Hoshiumi fell silent the instant he met Inube's gaze. He had a strong feeling that if he didn't listen to Inube right now, something very bad would happen, so he simply shut his mouth. Still, he couldn't swallow his anger completely. He gave Konoha, who was on the other side of the net, a heavy "hmph," then turned and walked away.
Everyone on Kamomedai was surprised that Hoshiumi had actually listened and stopped arguing. They had thought Inube wouldn't be able to control him.
As Hoshiumi walked away, he thought back on Konoha's performance since the third set began. In the first two sets, Konoha had always played in a lukewarm way, so everyone had assumed that was just his level. But now that Hoshiumi thought about it more carefully, the reason everyone thought Konoha's level was average was simply because he rarely attended training camps.
Even during training camps, he rarely teamed up with others for 3v3 practice. Even when he did, Konoha's performance stayed normal. A very average kind of normal.
But now that the third set had started, Konoha's spikes and blocks, even his playing style, were different from the first two sets. Hoshiumi seriously suspected that Konoha had been coasting before. Or rather, he had been saving his strength so he could turn it on in the third set.
The more Hoshiumi thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He had a feeling Konoha would become an opponent they couldn't ignore in the third set.
Over on Fukurōdani's side, everyone was praising Konoha.
"That was seriously good. I didn't even see that last ball clearly."
"Not at all. It was just a coincidence."
Haruki Komi and Konoha went back and forth, and Konoha looked modest, as if he were embarrassed. He managed to brush off Haruki Komi and send him away.
Washio stood to the side, watching Konoha helplessly, his tone full of frustration at someone wasting his talent.
"Look at that. When you're not slacking off, you're actually really good."
Washio was one of the few people on the team who understood Konoha fairly well.
Konoha looked back at Washio with a grin, and the two of them talked as they returned to their positions.
"That wasn't slacking off. That's just my attitude toward life."
Washio had long since gotten used to Konoha's excuses. Every time he brought this up, Konoha would just huff and ignore him, then come up with a pile of grand-sounding reasons. He really was used to it by now.
Still, even if Konoha said that, his body was much more honest. At crucial moments, they really did have to count on him.
"A thrilling battle above the net! Hoshiumi attempts a wipe, but Fukurōdani's Konoha blocks him, and the volleyball rebounds back onto Kamomedai's court.
"At this critical moment, Hakuba rushes over from near position three and dives to receive. He keeps it up! Hoshiumi attempts to spike it directly with an overpass attack.
"But unfortunately, his jump speed couldn't beat Fukurōdani's Konoha. Konoha jumps and sends the ball straight down into the opposite court, successfully scoring the point!"
The commentator's voice sounded almost delayed, only ringing out when the next rally was about to begin. But at that moment, no one was listening to the commentary. Their attention was completely on the next play.
Ryosuke, who was sitting below the stands and watching the match intently, suddenly laughed when he heard the commentator. He pressed his lips together, and no one knew what he was laughing about.
Tsutomu Goshiki looked at Ryosuke curiously. Ryosuke smiled and explained,
"Did you hear that just now? Every time the commentator calls someone else's name, he uses 'player,' like Goshiki player. But when it gets to Hoshiumi-senpai, it becomes Hoshiumi-kun."
Tsutomu Goshiki froze, then thought about it seriously and realized it really did seem to be true.
Aaron, who had been secretly listening from the side the whole time, couldn't help laughing too. It really did seem that way. Hoshiumi's image as the little guy must have left way too deep an impression on everyone.
Hoshiumi, however, didn't notice the broadcast. If he had noticed it right then, he definitely would have made a fuss again.
The match continued.
It was now Fukurōdani's turn to serve.
Bokuto raised his arm and shouted, "Hey, hey, hey!"
"Leave the next one to me!"
Bokuto swore he would win back the points Suwa and Inube had just taken. He was going to make Keiji Akaashi see him in a whole new light!
Keiji Akaashi looked over at him and said with some concern,
"Bokuto-senpai, just do your best."
Keiji Akaashi was still worried that if Bokuto didn't meet the expectations he had set for himself, he would definitely get upset again.
"Yeah!"
Bokuto nodded firmly at Keiji Akaashi.
Haruki Komi stood in the back and secretly let out a sigh of relief. Finally, it was their side's turn to serve. In the first two sets, Komi had been tormented by Hirugami and Suwa one after the other. Hoshiumi's serves were also awful to deal with, and then Inube had appeared too. His head had nearly exploded.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi must be feeling exactly the same way he had back then.
