Akagi faced the serve head on. The ball was hurtling straight toward his face, and his feet felt nailed to the floor.
Wait, wasn't this supposed to be a hook serve? Why was it different from the last one?
Akagi wondered.
This serve really was different. It was considerably faster than the previous one, and its spinning curve was even more violent.
Although the ball was flying straight at him, Akagi only felt as though it was about to crush him. He quickly switched to shuffling steps, adjusting the distance and angle between his feet.
Akagi soon determined where the ball would land.
He bent his knees, lowered his body, and extended his arms, preparing to receive it underhand.
He kept his wrists and arms relaxed so that he could adjust their angle and position at any moment. A hook serve was simply too unpredictable.
While Akagi fine tuned every part of his posture, the volleyball arrived in front of him, barely half an arm's length away.
"Thud!"
The ball slammed hard into Akagi's arms.
The instant it made contact, Akagi could tell something was wrong. The force had struck his platform off center, and it felt as though the ball would spin away from his arms at any moment.
That was not a good sign.
As soon as Akagi registered that the ball was about to fly away, he immediately tried to lift his arms and send it upward.
A poor receiving angle could still be corrected, but once the ball's balance shifted, things became much harder. He had to get the first touch into the air and leave the adjustment to the setter.
Before Akagi could raise his arms, however, the volleyball had already rebounded off them.
At first glance, it looked as though he had successfully received it.
But after bouncing off Akagi's arms, the ball sailed far into the backcourt.
"Thud!"
It flew straight out of bounds, leaving the others no chance to save it.
The moment Atsumu Miya saw the ball fly away, he took off after it.
He could not catch up.
Akagi also spun around to chase it, but by the time he turned, the ball had already hit the floor.
Neither of them managed to reach it.
"Fweeeeeet!"
Point!
Ryosuke scored another service ace.
"Shiratorizawa scores again! That's Shiratorizawa for you! Ryosuke Hanyu, a first year from Shiratorizawa, has aimed two consecutive serves at Inarizaki's libero and scored both times against one of the nation's strongest teams! The score is now 8 to 5, with Shiratorizawa leading by three points!
"Shiratorizawa will continue serving! Let's see whether Ryosuke can score again with his next serve!"
Hearing the commentator over the speakers, Akagi wanted to rush over and cover his mouth.
Please stop talking.
Receiving a serve like this was already stressful enough. Having the commentator constantly draw attention to it only made Akagi feel worse.
After the whistle confirmed the point, Ryosuke turned toward Reon with sparkling eyes, clearly waiting to be praised.
Reon stared back at him in confusion.
Why was Ryosuke looking at him?
Ushijima understood first and spoke up.
"Ryosuke, that was a good serve."
Reon watched Ryosuke's eyes immediately light up. Ryosuke looked up at Ushijima and asked expectantly,
"Really?"
"Really."
"Really."
Ushijima and Reon answered at the same time.
Ryosuke pressed his lips together in a small smile. He was pleased, though he did not say so.
The happy little bob of his head had already betrayed him. Everyone watching from behind could tell how delighted he was, but no one pointed it out.
Coach Washijō shook his head from the sideline.
He was old enough to know better, yet he was still so childish.
After scoring with that serve, Ryosuke returned to the service line.
This would be his third serve of the set.
Akagi stood in Inarizaki's backcourt, staring fixedly at Ryosuke.
This was the third serve. If he could not receive it now, the ones after it would not be any easier. They might have no choice but to wait for Ryosuke to make an error.
The Inarizaki players no longer looked as relaxed as they had at the beginning of the match. Every one of them wore an extremely serious expression.
Coach Kurosu was equally tense on the sideline. His right hand was clenched into a fist against his trousers, and the smile he had worn while speaking to Coach Washijō earlier had completely disappeared.
That smile now belonged to Coach Washijō.
After seeing the second serve, Coach Washijō knew Ryosuke was in good form today.
At the very least, he should be able to score four points with his serve.
That was no exaggeration. When Ryosuke was at his best, even Yamagata could not receive his serves.
"I already knew Ryosuke's hook serve was incredible, but watching it in a match makes it seem almost ridiculously strong."
