With a simple lift of Kazuyoshi Bessho's hands, the volleyball was sent into the air.
The instant he set the ball, Hoshiumi sprang up from behind him.
The contact point was a little high.
That was Hoshiumi's first thought after taking off, but he quickly understood why.
A higher contact point was only natural for a back-row attack.
Hoshiumi rarely attacked from the back row. He preferred battling his opponents above the net, and the back row was too far from it. As a result, almost no one had ever seen him perform a back-row attack.
On the other side, Washio sensed that something was wrong. By now, the ball should already have been spiked toward them.
As Washio moved across the court in confusion, Bokuto came rushing up from behind him and shouted,
"Back-row attack from position three!"
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Washio's body. He took several long strides, shaking off Suwa's obstruction, and finally saw someone in Kamomedai's backcourt preparing to jump and spike.
Suwa frowned, which was rare for him. If he had managed to delay Washio by just one more second, the blockers would not have had time to react.
Hoshiumi naturally saw Washio emerge from behind Suwa as well. His brow immediately furrowed.
Washio was not easy to deal with.
If only Hirugami were here.
Before that thought had even faded, Hoshiumi saw Hakuba suddenly appear in front of Washio.
Hakuba positioned his entire body in Washio's line of sight, trying to block his view.
Hoshiumi felt briefly touched, then chose to spike toward position two instead.
As long as they kept Washio occupied at position three, there was no need to aim the spike directly at him.
"Bang!"
Hoshiumi swung his right arm and spiked the ball.
It was only a back-row attack. As long as the ball cleared the net, it would count as a success. Besides, his teammates had already blocked the opposing blockers' view for him.
The volleyball flew toward position two.
Whether Hoshiumi had relaxed too soon or Fukurōdani had anticipated the attack from the start, the ball never reached the floor on their side.
Keiji Akaashi, who had been watching Kazuyoshi Bessho closely, and Bokuto, who had started his approach from the back without anyone noticing, jumped in perfect unison, as though they had planned it beforehand.
They stretched both hands forward side by side.
Bokuto stared intently at the volleyball.
He absolutely could not let this ball score.
"Bang!"
The volleyball struck Keiji Akaashi's fingertips.
Perhaps because Kazuyoshi Bessho's set had been slightly higher than usual, Hoshiumi had also jumped a little higher.
Had he attacked from his normal contact point, the block would have shut him down completely.
The moment Hoshiumi saw his spike get blocked, his expression darkened.
According to his plan, that attack should have scored immediately.
"One touch!"
Feeling the ball brush his fingertips, Keiji Akaashi shouted without looking back.
At that moment, Hoshiumi was truly grateful that Kazuyoshi Bessho had set the ball so high.
Thank goodness.
They still had a chance to save it.
After landing, Hoshiumi backed up several steps to prepare for another approach.
On Fukurōdani's side, the ball had crossed the net after touching the block.
Haruki Komi appeared at the rear right of the court almost instantly. He bent his knees, extended his arms, and received the ball.
Then he sent it straight toward Bokuto.
There was no need for Keiji Akaashi, their setter, to touch it at all.
Seeing this, Bokuto retreated several steps and began his approach from the backcourt.
Across from him, Hoshiumi started his approach at the same time.
No one else on either team took part in this exchange.
This was a battle between the two aces.
Bokuto prepared to spike, while Hoshiumi prepared to block.
Everyone had a feeling that the match would end here.
Bokuto saw Hoshiumi charging toward the net, clearly intending to block him.
If this attack failed to score, Kamomedai would still have a chance.
If it scored, the match would be over.
Kamomedai had entrusted this decisive ball, the one that would determine their fate, to Hoshiumi.
The volleyball flew toward the net at tremendous speed.
Bokuto chased it down and reached the net just as Hoshiumi arrived from the other side.
They both looked up at the ball and jumped at the same time.
Bokuto rose into the air and drew back his right arm.
Seeing this, Hoshiumi extended both arms straight above the net, determined to stop him.
"Hoshiumi can't block it."
Ryosuke glanced at Hoshiumi's block and spoke with absolute certainty.
There was no way he could stop this attack.
Even Hirugami could not completely block Bokuto's spikes. At most, Hoshiumi might manage a touch, but there was still a very high chance that Bokuto would score.
The moment Hoshiumi jumped, Keiichiro Kanbayashi had already moved into position behind him.
If Hoshiumi failed to stop the spike, Keiichiro Kanbayashi would still have a chance to receive it.
