Komori chased after the volleyball, then dove and slid across the floor, smoothly bumping the ball up with his hands. The movement was so clean that it made people look twice.
Diving was one of Komori's little tricks for slacking off. Back when training with his team got intense, he could not be bothered to run into position every single time, so he would dive, slide over with a whoosh, and even get to lie on the floor for an extra two or three seconds. For other people, diving, getting back up, and adjusting their position again was exhausting.
But for someone like Komori, who ran back and forth every day, this was the perfect chance to take it easy. Looking across the entire training squad, Komori's dives were the prettiest and smoothest. There was not a single flaw to pick at.
If someone asked Komori what had made him so skilled, he would definitely put on airs and say mysteriously,
"Nothing special. Just practice."
It sounded incredibly impressive.
But that was getting off track. Back to the present. The moment Komori bumped the ball out, Kageyama started sprinting while watching everyone from the corner of his eye.
Ushijima-senpai was closer to the block, but that annoying pickle-head Middle Blocker was staring him down again.
Shoma Tomita: How rude of you.
Luckily, Shoma Tomita could not read minds, or Kageyama would definitely have gotten a sack thrown over his head today. Hirugami-senpai did not like spiking. Kageyama had seen Ryosuke spike before, but he did not know whether Ryosuke could reach this ball. Could he shake off the block? If Kageyama did not call out to warn Ryosuke, would Ryosuke notice this ball?
Countless thoughts flashed through Kageyama's mind in that instant. In the end, he still decided to call out. Even if the other side targeted him, Kageyama believed Ryosuke would find a way to get past the block.
"Ryosuke!"
Hearing Kageyama's voice, Ryosuke, who had been blocking up front, turned back and saw Kageyama set a ball from the backcourt.
Everyone on the court had their pupils quake at the same time.
Eiro especially stared with round eyes. A set from the backcourt? Was he Superman? Was this a joke?
Atsumu Miya watched from the sidelines and nearly ground his teeth to dust. Damn Kageyama, showing off like that! So irritating!
One dared to set, and the other dared to hit. Seeing the ball come his way, Ryosuke glanced back at Asano on the other side, took two steps back, and jumped straight up from where he stood. Asano jumped too, only to realize something was wrong.
Seeing Ryosuke jump almost as high as him, nearly reaching past his hand, Asano complained inwardly.
This guy... did he really not install springs in his legs?! That was a standing jump, right? Straight up from the ground? How scary is that?
Asano was stunned too.
In just over ten minutes from the start of the match, the national team had truly had their eyes opened. The players chosen for this training camp were all excellent prospects.
The match against Ushijima's team was a three-set match, and it dragged on for more than three hours. Spikes could not score, blocks could not score, and they kept pulling each other back and forth for over three hours. In the end, the training squad only fell behind because the others ran out of stamina, and that was how the set ended.
If these people had enough stamina, it really was hard to say who would win or lose in the end.
"Hah..." Tomohiro Yamamoto collapsed onto the floor. This morning's match had been much harder than the two matches yesterday afternoon. It had made him, a Libero, run all over the court.
Komori was not much better. He looked like he had been pulled out of water, soaked from head to toe. Komori and Tomohiro Yamamoto looked at each other through the net, then smiled. Their eyes held the same satisfaction of having played to their hearts' content.
"Let's go." Hirugami nudged Ryosuke, who was lying on the floor, telling him to get up and clear the court for the next team.
Ryosuke lay there like he was dead, completely motionless. Ushijima came over, took one look, and understood that he had collapsed from exhaustion and was being lazy. He said to Hirugami,
"I'll demonstrate once. Next time, you do it yourself."
Hirugami tilted his head and looked at him in confusion, not understanding what Ushijima planned to demonstrate.
Ushijima bent down, held Ryosuke under the arms, and dragged him away like a corpse. Hirugami even wondered if something was wrong with his eyes. Was he hallucinating this early in the morning?
There was no way Ushijima would support something this childish.
...Hirugami fell silent. This was not a hallucination. Ryosuke looked extremely peaceful right now, his feet leisurely dragging along the floor...
Was this... what Shiratorizawa was like?
"Beeeeep!"
Ushijima's team had only just stepped off the court when Hosho blew the whistle and sent the next team on. There were only one or two minutes of rest in between. A seamless handoff.
The national team side wailed.
"No way. Again? We don't even get to rest for a bit?" Asano was the one who could not take it the most. The last match had already exhausted him badly.
