JSWGAS Chapter 109

109.

The word “genius,” even now, Oikawa still finds irritating.

It’s not just that he realizes he’s merely a relatively outstanding ordinary person compared to naturally gifted individuals like Ushiwaka and Tobio. Those failures that still make him grind his teeth, the laughable persistence and insignificant self-esteem he endlessly revisits in the dead of night, the desire and ambition to be the best that he can never truly compromise within his heart, all corroborate this idea.

–People always have their flaws.

If the aforementioned two are the opponents he most wants to defeat, then the other person called a genius is the one who remains closely connected to him to this day… childhood friend? Best friend? Teammate? For this person he doesn’t know what identity or position to use to describe, the term genius seems more like a shackle.

His misfortune stems from his talent, and his luck stems from his talent. If he hadn’t initially displayed his talent, Kokonoe Taka might have just been another face in the crowd; if he hadn’t displayed his talent, he wouldn’t be so thirsty for knowledge and relentlessly pursue it.

Oikawa has repeatedly glimpsed something deeper hidden beneath Kokonoe’s talent–those things make him even more annoyed with geniuses. Taka always effortlessly accomplishes things that ordinary people cannot, yet he constantly grapples with the origins of deeper joys and the obstacles of pain, while ordinary people don’t even have the leisure to consider these problems.

Geniuses are truly annoying. Without it, both he and Taka would be much more relaxed, right?

But such thoughts are quickly overturned when the volleyball passes through his fingertips, flying further away. What sustains Oikawa Tōru to this day is that dissatisfaction with reality and the desire to seize a view from higher up, and all his negative emotions towards geniuses arise from this; similarly, what sustains Kokonoe Taka to trek from Tokyo, filled with high-rise buildings and power lines, to this small Miyagi, to stand before him, is also something similar to him.

–People all have their flaws. This is only the first step.

Oikawa Tōru is happy to use this genius’s kind to make his heart start beating fearlessly again–in the end, isn’t this what Ushiwaka is most useful for right now?

–They won’t give up because of this, even if it’s difficult.

–No matter who it is.

–So, the current you…

“Is a fellow traveler… huh.”

He spoke this sentence in a low voice right at the end of the set. The satisfaction of personally awakening a genius spiker can be seen from the corners of his mouth, which haven’t fallen down, and even because its overly malicious meaning is so strong, it leads Arase and Saijō, who has been rotated in, to whisper to each other, “Did the coach say who to target next? Why does Oikawa have such a bristling smile… No? Doesn’t that mean we’re going to be unlucky?”

Oikawa smiles amiably and turns his head, “I heard that.”

Arase, Saijō: “…”

Oikawa Tōru isn’t targeting them.

–That smile, more than anything, is directed at himself.

Kokonoe Taka seems to be divided into two halves, one half tightly clinging to Shiratorizawa, repeating the movements of approach, jump, and covering; the other half leisurely props up a perspective overlooking the court, everything is exposed before him without escape. Oikawa Tōru has done what he has always wanted to do, Kokonoe Taka can feel that familiar fanaticism seizing his senses again. Then the upcoming confrontation will be more than just Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa–

“Kokonoe! A beautiful flat out! Utilized the length of the net, escaping the block!”

Aoba Johsai’s cheerleading squad immediately let out a cheer of waving pom-poms and inflatable cheering sticks.

“Hiss—Ushijima’s back row attack level is very high, Aoba Johsai is in danger.”

This time, Shiratorizawa sings its school song in unison.

The two sides don’t give way to each other, clearly it’s the first set but they’re playing with the momentum of a final set. 24:23, Shiratorizawa only needs one more point to win the first set.

“Serve a good ball!”

Sonoyama serves. He knows that the opponent is more wary of his power jump serve, so this time the serve slyly aims at the front area.

“I’ll take it!” Saijō has already prepared for this person to play tricks, not giving Sonoyama a single chance to exploit. The first pass is on point, and Oikawa glances extremely quickly at Iwaizumi who is ready in the three-position, his gaze passing over Tendō in front of him. This person’s blocking is too cheating, and the reaction speed isn’t slow either, but the weakness is also obvious, his strength is insufficient.

They can’t give Shiratorizawa a chance to set up a block!

Iwaizumi obviously knows Tendō’s difficulty, and knows Oikawa’s plan with a single glance. The braking action turns, and he quickly exchanges with Kokonoe in the two-position, a reverse-cross attack. The latter’s approach and jump are aggressive, the rhythm is faster than Iwaizumi, obviously extremely confident that Oikawa will pass the ball to him.

