Ryosuke backed up for his approach, then measured the height of the net and Hirugami's stance on the other side with his eyes.
Most of the people there were drawn to him. After two days of training, all they knew was that this first-year Blocker from Shiratorizawa was exceptional at blocking and seemed to be developing in the direction of a specialist Blocker.
None of them had ever seen Ryosuke truly jump for a spike. After all, a blocking jump and a spiking jump were completely different things.
Right now, Ryosuke really did look like a young leopard, crouched low as he wove across the court. He reached the net in a flash, silent and soundless. Before anyone could react, Ryosuke had already taken off.
Hirugami narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at Ryosuke, not daring to relax for even a second.
"Whoosh!"
Ryosuke launched himself upward with such force that they could almost hear the wind whipped up by his clothes and body.
Atsumu Miya, who had just been brushed past, stared hard at Ryosuke. This feeling really made his blood boil. It wasn't the flutter of seeing someone who made your heart race.
It was the deep shock of being captivated by that kind of beauty, something both wild and elegant.
The moment Ryosuke jumped, Hirugami held his breath and focused, tracking every last movement without missing a beat.
Looking at that tall Block in front of him, Ryosuke felt that his little tricks probably wouldn't be enough against Hirugami. Forget it, then. He would just force his way through.
After spending so much time at Shiratorizawa, Ryosuke's approach to spiking had also become very Shiratorizawa-like. If you can't break through, then charge straight through. That was something Senpai Reon had taught him. A violent breakthrough was more surprising than winning through technique, because in an era where technique and aesthetics were the mainstream,
pure power actually seemed less impressive.
"Bang!"
Hirugami's eyes widened as the volleyball slammed into his arm. He instinctively wanted to pull his arm back. The force was way too strong!
Keeping his arm locked straight, Hirugami didn't dare loosen up at all. The volleyball spun weakly a few times against his arm, then dropped to the floor.
"Sigh."
Ryosuke shrugged helplessly.
He turned back to Ushijima and said,
"I told you Senpai Reon's way of doing things doesn't suit me."
Hirugami was still grimacing as he rubbed his arm. Hearing that, he leaned in to join the conversation, only to hear what Ryosuke thought of that last ball.
"That kind of power spike really doesn't suit me. I'm too weak. There's just no way. It'd only have a chance of scoring if you guys did it."
Ushijima glanced subtly at Hirugami's bright red arm, then said nothing. It was clear that Ryosuke's understanding of himself was still not quite there.
Hirugami had blocked that ball, but the redness and swelling on his arm were not fake. That hit had to be at least 120 km/h. Even at the National Championships, that kind of speed would be explosive. For a high school student to produce that kind of ball, there was no doubt he was a genius.
The unexpected part was that the person blocking Ryosuke happened to be Hirugami, a blocking oddball on par with Tendo. He had blocked countless star players at nationals, and during exchange matches, he had even blocked aces from some universities.
If he couldn't stop a first-year kid, wouldn't that be way too embarrassing? What would happen to his reputation as the "Immovable Hirugami"?
When Hosho hurried over, this was the strange scene he saw.
Ryosuke was still a little disappointed, wondering if he had regressed. According to his way of thinking, opponents were always the same. If he failed, then it meant he was too weak.
Hirugami, meanwhile, was frowning. During their practice match with Shiratorizawa last time, he had already noticed it. Several of their hits had gone over 120 km/h. Aside from Ryosuke, that number 8's ball speed was pretty good too. They really were monsters, every last one of them.
The corners of Sakusa's mouth lifted slightly. Now you guys get to experience it too, Ryosuke's innocent, harmless face paired with the kind of ball you'd expect from a muscle-bound powerhouse. The contrast was absolutely unreal.
"Ohhhhhh! That was amazing!" Hoshiumi's head spun back and forth between the two of them like a top. No one could tell who he was praising.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Seeing that everyone had ignored him, Hosho couldn't help making a little noise to remind them he was there.
The atmosphere suddenly went quiet. Once everyone saw that Hosho had arrived, they all put down what they were doing and gathered together on their own, quietly waiting for him to speak.
Hosho's eyes were full of bittersweet emotion. What obedient kids. Unfortunately, tomorrow, they were going to be hit so hard their mindsets would explode.
"Mm… tomorrow and the day after, our training camp will have some special guests coming to play a practice match with you. They're extremely strong, so I hope you'll be prepared. Also, I don't care how you discuss who goes on court. Tomorrow, all of your positions have to be different from the ones you usually play.
"For example, if you're a setter, tomorrow you have to play middle blocker. Got it?"
