In the end, Akagi managed to receive the serve.
When Tsutomu Goshiki saw the ball go up, he could not help feeling a little disappointed.
He had thought he could score at least three points on his serving run.
Instead, he had only managed one.
That was still a bit disappointing.
But he quickly recovered.
So what if they received it?
The rally was not over yet.
Nobody knew who would score this point.
After Akagi received the ball, it flew high into the air.
Atsumu Miya hurried over to set, while Osamu Miya and Aran began their approaches and prepared to attack.
This time, Shinsuke Kita did not follow behind anyone.
From the look of things, he intended to attack himself.
As for Suna, unsurprisingly, Tendo was marking him again.
Suna was genuinely getting fed up.
Tendo just would not leave him alone, and it was already starting to interfere with his play.
Akagi's first pass had drifted too far forward.
It was dangerously close to the net.
If it went even slightly farther, the ball would become an easy chance for Shiratorizawa.
Atsumu Miya was also in a poor position to set.
Every movement he made was being closely watched by Reon and Tsutomu Goshiki on the other side.
Reon found Atsumu Miya's position especially annoying.
From there, Atsumu Miya would usually either set or attack on the second touch.
And the worst part was that Atsumu Miya was absurdly good at selling his feints.
He fooled people almost every time.
If Tsutomu Goshiki had been left to deal with him alone, Atsumu Miya probably could have tricked him out of everything he owned.
Atsumu Miya could tell the situation was bad.
He himself was being watched closely.
Osamu Miya had Shirabu covering his side.
Tsutomu Goshiki was watching Atsumu Miya while keeping Aran in the corner of his eye, ready to rush over the moment Aran moved.
That left only Kita-senpai as an attacking option.
But right now, everyone's attention was centered on Atsumu Miya.
The moment he made any move, whether it was a set or a second-touch attack, players from every direction would be ready to shut down whoever he chose.
Atsumu Miya did not want to take a risk.
But at this point, taking one seemed unavoidable.
Seeing Osamu Miya already starting to jump on the other side of the net, Atsumu Miya raised his hands to set.
It looked as though the ball was going to Osamu Miya.
The moment Tsutomu Goshiki saw Atsumu Miya's hands moving in Osamu Miya's direction, he sprinted over without looking back.
Reon, however, was not convinced.
There was no way Atsumu Miya would use such an obvious play.
Tendo remained glued to Suna.
Even after seeing Atsumu Miya's setting motion, he did not move toward Osamu Miya.
He believed Tsutomu Goshiki could handle it alone.
Tendo trusted Tsutomu Goshiki.
Reon did not trust him quite that much.
After hesitating for a second, Reon still followed Tsutomu Goshiki.
That was exactly what Atsumu Miya had been waiting for.
The instant Reon stepped away, Atsumu Miya changed his setting motion into a second-touch attack.
He gently lifted his left hand and sent the volleyball over the net into the space Reon had just vacated.
Reon ran several steps without seeing the ball come toward Osamu Miya.
Then he realized.
He had been fooled.
He whipped around.
By then, Atsumu Miya had already dropped the ball along the net.
Reon's eyes widened.
That little fox had tricked him again.
Still, it was fine.
There was no way the ball would simply hit the floor.
Someone would save it.
Reon had absolute confidence in Shiratorizawa's backcourt defense.
Just as the volleyball was about to land, a pair of arms reached in from the side and got underneath it.
"Thud!"
The ball slammed into those muscular forearms and bounced back up.
Reon recognized them and turned in shock.
Now that was something he never expected to see.
Ushijima had actually gone out of his way to receive the ball.
Reon's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
After Ushijima got the ball up, it rose along the net and looked as though it might drift over into Inarizaki's court.
Reon immediately jumped, trying to press it back down.
But Atsumu Miya was faster.
Even Atsumu Miya had been surprised when Ushijima suddenly appeared to receive the ball.
Still, his expression did not change.
He quietly jumped and slammed the ball down.
They absolutely could not let Shiratorizawa score this point.
Ushijima's serves had already built up a sizeable lead earlier.
Then Tsutomu Goshiki had scored on his serve too.
If Shiratorizawa scored again here, the situation would become ugly.
No matter how Atsumu Miya looked at it, Shiratorizawa could not be allowed to take this point.
"Thud!"
Reon had barely left the floor when Atsumu Miya drove the ball down.
He gave Reon no time to react.
