Keiichiro lowered his head in guilt. It was all his fault. If only he had not been so overconfident. And why had he cared so much about saving face? If he had received that ball, everyone would have had a chance to counterattack.
It was all because he had misjudged it.
At that moment, Keiichiro sank into a low mood.
Hirugami walked over, put an arm around Keiichiro's shoulders, and shook him back and forth.
"It's fine, it's fine. Even if this set is gone, there's still the next one. Why do you have to think missing that ball was your mistake? Why not think about how many balls you've saved in this match? Don't be so rigid."
That was definitely the longest thing Hirugami had said in this entire match. The result of the match was one thing, but if a player's mentality collapsed, that was something else entirely.
Hirugami's comfort barely helped Keiichiro feel a little better.
Then everyone gathered around, laughing and joking as they tried to make Keiichiro smile.
Hoshiumi stood off to the side and hesitated for a moment. Then he walked over and, with slightly awkward movements, leaned his head toward Keiichiro. He spoke stiffly.
"You can touch my hair. I heard that if you touch the hair of the person who scored the last point... you'll get some good luck."
Hoshiumi's voice got smaller and smaller toward the end, but everyone still heard him clearly.
Suwa was caught completely off guard by that sentence. He wanted to laugh but did not dare, so all he could do was twist the corner of his mouth into a strained grimace.
Keiichiro froze too. Then he realized that Hoshiumi had definitely been tricked by someone. He was torn between laughing and crying, but he did not say it out loud. Instead, he held back his laughter and rubbed Hoshiumi's hair, his voice softening.
"Thank you, everyone."
Seeing Keiichiro smile, everyone looked at each other. A few seconds later, they all burst into laughter.
Keiichiro really was in a much better mood now. He had also figured it out. He really had not received that ball, but even if he had not hesitated back then and had gone straight for it, there was no guarantee he could have gotten it up.
Thinking about it that way made him feel much more balanced. He had not missed the ball because of his own mistake, but because the opponent was too strong. It might be a little self-deceptive, but given Keiichiro's current state, as long as he maintained his normal performance for the rest of the match, that was enough.
Everyone returned to their positions, still laughing.
The match resumed. Everyone was looking forward to this ball. It could be the final ball, the last point of this set, or it could be the turning point that pushed the score toward thirty.
What would happen now depended on how the players on both sides performed.
After being praised by Keiji Akaashi, Bokuto's condition had clearly improved even more.
Washio was caught between laughter and exasperation, then quietly said to Komi,
"Keiji Akaashi is practically Bokuto's miracle cure."
Haruki Komi laughed when he heard that and did not refute it. He thought Washio's description was incredibly accurate.
Bokuto tossed the volleyball in his hand. This time, he did not plan to serve another line-catching ball. He had practiced that serve for a long time, but he had not succeeded often, and he had never used it in a match before.
Just now, standing at the service line, Bokuto did not know why, but he had felt that ball would work. So he had made the decision without hesitation and served it.
When he served, Bokuto had also been incredibly nervous seeing that ball look like it was about to go out.
If he made a service error, everyone would definitely laugh at him hard. Keiji Akaashi might even get mad.
But after Bokuto saw that ball land, he still trusted his own judgment. He felt that his ball had definitely succeeded. And sure enough, it really was a perfect line-catching serve. Thank goodness. He had not let everyone's trust down.
Bokuto tossed the volleyball again, then jumped under everyone's expectant gazes. He rose into the air and put all his strength into his right hand.
Bang!
His palm slammed into the volleyball, and the ball deformed again. Bokuto's hand strength really was terrifying.
A simple, pure power jump serve. The volleyball flew from Fukurōdani's court to Kamomedai's side, and thanks to everyone's comfort, Keiichiro's mindset had already stabilized.
Seeing Bokuto's serve, Keiichiro did not panic. Instead, he calmed down and began analyzing the ball.
This ball was not a line-catching serve, nor was it any other technical serve. It was just a simple jump serve. But with Bokuto's power behind it, the ball still looked extremely fast. The spin on it was almost impossible to see without looking carefully.
Keiichiro widened his eyes and stared closely at the ball. In this set, the other side had already reached set point. If they lost this point, the first set would end right here. Keiichiro absolutely could not let everyone's chance at victory end with him.
