Keiji Akaashi truly didn't understand. When he served, he usually added some spin and curve to the ball, so why would someone serve with no spin at all? Was that even humanly possible?
Haruki Komi smiled. It was rare to see Keiji Akaashi look this confused.
"That's probably the serve he's always practiced. A serve with no spin at all isn't that hard to do. Once your hand gets used to it, it's manageable."
Keiji Akaashi fell silent. He still didn't quite understand, but if he said that out loud, Haruki Komi would definitely explain it to him again. That would be too much trouble.
"Keiji Akaashi, do you think Ushijima and the others will win?"
Bokuto asked, bobbing his head.
Only then did Keiji Akaashi come back to himself. He looked at Bokuto seriously and said,
"They will. Then we'll finally get to have a proper match against Shiratorizawa."
It was strange when he thought about it. Fukurodani and Shiratorizawa had known each other for so long, but they had never played a single official match. Only practice matches and 3v3s. In IH and Spring High, their chances had basically always been cut off by Itachiyama or Kamomedai.
Fukurodani had looked forward to playing Shiratorizawa so many times. Now they were already third-years. If they didn't get to play a match soon, they might never have another chance.
"Let's go. We still have a match this afternoon."
Keiji Akaashi stood as he spoke, glanced at the court one more time, then left with Bokuto and Haruki Komi.
After Yamagata received the ball, the first pass went to Eita Semi. It was a perfect first pass, and also his greeting to this old friend he hadn't seen on court in a long time.
Eita Semi smiled gratefully at Yamagata.
Then he moved under the first pass and quickly analyzed the situation on the court.
From what Ryosuke had said, he knew Kaichi Academy was an extremely flexible team, but he didn't know what their blocking was like. Under normal circumstances, the first ball would go to Ushijima, but Eita Semi didn't want Ushijima to lead the opening attack. He felt that if Ushijima started things off, this match would lose its meaning for everyone else.
Ryosuke's spike was not something suitable to bring out right now. In matches, Ryosuke still leaned more toward defense. Then this ball...
Eita Semi saw the very excited Tsutomu Goshiki. Their eyes met in midair, and in that instant, everything clicked. Tsutomu Goshiki immediately felt that this ball was coming to him.
He spread his arms and moved to the net, then kicked off the floor and jumped. Right after that, he heard the sound of the ball cutting through the air behind him. He also saw the two blockers across the net jump, their arms already set in position to block a Line Shot.
Their blocking form looked even prettier than his own.
Even in midair, Tsutomu Goshiki still had the spare attention to think about that. Then he swung his arm.
"Bang!"
Tsutomu Goshiki showed no stage fright at all. He opened with a Cross Shot. This ball felt very familiar to him, not awkward in the slightest. He had practiced it for a long time in private. It was a shot built up through day after day of work.
The ball was very fast and incredibly smooth. If any third-year had hit it, it wouldn't have seemed that exaggerated, but Tsutomu Goshiki was only a first-year. On him, it looked like talent.
The two blockers only saw the volleyball flash past. They did see it, and they did try to reach out and block it, but their bodies couldn't keep up with their minds. Their minds reacted, but their hands didn't move. From the outside, it looked as if neither of them had reacted to Tsutomu Goshiki's shot at all.
"Beep------------!"
"Hell yeah, Tsutomu Goshiki!"
"Nice work, Eita Semi."
The two of them received everyone's praise, their faces flushed red. They were obviously beyond excited.
There was a light in Eita Semi's eyes now, bright and dazzling. When he smiled, the corners of his mouth lifted, and even his small canine teeth could be seen. It was an Eita Semi no one had ever seen before.
Seeing this, Kaichi Academy's two Middle Blockers began to look uneasy. They immediately turned back to Sho Furutani, signaling for their captain to come up with something.
Sho Furutani scratched his hair, seeming to think about something. But in the end, he said nothing. The match was still going on. He would wait until the timeout.
Against Shiratorizawa, ordinary little schemes were useless.
Tsutomu Goshiki and Eita Semi's combination had now made its debut in front of a national audience. Everyone now knew that Shiratorizawa's new first-year and substitute Setter were both very strong.
Coach Washijō nodded in satisfaction. Eita Semi and Tsutomu Goshiki's cooperation looked very good. Eita Semi had a strong sense of initiative, while Tsutomu Goshiki sometimes couldn't quite read the situation. The two of them were practically a perfect match.
Tsutomu Goshiki and Eita Semi exchanged a look, then hurried over and bumped shoulders. That was the victory celebration they had just come up with.
Tsutomu Goshiki even tried to do it with Ushijima. Ushijima silently glanced at Tsutomu Goshiki's small frame, then turned his head away. If Tsutomu Goshiki got hit by him like that, he might die... He definitely would.
Seeing that Ushijima ignored him, Tsutomu Goshiki eagerly went to bump shoulders with Ryosuke instead.
The referee couldn't stand it anymore. Wasn't this kid a little too lively?
"Beep beep beep!!"
