"Thud!"
The volleyball slammed into Akagi's forearms.
Gritting his teeth, Akagi managed to receive it, forcing his arms upward with everything he had.
The ball flew into the air and headed toward Atsumu Miya.
A libero and blocker working together to successfully stop one of Ushijima's spikes was an extremely rare sight.
"What an incredible play! Inarizaki's libero, Akagi, and blocker, Suna, managed to coordinate without any prior discussion and neutralize Ushijima's spike!
"Suna took the force off the ball at the net, while Akagi turned it into a first pass for Inarizaki from the backcourt!
"Inarizaki has shown everyone a new way to deal with Ushijima's spikes!"
What the commentator was really trying to say was that Inarizaki had demonstrated a possible way to stop Ushijima's spikes, but perhaps his wording was a little poor, because what came out sounded somewhat confusing.
Hoshiumi rolled his eyes when he heard it from the stands.
Sure, that was easy to say, but did people really think Ushijima's spikes were that simple to stop?
Inarizaki could pull it off because they were already in the second set. Their blockers and libero had gradually gotten used to Ushijima's spikes.
Besides, not everyone was a genius like Suna or Akagi.
An ordinary player would never be able to do something like that. On top of that, many players were not used to Ushijima's left-handed spikes and could not even read the direction of the ball's spin properly.
So using Inarizaki's play as some kind of model simply would not work.
"Quit rolling your eyes all the time, kid. It looks awful."
Hirugami gave Hoshiumi a light smack on the head.
Hoshiumi immediately rolled his eyes at Hirugami again.
"Mind your own business!"
They were both second-years, so why did Hirugami always act like some responsible parent?
He was calm and dependable every single day. Hoshiumi could barely remember what the more lively Hirugami from first year had even been like.
His attention returned to the court.
By then, Akagi had managed to get the volleyball up, though the receive was shaky and far from pretty.
The ball wobbled through the air, but Atsumu Miya did not care about any of that.
As long as Akagi had kept it alive, that was good enough.
The ball drifted awkwardly toward Atsumu Miya.
Watching it, Atsumu Miya almost wanted to laugh.
Akagi really was absurdly earnest. Even with such a difficult receive, he had still stubbornly tried to direct the first pass somewhere close to the right area.
The volleyball drifted a little too far forward, stopping near the net.
Atsumu Miya waited in place.
As soon as the ball reached him, he jumped to set.
Osamu Miya and Aran ran in opposite directions. Shinsuke Kita moved toward position 3 as if preparing to attack, while Suna hovered near the net, ready to keep Ryosuke occupied.
Atsumu Miya had originally planned to set the ball to Shinsuke Kita.
But just before taking off, he noticed an open space between Osamu Miya and Suna.
It looked usable.
The problem was that no one was running there.
Aran was still around position 3, and with his speed, by the time he went around Suna and reached that opening, the ball would already have hit the floor.
So Atsumu Miya decided to gamble.
Might as well go for it.
Once he made up his mind, Atsumu Miya took a breath and leaned backward into what looked like a back set toward Osamu Miya.
But only Atsumu Miya knew that the ball was not actually meant for anyone.
This one belonged to the setter himself.
He put force through his fingertips and sent the ball toward the empty space beside Osamu Miya.
Osamu Miya felt something was off, but assumed he was imagining it.
Without even realizing it, he became Atsumu Miya's decoy.
Osamu Miya jumped and prepared to attack against Reon.
To his surprise, the ball never came.
Instead, he heard it land.
"Thud."
A soft sound.
Reon was confused too.
He lowered his head and started looking around for the ball, only to spot it lying on Shiratorizawa's side, right in front of the net.
Osamu Miya saw it as well.
At first glance, he had thought the ball had landed on Inarizaki's side.
It nearly scared him to death.
He thought Atsumu Miya had made a setting error.
But the more he thought about it, the less possible that seemed.
Ever since Atsumu Miya became a setter, he had almost never made that kind of mistake, much less one that obvious.
Looking again, Osamu Miya finally realized the ball had actually dropped on the other side.
"Beep-------!"
The whistle sounded.
Point.
"What was that just now?"
Tsutomu Goshiki looked utterly confused.
He could not understand how the ball had already hit the floor before he had even seen it.
Osamu Miya walked over and smacked Atsumu Miya hard on the shoulder.
"You're way too reckless! What if that had actually gone wrong?!"
