Bang!
Asuto leaped into the air and, before Fukurōdani’s blockers could close in, hammered the ball straight into the floor, earning another point for Aoba Johsai.
12–13.
After landing, Asuto calmly turned and walked back to his position without sparing Kyotani so much as a glance.
‘Just as I thought. I knew you wouldn’t behave yourself. You already pulled something like this in the original story; there’s no way I wouldn’t be on guard against it.’
Kyotani stood frozen, unable to recover from what had just happened. It wasn’t until someone patted him on the back that he finally snapped out of it.
“Hey, it’s your turn to serve,” Matsukawa Issei’s voice was full of warning. “Do your job properly. This is Nationals, not a place for you to do whatever you want. If you try stealing the ball again, I don’t care if the coach gets mad at me; I won’t let you off. Got it?”
For once, Kyotani didn’t argue. Now that he’d calmed down, he realized he had acted too impulsively. In the previous match against Morinen High, he’d spent the entire game sitting on the bench without getting a chance to play. He’d been holding it in for far too long.
“…Sorry. I’ll be more careful.”
Kyotani actually apologized, and that apology nearly gave Matsukawa a heart attack.
“…Huh?!”
‘What the hell? This jerk actually knows how to apologize? Is the sun rising in the west today?’
Kyotani didn’t notice Matsukawa’s dumbfounded expression. After apologizing, he picked up the ball and headed toward the service zone. As he passed Asuto, though, he couldn’t help sneaking another look at his expressionless face.
‘This guy has gotten even stronger…’
There were two reasons Kyotani had returned to the volleyball club. One reason was that Aoba Johsai had made it to Nationals. The other was because he’d heard Asuto had joined the team.
Back at the Sendai City Gymnasium, Kyotani had been completely crushed by Asuto. Even the jump serve he’d been practicing was the result of that defeat. After losing to Asuto’s serve, he’d gone through special training just to improve his own. His goal was simple: one day, he’d settle the score.
But what he hadn’t expected was that before he even got the chance to challenge Asuto, he’d already been defeated by Asuto’s sheer presence. That was something he simply couldn’t accept.
Suppressing his frustration, Kyotani viciously tossed the ball into the air. He exploded upward, his body arching dramatically in midair like a fully drawn bow, every muscle coiling tighter and tighter until…
BOOM!! Bang!
His palm slammed into the ball. The volleyball visibly trembled before shooting across the court like an arrow released from its bowstring. It tore over Aoba Johsai’s service line and came screaming down toward the back line of Fukurōdani’s court.
By the time the ball hit the floor, Fukurōdani’s back-row defenders hadn’t even begun to react.
The Fukurōdani players froze.
[OHHH! What a vicious serve!]
[Aoba Johsai’s number 16 substitute, Kyotani Kentaro, has made an incredible first appearance at Nationals! His explosive serve completely caught Fukurōdani off guard! Even their defenders couldn’t react in time, allowing Aoba Johsai to…]
Tweet!
Before the commentator could finish, another whistle cut through the arena, and the line judge near Fukurōdani’s baseline suddenly raised his flag.
[Oh! An unexpected development!]
[After consulting with the officials, the line judge has ruled that Aoba Johsai number 16’s serve landed just out of bounds!]
[The point goes to Fukurōdani instead of Aoba Johsai!]
[12–14!]
[Fukurōdani restores their two-point lead!]
…
“Ahhh… it was just out! What a shame!”
“WOOOOOO! We got lucky!”
The Aoba Johsai supporters let out disappointed groans, while the Fukurōdani fans erupted in cheers.
Back in Aoba Johsai’s bench area, the substitutes and team advisor Mizoguchi Sadayuki looked equally disappointed.
“What a pity… it was so close!” Mizoguchi looked heartbroken.
Coach Irihata Nobuteru, however, simply smiled. “No. There’s nothing to regret. We’ve already accomplished what we wanted.”
Although Fukurōdani had been awarded the point, their defenders were still drenched in cold sweat.
Was Kyotani Kentaro’s serve powerful? It definitely was.