"Is Coach trying to toughen us up?"
Ran Takahashi looked thoughtful. Maybe they had been living too comfortably lately, and the coach wanted them to train harder.
"All right, stop complaining. If Coach Nakagaichi hears you, you'll be in trouble."
Tomohiro Yamamoto punched Asano in the waist. Asano clutched his side in pain, his voice a little unsteady.
"Yamamoto-senpai... that's my kidney!!"
His roar even drew the coach's eyes over.
Yamamoto laughed awkwardly, trying to pretend nothing had happened.
"Beeeeep!"
"Come on, come on. Time to get on court."
"Bokuto-senpai, good luck!"
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm definitely scoring ten points. I'm Kōtarō Bokuto, after all!"
"Omi-Omi, good luck!"
The people coming off the court and the people going on high-fived one by one, like a handover ceremony, the old passing to the new.
Sakusa touched Ryosuke's head, then withdrew his hand under Ushijima's murderous glare.
"Don't worry. I'll win your share too."
Sakusa said it to Ryosuke like a promise.
Ryosuke grinned.
"I know you can do it. Good luck."
"Kiyoomi, good luck!" Komori sat in his chair, waving his fist to cheer Sakusa on.
Facing Ryosuke, Sakusa smiled gently. Facing Komori, Sakusa instantly changed expressions, his face turning cold, as if he had not just been smiling so warmly at Ryosuke at all.
Both sides took the court.
The players taking the court this time had Sakusa and Hoshiumi as middle blockers. Since there was only one Wing Spiker position, everyone discussed it and decided to give Bokuto a chance to be the ace for this match. Yaku was the Libero, Atsumu Miya was the setter, Keiji Akaashi was once again Atsumu Miya's substitute, and Wakatsu Kiryū was playing opposite hitter this time.
That was the freshly made lineup and formation, all arranged by the kids themselves.
If Ushijima's team was balanced in both offense and defense, then Sakusa's side leaned more heavily toward offense. Sakusa, Hoshiumi, and Bokuto formed a three-point attack, while Yaku and Wakatsu Kiryū covered the back as needed. In today's match, Wakatsu Kiryū could finally slack off with a clear conscience. Yesterday, he had to spike and receive, to the point where he wanted to split himself in two.
Today, he could finally catch his breath.
"Out of these kids, who do you think has the best adaptability?"
Hibarida suddenly turned serious and asked Hosho a question.
Hosho froze for a moment. He still was not used to this version of Coach Hibarida, then answered honestly.
"I think Ryosuke and Atsumu Miya have pretty good adaptability."
"Oh?" Hibarida raised an eyebrow. He could understand Ryosuke, but Hosho, with that wooden head of his, actually thought Atsumu Miya was good? Didn't he usually dislike Atsumu Miya's flashy style of play?
Hosho really was not used to Atsumu Miya's kind of setting. Deep down, he was actually a little like Coach Washijō, more traditional, firmly believing that height and power represented everything.
But seeing how Atsumu Miya could fit into any team like a fish in water, he had to admit that different training methods produced different kinds of players. The kids trained by Inarizaki's coach were more flexible and adaptable, and they knew how to adjust to a new environment even when they were at a disadvantage.
"In this match, after switching positions, aside from Ryosuke's eye-catching performance, Atsumu Miya has also done quite well. At the very least, he didn't make any mistakes at middle blocker.
"In training a few days ago, Atsumu Miya also played Wing Spiker once, and he didn't make a single mistake then either. He was steady, and he could still coordinate with Kageyama.
"I know a little about his relationship with Kageyama too. Someone who can temporarily work with someone he dislikes for the sake of the team's victory, I don't think he can be that bad."
Hibarida nodded in satisfaction. Not bad. Hosho's head was finally not quite so wooden anymore.
"So it looks like you're going to nominate this kid, then."
Hibarida's tone was teasing. He still remembered how Hosho had once sworn confidently.
"I hate those flashy playing styles the most. Someone like that standing on the national team's court doesn't look dignified at all."
Hosho coughed lightly, his eyes drifting away as he refused to look at Hibarida. He had remembered what he said when he was younger too. How embarrassing. Some memories really should stay buried.
Their conversation did not disturb the person they were talking about. Atsumu Miya was clearly very excited right now.
He had not set a proper ball once in the past few days. Even when he did set, it was only during private practice.
After watching Kageyama and Eiro show off their skills earlier, Atsumu Miya's hands were seriously itching. He wanted to get on court and set too! He wanted these favored geniuses to spike the balls he set.
