Yamagata picked up the ball at his feet, but his movement was off, and the pass sailed straight over to the other side.
Tsutomu Goshiki reacted instantly, darting forward to tap over a quick tip and cleanly take the point.
"Ryosuke! You're seriously amazing!" After scoring, Tsutomu Goshiki hovered around Ryosuke in excitement.
His teammate was just too incredible—great reach, great receptions, great tactics. An absolute role model! Tsutomu Goshiki's eyes sparkled so brightly that the enthusiasm in them practically threatened to burn a hole through Ryosuke.
Ryosuke Cat really couldn't handle this level of passion. His face flushed red like a tomato.
Honestly, Ryosuke felt that once he became a regular, the only person he wouldn't be overwhelmed by was senior Ushijima. Ushijima-senpai barely spoke and looked like the very definition of an upright, dependable senior.
The ever-optimistic Ryosuke Cat flitted happily around the court, diving everywhere to receive balls.
In the second set, the momentum was clearly on Ryosuke's side. The score stood at 15:13.
On the opposite side, Eita Semi stared in disbelief. He couldn't believe he was being pushed back by a first-year. His expression twisted in frustration—and even more infuriating was that kid who kept receiving the ball.
Earlier, when serving, Eita Semi had deliberately aimed the ball between Tsutomu Goshiki and Yunohama, trying to trip them up. Sure enough, neither of them moved.
But Ryosuke rushed in from the backcourt, pitching forward to lightly scoop up the jump serve before sending a smooth, textbook first pass.
"Huh? Huh? Huh?" Eita Semi was furious. He had never run into such a troublesome brat before. Once this kid officially joined the team, it probably wouldn't take long before he dragged the previous "floor god" down from his throne.
"Mm… not bad," Coach Washijō said, offering Ryosuke a rare word of praise.
The very next second, his eyelid twitched. He watched in horror as Ryosuke—who had been dutifully receiving in the backcourt—reached out, scooped the ball, and spiked it straight back over the net.
...
Coach Washijō fell into stunned silence. Ryosuke himself froze as well.
Both the opposing team and his own teammates were completely dumbfounded.
Coach Washijō exploded. "Ryosuke Hanyu!! You're a libero—what are you spiking for?! What are you doing, huh? Trying to steal Goshiki's spot?!"
Tsutomu Goshiki, who had been spacing out a moment ago, snapped his head around to stare at Ryosuke.
"Ryosuke… you wouldn't, right?"
His eyes were brimming with murderous intent.
Big Cat shook his head frantically, so embarrassed his toes were practically digging into the floor.
Ahhh, I'm done for. I got too used to receiving and messed up. I got yelled at. This is so humiliating…
He pouted and shut down completely, burying himself like an ostrich.
Coach Washijō covered his face. This was beyond embarrassing. Shiratorizawa had never had a "match incident" like this before.
Big Cat quickly adjusted his mindset. Getting embarrassed was fine. After all… he'd done plenty of stupid things before.
Another ball came flying over the net. Ryosuke rushed in to receive it, but failed to notice the sweat on the floor. His foot slipped, and he couldn't control the ball properly.
Ryosuke's heart clenched. "Sorry! I'll cover!"
"Oh!! No problem!"
This was the first time Ryosuke had called out to a teammate in this match. Already fired up, Yunohama instantly judged the ball's position.
He sprinted to the right side of the court and took a few steps back. Tsutomu Goshiki was already starting his run-up at the three-meter line, fully prepared.
Yunohama jumped hard and set the ball up at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the net.
"Crap!"
Only then did Yunohama realize he'd set it too high. It was his first time playing with them, and in the excitement, he'd overdone it.
Eita Semi and Reon quickly gathered at the net.
Tsutomu Goshiki didn't notice anything wrong until he jumped and realized the contact point was too high. Thanks to his excellent reflexes, he made a decision almost instantly.
"One, two—jump!"
Reon and Eita Semi leaped in perfect sync. A double block!
Tsutomu Goshiki gently nudged the ball with his fingertips. The soft, floating dink dropped cleanly for a point.
"Phew…" Ryosuke finally relaxed. That mishandled reception had really scared him.
"Yunohama, that was awesome! How did you know you could play a dink like that?"
Tsutomu Goshiki's eyes sparkled again as he went off to pester Yunohama.
Ryosuke quietly took two steps back and covered his eyes.
That direct sunlight… way too dazzling. He'd go blind if he kept watching.
It was Yunohama's turn to serve. His style was different from most—he was a true dual-threat, equally skilled at jump serves and jump floats.
With a six-step run-up, he sent out a jump float. But this wasn't the usual light, drifting float; it carried real force—a powerful jump float.
This kind of serve was hard to receive. Overhand, and it was easy to lose control; underhand, and it was hard to bleed off the power.
Ryosuke stared at Yunohama with shining eyes.
Those usually calm green eyes held only one thought now—he really, really wanted to receive that serve.
Yunohama shivered, suddenly feeling like someone was cursing him.
Yamagata quickly adjusted his position, cursing inwardly. Not a single one of these freshmen was easy to deal with. After a moment's thought, he chose to receive overhand.
Once this match is over, I'm definitely practicing receives like this every day.
Two like-minded liberos, each recognizing the other, ignited the same resolve.
Yunohama shuddered again. Weird. Why did it suddenly feel so cold?
When Yamagata went up to receive, the contact was just slightly off, and he nearly failed to cradle the ball.
He forcibly propped it up with his pinky and ring finger, sending a standard—if not perfect—first pass.
Being able to receive a ball like that really was luck.
After the pass, Yamagata let out a sigh.
Ryosuke's eyes had already turned green with envy.
Eita Semi set the ball to Reon, who started his approach from the end line in a smooth arc.
It was a cross shot.
Yunohama and Tsutomu Goshiki quickly formed a double block while Ryosuke covered the backcourt.
"One, two—jump!"
Yunohama held back the eager Tsutomu Goshiki, counting the timing carefully to prevent Reon from playing a timing difference attack.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser