Although Goshiki had Ryosuke there to steady his emotions, he was still a hot-blooded teenage boy. After being toyed with like that, he lowered his head and didn't say a word, looking rather pitiful.
Iwaizumi shot Oikawa a vicious glare.
What a jerk.
Oikawa, inexplicably glared at, wasn't bothered in the slightest. Grinning, he went right back to provoking Goshiki.
"So… not everyone at Shiratorizawa is strong after all, huh? Hahaha!"
Poor Goshiki turned red from face to neck with anger, but he firmly remembered what Reon had told him before the match—don't lose your temper on the court. He forced himself not to say a word in reply and simply turned around and walked away.
Even Oikawa looked stunned.
Why isn't this kid taking the bait?
Ryosuke quietly snickered and went over to comfort Goshiki.
"It's fine. The finals have five sets. We just need to do what we can. Ushijima-senpai and everyone else are here."
Goshiki had tears welling in his eyes—Oikawa had clearly pissed him off badly. He glanced at Ryosuke, his tone suddenly firm.
"I… got it!"
Ushijima-senpai is behind me. How could I get discouraged?
I'll score more points for Shiratorizawa!
I'll score more than Ushijima-senpai—then I'll have beaten him!
Watching Goshiki's constantly shifting expression, Ryosuke felt all the comforting words stuck in his throat.
Who knew what kind of story Goshiki had just made up in his head.
Yamagata and Shirabu quietly watched Goshiki's mood. Seeing that nothing serious had happened, they relaxed.
...
After the rotation, Iwaizumi stepped up to the service line.
He bounced the volleyball in his hand, tossed it upward, and jumped with a sharp motion.
"Bang!"
The ball shot out.
Yamagata ran forward from the backcourt, lowering his center of gravity and slightly bending his arms to receive the ball.
Yamagata: …
He genuinely felt that Iwaizumi's serves were incredibly powerful—almost comparable to Ushijima's—but they didn't really have any special spin or trick.
He was honestly curious where Iwaizumi got that monstrous strength from.
If it were someone else receiving, they might've been knocked flat by that serve.
And Oikawa too.
He looked skinny, but his serves were ridiculously brutal.
Was everyone at Aobajosai born with superhuman strength or something?
While these random thoughts ran through his head, Yamagata calmly delivered a perfect first pass.
"Iwaizumi's serve is really convenient for setting up a spike," Reon muttered quietly from the sidelines.
If Iwaizumi heard that, he'd probably be furious.
Shirabu glanced at the ball and decided not to overthink it. He simply stood at the net, ready to fill any gaps.
Kawanishi saw Ushijima standing there calmly and immediately understood that Ushijima wasn't planning to spike.
He glanced at Goshiki, who was still thinking about blocking at the net, though his eyes kept drifting toward Kawanishi's side.
So Kawanishi took a few approach steps and jumped for the spike himself.
The moment Hanamaki saw Kawanishi attacking, his eyebrows twisted into a knot.
Matsukawa instinctively moved up to block.
Hanamaki gestured for Kunimi to join as well.
Kunimi might look half-dead most of the time, but he never slacked off during matches.
Hanamaki had just given Kawanishi the highest-level block Aobajosai could offer.
Usually only Ushijima received that kind of treatment.
Kawanishi: Should I be grateful?
He jumped into the air and reached for the ball, seemingly ready to push it forward.
Hanamaki narrowed his eyes and reached out to stop it.
Ryosuke quietly tugged at Goshiki, signaling him to watch Kawanishi.
Kawanishi grinned.
The hand that had looked ready to push the ball forward suddenly twisted at the wrist.
Instead of spiking—
he flicked the ball toward Goshiki.
A fake spike, real set.
He had completely fooled Aobajosai.
Goshiki's eyes lit up.
There was no block in front of him, and the libero was still behind the three-meter line.
It was time for revenge.
He leapt up and slammed the ball down.
"Bang!"
"Beeeep—"
Kawanishi landed and raised an eyebrow provocatively at Hanamaki.
He usually didn't hold grudges.
After all, he preferred to settle things immediately.
Goshiki gave him a thumbs-up.
"Kawanishi-senpai! That was an awesome set!"
Much better.
Kawanishi proudly put his hands on his hips.
Oikawa stared in disbelief and grabbed Iwaizumi by the collar.
"Iwa-chan, am I seeing things? That was Shiratorizawa's Kawanishi?!"
Iwaizumi nodded dazedly.
"I… think so."
Washijō couldn't bear to look anymore and turned his head away in disgust.
Whatever. Let him do what he wants.
Coach Irihata also looked conflicted.
Was this a rotten bamboo shoot growing in good bamboo?
Why did the style suddenly change like this?
Someone like that should've been playing for Aobajosai.
...
The match continued.
After Kawanishi's unexpected move, Goshiki felt much better, and the tension on the court eased.
