For the rest of the set, Eita Semi fully showed just how important a Setter could be. On the court, he ran Kaichi Academy in circles with nothing but his sets.
Kaichi Academy's Setter was truly helpless. He wanted to warn them, but he had no idea how to do it. They hadn't discussed this beforehand.
And now that the match was already underway, there was no way for him to tell them to pay more attention to the opposing Setter. Kaichi Academy's Setter could only watch helplessly as they lost the first set.
There was no suspense at all. It was practically a complete sweep. Ushijima had only spiked once in this set. The rest of the scoring points had all come from Shiratorizawa's two first-years and the Setter's second-touch attacks.
"Beep------------!"
With the referee's whistle, the first set ended easily, just like that. The players of Kaichi Academy still hadn't fully reacted.
During the break after the first set, Kaichi Academy gathered together to discuss how they could at least keep their school from losing too badly.
Yes, they had already decided that they had no chance of beating Shiratorizawa.
None at all.
Even if they managed to limit the Setter and stop him from pulling tricks, the other players' powerful attacks and defense were no joke either. They could take three or four points in minutes. Not to mention, Ushijima still hadn't really moved. If Ushijima attacked properly, they wouldn't even last thirty minutes in the second set.
Ryota Arai looked at his teammates, all of them with their heads lowered, and let out a heavy sigh. He had thought that now that they were third-years, they could at least bring Coach a third-place finish from this IH. Now, forget third place. It looked like they wouldn't even make it into the Final Four.
Over on Shiratorizawa's side, the atmosphere was full of joy. Tsutomu Goshiki and Eita Semi were praised by everyone one after another. Tsutomu Goshiki looked so happy he was about to float away, while Eita Semi said with a proud little awkwardness,
"No, no, it wasn't anything."
But inside, fireworks were already going off. He kept shooting smug looks at Shirabu. If he weren't afraid Shirabu would hit him, he would have gone right up to his face to show off.
Of course Shirabu noticed Eita Semi glancing at him from time to time. He rolled his eyes speechlessly and pretended he hadn't seen anything.
If he acknowledged Eita Semi now, that guy would only get even smugger.
"Stop messing around. Rest while you can. The next set is about to start. Try to end the match early so we can go watch Kamomedai and Fukurodani's match."
The moment Reon saw Coach leave, he consciously took over the responsibility of supervising everyone.
"What match? Why don't I know about this?"
The moment Tsutomu Goshiki heard that, he leaned right in front of Reon. Reon covered Tsutomu Goshiki's face with one hand, then pushed him back with a look of disgust. He was covered in sweat and still trying to get close to someone. Reon's brows were furrowed so tightly they could have crushed a fly.
Tsutomu Goshiki saw Reon's reaction, widened his eyes, then looked utterly betrayed.
"Reon-senpai, you're actually disgusted by me..."
The changes in his expression were painfully obvious.
Reon knocked him on the head.
"You've got some nerve playing the victim. You're drenched in sweat and still leaning in. Anyone else would've been knocked out by the smell."
Tsutomu Goshiki froze, then lifted the hem of his shirt and sniffed it. Sure enough, it smelled sour. With a complicated expression, Tsutomu Goshiki lowered his shirt and apologized to Reon.
Reon crossed his arms and said to everyone,
"I don't know whether any of you paid attention to the other schools' matches yesterday, but I checked last night. At eleven this morning, Kamomedai and Fukurodani have a match in this very venue. I don't know whether any of you will have other things to do then, but I really want all of you to watch this match."
"I don't have anything!"
Tsutomu Goshiki was the first to respond. He had never seen an official match between Fukurodani and Kamomedai before. This time, he definitely wanted to broaden his horizons.
"I'm going too," Ushijima said.
"I'm going too." Ryosuke had already seen the player list for the other matches last night, and he was especially looking forward to Fukurodani's match. Besides, if they went late, there might not even be seats left.
Seeing that both Ushijima and Ryosuke wanted to go watch, the others all nodded too. If they were going to watch a match, then of course the whole team should go together.
Besides, Fukurodani versus Kamomedai. A clash between star players Kōtarō Bokuto and Kōrai Hoshiumi. Just thinking about it was exciting.
"Then end this match as quickly as possible. Don't drag it out."
Reon said it with an extremely serious face as he stood there looking at everyone. For some reason, everyone suddenly felt as if they were seeing Coach Washijō. One by one, their bodies straightened, and they almost reflexively shouted,
"Yes!"
No one felt there was anything wrong with this, and neither did Reon. To them, Reon was like the head of the family. When the coach wasn't there, they went to him for anything that came up. Even Ushijima, the actual captain, had to take a step back.
