And.. he had never even heard of this school called Ichibayashi before this.
Where did he come from? He took second place in the nationals three months ago?
Having finished greeting the audience and the coaches, Shiratori walked straight toward the Inarizaki side.
Fukuda General High School's uniforms were very similar to Inarizaki High School's, so much so that you would basically mistake them for each other if you didn't look at the team names.
So when Shiratori walked over, he blended in almost perfectly with the Inarizaki side.
“Shoyo.” Shiratori came to a halt in front of Hinata Shoyo.
Seeing the expression on the other's face, which looked as if he were about to cry, he smiled helplessly. "Don't cry."
Miya Atsumu took half a step forward imperceptibly. "Shiratori-senpai, we were just warming up and weren't watching the match. So.."
How did they lose?
Knowing what Miya Atsumu wanted to ask, Shiratori didn't hold anything back: "Ichibayashi's Ace is very formidable, their Setter is also very strong, on our end, we were just a bit.. unlucky."
In the final set, there might have been the influence of physical stamina issues, which caused him and Kuroo to make consecutive service errors, allowing the opponents to take the lead.
Miya Atsumu pressed for more important information: "The Ace is really that great? About what level?"
In terms of pure strength alone, he's stronger than Aran, his technique is more refined," Shiratori attempted to compare, "but his receiving skills are just average, far below yours, Aran.
Aran, who had inexplicably become a classifier, blinked, unsure whether he should be happy or sad.
The court had already been cleared, the referee signaled for the Inarizaki members to prepare to enter the court.
Shiratori did not disturb them any further: "Then good luck, go and take the championship."
Having worked hard to adjust his own mood, Hinata looked up and toward Shiratori: "Shiratori-senpai."
Shiratori, who was just about to leave, paused and looked at Hinata, who had called out to him.
Hinata's eyes were filled with determination: "We will definitely win, including it for Natsume-senpai."
Inarizaki will keep on winning, keep on winning, until they hold that championship trophy.
As important witnesses to their journey, they will certainly take Fukuda General along with them.
Shiratori was stunned.
He felt his nose sting, but he forced himself to hold back the tears that were about to well up.
In the end, he forced a smile that looked even worse than crying.
“Shoyo.”
Shiratori opened his arms toward Hinata: "In the very, very end, it's okay.."
Can I have a hug?
Hinata agreed readily, stepping forward past Miya Atsumu.
Shiratori leaned down following his movement and gave him a gentle hug.
Feeling the sadness nearly overflowing from Shiratori, Hinata spoke softly.
“Natsume-senpai, if you don't want to smile, then you shouldn't force it.”
Shiratori shook his head instead.
No, this time, the smile truly came from the bottom of his heart.
He was both joyful for himself for not giving up easily, sentimental about his high school life reaching this stage of its conclusion.
He had truly given his all in this match, but the final result was still not what he had hoped for.
But because he had given it his all, he had no regrets.
He let go of Hinata, leaving one last word before leaving: "Shoyo, let's play volleyball together when we have the chance in the future."
Hinata nodded. "Yeah, okay."
Miya Atsumu frowned, in the end, he only patted Hinata's shoulder before taking the court, as if he were brushing away the scent someone had just left behind.
But at this moment, he no longer had any desire to compete with Shiratori.
Fukuda General High School is the loser; this time.. I'll let them have it for now.
On the other side of the court, the Nekoma players brushed past the Ichibayashi players and entered the court as well.
Nekoma Captain Kuroo stepped forward and shook hands with Inarizaki Captain Kita Shinsuke.
Komori stood by the sidelines, watching the match on the court intently: "It's about to begin."
In terms of defensive capability, Nekoma might be second only to Itachiyama in this tournament.
Whether it was blocking or receiving, Nekoma's performance was extremely stable.
Moreover, Yaku, who serves as the defensive core, is also very clever, even going so far as to bait the opponent's spike.
This is something Komori cannot do himself, as it requires sufficient experience and a much clearer, more decisive mindset.
If Nekoma Setter is the one laying out the lines in the open, then Libero Yaku is the one secretly controlling the situation from the shadows.
The result of the lottery was that Inarizaki would serve first.
Amatori's expression was distorted: "Is this the power of a Great Blessing for everyone.."
