"All right, it's fine. The coach already called a timeout, didn't he? Once it's over, his touch probably won't be as good as before."
Aran cautiously tried to comfort Akagi, but his words only made Akagi feel worse. Sniffling, Akagi said,
"That makes me feel even worse. If the only reason I can receive his serve is because he makes a mistake, that's just humiliating."
Aran fell silent.
Forget it. He should probably stop talking.
Atsumu Miya was right. He really was terrible at comforting people.
Shinsuke Kita had been standing behind Akagi with his arms crossed while he spoke. He could not understand why Akagi thought that way.
If he could not receive the ball, then he needed to find a way to receive it. As long as he kept it in play, that was a good thing.
Of course, Shinsuke Kita would never say that to Akagi so directly.
He spoke from behind him.
"Akagi, I know you can receive the next one. You can, right?"
The moment Akagi heard Shinsuke Kita's voice, he shot to his feet.
He stood up so quickly that his vision went black and he nearly collapsed again. Fortunately, Aran reached out and steadied him.
Akagi rubbed his knees, which had gone numb from crouching, and grimaced at Shinsuke Kita.
He knew Shinsuke Kita had not been asking for his opinion.
What he meant was that Akagi had better receive the next serve, or he would have to deal with the consequences.
"I'll definitely receive it!"
Sometimes, a single sentence from Shinsuke Kita worked better than all of Aran's patient reassurance.
Only after hearing the certainty in Akagi's voice did Shinsuke Kita nod and return to his seat.
In Shinsuke Kita's eyes, Akagi was a good kid. He was also an excellent libero and undoubtedly talented.
He had only one flaw.
Akagi was far too easygoing in both his personality and the way he handled things. Without someone pushing him, he might start slacking off. Or, as in today's match, when he encountered an exceptionally strong opponent, his confidence would gradually fall apart.
At first, he would believe he could receive the serve no matter how difficult it was. After failing on the second attempt, he would begin doubting himself and wondering whether he could really handle it.
If he failed a third time, Akagi would simply give up. He would start shouting that he was not as good as the other player and that the serve was impossible to receive.
That part of Akagi's personality gave Shinsuke Kita a constant headache.
Eventually, he discovered that the best way to handle Akagi was to be firm with him. He needed to make Akagi believe the next ball absolutely had to be received. Then Akagi's condition and mindset would return to what they had been before the first serve.
It had taken Shinsuke Kita many attempts to discover this little secret.
His words just now had completely played Akagi into the palm of his hand.
Over on Shiratorizawa's side, the others were preparing Ryosuke in advance.
Reon hesitated, but eventually decided to speak frankly. What worried him was not whether Ryosuke would score with his next serve. He was more concerned that Ryosuke might feel disappointed if he failed.
"Ryosuke, the opposing coach just called a timeout, so your touch might not be as good as it was before. You might make a mistake, or your next serve might not score."
Ryosuke looked up at Reon in confusion.
He understood all of that, and he was not upset at all.
He had only been thinking about how to control the landing point of his serve more precisely.
Before Ryosuke could finish thinking it through, Reon had launched into a long explanation, leaving him completely bewildered.
"Don't worry. Ryosuke's mentality is steadier than yours."
Eita Semi had appeared behind Reon at some point.
He truly wanted to complain about him. Reon looked exactly like an anxious old father fussing endlessly over his child.
"I'm fine. If I could keep serving forever, the match would've ended a long time ago."
Ryosuke knew perfectly well that he could not continue serving indefinitely.
If he could, he would already be a world champion.
Only then did Reon breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hmph. If he were the kind of player who fell apart over one bad serve, I would've kicked him out of Shiratorizawa long ago."
Coach Washijō spoke from the side without bothering to lower his voice. He knew Ryosuke was not the kind of person who would be hurt by a few harsh words.
Sure enough, Ryosuke did not get angry when he heard him. Instead, he smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Coach Washijō is right."
Only then did Coach Washijō's expression improve slightly.
Coach Kurosu's timeout had put him in a bad mood.
Why call a timeout during a match? Would it not have been better to keep playing? If he was so capable, he should have let the match continue without interrupting it.
What truly irritated Coach Washijō was that the timeout had broken Ryosuke's serving rhythm.
Before Reon spoke, Coach Washijō had seen Ryosuke lowering his head and thought he was genuinely disappointed.
Only after hearing Ryosuke say he understood did Coach Washijō finally relax.
The others also breathed varying degrees of relief.