The block follows closely behind with the jump, guarding tightly, but Kokonoe swings at empty air–the ball ultimately flies in front of Iwaizumi’s palm.

But the block that Oikawa most wanted to deceive tightly entangles itself, “Bang!”

The volleyball is blocked single-handedly by Tendō.

“Tsk!”

Iwaizumi grinds his teeth, “Sorry.”

Kokonoe Taka flicks the hair hanging down in front of his forehead, pushing him off the court, “Don’t worry about it, we’ll still have to rely on A-Ichi next set.”

Iwaizumi, “…Annoying.”

Arase, who follows them off the court, “He doesn’t even need his senior to comfort him, a little disappointed.”

Oikawa is obviously dissatisfied with the fact that he’s being left behind alone, and deliberately says loudly as he passes Arase, “Because Senior Arase doesn’t seem that reliable.”

Arase, “…Huh?! You little brat–”

When they come down, fooling around, there isn’t any situation of low morale, Coach Mizoguchi breathes a sigh of relief, and the first thing he does afterwards is stop Kokonoe. In fact, he was very worried about the injury on his hand when Kokonoe Taka was serving. But at that time, it wasn’t good to interrupt, and Kokonoe’s expression was without any color– “Where did your hand get injured?”

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding players turned their heads to look over. Iwaizumi, who had just been pushed down by Kokonoe Taka, pulled him over in one go, “What’s going on?”

Kokonoe Taka subconsciously flinched his hand, but was pinned in place by Iwaizumi’s glare, “…It was during the block.” He finally chose to tell the truth, “Ushijima’s spike is too difficult to receive, I wasn’t paying attention to the angle, so my little finger has a slight abrasion—hiss.”

His expression fluctuated for the first time, and Iwaizumi had already uncovered the bandage wrapped around his finger, and was glaring at him, looking fierce, “Was your sense of pain eaten by The Trash River?”

“Eh? Why is this still being brought up to me! I’m super innocent!”

The wound wasn’t deep, it was indeed just a scratch. The difficult thing was that his method of wrapping bandages was disorganized, and slightly rough, which made the situation seem a bit serious. Coach Mizoguchi came over with the medical kit and simply treated his wound, and when wrapping the bandage, his eyelids were twitching non-stop from Kokonoe’s indifferent method.

“…I’ll do it.” The one who spoke was Saijō, whose expression was difficult to discern, “Bandages aren’t wrapped like that, especially blocking players need to pay more attention.”

Iwaizumi quickly snatched the bandage in Kokonoe’s hand and handed it to Saijō.

Kokonoe was silent for a moment, “A-Ichi, I tentatively…”

Iwaizumi was simple and rude, “Shut up.”

The momentum was strong, and everyone flinched for a moment, and avoided, fearing that they would also be implicated.

Only Oikawa didn’t give up, quietly muttering, “Godzilla’s brutal rule is indeed terrible.”

Kokonoe Taka honestly let the silent Saijō wrap the bandage for him, while listening to the tactical arrangements.

“Our offense is playing very well, and the score in the first set was only two points away from Shiratorizawa, and in terms of tactical offensive adjustment, we aren’t weaker than Shiratorizawa anywhere. However, Oikawa, you can be bolder with the strong attack route on the left.” Coach Irihata looked at Arase, “Arase as well, if the cover is up, you don’t need to hesitate. Pay attention to giving way to the adjusting route.”

“You’ve also seen Shiratorizawa’s offense, what are your thoughts?”

“The most important thing is still Ushiwaka’s spike.” Oikawa’s nickname is indeed of a high level, and Arase despairingly follows him in calling him that, “That kind of spike is very difficult to target, and we can’t completely let it go. He basically didn’t participate in receiving in the first set, and Oikawa’s serves targeting him were also covered by the libero, I think we can continue to use this point to contain him.”

“While the power is great, it also means a lot of physical exertion, right?” Miyano says, “What we did in the first set was still useful. Although it’s impossible to completely exhaust Ushiwaka’s stamina, weakening it a little counts as a little, and it’ll be easier to play later.”

“Although I also received Ushiwaka’s spike in the previous practice match,” Futsukata says reasonably, “But I have to say that his ball is more difficult to receive, although the landing point isn’t difficult to judge, the difficulty lies in the stronger power and rotation. Even if I try my best, the first pass is difficult to be on point…”

“How about soft blocking?”

Everyone is stunned.

