JSWGAS Chapter 117

“Now is the third game of the IH preliminary finals, the score on the field is 10-7, Shiratorizawa leading.” The commentator said, “The score in the previous two games was also very intense, with a big score of 1:1. It can be said that the third game is crucial. But from the current point of view, Shiratorizawa still has the advantage.”

“Shiratorizawa’s offensive methods mainly focus on Ushijima and Somura’s power attacks, and the quick attacks of other attackers are also very stable. Aoba Johsai is very good in tactical choices. It can be seen that their setter has a strong ability to read the game, and basically every tactical attack can achieve results. However, after Saijo left the field, their defensive ability has appeared a lot of loopholes; in comparison, Shiratorizawa’s Tendō is in great shape today… Beautiful! Tendō block scores!”

Iwaizumi’s cross-court shot was blocked by Tendō in front of the net the moment the commentator’s voice fell. Matsukawa quickly raised his arm to try to receive it, but ultimately failed to catch up.

Iwaizumi’s expression was not good, “Sorry.”

Oikawa waved his hand, his face equally grave, “Don’t worry, get the next ball back.”

Kokonoe Taka inadvertently thought of what Tendō had said when Shiratorizawa scored another point. He was rotated off the field at this time, and the game entered Aoba Johsai’s weak rotation. The tug-of-war in the previous few points had been foreshadowed, but it was not until the extended line-up that the problem was completely exposed. Most of the attacks were blocked by Tendō’s intuition, and the rest were remedied by Shiratorizawa’s other experienced blockers; and the carefully arranged blocks were as fragile as thin paper in front of Ushijima. At present, the score has not been widened, all relying on Oikawa running back and forth to barely maintain the integrity of the tactics.

But that was all.

Oikawa could even completely outline Shiratorizawa’s fatal weaknesses in his mind while panting, but he was troubled by the lack of powerful weapons at hand. Tactics are for scoring points. It is the setter’s responsibility to open up paths for the attackers under limited conditions. But Tendō’s existence made the measures that could be taken even fewer…

The pace of the game became faster and faster, and Tendō’s looming hands seemed to become faster and faster. Oikawa Tōru stared intently at the ball, his feet heavy, and his knee pads could already feel a half-wet coolness. But the first step he took was still as good as he could possibly make it. Almost everyone thought that this ball would eventually be set to Matsukawa in the mid-court. Tendō, after glancing at Oikawa’s action, rushed towards the middle area to jump without hesitation, only to see the ball floating lightly over Matsukawa’s head and coming to the silent Iwaizumi.

“Miscalculated——?!”

“Niceball!”

“Good job, Iwaizumi!”

The powerful spike from the outside hitter ended Shiratorizawa’s consecutive scoring, and a burst of cheers erupted in the venue. But Kokonoe Taka, sitting off the court, keenly noticed the changes that could only be seen in the details—that set was slightly one-third of a ball higher than usual.

Then he recalled the set where Oikawa Tōru changed the direction of the set at the last moment. The vague strangeness at the time was answered when he consciously raised his perspective. The ball speed was very fast, and the arc was large. If the attacker could not adjust himself to cooperate with this ball, he would definitely miss the spiking opportunity and lose points.

The two sets seemed unrelated at first glance, but when put together, they proved that it was not a coincidence, and the fact that they could both score points in the end was not accidental good luck. Oikawa Tōru has always been good at setting the most suitable sets for everyone, but these two balls were inexplicably somewhat similar to Kokonoe Taka’s aggressive style when he acted as a setter.

While thinking, the score quickly came to the second technical timeout after 16-14.

Aoba Johsai’s score was tightly biting behind Shiratorizawa, but it was obvious to everyone that Aoba Johsai was consuming more energy. Substitute players hurriedly brought towels and water bottles. The hissing sound of the medicine spray nozzle and the smell of Salonpas were captured together.

“Can your stamina last?”

Coach Irihata carefully observed a group of panting players: Arasawa and Furue were already visibly showing unconcealable fatigue; Iwaizumi was just a little out of breath, but sweating a lot; Matsukawa and Ogawa (the outside hitter replacing Miyano) seemed to be doing well on the surface. But they were a little listless. The pressure of suddenly facing Shiratorizawa at full strength was still too great for them; Kokonoe had rested for a while during the previous rotation and looked no different; Oikawa was a little more embarrassed, but his eyes were very bright.

Everyone nodded.

