"What was that?! That was way too cool!"
Standing directly across from Hoshiumi, Shoma Tomita looked like a little kid, his eyes shining. Even Sakusa and Kageyama could not stop turning their heads to look at Hoshiumi.
Tomohiro Yamamoto looked full of regret. He never could have imagined that ball would turn into something like that. It had suddenly flown over, and even when Tomohiro Yamamoto dove from the backcourt, he could not catch up to the speed at which it hit the floor.
Hoshiumi stood with his hands on his hips, looking smug.
"Of course I'm the best!"
That ball had only happened because he was so used to spiking. Once the ball was set into his hands, Hoshiumi suddenly felt like it was burning hot. He did not know who to set it to, and he could not keep holding it either, so he could only send it flying out the way he would a spike. It was a setter's decision made with a Wing Spiker's mindset.
Only Hoshiumi could score by accident like that. Next time, everyone would probably be on guard.
That kind of unexpected second attack really did surprise everyone.
Keiji Akaashi also let out a quiet breath of relief. It was all thanks to Hoshiumi. Otherwise, that ball would have failed starting from him. His thoughts returned to a moment ago.
Hoshiumi had dragged him aside and whispered to him, and what he said had honestly surprised Keiji Akaashi.
"That serve is actually easy to receive. Even though they look the same while they're flying, you and Yaku felt it when you received them, right?
One is a jump float, and one is a jump serve. They're so fast that you couldn't tell the difference. Remember this. Three steps means jump float. Six steps means jump serve."
Keiji Akaashi looked at Hoshiumi doubtfully and sized him up from head to toe. No matter how he looked at him, Hoshiumi did not seem like the type who used his head.
Hoshiumi bristled under Keiji Akaashi's gaze and shouted in protest.
"What's with that look?! Don't question me with your eyes! Back at school, the sound of the wind from Hakuba and Hirugami's serves is completely different! Those two serves just now brushed right past my face!"
Hoshiumi had far too much experience guessing what kind of ball a serve was. If it was a jump float, the ball carried spinning air when it reached his face. If it was a jump serve, the sound of the wind would come later, and Hoshiumi would only feel it after the ball reached the Libero's hands.
Keiji Akaashi: "..." He had actually been convinced by Hoshiumi.
That was how the previous play had happened.
Keiji Akaashi sighed. He really had to thank Hoshiumi for what he said just now. Otherwise, he would have embarrassed himself badly.
"Hahahaha, that kind of second attack is seriously cool!"
Eiro did not mind his service rotation being ended at all. On the contrary, he felt this was exactly how it should be. With the training squad's strength, they had to end the service rotation within three balls. Otherwise, this set was destined to be lost.
"Hoshiumi-senpai is amazing!" Ryosuke's shout reached Hoshiumi's ears.
Hoshiumi grew dizzy from all the praise, standing there with his hands on his hips and a smug look on his face. Now that Eiro's service rotation had been ended, it was Kageyama's turn to serve.
Kageyama let out a breath of relief. Finally, something he was good at. Spiking might not really work for Kageyama, but when it came to serving, he considered himself pretty decent.
Kageyama carried the volleyball to the number one position, while everyone secretly watched him.
Hibarida also rubbed his chin as he looked at Kageyama. This kid was indeed a genius setter, but once he left the setter position, that aura of genius dimmed a little. His spiking was not very good. Hopefully, Kageyama could take five points with his serve.
Kageyama looked at the seniors across from him without the slightest hint of nerves. He had already felt nervous during the five minutes before going onto the court. What remained now was only eagerness.
Kageyama tossed the volleyball up and looked up at it, spreading his arms. Like a crow draped in black wings, he soared under the lights.
"Bang!" With a sharp sound, the volleyball cut through the air and flew straight to the other side of the net, carrying a force that seemed ready to smash through everything.
Yamamoto watched the volleyball racing toward him, a hint of surprise in his eyes. That serve was pretty good. If that powerful jump serve was polished a little more, it might be on par with Ran's serve in the future. But none of that was a problem for him.
This ball had some spin, and its arc was on the lower side. It would probably land early.
After quickly making that judgment, Yamamoto moved with small steps, shifting toward Yuji Nishida's side. Yuji Nishida saw him from the corner of his eye and quietly moved out of the ball's path.
"Bang!" Tomohiro Yamamoto received the ball underhand, sending it almost straight up. After receiving it, Yamamoto immediately moved out of the way.
Right behind him was Ran Takahashi, who had somehow used Yamamoto's figure as cover.
