Chapter 13: The Atmosphere on Both Sides
The height difference between the jump approach spike and the jump block was quite substantial.
Hyakuzawa Yudai's stature, which was 10 centimeters taller than the tallest Kitagawa Daiichi player, Kindaichi, also displayed his tremendous attacking power.
Relying on the massive momentum from the powerful overhead spike, the volleyball ruthlessly broke through the arms of the three blockers and flew straight toward the ground on Kitagawa Daiichi's side.
But suddenly, a swift figure darted out, holding their breath, and firmly received the powerful attack with their arms.
However, it was of no use, as the spiked ball that had broken through the block also sent the Kitagawa libero's arms flying, leaving a large, reddened mark.
The volleyball flew directly into the second-floor stands, where it was received by Karasuno's Sawamura Daichi, who was still observing the match.
"Wow, that was a powerful shot!! It flew so far even after breaking through the block!"
Sugawara Koshi was also taken aback by Hyakuzawa Yudai's crushing spike, as in his limited volleyball experience, he had never encountered a ball that could fly so far after being received.
"Yeah! That kind of shot is so cool, I want to hit one like that too!"
Tanaka Ryuunosuke eagerly nodded in agreement, like an excited chick.
"Ahem! Well, let's get the ball back down there, shall we?"
Sawamura Daichi, feeling the gazes around him, became a bit nervous and quickly returned the ball.
The three of them were spotted by Ichise Guren, who waved at them.
"Oh? Isn't that the captain from Yukigaoka waving at us?"
The observant Sugawara Koshi was the first to notice Ichise Guren's greeting.
After confirming that no one else was responding, he also waved back in response.
Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Sawamura Daichi hurriedly followed Sugawara's lead and politely waved back at Ichise Guren.
It looked just like the typical greeting exchange between middle school students and their high school upperclassmen.
Ichise Guren, seeing this, turned his attention back to the court, no longer focusing on them.
It was then that Daichi asked Sugawara.
"Sugawara, do you know that Yukigaoka captain?"
"No, I don't know him. I thought he was waving to you two."
The two of them then turned to look at the second-year, Tanaka Ryuunosuke.
Tanaka was also puzzled, "I haven't seen him before either. I thought he was someone you knew."
"Oh no, there aren't many people around us, and those two middle school girls didn't respond either. Quick, try to remember if any of you have met him before."
Sugawara Koshi was starting to feel awkward, urging the other two to think of where they might have seen Ichise Guren.
But the other two had no clue, and could only start racking their brains to try and remember.
Back on the court.
The score had smoothly progressed to 7:3, interrupting Kitagawa Daiichi's comeback momentum.
But at this moment, Kitagawa Daiichi called a timeout, their second and final timeout of the set.
Spectator A: "Oh? The championship candidate is already calling their second timeout in the first match, and they're still down 4 points."
Spectator B: "Whoa, Yukigaoka must be some kind of dark horse team to be doing this well against them."
"Kitagawa Daiichi won't get eliminated in the first set, will they?"
"I don't know, that nearly 2-meter tall guy from Yukigaoka seems really strong. I think they might actually win."
The surrounding spectators were buzzing with discussion.
In Kitagawa Daiichi's huddle, the coach let out a sigh. While they had just lost a point to that powerful spike, he wasn't disappointed.
Looking at the players in front of him, although they were behind, they hadn't lost their fighting spirit, and their desire for victory was only growing stronger.
Kitagawa's coach spoke with a smile on his face.
"You've all noticed it, haven't you?"
The captain, with a towel around his neck and taking a sip of water to catch his breath, picked up the coach's words.
"Yes, the opponents may look stronger at the start, and it seems like they have the advantage over us. But in reality, it's just that we were a bit unfamiliar with them at the beginning and underestimated them."
"Aside from those two taller players, they probably don't have any other strong attackers."
"While those two have formidable attacking power, the other players' fundamentals, their volleyball sense, and their spatial awareness are on a completely different level compared to us."