Saijō raises his head and repeats calmly in various gazes, “Soft blocking, get a touch, and then Futsukata covers–”

Soft blocking is a block that focuses on weakening the opponent’s attack power with a touch, and basically everyone who plays volleyball knows a little about it. But what surprises them at this time isn’t this, but the person who made this suggestion. Saijō has always specialized in blocking completely, and basically won’t use soft blocking to block the ball, which he explains is because if he doesn’t block the spiker to death, it’s like he’s lost.

Arase stammers, “Soft? Are you sure?”

Saijō is impatient, “Do you want me to block Ushiwaka’s spike to death? You can try it, but that will definitely conflict with the tactical arrangements, and it won’t prolong the battle line.” He pauses, “Although I still really want to try blocking him to death.”

Oikawa is the first to react, “But we basically haven’t cooperated with Senior Saijō’s soft blocking before.”

“There will definitely be mistakes at the beginning,” Saijō says, “This can only be considered a risk that must be taken. Do you want to win against Shiratorizawa without paying any price?”

Kokonoe presses on Saijō’s shoulder in the silence, only he wasn’t frightened by Saijō’s somewhat irritable side, and opens his mouth under a group of shocked gazes, “Calm down, Senior Saijō…”

Saijō turns his head to glare at him, interrupting, “I haven’t said you yet. Have you forgotten all the blocking techniques I taught you? Or are you a dog? Can’t move when you see Ushiwaka? A blocking without any skill is useless trash!”

Everyone, “…Pfft.”

Oikawa, “Taka, hold it in, it’s still during the match, at worst, I’ll accompany you to ambush Senior Saijō after the match… Pffft.”

Iwaizumi, “…You’re too loud.”

Kokonoe, “…” Takes a deep breath, for the sake of him wrapping the bandage for him just now.

He silently lets go of his hand and takes a step back.

When he goes on the court, his handsome face is so cold that ice chips can fall off with a turn of his head. What’s more, there’s still an Oikawa fanning the flames next to him, indirectly causing Tendō to exaggerately shiver with his arms folded as soon as he stands in front of the net, seeking agreement from Ushiwaka next to him, “Wakatoshi-kun, why do I feel like someone moved a refrigerator over here?”

An oppressive gaze follows.

Ushijima Wakatoshi seems oblivious, seriously replying, “It’s still a match now, that kind of situation won’t happen.”

Tendō Satori always feels that Kokonoe’s steps during the rotation with the libero are full of anger.

Aoba Johsai’s formation in the second set has changed slightly, so Kokonoe was rotated down by Futsukata as soon as he came on the court. Arase watches him leave the court, “It’s rare to see Kokonoe suffer a loss.”

“But anyway, it’s not us who have to be careful of the back of our heads later when he serves.” Miyano jokes, “Senior Saijō, Oikawa, and Tendō on the opposite side should all have higher hate values than us.”

“You’re right.” Futsukata and them give each other a high five, “But that kind of Senior Saijō… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.”

“Saijō is also a person who doesn’t admit defeat.” Arase laughs, “The juniors are working so hard, even more reliable than the seniors… Saijō hates useless things. If he doesn’t do something, then he’s not Saijō Osamu I know.”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to block the opponent to death.” Saijō says to Kokonoe before going on the court, the tone isn’t very good, “But a messy blocking that will only cause unnecessary injuries won’t block anyone—I hate lecturing, but now it seems that using lecturing as a senior’s right is still not bad.”

“Senior Saijō as well.” Kokonoe abruptly opens his mouth, “Are you only planning to get serious now?”

“No.” Saijō notices that his jaw is tightening, Kokonoe can also be considered to have truly turned on the switch in this match, if you really have to pull it, they can also be considered half a pound to eight ounces, “This is just something I have to do.”

Something that must be done, in other words, is also something that will be done even if you don’t want to do it.

The equation in his mind is dispelled when Shiratorizawa serves, Sonoyama serves first, and a powerful jump serve comes aiming at the sideline. Arase receives the ball, and passes to Oikawa: Iwaizumi’s momentum is very high, Miyano in the back row also starts to cross cover—compared to them, Saijō jumping from the three position can be described as silent, the height of being able to be a middle blocker naturally doesn’t need to be doubted, but this person’s spike score in the first set can be described as tragic, compared to that Number 12 who is constantly jumping with pressure, it’s like two extremes, how could Oikawa pass the ball…

Oikawa is also clear about this in his heart. He is clear that he trusts any of his teammates. But this kind of trust, in his strong inner self, ruthlessly divides different areas. The setter chooses the spiker, guides the spiker, and the spiker also needs to respond to the setter. Just like in every pass before, he found that Saijō didn’t have much desire to attack, and avoided spiking even at the cost of using a rebound ball to reorganize his posture–

“It has nothing to do with you, Oikawa.”

