Yamato Sarukui did not quite understand why he was being sent onto the court after all, but he had a strange feeling that if he kept asking questions, he would end up running sprints up and down the slope. He wisely closed his mouth.
He would not be going in at the start. Once Keiichiro Kanbayashi rotated into position five or six, Yamato Sarukui would take the court.
After explaining that, Coach Takuro turned to Bokuto.
"Most of you don't know much about Inube. Bokuto, tell everyone what you know."
Everyone looked toward Bokuto. Bokuto blinked, scratched his head, and thought for a moment before finally remembering what Inube had been like.
"Inube is really fast. He's even faster than Hoshiumi was two sets ago. He moves all over the court, and I mean really fast. Look away for even a second and you'll lose track of him."
When Bokuto finished, Konoha nodded gravely.
That was true. Back when they were all first-years and frequently played against Kamomedai, Konoha hated nothing more than being told to mark Inube.
He was impossible to keep up with. Look away for a moment, and he would vanish. Not only was he fast, but he was slippery and infuriatingly difficult to pin down. He could attack at any tempo and from any angle, and his serve receive was excellent. When the libero was off the court, he could even fill in as one.
He was basically an upgraded version of Ryosuke.
There was no stopping him. Absolutely none.
Keiji Akaashi still had some vague memories of Inube-senpai. The last time he had heard anything about him was during his first year, when the upperclassmen in the volleyball club had mentioned going to visit him in the hospital...
Keiji Akaashi fell into thought.
"All right, that's enough. I've told you everything you need to know. We have to win this match, and I believe you can do it. Don't you want to win and fight Itachiyama to the bitter end in the semifinals? Then we have to win this match!"
Coach Takuro practically roared the last sentence.
Everyone flinched in unison, then answered with the same force Kamomedai had shown moments earlier.
"Yes!"
Hearing the resounding shouts from both Kamomedai and Fukurōdani, everyone knew the two teams were ready.
The break was not over yet, so there was still time to exchange a few words.
"Bokuto-senpai, do your best in the next set."
Keiji Akaashi looked at Bokuto.
He had originally wanted to ask Bokuto not to fall into another slump during the next set. However, when Bokuto turned toward him with a puzzled expression, the words caught in his throat.
In the end, that simple encouragement was all he managed to say.
Keiji Akaashi felt that he would never be able to say something like that to Bokuto. It would be far too cruel.
Bokuto listened and nodded seriously.
"Yeah!"
He could tell that Keiji Akaashi had left something unsaid, but it did not matter. Since Keiji Akaashi had told him to do his best, he would give this set one hundred and twenty percent.
"BEEEEEP!"
The whistle marking the start of the third set sounded.
Everyone glanced back at their coach, then turned resolutely toward the court.
Coach Aaron watched Inube walking at the front of the group. For a moment, he seemed to see the spirited first-year Inube from years ago.
The memory left him feeling a little melancholy.
Just then, Coach Takuro leaned over with a cheerful smile.
"Oh, what's with the long face? Do you think you can't win?"
Coach Aaron's brief melancholy was instantly dragged to the opposite extreme.
His expression twisted. He was so angry he almost laughed.
How could anyone be this shameless?
Coach Aaron turned his head away haughtily and decided not to engage with him.
Coach Takuro only pushed further.
"Why aren't you smiling anymore? Can't manage it?"
Coach Aaron took a deep breath.
Stay calm. Getting angry would only hurt himself.
He turned toward Coach Takuro and forced out a smile that looked worse than a grimace, his eyes gleaming dangerously.
"I am smiling. I'm absolutely delighted!"
He ground out the final words through clenched teeth, looking ready to grab a knife and cut Coach Takuro down on the spot.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Coach Takuro wisely fell silent.
Any more teasing, and Coach Aaron really would lose his temper.
"Welcome back to the national boys' high school volleyball tournament! The two teams preparing on the court are Fukurōdani and Kamomedai.
"Kamomedai won the second set 25 to 23. We are now moving into the third and final set of this match.
"We can see that Kamomedai has substituted one of its middle blockers. According to the team records, this player is Kamomedai's elusive captain.
