He didn't want to waste even a moment of his sacred mealtime on Miya Atsumu.
Don't worry, Osamu-senpai, I've completely mastered Aobajohsai's techniques," Hinata said, patting his chest. "The next set will definitely be no problem; I won't make you work too hard!
Miya Osamu, his face beaming with happiness, raised a hand to give a thumbs up and muttered, "That's very reassuring."
It's completely different from that Inu Yu.
Meanwhile, Oikawa Tooru was engaged in deep reflection.
He gripped his water bottle tightly. "I should have just taken him out in secret."
Iwaizumi Hajime rolled his eyes. "I'm afraid you'll get taken out by Inarizaki, so just save yourself the trouble, Scum-Oikawa."
Oikawa Tooru shook his empty water cup: "It's probably going to be even harder to play after this."
In the deciding set, Inarizaki will serve first, so they won't be able to take the initial advantage like they did in this set.
Moreover, Hinata has clearly found his rhythm again, the current situation has basically returned to how it was at the beginning.
He shrugged his shoulders. "The only good news might be that Miya Osamu is struggling to keep up a little, but that's about it."
“Hey, Trash-Oikawa.”
Iwaizumi Hajime spoke up, interrupting Oikawa Tooru's rambling.
When Oikawa Tooru looked over, he raised his hand and pointed his thumb at himself. "If you don't know what to do, just give the ball to me, just like usual."
Oikawa Tooru looked down and smiled. "You can really count on me, Iwaizumi."
Before Kawarai and Matsukawa could even dwell on the rare moment of warmth, Oikawa Tooru's next words rang out.
"But Iwaizumi, don't go insulting me when you say things like that," Oikawa Tooru said with a smile.
Iwaizumi said expressionlessly, "Was I cursing at you? Bastard-Oikawa?"
Chapter 194: The One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth Fox
I'm serious, that Little One is simply lawless.
Oikawa Tooru took the towel off his neck and threw it back onto the bench viciously.
Matsukawa's mouth twitched. "You're bullying him so much already."
It felt like a level of play that could drive someone into total despair; the little one on the opposing side was already struggling quite hard to survive.
Kawarai rolled his eyes. "You're clearly very happy about it."
"Don't roast me!" Oikawa Tooru became even more distraught.
Look at how other setters are pampered by their teammates, getting exactly what they want! Meanwhile, his teammates only ever mock him!
Iwaizumi Hajime raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "Don't forget the ramen."
He had said he would get ten points, but so far, Oikawa Tooru had only scored five points through his own serves.
The rest were mostly scored through subsequent counterattacks, so they don't count.
Oikawa Tooru began flailing his arms and legs: "Have a little faith in me!"
Miya Atsumu rested his chin on his hand, leaning his body slightly forward.
Most of his attention was focused on Hinata, who was flailing his arms and gesturing wildly in front of him, but he also spared a tiny bit of attention for the group from Aoba.
When making eye contact with Oikawa Tooru, he tilted his head slightly and raised his chin, adopting the posture of someone in a superior position.
And Oikawa Tooru rolled his eyes without any hesitation, looking down his nose at Miya Atsumu.
In that short moment, Hinata had already reached out to poke him: "Atsumu-senpai, look at me instead."
With a look of dissatisfaction and protest on his face, Hinata forced Miya Atsumu to pull his attention away from Aobajohsai.
After Miya Atsumu and Oikawa Tooru shared one last glare, Miya Atsumu turned his head away completely and looked seriously at Hinata Shoyo opposite him: "Shoyo, keep going."
Hinata continued his performance: "I'm telling you, Kindaichi, this is how he does a dump—"
Coach Kurosu stared at the back of Miya Osamu's head for a while, before finally reaching out and calling Suna over: "To ensure there are no mistakes, Rintaro, you're going in for the final set."
When physical stamina can't keep up, the thing most affected is the offense.
Although Hinata and Aran's offensive intensity is also sufficient, lacking Miya Osamu to provide cover means they are ultimately missing an important offensive option.
The overall state of Seijo is quite good, they absolutely cannot afford to let their guard down.
Suna, who had been slacking off for two sets, could no longer refuse and nodded in agreement. "Understood."
Let's try to finish this battle as quickly as possible..
After both sides submitted their rotation charts for the deciding set, everyone returned to the court.
Seeing Suna standing in Position 3 in the front row, the hearts of everyone from Seijo sank collectively.
Even if it means continuing to drain Suna's stamina, are they going to bring it all out for the upcoming match..
That's way too cautious; it doesn't sound like Inarizaki's personality at all.
Oikawa Tooru gave a light tsk. "I'm truly honored."
He certainly knew that this kind of meticulous attention to detail, where every aspect is considered and weighed, only appears when one has sufficient respect for their opponent.