The moment everyone saw Ran Takahashi, they immediately understood what kind of move this was. Ran Takahashi, a man who loved back-row attacks.
Sakusa and Kageyama ran to the net one after the other, standing very close to it. Sakusa glanced at Kageyama and spoke quickly.
"I'll count one, two, three. We jump together."
Kageyama nodded.
"Bang!" Ran Takahashi jumped high. The height of his back-row attack was so high that even Keiji Akaashi in the back could see him rising above the court. He really had jumped too high.
The two high schoolers could not keep up with his blocking height at all.
"One, two, three! Jump!"
Kageyama jumped with Sakusa. His blocking left hand was pressed against Sakusa's right, sticking out like a branch. At this moment, Sakusa did not even care about his germaphobia. He found a second to tug Kageyama's shirt and pull his hand back into the proper position.
"Bang!" The next second, the volleyball flew past the fingertips of the hand Kageyama had just adjusted. For an instant, Kageyama even felt like his fingernail had been torn off. It hurt so much!
"One touch!" Kageyama shouted coldly, his fingers still trembling. The pain in his hand reminded him exactly how strong these people were.
"I've got it!" Keiji Akaashi dove in from the backcourt, supporting himself on the floor as he slid forward a distance. The ball's landing point was easy to judge. Keiji Akaashi could only get it up. As for where the volleyball would fly, that was beyond his control.
"Bang!" The volleyball flew high into the air and returned to Kageyama at the net. Hoshiumi, the setter, had not played any role at all.
This ball went a bit too high, Hoshiumi thought as he watched it.
He was also running along with Kageyama and Sakusa, though it was unclear whether he wanted to join the block or the attack. Bokuto was itching to move beside Kageyama. He wanted to spike so badly! He had not touched a single ball this set. Yaku had also followed them to the frontcourt in case something unexpected happened.
Meanwhile, Keiji Akaashi stood alone in the backcourt. Only now did he realize how wide and empty the Libero's backcourt looked. Every day, they faced volleyballs that came out of nowhere, and they had to receive every single ball their opponents sent over. It really was incredible.
No one else knew what Keiji Akaashi was feeling. Right now, everyone's attention was on the ball above Kageyama's head. This match really was especially grueling, Bokuto thought as he looked up at the volleyball.
After the last unexpected play, no one on the national team dared to underestimate them anymore. These kids found a way to score that no one could predict every single time.
Bokuto and Kageyama jumped at the same time. Sakusa frowned. What were those two trying to do? Fight over the ball?
It had to be said that on an ordinary team, a Wing Spiker and a middle blocker fighting over the same ball was rare. Most teams had a captain holding things together, but this temporary team clearly did not have that level of understanding yet.
Shoma Tomita and Kento Asano also felt a headache coming on when they saw it. Even their own teammates did not know who was going to spike, so how were the people standing on the other side of the net supposed to know?
Sakusa ran behind them with a frown, then narrowed his eyes. He had seen Bokuto secretly flash a hand signal behind his back. A back-row attack? Or was he squeezing in? Why didn't he hit it himself? With Bokuto's competitive personality, that did not seem right.
Kageyama did not know what Bokuto was thinking. He only felt that the timing of the jump was wrong. Bokuto-senpai should not make such a basic mistake. There had to be another plan.
On the other side, Shoma Tomita and Kento Asano had already jumped along with Kageyama, then landed with the two of them. Only after they touched down and still did not see the volleyball coming did they belatedly realize something was wrong.
"Bang!" Sakusa came charging in from behind and jumped, meeting the ball right at the best hitting point.
Tomohiro Yamamoto's eyebrow twitched furiously. These two really had no brains at all. They were going wild up front while he was desperately chasing the ball around in the back. It was exhausting.
The ball was like a gust of wind, almost impossible to catch. Tomohiro Yamamoto's speed was forced to a new level.
Then Ran Takahashi's figure swept past Tomohiro Yamamoto, and he jumped straight up to hit an overpass.
"Bang!"
Yaku had been standing beside Bokuto at the time, and Sakusa's shot had left him completely stunned. By the time Ran Takahashi spiked the ball over, Yaku was dazed. How had the ball come back in the blink of an eye?
Ran Takahashi wiped the sweat from his forehead. This point was honestly hard to judge. That sudden back-row attack had scared him into a cold sweat. They really could not underestimate anyone on the training squad. They could not just treat them as an unfinished team that had not yet meshed. Every one of them was an individual, and the chemistry that happened when they were thrown together was enough to give the national team trouble.
Ran Takahashi smiled kindly at Sakusa.