"Beep---------!"
Point.
Yamagata arrived too late.
He had originally started moving to save the ball when Atsumu Miya attacked on the second touch.
But then Ushijima appeared and received it, so Yamagata relaxed for just a moment.
That was all Atsumu Miya needed.
He slammed the ball back down so quickly that it hit the floor before Yamagata could reach it.
Only after seeing the ball land did Atsumu Miya finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness they had scored.
Otherwise, the rest of the set would have become much harder.
"That was way too close."
Aran walked over and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
It was understandable that he found the rally nerve-racking.
Attacking right under Ushijima and Reon's noses was difficult enough.
Scoring outright was even harder.
That play from Atsumu Miya really had been impressive.
"Well, we scored, didn't we?"
Atsumu Miya spoke as if it had been nothing.
In reality, cold sweat covered his entire body.
If he had hesitated even a moment longer, the ball would not have scored.
The pressure from Ushijima and Reon was terrifying.
Shinsuke Kita watched Atsumu Miya with a faint smile.
He walked over and praised him.
"Atsumu Miya, you're playing really well today."
The last traces of Atsumu Miya's lingering fear disappeared instantly.
His expression became smug again.
"Of course. Don't you know who I am?"
That arrogant face was seriously irritating.
Osamu Miya pursed his lips as he thought it.
"All right. You're serving next. Go get ready."
After watching him for a moment, Shinsuke Kita spoke again.
Only then did Atsumu Miya snap out of his self-satisfaction.
He nodded repeatedly and headed toward the service line.
After taking a few steps, however, he suddenly turned back.
"Aren't you guys going to cheer for me?"
Osamu Miya rolled his eyes hard.
"Isn't the cheering section enough for you?"
Atsumu Miya said nothing.
He simply kept smiling at everyone.
Osamu Miya was the first to give in.
When it came to Atsumu Miya, Osamu Miya was always the first to mock him.
He was also always the first to soften.
"Fine, fine. Good luck. Give us a great serve. Better yet, score five points in a row."
His tone sounded casual.
His eyes did not.
Osamu Miya genuinely believed Atsumu Miya could score five in a row.
"Nice serve! Win back all the points we lost!"
"Go for it!"
Only after hearing everyone cheer did Atsumu Miya turn toward the service line with satisfaction.
Both teams returned to their positions for the next rally.
Once the referee confirmed that everyone was ready, he blew the whistle.
"Beep--------!"
The instant the whistle sounded, music burst from the stands behind Atsumu Miya.
As Atsumu Miya moved, the music built toward its climax.
Then, the moment he raised his hand and clenched it into a fist, the music stopped cold.
Oikawa stared at Atsumu Miya with his face twisting slightly.
He nearly rolled his eyes.
He hated people who could pull off this kind of flashy crowd interaction.
If Iwaizumi knew what Oikawa was thinking, he would probably accuse him of being bitter.
Once the music stopped, Atsumu Miya did not have much time left to serve.
He tossed the volleyball high into the air and began his approach.
His footwork was light and nimble.
It looked like another jump float.
When the ball reached the right height, Atsumu Miya jumped.
He swung his arm down toward it.
"Thud!"
His palm struck the lower part of the volleyball.
The contact was not as solid as it would have been for a power jump serve.
The ball immediately flew forward with spin and a sharp curve.
It headed toward Shiratorizawa's backcourt.
Watching it come, Yamagata felt a surge of competitive excitement.
There was one simple reason.
This serve was different from Atsumu Miya's previous ones.
The curve was trickier.
The spin was faster.
It almost looked as though the serve had evolved.
Atsumu Miya himself could feel that something about the serve was different.
But he had no intention of thinking about it now.
The match was still going.
With that thought, he landed.
Only after the match ended would Atsumu Miya suddenly realize that he seemed to have broken through a plateau.
His serving had become smoother.
But that was something for later.
Once the ball crossed the net, Yamagata narrowed his eyes and watched its path carefully.
He had to admit that Atsumu Miya was smart.
At the very least, this serve was not aimed directly at him.
Most servers seemed to love targeting the libero.
Even if this ball had been aimed at Yamagata, it would have been difficult to receive.
The fact that it was going somewhere else made it even more troublesome.
Yamagata quickly identified the approximate landing point and sprinted after it.
He felt reasonably certain his prediction was right.
Still, receiving a serve was not something he could leave to intuition alone.
