But Sakusa didn't spike.
Ryosuke immediately sensed something was wrong and looked up at the volleyball. Only then did he realize that it was descending unusually slowly. Sakusa had started his motion too early.
By the time Ryosuke reacted, he and Tsutomu Goshiki were already descending.
Sakusa landed almost as quickly as he'd jumped, then twisted aside to clear the space.
In the next instant, Nishio, who had somehow been following right behind Sakusa, burst forward.
Their coordination was seamless.
Nishio sprang out from behind him and slammed the descending volleyball without hesitation.
The ball skimmed just over Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke's heads before crashing down.
This time, there was no one behind them to cover.
Ryosuke was busy blocking and couldn't receive it himself. Tsutomu Goshiki didn't have the ability to make that kind of save, while Ushijima and Reon were still too far away.
It looked like Itachiyama had this point.
"Bang!"
Sure enough, the volleyball hit the floor while Reon was still rushing over.
Everyone turned toward the ball.
"Fweeeeeet!"
The referee immediately blew the whistle and awarded the point.
Nishio let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw the ball land.
Sakusa had nearly scared him to death.
The guy had arranged the entire play without saying a word. No signal, no warning, nothing. If Nishio hadn't kept his eyes on the ball the whole time, he might not have reacted at all.
Nishio stormed toward Sakusa, ready to complain.
But the moment he met Sakusa's completely impassive gaze, his confidence inexplicably weakened.
"Sakusa-senpai, could you give me a heads-up next time you're going to do something like that? What if I don't react in time?"
Sakusa looked at him in confusion.
"I did signal you."
"?"
Nishio genuinely had no idea when Sakusa had done that.
Standing nearby, Iizuna struggled not to laugh as he patted Nishio on the shoulder.
"Sakusa looked you in the eye before he went up."
Nishio suddenly understood.
So that was why Sakusa had randomly looked at him earlier.
That had been the signal.
It was just...
A little too subtle.
Nishio didn't know whether to laugh or cry, while Iizuna continued trying to suppress his laughter.
Their reaction made Sakusa's skin crawl.
He shuddered and quickly turned away, heading back to his position.
He couldn't shake the feeling that those two were talking about him behind his back.
Over on Shiratorizawa's side, Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki both looked frustrated about failing to stop the attack.
Honestly, Nishio's spike would've been easy to block if Sakusa hadn't provided cover.
But after Sakusa pulled that stunt, neither Ryosuke nor Tsutomu Goshiki had been able to react in time.
Just as the two were about to apologize, Hibarida, who had been standing off the court, called a timeout.
"Fweeeeeet!"
The sudden whistle cut through the heated atmosphere on the court, forcing several players who had gotten carried away to calm down.
Reon looked at Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki and smiled.
"All right, it's not that big a deal. Go sit down and rest for a bit."
The two exchanged a glance before Yamagata came up from behind and ushered them toward the bench.
At the same time, the commentator's voice rang through the arena.
"The score is currently 12 to 14, but more than forty minutes have already passed! That alone shows just how fiercely contested this match has been!
"With that last point, Itachiyama has successfully taken a two-point lead over Shiratorizawa. Can Shiratorizawa fight back and put an end to Itachiyama's service run? Let's see what happens!"
The Itachiyama players also took advantage of the timeout to step off the court and rest.
Tendo narrowed his eyes at Hibarida, who had called the timeout.
Hibarida stood there with his arms crossed, apparently lost in thought.
Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki returned with their heads hanging low.
Hibarida found the sight slightly amusing.
They really were still inexperienced.
From the beginning of the match, Hibarida had noticed that something was off with Ryosuke.
He hadn't watched an entire Ryosuke match before, but he knew one thing for certain.
This wasn't Ryosuke's normal level.
As for Tsutomu Goshiki, he was usually very close to Ryosuke.
Ryosuke's mood had probably affected him, which explained why Tsutomu Goshiki's condition had become unstable too.
Then there were the third-years.
Every single one of them was as steady as could be.
Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki clearly hadn't inherited that kind of mental stability yet.
Hibarida could more or less guess why Ryosuke was off his game.
Ryosuke wasn't arrogant or impatient, and he normally had very little else to worry about.
Once Hibarida eliminated the other possibilities, the answer was obvious.
Coach Washijō wasn't there.
Ryosuke had practically been raised by Coach Washijō.
Coach Washijō had been present for every match before this.