Haruki Komi rubbed his head in frustration.
Whenever he thought about the possibility of facing Shiratorizawa later in the tournament, he could not stop himself from studying Ryosuke's serve. Yet every time he watched, he could find no useful clues beyond the differences in Ryosuke's preparatory motions.
Once the volleyball left his hand, it became something else entirely.
Every one of Ryosuke's serves flew in an unexpected way. Haruki Komi had already guessed the landing point incorrectly twice.
Hearing Haruki Komi muttering, Sakusa turned toward Komori.
"How many serves would it take before you could receive one?"
Komori was also studying Ryosuke's serve. He paused at Sakusa's question, then turned toward him.
After seriously considering his chances, Komori suddenly realized that he could not give a definite number.
"It's hard to say. It depends on his condition. Of the serves he's hit so far, the first one was actually the easiest to receive. His touch probably wasn't quite right yet, so there was a small mistake.
"By the second serve, he had adjusted his touch, so it became much harder to receive. His third serve should be when he reaches his peak. By the fourth and fifth, his form usually starts to decline because he can't maintain it."
After Komori finished, Sakusa gave him a strange look, as though he were staring at some kind of monster.
How could anyone analyze the condition of every single serve in such detail?
Wasn't that a little freakish?
Fortunately, Komori had no idea what Sakusa was thinking. Had he known, he might have coughed up blood from sheer anger.
What did he mean by freakish?
Someone like Sakusa, who practically wanted to grow another pair of eyes just so he could keep them fixed on Ryosuke, was the real freak.
Even Komori, the top libero, could not say with certainty which serve he would be able to receive. Haruki Komi certainly did not dare make such a claim.
Sakusa watched Ryosuke standing at the service line, and a flame seemed to ignite in his eyes.
It was the fighting spirit that came from meeting an evenly matched opponent, mixed with admiration for Ryosuke himself and an affection he could not put into words.
To Sakusa, Ryosuke looked dazzling as he stood at the service line.
The boy who had always followed behind him had now caught up and stepped in front of him.
The satisfaction of watching him grow was impossible to describe.
The moment the service whistle sounded, Ryosuke raised the volleyball and tossed it into the air.
His waist drove his body through the rotation, and his right wrist snapped over the ball.
"Thwack!"
The volleyball flew out with powerful topspin.
It headed toward Akagi on the opposite court.
After facing the first two serves, Akagi had mostly adjusted to Ryosuke's rhythm. He ran toward the landing point he had predicted, using shuffling steps so he could alter his distance and angle at any moment.
He extended both arms, ready to receive the ball underhand.
The volleyball tore into Inarizaki's court at tremendous speed, carrying a fierce spin.
Akagi narrowed his eyes so that he could see it more clearly.
After crossing the net, the ball did not head toward Akagi's original position. This serve had not been aimed directly at him.
It did not matter who Ryosuke was targeting. Akagi intended to receive it.
As the ball approached, Akagi realized that its landing point differed slightly from his prediction, though he had correctly judged the general direction.
He adjusted his footing with a quick shuffle and relaxed his body. That way, he could react instantly when the ball made contact.
"Thud!"
The volleyball grew larger and larger in Akagi's vision before slamming into his arms.
The instant he touched it, his body changed from loose and relaxed to rigid as steel.
Akagi immediately began lifting his arms. It looked as though he was about to keep the ball in play.
Every Inarizaki player wore a tense expression.
If Akagi failed to receive this one as well, the gap between the two teams would become too large.
The ball struck Akagi's arms and rebounded straight off them.
His arms had barely begun to rise when they met nothing but empty air.
"Damn it!"
Akagi cursed in frustration.
It was just like the previous serve. He should have been able to receive it, yet the ball had still escaped him.
Carried by the force of its rebound, the volleyball flew toward the backcourt again.
Akagi turned and chased it. Aran, who was positioned behind him, ran after it as well.
The two sprinted after the ball together, recreating the previous point almost exactly.
Once again, neither of them caught up.
The ball flew rapidly toward the boundary, then suddenly dropped just inside the line, as though it had eyes of its own.
"Fweeeeeet!"
