The second set ended, leaving the match tied. The real battle would begin in the third set.
Coach Washijō watched Ryosuke return to the bench with a displeased expression. The moment Ryosuke saw that angry glare, he instinctively shrank his neck and quietly slipped behind Ushijima.
Ushijima, who had been facing Coach Washijō's anger head-on, didn't indulge Ryosuke this time. He simply stepped aside, exposing Ryosuke behind him.
Ryosuke shot Ushijima a resentful look.
Washijō glared at him.
"Looking at him won't help! Get over here!"
Ryosuke trudged over miserably.
Reon snickered quietly at Ushijima. It was rare to see such a childish side of him.
Yamagata and Kawanishi were busy giving Goshiki a bit of psychological support. In the previous set, Oikawa had nearly provoked Goshiki into losing his temper. If Ryosuke hadn't stepped in to calm him down, Goshiki might have started yelling right on the court.
Washijō began scolding Ryosuke irritably.
"I don't even know who taught you that hook serve! If you wanted to learn it, did I stop you? No! But if you're going to learn it, at least finish learning it properly! Pay attention to your own weaknesses! If you end up injuring yourself and can't play—then what?!"
Washijō kept lecturing without pause.
To outsiders, it simply looked like the Shiratorizawa coach furiously scolding a player for missing a serve. Washijō's reputation was taking damage for nothing.
Meanwhile, Ryosuke let the lecture go in one ear and out the other. He nodded obediently, not daring to look dismissive, while mentally drifting somewhere far away.
Eventually Washijō ran out of breath from scolding him and waved him off with annoyance. Just looking at this kid made his blood pressure rise—sooner or later he was going to have a stroke.
Goshiki and Yamagata were no longer upset. Everyone's attention had shifted to Washijō.
Human nature really was gossip-loving.
Ryosuke walked back bitterly. As he passed Ushijima, he gave a small "hmph."
Ushijima rubbed his nose but didn't say anything, while Reon chuckled beside him.
Goshiki and Yamagata immediately crowded around Ryosuke, chattering away about who knew what.
...
Over on the Aobajosai side, they had clearly heard Washijō yelling.
Watari, who had been wiping sweat, leaned over to take a look. When he realized the one being scolded was the number six who had been firing those terrifying hook serves, he suddenly perked up.
He immediately started talking about Ryosuke with Oikawa.
"How did you even know someone could use a hook serve? That thing was ridiculously hard to receive. But Coach Washijō is way too strict, isn't he? It was only one mistake. Did he really need to scold him like that?"
Watari was still defending Ryosuke.
Oikawa smiled in amusement.
"That number six is Washijō's grandson. He's probably scolding him for not paying attention to his physical condition."
Watari froze.
He had thought number six was the poor victim.
Turns out the real victim was himself.
Watari fell silent.
Hanamaki laughed heartily beside him, while Iwaizumi curled his lips slightly.
Oikawa narrowed his eyes like a sly fox.
"Alright, enough laughing."
He gathered everyone together for another discussion.
"If number six hadn't made that mistake earlier, we would've lost two sets in a row. But luck is part of strength too. From here on, the third set is where the real match begins."
"The first two sets already drained a lot of stamina from number six and number eight. Our goal is to force number six off the court."
"This match—we cannot lose."
Everyone nodded seriously.
"Yes!!"
"Alright! Let's go! Seijo!"
"Beeeep—"
The whistle blew.
Washijō stopped talking. This set, Reon and Kawanishi would be back on the court.
Ryosuke put down his water bottle and tightened the knee pads around his knees. The team medic had just applied ointment to his arm again, and it was now faintly warm.
Standing ahead of him, Reon turned around and gestured.
"Come on, let's go!"
Ryosuke stood and walked toward the court.
The third set began.
...
Since Aobajosai had won the second set, they would serve first.
Oikawa bounced the ball up and down, feeling for the rhythm. His line serve from the previous set had worked perfectly, and now he had better control of the landing point.
He slowly walked to the service line and gave a silent greeting toward the opposite side.
Then he tossed the ball.
"Oh—HEY!"
"BANG!"
The ball shot forward like a bullet.
Yamagata's vision blurred.
That was way too fast.
His legs had barely started moving when the ball had already slipped past Ushijima and Reon, then flew past Shirabu before smashing onto the court.
No-touch ace.
Ryosuke turned around in surprise.