Everyone looked at one another, struggling to digest that long string of information.
What special guests? And they weren't even allowed to play their original positions? That was way too harsh.
"Got it!" they answered in perfect unison.
Hosho nodded, then immediately slipped away. He had no desire to face the questioning looks from these kids. He was afraid he might not be able to hold himself back and would end up committing insubordination by cursing Hibarida out on the spot.
Some of the people who were attending National Youth for the first time still had no idea what was going on.
But for people like Ushijima, Bokuto, and Kiryu, who were here for the second time, the meaning was already painfully clear. They were bringing in another group of people to crush them again.
"Hah?! Why is there another practice match this year?!"
Bokuto looked like the sky had collapsed. If even Bokuto was making that kind of face, then this was definitely no small matter.
Ryosuke stood among them, listening for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what kind of team could possibly make everyone so resentful. He carefully tugged on Ushijima's sleeve and looked up at him questioningly.
Ushijima leaned down and whispered beside Ryosuke's ear.
"Last year, the people who came were the national team's starting players."
Ryosuke's eyes went wide. Seriously? For one practice match, they went that far? Weren't they giving this group of high schoolers way too much credit?
Quite a few people in the gym had also caught wind of the news, and the place immediately filled with anxious chatter. The atmosphere became a little tense.
Sakusa glanced irritably at the crowd. So noisy. The national team was the national team. It wasn't like he had never seen them before. He looked back at Ryosuke, who was obediently standing beside Ushijima, then draped his jacket over his shoulders and went off to shower.
Atsumu Miya, on the other hand, could barely hide his excitement. This trip was a total win. He would even get to see the national team. He absolutely had to ask for autographs later.
"But… Hosho didn't say it was the national team. He only said special guests."
Kiryu noticed the loophole in the wording, and everyone fell silent again.
"We're heading back first."
Hirugami's expression had also turned grim. The relaxed mood from a moment ago vanished all at once. With a serious face, he led Hoshiumi away.
As the only second-year who had been invited to National Youth twice, Hirugami was a real monster in his own right. He had also attended last year's training camp, when he was still a first-year.
He had not played in that practice match. He had only stood by the bench and watched quietly.
He had watched the seniors he admired become powerless against those people, while he could do nothing but stand off the court. He never expected that he would get this chance again this year. This time, he had to play. He had to stay on the court for as long as possible. He had to win back his seniors' dignity.
Once Hirugami left, Ryosuke and Ushijima also headed back, and everyone gradually dispersed.
Some people were definitely not going to sleep that night.
...
At that moment, in the National Youth training camp dorms, everyone talked to their roommates about what had happened last year. Then, as if by silent agreement, they found a room and went to hold a meeting.
After all, Hosho had said that anyone could go on court tomorrow, but no one could play their original position. That was something they needed to discuss properly. If something unexpected happened at the last minute, they had to avoid becoming a laughingstock for no reason.
"So… this is why all of you are gathered in my room?"
Kiryu stared at the roomful of people with a headache. Wait, wasn't this supposed to be a meeting? Why weren't they going to Ushijima's room? Why come here? Did he look like the type of person who would hold a meeting for them?
The very next second, Kiryu spotted Ushijima among the crowd.
"…"
Ushijima coughed awkwardly twice.
"Your room is a bit bigger."
That was true. Ushijima's room was fairly spacious too, but Ryosuke did not want a huge group of people crowding into his room and making a racket, so Ushijima had suggested coming to Kiryu's room instead.
Because Kiryu had no roommate. He lived alone.
When the others heard about it, they all followed along too, wanting to hear what would be discussed.
Bokuto was definitely going to join the fun. If Bokuto went, Keiji Akaashi had to follow. Hoshiumi was also the type who could never sit still and had to check out any little commotion. As it happened, Hirugami was planning to tell him about the national team anyway, so the two of them came along as well.
When Ryosuke left, he did not forget to bring Kageyama with him. After all, this guy did not have a single familiar person here and looked so pitiful. Sakusa saw Ryosuke leave and quietly followed. Atsumu Miya, who was next door, looked left and right, but no one came to call him, so he had no choice but to trail after them gloomily.
A whole group of people squeezed together and stared at Kiryu, while Kiryu stared back at them. Kiryu was so anxious he kept scratching his head. Since this was supposed to be a meeting, they should at least say something.
The atmosphere was a little awkward.
Ushijima nudged Ryosuke with his arm, signaling for Ryosuke to speak first. Ryosuke hurriedly waved his hands, waving so fast there were nearly afterimages.
