JSWGAS Chapter 124

Chapter 124

124.

During the last practice match of the morning, Aoba Johsai was once again paired up with Rikkaidai.

Both sides played with crisp, clean efficiency.

Kokonoe Taka stared intently at the opposing spiker jumping at the same time, counting in his head, suddenly powered up and jumped, precisely blocking in front of the jumping Ikaru Naoki. The latter was shocked: He saw through me again. The volleyball bounced back into Rikkaidai’s half of the court, and the libero successfully saved it, sending the ball directly over the net.

Furue’s first pass was perfect.

“Niceball.”

Kokonoe glanced backward, and after confirming his teammates were in position, he immediately sprinted towards the attack line.

Constantly climbing higher, stretching his body, only the rushing airflow could witness how he silently appeared at the highest point in everyone’s vision. The blockers, unwilling to be outdone, followed, Ikaru Naoki and Aida extended their arms, trying to use this invisible net to knock Kokonoe Taka down to the floor.

Although they had been hearing others jokingly say that Rikkaidai was no longer as strong as it once was, they still maintained the highest win rate among the four schools, enough to prove how troublesome Rikkaidai was. Logically speaking, the time a person has to think while suspended in the air is fleeting, but Kokonoe Taka felt that after jumping to the highest point, everything around him suddenly turned into slow motion, as if someone had adjusted the flow of time.

Ikaru Naoki blocked the straight shot that could be easily made, and Aida blocked his own dominant hand… Ah, the small middle blocker filled the last gap. The blocker was formed.

It felt very similar to how Tendō blocked him.

Kokonoe Taka pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth: It’s all the feeling of ‘being caught’.

The ball was passed over at this moment.

The setter, who always wore a smile that seemed to hold the winning ticket, seemed to see through his hesitation at this moment, and sent the ball, which was released later, to him at just the right moment. The slow-moving world seemed to be switched on again and spun rapidly, all the noise could not get close, and all of it was rolled by the invisible airflow to the other side of the net. Kokonoe Taka woke up from the unknown world, his grey eyes were illuminated by the suspended lights and became almost transparent. But the yellow and blue colors were firmly engraved above the crystalline lens.

–What’s there to hesitate about?

The volleyball, flying in the air with him, whispered to him, as if a serpent tempting mankind to pluck the fruit of the Garden of Eden. But Kokonoe Taka knew the sincerity of the emotion, and also saw the rotation, route, and angle of the ball clearly. Avoiding the gunpowder-filled contest, he naturally arrived at the desired destination.

–A very suitable toss for himself.

After reaching the conclusion, everything else became the coercion to spike this ball. But different from before, this coercion came from the voice within his own heart. There was no option to hesitate, nor was there room for failure, there was only the arm that was swung down appropriately and fiercely at the right time. The friction between the palm and the surface of the ball made him feel a thorough and refreshing pain, and his gaze shifted to the faces of the blockers, and after understanding their similar annoyance, he felt even more drippingly comfortable.

His shoes stepped on the hard floor, lightly and flamboyantly. Kokonoe Taka had a smile on his face, and his tone was regretful.

“What a pity, you couldn’t block me.” He stretched out his hand, his slender fingers still slightly red from the previous few blocks, and his index finger and thumb made a small distance, leaving only mockery, “It was only this close, better luck next time?”

The Rikkaidai team, “…”

If it weren’t for the fact that there was a net in the middle supporting the Rikkaidai team’s crumbling sanity, the gymnasium might have staged a welcome all-out brawl at this moment – Miyano was greatly shocked, “Say less – just learn the blocking skills of Nishijo-senpai, don’t learn the skills of getting bagged!”

“We’re still on the other side’s territory, what if you’re treated this way and that, I, senpai, will have to risk my old life to help you get revenge!”

Iwaizumi, “…Miyano-senpai, did you go and play Hanamaki’s game console again.”

The Rikkaidai team, “…You’re clearly fueling the fire, but you’re saying it so loudly! And who would bag him!”

Oikawa, “But shouldn’t it be Taka bagging others? It’s more like he’s bagging others.”

Kokonoe, “What kind of image do I have in your heart? An ogre?”

Furue, “I only know that if you guys keep chatting, the coach will turn into an ogre.”

A burst of coughs that tried to cover it up suddenly sounded in the venue, and in the blink of an eye, the atmosphere returned to the previous anxiety.

The practice match was still a victory for Rikkaidai. But their expressions were not relaxed.

“I’m saying, isn’t Aoba Johsai improving too fast.”

“I have that feeling too. How should I put it… We could have won with a little effort before, but now it feels like we have to fight to the death to win.”

“Kokonoe’s blocking success rate is still rising, and recently he’s also caught Seitokowa’s left-hander to practice blocking, it seems like he has big ideas about Ushijima.”

“Wow… When you mention him, I think his spikes have become stronger recently. He clearly feels thinner than Aida, but the balls he hits, bang, and then thump thump pa pa… It really hurts, on par with Aida the gorilla.”

“Didn’t you guys see the muscles when Kokonoe exerts his strength?” Aida turned his head and retorted angrily, “That guy is very strong, otherwise how could he block my spikes. He’s not a pushover.”

“Isn’t it because you panicked because your ball path was seen through?” Rikkaidai’s setter said coolly, “So you directly spiked at the other person’s palm. It would be strange if you weren’t blocked.”

“Ahhhh don’t say it, I know I was wrong–”

“Speaking of which, the strength of the others at Aoba Johsai is not small, right,” Ikaru Naoki said thoughtfully, “Oikawa and Iwaizumi too. Recently, Oikawa’s power serve has also become more powerful, it’s rare to see a setter with such strong offense.”

Rikkaidai’s setter sincerely agreed, “That’s right.”