Although it was bad news for them since they wanted to win, to be honest, that feeling of being recognized was truly pleasant.
Inarizaki's Miya Atsumu serves first.
In the stands, Amatori raised a hand to cover his mouth: "Every time I see Inarizaki's S1, it makes my scalp tingle."
It shouldn't be said that just thinking about playing it makes one feel a bit nauseous.
If you could say that the S1 of other teams is a strong opening, then Inarizaki's S1 is like driving a tank onto the court right at the start, unleashing a relentless bombardment on the other side of the net.
Especially now that Suna has returned to the center, that style of play with varying ball trajectories will only make Aobajohsai, which already has certain issues in defense, struggle even more to keep up.
Before Miya Atsumu raised his hand to call a timeout, the fans of Miya Atsumu in the stands were shouting loudly, "Atsumu-kun, serve a good one!"
Then, the moment Miya Atsumu raised his hand to call a timeout, they all fell silent.
But the Aobajohsai cheering squad had also learned their lesson; they had no intention of quieting down, instead, they began chanting their slogans even more energetically.
“Go, go, Seijo—!”
Miya Atsumu gave a light click of his tongue, spinning the volleyball between his hands under Oikawa Tooru's teasing gaze.
He had originally intended to spin it on his knuckles, but with the bandage on his hand now, he couldn't spin it at all.
Miya Atsumu waited unhurriedly until the very last second of the serve limit before raising his hand and tossing the ball into the air.
Although he personally disliked having noise during a serve, as long as it wasn't a sound that caused serious interference, it wasn't actually a major problem overall.
Because the more important thing at this moment is..
Use a powerful serve to shut the opposing side's cheering up!
Isn't it just about increasing the ball speed? Not only can Oikawa Tooru do it, but Miya Atsumu can do it just as well!
As Hinata slightly tilted his head, he saw Miya Atsumu's ball being tossed quite high.
The high toss itself provides more time for adjustment and power generation, which is why a high toss is more effective for increasing serve speed than a flat toss.
The next second, the sound of a heavy spike echoed.
The volleyball flew over the net and smashed into Aobajohsai's side almost instantly.
Watari Chikaharu and Kawarai on the other side both performed diving saves toward the center at the same time, while Kyokutsu decisively chose to circle around from the other side.
But Miya Atsumu's ball was much faster than before, since Watari Chikaharu's own stamina was already starting to fail, the ball lost control in an instant.
The volleyball flew diagonally out of the court, smashing into the stands.
Miya Atsumu raised his arms high: "Nice!!"
Atsumu's serve was great!!
“One more!”
The cheers from Inarizaki once again provided Miya Atsumu with enough emotional energy, amidst the cheering, it felt as if they were going to lift him to the heavens.
Looking at the two people from Seijo who hadn't had time to get up from the ground yet, Hinata's voice even stammered, "So.. so cool!"
Miya Atsumu leaned in, pressing his ear close to Hinata's side. "What? I didn't hear you clearly."
Hinata was not stingy with his praise at all: "Atsumu-senpai, you are just too cool! That ACE serve was so, so cool!!"
Atsumu held his head high and puffed out his chest, his face full of pride. "Of course, I am the High School's Best Setter and the best server."
Looking at Miya Atsumu's expression, Hinata was momentarily stunned.
He wanted to say something, but his somewhat meager vocabulary prevented him from recalling that four-character idiom he had read in a textbook not long ago.
“Full of vigor.”
Shiratori leaned against the back of a chair in the front row, watching Miya Atsumu signal a high-five to Hinata Shoyo on the court, a smile playing on his lips.
Miya Atsumu certainly had the capital for it; his pride was well-deserved.
Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Don't just stand there envying him; you should have some ambition yourself."
“I'm already working hard,” Shiratori said softly, “but I need time, don't I?”
He has only been playing in a different rotation for two short years, so his experience can't even compare to Miya Atsumu and the others.
But one day in the future, he will become even stronger.
—To the point where he can use any spiker.
Miya Atsumu's second serve in the court was equally powerful, but this time Kawarai managed to reach it.
Shiratori was very perceptive: "Atsumu's physical condition has improved a lot; he still has enough energy left to strengthen his serve at a time like this."
However, the reinforcement is only a minor thing; the first time it might serve as a surprise attack, but the second time, experienced players will receive it.
Under the triple cover from Hinata, Suna, Miya Osamu in the front row, Aran scored a point with a back row spike.
Inarizaki's condition is even better than the last set; is he finally in the zone?
Kuroo rested his chin on his hand. "Then it depends on whether Aobajohsai can hold them off. If they can wear Miya Osamu down, it might not be a bad idea to keep targeting Suna as well."