Suddenly, Rishia heard a massive roar erupt from the entire Shiratorizawa Volleyball Gym.
The next second, a shout from a first-year student from Shiratorizawa suddenly erupted from beside him: "Holy crap! That Inarizaki player, that's.. that's—"
Your negative-tempo quick attack! You actually replicated it?!
Rishia's hand holding the phone trembled slightly, he fell into a complete silence, but it was clearly too late to shut the other person up now.
Listening to the eerie silence on the other end of the line, Rishia Heisuke had a premonition that something was wrong.
“Um! Atsumu-senpai, this is Rishia. Shoyo is in the middle of a practice match; I'll have him call you back once he's finished!”
Goodbye, Atsumu-senpai!
Rishia Heisuke spoke extremely fast, without even waiting for Miya Atsumu on the other end to speak, he hung up the phone in one continuous motion.
He quickly turned off Hinata Shoyo's phone and tossed it directly into Hinata Shoyo's bag.
After thinking it over for a moment again, Rishia Heisuke hugged his bag and placed it in a corner at the edge of the court.
Acting as if nothing had happened, Rishia Heisuke returned to the side of the scoreboard, preparing to continue watching the match.
Damn it, he didn't even see that last play!
Chapter 150: The One Hundredth Fox
Staring at the phone screen, which had gone dark after being left idle for a long time, Miya Atsumu fell into a daze.
What did he hear?
The noisy cheers in the gymnasium, the clearly audible shouts of Hinata in the background, the chatter of unknown passersby.
Without him knowing, Hinata had already rapidly integrated into another team.
He tried all sorts of plays with other setters, even their quick attacks, and.. he wouldn't even answer his calls.
"Aaaaahhh—Damn it! He actually hung up on me!" Miya Atsumu decisively redialed, but only a cold, electronic voice came from the other end.
The number you have dialed is currently powered off. Please leave a message after the beep..
Grabbing the pillow beside him, Miya Atsumu slammed it heavily onto the bed, then suddenly lay down before abruptly sitting back up.
After making two more calls and still getting no answer, he raised his hand and threw the pillow away completely.
Who? Just who?
Where did this setter come from? If he can't even set the ball clearly, then why is he setting it!
Kageyama said he couldn't set it properly.
A toss that stops at its peak.. Just what kind of thinking leads to a requirement like that!
He certainly knew that he needed to toss it in a parabola, one with spin at that, but not only was it difficult to handle the ball, the most critical part was that it was extremely hard to precisely control the landing spot.
In the end, those few attempts were all saved through Hinata's incredible aerial balance.
Training might achieve that goal, but.. there is absolutely no need.
He and Hinata were not teammates, so there was no need to practice skills like this that Karasuno would never be able to use, just for a mere five-day training camp.
After quickly running through the situation at Karasuno in his head, Kageyama struggled for less than two seconds before decisively giving up.
Forget it, no need to play.
He had no intention of communicating with Hinata either, but after he delivered just an ordinary flat ball on the next play, the extremely perceptive Hinata noticed something was wrong.
He looked at Kageyama and blinked. "Are we not playing anymore?"
Kageyama, who had hardly said a word from beginning to end, didn't even look at him: "No more. There's no need."
"Oh." Hinata only replied with a single word.
Seeing Hinata's face clearly written with dissatisfaction, Rishia Heisuke covered his face again.
But then again, no one besides Hinata and the twins would dare to spike a ball like that; even if Kageyama practiced it, it would be a waste of effort.
Kindaichi's expression on the other side of the net was even more shocked.
Based on his understanding of the King, this guy almost takes getting stronger for granted, as if it were an instinct; he has the desire to try any high-difficulty technique.
But now.. this guy is actually weighing whether it's useful or not?!
Has the sun risen in the west?
But not continuing to attempt them didn't mean they wouldn't play standard Quick Attacks; on the contrary, Kageyama's technique combined with the attacking options Hinata handled himself pulled the rhythm of the entire match to a terrifying level.
Across the net, Kindaichi felt like his head was exploding, regretting for the countless time that he had been possessed to agree to play alongside Inarizaki's little brat.
Was practicing my serve not good enough? Was walking with Kunimi not good enough? Why do I have to be here attempting such a meaningless block!
He can't touch it, he really can't touch it.
At 1.9m, he wasn't short himself, but the little guy on the other side jumped higher than his block, not to mention there was also a two-meter-tall player who could crush him in terms of physical attributes.
He tried his best to block, but he struggled even to make contact with the ball.