The volleyball flew toward Kamomedai. Keiichiro moved with quick adjustment steps, found the landing point he thought was right, and sprinted toward it.
Sitting below, Michinari Akagi shivered. If he were the one facing this final ball, the pressure would definitely be enormous. Just thinking about it felt suffocating. This Keiichiro really was a warrior.
Aran patted Michinari Akagi on the shoulder, not too lightly and not too heavily.
"Snap out of it. You're not the one playing. Don't get that immersed."
Akagi laughed sheepishly and finally came back to himself. Right, he was not the one playing right now. But Aran's next words made him miserable again.
"We have a match this afternoon. Scenes like this are absolutely going to happen. You'd better prepare yourself mentally."
Michinari Akagi's face scrunched up, clearly unwilling to face that kind of situation.
Shinsuke Kita turned back to stare at Aran, then warned him,
"Aran, say less."
After being warned by Kita, Aran obediently shut his mouth.
Everyone knew Michinari Akagi was timid, and he loved imagining things. So Aran's words had now become extremely vivid in his mind. Akagi could already feel the final ball smashing into his hands.
Bang!
Unexpectedly, the sound that rang out was not the volleyball hitting the floor, but the sound of it smashing into an arm.
When Akagi heard it, he quickly opened his eyes and saw that, at some point, Keiichiro had gotten the ball up. Keiichiro was sprawled awkwardly on the court, his arm still held in a backward-swinging position.
Keiichiro had lifted his arm and received the volleyball, sending it flying high into the air.
"Cover it!"
Keiichiro climbed up from the floor, panting hard as he shouted. It was true that he had gotten the ball up, but Bokuto's power was just too much. When Keiichiro received it with his arm, he felt the impact push hard against him.
His center of balance was knocked crooked by the ball, and the volleyball flew very high.
But no one wanted to give up on the ball Keiichiro had saved with everything he had.
Kazuyoshi Bessho was the first to react, and a smile appeared on his face. He knew it. There was no way they would stop because of one small setback. They were Kamomedai.
"I've got it!"
Kazuyoshi Bessho shouted, then broke into a run, sprinting toward the ball.
Everyone else started moving too, preparing their attack. This might be the final ball. They had to take this point!
Kazuyoshi Bessho was still considering who he should set to. Hoshiumi was already waiting at the net, but facing him were two blockers from Fukurōdani. From the look of it, they had no intention of letting Hoshiumi get this ball through.
Hirugami and Suwa arrived at the net one after the other.
Hirugami stood near position one, keeping watch on Keiji Akaashi. Keiji Akaashi did not panic even after being marked. It was nothing serious. In this rally, their main goal was defense.
For a moment, Kazuyoshi Bessho was caught in a dilemma. He did not know who would have the better chance if he gave them this ball. The blockers in front of Hoshiumi looked difficult to deal with, and Hirugami would absolutely not spike unless it was a last resort. That left only two options: Suwa and Nozawa. Nozawa's overall ability was not as strong as Suwa's.
After reaching that conclusion, Kazuyoshi Bessho started watching Suwa's position. Then he noticed that Suwa was directly across from Bokuto.
Kazuyoshi Bessho did not hesitate and set the ball straight to Suwa.
Suwa heard the sound of the ball cutting through the air behind him and jumped immediately. When Bokuto saw him jump, he jumped too.
Suwa swung his arm with force. Bokuto's pupils shrank, and he reached out with both hands to block. Then, in the next second, he saw Suwa smile mysteriously.
Alarm bells went off in Bokuto's mind. That expression was definitely not right.
Suwa smiled. Bokuto was still a little too simple. Then Suwa pulled his hand back, and the volleyball dropped lightly.
It was not the powerful spike Bokuto had imagined at all. Seeing the volleyball about to land, Bokuto stretched out his foot, trying to save it. But his foot was nowhere near as skilled as his hands. Bokuto only felt his foot touch the volleyball, but he did not manage to save it.
Tap!
The volleyball floated gently to the floor, and Bokuto landed too, looking a little dejected. That should not have happened. It was just a tip. Why could he not even block a ball like that?
"Kamomedai scores! Even with Fukurōdani already at set point, Kamomedai still manages to take a point! Bokuto started this rally with the serve, but Kamomedai's Libero, Keiichiro, received it. Bokuto moved into position, and Kazuyoshi Bessho combined with Middle Blocker Suwa for a tip! That was a tip!"