"BANG!"
"BEEP—"
Yamagata froze.
How was it this fast?
Oikawa's serves in the previous two sets hadn't been this powerful.
Oikawa clenched his fist.
"Ha! I knew Lord Oikawa could do it!"
Iwaizumi shouted,
"Nice one!"
"Aobajosai! Aobajosai! The strongest!"
"Oikawa! Oikawa! One more serve!"
The Aobajosai cheering section exploded.
Yamagata stared at Oikawa with blazing eyes.
This guy's serves were seriously exciting.
Oikawa felt uncomfortable under that stare and awkwardly rolled his eyes before preparing the second serve.
Even before the whistle blew, Yamagata had already assumed his receiving stance near the center of the backcourt so he could cover both sides.
"Oh—HEY!"
The audience's background chant was still loud and clear.
Yamagata wanted to break Oikawa's serve on this second ball, but judging by the speed, it wouldn't be easy.
"BANG!"
The ball curved toward the right side.
Shirabu stepped aside slightly to give Yamagata space.
Yamagata lunged forward and slid across the floor, arms extended.
The ball slammed into his arms and bounced away.
He hadn't managed to absorb the force in time.
"BEEP—"
Yamagata felt the power of that serve and couldn't help admiring Aobajosai.
Everyone on that team was a monster.
That kind of power could rival Reon's spikes.
And the placement was incredibly precise.
But the third serve probably wouldn't be as strong.
A sudden power jump serve like that, without systematic training, often led to mistakes.
Attempting it in a match like this…
Oikawa really was a genius.
...
Third serve.
The first two had taken a lot out of Oikawa.
Now his strength was starting to fade.
Originally he had wanted to score five points in one go, but that seemed unlikely now.
"Oh—HEY!"
With the familiar audience chant behind him, Oikawa's slender yet powerful body leapt into the air.
"BANG!"
The ball flew toward the left side.
Yamagata ran without stopping.
Oikawa watched the serve and felt slightly dissatisfied with his own performance.
Yamagata immediately noticed the ball was slower than the previous two.
He accelerated, running past Ryosuke and Ushijima before rolling sideways.
He received the ball cleanly.
"Nice!"
Reon cheered.
The team immediately began organizing an attack.
Ryosuke and Goshiki stood at the net—one preparing to block, the other glancing up to see whether Shirabu might set him the first ball.
Ushijima charged toward the net.
Shirabu didn't hesitate and set the ball straight to him.
He was only one step away from Ushijima.
As Ushijima jumped, they executed a quick attack together.
Matsukawa and Kunimi rushed to block.
The moment their hands reached the ball—
"BANG!"
The ball slammed into Kunimi's hands, leaving a bright red mark before blasting through and hitting the Aobajosai floor.
Kunimi rubbed his arm, looking like he might collapse.
Matsukawa panicked.
"Kunimi! Are you okay?!"
That shout drew everyone's attention.
Kunimi stood there in a daze while Oikawa tried desperately not to laugh, his shoulders shaking.
Kunimi glared at Ushijima and walked away.
Kunimi: Who understands this feeling? I almost got killed by a volleyball today.
Ushijima looked confused.
Reon sighed and held his forehead.
...
Now it was Ushijima's turn to serve.
He silently carried the ball to the service line.
Strangely enough, whenever other Shiratorizawa players served, the crowd cheered loudly.
But whenever Ushijima stepped up to serve—
the entire arena fell silent.
Perhaps everyone was overwhelmed by the aura of the ace.
"BANG!"
Ushijima jumped and unleashed a brutal serve.
Watari tried to move to receive it—
but the ball slammed onto the center of the court and bounced away before he could react.
Ushijima silently calculated how many serves he would need to reclaim the points Oikawa had scored earlier.
"BANG!"
"BEEP—"
"BANG!"
"BEEP—"
In the blink of an eye, three points were gone.
Hanamaki rushed over to help Watari receive.
The two of them were scrambling all over the court, looking extremely miserable.
During the brief pause between points, Goshiki and Shirabu stared at Ushijima with shining eyes like devoted fans.
Meanwhile, Ryosuke quietly decided that he needed to increase his training after the match.
Ushijima tossed the ball again.
His arms spread like wings as he jumped.
"BANG!"
"I've got it!"
Watari shouted through clenched teeth, sweat dripping down his face.
If Ushijima kept serving like this, the set would be over.
