After hearing Reon's call, Shirabu stepped forward twice. As Suna prepared to attack, Shirabu jumped with him.
Ryosuke and Reon were almost at Shirabu's position.
Shirabu felt he could hold out a little longer.
But Suna also saw Ryosuke and Reon rushing over. He knew that if he waited any longer, it would be too late.
So Suna stretched out his arm and tipped the volleyball over Shirabu's fingertips.
Yes, tipped it, not spiked it. Suna was well aware of the limits of his own spiking ability.
Ryosuke and Reon rushed over just as Suna made the tip. Both of them dove behind Shirabu at the same time, arms stretched forward and covering the floor so tightly that even Suna thought there was no way the ball would score.
Yet somehow, the volleyball landed in the tiny gap where their crossed arms failed to cover the floor.
"Thud!"
"Beep---------!"
"Huh??"
Suna and Shirabu stared at the ball on the floor with equally stunned expressions.
That actually scored?
That had to be pure luck. Even the players on both sides could hardly believe it.
Shirabu looked at Suna and spoke in a complicated tone.
"You're really something."
And he was. Scoring even with Ryosuke and Reon closing in on him like that was certainly impressive.
Suna froze for a moment before the corners of his mouth started rising uncontrollably. He could brag about that play to Atsumu Miya for an entire year.
Then he smiled at Shirabu.
"You flatter me."
With that, he turned around and walked away as calmly as ever.
In reality, he could barely contain himself. He was desperate to go show off in front of Atsumu Miya.
From that day onward, every time Suna went up for a spike, he would remember that point.
Even much later, after Ryosuke had grown into a national-level defensive powerhouse, Suna would still brag about it to other people.
See that? He scored a point against that Ryosuke. What an achievement.
Of course, Suna himself had never expected Ryosuke to grow that far in the future.
"Was that really so impressive?"
Atsumu Miya curled his lips, looking utterly unimpressed.
"Not at all."
Inside, though, he was practically drowning in jealousy.
Suna sighed.
"Ah, what a shame. I didn't record that just now."
Suna, the resident "war correspondent," had somehow missed his own highlight. What a tragedy.
"The organizers should have footage. You can ask the coach about it after the match."
Shinsuke Kita stood beside Suna and offered the suggestion seriously.
Suna's eyes curved into crescents when he heard that.
"Sure. But the match is more important right now."
The two of them chatted as they walked back, completely ignoring Atsumu Miya, who was still sulking.
When Atsumu Miya turned around and realized that Shinsuke Kita and Suna had both left without him, he stomped his foot in irritation.
Ryosuke climbed dazedly to his feet.
Even he could hardly believe that a ball like that had managed to score.
Sure enough, luck really was part of skill.
Reon found Ryosuke's vacant expression amusing and reached out to steady him.
Ryosuke's clothes were covered in dust, and his hair was a complete mess. He looked like a kitten that had gone tearing around outside and only just come home.
Ryosuke lowered his head.
After a long moment, he finally looked up and sighed.
"I wish Ushijima-senpai had that kind of luck too."
This time, Reon fell silent.
That was impossible, right?
Absolutely impossible.
As he thought that, Reon noticed that everyone from Inarizaki had already returned to their positions.
He then brought Ryosuke back into position as well.
It was Aran's turn to serve.
Shinsuke Kita would be serving after him, so Aran decided he wanted to rack up as many points as possible with his own serve and reduce some of the pressure on the captain.
The thought only strengthened his determination to score.
Standing at the service line with the volleyball in his hand, Aran looked across at Yamagata.
Then he suddenly realized just how bold his earlier confidence had been.
Trying to score directly against Yamagata was incredibly difficult.
"Beep---------!"
The referee's whistle gave Aran no time to think any further.
He could only focus on the serve in front of him.
Aran closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He was already standing at the service line. What was the point of worrying about all that now?
All he had to do was serve well.
Aran mentally psyched himself up.
When he opened his eyes, he tossed the volleyball into the air and took several steps forward.
When the ball reached the perfect height, Aran jumped and slammed his palm into it with all his strength.
"Thud!"
The volleyball shot forward at high speed, flying straight toward Yamagata.
Atsumu Miya had not been the only one from Inarizaki who benefited while he was away at the National Youth Team's training camp.
During that period, Inarizaki had also held its own internal training camp, and Aran had improved considerably.
Even so, facing Yamagata still made him a little nervous.
The greatest strength of Aran's serve had always been his raw power.