Haruki Komi was absolutely right. The moment Keiichiro Kanbayashi saw Bokuto walk up to the service line, his expression turned grim.
The mark Washio's spike had left on his arm was still there, and now it was Bokuto's turn. He really couldn't catch a break.
Bokuto tossed the volleyball up and down, then smacked it hard against the floor several times, making a loud bang, bang sound. With every bounce, Keiichiro Kanbayashi's heart trembled along with it.
"Beep--------!"
Finally, the referee's whistle for the serve sounded. Bokuto stopped what he was doing and properly prepared to serve.
Seeing Bokuto get ready, Keiichiro Kanbayashi tensed all over and settled into his receiving stance.
Bokuto tossed the volleyball up, then followed with his approach and jump, full of momentum.
"Bang!"
His palm struck the volleyball hard, and the ball shot out like a cannonball.
It flew with spin and a sharp arc.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi kept his eyes fixed on the volleyball, judged where it would land, and jogged to the right side of the court.
He bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and stretched out his arms to receive.
"Bang!"
The volleyball slammed into Keiichiro Kanbayashi's arms with a thunderous sound. Pain shot through him, and his expression twisted slightly. It felt like his arms were about to break.
"Keiichiro Kanbayashi! Get it up!"
Inube shouted from behind him.
When Keiichiro Kanbayashi heard Inube's voice, he tried with all his strength to lift his arms, but he still couldn't do it. The ball felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
In the end, the volleyball had already bounced off Keiichiro Kanbayashi's arms, and he still hadn't managed to keep it up.
"Hiss..."
Tendo watched Bokuto's serve and couldn't help rubbing his own arm. With his skinny arms and legs, if he tried blocking one of Bokuto's spikes, his arm would probably snap.
Ryosuke tilted his head as he watched Bokuto. He kept feeling that Bokuto-senpai's serve was already on par with Ushijima-senpai's. But if Ryosuke had to say whose serve was harder to receive between the two of them,
Ryosuke still thought Ushijima's serve was harder. After all, one was a left-handed serve and the other was right-handed. The spin was different, and left-handed serves were much rarer, so Ryosuke still felt Ushijima's serve was a little more troublesome.
Aran watched Bokuto's serve in thought. After a long while, he suddenly said to Ōmimi,
"Bokuto is about to reach a height we can't touch."
Ōmimi paused for a moment, then realized Aran was talking to him.
Then he smiled.
"I said it a long time ago. Bokuto is definitely going to go farther than us."
Hearing that, Aran let out a silent sigh. That was true. Bokuto would go farther than them. He was a genius, after all.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi was a little discouraged that he hadn't received the serve, but everyone else looked unsurprised. At the moment, the only person who could receive Bokuto's first serve right away was Komori, who was known as the "Number One Libero."
If Keiichiro Kanbayashi had received Bokuto's serve on the first try, then the throne of "Number One Libero" would have to be handed over to someone else.
Inube had known this from the start, but he still felt a little regretful.
He felt regretful inside, but he didn't show it on his face. He patted Keiichiro Kanbayashi on the shoulder and said,
"It's fine, it's fine. I was too impatient just now. Bokuto's serve is definitely hard to receive. Just focus on receiving it properly. Don't put pressure on yourself."
At that moment, Keiichiro Kanbayashi also felt a little sorry for wasting his captain's efforts. After all, his captain trusted him so much. Now that he heard his captain tell him not to feel pressured, Keiichiro Kanbayashi calmed down again. His greatest strength was that he listened to advice.
Suwa also walked over, looked at Keiichiro Kanbayashi, and said,
"Three serves at most. Once it gets to the third serve, even if you don't receive it, Bokuto will make a mistake."
At that, everyone turned to look at Suwa.
"How are you so sure?"
Hakuba draped an arm around Suwa's shoulders, his face full of confusion.
Suwa shrugged and removed Hakuba's arm from his shoulders.
"Just watch Bokuto's serves more. Every time he reaches the third serve, there's always a small mistake. If he doesn't make a mistake on the third serve, then he'll definitely make one on the fourth."
After hearing that, Hakuba stroked his chin with a serious expression.
"What do you call that? The 'Third-Serve Mistake Law'?"
Hakuba summarized what Suwa had just said.
"That's more or less what it means."
"All right, enough talking. Receive first. Let's see whether we can get the second serve up."
Inube walked over and pushed them back to their positions, one in each hand.
Seeing that, Keiichiro Kanbayashi also returned to his position and waited for Bokuto's second serve.