"During his three years of high school, he appeared only at the Spring High and Interhigh in his first year. Since then, he has not appeared on the national stage."
"That's right. Let's see what this captain, who has suddenly reappeared after remaining out of sight for so long, is capable of. Just how skilled must he be to retain Kamomedai's captaincy for three years?"
"And now, the match officially begins!"
"BEEEEEP!"
Clearly, the commentators were also extremely curious about Inube.
With the whistle, the match officially began. The players on both sides stared at one another across the net.
Kamomedai had won the previous set, so they would serve first.
Inube was serving. He had replaced Hirugami and now stood in position one.
Under everyone's expectant yet wary gazes, Inube walked behind the service line.
He tossed the volleyball lightly up and down, and the eyes of every Fukurōdani player followed its movement.
The sight amused him.
Why were they being so cautious? He was only an ordinary, unremarkable person.
"BEEEEEP!"
Once both sides were ready, the referee blew the whistle for Inube to serve.
Inube moved the instant the whistle sounded.
He hurled the volleyball high into the air, lowered his center of gravity, began his approach, and jumped.
"Bang!"
His palm struck the volleyball with tremendous force.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary serve, but Haruki Komi did not dare relax for even a second.
He knew about Inube.
Inube's serve was not defined by overwhelming power or unusual spin. Its defining feature was its speed.
The volleyball came screaming straight toward Haruki Komi's face, moving so quickly that he could not make out its trajectory.
It was far too fast!
Haruki Komi suppressed his shock and tried to judge the ball's approximate direction from Inube's serving motion.
Inube's arm had been angled toward the left, but if the ball carried any spin, its path could still change.
Haruki Komi chose to trust his eyes and his instincts.
He sprinted toward the left side of the court.
By the time he started running, the volleyball was already about to hit the floor.
Even after crossing the net, it was still moving so quickly that the libero could barely see it, let alone the spectators.
Sitting on the sidelines, Tsutomu Goshiki rubbed his eyes and asked Ryosuke,
"What the heck just shot past us?"
Ryosuke hesitated before answering haltingly. He had not seen it clearly either.
"Maybe it was a volleyball."
Ryosuke had lost focus for only an instant as Inube served. Yet in that brief moment, Inube had already sent the ball across the net and into Fukurōdani's court.
Haruki Komi finally saw the ball clearly just before it struck the floor.
His heart jolted. He had not even had time to do anything, and the ball was already landing?
He immediately dove after it.
"Bang!"
The volleyball struck the floor like a bolt of lightning. Haruki Komi stretched his arm as far as he could, but he already knew the receive was probably lost.
Just as he feared, he failed to reach it.
The volleyball landed half an arm's length beyond his fingertips.
Half an arm's length was an enormous distance for Haruki Komi. There was always some margin of error in his receives, but he still got to the ball. Even when he failed, he was never off by more than the width of a palm, and even that was extremely rare.
The only time it had happened was during their match against Itachiyama, when Sakusa's serves had been so difficult to handle.
Not even Shiratorizawa had forced an error like this from him.
It brought back memories of Inube in their first year, along with the terror of being overwhelmed by his blisteringly fast serves.
The volleyball struck the floor with a loud bang.
"BEEEEEP!"
Only when the referee's whistle sounded did everyone realize the ball had already landed.
Some people had not processed what had happened at all, including spectators in the stands and players from other schools who had come to watch.
Cheers and excited murmurs immediately rose from every direction. Everyone was discussing Kamomedai's captain, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
From the sidelines, Hirugami saw Haruki Komi's expression and quietly looked away.
He understood exactly how Haruki Komi felt.
After all, he had also been tormented by Inube's serves back then.
Captain hasn't lost his touch at all.
Hirugami silently offered his assessment.
Ryosuke's gaze happened to pass over Hirugami sitting nearby. As though suddenly remembering something, he rummaged through his bag. After searching for quite a while, he pulled out a tube of ointment and clutched it in his hand before quietly edging closer to Hirugami.
Hirugami noticed the moment Ryosuke approached, but said nothing. He was curious about what this young Shiratorizawa player intended to do.