He used to believe that he could score plenty of points through sheer force with his jump serve.
He had thought he was like Ushijima.
But later, during the Spring High Tournament, Aran personally blocked one of Ushijima's spikes.
The force behind that ball had been so overwhelming that Aran's own serves seemed insignificant in comparison.
Ever since then, Aran's confidence had never felt quite as firm.
Later, he had looked into it and discovered that only a handful of players were truly famous for their power serves.
Powerful jump serves themselves were common.
To stand out among so many players, just how strong did Ushijima and Bokuto have to be?
Aran had always been afraid that one day he would turn out to be ordinary.
That he would become a burden to everyone else.
"Bang!"
One day, however, he had told Atsumu Miya all of this.
Atsumu Miya stared at him for two seconds before bursting into loud laughter.
He laughed so hard that tears came out.
Aran had immediately become embarrassed and irritated.
In the end, Atsumu Miya sighed and said,
"Aran, we're all ordinary people. Don't you think a story about ordinary people beating all the geniuses and fighting their way to the top sounds pretty cool? Aran, 'No need to dwell on yesterday' is our team motto. Don't get stuck in the past or worry about what other people think. Just enjoy the present."
For someone who usually acted so carefree, Atsumu Miya was surprisingly good at comforting people.
"Beep----------!"
The ball landed.
Point.
Yamagata grimaced and rubbed his arm.
So this guy's serve was that strong too?
Yamagata had already been caught off guard by Inarizaki several times during this match.
He had assumed that last ball was nothing more than an ordinary power jump serve.
He had never expected it to be both that fast and that heavy.
The instant it struck his arms, it ricocheted wildly off course.
There had been no chance to chase it down.
"Aaaah! Aran, that was amazing!"
Atsumu Miya shouted excitedly.
Aran found the sight of Atsumu Miya yelling and stomping his feet like a little kid rather funny.
Then he remembered all the foolish things he had said before, and his face immediately burned red.
No need to dwell on yesterday.
Those words had encouraged every student who came to Inarizaki to play volleyball.
Aran included.
"How was that? Pretty amazing, right?"
Aran grinned at Atsumu Miya.
Atsumu Miya nodded furiously.
So Aran looked that cool when he scored off a serve.
Though perhaps Aran himself had not even noticed the smile on Atsumu Miya's face.
"Aran, you're definitely going to become an outstanding senior someday."
Shinsuke Kita looked at Aran with unmistakable satisfaction in his eyes.
That serve had fully justified all of Aran's previous training.
Shinsuke Kita thought every player at Inarizaki was excellent.
Aran was excellent too.
He simply had a few flaws in his personality. He hesitated too much and had trouble making decisions.
But Shinsuke Kita believed that after playing a few more matches, Aran would become the confident Aran he used to be again.
"Ace!"
Tsutomu Goshiki stood beside Yamagata, staring in amazement at the volleyball on the floor.
Scoring an ace against Yamagata-senpai?
That guy was seriously tough.
Yamagata stood up, grimacing as he rubbed his arm, and declared firmly,
"Don't worry. He definitely won't score on the next one."
Yamagata loosened up his joints and stretched again.
He was beginning to feel that Shiratorizawa and Inarizaki were simply incompatible.
Apart from their serves, Inarizaki's players had flashy, tricky styles, and they were especially good at deceiving people.
That setter on the other side had already fooled them out of quite a few points.
The scoreboard now read 20:18.
Shiratorizawa was, unusually, trailing by two points.
No matter what happened, they could not let Aran score again.
Once he had finished loosening up, Yamagata settled into position in the backcourt and waited for Aran's next serve.
On Inarizaki's side, everyone had returned to their positions.
Shinsuke Kita stood behind Aran with his usual gentle smile.
Then he reached out and gave Aran a light push.
"Aran, go."
His palm was broad and strong, like that of an elder at home.
Carrying Shinsuke Kita's expectations with him, Aran stepped up to the service line again.
He stared at the volleyball with such intense focus and affection that it almost looked as though he were gazing at some peerless beauty.
Beyond the volleyball, he could also see Yamagata at the very back of Shiratorizawa's court, fully prepared.
Aran's gaze lingered for a moment.
Then he tossed the volleyball into the air and served again.
The ball floated upward.
Aran looked up at it and began his approach.
After several steps, he jumped.
For that instant, Aran felt as though he were flying.
So even a heavy body like his could leave the ground this easily.
It felt almost natural, as though he had been meant to do this all along.