The volleyball raced toward the right side of the court.
Tsutomu Goshiki was standing there.
He immediately moved out of the way, taking a small step backward and to the left.
Then, for some reason, the volleyball seemed to change its mind.
Its spinning trajectory shifted and curved toward Tsutomu Goshiki instead.
Tsutomu Goshiki's face changed in alarm.
He quickly shuffled farther back, terrified that he might block Yamagata's route to the ball.
Seeing that, Yamagata accelerated.
He caught up just before the ball reached the floor.
Only then did he realize how fast the serve truly was.
It was almost moving at the speed of a power jump serve.
Yamagata got into position just in time.
He planted himself in front of the ball and extended both arms for the receive.
The volleyball appeared to be flying straight toward his platform.
It looked almost too easy.
Yamagata did not relax for even a second.
He did not believe Atsumu Miya's serve would be received that cleanly.
Sure enough, just before the ball struck his forearms, it suddenly spun away again.
Yamagata's expression sharpened.
He adjusted the angle of his arms.
But before he could finish, the ball curved away somewhere else.
"Thud!"
The volleyball landed lightly on the floor.
Yamagata straightened up, turned to look at it, and sighed.
He knew it had not been going to be that simple.
"Beep----------!"
Atsumu Miya scored.
Inarizaki successfully kept its service run alive.
"With Inarizaki trailing Shiratorizawa by four points, Atsumu Miya has personally brought them back into the match with consecutive points!
"Can Atsumu use his serve to tie the score? Let's see what happens!"
The announcer's energetic voice rang through the arena.
The spectators in the stands were also discussing the previous rally.
"Trying to tie the score all at once through serving alone sounds pretty difficult."
Hakuba rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Hirugami stared at him in surprise.
He could hardly believe what he had just heard.
Hakuba, who usually refused to think too deeply about anything, had actually said something meaningful.
That was genuinely surprising.
Hirugami watched him for a moment before smiling.
"It's actually not that far off. They only need two points. Atsumu Miya has scored four or five points in a row on serve before. It mostly depends on the libero he's facing. Against someone like Yamagata, taking three points directly is difficult, but it isn't impossible."
Hakuba listened seriously.
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable Hirugami sounded.
It was only a two-point gap.
They could catch up quickly.
"Man, sorry about that one."
Yamagata looked at everyone apologetically.
He genuinely felt bad.
The lead had narrowed again after everyone had worked so hard to build it.
Ushijima walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't put pressure on yourself."
Reon nodded as well.
None of them seemed remotely worried that Yamagata would suddenly start making mistakes or lose his composure.
They trusted him far too much for that.
Yamagata shrugged.
"All right. If you're all saying that, then I guess I'll stop holding back."
Tsutomu Goshiki watched Yamagata standing among the others.
Then he quietly whispered to Tendo,
"Yamagata-senpai looks really reliable."
Tendo gave a small laugh.
"He only looks reliable. What, you don't think I'm reliable too, little Goshiki?"
Tendo drew out the end of the question.
Tsutomu Goshiki silently took a few steps backward.
Tendo-senpai was definitely reliable.
But compared with Yamagata-senpai, he was still a little lacking.
Besides, with Tendo's love of teasing people, it was difficult to connect him with the word "reliable."
Tendo fell silent when he saw Tsutomu Goshiki retreat.
Was he really that scary?
"All right, enough talking. The next serve is about to start."
Reon urged everyone back into position.
Across the court, Atsumu Miya stood at the service line and watched.
Once everyone was ready, Shinsuke Kita turned toward him and nodded.
Then he silently mouthed,
"Good luck."
Atsumu Miya immediately felt encouraged.
His eyes narrowed with a bright smile.
Then he turned back toward Shiratorizawa.
His expression became serious in an instant.
The speed of that change was almost shocking.
The referee looked from one side to the other.
Both teams had returned to position quickly.
So he blew the whistle.
"Beep-----------!"
The moment it sounded, the surrounding noise faded away.
Everyone's attention focused on one person.
Atsumu Miya at the service line.
Those hoping he would score were watching him.
Those hoping he would fail were watching him too.
At that moment, every eye in the arena was fixed on him.
The music behind him began.
Atsumu Miya slowly raised his head and clenched his fist.
The music instantly stopped.
Silence filled the arena.
For a moment, everyone almost wondered whether they had imagined hearing the music at all.
...
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