Thinking Hirugami had not noticed him, Ryosuke breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He crouched down and stealthily placed the ointment for bruises behind Hirugami, then slipped away like a thief.
Hirugami found the whole thing amusing.
The kid was doing something kind, yet he made it look like some kind of shady transaction.
The bruising on Hirugami's arms looked so awful that Ryosuke could barely stand to look at it. In the end, he could not help himself and left the ointment for him.
Then he quietly returned to his seat and pretended nothing had happened.
What Ryosuke did not know was that the moment he stood up, countless eyes from every direction had begun secretly following him.
After leaving the ointment, Ryosuke returned to his seat and continued watching the match.
Keiji Akaashi walked over to help Haruki Komi up, but Haruki Komi waved him off and climbed to his feet by himself.
After standing there dazed for a long moment, Haruki Komi suddenly came back to his senses and shouted across the net.
"Inube, nice serve!"
Everyone froze.
They had seen players cheer for their teammates, but never for an opponent.
Inube was also taken aback. Then he broke into a delighted grin.
"Thanks!"
"An untouched service ace from Kamomedai's captain, Reo Inube! This captain, who has been absent from the court for so long, has stunned everyone with his very first serve!
"His serve resembles no one else's. This is Reo Inube's serve, an ultra-fast serve!"
The commentator had also been shaken by that serve.
Nothing quite like it had appeared at the Interhigh so far. There had been serves with similar qualities, but none could match Inube's speed.
By comparison, those other serves almost seemed like imitations of his.
"What did you think of that serve?"
Konoha leaned closer to Haruki Komi and asked quietly.
Haruki Komi immediately understood what he was really asking.
"It was incredible. It hasn't changed from before, but it feels more accurate now. Inube used to send a lot of serves out of bounds. That one was clearly aimed at a specific spot."
Konoha's face fell.
"Kamomedai's serves were already annoying enough. Now they've added Inube too. Are they trying to kill us?"
"Konoha-senpai, don't say such discouraging things."
Keiji Akaashi appeared behind Konoha like a ghost, startling him so badly that his face contorted.
"Enough talking! Get back into position so we can continue the match!"
Bokuto stared sternly at the three of them huddled together. For once, he displayed the authority expected of a captain on the court.
The three exchanged glances, then returned to their positions.
When Keiji Akaashi walked past him, Bokuto hurriedly waved his hands.
"Keiji Akaashi, I wasn't yelling at you just now. I was only scolding Komi and Konoha."
Bokuto was afraid Keiji Akaashi might be upset, so he went out of his way to explain.
Komi and Konoha, who had been walking past Bokuto, stopped when they heard him and stared.
Bokuto looked slightly guilty under their gazes, but still turned his head away proudly and pretended not to notice.
Konoha was speechless.
This was blatant favoritism!
He was going to complain to the coach. Why was Bokuto so gentle with Keiji Akaashi, yet acted like an imposing captain toward everyone else?
It was completely unfair.
At that moment, Konoha's fatherly heart shattered with an audible crack.
Once everyone had returned to their positions, the match resumed.
Inube raised the volleyball again.
At the front, Hoshiumi kept turning to look back at him.
Hoshiumi still refused to accept this captain who had suddenly appeared. Why was Inube the captain while Hirugami could only be vice-captain?
Hirugami was clearly the one who worked hardest for the team. He and Suwa-senpai were the ones who handled every issue, big or small.
The more Hoshiumi thought about this stranger suddenly appearing as their captain, the more dissatisfied he became.
Hoshiumi and Hirugami were both second-years, but Hoshiumi had joined during the second semester. Although they were in the same year, they had not entered at the same time, so it was only natural that Hoshiumi had never known about Inube.
Inube had no idea what kind of nonsense was running through Hoshiumi's head.
Even if he had known, he probably would have merely smiled without saying anything.
In his eyes, all of them were still children.
Raising the volleyball and tossing it into the air was a sequence Inube knew better than anything.
During all those days when he had been confined to bed and unable to stand, tossing a volleyball was all he could do.
Even now, the movement Inube was most familiar with was tossing the ball.