Amatori said with heartache, "Recall Iizuna's back set, then think about Miya Atsumu's.."
Right, specifically that terrifyingly fast, flat, sharp one.
After thinking seriously for a few seconds, Hinata became even more confused: "It seems like there's no difference?"
This time, it was Amatori's turn to fall silent.
Alright, he admitted, the High School's Best Setter's sets were indeed incredibly gentle most of the time.
Miya Atsumu was full of smugness, throwing a provocative look toward Amatori.
Receiving the provocation, Amatori smiled broadly and reached under the net to grab Hinata's shirt: "That works out perfectly, come join us at Itachiyama."
He lowered his head slightly, his somewhat messy long bangs obscuring the light from above and casting a shadow over his face, but the reflections from his light brown hair made his eyes exceptionally bright.
It was like.. a monster trying to lure lost travelers.
Miya Atsumu reached out and slapped Amatori's hand away with a loud smack: "Don't get too ahead of yourself."
Taking a half-step forward, he shielded Hinata behind him.
Miya Atsumu tilted his head back, his face wearing the arrogance that only comes with absolute power.
He spoke with an extremely dominant tone, "I am the strongest Setter, I am the only one who can make use of Hinata; if he goes anywhere else, his talent will be wasted."
Amatori lunged with a backhand strike toward Miya Atsumu: "But Itachiyama is the strongest."
High School's Strongest Libero, one of the Three Major Spikers, a top-three Middle Blocker, a captain who was once the world's best Setter.. that is what a King truly is.
Miya Atsumu let out a sneer: "No future."
The smile on Amatori's face froze.
Amatori collapsed completely.
Sakusa looked down at Amatori Toru on the ground. "If Amatori-senpai continues to be this lax, Inarizaki's score will catch up."
Yes, just like that last play.
Actually, they could have completely kept up with Hinata; it's just that the distance between Amatori and Agatsuma was too great.
The finishing blow from his junior was so sharp it was heart-stopping.
Amatori emptied his mind.
Sakusa continued to look down at him, showing no sign of wanting to take back his words.
Amatori was weeping bitterly.
What broke?
——It was a heart.
Author's Note:
Hinata: Is Atsumu-senpai really that amazing?
Atsumu: Of course.
Hinata: How strong?
Atsumu: The strongest.
(Strike out the entire paragraph above, it's a crossover)
Chapter 107: The One Hundred and Seventh Fox
Under the referee's watchful eye, Amatori finally scrambled up before Coach Utsunomiya could throw him off the court.
Sakusa was right; losing would truly be a loss that wasn't worth the cost. He should focus on winning this match first before worrying about making Miya Atsumu angry.
Yeah, there isn't even a need to go out of one's way to annoy him; they will have already achieved their goal just by winning, annoying Miya Atsumu will just be a bonus.
Inarizaki rotated to Oori Ren's serve, while Akagi and Suna swapped positions, with Suna returning to the front row.
As a rare type of Middle Blocker who does not primarily rely on Quick Attacks, Suna's spikes focus more on technical variation.
Supported by his flexibility and innate strength, Suna's change of pace has always been a lethal weapon against the opponent's Libero.
Besides.. a Quick Attack isn't impossible to pull off either.
"I've got it!" Komori stepped back and received the ball.
A rock-solid receive is the greatest asset for the entire team, so no matter the situation, he must never make a mistake.
What a great receive!
In the front row, Agatsuma Soushi quickly moved to Position 2 to prepare for a spike, Hinata rushed over immediately, while Suna and Miya Atsumu on the other side were still waiting for Iizuna to set the ball.
Anyway, Itachiyama doesn't use any negative-tempo Quick Attacks. With Hinata watching the side Quick Attacks, they won't be completely caught off guard; they just need to do their best to avoid being misled by feints.
As the ball left Iizuna's hands, Miya Atsumu called out to Suna, "Here!"
Sakusa pressed his wrist inward, giving the volleyball an eerie arc as it sailed over the entire block.
Miya Osamu lunged forward, reaching out to dig the ball.
Great save!
Miya Atsumu rushed over, leaped over Miya Osamu's body, jumped to set the ball up.
Suna, who had swapped positions with Hinata to return to the sideline at Position 4, raised his hand and spiked the ball. This time, it wasn't a line shot, but a spike sent out at a sharp angle.
