Komori looked at Sakusa in surprise.
Sakusa's face was as expressionless as ever, but after knowing him for more than ten years, Komori immediately picked up on it.
That was unmistakably a hint of pride.
He was proud of how well Ryosuke had done.
That was rare. Who would have thought Sakusa could feel something like that?
"Ryosuke, that was a great receive."
Yamagata straightened up from his crouch and gave Ryosuke a thumbs-up.
That receive had been so clean and smooth that it had been satisfying to watch.
Ryosuke chuckled and scratched his hair.
"Not really. I'm still nowhere near Yamagata-senpai."
Yamagata rubbed his nose when he heard that.
If he had been the one receiving that serve, honestly, even he couldn't say for sure how it would have gone.
"All right, enough complimenting each other. Get back into position. It's Ushijima's turn now."
Reon pushed the two of them, who were still busy praising each other, back toward their positions.
Then he turned to Ushijima.
"Do your best. Take five points in a row."
Normally, saying something like "take five points in a row" was just a way to encourage someone, and Ushijima had never argued with it before.
But today, he replied with complete seriousness,
"I don't think I can."
Reon and the others froze.
Ushijima was actually saying something pessimistic?
Now that was something you didn't see every day.
Seeing everyone stare at him, Ushijima assumed they didn't believe him, so he explained,
"I really don't think I can get five. I might not even get two."
As he spoke, Ushijima looked across the net.
Everyone followed his gaze and saw Komori chatting and laughing with someone.
They immediately understood what he meant.
Five straight points really was unlikely.
The libero on the other side was Komori, the player known as the "Number One Libero."
No matter what kind of serve reached Komori, he could neutralize it.
Even Ushijima's serves were no exception.
Tsutomu Goshiki stood nearby with a miserable expression.
Just imagining his own serve getting completely neutralized later made his whole body feel uncomfortable.
Reon silently sighed before telling Ushijima,
"It's fine. Just do your best."
Ushijima nodded, then walked to the service line.
Seeing Shiratorizawa ready, Itachiyama also returned to their positions.
The moment Komori saw Ushijima step up to serve, he excitedly rubbed his hands together.
He had been looking forward to facing Ushijima's powerful serve.
Sakusa backed away while staring at Komori's unsettlingly eager expression.
"Komori, are you a pervert? Fix your face."
Komori ignored Sakusa's jab, but he did obediently compose himself.
In an instant, Pervert Komori became Gentleman Komori again.
"Beep!"
Once everyone was ready, the referee immediately blew the whistle.
The moment it sounded, both the court and the stands quieted down.
Everyone was focused on one thing.
Ushijima's serve.
Ushijima held the volleyball in his left hand, then tossed it upward under everyone's gaze.
He followed the ball into his approach.
Once it reached the right height, Ushijima leaped from the floor like a white bird taking flight.
His outstretched arms spread like wings.
His upper arm drove his forearm forward.
The instant the volleyball reached the perfect striking point, Ushijima brought his left hand down without hesitation.
"Bang!"
The tremendous impact echoed throughout the arena.
The high-definition cameras clearly captured the moment Ushijima's enormous palm struck the volleyball hard enough to visibly deform it.
If he hit it any harder, would the ball actually burst?
Nobody wanted to imagine it.
The volleyball shot toward Itachiyama like an arrow released from a bow.
Komori watched its speed and trajectory and roughly judged where it would land.
He moved quickly but calmly, taking several steps backward.
The volleyball soon crossed into Itachiyama's court, carrying a powerful spin.
Komori backed up, bent his knees, and extended both arms.
The ball slammed straight into his forearms.
"Bang!"
Another sharp impact rang through the arena.
Komori felt like his arms were about to break.
The volleyball struck his forearms and instantly rebounded.
The force was so great that Komori couldn't lift his arms in time to adjust the receive.
The ball flew off his arms toward Itachiyama's backcourt and only began to lose momentum when it was already close to going out.
"Beep!"
The point still went to Shiratorizawa.
"Shiratorizawa scores again! After Itachiyama took the opening point, Shiratorizawa immediately answered with two straight points! This one was a service ace. Let's see whether Shiratorizawa can keep this scoring streak going!"