The Inari God is not only gentle but also biased, the Sugawara Michizane they usually worship is completely unwilling to grant them any extra protection, acting like a cold and heartless examiner.
Even though I know that relying on superstition is useless, still.. it's too much to go without even a little bit of psychological comfort!
After submitting the rotation charts for both sides, Miya Atsumu grabbed the volleyball and was the first to walk to the service position.
Yaku stood with his legs apart in the back half of Nekoma's court, single-handedly defending nearly two-thirds of the court.
On the other side was Fukunaga Masahira, while the setter Kenma stood further forward, clearly positioned in a dual-middle-receiver-setter formation.
Komori was shocked.
This is Miya Atsumu's service turn, Nekoma actually dares to use a double middle blocker to receive the serve?
Just how much confidence do they have in their own team's first receive?
Coach Nekota chuckled by the sidelines, his expression remaining calm.
Miya Atsumu took four steps forward, then turned to face the net.
—A float serve.
The moment he made the judgment, Yaku slightly rose onto his toes, but he did not immediately adjust his position and move forward.
After all, judging the serve type from the footwork was merely a conclusion drawn from Miya Atsumu's past playstyle, Miya Atsumu had indeed previously opted to sacrifice the raw power of the serve to focus instead on its deceptiveness.
Therefore, he could not rule out the possibility that Miya Atsumu would use a jump float serve to force out a power serve.
The Inarizaki brass band's cheering music filled the entire stadium, enveloping the whole gymnasium and creating an intense sense of pressure.
Yamamoto Akane, who was responsible for leading the Nekoma team, was also working hard to direct everyone.
Go, go, Nekoma!
The whistle blew.
Miya Atsumu slowly raised his hand, then suddenly clenched it into a fist.
The music behind them came to an abrupt halt, leaving the Nekoma cheering section, which had just found its rhythm, somewhat dazed.
By the sidelines, Coach Nekota's smile vanished.
This kind of impact brought by the rhythm of the cheering.. it's a bit difficult to deal with.
You could only hope that their own players had strong enough mental fortitude to remain completely unaffected.
Standing at the net, Suna held his hands behind his head, his gaze shifting imperceptibly toward Yamamoto Takeo on the opposite side.
It was true that the Nekoma players had very strong fundamentals, their mental fortitude could certainly be described as nothing to be underestimated.
But.. this Ace is an exception.
During the last practice match against Nekoma High School, he noticed that Yamamoto Takeo could be somewhat impatient at times.
This irritability doesn't affect much most of the time, but it can be easily exploited.
—If he wants to.
Time quietly reached the final second of the service time limit.
Facing Nekoma's defensive lineup, even Miya Atsumu had to exert one hundred and two percent of his concentration to deal with it.
But Yaku was equally familiar with this kind of timed serve.
The moment Miya Atsumu's timed serve left his hands, he had already lowered his center of gravity and moved proactively to meet the ball.
After applying force to the float serve itself, the ball flew steadily over Kenma's head.
Nekoma also had a standard S1 opening, with the three spikers in the front row moving almost simultaneously.
As the hitter ran toward Position 2 for a Flat Quick Attack, Yamamoto swapped positions with him, charging toward Position 4 where he leaped up on one foot, raising his hand to prepare for a spike.
And this incredibly important first serve was also handed over to Yamamoto by Kenma.
Inarizaki did not fully employ a three-man block; instead, they had Hinata step aside from one side, while Suna and Miya Osamu chased after Yamamoto.
Yamamoto's technical skills are average, so he often chooses to use varying ball trajectories or brute force to break through.
Especially at a time like the opening serve, an Ace's confidence will further amplify this "inappropriate bravery."
The moment Yamamoto spiked, Suna adjusted his blocking direction.
But Kenma's set for this ball was extremely long, giving Yamamoto plenty of time to react.
And Yamamoto did not let his teammate's efforts go to waste; relying on his extreme reaction speed, he managed to adjust the ball's trajectory just enough.
With a loud thud, the volleyball hit Suna's hands, before bouncing back toward Nekoma on a high trajectory.
A ball that might have been blocked dead was forcefully turned into a rebound by Yamamoto.
“Nice play!”
Yaku shouted, then stepped back and raised his hands to send the ball up once again.
Suna, having landed, frowned.
This Ace.. is exceptionally calm.