Did his receives all have to rely on Bokuto's mistakes? Keiichiro Kanbayashi thought. Of course he wasn't satisfied with that. He was going to receive Bokuto's serve on the second ball and break this "Third-Serve Mistake Law." He would make sure Bokuto never got a third serve.
Bokuto had no idea what everyone on Kamomedai had just been talking about. If he knew, he would definitely shout that there was no such thing, then secretly go practice his serves on the side.
He stood at the service line, tossing the volleyball up and down.
Keiji Akaashi and Haruki Komi cheered him on.
"Bokuto, one more!"
"Bokuto-senpai, go for it!"
Bokuto heard them cheering and turned to look at them, making an "OK" sign.
"Don't worry. I'll take this one too!"
Hearing Bokuto say that didn't reassure anyone. If anything, they became even more worried that he would make a mistake.
"Beep-----------!"
Bokuto's golden eyes fixed on Keiichiro Kanbayashi, like a bird of prey waiting for the chance to hunt. Keiichiro Kanbayashi stared right back, refusing to back down.
Bokuto licked his lips. Seeing that look in Keiichiro Kanbayashi's eyes made him incredibly excited. That was the look. That incredibly determined look. Every time he saw eyes like that, he wanted to serve as hard as he could and shatter that look.
Bokuto didn't know what was wrong with him. He had never told anyone about it.
If Takuro found out, he would probably only sigh and say, "No wonder you're a bird of prey."
Bokuto tossed the volleyball into the air, took his approach, jumped, and kicked off the floor. With a sharp whoosh, it was as if he had spread his wings and was about to take flight.
At the highest point of his jump, Bokuto swung hard at the volleyball.
"Bang!"
Keiichiro Kanbayashi's pupils shrank. Just from the sound, he could tell how powerful the serve was. And the volleyball was coming straight at his face. Keiichiro Kanbayashi felt as if he had been nailed in place, standing there without moving.
Only when the spinning volleyball reached right in front of him did Keiichiro Kanbayashi snap back to himself. He really didn't want to admit that he had been scared by that ball just now. How embarrassing.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi instantly pulled himself out of that emotion and took his receiving stance. His gaze became even more determined. He wanted to receive this ball and prove to everyone that he could do it without relying on Bokuto making a mistake.
Just as he thought that, the volleyball arrived before his eyes and dropped straight into his arms.
"Bang!"
The huge impact knocked Keiichiro Kanbayashi into a somersault. It was the kind of somersault done right on the spot. Part of it was because the ball was too powerful, and part of it was because rolling helped take some of the force off his arms.
The volleyball bounced up from Keiichiro Kanbayashi's arms.
Because Keiichiro Kanbayashi had fully prepared himself for this ball, it didn't fly all over the place when it rebounded. This time, Keiichiro Kanbayashi had truly pushed past his limits, forcing his arms to stay steady.
If he had moved carelessly, the ball would have bounced somewhere else.
"Nice one, Keiichiro Kanbayashi!"
"I've got it!"
When everyone saw Keiichiro Kanbayashi receive that ball, they would be lying if they said they weren't surprised.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi finished his somersault, looked up, and saw the ball he had just received flying upward. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. When he was rolling, he had thought there was an eighty percent chance he wouldn't be able to receive it. He had even thought it was lucky he hadn't bragged in front of everyone earlier, or he would have humiliated himself badly.
But in the end, he had gotten it up.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi held back his excitement and climbed up from the floor.
"Cover it!" he shouted as he got up.
Although the ball had been received successfully, the first pass still looked a little crooked.
Kazuyoshi Bessho immediately ran over.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi had bumped the ball to just in front of the three-meter line, still some distance from the net.
Seeing this, Hoshiumi and Suwa ran toward the net.
On the other side, Bokuto looked a little wronged when he saw his serve had been received and pouted slightly. In the end, though, his mood didn't shift much, and he ran with everyone else.
Everyone who had been secretly watching Bokuto breathed a sigh of relief. Bokuto's condition was stable. That was absolutely wonderful.
Everyone pulled their focus back and ran to block, while Bokuto and Konoha began their approaches from the back.
Kazuyoshi Bessho saw that Hoshiumi was once again blocked by Washio in front of the net, while Suwa had run to position two. His goal was to keep Konoha in check.
Kazuyoshi Bessho looked left and right, then felt that neither of them was suitable for an attack in this situation. So once again, his gaze shifted toward the small openings near the edges of the net.