"Bang!" The ball slammed down at Tsutomu Goshiki's feet.
"Beep————"
20:25 — Aobajosai wins the fourth set.
Ever since those two points from Iwaizumi earlier, the outcome of this set had already been decided.
On the final point, Mad Dog actually used his head for once. When he spiked, he deliberately avoided Ryosuke and drove the ball down right in front of Tsutomu Goshiki.
…A little clever, but not by much.
He hammered the ball straight into Tsutomu Goshiki's block. The spike carried a hint of resentment—resentment aimed at Ryosuke.
Tsutomu Goshiki bared his teeth as he rubbed his arm. With a spike that heavy, who could possibly stop it?
Kyotani looked at Tsutomu Goshiki, who had his head lowered, and curled his lip into a fierce, provocative grin.
"Tsutomu Goshiki, let's go!"
Hearing Ryosuke call him, Tsutomu Goshiki immediately turned his attention away from Kyotani across the net. Kyotani's intimidating expression had been completely wasted.
As soon as Ryosuke stepped off the court, he spotted Tendo standing beside Coach Washijō with a cheerful smile. His eyes lit up.
Tendo-senpai was back!
Dragging his sore legs, he jogged over, calling out to everyone along the way.
"Tendo-senpai is back!"
Reon, who had been talking with Ushijima, turned around at the same time as him. When they saw Tendo standing outside the court, his face still slightly pale, both of them looked surprised.
"Tendo, how are you feeling now?" Reon had practically been worrying himself sick over this group.
"Tendo-senpai! I held out by myself for four whole sets!"
"Tendo, it was miserable without you. I've been getting spiked numb out there."
"Satori…"
The moment everyone saw Tendo, they surrounded him, each speaking at once. The flood of voices left Tendo a little dizzy, yet strangely, a warm sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Under everyone's worried gazes, Tendo curled his lips and spoke in his usual carefree tone.
"Ha, I'm already fine. I can play in the next set. Don't worry, everyone~"
After saying that, he turned and noticed two first-years staring at him eagerly, blinking with hopeful eyes. Their gazes looked almost watery with anticipation. Ryosuke's hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat.
Tsutomu Goshiki's uniform was soaked as well. The two of them looked equally disheveled.
Tendo couldn't help smiling.
Ah… they really looked like two puppies waiting for praise from their owner.
He reached out with both hands and gently ruffled their heads.
"I saw everything. You two were amazing. Go rest easy—I've got the next set."
The moment they heard that, Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke felt a surge of security fill their hearts.
As expected of the number one Blocker—his presence alone practically radiated reassurance.
"What are you all crowding over there for?! Get over here!"
Not far away, Coach Washijō had allowed them a moment to talk, but remembering how frustrating the previous set had been immediately reignited his temper.
The whole group hurried over and clustered around him like a flock of chicks.
Coach Washijō swept his gaze across the group, then finally fixed his eyes on Ryosuke.
Ryosuke: ??
Ryosuke's body stiffened as he unconsciously straightened his back.
I didn't do anything wrong last set… right? Probably not…
Why is he staring at me like that? It's terrifying.
Ryosuke muttered silently in his head.
Only then did Coach Washijō speak.
"What do you think about the last set?"
Ryosuke didn't dare make a sound. He lowered his head and quietly hid behind Ushijima. Yamagata awkwardly withdrew his gaze.
"Ahem." Shirabu coughed uneasily.
Tsutomu Goshiki looked around, confused.
"It was pretty good…" he said.
Before he could continue, Reon grabbed him and shot him a glare, signaling him to shut up.
Only then did Tsutomu Goshiki notice something was wrong with the atmosphere. Coach Washijō's expression didn't look good at all.
Washijō let out a cold laugh.
"Pretty good? Why don't you listen to yourselves first!
"One Oikawa had all of you running around in circles. Do none of you have brains? A bunch of idiots!
"Tsutomu Goshiki! Why couldn't you even stop that Number 16? And Yamagata, have you not been training lately? Otherwise how are you this weak?
"Shirabu! Oikawa completely controlled the tempo of the court and you didn't even notice. Do you even have a brain?!"
"I could tie a dog to the court and it would probably play better than you! And you're still standing there laughing? After the match, every single one of you is doing extra practice. No one is leaving! Even the ones who didn't play!"
Kawanishi and Eita Semi had been watching the commotion from the side. The two of them were squeezed in the back, secretly laughing at the others' alternating red and pale faces.
When they suddenly got called out as well, both of them jumped in shock and instantly stopped enjoying the show.
Coach Washijō unleashed an entire barrage of scolding in one breath.