But it wasn’t that powerful. Kyotani’s serve was strong, but in terms of both speed and force, it was still a step behind Oikawa’s and Asuto’s.
Fukurōdani’s back-row defenders had simply been caught off guard; that’s why they hadn’t reacted at all. If they’d been prepared, they couldn’t guarantee they’d receive Kyotani’s serve cleanly, but at the very least, they should’ve been able to get a touch on it.
The real issue wasn’t how fast Kyotani’s serve was. The real problem was that, besides Oikawa and Asuto, Aoba Johsai now had a third dangerous server. That was the part that truly mattered.
Just dealing with Oikawa and Asuto’s serves had already put an enormous amount of pressure on Fukurōdani’s libero. Against serves like those, no team in the country could honestly claim they could receive them consistently.
Every time he faced those two cannon-like jump serves, Fukurōdani’s libero felt like he was gambling with about a fifty-percent chance of success.
And now there was another one. Just thinking about it made him lose confidence.
The serve rotated over. This time, it was Bokuto Kotaro’s turn.
As one of the nation’s top five aces, Bokuto naturally had an excellent serve, possessing both speed and power. He served twice in a row; the first was a service ace, and the second went out.
The score became 13–15.
Against an ordinary team, that would’ve been enough to build a comfortable lead, because once the serve rotated back, Fukurōdani would regain control of the offense. But Aoba Johsai wasn’t an ordinary team. Right after Kyotani came Oikawa’s service rotation.
To be honest, Oikawa wasn’t at his best today.
That doesn’t mean that he was playing badly; he just hadn’t reached his usual perfect form. Like Bokuto, Oikawa served twice. The first earned a point, and the second was a service error.
14–16.
Still, Oikawa’s service ace had stolen the momentum back. Using the attack after the following serve receive, Aoba Johsai scored again, cutting the deficit to 15–16.
Then, it was Asuto’s turn to serve.
Watching yet another heavy-hitting server walk toward the service line, Fukurōdani’s libero finally couldn’t keep a straight face anymore.
A look of pure suffering spread across his face. In the end, all his thoughts boiled down to a single word: ‘Damn…’
Asuto stepped into the service zone with the ball in hand. He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then exhaled. When he opened them again, his gaze was completely calm.
The Aoba Johsai players in the front row knowingly covered the backs of their heads and cleared out of the way for their Ace.
Asuto gently tossed the volleyball into the air. The familiar, comfortable feel of the ball immediately put him in rhythm.
Approach. Jump. Swing. Spike.
Thoom.
The sound this time was slightly different. To Asuto, it wasn’t the usual explosive crack; it sounded more like a low rumble of thunder. Of course, nobody else could really tell the difference.
Well, almost nobody. There was one exception: Fukurōdani’s libero.
The instant the ball left Asuto’s hand, he sensed that something was off. Compared to the straightforward cannonball that was Asuto’s usual power jump serve, this one curved.
‘What the hell is this thing?!’
The unexpected change completely threw him off. Asuto’s serve had already been unbelievably hard to receive. It was blisteringly fast and hit like a truck; every time he received it, it felt less like a volleyball and more like a solid iron ball. He’d thought that was already unfair enough.
‘But no. Absolutely not. That inhuman monster on the other side had actually gone and added a new trick to it.’
The libero genuinely wanted to swear. He’d only just started getting used to Asuto’s power jump serve, and now it suddenly had movement. Even if it was only a slight curve, it was enough to make him hesitate for the briefest instant. And against a serve as fast as Asuto’s, that tiny moment of hesitation was fatal.
The volleyball whizzed past the libero’s ear, the wind from it brushing against his hair. Even though it was right in front of him, the sudden curve at the last moment prevented Komi Haruki from tracking its landing point. He could only watch helplessly as it slammed into the middle of Fukurōdani’s court.
Thud!
Tweet…!
The sound of the ball hitting the floor was immediately followed by the referee’s whistle. The scoreboard flipped.
16–16.
Aoba Johsai had tied the game.
(End of Chapter)