JSWGAS Chapter 113

113.

Still three points behind.

Kokonoe Taka took a deep breath as he stood at the service line. The sweat had caused the bandage on his hand to stick uncomfortably to his skin, rendering it useless; he’d have to remove it later. The intermittent clicking of camera shutters that had been going on since just now had stopped. As he accepted the volleyball handed to him by a staff member, he saw two middle-aged men standing in that direction—they were talking about something, and the taller of the two had a face he recognized.

Kokonoe Taka casually averted his gaze; nothing was more important than the ball in his hand right now. He turned his attention to the volleyball in his palm, bouncing it against the ground twice. The stadium, which had just been echoing with Shiratorizawa’s school song and Aoba Johsai’s chants, seemed to quiet down during those two short thumps.

Still three points behind, he repeated silently in his mind.

…The serve still needs adjustment.

He needed more effective means to drag Ushijima Wakatoshi down.

His heart was pounding, but he recalled his battles with Echizen Nanjirō during middle school. Because there was such a vast difference in their skill levels, he often found himself running all over the court while Echizen Nanjirō could return his shots while standing still—so, in those early days, his task was to figure out how to hit balls that were difficult to receive, forcing his opponent to move.

Echizen Nanjirō was strong, but he was still just a person, not some three-headed, six-armed tennis monster. And the human body’s joints dictated that some movements were difficult to execute…

Now, he needed to do the same thing.

Just like his probing attempt to target Ushijima Wakatoshi last time.

Every cell in his body was eager for this challenge; every nerve was tensed as he tossed the ball and started his run-up. Adrenaline surged through his veins. At the moment of his jump, Kokonoe Taka saw Ushijima’s figure, as clear and laughably distinct as the pain of swinging his arm.

Ushijima Wakatoshi’s temples throbbed, his breathing was slightly rapid, but he still maintained his stability. His toes turned outward, his outstretched arms forming a solid plane, his movements refined and concise. Although he had always been the team’s ace, the core player, and all he needed to do was score, that didn’t mean Ushijima Wakatoshi’s receives were subpar.

The setter had already gauged the position and inserted himself into the front row, calculating how to organize the attack. Although Saijō could get a touch off Ushijima’s spikes, his stamina was clearly the most depleted on the court; and although the serving middle blocker was more outstanding than expected, he wasn’t as effective as Saijō in dealing with Ushijima’s powerful attacks.

…But the ball didn’t fly as he expected.

—Or rather, to everyone’s surprise, the ball abruptly swerved away from Ushijima Wakatoshi’s arms under everyone’s watchful eyes, veering off course and crashing directly out of bounds.

“Uh…Ushijima player missed the receive…?” The commentator’s question was unprofessional and even somewhat incredulous. From off the court, this power serve looked no different from usual, and even lacked the heavy, terrifying force of Ushijima Wakatoshi’s serves. Ushijima’s skill was beyond question, so was it simply a mistake?

“Don’t mind, Ushijima,” the setter hurriedly pulled himself out of his calculations and quickly offered comfort, his expression hesitant. “Have I been giving you too many balls lately? Do you need me to adjust?”

Through two sets, Ushijima Wakatoshi’s number of spikes had reached an astonishing figure, and as the opposing team organized a team defense, that expenditure was further intensified. It was reasonable for the setter to have such a thought.

Ushijima frowned, staring at Kokonoe, whose expression he couldn’t quite make out, and moved his arm joints, as if confirming something. “No… He’s doing it on purpose.”

“Ah?”

Ushijima withdrew his gaze, his tone firm, “Kokonoe is aiming for the area near my joints and blind spots.”

“—I’ll continue to target Ushiwaka, and there will be at most two more serves that he won’t be able to receive properly.” On the other side, Kokonoe Taka also looked away, suppressing the smile at the corner of his lips. “These little tricks can disrupt their rhythm slightly, and they’ll inevitably become a bit timid. The uncertainty of perfect first touches will make the opposing setter’s tactical choices simpler—”

“In other words, they’ll be easier to see through,” Oikawa interjected, smiling maliciously. “The rest is my job.”

“…Terrifying.”

“?”

Kokonoe continued to target Ushijima.

The setter’s palms were sweaty. Although Ushijima had said that, he couldn’t help but be paranoid. Coach Washijo’s instructions hadn’t changed from the start—to fully support Ushijima and allow him to unleash his full power. That was what he had been doing all along.

Strangely, he had never considered such questions before. Perhaps it was because of the anxious atmosphere near the net, or the hesitation caused by repeated unsuccessful attacks… Maybe he should distribute the attack opportunities to other hitters? Especially now, when Ushijima was being targeted.

…But Coach Washijo didn’t say anything. Maybe he was overthinking it; Shiratorizawa was still ahead of Aoba Johsai.

Ushijima’s second receive was only partially accurate. As expected, Kokonoe was taking advantage of the short time to aim for blind spots that were difficult for left-handed players to reach, using a position that made it impossible to adjust his receiving posture… An uncomfortable feeling, but also very effective. Ushijima Wakatoshi deliberately set a high ball, giving himself time to adjust his state, and then immediately began his attack preparation.

He jumped behind the three-meter line, accumulating power in mid-air in a split second while his eyes pierced through Saijō’s high block. He saw the venomous snake that was tightly entangled around them, but he also knew that this snake was about to die; the sweat that was almost drowning Saijō’s temples wouldn’t lie.

He could break through.

His determination was resolute, and his gaze no longer lingered, heading straight for Kokonoe in the back row.