Break time between sets was limited, so he had to scold precisely, clearly, and quickly. After all these years, this was a skill he had thoroughly mastered.
He slowly exhaled and calmed himself before continuing.
"For the fifth set, Tendo is back. Tsutomu Goshiki, switch with Tendo."
Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke both froze.
Ryosuke had thought the one getting subbed out would be him.
Tsutomu Goshiki, meanwhile, thought: Just as expected.
He more or less understood Coach Washijō's reasoning.
"Tendo continues blocking. Ryosuke moves to floor defense and help Yamagata with receives.
"Ushijima and Reon, go all out on offense next set. Shirabu, just focus on setting to those two.
"The two of you haven't had to move much for four sets. If either of you runs out of stamina in the next set, you'll add another day of extra practice. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Reon and Ushijima straightened their backs as they answered.
After all, Coach Washijō was absolutely right.
Ryosuke, Tsutomu Goshiki, and Yamagata had drawn most of Aobajosai's firepower. Only by doing that could they ensure victory in the fifth set.
...
Over on Aobajosai's side, the atmosphere wasn't great.
Even though they had won the fourth set, no one looked particularly happy.
Perhaps it was because of Mad Dog—or perhaps because of Oikawa, who had boldly used him.
Matsukawa sat beside Hanamaki, silently sulking.
He really hated being used.
Even though everything on the court was for the sake of scoring, Matsukawa still wished Oikawa had told him beforehand.
Saying nothing at all… did that mean he didn't trust him?
Oikawa himself had a headache right now.
His strategy had worked, and they had indeed taken the set. But Ryosuke had already gotten used to Mad Dog's attacks…
That adaptability was terrifying.
That red-haired blocker had just appeared in Shiratorizawa's bench area. It looked like he would be playing in the next set, which meant their strategy of breaking Shiratorizawa's block line would no longer work.
On top of that, because they had deliberately targeted others last set, Ushijima and Reon barely had to exert themselves. They'd been conserving their strength the entire time.
Oikawa's head felt like it was about to explode as he plunged into another storm of calculations. He didn't have the time to pay attention to anyone else's emotions.
Kyotani was also in a bad mood, and a little irritable.
When he came off the court, Matsukawa had inexplicably bumped into him. Then he remembered how Ryosuke had blocked nearly every one of his spikes in the previous set.
Kyotani felt even more annoyed.
Just then, Iwaizumi returned from the restroom.
Seeing everyone sitting there in silence with the strange atmosphere, he frowned.
What's going on?
Weren't they cheering just now when they came off the court?
After walking around the bench area, Iwaizumi noticed Matsukawa and Kyotani both looking displeased. Meanwhile, Oikawa was sitting far away from everyone, muttering to himself—clearly already thinking about how to play the next set.
Iwaizumi frowned and kicked Oikawa.
Oikawa was being a bit extreme today. Normally, no matter what happened during a match, he would always notice his teammates' emotions. But whenever they faced Shiratorizawa, it was like he'd been cursed—his entire focus was on defeating them.
Oikawa rubbed his butt resentfully.
"Ow! Iwa-chan, what was that for?!"
Seeing Oikawa still acting so unserious only made Iwaizumi angrier. His tone grew noticeably harsher.
"I don't care what strategy you're trying to use. But your teammates' emotions are all over the place right now. Is this how a captain should act?
"Oikawa, take a good look at what you're doing!"
It was rare for Iwaizumi to truly lose his temper.
Oikawa lowered his head as he was scolded, but secretly glanced toward Matsukawa and the others. When he accidentally met Matsukawa's eyes, he realized Matsukawa actually looked worried about him.
Oikawa felt a complicated knot form in his chest.
He knew he'd done something wrong.
But like a childish kid, Oikawa simply couldn't bring himself to swallow his pride and apologize first.
Iwaizumi crossed his arms and glared at him, gesturing for him to go apologize.
Grumbling under his breath, Oikawa slowly shuffled over.
Under Matsukawa's confused gaze, Oikawa squeezed his eyes shut, looking like someone bracing himself for doom, and shouted loudly:
"I'm sorry, Matsukawa! I shouldn't have used you in my plan!"
Matsukawa couldn't help laughing at the overly blunt apology.
Seeing him laugh, Oikawa immediately reverted to his shameless self.
"Matsukawa, you're laughing! That means you're not mad anymore, right? I knew you were generous and wouldn't hold it against me—right…?"
He didn't even give Matsukawa a chance to respond, rambling nonstop.
Matsukawa could only look helpless.