Without realizing it, they had already come to regard Ryosuke as an extremely important member of the team.
"Fweet, fweet!"
Reon was about to say more when the whistle signaling the end of the timeout rang out. He immediately closed his mouth.
Ryosuke returned to the court with the others.
Tendo called out from behind him.
"Ryosuke!"
"Hm?"
Ryosuke turned around in confusion.
Tendo grinned.
"Ryosuke, if you don't get another chance to serve, keep your eyes on those twins and shut them down."
Ryosuke did not understand why Tendo wanted him to block the two Miya-senpai, but since Tendo had said so, there had to be a reason.
He nodded seriously, as though he had just been entrusted with an extremely important mission.
Then he turned and walked onto the court without looking back, his steps carrying no trace of hesitation.
Both teams returned to the court.
Under everyone's gaze, Ryosuke walked back to the service line.
The spectators erupted into cheers once again, calling out his name.
"Go, go, Shiratorizawa!"
"Ryosuke Hanyu!"
"Handsome!"
Audiences loved talented players who were also good-looking. They were enjoyable to watch even when they were simply standing still.
Ryosuke was especially popular.
The way he looked at the volleyball made it seem as though he were gazing at a lover he was about to be separated from forever. That expression left countless young girls completely spellbound.
"After this match, everyone will remember Ryosuke's name. He won't just be known as Shiratorizawa's talented first year anymore. His name will stand on its own. He is Ryosuke Hanyu."
Kuroo leaned back in his seat as he spoke, never taking his eyes off Ryosuke on the court.
Sure enough, the world belonged to geniuses.
Ordinary people like him were never destined to go very far.
"Kuroo, what kind of disgusting thoughts are you having now?"
The moment Kenma saw Kuroo's expression, he knew he had started thinking nonsense again.
It was probably something along the lines of how he could not compare to others, how he was only an ordinary person, and how reaching this point was already good enough for him.
Kenma's voice pulled Kuroo out of his thoughts.
Smiling, Kuroo reached over and ruffled Kenma's hair.
"I was thinking about making you apple pie when we get back."
Kuroo was not particularly good at cooking, but apple pie was definitely his specialty.
Kenma wrinkled his nose.
"Kuroo is lying."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm really not."
"Hmph."
After the two childish idiots finished arguing, they returned their full attention to the match.
Ryosuke looked at Akagi across the court and silently repeated the same thought to himself.
He had to get the placement right.
He had to get the placement right.
Ryosuke desperately wanted to gain control over where his serve landed.
If he could never control its placement, even the most powerful weapon would eventually become uncontrollable.
Ryosuke took a deep breath and tossed the ball into the air. Using his waist as the center of his strength, he twisted his body through the motion.
He snapped his right wrist, wrapped his palm around the lower half of the volleyball, and struck it with all his strength.
"Bang!"
The volleyball flew toward Akagi's side of the court.
Akagi immediately adjusted his position and ran toward the predicted landing point.
The moment Ryosuke began moving, Akagi's mind had already started analyzing the serve.
He was gradually becoming accustomed to it.
The spinning volleyball flew toward Atsumu Miya, who immediately moved aside to clear a path for Akagi.
The ball was fast, and Akagi ran just as quickly. Once he started sprinting, it felt as though his legs no longer belonged to him.
As soon as Atsumu Miya moved away, Akagi followed behind him and launched himself forward.
This was neither an underhand receive nor an overhead one.
It was a diving save.
Akagi had thought the ball would escape him again, but to his surprise, the spinning volleyball struck the back of his hand with considerable force.
"Thud!"
He actually kept it in play!
The receive was crooked and unstable, but the ball still went up.
In that split second, inspiration struck Akagi.
He felt as though he had finally figured out how to handle this kind of serve.
For some reason, receiving a hook serve with a dive seemed much easier.
The volleyball flew high into the air.
Atsumu Miya immediately turned and moved to adjust to it, while Osamu Miya began his approach.
They had been waiting a long time for this chance.
They had to score.
Once they took this point, the entire team's momentum would change.
The ball had rebounded fairly high. Atsumu Miya craned his neck to follow it, but the ceiling lights shone directly into his eyes, making them sting.
He narrowed his eyes uncomfortably, then found the ball again.
The moment he located it, Atsumu Miya jumped, raised both hands above his head, and set toward Osamu Miya.
Osamu Miya had already begun his approach while Atsumu Miya chased the ball.