Then both teams started trading spikes back and forth.
Occasionally Kawanishi would throw in a sneaky wipe or tip just to irritate Hanamaki.
The atmosphere looked almost peaceful.
"Next ball! I'm going to stuff your spike!"
Hanamaki glared fiercely, clearly getting fired up by Kawanishi's antics. His hair practically stood on end.
Kawanishi seemed to be teasing him deliberately.
He wandered around the net, mixing up fake sets with real spikes, fake spikes with real passes, wipes, tips, edge shots—
whatever trick he felt like using.
Reon chuckled softly.
"He's remembering to avenge those two first-years."
If he couldn't outplay Oikawa, he could still toy with the blockers.
Semi just smiled quietly.
Sure enough, the "peaceful atmosphere" was just an illusion.
Hanamaki was practically smoking with anger.
The second set hadn't even gotten serious yet.
Both sides were still hiding things.
Aobajosai had taken a few points earlier by targeting Goshiki, but the gap slowly shrank again.
20:21.
Aobajosai led by one point.
Shiratorizawa still didn't make any special moves.
Kawanishi, Ryosuke, and even Reon on the bench were all quietly observing Aobajosai.
Aobajosai seemed to return the courtesy.
The real war would start in the third set.
Both sides were saving their trump cards.
But the last few points were now set point territory.
Everyone started moving seriously.
Iwaizumi's spike brushed Ryosuke's arm and deflected to the back.
Yamagata quickly stabilized the first pass.
Kawanishi, Ushijima, and Goshiki all prepared to attack.
At a moment like this, there was no time to consider who should attack.
Shirabu's first choice was always Ushijima.
Ushijima nodded.
Kawanishi and Goshiki rushed forward first to provide cover.
Better to be cautious.
Aobajosai was full of schemers.
Ushijima leapt from the right side of the net.
Hanamaki already knew he couldn't block this ball—
but he still had to try.
"Bang!"
Hanamaki and Matsukawa's arms slammed together, turning red from the impact as the ball blasted straight through the gap between them.
"Beeeep—"
Matsukawa winced in pain and was about to complain when Oikawa walked over and patted both their shoulders.
"Alright, we'll talk after the set."
Oikawa himself was irritated.
Shiratorizawa used to be simple—just a group of brute-force players.
Their setter might think things through, but it wasn't obvious.
Now this Shiratorizawa was completely different.
For Oikawa, it was incredibly troublesome.
He still had to figure out how to deal with them.
He was so irritated he started picking at his fingernails.
...
Now the serve returned to Shiratorizawa.
This was a very bad situation for Aobajosai.
Standing at the service line—
was Ryosuke.
If Aobajosai couldn't break his serve, they would almost certainly lose this set.
And if that happened, the next three sets would become very difficult.
But were Aobajosai planning something?
Or were they simply unable to fight back?
No one knew.
"Is Aobajosai plotting something?" Daichi murmured thoughtfully.
Sometimes players on the court couldn't see the bigger strategy clearly.
But spectators watching the match could.
The classic situation—
those involved are confused, while observers see clearly.
Ryosuke walked to the service line with the ball.
He glanced up slightly and saw the wary looks from everyone across the net.
He couldn't help smiling to himself.
When had he become someone others needed to guard against?
Feeling the faint fatigue in his shoulder, Ryosuke closed his eyes briefly.
Then he opened them and looked at the scoreboard.
21:21.
For the first time in this prefectural tournament—
Shiratorizawa was tied.
For the remaining points, Ryosuke silently swore to take them all back in one push.
"Bang!"
He put power into his shoulder and arm and whipped the ball out.
But the moment he exerted force—
a wave of soreness shot through his shoulder.
Ryosuke's heart skipped.
His hand trembled.
The ball flew too far.
Cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
This serve… might be a mistake.
The hook serve was notoriously difficult to receive.
Its small arc, strong force, and incredible speed made it famous.
Watari couldn't guarantee he could receive it based only on those few weeks of studying videos.
So he could only hope Ryosuke would make a mistake.
Watari rushed forward.
After several earlier serves, he had already adapted to the spin.
Liberos were excellent at adapting.
The only problem—
was predicting the landing point.
Even Ryosuke himself couldn't fully control where the ball would land.
Every serve was slightly different.
If Watari could predict it perfectly, that would be strange.
Watching the ball fly farther and farther, Watari suddenly felt suspicious.
Based on his libero instincts—
this ball looked like it might go out.
Acting purely on instinct, he sidestepped.
Oikawa was startled by that movement.
That shouldn't happen.
Even if the serve was difficult, Watari would never dodge it.
"OUT!"
Watari shouted loudly.
"Bang!"
The ball grazed the line and flew out.
It really was out.
"Beeeep—"
"Nice! Good call!"
Even Watari looked stunned.
