late. Like Bokuto, he had thought that once the extreme sharp cross was driven down, there would be no problem with this ball. He had not expected Nozawa to appear either. The last time he saw Nozawa, he had still been one body length behind Hirugami. Now he had already run to the front.
What the hell? Was everyone on Kamomedai a sprint champion? They were impossible to guard against.
"Beep!"
"Kamomedai scores again! That rally was an absolute highlight. Bokuto first changed his spike from a line shot to a diagonal, then changed it from a diagonal to an extreme sharp cross, but he still failed to score in the end. Kamomedai's players sealed off all of Bokuto's spiking routes in one move."
"Even Bokuto's extreme sharp cross was received by Nozawa, who had been covering the defense the entire time.
"Finally, after landing, Hirugami jumped again. Just when everyone had let their guard down, he put away another overpass. The entire sequence did not even take two seconds!"
The commentator was so excited that he actually stood up from his chair, still holding the microphone in his hand. That last ball had made him sweat for Bokuto, but Kamomedai's players were truly meticulous. They had forced Bokuto into hitting that kind of diagonal shot. If Nozawa had not appeared at that moment, that ball definitely would have scored.
Of course, in competitive sports, there was no such thing as "if."
"Bokuto-senpai, it's fine. We'll get the next one back!"
Bokuto saw that the ball he had just hit had failed to score again, and had even been used by the other side to counterattack directly. The gold in Bokuto's eyes was about to fade. Keiji Akaashi could tell that Bokuto was on the verge of turning negative, so he quickly spoke up to comfort him.
Konoha also felt a little uneasy. He looked at Bokuto and tried to move closer to comfort him.
But Bokuto's expression was heavy.
Everyone exchanged glances, and the same word appeared in all their minds. We're doomed.
Usually, when Bokuto showed this expression, it meant the next line out of his mouth would become...
"Keiji Akaashi! Don't toss to me on the next ball!"
After Bokuto said that, he noticed the court fall silent for a moment and thought everyone was about to comfort him.
Unexpectedly, after Keiji Akaashi exchanged a look with everyone else, he calmly looked at Bokuto and nodded.
"Okay, Bokuto-senpai."
Bokuto: "??"
Bokuto's wise eyes instantly turned into little dots. Huh? Why? Why wasn't Keiji Akaashi comforting him?
Everyone else also nodded one after another, indicating that they had no objections. Then they began returning to their positions. When Konoha went back, he even tugged along Bokuto, who was still standing there in a daze.
This was not because everyone was cruel or deliberately ignoring Bokuto. Bokuto in this state was about to enter cooldown, then hold himself back for his next big move. Everyone had plenty of experience with this. They even understood Bokuto better than Bokuto understood himself.
Bokuto was dragged back to his position in confusion. By the time Bokuto finally reacted, he looked so wronged that he was practically deforming.
He still wanted to shout something, but the whistle for the start of play had already sounded.
Seeing everyone standing ready and serious, Bokuto opened his mouth, then closed it again in frustration.
Bokuto had been blocked by Kamomedai twice in a row. If they let Bokuto attack under the current circumstances, he might get too fired up and end up having the opposite effect. So the best method right now was to handle it coldly.
Seeing Bokuto looking so down, Keiji Akaashi also felt a little uncomfortable. But for the sake of the match, he could only make Bokuto-senpai endure it for now.
It was still Kamomedai's serve. Hoshiumi stood in position one, while Haruki Komi stood at the very back of the court, his body tense. He could not help getting nervous too.
They could not let Hoshiumi score this point. Ideally, they would end his service rotation with this one ball.
But how could it be that simple? It was easy to say. Just thinking about Hoshiumi's powerful jump serve gave Komi a headache. Dealing with Hoshiumi's powerful jump serve was truly no easier than handling Washio's serve. What was this called? A small body packed with huge energy? Komi was torn between laughing and crying at his own thought.
Then he looked seriously at Hoshiumi on the other side, ready to receive at any moment.
Seeing that both sides were ready, the referee blew the whistle.
"Beep!"
Hoshiumi had already started moving the moment the referee blew the whistle.
He tossed the volleyball into the air, then began his run-up and jumped. His lips were pressed tightly together. Hoshiumi wanted to use his serve to take three points in one go.
He swung his arm up, and his palm struck the volleyball hard.
"Bang!"
The sound was crisp and loud.
The moment Komi heard it, he knew this ball would not be weak.
The volleyball seemed to have been sped up, and it was almost in front of him in an instant.
Komi very calmly lowered his center of gravity, then shifted a small step to the right. His knees bent slightly, and his other leg braced against the floor.
Then, watching the volleyball arrive right in front of him, Komi stretched out both hands with absolute determination, still using that familiar receiving posture.
The volleyball smashed hard into the bend of Komi's arms.
"Bang!"
Komi once again felt as if his arms were about to be crushed, like he had been stepped on by an elephant. Of course, that was only a metaphor. Komi had never actually been stepped on by an elephant.
Komi's face turned bright red, and his breathing grew heavy. He felt as if the volleyball in his hands weighed a thousand pounds, pressing down on his nerves every single second. Komi's current state was a little like a weightlifter holding up a barbell.
Then Komi exerted strength through his arms, his upper arms driving his forearms, and his forearms driving his wrists.
The volleyball flew up again.
Everyone immediately began moving.
Onaga and Konoha ran to the front of the net, watching the restless Hakuba and Hirugami closely. Meanwhile, Suwa had already started his run-up from the back. If Fukurōdani's ball was blocked and touched the net, then it would depend on Suwa's performance.
Keiji Akaashi ran behind position four to take the second ball. This first pass was still very good. Compared with the previous few, it was almost beautiful.
Keiji Akaashi jumped into the air to set. In that instant, he felt himself locked onto by many gazes. Without even thinking, Keiji Akaashi knew the hottest one belonged to Bokuto.
Although Bokuto had said not to toss to him, the moment he saw Keiji Akaashi setting, he could not help looking over. His hands felt itchy.
Keiji Akaashi pretended not to see it. Then, in midair, he sent out a quick, flat set. Washio was like a hunter coming out to hunt, darting from the backcourt to position five before jumping directly, ready to launch a back-row attack.
Hirugami wanted to go block, but Konoha's eyes moved, and he shifted his feet slightly, ending up directly face-to-face with Hirugami. Hirugami came back to himself, and the two of them met each other's eyes across the net.