Absolutely not! Ushijima-senpai! At such a serious moment, you want me to speak first? Wouldn't that be way too disrespectful to the seniors?
But Ushijima was not going to indulge Ryosuke this time. Children needed more training, after all.
"Ryosuke has something to say."
Ryosuke: "??"
Everyone's gazes turned toward him. Ryosuke felt his scalp go numb, but he could not withstand everyone's enthusiasm, so he had no choice but to brace himself and step forward, holding a stack of A4 paper.
"Um… according to information obtained through internal channels, the people coming tomorrow are indeed from the national team."
"What internal channels? Is it reliable?" Hirugami asked.
Ryosuke gave him a subtle look. Reliable? How could it not be reliable? These people had all been specially sponsored and brought over by his dear older brother to play this practice match. How could that not be reliable?
Ushijima nodded.
"It's reliable. Don't worry."
So Hirugami assumed this was information Ushijima had obtained, and that he had let Ryosuke talk about it in order to give a newcomer a chance to perform.
But those who knew Ryosuke's identity naturally did not dare think that way.
Even Hosho would not have believed it. Information even he had failed to dig up had actually been found out just like that.
"There aren't that many people coming. Six in total, just enough to form a team."
As Ryosuke spoke, he handed out the papers he had printed.
"These are all players who didn't appear in international competitions last year. Most of them were kept inside the team as secret weapons.
"The Wing Spiker is Ran Takahashi. He's very famous. Everyone knows he was Spring High MVP for three consecutive years. After graduating, he went straight to the Paris Olympics, and when he was eighteen, he was selected by the national team to be developed as a hidden card for the Tokyo Olympics.
"He's 188 centimeters tall, with a spike touch of 343 centimeters. His numbers are better than anyone here. And this player is still in his prime."
Ryosuke's words instantly froze the atmosphere in the room. Bokuto clenched his fists. So this was the strength of an official national team player?
Seeing that no one was urging him to continue, Ryosuke lifted his feet and prepared to return to Ushijima's side. Then Kiryu spoke again.
"Keep going."
"…"
Ryosuke had no choice but to become an emotionless data analyst.
"The two middle blockers. One is Kento Asano, a graduate of Waseda University. His high school team placed third in Spring High for two years. He's a two-meter-tall giant, and he…"
Ryosuke glanced at Ushijima.
"He's also left-handed."
"What?"
Sakusa could no longer sit still. Damn it. Now there was another left-hander he hated but also wanted to admire.
"It's fine. I can use my right now…"
"Ushijima-senpai!"
Ryosuke raised his voice and cut off what Ushijima was about to say. Was that really something he could say right now? At the very least, he should wait until IH, right? Had Ushijima-senpai been provoked by the enemy?
Ushijima: "…"
Ushijima obediently shut his mouth. He really had been a little impulsive just now.
Only after seeing Ushijima fall silent did Ryosuke let out a breath and continue.
"The other smaller middle blocker is Shoma Tomita. This person might not be very famous, but he won the Best Receiver award for all of last season. A middle blocker who won Best Receiver. His fundamentals are truly solid and watertight."
After Ryosuke finished speaking, he noticed everyone staring at him strangely, as if Ryosuke himself was that kind of person too. His face went a little red under their gazes. He coughed twice and continued.
"Although these national team players are viewed by the country as secret weapons, they are indeed getting older. The competitions they participated in were all from two or three years ago."
"So…" Hirugami said thoughtfully.
"So this isn't just a simple practice match."
Atsumu Miya sat backward on his chair, holding his cheeks in both hands as he spoke. Kageyama, sitting off to the side, looked at Atsumu Miya in surprise. Atsumu Miya-senpai was actually this smart!
Hoshiumi understood as well. The people coming really were active national team starters, but in another few years, they would not be. Right now, they were carrying plenty of injuries, and their age was catching up with them. Volleyball was not a sport that belonged only to the young, but age was definitely something people had to care about.
"What else?" Keiji Akaashi, who had not spoken until now, asked.
Next, they should be talking about the setter.
"The setter is also a senior player. He's very strong. Motoki Eiro. This senior used to play volleyball for the Wolfdogs Nagoya club, then he was recruited away. He helped the Wolfdogs men's team take second place in last season's V.League.
"His style is also kind of… kind of disgusting…?"
Ryosuke held it in for a long time before finally squeezing out that word.
Atsumu Miya burst out laughing.
"What do you mean, disgusting? That's called being resourceful, hahaha!"
Keiji Akaashi also could not hold back his laughter, while Kageyama looked utterly confused.