Osamu Miya was about ready to explode at this idiot.
If Atsumu Miya had messed up there, the coach would have been furious, and even the spectators might have started questioning his level as a setter.
Atsumu Miya, however, was grinning happily.
"But it worked, didn't it? Man, that was seriously cool! As expected of me!"
Ryosuke stood beside Shirabu with an unusually serious expression.
Tsutomu Goshiki had not seen it clearly, but Ryosuke and Shirabu had.
That ball had been a back set sent directly over the net.
A move that outrageous and risky, and Atsumu Miya had actually dared to use it in a real match.
"Inarizaki's Atsumu Miya has nerves of steel! At a moment like this, he actually used a back set over the net and scored!
"Watching that play, I was nervous for him myself! A set that difficult requires incredible precision. Atsumu Miya truly is a genius!"
The commentator was clearly stunned as well.
That play really had been spectacular.
Spectacular enough to leave even the commentator impressed.
"Atsumu, don't be that reckless next time. Tell everyone beforehand if you're going to try something like that."
Shinsuke Kita frowned, clearly disapproving.
Aran had nearly gone pale from the shock just now.
If Shinsuke Kita had not been standing there, Aran probably would have rushed over and given Atsumu Miya a piece of his mind.
But the moment Atsumu Miya realized Shinsuke Kita was the one lecturing him, he immediately became obedient.
"Okay, Kita-senpai. Next time I'll definitely warn everyone first."
Over on Shiratorizawa's side, Shirabu did not look pleased.
Internally, he cursed Atsumu Miya for being so devious.
He had actually dared to use a ball like that, turning every single teammate on the court into a decoy just to set up that play.
Atsumu Miya really was a little crazy.
Reon sighed in frustration.
Atsumu Miya really was like a fox.
Shiratorizawa had fallen too far behind.
"It's fine. Focus on the next point. Don't dwell on that one."
Reon thought everyone must be discouraged, so he tried to lift the mood.
But the others were nowhere near as downcast as he expected.
Instead, every one of them was staring intensely at Atsumu Miya as if he were some rare species.
Reon could even hear Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke whispering nearby.
"That was seriously cool, right, Ryosuke?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I kind of want to try it too."
Ryosuke hesitated before replying.
"Maybe don't... If Reon-senpai hears you saying that, you'll get yelled at."
Tsutomu Goshiki was still excited.
"If you don't tell him and I don't tell him, how would he know?"
A vein throbbed on Reon's forehead.
He had heard every word.
If you two are going to plot something, could you at least whisper properly?!
Tsutomu Goshiki promptly got smacked.
Reon lowered his voice.
"Everyone, get back into position and behave. If you want to try a back set over the net, I'm not going to stop you. But Goshiki, have you forgotten something? You're not a setter."
Tsutomu Goshiki froze.
Reon-senpai had a point.
He was not a setter.
Did that mean he could not try it after all?
Completely dejected, Tsutomu Goshiki let Reon drag him back into position.
Behind them, Ryosuke muttered in what he apparently thought was a quiet voice.
"I told you Reon-senpai would hear you, and you still talked that loudly. I kind of want to try it too... Too bad I'm not a setter either..."
Reon's brow twitched violently.
He wanted to beat Tsutomu Goshiki up all over again.
That idiot was even leading Ryosuke astray.
If Ryosuke ever tried playing setter, that really would be something.
Even Ushijima probably would not dare receive one of Ryosuke's sets.
After forcing everyone back into position, it was still Inarizaki's serving turn.
Shiratorizawa absolutely had to end their serving run now.
Otherwise, the point gap would grow too large, and catching up later would become much harder.
Everyone on Shiratorizawa stood ready.
They had to take the next point.
Aran was pushed back toward the service line, still looking slightly dazed.
He could hardly believe his serving run had lasted this long.
Aran took a deep breath and loosened his joints.
He rolled the volleyball in his hand once, then tossed it into the air.
His approach and takeoff flowed smoothly.
Aran still wanted an ace, but Yamagata was now far too alert to let that happen easily.
Aran swung his right hand down hard.
He knew he did not have much strength left, so he put everything he had into this serve.
All his hopes were riding on it.
The volleyball tore toward Shiratorizawa's backcourt with a fierce whistle.
It looked even more powerful than the previous serve.
Yamagata crouched low and steadied himself, ready to receive.
He felt the ball was heading a little deep.
Even after crossing the net, it was still moving incredibly fast.
Yamagata backed up several steps and extended his arms.
The volleyball seemed to have eyes, flying straight toward his forearms.
Yamagata's arms bent slightly under the impact, and he looked strained.
But that did not matter.
Yamagata would receive every ball.
"Thud!"
He forced his arms upward and sent the volleyball soaring high into the air.
It flew toward Shirabu.
Shirabu adjusted his footing where he stood, preparing to set.
Ushijima and Reon rushed to the front, ready to attack.
Worried that Tsutomu Goshiki might try something reckless, Reon took the lead and ran ahead of him.
Tsutomu Goshiki, whose route had been cut off, stared resentfully at Reon from behind.
The moment Yamagata got the ball up, Osamu Miya and Aran started moving toward the net.
This time, Suna decided to stay with Aran and block alongside him.
If they made themselves a bigger target, Ryosuke might stop focusing on Suna.
Being constantly marked had not caused Suna any real damage personally, but it was bad for the team.
And more importantly, it was incredibly annoying.
Sure enough, when Ryosuke saw Suna and Aran moving together, he stopped watching them.
Instead, his attention shifted to Osamu Miya and Shinsuke Kita.
Ryosuke figured Osamu Miya was probably going to block either Reon or Tsutomu Goshiki.
Before Osamu Miya could shut either of them down, Ryosuke intended to keep him occupied first.
By then, Shirabu was already setting.
Only Tsutomu Goshiki's side was currently unguarded.
Shirabu immediately sent the ball toward him.
There was no blocker in front of Tsutomu Goshiki.
Hearing the ball coming, Tsutomu Goshiki backed up several steps and began his approach.
By the time he jumped, everyone realized the set was going to him.
They immediately rushed in his direction.
Tsutomu Goshiki saw them closing in.
Without waiting any longer, he swung his arm and slammed the ball down.
"Thud!"
The volleyball shot from Tsutomu Goshiki's hand like a bullet.
There was no one directly in front of him, so he thought the ball would go through untouched.
Even the libero was currently over near Ushijima-senpai.
But then Shinsuke Kita suddenly appeared.
No one knew where Shinsuke Kita had come from.
He sprinted in at high speed, dove forward, and stretched a hand flat against the floor.
"Thud!"
The volleyball popped back up.
"Atsumu Miya!"
"Coming!"
The moment Tsutomu Goshiki saw the ball had been saved, he immediately retreated to defend.
He ran over to join Ryosuke so the two could block together.
Tsutomu Goshiki felt that following Ryosuke's lead would give him the best chance of timing the block correctly.
Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki crouched in front of the net, completely still as they searched for their target.
All they had to do was wait for the attack.
The instant someone went up to spike, the two of them intended to shut it down.
Atsumu Miya rushed over, adjusted the ball Shinsuke Kita had saved, and prepared to set.
Aran and Suna had originally been together at the net, but once they saw the ball had been kept alive, they split apart again.
Suna moved over to keep Ryosuke occupied.
But Ryosuke was now standing with Tsutomu Goshiki.
Even if Suna blocked one of them from seeing the play, the other could still watch.
And from his partner's gaze alone, it would be easy to tell who the attacker was.
Aran, meanwhile, moved to the opposite side from Osamu Miya.
No one knew whether Atsumu Miya would set to one of them or attack on the second touch himself.
No one could be sure.
Both Inarizaki and Shiratorizawa were tense because of him.
That alone showed how dangerous Atsumu Miya was.
This time, however, Atsumu Miya had no intention of attacking on the second touch.
He saw that Osamu Miya had already reached position 2.
There was no one there at that moment.
Of course, that would only last until Osamu Miya actually jumped to attack.
Then players would come rushing in from every direction.
Even so, Atsumu Miya decided to set to Osamu Miya.
Given the current situation, there was nowhere else that made more sense.
So Atsumu Miya sent the ball toward Osamu Miya.
Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki had been watching Atsumu Miya closely.
The moment they saw him move, both immediately shifted their focus to Osamu Miya and sprinted toward him in perfect sync.
As Ryosuke ran, he shouted,
"Three, two, one! Jump!"
Tsutomu Goshiki jumped without hesitation.
He trusted Ryosuke completely.
Osamu Miya had already spiked the ball.
In the very next instant, Ryosuke's hands appeared directly in front of it.
The block sealed the ball off completely.
There was no opening at all.
...
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