Hoshiumi saw Bokuto's arm swinging toward the sharp diagonal, so he angled one hand outward and reached over the net.
In the next instant, Bokuto changed the angle and direction of his swing in midair.
Instead of hitting the cross shot he had initially shown, he shifted into the motion for a net-hitting spike.
Hoshiumi had expected something like this.
Bokuto used net-hitting spikes often, and their scoring rate was extremely high.
In this situation, Hoshiumi had no way to block the ball. All he could do was trust Keiichiro Kanbayashi behind him.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi also recognized Bokuto's movement from the backcourt and immediately dove toward Hoshiumi's feet.
"Bang!"
The volleyball did not strike the floor.
It landed in Keiichiro Kanbayashi's palm and bounced straight upward.
Hoshiumi and Bokuto landed at the same time, then crouched simultaneously, preparing to jump again.
The ball rose vertically above the net.
Bokuto and Hoshiumi jumped once more, both fighting for control of the ball.
Although they took off almost simultaneously, there was still a slight difference.
Hoshiumi was more agile, so his takeoff was a fraction faster. Bokuto was only a few tenths of a second behind him, a difference almost impossible to see with the naked eye.
They reached above the net at nearly the same moment.
Both of them pressed their hands against the volleyball.
Then they exerted all their strength, each trying to force the ball down onto the other side of the court.
Everyone outside the court held their breath and watched in silence.
The spectators seemed to realize what was happening as well. No one dared make a sound.
Hoshiumi pushed against Bokuto's palm with all his strength, the veins in his arms bulging beneath his skin.
Off the court, Hirugami clenched his fists and stared fixedly at Hoshiumi and the ball.
Bokuto felt the force pressing against his palm and immediately pushed back.
Unlike Hoshiumi, who was trying to overpower Bokuto's hand and force the volleyball straight down, Bokuto did not care how the ball reached the floor.
As long as it landed, they would score.
Bokuto quietly increased the pressure through his hand.
Then he used his fingertips to make the ball spin off Hoshiumi's palm.
Hoshiumi suddenly felt the ball slip away from his hand.
His heart jolted.
He lowered his head and saw the volleyball about to hit the floor, and panic immediately surged through him.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi had only just scrambled back to his feet when he saw the ball falling again.
His expression twisted in alarm as he tried to dive for another save.
But while Hoshiumi and Bokuto had been battling over the ball, the players from both teams had rushed toward the net.
On Kamomedai's side, Suwa and Inube were now blocking Keiichiro Kanbayashi's path.
He had no room to reach the ball.
The volleyball's descent seemed both unbelievably fast and painfully slow.
Still spinning, it fell toward the floor.
Inube watched the volleyball drop toward the floor and stepped forward, ready to throw himself down for the save.
This was his final match in high school. Was it really going to end here...?
Inube still could not bring himself to accept it.
"Bang!"
The volleyball hit the floor...
At the sound, everyone on both sides stopped moving, as though someone had pressed pause.
"Beeep, beeep, beeep--------------------!!"
Only when the referee's whistle sounded did everyone finally realize that the match was over.
"We... won?"
Haruki Komi straightened up and rubbed his waist, asking with some uncertainty.
Keiji Akaashi nodded calmly, but fireworks were already exploding inside his head.
That match had been unbelievably tough.
"That school is amazing."
"Right? I think so too. Let's go there when we start high school."
Voices finally rose from the stands, which had mostly served as a silent backdrop until now. Most of them, however, were cheers celebrating Fukurōdani's victory.
"That was incredible, Fukurōdani!"
"Kōtarō Bokuto, great game!"
"Fukurōdani is amazing because they have you!"
The commentator had been ready to announce the result as soon as he heard the whistle confirming the point.
Before he could even speak, however, the stands erupted into deafening cheers.
Even with the PA system, the commentator could not make himself heard over the crowd.
"We won!"
When Bokuto heard the whistle, he froze for a moment before starting back toward his position, ready for the next rally. He still thought the match was continuing.
Only after Konoha stopped him and explained did Bokuto finally realize that the match was already over.
"That concludes all matches in the Round of 16. In the final match, Fukurōdani defeated Kamomedai 26 to 24 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Kamomedai fell short by two points, suffering a narrow defeat to Fukurōdani. We hope Kamomedai can regroup and return stronger next year."
The commentator saw that the atmosphere in the arena was still electric. Since the match was already over, he decided that briefly announcing the result was enough and said nothing more, leaving the remaining time to the players and spectators.