That day should have been when Oikawa was called away by his classmates, and accidentally ran into Saijō playing the piano in the empty music classroom on the way back. Thanks to his mother constantly chasing after Viennese musicals on TV, he is also familiar with the music. And Saijō took his hand away after discovering that he appeared, and the last measure of “Moonlight Sonata” stopped abruptly—facing his question, Saijō just answered this way.

“I just want to score with blocks.”

“At least for now.”

Saijō’s blocking can score, and he doesn’t want to take on more offensive responsibilities, this can also be considered a difference in personality. Therefore, Oikawa Tōru’s response method is also different—and he knows that now is the best time for that ‘now’ to end!

Well, he also has to thank Taka for making this opportunity come.

“Senior Saijō!”

That’s a back pass flat ball with a gentle arc, when it comes to Saijō, the speed slows down, and he faces Tendō and Ohira’s double block together. Some people are good at hitting quick balls, and naturally some people are good at hitting slow balls. And Saijō can tell at a glance that this ball is stuck in his attack range. Even more suitable for himself than all the passes he has ever received.

–He can’t help but recall the reverberations of that music classroom slowly landing, and then another person’s answer.

“I will set the most suitable ball for Senior Saijō.” The first-year setter said, with a light smile blooming in front of Saijō, who was frowning, “At that time, you will definitely spike it.”

“You were right.”

Even if he still doesn’t like volleyball now, even if the setter standing in the familiar position to set this ball is no longer a familiar face, Saijō still throws his arm out and lightly pushes the ball to Shiratorizawa’s net. His action of withdrawing his force is particularly natural, and even deceived Tendō who was staring at him tightly. The latter realizes that something is wrong and raises his hand to receive it, but only flicks the volleyball onto the net, and Aoba Johsai breaks the serve with one ball.

“NIiceball, Senior Saijō.” Oikawa walks over with an expressionless face and gives him a high five, and Saijō barely responds with a paralyzed face, but Oikawa doesn’t let him go, and smiles with a smile that is even more exaggerated than that day, “Smile a little, why aren’t you happy when you score?”

Saijō is silent for a moment, “Troublesome brats.”

Oikawa laughs, “Yeah yeah, Oikawa-sensei can’t understand at all!”

“…Never mind.” Saijō says, his gaze passing over the sidelines, where another troublesome figure is staring at him tightly–

The last sentence Saijō said before going on the court is being broadcast in Kokonoe Taka’s mind in all directions without dead angles.

“And you? Show me what a real block looks like.”

Saijō did deliberately integrate his most hated preaching into this piece of advice to his junior in a disgusting way. But this doesn’t prevent Kokonoe Taka from deciding to remember this grudge. A blocking without any skill is useless trash, a messy blocking won’t block anyone—Kokonoe Taka admits that he is clinging tightly to the threatening spiker on the opposite side. But he doesn’t accept Saijō’s sarcastic insinuations that he is a wild dog.

That gaze is indeed oppressive, and the three people in Aoba Johsai’s back row are sweating cold on their backs, and even Iwaizumi is faintly unable to withstand it. But Oikawa and Saijō are like they have added a layer of armor, and the former even has time to wink at Kokonoe Taka during the match.

But he soon doesn’t have that much leeway.

If the characteristic of Aoba Johsai’s side is the exquisite and complex multiple tactical coordination and comprehensive offense, then Shiratorizawa’s main focus is the simple and rude answer obtained by adding the individual single-handed combat capabilities. Saijō suddenly understands why Kokonoe Taka injured his finger when the volleyball touched his fingertips, and even after the volleyball landed, he had to look down to see if his fingers were still intact–

“The name is not in vain.”

If the question could be materialized, then Ushijima’s head would definitely have a few question marks popping up like NPCs in video games. He looks with some puzzlement at the Aoba Johsai third-year student who suddenly strikes up a conversation with him, and the latter doesn’t seem like he needs an answer either. He forces a smile and turns around to communicate with his teammates.

Shiratorizawa’s setter calls out to Ushijima at this time, “How’s your stamina?”

Ushijima puts this little episode behind him and nods, “I can continue.”