The commentator's voice followed right on the heels of the referee's whistle.
If the referee hadn't needed to make the call first, the commentator probably would have shouted the moment Komori received the ball.
"Damn, aren't you afraid you'll break someone's arms?"
Reon walked over and gave Ushijima a thumbs-up.
Ushijima's serve was getting more terrifying by the day.
Ushijima looked at Reon seriously.
"I wasn't trying to break his arms."
Reon choked.
Right.
Why was he even joking with a painfully literal idiot like Ushijima?
He would actually take it seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You weren't. Now hurry back and serve again."
Reon brushed him off like he was placating a child and sent him back into position.
Ushijima felt something about that was strange.
He couldn't quite explain why, but he had the distinct impression Reon had just been humoring him.
The thought disappeared almost immediately.
The moment Ushijima returned to the service line, his mind focused entirely on serving.
Both sides were ready again.
The referee blew the whistle, and play resumed.
Ushijima kept his gaze on the volleyball.
Everyone else was watching the ball in his hands as well.
Without warning, he tossed it into the air.
The volleyball rose overhead.
Ushijima began his approach.
As it climbed, he planted both feet against the floor, spread his arms, and jumped.
For the briefest instant, he seemed to hang in the air.
Then his left hand slammed into the ball.
"Bang!"
Ushijima sent the volleyball flying once more.
It shot from Shiratorizawa's side all the way toward Itachiyama.
Komori moved backward several steps.
This serve looked very similar to the previous one.
But Komori wasn't afraid in the slightest.
He felt like he could receive this one.
There was no particular reason.
If Komori believed he could do it, that was enough.
As the volleyball reached him, Komori bent his knees and extended both arms.
The ball was almost on top of him.
"Bang!"
It slammed hard into his forearms.
Once again, Komori felt like his arms were about to snap, as though they had been run over by a road roller.
But this time, his arms didn't give out.
Instead, he forced them upward with everything he had.
The volleyball flew high into the air.
Iizuna had been watching Komori the entire time.
The moment he saw the ball rise, his eyes lit up.
The receive had gone a little too far.
It was also somewhat high.
But there was no denying that it could still be set.
In fact, it was a pretty good first pass.
A smile appeared on Iizuna's face as he sprinted toward the volleyball.
Whether the ball had gone too high or Iizuna was simply running too fast, by the time he reached its landing point, it still hadn't come down.
Iizuna tilted his head back and adjusted his steps.
Seeing that, Sakusa charged forward.
Sakusa's style of play was very similar to Ushijima's.
Most of the time, he made no attempt to hide his intention to spike.
They both followed the same principle.
So what if you know what I'm going to do?
Even if you know, you still can't stop my spike.
That was why, in every match before the semifinals, Sakusa had basically maintained the same approach.
He tore through everyone.
Whenever someone set the ball to Sakusa, he accepted it without hesitation and kept hammering away.
But clearly, that strategy was no longer enough in a semifinal.
Ryosuke alone was already enough to make things difficult for Sakusa.
Even so, Sakusa still wanted to test something.
Just how strong was Ryosuke's blocking?
When Fujino saw Sakusa charge forward so openly, he was slightly surprised.
Still, he assumed Sakusa had a reason.
It was obvious that Fujino genuinely trusted him.
After Ushijima served, Ryosuke immediately joined the rest of the team in transitioning into offense and defense.
Ushijima rushed toward the net after serving, ready to attack on the next exchange.
Tsutomu Goshiki and Reon watched Fujino together.
Their match against Inarizaki had taught them never to underestimate anyone.
Ryosuke's target was obvious.
He moved directly across from Sakusa.
After so many years, the two childhood friends were finally facing each other across the net in an official match.
Sakusa looked at Ryosuke through the crisscrossing mesh of the net.
For a moment, his gaze became distant.
It was as though he were seeing Ryosuke as a child again.
Little Ryosuke used to cling to him and insist that they play volleyball together.
They would stand on opposite sides of the net, one spiking while the other received.
So many years had really passed.
Ryosuke noticed the distracted look in Sakusa's eyes and smiled slightly.