"That's right, it was a tip. Everyone thought this ball was definitely going to be a spike, but at the crucial final moment, Suwa held back the strength in his hand and turned it into a light tip instead, successfully pulling one point back for Kamomedai. The score is now 23:24, with Kamomedai just one point away from tying it. How will this first set end? Let's keep watching."
"Nice work, Suwa." Kazuyoshi Bessho smiled as he high-fived Suwa with both hands.
"You weren't bad either. I thought for sure you'd give that ball to Hoshiumi."
Hoshiumi walked over just in time to hear that, then gave a proud little huff.
"Even if you had given that ball straight to me, I might not have scored. Those two blockers from Fukurōdani are just about as hard to deal with as Hirugami."
Hirugami's hand covered Hoshiumi's little head from behind, and he dragged him away while saying,
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Bokuto-senpai, it's okay. It's only one point. We'll just take it right back on the next one."
In contrast to Kamomedai, everyone on Fukurōdani's side gathered around Bokuto, talking over one another as they comforted him. They were afraid that if Bokuto's mood dropped now and he slipped straight into negative mode, they would be finished.
Bokuto looked at the big circle of people around him. For some reason, he suddenly wanted to laugh. Being cared about by everyone felt really nice.
"I'm fine, don't worry! Watch me on the next ball. I'll definitely smash it through them!"
Bokuto waved his fist and laughed as he said it to everyone.
Seeing that Bokuto's mood had not shifted much, everyone finally relaxed.
Washio sighed with feeling.
"Except for being a little down at the start, Bokuto's been staying in a really fired-up state today."
Konoha nodded too.
"Playing a match with Bokuto like this feels great."
"Beep---------!"
The whistle sounded, and the referee urged everyone to hurry back to their positions. The match still had to continue.
Now it was Kamomedai's turn to serve. Fortunately, Suwa's rotation had already been broken earlier. Otherwise, if it were Suwa serving now, that jump float serve of his would really give everyone a headache.
Although it was not Suwa serving this round, Hirugami walked up holding the volleyball.
Haruki Komi's head started hurting the moment he saw Hirugami. Kamomedai's serves were all troublesome in their own way.
Hoshiumi's powerful jump serve, Suwa's jump float, Kazuyoshi Bessho's placement serve, and now Hirugami's spinning jump serve. Kamomedai really had a lot of strong servers.
It was honestly a headache.
Hirugami walked to the service line, turning the volleyball back and forth in his hands to get a feel for it. He had not served a spin ball in a long time. That one really strained the wrist, and he did not have a wrist as flexible as Sakusa's. For an ordinary person like Hirugami, this kind of ball was still a heavy burden.
Hirugami kept spinning the volleyball in his hands. Every time he turned it, Komi's heart seemed to thump along with the ball.
"Beep----------"
The referee blew the whistle to serve, and Hirugami finally moved.
He tossed the volleyball up, then bent his knees, took his approach, and jumped.
His right hand slammed hard into the edge of the volleyball, sending it flying out with a fierce spin.
The volleyball spun at high speed and traced a wide arc.
It curved from Kamomedai's side of the court toward position three at the net, then flew from position three into Fukurōdani's court.
Haruki Komi felt a little dizzy watching the ball. That spin was seriously fast.
Then Haruki Komi moved, found a suitable spot, crouched down, and received underhand. A spinning ball was hard to handle overhand because its trajectory was difficult to read clearly. Receiving underhand was a little easier to manage.
The spinning volleyball came in front of Haruki Komi. Haruki Komi gritted his teeth and crouched down to receive.
The volleyball slammed hard toward the bend of Haruki Komi's arm. Komi's foot had moved half a ball-length too far forward. A big reason spin balls were hard to receive was that you simply could not reach them properly. What the eyes saw and what the hands actually tried to receive were two different things. A spin ball looked like it was already right in front of you, but in reality, there was still a bit of distance from the Libero.
Instead of hitting his hands, it hit the bend of his arm. Haruki Komi drove his forearm with his upper arm, trying to get the ball up.
Bang!
But this ball did not become the perfect first pass Komi had imagined. Since there had been no cushioning at all from serve to receive, the volleyball slammed straight into Komi's arm. Naturally, there was no way to bump out a perfect first pass.
...
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