He intended to spike the set at the earliest possible moment.
As Osamu Miya approached, Tsutomu Goshiki and Reon also moved into position.
Before Osamu Miya could attack, the two of them had already accurately sealed off his hitting route.
Neither had jumped yet, however, because Osamu Miya had not jumped either.
They remained poised at the net, watching him closely and waiting for the attack.
Tsutomu Goshiki deliberately glanced toward Atsumu Miya and saw that he had not yet released the set.
He turned his attention back to Osamu Miya.
In the next instant, Osamu Miya jumped.
Tsutomu Goshiki stared in complete confusion.
Even Reon's eyes filled with questions.
Was this supposed to be a timing attack?
If so, was he not jumping far too early?
As expected, neither Tsutomu Goshiki nor Reon followed him into the air.
Both assumed it had to be a feint, so neither jumped.
To their surprise, the moment Osamu Miya rose, the ball flashed past the edge of Tsutomu Goshiki's arm and was slammed downward.
Reon reacted immediately and jumped.
He swore it was the fastest he had ever taken off for a block in his life.
"Thud!"
His block had no real effect.
He barely managed to brush the edge of the ball.
The volleyball struck the floor with a loud impact.
"Fweeeeeet!"
The referee blew the whistle and awarded the point.
Tsutomu Goshiki remained rooted to the spot, staring at the ball.
What had just happened?
Had the volleyball not still been in Atsumu Miya's hands a moment ago?
How had it suddenly reached Osamu Miya?
Did Osamu Miya not even need to look back?
Was this some kind of special understanding shared between twins?
Tsutomu Goshiki was completely stunned.
That set had been unbelievably fast.
What was that?
It was so cool!
"Woohoo! Pig Osamu, that was awesome!"
Osamu Miya turned to look at Atsumu Miya as he ran over. He did not bother objecting to the nickname.
The two cast provocative looks at Tsutomu Goshiki and Reon across the net, then exchanged a high five.
At that moment, the twins wore exactly the same expression.
They looked equally smug and irritating.
Reon scratched his hair, then gave the twins a thumbs-up.
"As expected of twins."
"Of course."
"It's called telepathy."
Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya were clearly delighted by Reon's praise and Tsutomu Goshiki's stunned expression.
"Great work, you two!"
Aran stepped forward and threw an arm around each of their shoulders.
They had finally ended Ryosuke's serving rotation.
Relief was written all over Aran's face.
Reon led Tsutomu Goshiki back toward their positions.
Ryosuke hurried over and circled around Tsutomu Goshiki as he comforted him.
"It's okay, Tsutomu Goshiki. We'll get the next one."
Even though his own serving rotation had just ended, Ryosuke had still rushed over to comfort Tsutomu Goshiki.
Tsutomu Goshiki immediately cheered up.
He could feel how much Ryosuke valued him.
"That was nothing! I'll definitely win the next point back!"
A single sentence from Ryosuke had restored Tsutomu Goshiki's spirits.
Watching from beside them, Reon was amazed.
Ryosuke brought Tsutomu Goshiki back to his position.
Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya felt immensely satisfied by their reactions.
At last, they could relax.
It was now Aran's turn to serve for Inarizaki.
The others had not seen much of Aran's serve, but Ryosuke had studied it in the team materials.
Aran's specialty was a powerful jump serve.
A serve like that should not be too difficult for Yamagata-senpai.
"Aran, we're counting on you."
Omimi solemnly handed the volleyball to Aran.
Aran waved his hand with a sheepish smile.
"Don't say it like that. What if I mess up?"
"Oh, come on. I know you can do it."
"If Aran can't serve, then the rest of us are hopeless."
Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya stood on either side of Aran, encouraging him.
Aran was excellent in almost every respect.
He simply lacked confidence sometimes.
After receiving everyone's encouragement, he visibly settled down.
Despite having a face that made him look steady and mature, Aran was actually just as childish as Atsumu Miya on the inside.
He simply did not show it as often.
He also became insecure from time to time, and everyone on the team knew it.
Carrying his teammates' expectations, Aran walked to the service line.
Since everyone believed in him so much, he had to do his best.
He could not disappoint them.
That was what Aran told himself.
Once he was ready, the referee blew the whistle.
"Fweeeeeet!"
After the whistle sounded, Aran bounced the volleyball hard against the floor several times.
Once he was satisfied with the feel of it, he fixed his eyes on Yamagata in Shiratorizawa's backcourt and prepared to serve.
...
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