Now that he wasn't standing on the sidelines, it was only natural that Ryosuke would struggle somewhat.
Looking at Ryosuke's lowered head, Hibarida somehow found even the swirl of black hair at the crown of his head pitiful.
He sighed and reached out with both hands.
Reon's heart immediately jumped into his throat when he saw Hibarida's hands move.
He had no idea what kind of temper Coach Hibarida had.
What if he actually hit them?
The team's overprotective guardian immediately started worrying and had already begun thinking about how he could defend Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki if necessary.
Instead, Hibarida simply planted both hands on their heads and vigorously rubbed their hair, nearly knocking the two of them off balance.
Reon's heart finally settled.
Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki looked up at Hibarida in confusion.
Ryosuke's eyes were full of bewilderment.
He still hadn't quite processed what had happened.
Tsutomu Goshiki, meanwhile, stared accusingly at Hibarida.
Feeling slightly guilty, Hibarida withdrew his hands.
Tsutomu Goshiki immediately caught the guilt in his eyes.
He gave a small snort and said nothing.
Hibarida coughed awkwardly before speaking.
"For the rest of the match, Tendo and Kawanishi will go in. You two stay here and watch how your upperclassmen play. You still have plenty to learn."
Then he turned toward Ryosuke.
"Ryosuke, come with me for a minute."
Ryosuke froze.
This was the first time a coach other than Coach Washijō had ever called him aside for a private talk.
He looked back at the others.
Reon nodded to him.
Only then did Ryosuke follow Hibarida away.
After Ryosuke left, Reon sighed and turned to Yamagata.
"Don't you think Ryosuke's been unusually quiet today?"
Yamagata nodded immediately.
Reon wasn't the only one who had noticed.
Everyone could tell something was off with Ryosuke.
"Coach Washijō isn't here."
Ushijima went straight to the heart of the matter.
Everyone fell silent.
They all usually thought Coach Washijō was extremely strict.
But deep down, his presence was like an anchor for the entire team.
As long as Coach Washijō was there, they felt secure.
Now that he wasn't on the sidelines, it wasn't only Ryosuke who felt uncomfortable.
Even Reon had needed time to adjust at the start.
Hibarida led Ryosuke some distance away from the others before stopping.
He decided to get straight to the point.
"You're not playing well right now."
Ryosuke's face immediately went pale.
His fingers tightened around the hem of his jersey, and his voice came out muffled.
"I know... Coach, I'm sorry..."
Ryosuke had a habit of taking every mistake onto himself.
Looking at him, Hibarida suddenly remembered what he'd been like as a clueless first-year himself.
Still, overall, Ryosuke was already doing extremely well.
Were kids these days all this mature?
Hibarida took a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking.
"Ryosuke, do your best to get yourself back into form. Have you noticed that when your condition slips, it affects Tsutomu Goshiki too?"
That stopped Ryosuke cold.
He began thinking back over the match, trying to pinpoint when Tsutomu Goshiki had started acting differently.
Then he realized Hibarida was right.
Tsutomu Goshiki's condition had started slipping because Ryosuke's own was off.
Tsutomu Goshiki must have been worried about him the entire time.
Meanwhile, Ryosuke had been thinking about how to help Tsutomu Goshiki recover, never realizing that the real cause was himself.
Seeing the thoughtful look on Ryosuke's face, Hibarida knew his words had gotten through.
So he continued.
"I know why you're struggling. Coach Washijō can't stay by your side forever, and he can't be your coach forever either. Even if the two of you are still family, there's a much bigger stage waiting for you. In the future, you'll have teammates, opponents, and friends.
"Coach Washijō built you a perfect shelter from the storm, but you still need to learn how to grow on your own. Look behind you. You're someone everyone else relies on too."
Hibarida's words struck Ryosuke like a bolt of lightning.
He followed the direction of Hibarida's gaze.
Everyone was secretly looking over at them.
Warmth spread through Ryosuke's chest.
Then he turned back to Hibarida.
Ryosuke still didn't think he could immediately play at his best without Coach Washijō there.
But for his teammates, he could at least try to adapt.
At the very least, he couldn't drag Tsutomu Goshiki down with him.
"I understand. Thank you, Coach Hibarida."
Having gathered his thoughts, Ryosuke thanked him solemnly.
If Hibarida hadn't pointed it out, Ryosuke might never have realized what was happening.
Hibarida nodded in satisfaction.