Atsumu Miya watched Yaku receive the ball that Sakusa had blocked. The ball flew high, and Atsumu Miya's eyes lit up. He knew his chance had come.
He ran to the left side of the court, his shoes squeaking against the floor. The sound reached Atsumu Miya's ears, and he felt like it was the most beautiful sound in the world.
Atsumu Miya took his approach and jumped, arching his back halfway in the air. It looked like he intended to set to Bokuto, who was closest to him. Bokuto also sensed Atsumu Miya's intention. In that instant, they were completely in sync.
Asano and Shoma Tomita ran over to block Bokuto, while Ran Takahashi and Tomohiro Yamamoto kept their eyes on Atsumu Miya to stop him from pulling a second attack. Offensive setters like this were the most annoying.
Atsumu Miya lightly flicked his hands in midair, and under everyone's gaze, the ball flew above Bokuto.
"Ha!" Bokuto's golden eyes narrowed with excitement.
Atsumu Miya had not properly set a ball in ages, and Bokuto had not properly spiked one either. Bokuto swung his arm as if the block in front of him was no obstacle at all. His whole body was charged, carrying the momentum to break through everything.
Bokuto looked at the arms set out in front of him, aimed at Asano's slender arm, and skimmed the ball along the edge of it into an extremely sharp little cross.
"Bang!" Asano winced in pain, his arm knocked straight open.
After these past few days of training, Bokuto's little cross and various spikes had clearly become sharper and cleaner. He had cut out all those extra, unnecessary movements and transformed into a slightly more mature version of himself. Right now, Bokuto looked even more like a "star ace."
"Beeeeep!"
"Ohhh! Hey, hey, hey! Super little cross! I'm in amazing form today! Keiji Akaashi, Keiji Akaashi! Did you see that ball just now?!"
The moment Bokuto landed and heard the whistle signal a point for the training squad, he started "hey, hey, hey"-ing without even looking back, going to celebrate with Keiji Akaashi.
Because the match was still going and he could not leave the court, Bokuto could only poke his head around near the edge of the court and look at Keiji Akaashi. His golden, beast-like eyes were filled with the words:
Praise me, praise me!
Keiji Akaashi was caught between laughter and exasperation. Why was Bokuto-senpai like a child? So cute. He raised both hands to his mouth like a megaphone.
"Bokuto-senpai is seriously amazing!"
After hearing Keiji Akaashi's praise, Bokuto became even smugger. He raised both thumbs toward the sky and excitedly started chanting "hey, hey, hey," immediately lifting the atmosphere on the court.
"Hey, Keiji Akaashi, don't spoil Bokuto too much. You'll ruin him."
For some reason, Hoshiumi felt a little sour watching them. Suwa had never praised him like that. He was not jealous!
Keiji Akaashi smiled.
"Bokuto-senpai's emotions are like a child's. No matter the reason, I'll always praise Bokuto-senpai."
Hoshiumi snorted and turned his head away, looking just like a sulking child. Keiji Akaashi shook his head helplessly. It seemed Kamomedai's setter was not good at coaxing children.
That ball had been beautifully played. It was the first time they had broken through the national team's block head-on. For both Bokuto and the entire training squad, it was a huge step forward.
Shoma Tomita chuckled.
"Not bad, kid. I'll definitely block you on the next one."
Bokuto turned and met Shoma Tomita's eyes, his expression extremely serious.
"I'll definitely spike the next one through."
After saying that, he walked away without looking back. Watching Bokuto's back, Shoma Tomita was still sighing with admiration. That back view really looked dependable.
What he did not know was that Bokuto was still thinking about all sorts of nonsense. Did I look cool just now, dropping a challenge and turning away like that? It had the beauty of a real man never looking back at an explosion.
Keiji Akaashi will definitely be captivated by me!
Sakusa and Kageyama both looked away from Bokuto at the same time. The former was disgusted, while the latter thought it was impolite to keep looking.
Bokuto happily carried the volleyball to the service line. That last ball had completely brought out his form.
Bokuto tossed the volleyball, his agile, smooth body moving into his approach. In the instant he bent at the waist and prepared to jump, he looked like he was gathering strength to burst forward. Like an owl waking from sleep, Bokuto spread his wings with a sharp sweep.
Owls might usually be playful troublemakers, but there was no denying that owls were also birds of prey. If you treated an owl like an ordinary animal, then you had better be careful not to get bitten when you least expected it.
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