They still needed to prepare their script for the next match.
The atmosphere on Kamomedai's side was far from cheerful.
Hoshiumi stared down at where the final ball had landed, then at Keiichiro Kanbayashi and Inube lying on the floor. It took him a long time to come back to his senses.
The match... was over?
Inube sighed and pushed himself to his feet. Even though he had known this outcome was possible, he still could not help feeling bitter.
Once he was standing, he reached out to Keiichiro Kanbayashi, who was still sprawled on the floor, and pulled him up.
"Are you all right, Keiichiro?"
Inube asked quietly.
Keiichiro Kanbayashi weakly took Inube's hand and rose to his feet. Faced with Inube's concerned gaze, he shook his head.
"I'm fine. I'm just completely drained."
After answering, he secretly glanced at Hoshiumi from the corner of his eye.
Inube naturally noticed. He looked at Hoshiumi, who was standing with his head lowered, and opened his mouth, but he could not think of anything comforting to say.
Suwa and Kazuyoshi Bessho exchanged a glance before walking over and gathering around Hoshiumi.
No one said a word, but their actions seemed to tell him that they were all still there.
Hoshiumi stood motionless with his head bowed, lost in thought. When he finally came back to himself and looked up, he found that his teammates had gathered around him without his noticing.
Everyone watched him cautiously, seemingly afraid that he might be taking the loss badly.
When Suwa saw Hoshiumi raise his head, he opened his mouth to comfort him.
Hoshiumi spoke first.
"I know you want to comfort me, but you don't need to. I accept this loss. I simply wasn't good enough."
After saying that, Hoshiumi pressed his lips together, clearly struggling with something. Finally, he closed his eyes and bowed deeply to everyone at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
"I'm sorry! I let all of you down! Next time..."
Hoshiumi wanted to say that next time, he would definitely defeat Fukurōdani.
But for the third-years, there would be no next time.
"Next time, you have to win back our share too, Hoshiumi."
Inube looked at him and spoke gently.
The moment Hoshiumi heard his voice, he straightened sharply and answered at the top of his lungs.
"Yes!!"
Tears shimmered in his eyes. Even the ever-proud Little Giant had finally learned to bow his head and admit his failure.
Hoshiumi could not explain exactly why he felt so miserable.
Perhaps he was ashamed that he had failed to block that crucial ball. Perhaps he was upset that he had failed to lead the team to victory. Or perhaps he simply could not bear to part with his third-year Senpai.
Hirugami had hurried over to comfort Hoshiumi, only to arrive in time to see him bowing to everyone.
His steps slowed to a stop, and he stood a short distance away, watching Hoshiumi in silence.
He watched Hoshiumi apologize to his teammates, his eyes full of tears even as he stubbornly refused to cry. For a moment, Hirugami was overwhelmed with emotion.
Hoshiumi had grown up.
He had become someone capable of taking responsibility.
Aaron looked at Hoshiumi on the court, fighting back tears, and at the teammates gathered around trying to comfort him. He let out a long sigh.
They still had not managed to win the match.
But it was enough that the children had learned something from it. Perhaps they had learned a new skill, or perhaps they had learned about unity and responsibility.
Either way, this match had not been for nothing.
Seeing that his team had won, Takuro smiled sincerely. Then he turned toward Aaron, who was still lost in thought, and spoke with feigned modesty.
"You gave us a good match. Fukurōdani won again this year. Hahahaha!"
Aaron's brows drew together as he glared at Takuro.
That damned old man was always showing off. One of these days, he was going to laugh so hard he stopped breathing.
Aaron viciously cursed Takuro in his mind.
Takuro laughed by himself for a while, but when he realized no one was paying him any attention, he stopped and shrugged in boredom.
Banter really was only fun with two people. There was no enjoyment in doing it alone.
"Hey, hey, hey!!"
Bokuto raised both arms high and cheered.
With his hands held above his head and everyone watching, Bokuto suddenly remembered the new celebration he had prepared earlier.
Bokuto was a man of action. The moment an idea entered his head, he immediately acted on it.
He prepared to start doing somersaults.
Konoha's eyelid twitched as he watched Bokuto move.
He had a terrible feeling that something was about to happen.
The next second, he saw Bokuto walk toward the entrance to the court, raise both hands, and assume a starting pose.
At first, Konoha had no idea what he was doing.
Then Bokuto began his first somersault, and Konoha immediately realized that something was terribly wrong.