It really went out…
Ryosuke lowered his head with a frustrated expression.
He had felt something wrong with his shoulder the moment he hit the ball.
During the break he had also felt a faint soreness.
If he had known…
he would've used a safer serve.
"Did number six make a mistake?"
"Looks like it. He seems pretty upset."
"Yeah, hook serves put a lot of strain on the shoulder," one spectator commented.
"Even if it's a mistake, don't be sad! Ryosuke is still amazing!"
The audience was surprisingly tolerant toward Shiratorizawa.
In the stands, Udai rubbed his forehead with a headache.
He knew this would happen.
Those still-developing shoulders simply couldn't handle that kind of load.
Kawanishi immediately comforted him.
"It's fine, it's fine! Get the next one!"
Goshiki rushed over.
"Ryosuke, it's okay! It's no big deal!"
Ushijima also walked over and nodded.
The tiny bit of disappointment Ryosuke had been feeling instantly disappeared under their encouragement.
He nodded quietly.
With so many people comforting him—
what was there to be upset about?
At the moment Ryosuke served, Washijō had noticed that slight tremble in his shoulder.
He stood up abruptly.
With eyes like a vulture, he instantly noticed something wrong.
That kid!
Doesn't he know how much strain a hook serve puts on the shoulder?!
Which irresponsible bastard secretly taught him that?!
At that exact moment, in the stands—
Udai suddenly sneezed.
He scratched his slightly long hair.
Was he catching a cold?
...
Aobajosai collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Now whenever they saw Ryosuke standing at the service line, it felt like their lifespans were shortening.
Seeing that Ryosuke didn't react much, everyone relaxed.
Even Shirabu turned back without making any sarcastic comments.
Shiratorizawa's turn had ended.
Now it was Aobajosai's chance.
As long as nothing unexpected happened—
they would likely win the second set.
Oikawa nodded to his teammates.
Time to attack.
Aobajosai's block couldn't stop Ushijima anyway.
Iwaizumi served.
Yamagata received.
Back and forth the rally continued—
until the score reached 27.
Still tied.
The stalemate refused to break.
Kunimi finally couldn't take it anymore.
He was an energy-saving player by nature.
This fast-paced endgame rally was exhausting him.
Oikawa noticed Kunimi's gloomy mood.
Moments like this—
were exactly when Kunimi could explode a little.
Oikawa openly set the ball to Kunimi.
Kunimi lifted his eyelids slightly, filled with resentment.
He jumped up for a quick tip attack.
Goshiki, closest to him, rushed to block.
He jumped with arms locked.
But Kunimi was clever.
He would never break straight through a block.
His wrist flicked.
"Bang!"
A crisp diagonal shot landed cleanly.
Kunimi's attack paths were extremely flexible, and his vision was excellent.
If he weren't so lazy and unwilling to stand out, many schools would be fighting to recruit him.
Goshiki walked back with a gloomy face.
Kunimi also wore a sour expression.
Yes, he scored—
but it felt awful.
Everything had been perfectly arranged for him.
"Tch."
He glared at Oikawa.
Oikawa didn't mind.
He was always tolerant toward teammates who scored.
One point left.
Aobajosai pressed the advantage.
And it was Oikawa's serve.
Standing at the service line, Oikawa smiled boldly.
Then…
let's finish this set in one serve.
"Oh—HEY!"
A man with his own background music.
In the stands, Hinata's eyes sparkled.
So cool…
Kageyama turned his head away with a sour expression.
"Bang!"
One serve—
set over.
"Beeeep—!"
The ball had been incredibly fast, flying straight toward Yamagata's face.
Yamagata had thought Oikawa would miss again.
Just as he moved to dodge—
he realized it was too late.
The ball landed directly on the line.
A perfect line serve.
Yamagata wiped the sweat from his forehead.
This Oikawa…
During this set, he had gradually increased the power of each serve.
Making the speed faster every time.
That first miss—
had probably been part of the process.
Was he experimenting with a new serve during the finals?
Or was there some other trick?
Yamagata felt his heart rising and falling with Oikawa's serves.
His expression didn't look great.
Kawanishi slung an arm around his neck.
"Hey, you're not upset, are you?"
Yamagata wrinkled his nose and pushed him away.
"No. Don't get so close. It's hot."
"I came to comfort you and this is how you treat me?"
"..."
Behind them, Ryosuke walked with Ushijima, rubbing his arm.
Ushijima gave him a slightly concerned look.
Ryosuke just smiled, signaling that he was fine.
...
In the infirmary, Tendo's eyes had been fixed on Ryosuke the entire time.
Only when the broadcast cut away from Ryosuke did Tendo finally look away.
He glanced at the thermometer.
37 degrees.
The fever hadn't gone down.
Right now, Tendo desperately wanted to return to the court.
Not just because of Ryosuke.
Not just because of his teammates…
...
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