This ‘I can continue’ is an invincible continuous score for Shiratorizawa, and a repeatedly frustrated team defense for Aoba Johsai. Blocking exists to stop the attack, and the attack evolves to break the block. Saijō is constantly adjusting his movements, and his fingers are like they are being squeezed in reinforced concrete. He holds his breath, restrains his hand that wants to block to death, and supports a soft and smooth net tape—Aoba Johsai is lacking this now, and only this.

At this time, the cold and sharp gaze behind his spine is like the reinforced steel supporting his bones.

–That’s right, look at me, see what a real block looks like… what a block needed by the team looks like.

That stubbornness that has always existed on Saijō is still there, no longer craving to seal the opponent to death, it has faded all inappropriate movements, silently like a snake only spitting out its letter—of course, it will still bite when it’s time to bite.

Sonoyama is one of the people who suffers greatly from this. His and Saijō’s grudges can be traced back to last year, even earlier than Arase who almost tore his hair out. Saijō can’t catch Ushijima’s flaws, but he can bite to death Sonoyama’s spikes that are relatively easier to receive, and every time he blocks one, he will say with a forced smile, “Is that all you’ve got?”

Sonoyama feels that he is so angry that two blood blisters have popped out in his mouth.

The situation on the court is changing rapidly.

Saijō doesn’t care whether Kokonoe has seen his thoughts, he only manages to package all the responsibilities that a senior should fulfill and the things that should be told to the junior in one go.

At least the increasingly less rough blocking method after Kokonoe rotated on the court shows that his method is indeed effective. Ushijima raises his eyes after scoring with a spike, and frowns slightly: An uncomfortable feeling.

The next ball is taken down neatly by Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s cooperation with a coordinated attack.

13:8, Kokonoe rotates to the back row.

Ohira looks at Kokonoe standing behind the white line, briefly patting the ball to find a feel, and recalls what Coach Washijo said at the end of the first set.

“To be beaten into this shape by a kid who only knows how to charge around!” The hale and hearty old man suppresses his anger, “Is the receiving training you usually do fooling people?! Are your movements so stiff when receiving on purpose to let that kid practice?! If you’re still shrinking back, get out of the volleyball club!”

–At that time, only Tendō, who didn’t need to receive, and Ushijima, who was always serious, were unaffected, and everyone else felt like they had been hit over the head.

They had also studied Kokonoe’s serve before the game, which combined speed with weight. And the time deliberately left blank before serving is a great opportunity to put on pressure. But to say that they have also encountered opponents of the same type as Kokonoe, but among this group of players, only Kokonoe has managed to accurately grasp the gap of that moment of relaxation while putting on pressure without moving a muscle, and then launch a head-on attack without mercy.

–After seeing through this, at least the prepared posture is no longer as full of loopholes as before.

Kokonoe is the person who can see this point most clearly. Those bright loopholes have been filled, and it is obvious that deliberately putting on pressure is useless to Shiratorizawa.

But he finds that his mood is calm, and the gradually increasing point difference is a new experience for him. He rarely thinks about similar questions, but after the victory road paved with flowers and applause is personally cut off by him. The question that has always existed finally surfaces.

–In the present, what counts as being needed by the team?

Like Ushijima?

Like Saijō?

Or…

The volleyball is thrown high into the air, and the unanswered question is also stuffed into it. Saijō feels a cold breeze behind his head at this moment, and Ushijima obviously has the same feeling—the person who jumped up undoubtedly hands the right to answer to him.

Kokonoe Taka’s peripheral vision stares at Ushijima, and his wrist is pressed to the extreme. Journalist Inoue, who is watching the side of the court intently, exclaims urgently. He has seen the same technique used to strengthen the spiking power and ball rotation in a video tape named ‘Echizen’ stored in the headquarters of a magazine company—well, although that player is not a volleyball player but a tennis player.

The ball is roaring, roaring provocatively.

Shiratorizawa’s libero’s heart tightens, it’s faster again! And it’s aiming at Ushijima again! He is just about to step forward to dismantle the move, but sees Ushijima suddenly reach out to receive this serve—stable and skilled, as if he has done this thousands of times.

“–Give me the ball.”

Yeah, he really doesn’t admit defeat. Although he thinks so, the setter still helplessly feeds him a beautiful high ball.

One answer gives an answer, and the other answer is still stubbornly holding on to the forefront of the defense.

Saijō has almost bitten his teeth out of blood, and regrets madly: He should have given himself a layer of protection when he wrapped the bandage for Kokonoe. But he desperately looks back, and in the upside-down world sees the volleyball that was bounced off and is starting to fall–

“–ouch!”

You must be there.

Kokonoe.