Aran raised his right hand and struck the volleyball hard.
"Thud!"
With a crisp impact, the volleyball once again tore toward Shiratorizawa's backcourt.
Yamagata immediately adjusted his footwork and prepared to receive, extending both arms in front of himself.
As the volleyball came closer, Yamagata knew he would receive this one.
As for the previous serve, Yamagata was not the sort of person who liked making excuses for his failures.
Still, he wanted to defend himself a little.
He had not expected Aran to suddenly explode like that.
Nor had he expected the angle of the serve to be so difficult.
And yes, Aran's previous serve really had come at a troublesome angle.
That was why Yamagata had lost control of the ball at the last second.
Ultimately, though, it was still his own fault.
Yamagata inwardly scorned himself for even trying to make excuses.
Then he faced the incoming volleyball, stepped forward twice, and extended his arms.
The ball slammed directly into his forearms.
"Thud!"
This time, Yamagata's arms stayed perfectly steady.
There was not even the slightest tremor or deviation.
The volleyball popped cleanly into the air.
Aran was naturally a little disappointed to see the serve received.
He had thought he might be able to take a few more points off Yamagata, but apparently that was not going to happen.
Still, if everyone could defend this rally, they would have another chance.
Hope immediately rose in Aran again.
After Yamagata received the ball, it flew straight toward Shirabu.
Shirabu did not even need to move.
Yamagata's first pass was as comfortable as ever.
Ushijima and Tsutomu Goshiki once again charged at the front line.
Just like in the previous rallies, Ryosuke kept Suna under close watch.
Once again, Suna could not get into position to block.
To shake Ryosuke off, he kept darting back and forth.
Reon was currently at position 4 and looked ready to move toward position 3.
Seeing that, Suna immediately rushed to position 3 and stopped.
Ryosuke stopped watching Suna.
With Reon-senpai there, it should be fine.
After Yamagata's receive, Shirabu jumped to set.
Once again, he chose Ushijima.
As long as Ushijima was on the court, he would always be Shirabu's first choice.
Ushijima jumped from position 1.
He heard the ball coming.
Aran and Osamu Miya saw Ushijima take off and immediately rushed toward him.
Suna was still tied up by Reon.
When he saw Ushijima already airborne and preparing to spike, he worried that Osamu Miya and Aran might fail to block him again.
Even if they could not stop Ushijima's spike outright, they at least needed to get a touch on the ball.
Osamu Miya and Aran clearly did not have that awareness.
And even if they did, they probably could not pull it off.
After all, stopping Ushijima's spike sounded crazy enough on its own.
Suna glanced at Reon, then turned and sprinted toward Ushijima without looking back.
Reon had not expected Suna to suddenly run toward Ushijima, so he immediately chased after him.
By the time Suna got into position, Ushijima had already jumped and begun his swing.
Aran and Osamu Miya jumped at the same time.
"Thud!"
Ushijima's left hand slammed into the volleyball.
Aran had already braced himself for the possibility that his arms might break.
But the impact he expected never came.
Suna had never run that fast before.
The instant Ushijima attacked, Suna leaped up beside Aran and stretched both hands out toward the point where Ushijima was about to strike, keeping his arms completely rigid.
"Thud!"
The volleyball smashed into his arms with a tremendous impact.
The sound alone made everyone's teeth ache.
Suna clenched his back teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
Ushijima's spike was simply far too powerful.
Suna felt the force against his arms weaken slightly.
He angled his palms upward and sent the volleyball flying back.
It was not that Suna did not want to block Ushijima's spike outright.
That simply was not realistic.
Who was Ushijima?
If his spikes could be stopped that easily, then someone else would have to take his place among the nation's top five spikers.
The moment Suna went to block, Akagi had already followed him over to the area where Ushijima was attacking.
Now all he had to do was wait for the ball to come.
After being slowed by the block, the spike would definitely have lost some of its force.
By the time it reached Akagi, he should be able to dig it if he put in the effort.
"One touch!"
Suna's arms took another brutal hit as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Akagi was already waiting behind him.
"I've got it!"
His eyes locked onto the incoming ball.
He bent his knees, extended his arms, and shifted his weight backward.
Akagi's prediction was perfectly accurate.
He was standing exactly where the ball was going to land.
From the moment Ushijima struck it to the moment it deflected off the block, the ball's path had changed twice.
Even under those circumstances, Akagi had still judged its trajectory precisely.
He really was incredible.
...
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