"Three consecutive service points for Shiratorizawa! What an astonishing performance! Ryosuke, Shiratorizawa's first year standout, has scored three times in a row with his serve, and Inarizaki's libero has made another receiving error!
"Could Ryosuke score five points in a row? Let's look forward to his next serve!"
Scoring this many service points against Inarizaki was already an impressive achievement, but Ryosuke wanted much more.
"Fweet, fweet!"
Just as Ryosuke turned around to seek praise from his teammates, the referee blew the whistle for a timeout.
Ryosuke immediately whipped his head back around, the curl of hair on top of his head tracing an arc through the air.
Coach Kurosu had finally lost patience and called a timeout.
If Ryosuke continued serving, no one could say how many more points he might score. The gap was already large enough, and Coach Kurosu had no choice but to intervene.
Ryosuke's touch was at its hottest. Letting him serve again could cost Inarizaki several more points.
Coach Kurosu had timed the timeout perfectly.
Ryosuke had felt that his touch was excellent and believed he had at least two more good serves in him. The sudden timeout caught him off guard, leaving a trace of disappointment on his face.
"It's all right. You'll get another turn to serve later."
Yamagata seemed to understand exactly what Ryosuke was thinking. He walked over and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
Ryosuke could only nod.
Ushijima and Reon followed behind Ryosuke as they left the court. From a distance, it looked as though he had two bodyguards escorting him.
"His potential is limitless."
Coach Aaron watched from the stands as Ryosuke walked off surrounded by his teammates, his voice filled with emotion.
Every era had its geniuses.
Soon, it would be these children's era.
Sitting in the stands, Oikawa recalled Ryosuke's serves and could not help drawing a sharp breath. He grabbed Iwaizumi's arm.
"That was terrifying, Iwa-chan! How did Ryosuke's serve become this powerful? He's almost surpassed the Great King Oikawa!"
In Oikawa's mind, Ryosuke had once been nothing more than a somewhat talented underclassman from Shiratorizawa.
Now, he had already grown into a Demon King level server.
His progress was far too fast.
Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa's arm away in disgust.
"Ryosuke was already amazing. And what do you mean, he's almost surpassed you? As far as serving goes, I'd say Ryosuke has already passed you."
"Damn it! Iwa-chan, even if you know that, you don't have to say it! You're going to hurt my feelings!"
Iwaizumi sighed wearily.
He really did not want to speak to Oikawa anymore.
Talking to him was like soothing a child. When he was happy, he became unbearably smug. When he was upset, he threw a tantrum.
Iwaizumi realized that his patience had improved considerably. Somehow, he had resisted kicking Oikawa to the floor immediately.
That thought made Iwaizumi reflect.
Had he been treating Oikawa too kindly lately?
Perhaps it was time to straighten him out.
Oikawa had been sitting peacefully when a sudden chill ran down his back.
He shuddered and hugged his shoulders, looking around in confusion. In the end, he blamed the gymnasium's air conditioning for being too cold.
He immediately began making a fuss.
"Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan, I'm freezing! Hurry up and give me your shirt!"
A vein bulged on Iwaizumi's forehead.
It was the middle of summer, and everyone was wearing only a short sleeved shirt. If he took his off and gave it to Oikawa, what was he supposed to wear?
Was he supposed to sit there like a beggar?
In the end, Iwaizumi could no longer restrain himself and drove his fist into the top of Oikawa's head.
The blow left Oikawa seeing stars.
Hirugami silently watched the entire exchange from beside them.
He felt like laughing, but he managed to hold it back.
Hirugami rarely laughed unless he truly could not contain himself.
Meanwhile, both teams were using the timeout to discuss their next moves, especially Inarizaki.
"Man, that serve is ridiculously hard to receive. When I watched Ryosuke from the stands, I only thought his serve was incredible. Now that I'm actually trying to receive it, I've realized it's beyond incredible.
"It's practically impossible. Every time the ball hits my arms and I try to lift them, it's already flown away."
Akagi clutched his head in anguish, his face twisted with misery after being tormented by Ryosuke's serves.
Receiving in a match at this level was stressful enough on its own. Failing to keep the ball in play made the pressure even worse.
Akagi felt as though he was about to lose his mind.
...
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