"In other words, as long as we don't lose to those two in direct attacks, the rest of our teammates can easily defeat the opponents."
Kageyama Tobio put down the water bottle he had been drinking from.
With a somewhat impatient tone, he spoke up.
"I've already identified the gaps in their defense. You guys just need to aim for the closest person to where I pass the ball."
"My sets will tell you whether to go for a dink or a spike, a straight line or a cross-court."
"I will win this match for us."
He then headed straight back to the court, seemingly not interested in continuing the discussion with his teammates.
"Kageyama! Don't be so hasty! You should trust your teammates a bit more!"
Kitagawa's coach called out to Kageyama Tobio, offering some guidance.
"...I know!"
Kageyama Tobio, faced with the coach's advice, still didn't seem to care much.
If he wasn't limited by the number of players allowed on the court, he would have wished for six of himself to play.
"..."
The teammates Kageyama had left behind looked at each other in silence.
There was a vague feeling growing within them.
"Kageyama is just so eager to win that he's getting impatient. He's still trying his best to find a way to win, after all."
The captain was the one who spoke up, trying to smooth things over for Kageyama.
Kindaichi quietly finished his water, wiped the sweat from his brow, and then also headed back to the court.
---
The atmosphere on Yukigaoka's side was much better than Kitagawa Daiichi's.
"Hahaha! We're really amazing, aren't we!"
"Making the national candidate team call two timeouts in the first match."
Hinata Shoyo was overjoyed, even though he hadn't gotten to touch the ball much. Just being able to play in an official match was enough to make him incredibly happy.
"Hey, Mori! Can you set me some balls later?"
"I want to score some points too!"
"Okay, please?"
Hinata Shoyo wasn't satisfied with just being on the court, and started pestering Mori, punching his shoulder, handing him water, and shaking him by the shoulders.
"Hi-na-ta, Sen-pai."
Mori was getting shaken so much that his voice was starting to quiver.
"Oh, Mori! Does that mean you've agreed?"
Hinata thought Mori had already agreed to his request.
Mori just shyly smiled, "I'll give scoring opportunities to whoever has the best chance, that's how we can achieve the ultimate victory."
"Getting caught up in the small wins on the edges is easy to get swallowed up by the opponents."
"Huh?"
Hinata was confused, not understanding what Mori was saying.
"Hahaha!"
Ichise Guren burst out laughing, stepping in between the two and putting one arm around Mori's shoulder and the other around Hinata's.
"Mori, I made the right choice in picking you as our setter. That big-picture perspective you've honed from playing Go is really impressive."
"It's thanks to Ichise-senpai's guidance and trust."
Mori quickly stood up and gave a slight bow to Ichise Guren.
"What? Why are you so polite to Ichise-senpai but treat me like a peer?"
"That's not fair!"
Hinata complained, quite unhappy about the difference in treatment.
Mori hurriedly tried to explain, "It's not that, I really respect Hinata-senpai too!"
"Alright, alright."
Ichise Guren clapped his hands, gathering everyone's attention.
He looked around, then started praising each player one by one.
"Mori!"
"You've performed excellently!"
"I still stand by what I said, choosing you as our setter was the right call."
"You have the qualities of a great setter within you. Continue to see our six players as the pieces on a chessboard!"
"Only a victory for the entire team is the true victory!"
"You're an even stronger 'king' than the 'king' of Kitagawa!"
Ichise Guren praised Mori, the first to be singled out.
Mori was a bit embarrassed, having the captain praise him in front of everyone like this, saying he was stronger than Kitagawa's "king". It was really quite overwhelming for him.
"Keep it up!"
Mori immediately stood up straight, his voice full of vigor as he responded with a loud "Yes!"
After encouraging him further, Ichise Guren then turned his gaze to Hyakuzawa Yudai.
"As always, Yudai!"
"Yes, Guren-nii!"
The cousin duo exchanged a smile, their tacit understanding rendering any further words unnecessary.
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