To make matters worse, he didn't dare to distance himself too much from the net, because in his impression, Hinata was also very formidable when playing Woguo.
If it hadn't been for Goshiki Tsutomu's incredibly precise judgment of the ball's trajectory and his multiple perfect receives, their side would have collapsed long ago.
However.. watching Goshiki Tsutomu being run all over the court by Hinata Shoyo, Kindaichi felt exhausted on his behalf.
"Again!" The pain was only temporary, Goshiki Tsutomu remained full of fighting spirit.
Glancing at the three people on the opposite side, Goshiki Tsutomu finally pointed his finger at Kindaichi: "Hey, blocker, at least touch the ball."
"I'll try my best." Kindaichi felt his life was truly difficult.
But this was a step that had to be taken; Aobajohsai had already made it to the nationals, which meant future opponents would be like Hinata, he had to find a way to overcome such difficulties.
Hinata stepped back and received Yura's serve: "Kageyama!"
When he practices first receives with the team, it is usually Kumagai and the others who accompany him.
By contrast, Yura's serve was indeed very easy to read.
Watching the volleyball falling from above, Kageyama raised both hands, preparing to touch the ball, while slightly tilting his head back.
Goshiki Tsutomu on the opposite side made his decision almost instantly.
—A second attack.
The moment he moved forward, Hinata had already stepped up after completing a first receive, while at the same time, Kageyama executed a second move.
Kindaichi's brain worked at high speed; having played volleyball with Kageyama for nearly three years, he was familiar with all of Kageyama's various movements.
—A forward pass, a short quick attack to Position 4.
Meanwhile, Hinata had already taken his approach to that side, his body lowering slightly as he prepared to leap.
Kindaichi took three steps in two, lunging forward with one hand.
Hinata wouldn't jump that high for this kind of quick attack; he can catch it.
Suddenly, a light chuckle reached the ears of everyone on the court.
The next second, the volleyball soared high into the air, with almost no back arch, Kageyama delivered a high ball to Position 2.
Watching the volleyball drift further and further away, Kageyama suddenly felt an immense sense of relief in his heart.
As expected, volleyball should be played like this.
Hyakuwa, who had been prepared for a long time, leaped toward the ball's position; there was no block on the other side, even fewer defensive players to receive it.
Everything had returned to the simplest and most fundamental level; he only needed to..
—Spike the ball to death.
BANG!!
A heavy thud echoed, the volleyball bounced high off the ground, nearly hitting the ceiling.
Hyakuwa, who had once played baseball, was also sufficiently mature in his arm swing, combined with his physical build, he spiked a ball with enough weight.
Kindaichi was completely stunned.
That guy Kageyama.. he's using way too many feints!
After high-fiving Hyakuwa Takehiro, Kageyama turned his head to look at Kindaichi and Goshiki Tsutomu on the opposite side, revealing a smile that could only be described as sinister.
Rishia gave a bitter smile. "We're being played for fools.."
In a daze, he seemed to see himself playing matches against Miya Atsumu during their usual internal battles.
Hinata, who was just about to high-five Kageyama, froze upon seeing Kageyama's expression. "So you actually can smile."
But.. that smile was terrifying, so he shouldn't do it again.
"Huh? It's not like I have a poker face." Kageyama raised an eyebrow slightly.
Just then, Coach Saito, who had already circled around to this side, shouted from the entrance, "We're closing! Pack up and head home, it's going to get pitch black in a little while—"
Everyone in the gym shouted back in unison, "Yes!!"
After cleaning up the gym, everyone left one after another.
See you tomorrow, Hinata.
See you tomorrow.
Kageyama, Hyakuwa, Kindaichi! See you tomorrow!
After seeing everyone off with a lingering reluctance, Hinata finally returned to the gym: "Heisuke, where is my bag?"
Looking at the small yellow bag tossed by the wall, Rishia Heisuke reached out and pressed his hand onto Hinata's shoulder with utmost solemnity.
Shoyo, don't be afraid, I'll tell you a scary story.
Hinata blinked. "Huh?"
On the other side, after bombarding Hinata's various social media accounts, Miya Atsumu, who had been struggling until now, seriously considered whether or not to give Shirabu and Kawanishi a call, but ultimately he gave up.
With a beep, Miya Atsumu said fiercely into the voice recorder, "Shoyo, tell Heisuke that if he dares to hang up on me.. he's dead when he gets back."
After making two more calls that wouldn't go through, Miya Atsumu went crazy again, pounding his bed.