He subconsciously thought of Oikawa’s toss to Kokonoe… If Kokonoe was previously demanding his own ball with a tough attitude, Oikawa’s toss was more like an anticipated, knowing toss. But he wasn’t being led by the nose by Kokonoe, but instead pushed Kokonoe forward calmly.

“But it’s also normal. After all, everyone at Aoba Johsai is working hard, always staying behind for extra practice, and humbly calling ‘senpai’ to ask questions.”

“Maybe they can really beat Shiratorizawa,”

“You still have time to worry about them? Why don’t you think about how we’re going to play at IH…”

Their match with Rikkaidai ended early today, and Seitokowa and Johzenji dragged on for more than ten minutes, and the sidelines were full of students watching the match.

“I’ve caught a bit of a feel for blocking the ball path.” Matsukawa gestured twice, “Can we try it together next time? I feel that the empty ball path can be used for both inducement and receiving the ball to produce results.”

“Sure, if we start with a general formation, the back row will have Furue to cooperate. Others should be able to cover.”

“Johzenji’s feigned attack, a tactic of using fake moves to play with time differences, I feel like we can practice it?… Ah, didn’t catch it. What a pity.”

“The cover needs to be practiced a bit more.” Kokonoe Taka was also discussing with Iwaizumi next to him, “After I change the rhythm of my attack, I might suddenly rush out to grab the route, didn’t we almost collide yesterday? We can’t use this half-finished product in a real match.”

“Okay. But don’t rush too fast.” Iwaizumi frowned, “If it weren’t for Miyano-senpai’s timely reaction, you might have been injured again.”

“Got it, Iwa-chan, I’ll pay attention.” He thought of something, “Oh right, I’ll be a little late for the afternoon’s independent practice.”

“Okay.” Iwaizumi nodded, and casually asked, “What are you going to do?”

“I have an appointment with a friend.”

–“An appointment with a friend? Who? I don’t remember Taka knowing anyone in Kanagawa.”

During the afternoon’s independent training, the coaches of the four schools would leave one in the gymnasium to watch over them, occasionally helping as referees for the spontaneously organized matches. Oikawa greeted the people from Seitokowa, and when he turned around to find his own teammates, he realized that one person was missing, “Iwa-chan, didn’t you ask clearly?”

“Am I your mom? Do I have to worry about everything?” Iwaizumi retorted unhappily.

Oikawa subconsciously replied, “Aren’t you?”

Iwaizumi, “…Don’t let anyone stop me today.”

“Ma ma ma, forget it, forget it, the kid doesn’t understand.” Matsukawa Hanamaki immediately rushed over to stop Iwaizumi, and after much persuasion, they avoided bloodshed on the court. Oikawa laughed guiltily twice, and quickly changed the subject, “This is troublesome, I originally wanted to try a new tactic. Did he say when he would be back?”

Iwaizumi, “No.”

“Then let’s try it with Hanamaki first? We’ll be able to use it sooner or later–”

Ten minutes later.

Johzenji’s coach blew the whistle, Aoba Johsai won, and then stood on the sidelines watching the panting players in the field with great interest.

“The speed of your quick attacks is a bit slow.” He chatted with Oikawa, who was closest to him, “It wasn’t very noticeable when that kid was around, it’s because he drove the rhythm of all your attacks, right.”

What sharp eyes. Oikawa Tōru thought, but it was true.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Well, it’s okay. But how should I put it… The original purpose of quick balls is to make a surprise attack, it will only be effective if it’s handled quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly. If the other side is also the type that can think and play volleyball, it’s easy to spot this and make arrangements to counter it, and the back-and-forth on the court will be more frequent; and if it drags on for too long, there will be variables, and it will lose the meaning of the existence of quick balls.”

Although Johzenji’s coach hadn’t intervened much in their training before, the suggestions he made were very pertinent. Oikawa Tōru chatted with him for a while, and when the sweat on his back was almost dry, he returned to the team.

Johzenji’s coach wandered over to Seitokowa to fulfill his coaching duties. Oikawa Tōru took the towel handed over by Matsukawa and briefly recapped the match just now.

“There are still a bit too many mistakes in coordination… Matsukawa, although staring at the other side’s spiker can produce results, you don’t have to be so tense. You were a bit stiff when you switched positions to hit the quick ball; Hanamaki’s spikes are very crisp, but I feel like they can be hit a bit more tricky…”

“Seitokowa’s serves are really strong.” Furue exclaimed, patting the red skin on his arms, “When will we be able to rely on serves to beat the other side to a pulp…”

“Wasn’t Oikawa just staring at Seitokowa’s libero the whole time?”

“Furue, if you could choose, would you choose Oikawa or Seitokowa?”

“Can I choose Ushiwaka?” Furue said sincerely, “He’s the most difficult person to receive serves that I’ve ever come into contact with… Sorry, Oikawa.”

“Damn it! Just you wait, I’ll definitely develop a serve that’s even better than Ushiwaka’s!”

“But speaking of which, why hasn’t Kokonoe come back yet?”

They looked at each other.

“Something must have delayed him.”

“Seriously — it’s decided! When he comes back, we’ll punish him by only letting him watch Oikawa-sensei toss to others!”

“…That’s a terrible punishment.”

Not long after, Miyano was called away by Ikaru Naoki, who said that the coach wanted each school’s captain to go over for a small meeting to formulate the training plan for the future.

Such meetings had been held several times before, mainly to change the training plan in real time based on the progress of each school, so that the purpose of the training could be optimized. But this time, Miyano did not return for a long time—nor did the captains of the other schools.

And during the break, Iwaizumi received a text message from Miyano, and his expression suddenly solidified.

“I and Ikaru and the others seem to have seen Kokonoe going to the tennis club to challenge them AHHHHHH!!!”