The referee blew the whistle several times in a row. Tsutomu Goshiki was so startled his hair nearly flew up. When he saw the referee glaring at him, he finally realized he was still in the middle of a match. This wasn't Shiratorizawa's gym... Once he thought of that, Tsutomu Goshiki became even happier.
He cheerfully shook his head and returned to his position, completely missing Coach Washijō's darkened face.
Ryosuke, however, noticed it right away. In his heart, he observed one second of silence for Tsutomu Goshiki. One second, no more. His attention still had to stay on the match.
"Shiratorizawa's number eight, Tsutomu Goshiki, and substitute Setter Eita Semi have combined for a beautiful quick attack! They successfully take the first point of the match! Next is Shiratorizawa's service rotation. The player now standing in position one is Tsutomu Goshiki."
"That's right. I hear there are two first-years on court right now. One of them scored five consecutive points in yesterday's match, and Tsutomu Goshiki's opening Cross Shot just now was also excellent. It looks like Shiratorizawa really is full of talent."
"All right, next, let's see what kind of exciting performance Tsutomu Goshiki will bring us."
As the commentator finished speaking, the camera aimed at Tsutomu Goshiki on the court. His serious face appeared on the big screen.
Tsutomu Goshiki let out a soft breath and tossed the volleyball up, just like he had done countless times in practice.
Then he spread his arms, jumped, and swung his right hand down with force.
"Bang!"
The volleyball spun rapidly toward the opposite court.
When Tsutomu Goshiki served, he had chosen his angle carefully. He deliberately sent the ball between the Libero and position six. That route was one the Libero would have to take to receive, but the Wing Spiker in position three was right in front of him, so the Libero's forward movement would definitely be obstructed.
Usually, when he trained with Yamagata in practice, his serves always failed to get past him. So he liked doing this, just to annoy Yamagata a little.
Tsutomu Goshiki knew this ball might not score, but if it made the other side unhappy, then he would be happy.
Taisei Kitano only felt his vision blur before the ball was already in front of him. He quickly snapped back to himself and sprinted forward.
Inside, he was still roaring.
That's so unfair! Weren't Shiratorizawa players supposed to be straightforward and honest? Why do they have this kind of scheming style? The rumors lied to me!
"Bang!"
Kitano saw that the ball was about to hit the floor, and he gritted his teeth in panic. He dove forward in a Flying Receive, stretching his arm out as far as he could, and managed to receive the ball.
The first pass was a little forced, but that was fine. They still had their Setter.
Setter Keigo Kusumoto saw the first pass go up and moved into position to handle it.
Looking at such a crooked first pass, Keigo Kusumoto accepted it without any problem. He was not picky at all. As long as it was a first pass, that was enough. Even if the first pass was unstable, he could adjust it.
He jumped into the air, twisted his waist, and reached out. His ten fingers wrapped around the volleyball while his palm stayed hollow. Then his wrist pressed down, snapping through the ball, and his fingers applied force.
Just like that, the volleyball flew toward Ryota Arai.
Ryota Arai was now in position two. He keenly sensed the ball coming from behind him, and he didn't even need to look.
Ryota Arai realized it, and naturally, Ryosuke and Tendo realized it too. They immediately focused on Ryota Arai. Both of them instinctively felt that this ball would be hit by Ryota Arai.
Tsutomu Goshiki, who had just finished serving, saw the double block in front of him and joined the block without the slightest hesitation. He had wanted to do this in a match for a long time.
In the matches he had watched before, the blocks were always either solo blocks or two-man blocks with Tendo and Ryosuke. Reon simply refused to take part in a three-man block, so Tsutomu Goshiki had never once seen one in a Shiratorizawa match.
Now that it was his turn to get on court, he had to pull off a three-man block no matter what. Besides, the opponent spiking was a 1.9-meter tall player. A three-man block would definitely shut him down.
When Ryosuke jumped to block, he heard the rapid sound of footsteps behind him. Just from the sound, he knew they belonged to Tsutomu Goshiki.
The next second, Tsutomu Goshiki jumped too, and the three of them lined up side by side for a block.
Ryota Arai's eyebrow twitched. Were they really that wary of him? They had even brought out a three-man block.
In Shiratorizawa's previous match against Mujinazaka, Nozomu Mami and the others had also used a three-man block, but Ryosuke's technique had been strong enough that he got through with a Cross Shot.
Ryosuke had broken through a three-man block before, so he could more or less guess how Ryota Arai wanted to hit this ball.
Most likely, it would be a Cross Shot from position two, or a sharp Cross Shot from position two.
Tendo and Ryosuke were perfectly in sync as they stared down the Cross Shot route, their eyes locked on it. If Ryota Arai dared to hit it that way, they would block him cold.
Ryota Arai hesitated for a fraction of a second in midair. He knew both Middle Blockers were very good at blocking, so of course he didn't dare go head-to-head with them. But the other one, the first-year Wing Spiker, definitely wasn't as experienced. If he wanted to find an opening, he had to start there.
Ryota Arai had no time left to hesitate. He swung his arm, and with a "bang," the ball changed from a Line Shot route to a Cross Shot route.