"Not bad. That was great coordination."
That was not empty praise. The coordination in that instant had made the team look like they had been playing together for a long time. It was unexpected, but smooth.
Ran Takahashi had just finished praising Sakusa when he turned around and glared at Asano and Shoma Tomita. They were really getting worse with age. How could such a little trick fool them?
A chill ran down both their backs. After exchanging a glance, they slunk behind Tomohiro Yamamoto. In their eyes, Yamamoto's small frame suddenly looked unbelievably tall.
Yamamoto sighed helplessly. He really did not want to deal with these two disasters, but criticizing them in front of everyone would hurt Asano and the others' pride.
"All right, Ran. This set is almost over. Focus on the match for now."
Ran Takahashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. Fine. The match came first. He would settle accounts with them after it was over.
The match continued just like that. Ran Takahashi and the others did not have the stamina to keep fighting match after match either. Wrestling with them all afternoon was rough enough.
Ryosuke glanced at Ushijima. He figured he would probably not go back on court until the next match.
With a sigh, Ryosuke obediently sat on the bench with his chin propped in his hand and watched the game.
"Left!"
"Hey, hey, hey!! Watch my super amazing little cross!"
"Nice ball!"
"Ran! Nice spike!"
The gym was filled with heat and noise. A group of half-grown boys, dripping with stinky sweat, scrambled and rolled across the floor, but the light in their eyes never went out. Nakagaichi watched them with a smile. This was nice. That youthful, hot-blooded look.
"Ah... I'm so tired..." Atsumu Miya lay on the bench like a dead dog, head tilted back as he sighed. He felt like he was about to die from exhaustion. The national youth team really lived up to its name. Komori and Yaku's legs were aching terribly too.
Bokuto had a towel draped over his head and was humming a little tune, looking to be in a pretty good mood as he passed by Atsumu Miya's corpse-like form. As he went by, he even lowered his head to look at him, then mercilessly mocked him.
"Atsumu, your stamina's no good."
That struck Atsumu Miya right in his weak spot. He shot up like a dying man jolting awake from his sickbed. As a man, you could say his skills were bad, but! You could not say he was no good!
"Hah?! Which eye of yours saw that my stamina's bad? I'm doing perfectly fine right now!"
Atsumu Miya forced himself to sit up, the last few words squeezed out through clenched teeth. Bokuto really knew how to hit where it hurt.
Komori and Yaku exchanged a glance, then silently left the battlefield thick with gunpowder.
Sakusa and Ryosuke were leaning against each other too. Ryosuke was sprawled over Sakusa's shoulder, whining softly. He felt like his legs were no longer his own. After running and rolling around for an entire afternoon, they were about to break.
Sakusa glanced at Ryosuke, who now wore an expression that said, "I'm already dead," and sighed helplessly.
"All right, kids. Stop lying around. Get up and move a little, then let the team doctor scrape you down and adjust your bones while he's at it."
Nakagaichi looked at everyone collapsed on both sides of the court before he spoke. Ran Takahashi looked up only then and noticed an old man with slightly white hair standing beside Nakagaichi.
"This is Mr. Seiwakaen, the national team's physical therapist. Today, you all get to experience his work too."
Kento Asano trembled as he hid behind Yamamoto, unable to smile. He did not dare smile at all. Even getting scraped with a fascia knife was worse than death, and now they had to get their bones adjusted too? Even if they did not die from exhaustion, they would be tortured to death. There was no way he could smile.
Ran Takahashi's expression was ugly, and his voice was a little strained.
"Let the juniors try first. They haven't experienced it before."
Mr. Seiwakaen's hands were viciously precise, always going straight for the most painful spots. Every single time, he left everyone howling. This blessing should be passed on to the juniors first.
Bokuto instantly went on alert. Ever since experiencing it with the team doctor at Shiratorizawa last time, his legs started shaking whenever he heard that word. He pressed himself against the doorframe, preparing to sneak away. Keiji Akaashi was still drinking water and had not noticed what was happening over there.
But Nakagaichi saw him and pointed straight at Bokuto.
"Why are you running? Kōtarō Bokuto, right? Ran, Shoma, drag him over here."
Hearing that, Ran Takahashi and Shoma Tomita nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, their legs did not hurt anymore, and their backs were not sore either. They aggressively forced Bokuto into a small corner. Bokuto's one-meter-eighty frame trembled helplessly, looking utterly pitiful.
He looked exactly like a decent young woman being forced into prostitution.
Bokuto's final thought as he was dragged away was:
Coach! Save me! I want to go home, waaaah!!
...
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