Coach Washijō wanted Ryosuke to learn as much as possible. Once Ushijima and Tendo graduated, the ones carrying the team would be Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki. It was time for them to understand how unforgiving competitive sports could be.
For Coach Washijō, deciding who played and adjusting positions and formations was a lot like playing chess. Different pieces had different roles and paths, and pieces like Ushijima and Tendo were the ones he was most accustomed to using. Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki still needed time to adapt to fast-paced matches.
Coach Washijō also needed time to adjust to the style of this year's first-years. A team and its coach had to learn how to work together, and matches were the best way to build that understanding.
"Goshiki, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just play normally."
As someone who had been through the same thing before, Reon patted Tsutomu Goshiki on the shoulder.
He had experienced all of this himself. Back then, the pressure had been enormous, so Tsutomu Goshiki was probably feeling the same way now.
Tsutomu Goshiki nodded with an extremely serious expression.
Ever since Coach Washijō singled him out earlier, he had been like this. There was not a trace of a smile on his face.
With his features drawn tight, he actually looked rather intimidating.
He was probably nervous.
Seeing Tsutomu Goshiki nod, Reon did not say anything else.
There was no need to add even more pressure.
Over on Inarizaki's side, everyone was still discussing Atsumu Miya's earlier play.
Omimi had watched it from the bench with his heart in his throat.
The moment Atsumu Miya came off the court, Omimi started smacking him repeatedly on the shoulder.
"Are you trying to shorten my life?! That play was terrifying! You really just sent the ball over like that? You've got some nerve!"
Omimi clearly remembered the moment Atsumu Miya made that play.
The coach standing beside him had literally stopped breathing.
If the rally had lasted even a little longer, Omimi had been afraid the coach might suffocate himself.
And if Atsumu Miya had actually failed that play, Omimi refused to believe he would have made it back to school from the IH in one piece.
The coach and Captain Kita would probably have dragged him off the court and beaten him on the spot.
Atsumu Miya rubbed his shoulder.
"Hey, Omimi-senpai, go easy on me. I'm the hero who scored a crucial point for Inarizaki. What if you injure me?"
Osamu Miya silently covered his face.
Sometimes his brother's inexplicable confidence was genuinely embarrassing.
Osamu Miya really did not want to admit they were related.
Atsumu Miya kept boasting until Coach Kurosu appeared in front of him.
His voice was low.
"Atsumu Miya, could you please take it a little easier next time? I'm getting old. My heart can't take this kind of excitement."
Coach Kurosu's tone sounded so weary that it was almost heartbreaking.
He had nearly lost his breath earlier.
That brat was always pulling something outrageous.
Did he never spare a thought for his coach?
Coach Kurosu felt he needed to warn him.
If Atsumu Miya were not one of the team's most valuable players, Coach Kurosu had no idea how many times he would have killed him by now.
If only Atsumu Miya were as easy to deal with as his younger brother.
The moment Atsumu Miya saw Coach Kurosu's expression, he started stammering.
"O-okay... okay."
He had never seen Coach Kurosu look that grave before.
It genuinely frightened him.
Only after Atsumu Miya nodded did Coach Kurosu finally look satisfied.
Then he turned to Shinsuke Kita and asked in a much gentler tone,
"Kita, you can handle the next set, right?"
It sounded like a question, but there was no room for refusal.
No matter how mild Coach Kurosu usually was, he was still the coach.
Shinsuke Kita nodded, then hesitantly glanced at Omimi.
"But Omimi..."
What he wanted to say was whether this was unfair to Omimi.
Coach Kurosu followed his gaze and shook his head.
"It's fine. Omimi is willing to give up this opportunity. Even if he doesn't play this time, there's still the Spring High later. The IH carries more weight, and you've never taken part in it before. Everyone thinks it's better to give you this chance."
Just then, Omimi came over carrying a huge stack of towels.
When he heard Coach Kurosu, he stopped and poked one eye out from behind the pile.
"It's fine, Captain Kita. It doesn't matter if I don't play this time. You'd better win the next set."
Shinsuke Kita smiled and raised a fist toward him from a distance.
The meaning was obvious.
He would win this match.
Omimi then carried the towels off to hand them out.
"Do you think Shiratorizawa will make a substitution next set?"
Osamu Miya looked thoughtfully toward Shiratorizawa, where everyone was gathered together.
Atsumu Miya picked up his water bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls.