Ushijima didn't react either. He looked completely as if Reon was the one in charge.
Now that everyone knew the next match was between Fukurodani and Kamomedai, they went back onto the court one by one as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
Kaichi Academy had originally been trying to think of a way to keep this match from looking too ugly. But the moment the second set began, Shiratorizawa's offense came in so fiercely that they gave them no chance to breathe.
Ryota Arai already knew this match was one they were bound to lose. At this point, he didn't have many thoughts left.
There were two kinds of people in the world. One kind, after realizing the result wouldn't be good, gave up completely. The other kind, after realizing the result, instead felt relieved, as if everything had finally settled, and then threw themselves into finishing it.
Since they already knew they were going to lose, there was no need to keep acting so carefully, constantly thinking about how to scheme against the opponent.
They might as well turn the whole court upside down.
Ryota Arai received another set from the Setter.
Then he glanced at the scoreboard and jumped without hesitation.
He compressed his youth and his entire three years into this one ball.
This was Ryota Arai's three years.
When he jumped, he had never seen the other side of the net so clearly before. For a single instant, his mind was completely clear.
Then his right hand struck with all its strength.
With a bang, he sent the ball over the net.
Ryosuke was blocking directly in front of him. Without the slightest hesitation, he jumped, covered the ball with both hands, and pressed it down.
That had plenty of force. Too bad this ball still isn't getting over the net.
Ryosuke thought that a little wickedly to himself. After spending so much time with Tendo, Ryosuke had picked up a bit of his bad habit for teasing people. But he didn't say it out loud. He only thought it quietly in his heart.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle sharply, announcing the end of the match. Without question, Shiratorizawa had won again.
"Whoa!"
"It's over!"
"Nice work, you guys!"
Shiratorizawa's two first-years, along with Eita Semi and Tendo, all cheered.
Eita Semi slung one arm around Ryosuke and the other around Tsutomu Goshiki.
He knew that the ones who had done the most in this match were Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke. As for whether his own performance had been seen by more people, he didn't care as much anymore. Maybe he would have cared in the past, but now Eita Semi only found himself thinking that his juniors really were incredible.
"This match is over! The winner is Shiratorizawa High School! As expected of the king. Shiratorizawa High School's two first-years and substitute Setter have all shown outstanding skill!"
Eita Semi froze for a moment, then laughed despite himself. His name hadn't even been remembered, yet he had still been praised. Looks like he had ridden on those two guys' coattails.
Kaichi Academy wasn't as dejected as one might have imagined. Instead, they seemed to have the kind of spirit that grew stronger after taking a setback.
Ryota Arai looked completely relieved. This match was finally over. He no longer had to keep worrying.
The night before, when they had learned that their opponent the next day would be Shiratorizawa, almost none of them had slept well. The next morning, they had all stared at one another with dark circles under their eyes.
"Ah, we lost, we lost."
Taisei Kitano waved a hand, his face full of guilt.
If he had received a few more balls, maybe they wouldn't have lost so badly.
"Relax. The opponent was Shiratorizawa. Besides, we gave it everything we had."
A Wing Spiker patted Kitano on the shoulder.
Ryota Arai stood there, watching from afar as the group on the other side of the net laughed with their arms around each other's shoulders, walking off the court full of spirit.
"I'm so jealous..." Ryota Arai muttered quietly.
"What are you mumbling about? Let's go."
Kaichi Academy's captain urged him from behind. Ryota Arai suddenly came back to himself, then smiled and said,
"Coming, coming. Captain, don't be too sad."
"What nonsense. Who's sad?"
"Hahaha. Good, then."
...
After both sides left the court, they lined up again and bowed to the spectators in the stands. Only then could the match be considered truly complete, with a proper beginning and end.
"Thank you for watching. Thank you for the game!"
"Thank you for the game!"
No matter how many times the audience saw these kids bow, whenever they witnessed that moment, they would feel that the match had been worth it.
After the bows, the match was officially over.
Shiratorizawa's players didn't even change out of their uniforms. They stayed where they were, planning to head straight to the stands in a while.
Kaichi Academy saw that Shiratorizawa hadn't left, so they didn't leave either. They were also curious. The match was already over, so why were they still here?
On top of that, after this match ended, only a small number of spectators left in twos and threes before coming back again. Most of them remained seated in the stands without moving.
At first, Ryota Arai didn't understand what was happening. Then he suddenly slapped his forehead.
"I remember now. Fukurōdani and Kamomedai have a match coming up."