Komori lowered his center of gravity to save the ball, then raised his hand to set it back to Iizuna.
"So persistent." Miya Atsumu ran back onto the court from the sidelines, ready at any moment to organize the next attack.
When the Ace is in Position 4 or 5, Itachiyama generally tends to let the Ace spike at Position 4 or perform a back-four attack, this time was no exception.
Rather than using various feints, Iizuna himself preferred to use Sakusa's absolute technique to break through the defense.
Suna watched Sakusa jump in front of him silently. In an extremely calm state of mind, having already analyzed Sakusa's wrist movements, Suna swung his arm at the exact moment Sakusa prepared to adjust the ball's trajectory, precisely pressing down on the ball's path.
With a loud bang, the volleyball dropped back onto the Itachiyama court before anyone could react.
Miya Atsumu, who had coordinated the block on this ball, let out a delighted smile.
Difficult and highly aggressive blocking isn't the exclusive domain of Itachiyama; they have such disgusting players at Inarizaki too!
But before Miya Atsumu's lips could fully curl into a smile, Komori had already stabilized himself under the ball: "Captain!"
Atsumu's expression twisted.
—As expected, this kind of Libero is even more disgusting!
Komori pursed his lips and curled into a ball, making himself as small as possible to leave enough space for Sakusa to regroup and take his approach run behind him.
Yes, he is the Libero, the defensive gateway of the team.
The moment he chose to compete against Sakusa on the ground, that sky no longer belonged to him.
Just like this, it is enough to believe in Sakusa with all your heart, to believe that the Ace will bring victory back.
And fortunately, their Ace, his cousin Sakusa Kiyoomi.. had always been someone who would move forward with sincerity and determination once he had set his sights on a goal.
As for Komori Motoya, as long as the ball hadn't touched the ground, there was still a chance.
As for Sakusa, as long as the ball was given to him, he would do everything in his power to spike it.
—Even if there were a cliff right at his feet.
Thud!
The heavy thud echoed overhead, after seeing Sakusa land steadily after dodging him, Komori scrambled up at top speed.
On the other side of the net, Miya Osamu had already lunged forward to save the ball, while Miya Atsumu moved into position once again, preparing to set it.
Exchanging a glance with Suna, Hinata sprinted from his original Position 4, rushing toward the Position 2 marker and suddenly braking to prepare for his jump.
Agatsuma took his final step and jumped along with him.
But at that very moment, relying on his sufficiently reliable Achilles tendon, Hinata suddenly took a forceful step backward and leaped while maintaining that posture.
Amatori, who had just reacted and was about to dive, screamed in his heart that this was bad, but it was already too late.
Damn, this guy is really going to try it now.
Maintaining his side-on posture, Hinata raised his right hand and swiped, letting the volleyball drop right in front of Agatsuma Soushi's eyes.
As he instinctively extended his leg to save the ball, he lost his balance. Not only did he fail to save the ball, but he also nearly sprained his ankle on the volleyball when he fell.
After landing, Hinata stumbled back two steps and was steadied by Miya Atsumu when he bumped into him.
Miya Atsumu's voice came from above his head: "Nice hit."
With his back pressed against Miya Atsumu's body, Hinata felt the other man's chest vibrate twice, as if he were laughing.
Hinata turned his head slightly, looking at Miya Atsumu with a somewhat puzzled expression.
He suddenly felt that Atsumu-senpai seemed a bit different than usual; he wasn't that intense, but rather like a vast ocean.
It was silent, but.. unexpectedly reassuring.
Komori Motoya, having failed to save the ball, scrambled up and took a deep breath before looking back at Hinata, who was staring blankly at Miya Atsumu.
Rather than the satisfaction of seeing a junior with potential, Komori's eyes at this moment held more of the vigilance one reserves for a true "enemy."
As expected, more than that speed, jump height, spiking instinct.
What made him feel a chill run down his spine most of all was Hinata's growth rate and unpredictability.
Even in the middle of the match, Hinata seemed to be constantly absorbing every bit of knowledge he could take in.
That spike just now was clearly something he realized after watching Miya Atsumu demonstrate a back set.
What Hinata realized wasn't even the technique of a back-set spike itself.
But rather..
The fact that he can spike from any position.
This awareness alone was enough to make them wary.
In time, once his proficiency is fully improved, he might just become a "Kiryu Ya" who specializes in Quick Attacks and High Balls.