"Probably not. Shiratorizawa only has Tendo sitting on the bench right now, and he's a blocker. Little Ryosuke is a blocker too. Are they really going to swap one blocker for another? If you ask me, they should replace that first-year with the bowl cut. His scoring rate hasn't been that high in the first two sets."
Atsumu Miya sounded as though his reasoning made perfect sense.
Shinsuke Kita walked back over from the coach.
"Don't worry about how they make their substitutions. Even if they change players, we still have to play the match. Everyone, do your best in the next set. Especially you, Atsumu Miya."
Called out yet again, Atsumu Miya pouted and dragged out his reply.
"Okay-----------"
He looked utterly shameless.
Shinsuke Kita smiled helplessly and sat down beside him to wait for the next set.
Finally, once everyone had more or less finished getting ready, the whistle sounded again.
"Beep---------!"
The referee blew loudly, announcing the beginning of the third set.
"Come on, Atsumu Miya."
Shinsuke Kita stood and spoke to him.
Atsumu Miya tossed aside the towel in his hand and got to his feet with a stretch.
His joints cracked loudly.
Seeing Atsumu Miya still standing there, Osamu Miya stepped around him and followed Shinsuke Kita.
The rest of the team filed onto the court behind them.
Shiratorizawa did the same.
Ryosuke remained beside Coach Washijō, watching everyone.
"Goshiki, good luck! We're counting on you this set!"
The moment Tsutomu Goshiki heard Ryosuke shouting, the tension in his face eased.
He really wanted to turn around and complain to Ryosuke about how ruthless Coach Washijō was and how devious Inarizaki could be.
But once he stepped onto the court, he was an attacker expected to stand on his own.
He could not embarrass Shiratorizawa.
Ryosuke knew the players probably could not see him clearly, but he kept waving anyway.
"Tendo-senpai, good luck!"
He bounced around beside Coach Washijō like an ordinary spectator, cheering loudly enough to draw plenty of attention.
Coach Washijō thought he was being embarrassing.
He clenched one hand into a fist and brought it down hard on Ryosuke's head.
Ryosuke went completely silent at once.
It was as if someone had pressed a mute button.
The spectators in the stands also noticed that Shiratorizawa's lineup had changed.
Everyone immediately focused on the court.
"What's going on? Did they take little Ryosuke out?"
Oikawa leaned out from the stands and stared down.
The court was a little far away, and he could not see clearly.
So he pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket, put them on, and peered intently downward.
Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa by the collar and yanked him back.
"Are you an idiot?! What if you fall?"
Oikawa grinned and smoothed out the collar Iwaizumi had wrinkled.
"Oh, come on, Iwa-chan. Don't get so angry."
Still smiling, he gently pushed Iwaizumi's hand away.
Oikawa genuinely worried that fist of his might come flying at any moment.
"Look, they made a substitution."
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.
"It's not like I'm blind. Of course I saw."
Oikawa rubbed his chin, looking as though he wanted to seriously discuss why Coach Washijō had done it.
But the match was about to begin, so he stayed quiet.
He could analyze it after watching the set.
Both teams stepped onto the court and bowed across the net.
Then the third set began.
Inarizaki had won the previous set, with Shinsuke Kita serving the final point.
But at the start of the third set, Shinsuke Kita was no longer in position 1.
Naturally, the server had changed.
Atsumu Miya would open the set for Inarizaki.
Standing in front of everyone, Atsumu Miya struck what he clearly believed was an extremely cool pose.
"Hmph. Just watch me. I'll take the first point and show you what I can do."
He wore a smug expression.
Osamu Miya waved him off.
"Go on, then. It'll be pretty embarrassing if you mess up the first serve."
Atsumu Miya answered with a roll of his eyes.
He slowly walked to the service line.
Music rose from the stands.
Inarizaki's cheering section really was impressive.
They seemed to have a song for everything.
Yamagata tensed in the backcourt, watching Atsumu Miya carefully and keeping his eyes fixed on the volleyball in his hand.
Atsumu Miya raised one hand.
As the music reached its climax, he suddenly clenched his hand into a fist.
The music stopped instantly.
Atsumu Miya tossed the volleyball high into the air.
He looked up at it, then began his approach and jumped.
His footwork looked light and slightly erratic.
A jump float.
That was Yamagata's judgment.
He stepped forward twice.
Judging by Atsumu Miya's arm swing, the serve probably would not carry too much power.
Atsumu Miya brought his palm down onto the volleyball, wrapping his hand around the side of it.