“Tell me if you don’t have any stamina, don’t hold on, your body is the most important thing.” Coach Irihata said seriously, looked around, and found that the players were all obediently nodding, before he softened his tone again, “Tendō’s block doesn’t make sense, pay attention not to be led astray; don’t be too nervous when facing Ushijima, jumping at the right time can leave yourself room for adjustment… Don’t forget to think, you have already won a game from Shiratorizawa, which proves that your attack is very effective, keep it up, and look for opportunities.”

Coach Irihata looked at Oikawa, who put down the water bottle and licked the corner of his lips.

“Regarding the next offensive deployment, I have an idea.” He had obviously been thinking about it for a long time, “Since there are loopholes in the defense, then give up the points that can’t be recovered and focus on the points that can be obtained. Shiratorizawa’s rhythm is very stable, we can’t let them continue to play comfortably.”

“Shiratorizawa’s block will have flaws when facing more choices,” he looked at several attackers, “Spread out the distance, speed up the rhythm, and bring them into our rhythm.”

This is indeed a way: Tendō’s predictive block requires a lot of energy and stamina, and he can only focus on one choice each time; and spreading out evenly makes full use of the entire length of the net, which can effectively buy time and space for the attack.

This requires a high level of technique from the setter and reaction ability from the attackers. A slight carelessness can lead to mistakes.

“I don’t want to lose.” He said this with rare frankness and stubbornness, his eyes clear, “So every ball from now on must be played with all our strength.”

Oikawa Tōru did what he said.

It is a dangerous thing to rashly change the pace of the game when the game has been tugging until now. If not handled properly, it can also drag the team into an uncontrollable vortex. The attackers of Aoba Johsai looked at each other, they keenly noticed that Oikawa had ulterior motives. But no matter what, that feeling of not wanting to lose was at least felt by everyone at this moment. So before the referee blew the whistle, pairs of eyes stared at the setter in the middle of the crowd, unreservedly handing over their trust.

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Oikawa.”

This may also be the best choice at present. Kokonoe Taka, who once changed the pace of the game by himself, is the most qualified to express his views on this. But at this time, he just fell silent, his eyes gently passing over the same decisiveness on different faces. The intuition honed by countless games told him that Aoba Johsai had little chance of winning. Shiratorizawa was undoubtedly the same type as Teiko before, winning by adding up the strong individual strength of each player. Maybe Oikawa Tōru’s plan will eventually fail, and their last-ditch effort is just a more troublesome adjustment in Shiratorizawa’s eyes—

——But.

——No victory should be taken for granted.

——At least at this moment, he is with these people.

After receiving the approval of his teammates, Oikawa Tōru’s sets no longer concealed the intention of scoring points. Each time, they stopped exactly a few millimeters higher than the usual hitting point, brightly like a carrot hanging in front of a mule, playing a conspiracy while sincerely revealing his trust, making people only able to pinch their noses and admit defeat.

The atmosphere at the net was tense. With a bang, Ushijima’s spike squeezed through the eye of the storm and slammed into the ground. But the next ball was immediately countered by Oikawa, and the right to serve was exchanged again.

Ushijima suppressed his wildly beating heart, shook his head slightly, shook off the heat sliding down his cheeks, and stared at the Aoba Johsai team with murderous intent.

Oikawa Tōru did not shy away from glaring back: What are you looking at?

Iwaizumi didn’t have the strength to pull Oikawa out of the tense atmosphere to wake him up. He felt that the opposite Ōhira was thinking the same way, and in addition, Ushijima’s spike had just passed through his arm, so he simply gave up and joined the staring contest.

Aoba Johsai served, Somura moved to cushion the ball. Under Kokonoe Taka’s oppressive gaze, the setter gave up the idea of directly pushing the volleyball over the net and passed it to Tendō who was asking for the ball.

Due to the rotation, Kokonoe and Tendō did not actually have many opportunities to face each other directly. But Tendō Satori knew where he would appear, just as Kokonoe also knew where Tendō would appear. Regardless of the reason, paradise welcomes all madness! Blocking should be like this! Kill with one blow in the battle of wits! Only in this way can it be called wonderful! Only in this way will the audience cheer! But——

…Alas, although I was looking forward to Kokonoe-kun’s block, if this ball is blocked, Kaji will definitely scold me, and maybe he will ask me to block a hundred spikes and then spike a hundred balls.