A violent bang echoed deafeningly, as if someone had fired a gun next to Saijō’s ear.

Saijō saw Ushiwaka’s gaze pass through him towards the rear, as if bypassing an unimportant stone. Before the exhaustion that desperately tried to drag his eyelids down, what arose first was the anger of being looked down upon, raging like wildfire, and a smoky, bloody taste filled his mouth. How much he wanted to fiercely fill the area in front of the net! How much he wanted to bite into the white eagle’s throat and inject the venom from the snake’s fangs bit by bit into his body! His hands yearned to be smashed into a bloody mess, and then throw the weapon back the way it came!

But he bit his back teeth hard, his hands firmly blocking in the air, restraining the destructive impulse. The deafening echo dissipated, but could not cover up the hunting wind rising from the falcon’s take-off. He knew that someone wanted to drag the high-flying white bird down from the altar even more than he did. He saw Ushiwaka’s gaze turn back again—“ouch!”

“I’ll get it!”

Kokonoe knew that Ushiwaka’s spike was going to smash towards him. Ushijima Wakatoshi was not a soft persimmon to be kneaded at will. How could someone who could become an ace endure his undisguised targeting? He would only counterattack! Counterattack! And counterattack again! It would be a big mistake to believe that the white eagle’s leap was only about beauty and perfection!

Chase him! Chase it!

Kokonoe held onto the floor with all his might, stabilizing his center of gravity. Saijō’s obstruction finally allowed him to prepare. But the spicy sensation that exploded on the surface of his skin still made his scalp tingle at that moment, as if burning lava had touched gray steel. He leaned back according to the seemingly irresistible force, but held the line at the last moment…

“First touch received!” The commentator’s tone was excited.

Kokonoe Taka saw Ushiwaka’s back. He had stopped him; in a daze, Ushiwaka’s back turned into a falling volleyball, and he received it.

“Nice receive!”

Wildfire is contagious, rolling into Oikawa Tōru’s nostrils along with the stuffy smell of Salonpas spray in the air.

“Iwa-chan!”

Iwaizumi jumped from the fourth position. Anyone would think it was a straight set, and three blockers quickly followed. But Oikawa forcefully changed the direction of the set at the last moment, stuffing the ball into the corner behind him.

Saijō reluctantly jumped up, swinging his arm to intercept.

“Aoba Johsai’s setter, Oikawa Tōru! Beautifully fooled the blockers!”

“Faced with Shiratorizawa’s heavy artillery, Aoba Johsai has shown amazing courage. The score on the court is now 21:20, and Aoba Johsai has a chance to surpass Shiratorizawa…”

“Niceball!”

Aoba Johsai erupted in cheers, and their morale rose to another level.

Ushijima Wakatoshi steadied his breathing, no longer looking at their faces.

“One more ball.”

The setter was stunned and subconsciously agreed, “Okay.”

…Was Ushijima smiling just now?

The third jump serve was an ordinary power jump serve. It wasn’t that Kokonoe Taka didn’t want to target Ushiwaka, but that kind of small trick was destined not to delay too much time. Ushiwaka set the ball, then circled from the back to near the number two position, and Shiratorizawa’s setter once again set the ball to Ushijima.

Saijō and Oikawa jumped together, and Miyano’s angled jump restricted the ball path. But a gap was still left, whispering to Ushijima like an invitation.

Ushijima spiked the ball, and the volleyball squeezed fiercely through the gap between Oikawa and Miyano, crashing towards the open space.

—From beside the open space, a figure suddenly flashed out.

“Everyone, listen to me.” After the previous cheers ended, Oikawa Tōru lowered his voice, “For the block later, I want it to be a little tighter. After blocking the straight shot, have Miyano-senpai restrict part of the angled shot’s path.”

“That would still leave a gap that can barely be spiked, right… Luring?”

“Yeah, the urgency to score will leave them no time to organize complex tactics again. It will definitely still be Ushiwaka’s ball,” he said, “In this situation, plus Ushiwaka should also start to understand that forcing it will only allow Saijō-senpai to get a touch, and be successfully defended against by us… So if there is a gap, even if the angle isn’t good for him, it will definitely be his first priority.”

With Furue not on the court, the most difficult part of this tactic to handle was who would receive that ball. But almost half a second after Oikawa Tōru finished speaking, Iwaizumi’s voice immediately followed.

“No problem.”

—No problem.

The consistently calm tone was also the impression that Iwaizumi gave people, and it also coincided with his current behavior. Iwaizumi had received many spikes from Shiratorizawa’s ace in the past. Few of them were received perfectly, but his movements when he stepped forward were still unwavering. The volleyball crashed into his arms, fighting against each other, the friction stinging painfully. But Iwaizumi didn’t even twitch his eyebrows, ignoring the trembling muscles, but instead shouted, “Oikawa!”

The volleyball bounced to the edge of the net, and Oikawa took a step diagonally, lowering his center of gravity. Ah, as expected of Iwa-chan, still so energetic… His head was swelling, his eyes were sore, but his gaze was still clear and bright.

“Taka!”

Not bothering to identify whether it was real or fake, the blockers at the net hurriedly jumped up, trying to catch up with Kokonoe, who had finished braking.

But contrary to Oikawa Tōru’s loudly raised tone, the ball eventually flew into the hands of Arose, who had been holding his breath. With no one defending him, he spiked fiercely towards the torn open space.

“21:21! Aoba Johsai chases four points in a row! Ties Shiratorizawa!”