Kunimi and Matsukawa moved aside to clear his vision.
Watari locked onto the incoming ball.
He confirmed the trajectory—it was straight and stable, with no spin.
He forced himself forward.
In that instant, time seemed to slow down frame by frame.
He adjusted slightly to the left, braced his stance, and held steady.
"BANG!"
The moment he received the ball, he felt the familiar pain and numbness.
Yes.
He had it.
Watari rolled backward to absorb the impact.
But the force was enormous.
His control wasn't perfect.
The ball shot high into the air—
so high it looked like it might fly out of Aobajosai's court.
Iwaizumi and Oikawa rushed forward toward the net.
Ryosuke and Goshiki also moved into blocking positions.
Ryosuke quickly judged the ball's arc.
He stepped aside, giving Yamagata and Shirabu behind him a clear view, while pulling Goshiki back a few steps.
"Chance ball!"
Yamagata took advantage of the opening and received the ball.
Shirabu calmly controlled the pass.
He glanced at Reon.
After three serves in a row, Ushijima's rhythm might have cooled slightly.
This ball should go to Reon.
Reon noticed Shirabu staring at him while running.
That gaze said everything.
Shirabu had a special "skill" during matches.
If he stared at an attacker for more than one second before setting—
that player would definitely be the one spiking.
In other words:
Whoever he stared at would spike.
Reon rushed to the net.
Strangely, Goshiki—standing behind him—also jumped for the spike.
Ryosuke was completely baffled.
Based on Shirabu's habits, that ball definitely wasn't meant for Goshiki.
But regardless—
the defensive line had to hold.
Ryosuke moved sideways to block Iwaizumi.
"BANG!"
Reon's spike was touched by Matsukawa's block, then received by Watari behind him.
Meanwhile, Goshiki had swung at empty air.
He blinked in confusion.
Wait… what?
Wasn't that set for me?
Before he could think further—
Ryosuke suddenly shouted.
"Goshiki!"
Goshiki turned his head.
And saw a volleyball flying straight at his face.
"BANG!"
The ball slammed into his face and slid down.
Goshiki stood frozen.
A warm sensation spread through his nose.
Two streams of blood slowly flowed down.
Kunimi, who had spiked the ball, was stunned.
That shouldn't have happened.
He hadn't even hit it that hard.
"Goshiki!"
Ryosuke shouted in alarm.
Washijō saw the nosebleed and immediately became furious.
This kid!
Daydreaming during a match?!
After thinking for a moment, he called a timeout.
The bleeding needed to be handled.
What if something worse happened?
Everyone rushed over at once.
"Goshiki, are you okay?!"
"What do we do?!"
"Team doctor!"
Goshiki stood there surrounded by people.
If he hadn't known he just had a nosebleed, he might have thought he had a terminal illness.
Finally snapping back to his senses, he waved to Kunimi across the net.
"I'm fine!"
He scratched his head while explaining to the worried Reon.
"Really, I'm okay."
Ryosuke sighed in relief.
Goshiki avoided everyone's eyes guiltily and slipped away to the team doctor.
He really shouldn't have spaced out.
Washijō glared at him like he wanted to kill someone.
Goshiki hurriedly wiped his nose, stuffed cotton into his nostril, and rushed back onto the court—
like someone was chasing him.
Even Shirabu couldn't help laughing a little.
In all Shiratorizawa's history…
something like this had never happened.
Goshiki had truly made history.
Goshiki quickly returned to the court.
There was still blood on his collar, but Washijō didn't substitute him out.
Goshiki might be a bit unreliable and slow sometimes, but he was obedient.
And with Tendo still absent, the coordination between Goshiki and Ryosuke was important.
Replacing him might disrupt that rhythm.
So despite the embarrassing incident, Washijō let it pass.
As long as the kid was fine.
Across the net, Kunimi kept apologizing.
Making someone bleed like that was a first for him too.
He had been startled himself.
Joining Aobajosai had definitely made life interesting.
Not a single peaceful day.
Goshiki grinned foolishly.
"I'm really fine!"
Hearing his energetic voice, Kunimi finally relaxed.
Now it was Hanamaki's turn to serve.
Compared with the other players on Aobajosai, his serve wasn't particularly impressive.
But it was very fast.
The kind that went—
whoosh—
consistently quick, though without much power or curve.
Hanamaki was definitely an odd one among servers.
...
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