After Yamagata received the ball, he sent a first pass toward Shirabu.
Seeing the ball coming, Shirabu adjusted his position and prepared to set.
At that moment, both Tsutomu Goshiki and Ushijima began their approaches. Because of where he was positioned, Tsutomu Goshiki started a little later than Ushijima and ended up running behind him.
Tendo glanced over at the situation, then immediately locked onto Suna, who was coming over to block.
Suna had already been marked by Tendo countless times by now, and it was driving him crazy. Tendo was like something glued to him that he could not shake off no matter what he did.
Osamu Miya and Aran hesitated in front of the net.
Tsutomu Goshiki was still running behind Ushijima and had yet to emerge from behind him. In this situation, Osamu Miya could not tell whether the two would jump from the same position or split off to attack from different spots.
That hesitation put him in a difficult position.
Then, in the very next second, Ushijima suddenly veered away and ran toward the right, revealing Tsutomu Goshiki behind him.
Seeing Ushijima move away, Tsutomu Goshiki did not change his own route.
He simply followed through with his original approach and arrived at position 2.
Osamu Miya had already chased after Ushijima.
Only Aran remained where he was.
Shirabu jumped to set and noticed Shinsuke Kita following behind Osamu Miya.
Farther back, Akagi was also hovering in position.
It seemed everyone had put all their attention on Ushijima.
Tsutomu Goshiki, by comparison, looked almost completely abandoned.
Seeing the situation in front of him, Shirabu raised his hands to set.
At first, he made it look as though he was sending the ball toward Ushijima.
Aran saw the movement and instinctively started toward Osamu Miya to help with the block.
His legs had already begun to move.
But reason told him it could be a trap.
So Aran stopped himself and stayed where he was.
When Shirabu saw that Aran had not taken the bait, he stopped pretending.
He abruptly changed his hand movement and sent the volleyball toward Tsutomu Goshiki instead.
Ushijima had no idea who Shirabu would actually set to.
It did not matter.
He was going to jump regardless.
Ushijima rose into the air and swung his arm.
Osamu Miya immediately tensed.
The instant Ushijima jumped, Osamu Miya jumped with him, stretching his arms over the net and bracing himself for the volleyball to slam into them.
But the expected impact never came.
Osamu Miya froze.
Then he realized it.
He had probably been fooled.
Ushijima was not the one attacking this ball.
He turned toward Tsutomu Goshiki and saw the volleyball already flying in his direction.
Osamu Miya had no idea whether he could still make it there in time to block, but he ran toward Tsutomu Goshiki without hesitation.
Suna was getting anxious too.
Tsutomu Goshiki was a strong spiker, and Aran alone might not be enough to stop him.
Osamu Miya was still running over, and there was no guarantee he would arrive in time.
Suna wanted to join the block.
But Tendo was sticking to him so closely that he had absolutely no chance to get away.
Tsutomu Goshiki heard the volleyball approaching and instinctively backed up into his approach.
By the time he realized what was happening, he was already airborne.
At that point, he had no choice but to hit.
Tsutomu Goshiki was nervous.
Ultimately, it was still because of what Coach Washijō had said earlier.
The pressure on him was considerable.
If he failed to score even with a ball like this, Tsutomu Goshiki figured he really might need to go back and rebuild his game from the ground up.
There was only one blocker in front of him.
No libero.
No one covering behind.
The backcourt was completely empty.
For a spiker, it could hardly have been more comfortable.
So, one second before Osamu Miya arrived, Tsutomu Goshiki reached for the volleyball and hit straight down the line.
His arm drove through the swing, his wrist snapping at the last moment.
His palm crushed down onto the volleyball.
Aran could clearly see the ball deform.
He tightened his arms and blocked.
"Thud!"
The volleyball blasted through Aran's block and flew toward the court behind him.
Aran instinctively turned to follow it.
But by then, the ball had already hit the floor.
"Beep---------!"
Osamu Miya finally arrived.
Too late.
The point was already over.
Tsutomu Goshiki stared blankly at his palm.
Before the set began, Coach Washijō had said he had to score within three balls.
He had scored on his very first one.
That should count as exceeding expectations, right?
Still looking dazed, Tsutomu Goshiki turned toward Reon as he ran over.
"I had to score within three balls, right? That one counts?"
Reon smiled at him.
"Of course it counts."
Only then did Tsutomu Goshiki snap out of it.
He started stomping excitedly in place, while Reon stood beside him and watched.