Hanamaki watched Matsukawa's constipated expression from the side and snickered. The atmosphere instantly came back to life.
Coach Irihata nodded in satisfaction.
They were just a bunch of kids, but kids had their own way of solving problems.
With Oikawa around, he could trust the team.
With Iwaizumi around, he could trust Oikawa.
Iwaizumi was the final chain that kept Oikawa in check.
Smiling thoughtfully, Irihata raised his hand and called everyone over.
"Alright. For the final set, Kunimi and Kindaichi switch. Kunimi, go deal with that bruise on your arm. Hanamaki, have you rested enough?"
Hanamaki jumped to his feet instantly.
"Yes, Coach!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he kept sneaking glances at Mad Dog. His expression didn't look great… looks like Coach is sending me in.
"Hanamaki, switch with Matsukawa."
The moment those words came out, both players were stunned.
Matsukawa froze, then quickly snapped to attention.
"Yes!"
He kicked Hanamaki, who was still standing there blankly.
"Yes!"
Hanamaki was still wondering why Mad Dog wasn't being benched instead.
Did Coach really have that much faith in him?
Matsukawa sat down on the bench with a bitter smile.
Did Coach intend to officially integrate Mad Dog into Aobajosai?
Of course, the most surprised person was Kyotani.
Kyotani wasn't an idiot. He could clearly feel the others' rejection of him, as well as Oikawa's quiet manipulation.
He simply never said anything.
After all, if he wanted to stay on the court, he needed teammates.
So when he heard Coach Irihata sub Matsukawa out, he was genuinely surprised.
But… it didn't really matter.
As long as he could stay on the court and play, who his teammates were didn't matter.
"Beep————"
The timeout ended.
Both teams stepped back onto the court.
The final set of the prefectural tournament final had begun.
The team that would advance to Nationals this year would be decided in this very match.
The stands erupted into noise. Both cheering sections shouted slogans at the top of their lungs, each wave louder than the last, as if competing with each other.
"Shiratorizawa! Go! Shiratorizawa! Go!"
"Let's go, Seijoh! Charge! Charge! Seijoh!"
Even the coaches and referees glanced toward the roaring stands.
Since Aobajosai had won the previous set, they would serve first in this one.
Standing at Position 1 was Oikawa.
So the serve would start with him.
Yamagata felt a phantom ache in his arm, as if he could still feel the volleyball smashing into it.
Ryosuke glanced back at him, trying to reassure him with his eyes.
Yamagata-senpai, please don't worry!
Although Ryosuke had been blocking for four sets and was a bit drained, receiving and blocking were completely different kinds of work for him. The running involved in receiving wasn't a big deal.
It was almost like Ryosuke had two stamina bars—one dedicated to receiving, and another for everything else.
"Ooooh—hey!"
The Aobajosai crowd never got tired of providing Oikawa with his personal background music.
After two razor-line serves in the previous set, Oikawa's shoulder had taken a bit of strain, so this serve didn't carry quite as much power.
"Bang!"
He served the ball, still targeting Yamagata.
For a moment, Oikawa thought Yamagata hadn't moved. Thinking he'd misseen it, he looked again.
Only to realize Yamagata really hadn't moved.
Was he—
Before Oikawa could finish that thought, Ryosuke moved.
Like a silent cat, his soft steps barely making a sound on the floor, he darted forward so quickly that no one even noticed when he had started running.
Ryosuke intercepted the ball while it was still some distance away from Yamagata.
This had been arranged between them before the match.
One would handle Oikawa's serves.
The other would handle Iwaizumi's.
During rallies, Yamagata would cover saves inside the court, while Ryosuke would chase balls outside the court. Difficult spikes from inside—like Mad Dog's or Iwaizumi's—would also be handled by Ryosuke.
A perfectly balanced division of labor.
Ryosuke's goal was simple: make sure Yamagata didn't exhaust himself.
"Bang!"
Ryosuke's biggest trademark was his pursuit of the perfect first pass.
As he received the serve, he subtly adjusted the angle of his wrists and sent the ball cleanly upward—directly above Shirabu.
Shirabu looked up and couldn't help admiring it.
What a comfortable pass.
Ryosuke's receives were always delicate. Even the smallest details in his platform were handled with meticulous care.
That was the secret behind such a comfortable first pass.
"Ushijima-senpai!"
Coach Washijō had just instructed him to focus the offense on Ushijima and Reon.
Shirabu already admired Ushijima immensely, so for the first ball he didn't hesitate at all.
And besides—starting the set with the ace scoring a point seemed perfectly natural.
Hearing Shirabu call out, Ushijima began his approach…
...
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