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It was none other than Kurata Mao.
Compared to the other members of the volleyball club, he was the kind of player who had absolutely no talent for the sport and very little interest in it.
Initially, he joined the Volleyball Club for a simple reason. He wasn’t interested in any other clubs either, but the school required every student to join one. After thinking it over, he simply ended up joining the Volleyball Club.
Given his height and physique, the only suitable position for him was libero.
And so…
After training through his first and second years, Kurata Mao eventually became a regular starter in his third year.
He wasn’t particularly strong as a player, but he also never slacked off during practice. After adapting to the game for an entire set, he finally managed to grasp the rhythm of Kitagawa Daiichi’s quick attack.
· · · · ·
The volleyball rebounded high into the air.
Mishita Ryuhei immediately shouted excitedly:
“Nice receive! Great job, Kurata!”
“Stop them!”
Seeing their Quick Attack blocked right before set point, Kageyama Tobio’s expression changed drastically, and he shouted loudly.
The moment he spoke, he was the first to rush to the net, leaping high in front of Akashi Asuto and stretching both arms towards the sky desperately.
The next second…
A massive shadow covered his vision.
Asuto was suspended in mid-air, his vertical jump about half a palm higher than Kageyama’s. His shoulders and calves were drawn back, the firm lines of his muscles standing out beneath the uniform and displaying astonishing strength.
Bang!
His right arm swung down towards Kageyama. The volleyball blasted forward, smashing into his fingers before breaking through the block and slamming onto the court floor.
Tweet!
The referee blew the whistle.
24:22.
Sengoku Junior High reached set point first.
After landing, the two players faced each other across the net. They both had expressionless faces, but Kageyama’s hands were clenched tightly into fists. His veins bulged and his knuckles turned white, but he did not loosen his grip at all.
Sengoku Junior High continued to serve.
After the ball crossed over, Kitagawa Daiichi successfully found an opening and launched a counterattack, narrowing the score to 24–23.
Immediately afterwards, however, Kitagawa Daiichi served once more, only for Sengoku Junior High to receive the ball cleanly and organise another smooth offensive sequence, successfully scoring again.
25:23.
Sengoku Junior High took the first set.
· · · ·
The match entered the break period.
The atmosphere on Sengoku Junior High’s side wasn’t exactly relaxed and carefree, but it was fairly harmonious nonetheless.
However, the atmosphere on Kitagawa Daiichi’s side was clearly terrible. Even when they had fallen behind earlier in the match, the team atmosphere had never been this cold.
Kindaichi and Akira Kunimi formed their own little group.
The rest of the volleyball club members gathered around the captain, chatting amongst themselves.
Kageyama was the only one sitting alone, drinking water with a dark expression on his face.
The team of only six people had been forcefully divided into three separate factions.
Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach’s face had turned faintly green upon seeing this scene. Although he had already noticed certain problems within the team, he had never imagined that things would deteriorate to this extent.
However, even if he wanted to resolve the situation now, this wasn’t the right moment.
After thinking for a while, Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach spoke up.
“Kageyama, during the second set, pay more attention to your teammates’ condition. The most important thing in a match isn’t your personal skill; it’s enabling your teammates to perform to the best of their ability. You…”
“I know already!” Kageyama interrupted the coach impatiently before he could finish speaking.
Seeing this, the coach took a deep breath, ready to continue speaking, but at that moment, the referee’s whistle rang out again.
Kageyama Tobio immediately stood up and walked towards the court.
…
The second set started…
Kitagawa Daiichi served first.
After a brief rest, both teams had recovered some of their stamina, and the rhythm of offense and defense had stabilized once again.
In other words, the match returned to the intense back-and-forth battle of the first set.
Since Kitagawa Daiichi served first, they lost the opening point:
1:0.
Then it was Sengoku Junior High’s turn to serve, and they also lost the opening point.
1:1.
After several rotations of service possession, it was finally Kageyama and Asuto’s turn to serve again.
However, neither of them had fully regained their serving touch yet. Kageyama’s high-speed jump serve went straight into the net, while Asuto barely managed to get the ball over the net. Although it crossed the net, it lacked sufficient power and speed.
The score eventually reached 11:11.
At this point, Sengoku Junior High’s players began to tire, and their performance was even worse than at the end of the first set.
Previously, it had merely been fatigue.
Now, however, they were experiencing genuine physical exhaustion.
This kind of depletion could not be recovered from after just a short break.
Nevertheless, Shimokawa Mitsuto did not call a timeout.
This was because, although the players’ physical condition was deteriorating, their momentum and fighting spirit were growing stronger.
By contrast, although Kitagawa Daiichi’s players were in relatively better physical condition, their problems were clearly far more severe.
From practically the very start of the second set, Kageyama’s sets had been getting faster and faster.
At first, Kitagawa Daiichi’s attackers could barely keep up, but as the match continued, the spikers on his side had already committed several mistakes in a row.
Although Sengoku Junior High later ‘returned the favor’ by making a few technical errors themselves, preventing the score gap from widening, the issue facing Kitagawa Daiichi was obviously far more serious than a mere point difference.
Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach called a timeout.
From Sengoku Junior High’s side, it was difficult to hear their discussion clearly, but judging by the faint voices and the expressions on their faces, it was likely that Kageyama and the coach had got into an argument of some sort.
After the timeout ended… The match resumed.
Judging by the expressions of Kitagawa Daiichi’s players, the Sengoku Junior High players could tell that the timeout hadn’t solved the issue at all.
In fact, it seemed to have made the atmosphere on the opposing side even worse.
The first rally after the timeout…
Kageyama Tobio served.
Possibly due to tactics arranged during the timeout, he didn’t use his high-speed jump serve this time. Instead, he suddenly sent out a normal serve with an extremely tricky placement.
This sudden change threw Sengoku Junior High into temporary chaos.
However, they still just about managed to organize a high toss for Asuto.
Facing a triple block, Asuto slammed a sharp cross-court spike, helping Sengoku Junior High regain the lead at 12:11.
12:11.
“Tch, that guy’s practically not human. The match has already gone on for so long, yet he can still jump so high and be so strong. Doesn’t he ever run out of stamina?” Kitagawa Daiichi’s captain clicked his tongue and spoke unwillingly.
After regaining the right to serve, Sengoku Junior High rotated positions, and Asuto moved to Position 1.
Seeing this, the players at the net silently covered the backs of their heads and spread out.
Holding the volleyball in both hands, Asuto bounced it lightly against the floor a few times.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
After calming his mind, he gently tossed the volleyball high into the air, took several approach steps, and fiercely leapt into the sky······
(End of Chapter)
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