The ball shot forward at high speed.
"Thud!"
Yamagata had guessed correctly.
The serve was fast at first, but once it crossed the net, it suddenly started dropping.
It looked somewhat similar to the sinking jump float Suwa had served before.
That was not enough to trouble Yamagata.
He had already adjusted his position, so all he needed now was a small correction in his footwork.
Yamagata extended both arms forward and gradually shifted his weight onto his legs.
The volleyball floated toward him.
He reached out carefully to receive.
A jump float was not especially difficult to receive, but handling its finer changes required precision.
That meant Yamagata could not simply throw his whole body into it.
These delicate serves really did not suit him.
He was much more comfortable dealing with power serves.
The moment his arms came forward, the volleyball dropped neatly into them.
Using the force of the ball, Yamagata reacted almost instantly and lifted his arms toward Shirabu.
"Thud!"
The volleyball popped into the air and flew toward Shirabu.
Shirabu tilted his head as he watched it approach.
He backed up several steps, then jumped to set.
Tsutomu Goshiki charged straight to the front.
He had not forgotten what Coach Washijō told him before the set.
But if he wanted to spike, Shirabu still had to set to him.
If Shirabu did not send him the ball, none of it mattered.
Ushijima rushed forward as well.
Tsutomu Goshiki figured Shirabu was more likely to set to Ushijima.
After all, Shirabu always sent the opening ball to the ace.
Ushijima and Tsutomu Goshiki both moved into attacking positions.
Tendo was not standing idle either.
Just as Suna tried to move toward Ushijima, a shadow suddenly fell over him.
Suna looked up in confusion.
There stood Tendo, smiling.
Tendo stood in front of the net with narrowed eyes, watching Suna with obvious amusement.
He looked like he had every intention of sticking to Suna completely.
Suna clicked his tongue.
He really hated third-years who protected their juniors like this.
Deal with the younger one, and then the older one comes after you.
And especially this guy who had suddenly appeared.
Suna could not even beat him.
It was incredibly frustrating.
Suna frowned.
He knew exactly what Tendo was doing.
He was deliberately getting back at him for Ryosuke.
With Suna now tied up by Tendo, Aran and Osamu Miya had no choice but to split their blocking assignments.
One went to watch Tsutomu Goshiki.
Aran stayed on Ushijima, keeping his eyes locked on him without daring to look away.
He was afraid that the instant he did, Ushijima would already be hitting.
Just as Tsutomu Goshiki had expected, the set did not go to him.
It went to Ushijima.
The first ball of a set belonged to the ace.
Even so, Tsutomu Goshiki still felt a little disappointed.
When would he become the ace himself?
Shirabu jumped and sent the volleyball toward Ushijima.
Ushijima backed up several steps, began his approach, and jumped.
The understanding between him and Shirabu was so strong that neither of them needed to call out or even look at the other.
Ushijima simply knew the ball would come to him.
That was the kind of connection he and Shirabu had.
The volleyball cut through the air toward Ushijima.
He jumped and raised his left hand to attack.
Across the net, Aran saw Ushijima take off.
He did not jump immediately.
Instead, he stared at Ushijima's left hand.
He needed to see exactly when Ushijima would strike before committing to the block.
Ushijima rose into the air and drew his palm toward the ball.
That was the moment.
Aran jumped.
Both arms tensed in front of him in a blocking position.
Ushijima's left hand was already poised to strike.
"Thud!"
The volleyball slammed straight into Aran's hands.
The impact forced them apart.
Aran had read Ushijima's timing correctly, but Ushijima was attacking with his left hand.
Aran clearly was not yet accustomed to blocking a left-handed spike.
His hands were blown open.
The volleyball shot straight toward the floor.
Shinsuke Kita suddenly appeared from nowhere and tried to save it.
But Ushijima had put everything he had into that first spike.
Even Yamagata might not have been able to receive it perfectly.
"Thud!"
The volleyball smashed hard into Shinsuke Kita's arms and ricocheted away.
It flew so far that Aran could hear Atsumu Miya suck in a breath.
"Beep---------------!"
"Shiratorizawa takes the opening point! The set began with Atsumu Miya serving for Inarizaki. His first serve was a jump float!
"Yamagata of Shiratorizawa received it cleanly and sent the first pass to Shirabu. Shirabu immediately chose Shiratorizawa's ace, Ushijima!
"Ushijima scores with the spike and gives Shiratorizawa the first point!"
...
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