"Ah, so that's it. Then let's go find a few seats in the stands." The captain was surprised too, but he immediately made the decision. They absolutely had to watch this match. He had to watch it, and not just by himself. He had to bring everyone along too.
They needed to watch more matches and gain more experience.
"Grrr..."
Tsutomu Goshiki lowered his head and rubbed his stomach, looking a little pitiful. The bit of breakfast he had eaten that morning had long since been digested, and now his stomach was practically rioting from hunger.
"Pfft."
Ryosuke was standing right beside Tsutomu Goshiki and heard it clearly. He couldn't hold back his laughter.
Tsutomu Goshiki's face turned bright red from Ryosuke laughing at him. He glared at Ryosuke, trying to look intimidating.
"Don't laugh!"
"Okay, okay, I won't laugh. I'll go outside and buy something to eat."
The moment Tsutomu Goshiki heard Ryosuke say he was going to buy food, that tiny bit of embarrassed anger immediately turned into bright-eyed anticipation.
"Ryosuke... I... grrr..."
Before Tsutomu Goshiki could finish speaking, his stomach growled again.
Ryosuke kept his face straight, trying not to laugh too obviously, but his eyes were curved with amusement. He couldn't hide it at all.
"I know. What do you want?"
Tsutomu Goshiki lowered his head, mumbling awkwardly. Then he thought about it. He and Ryosuke were so close that forget his stomach growling, Ryosuke could probably accept it even if he farted.
It was a very nice thought, but if Tsutomu Goshiki really did fart, Ryosuke might not actually be able to accept it.
"I want rice balls."
Once Tsutomu Goshiki figured it out, he immediately relaxed. Even his voice sounded light and happy.
After getting Tsutomu Goshiki's answer, Ryosuke went around asking everyone what they wanted.
For the sake of their performance in the match, none of them had eaten much that morning. They were all athletes with high training loads, so by this time, they were definitely hungry. They couldn't eat too much, but having something to tide them over was fine.
Ushijima and Tendo both said they wanted fruit. Eita Semi and Shirabu both wanted rice balls. Yamagata and Kawanishi, however, were different. They said they wanted potato chips.
Ryosuke fell silent, not sure whether he should tell Reon. After all, Reon had very seriously said last time that those two weren't allowed to eat snacks, especially fried food like potato chips.
Seeing Ryosuke hesitate, Yamagata and Kawanishi exchanged a look, then shamelessly started acting pitiful.
"Just this once, little Ryosuke. Please!"
Yamagata looked utterly righteous.
Kawanishi nodded along.
"We're really miserable. Reon keeps saying our body fat is over the limit, but it really isn't."
Ryosuke hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still nodded.
Then he left, thinking as he walked that he was really helping villains commit evil.
Finally, he asked Reon what he wanted to eat. Reon said he wasn't hungry and only asked Ryosuke to bring him a bottle of yogurt.
Ryosuke nodded seriously, then left with the order list.
Yamagata watched Ryosuke's retreating back and sighed with feeling.
"Our junior is surprisingly reliable."
Kawanishi nodded in full agreement.
After Ryosuke went out and saw the blazing sun outside, he sighed helplessly. He turned back to the dorm to grab a hat, then went out again.
There was a sea of people outside. Even in such hot weather, IH's popularity hadn't faded at all. It was already the third day, and there were still people braving the sun, traveling from far away and buying tickets just to watch the matches.
Thinking about it that way, not playing properly would really be letting down the spectators who had come all this way.
Ryosuke let his thoughts wander as he walked to the small shop outside the gym. Following the list everyone had given him, he bought everything one by one.
On the way back, Ryosuke was walking aimlessly when a familiar black car flashed past in the corner of his eye.
Ryosuke whipped his head around, only to find nothing there.
"Did I see wrong?"
He muttered to himself and kept walking.
In a place Ryosuke couldn't see, Matsukawa Hone pulled the car over.
Keigo Atobe was already sitting in the back seat, so angry that he was biting his finger.
Those damn peasants! They were ordering his little brother around to buy things again! The weather was this hot, and he was carrying so many things. Ryosuke's face turned bright red the moment it was hit by the sun.
Keigo Atobe was grinding his teeth in anger, but he couldn't say anything. If he really said something and Ryosuke found out, Ryosuke would probably get angry with him. Seriously angry.
So now Keigo Atobe could only stew in anger by himself.
"Bang!"
He irritably kicked the small table inside the car. Only then did Keigo Atobe finally calm himself down a little.
He spoke to Matsukawa Hone.
"Let's go. First, check out the hotel where they're staying."
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.