Sakusa was probably remembering the days when they used to play volleyball together.
Those had been happy times.
But neither of them had time to dwell on that now.
Iizuna set the ball toward Sakusa.
It was precise and steady.
Sakusa heard the ball coming and backed up several steps to prepare his approach.
Ryosuke didn't retreat at all.
He stood firmly in front of the net, watching every movement Sakusa made.
Sakusa accelerated into his approach and jumped.
By the time he swung his arm, Iizuna's set had arrived perfectly within reach.
Sakusa slammed his right hand into the volleyball.
At the same time, his wrist twisted, adding extra force and spin.
Seeing that, Ryosuke bent his knees and exploded upward from the floor, raising both arms in front of the net.
Sakusa struck.
"Bang!"
The ball shot directly toward Ryosuke's blocking arms.
Just before contact, Sakusa twisted his wrist.
Originally, the attack had looked like an ordinary cross shot.
But after the extra rotation from Sakusa's wrist, its angle changed into something far trickier.
It was no longer a standard cross shot.
Ryosuke narrowed his eyes and tensed his arms.
"Bang!"
The spinning volleyball crashed into Ryosuke's forearms.
The force made him frown.
It felt like his arms were going to break.
But the pain wasn't the biggest problem right now.
The real issue was the ball's angle.
Ryosuke had successfully blocked the spinning spike.
There was no question about that.
But the instant the volleyball struck his arms, all of its force suddenly disappeared.
It began dropping straight down along Ryosuke's block.
Ryosuke instantly went on alert.
He wanted to reach out and scoop it back up.
But the angle was too awkward, and the ball was dropping too quickly.
By then, it was already falling in front of his chest.
There was no way Ryosuke could free his hands in time to receive it.
So he sighed and waited for it to fall.
"Is he giving up on this ball?! Sakusa hit an incredibly tricky spike, and Ryosuke blocked it! But there was a subtle twist to the ball!
"The instant it struck Ryosuke's arms, it lost all its momentum and started dropping! We can see that Ryosuke isn't making any attempt to save it! Is he really going to give up on this point?!"
The commentator was practically shouting with excitement.
To Tendo, who was watching the match with complete concentration, the voice was starting to sound irritating.
He rolled his eyes.
Ryosuke didn't hear a single word from the commentary.
Out of the corner of his eye, he stayed locked onto the volleyball, waiting for it to drop.
The moment it was about to reach his feet, a sharp gleam flashed through Ryosuke's eyes.
He lifted his left foot.
Then he kicked the volleyball upward.
The ball shot straight into the air.
"He saved it! Ryosuke actually saved the ball with his foot! Incredible! Everyone thought he was going to give up on the play, but instead, he used his foot to keep it alive! Ryosuke really is remarkably agile!"
The commentator was so excited he was nearly standing up from his seat.
Sakusa raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected Ryosuke to save it like that.
The volleyball had been kicked high into the air.
Ryosuke landed immediately afterward and quickly moved aside.
The ball had gone high, but judging from its trajectory, Ryosuke could already tell it was going to come down tight against the net.
He moved out of the way at once, giving the player behind him room to jump for the attack or contest the ball with Sakusa.
Ryosuke was decent at fighting for balls tight to the net.
But against Sakusa, there was no reason to force that matchup.
He didn't need to prove anything.
All that mattered was winning the match.
Tsutomu Goshiki had noticed Ryosuke's movement almost immediately.
Normally, Tsutomu Goshiki wouldn't have had the instincts to read that far ahead.
But after spending so much time with Ryosuke, he had gradually learned to predict what Ryosuke would do next.
The moment Ryosuke lifted his foot, Tsutomu Goshiki already had a rough idea of what would happen.
So as soon as Ryosuke kicked the ball, Tsutomu Goshiki started running toward him.
Even Ushijima reacted a step later.
"Oh? That kid's pretty good too."
Coach Hibarida's eyes flashed with approval when he saw Tsutomu Goshiki take off.
The instinct to predict the next play just from someone's movement was rare.
But looked at another way, it also meant something else.
Tsutomu Goshiki trusted Ryosuke enough, and understood him well enough, to know what he was going to do.
...
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