Shirabu looked away in disgust.
What an idiot.
He really did not want to admit this guy was one of Shiratorizawa's players.
Coach Washijō was so irritated by what he had just seen that he actually laughed.
He desperately wanted to stand up and shout,
"That one doesn't count!"
What Coach Washijō wanted was for Tsutomu Goshiki to score on his own attack.
He had not meant for the setter, ace, blockers, and everyone else on the court to work together and pave the way for Tsutomu Goshiki to score.
Those were two completely different things!
Did those brats really think he could not tell what they were doing?
They had obviously coordinated specifically to help Tsutomu Goshiki get his point.
Coach Washijō did not even know whether he should praise them or scold them.
Still, Tsutomu Goshiki really had been the one who hit the ball down.
Technically, there was nothing wrong with it.
And Coach Washijō could not take back his own words now.
His face alternated between red and pale with frustration.
Ryosuke watched from the side, thoroughly amused.
Coach Washijō had basically trapped himself with his own words.
Aran remained standing in place, frustrated.
If he had been a little more focused, he could have blocked that ball.
He simply had not expected Tsutomu Goshiki's attack to be so forceful.
It was completely different from how he had played before.
That last spike had relied entirely on raw strength.
During the first two sets, Tsutomu Goshiki had clearly focused more on placement and angles.
That kid really was difficult to deal with.
"All right, quit beating yourself up. There's still the next ball."
Osamu Miya could not stand watching Aran take all the blame onto himself, so he tried to reassure him.
Aran looked at Osamu Miya with a serious expression.
"Next one. I'm definitely blocking the next one!"
Osamu Miya nodded.
That was more like it.
Both teams began preparing for the next rally.
"Whoa, Tsutomu Goshiki is amazing."
Bokuto stared at Tsutomu Goshiki with a strange gleam in his eyes.
It was almost as though he were looking at another version of himself.
Reckless, impulsive, and desperate to win.
Bokuto suddenly felt an urge to teach Tsutomu Goshiki how to play volleyball.
But this was Shiratorizawa.
They had Ushijima and Coach Washijō.
No matter how he looked at it, they hardly needed Bokuto to teach Tsutomu Goshiki anything.
Instead of thinking about that, maybe he should figure out how to convince the coach to lure Tsutomu Goshiki over to Fukurōdani.
Preferably with Ryosuke included.
Unfortunately, neither idea was remotely realistic.
Bokuto could only abandon them reluctantly.
Keiji Akaashi, sitting beside him, had absolutely no idea that in the span of only a few minutes, Bokuto had nearly decided to recruit two underclassmen.
"They really are impressive. Shiratorizawa's first-years this year are all excellent."
Hirugami was almost sick with envy.
Where exactly had Shiratorizawa found freshmen this good?
He simply could not figure it out.
Konoha completely agreed with Hirugami.
At the beginning of the new school year, when he heard Shiratorizawa only had three first-years, he had even laughed about it.
Now he suddenly realized that he was the joke.
After Tsutomu Goshiki scored, it became Shiratorizawa's turn to serve.
And Tsutomu Goshiki happened to be the one serving.
The sudden rush of happiness left him completely dazed.
He stood there holding the volleyball, looking as if he could hardly believe it.
"All right, stop spacing out and go serve already."
Reon spoke from behind him and gave Tsutomu Goshiki a push.
Still clutching the volleyball, Tsutomu Goshiki looked back.
Only then did he realize that everyone was watching him.
"Hey, give us a good one, Goshiki."
Yamagata grinned from the side.
Shirabu's mouth twitched.
In the end, he still could not bring himself to say anything especially inspiring.
He only offered a dry,
"Nice serve."
Ushijima nodded at Tsutomu Goshiki, his expression completely serious.
"You have to score."
Everyone was looking at him.
For a moment, Tsutomu Goshiki felt as though everyone was placing their hopes on him.
He grinned, hugged the volleyball to his chest, and walked toward the service line.
Now he finally understood why Ryosuke always looked a little dazed before serving.
Being counted on by everyone felt incredible.
He absolutely could not let them down.
With that thought firmly in mind, Tsutomu Goshiki marched toward the service line.
From behind, he looked like a knight heading onto the battlefield.
Tsutomu Goshiki settled into position.
The whistle immediately sounded.
"Beep--------!"
"Come on, kid! Don't embarrass Shiratorizawa!"
"Go, go!"