Talking to a smart kid really did save a lot of trouble.
He lifted his chin toward the others and joked,
"Go on. Look at the way they're staring over here. They're probably terrified I'm going to eat you alive."
Ryosuke flushed with embarrassment and hurried back toward the team.
The moment he returned, everyone immediately crowded around him.
Reon asked worriedly,
"Coach Hibarida didn't scold you, did he?"
Then, afraid he'd accidentally touched on something upsetting, Reon hurried to add,
"Being out of form isn't a big deal. Yamagata and the others had days like that all the time when they were first-years too."
Yamagata, who had been dragged into the conversation for no reason, went silent for a moment.
"...Yeah, yeah. Reon's right. I used to have bad days all the time too. That's completely normal during matches."
Everyone began chiming in, trying to reassure Ryosuke.
Ryosuke saw all of it and committed it to heart.
"Don't worry. Coach Hibarida's really nice. He didn't scold me at all."
As Ryosuke spoke, an arm suddenly hooked around his neck from behind.
Tendo draped himself over Ryosuke like some boneless creature.
Then he blew lightly against Ryosuke's neck and grinned.
"So little Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki can take a break now. Watch carefully and see how your upperclassmen win this back."
Tendo was smiling cheerfully.
The actual words coming out of his mouth weren't nearly as gentle.
Kawanishi had been watching from the side.
Seeing this, he smiled too.
"Tendo's right. You two can sit on the sidelines and learn properly from now on."
Shirabu stood nearby without saying anything.
But given the atmosphere, the fact that he didn't make some sarcastic remark or pour cold water on them meant he clearly agreed with Tendo and Kawanishi.
Strictly speaking, Shirabu was also an upperclassman to Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke.
The atmosphere on Shiratorizawa's side quickly became lively again.
Sakusa glanced over.
He saw Ryosuke surrounded by everyone, smiling again.
Only then did Sakusa finally relax.
If Ryosuke's teammates could tell something was wrong with him, then of course his childhood friend could too.
Seeing Ryosuke looking happy again reminded Sakusa of the past.
Whenever Sakusa made Ryosuke angry, it usually took him at least a week to coax him back into a good mood.
And now this flock of Shiratorizawa players had managed it in a matter of seconds.
Sakusa couldn't help feeling a little jealous.
Iizuna walked over while drinking water and followed Sakusa's gaze toward Shiratorizawa.
He couldn't resist commenting,
"Little Ryosuke really is popular. Tsk, tsk. Looks like someone's jealous."
Sakusa gave a quiet snort before replying flatly,
"Shiratorizawa will probably make substitutions now. Tendo and Kawanishi should be going in."
Iizuna kept drinking.
After several gulps, he paused for breath.
"Doesn't matter. Playing Ryosuke is still playing, and playing Tendo and the others is still playing."
Sakusa lowered his head, somehow produced an alcohol wipe, and began cleaning his hands.
"It's different. Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki are only first-years. Their coordination with the rest of Shiratorizawa is still a little rough, and even then, they've managed to fight us evenly. Once Tendo and Kawanishi go in, things will definitely change."
Iizuna took another drink, then nodded.
"You're right. Things are going to get troublesome now."
Sakusa tilted his head.
Seeing that Iizuna was still drinking, he moved farther away with a look of disgust.
"Drink less water."
Feeling that the warning might not be enough, Sakusa added threateningly,
"If you drink that much, you're going to throw up on the court."
After being lectured, Iizuna smiled awkwardly and finally put his cup away.
The timeout passed quickly.
Both teams had rested enough.
Everyone waited silently for the whistle to sound again.
"Fweeeeeet!"
The whistle signaling the return to play rang out.
Both teams began moving, rising and heading back onto the court.
Before leaving, Tendo stopped in front of Ryosuke.
"Little Ryosuke, don't waste this chance for a live lesson."
Then he winked.
Sitting on the bench, Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki nodded seriously.
Hibarida watched the players return to the court, looking forward to seeing how they performed.
Now this was Shiratorizawa's proper lineup.
The previous configuration had essentially been there to give those two youngsters experience.
Against an average team, that would've been fine.
But against Itachiyama, where every player was seasoned and difficult to deal with, Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki were inevitably going to struggle despite doing their best.
This Shiratorizawa lineup was different.
Taken individually, perhaps only Yamagata and Ushijima stood out more than the others.
But put all of them together, and they became an unstoppable team.
...
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