Tsutomu Goshiki froze for a second, his hands still held straight in the posture for blocking a Line Shot.
Ryosuke glanced back. He had expected this exact situation. After serving, Tsutomu Goshiki definitely wouldn't think that much before joining the block. Most likely, he would just charge in headfirst. But Ryosuke hadn't expected him to rush up so cluelessly without even knowing to adjust the direction of his block.
So Ryosuke twisted his waist, bumped into Tsutomu Goshiki, and his hand instinctively slid from the Line Shot blocking position into a Cross Shot blocking position.
"Bang!" The volleyball hit Ryosuke's palm perfectly, then glanced off his fingertips and flew out.
"One touch!"
Ryosuke shouted as he landed.
He also took the opportunity to steady the stumbling Tsutomu Goshiki.
Tendo immediately dropped back to cover. Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke stayed near the net, ready to attack or defend at any moment.
Seeing that the ball had been blocked, Ryota Arai immediately turned back and waited for the Setter to organize the next attack.
When Yamagata saw the ball come over the net, he flashed forward and received it.
He bent his knees and crouched in place, then there was a "bang."
The volleyball flew toward position three, where Eita Semi was. Eita Semi caught sight of the ball from the corner of his eye, then jumped straight up from where he stood.
He held the ball with both hands, looking as if he were about to set.
Ryota Arai brought another Middle Blocker with him to mark Tsutomu Goshiki. Since Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke were standing very close together, no matter which one Eita Semi set to, they would be able to find a chance to block.
Eita Semi was also being watched by Kaichi Academy's Setter. No matter who he set to, it would be noticed.
Eita Semi raised both hands, his eyes looking toward Tsutomu Goshiki.
The players on Kaichi Academy's side were watching Eita Semi at every moment. Every move he made was in their sights. The moment his gaze landed on Tsutomu Goshiki, someone was already moving.
Ryota Arai led the others straight in front of Tsutomu Goshiki, and Tsutomu Goshiki also began to jump.
Only the opposing Setter was still hesitating in place. As a Setter himself, he knew very well that Setters were never simple. But the other side's Setter was from Shiratorizawa, and he knew Shiratorizawa's style.
His mind kept wavering like that, but his feet had already honestly started running toward Tsutomu Goshiki.
The corner of Eita Semi's mouth lifted.
Having fixed impressions of people wouldn't do. You had to treat everyone equally.
Thinking that, he flicked the ball with his left hand, and the volleyball flew along the net and crossed over.
The Setter had just taken one step when he saw Tsutomu Goshiki jump and then land without spiking. He immediately knew he had been tricked.
He whipped his head around and found that the volleyball had already crossed the net.
Taisei Kitano in the back had been watching Eita Semi at first too. Setters were all like that, their hearts dark, so he had to guard against him. But when he saw his own Setter and Middle Blocker move away, his attention was also pulled along.
As a result, in the very next second, Eita Semi's second-touch attack landed.
"Bang."
"Beep—————"
Several players rushed over to receive it, but none of them got there in time.
Eita Semi stood on the other side of the net, watching the scene with interest. The smile tugging at the corner of his mouth was full of pure delight at their misfortune.
"Eita Semi-senpai! That was so cool!"
Tsutomu Goshiki looked at Eita Semi with stars in his eyes, as if there were a tail behind him wagging back and forth.
The others also looked at him with fresh amazement. It seemed they had never seen Eita Semi's second-touch attack before. After all, Eita Semi rarely even got to play in matches with them.
Today was their first time seeing this move from Eita Semi. It was very different from Shirabu's. Eita Semi's second-touch attack was smooth and natural, just as effortless as Yamagata's receives.
At one glance, it was obvious Eita Semi had practiced it countless times in private.
Eita Semi patted Tsutomu Goshiki's head, then turned around. At once, he saw Shirabu off the court. Eita Semi smiled at Shirabu, then turned back again.
Shirabu looked as if he had been struck by that smile and quickly looked away.
Ushijima also walked over and nodded at Eita Semi.
He praised him sincerely.
"Eita Semi, nice work."
Ushijima rarely experienced this. When he was completely unnecessary on the court, he could watch the match from the perspective of an observer, and it felt very new. Usually, he was the one struggling to carry the team's entire offense. Now that someone else was standing in front, Ushijima was honestly happy to take it easy.
Eita Semi nodded to Ushijima. Then, at the referee's whistle, he returned to his original position.
His obsession with setting for Ushijima was no longer as deep as it had been before.
Back then, he had come to Shiratorizawa because Shiratorizawa was one of the top powerhouse schools in Miyagi, and Ushijima was a true powerhouse. Every day during training, Eita Semi had wanted to set a ball for Ushijima, but Coach Washijō never gave him that chance.
Just like that, over the past two years, Eita Semi's obsession with setting for Ushijima had gradually faded. He had started focusing on the Setter's own offense instead. Today's chance to get on court was just right for him to see for himself whether he had improved over these past two years.
...
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