Sighing regretfully in his heart, Tendō Satori avoided Kokonoe Taka’s forward-pressing palm, squinted his eyes, and suddenly lightly pushed from the side of the ball, trying to send the ball into the empty space in the front court. Kokonoe Taka’s fingertips missed the volleyball, and just as the volleyball was about to land, Oikawa Tōru rushed out from behind Kokonoe Taka, dived to save the ball, and struggled to get up. But this also meant that Aoba Johsai’s setters were disrupted.

What’s more, this ball was in a bad position, flying towards the outside of the court, and at this time, Oikawa, who had finally stood up, staggered, but his voice was still full of vitality, “Taka!”

Kokonoe Taka rushed out almost before he had even spoken. This time, Tendō Satori chased after him relentlessly, and his terrifyingly focused gaze almost gave him goosebumps on his exposed skin. On the audience seats, only two figures could be seen quickly unfolding the pursuit on both sides of the white net. This was like a signal. In the blink of an eye, almost everyone on the court moved. The red-haired middle blocker still bit Kokonoe Taka’s tail like a shark smelling blood. In the eyes of others, this was Tendō’s headstrong performance. In fact, only the two people chasing after each other knew that Tendō had seen through Kokonoe’s thoughts.

Since there is no way to avoid it, it is better to face it!

After a moment of muscle tensing, followed by charging, Kokonoe Taka’s action after jumping made others realize why Tendō was running with him in front of the net… Rather than setting the ball, this action was more like a threatening spike!

Tendō did keep up, but when his eyes were at the same level as Kokonoe, he realized that something was wrong. Kokonoe Taka avoided his aggressive gaze and did not choose a ball path. The few breaths he lingered in the air were enough for him to widen his vision to the entire field. The strength in his arm suddenly receded, and the high-pitched tone and the volleyball were transmitted to the place farthest from them, “A-Ichi!”

The audience was in an uproar, “No way?!”

“—An amazing fake spike and real set! Caught Shiratorizawa off guard!” The commentator’s voice briefly drowned out the clamor, “But the route of this ball is a bit reluctant, the position of the ball is very low, can Aoba Johsai seize this opportunity…”

Only Iwaizumi, who had been reserving his strength to protect the ground in the previous two games, could jump up at the first moment he was called. After he bulged his cheeks and held his breath to brake, another imposing figure suddenly flashed out of the ball path he had expected. Iwaizumi saw the opponent’s action clearly, but it was too late to adjust. The volleyball spiked into the net and hit Ushijima Wakatoshi’s arm heavily. The commentator immediately gave up the topic he had not finished analyzing and said in an excited tone, “Shiratorizawa’s Ushijima received this ball! A perfect first pass!”

“Niceball!” The setter slanted into the front row. This ball was a bit close to the net. But he still calmly adjusted his position and sent out a handy high ball, “Ushijima!”

Seeing this, Aoba Johsai immediately organized a defense. Everyone was on edge, ready to meet the bombardment. The three-person block was ready, and the ground protection in the back row was also ready to adjust at any time. Ushijima’s physical strength should be approaching the critical point. Even he himself was aware of his gradually sluggish limbs. But contrary to this was the constantly rising and passionate emotion in his spirit. The threatening block in his vision was approaching, thump, the sound of his heartbeat and the sound of his stepping on the ground overlapped—spike it down, break through the block in front of you.

“Rumble——”

A thunderclap on the ground, shocking the world.

The sound covered all the noise when it rang, and the aftersound when it disappeared carried the boiling voices of the people.

“Too amazing… In this situation, he can still spike the best ball of the day…”

“A well-deserved super ace…”

“I can’t believe that a first-year can spike a cannonball like this, I can’t believe what it will be like in two years…”

The bursts of cheers and discussions from the audience seats soon stopped. People saw the third-year middle blocker of Aoba Johsai, who had performed well in the previous two games, urgently saying something to the coach beside him, followed by a tight whistle. At the same time, the setter in the court didn’t even bother to stand still, staggering and turning his head to look at his teammates——

“…Eh, wait, what’s wrong with Aoba Johsai over there?”

——The person standing in front of the net was arching his back, tightly grabbing the right hand that had just touched the ball. The ’12’ on his back, which was stained deep by sweat, was trembling slightly facing the sky. A few drops of crimson blood fell all the way down his fingers until they bloomed on the floor. The low curse that was drowned out by the chaos finally squeezed out of his throat.

“…Damn it.”