Scattered cheers came from the stands.
It was completely different from the roar Ryosuke received whenever he stood in the same place.
But Tsutomu Goshiki was not discouraged.
At least people were watching him.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his gaze had become firm.
He bounced the volleyball hard against the floor several times, caught it, then tossed it up.
Watching the ball rise, Tsutomu Goshiki began his approach.
He chased after the toss.
When the volleyball reached the right height, he jumped and drove it hard toward the backcourt.
"Thud!"
The impact cracked through the arena like a gunshot.
Akagi saw the volleyball coming from the backcourt and immediately adjusted his position.
Just as Tsutomu Goshiki was determined to score with this serve, Akagi was equally determined to receive it.
As the volleyball passed close to Shirabu's cheek, another gust of air brushed across his face.
It felt exactly like when Ushijima served.
Shirabu immediately felt that this ball was probably going to score.
The volleyball tore into Inarizaki's court.
Akagi watched it cross the distance in the blink of an eye.
He dropped into a crouch and prepared to receive.
The ball was spinning toward the left.
So Akagi angled his arms slightly left as well.
"Thud!"
The instant Akagi adjusted his platform, the volleyball slammed hard into his arms.
Akagi immediately felt as though someone had kicked his forearms several times.
He nearly could not lift them.
He could already imagine how badly swollen his arms would look after the match.
Akagi tried desperately to raise them.
But they were already in the third set, and his arms were beginning to lose strength.
He gritted his teeth and refused to give in.
He was going to receive this serve no matter what.
But wanting to do something did not always mean you could.
Akagi's arms were aching badly.
As he tried to lift them, the volleyball ricocheted away.
He did not even have time to adjust.
The ball simply hit the floor.
"Beep------!"
The whistle immediately confirmed the point.
Akagi looked down at his arms and sank into despair again.
If his arms had not been so exhausted, he could have received that one.
Atsumu Miya patted him on the shoulder.
"It's fine, it's fine. There's still the next one."
Akagi looked at the scoreboard and opened his mouth to say something.
But Shinsuke Kita arrived and stopped him.
His gentle eyes rested on Akagi.
"You can do it, Akagi."
Looking at Shinsuke Kita's serious expression, Akagi immediately felt like he could do it again.
Even Akagi himself did not realize how deeply he relied on Shinsuke Kita.
It was almost as if Shinsuke Kita were his sense of reason.
If Shinsuke Kita said he could do it, then he could.
"Okay!"
The fire returned to Akagi's eyes.
He looked ready to take on anything.
Shinsuke Kita nodded in satisfaction.
That was exactly the state he needed to be in.
Akagi returned to his position, rubbing his red, burning arms.
His eyes locked onto Tsutomu Goshiki on the other side as he prepared to serve again.
The glare was so intense that it looked as though Akagi wanted to kill him with his eyes.
Feeling the stare, Tsutomu Goshiki smiled at Akagi.
He even lifted the volleyball and waved it a couple of times.
A tiny flame immediately flared inside Akagi.
He thought Tsutomu Goshiki was provoking him.
So Akagi widened his eyes and glared even harder.
Tsutomu Goshiki was completely confused.
All he had meant was something like, Are you ready? Because I'm ready.
He had absolutely not intended to provoke Akagi.
Without realizing it, Tsutomu Goshiki had somehow earned the reputation of taunting his opponent.
Tsutomu Goshiki had no idea what was wrong with Akagi.
That did not stop him from serving.
"Beep------!"
At the whistle, Tsutomu Goshiki tossed the volleyball again and began his approach.
When the ball reached the right height, he drove his palm into it with all his strength.
"Thud!"
The volleyball shot forward again.
This time, however, instead of curving to the left, it curved toward the right.
Akagi instantly read the trajectory.
He jogged several steps to the right, then fine-tuned his footwork in the brief time he had left.
Everything was ready.
Now all he had to do was wait for Tsutomu Goshiki's serve to reach him.
The volleyball was soon right in front of him.
Remembering how the previous serve had beaten him, Akagi's expression tightened again.
He extended both arms and waited for the ball to slam into his platform.
His read was perfectly accurate.
The volleyball smashed straight into his forearms.
"Thud!"
Once again, Akagi felt his arms take a weight they were never meant to bear.
He tensed his entire body and forced the volleyball upward.
Even his face twisted with the effort.
But he lived up to everyone's expectations.
With his face flushed red, Akagi finally managed to receive the ball.
...
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