Laughter drifted up from below: "That would be a windfall for us."
Shiratori, who was just about to return to Kuroo, made an incredibly foul expression: "Can you guys change seats? I told you, Kuroe Kao."
How could those Ichibayashi guys have the nerve to sit right next to them in such a massive venue..
Hearing the inexplicable screams and cheers that had already extended over to him, Shiratori fell silent.
Ichibayashi's number 1, Kuroe Kao, replied with a smile, "There are no seats left, so you'll just have to bear with it."
That was right; it seemed the Winter Cup being held nearby had just finished, the number of people in the venue was growing, with girls making up the majority.
The cheering sections for each school had already occupied most of the area, now the stands for the eliminated teams were also filled with passersby.
The further the match progressed, the more people came to watch, the proportion of spectators who were not from the participating schools also increased.
Kuroe Kao laughed. "Inarizaki is indeed a tough opponent to play against, so it would be wonderful if Seijo could wear down a few of them for us."
Shiratori shot back directly, "In your dreams. Inarizaki's bench strength isn't any less formidable."
Even if Miya Osamu can no longer play, the others are more than enough to take on Ichibayashi.
Kuroe Kao threw up his hands. "Don't say that. Wouldn't it be much better if our Ichibayashi won?"
Watching the Ichibayashi vice-captain work so hard to secure sponsorships, Kuroo Rei said expressionlessly, "Give it up, this guy is a die-hard fan of Inarizaki."
He's the type who would support Inarizaki no matter who they were playing against.
A massive sense of confusion appeared in the heart of the Ichibayashi vice-captain.
Huh? What did he hear? An Inarizaki superfan?
Is this.. is this even right?
He spoke with a tremor in his voice, "Are you crazy?"
Inarizaki certainly has a notorious reputation, especially with the setter who makes his teammates roll, the devilish captain, the ace who overworks his juniors..
Most importantly, even their cheering would strike their own people with heavy blows!
Aran, on the court, let out a sneeze, causing everyone else to instantly recoil.
Miya Atsumu raised his hand to cover his nose and mouth, looking at Aran in horror: "You haven't caught a cold, have you!"
Were they cursed with some kind of cold?
Miya Osamu had caught the flu during the National Sports Festival; although the current flu isn't as severe as it was during the National Sports Festival, people are indeed still catching it.
How is that possible!" Aran protested. "I take my health management very seriously, okay!
Moreover, his physical condition is super good; how could he suddenly catch a cold?
"Someone must be talking behind my back," Aran said with absolute certainty.
Kuroe Kao pointed at Aran, who was standing in the middle of the court, separated from all the juniors by a vast divide. "Look, look, he's already started lecturing people!"
Aran's finger pointed at Miya Atsumu began to tremble, before he finally broke down, clutching his head. "Don't look at me with such disgusted eyes! I really don't have a virus on me!"
Kuroe Kao's face was already filled with realization: "Look, look, he's starting to throw a tantrum."
Aran was on the verge of tears: "You guys are going too far!!"
He is a senior, after all, a nationally famous ace; he should at least save some face for him in a public setting like this.
Kuroe Kao was already completely immersed in her own story: "You're a complete demon, Senpai."
He knew that this face looked very fierce at a glance.
The people from Fukuda General had already fallen into silence.
Shiratori, who would have normally bickered with Kuroe Kao for a few words, was already looking at him as if he were an idiot, while Shimizu's face had unconsciously taken on a look of pity.
Is there really nothing wrong with those Ichibayashi people!!
Chapter 195: The One Hundred and Ninety-Fifth Fox
Receiving the ball thrown back by the opposing side once again, Miya Atsumu tossed it into the air with a great mood.
Then, he caught it as the referee blew the whistle.
He had already laid the foundation for victory in this match; there would be absolutely no problems from here on out!
Watari Chikaharu took a deep breath.
Before that, Miya Atsumu had pulled back six steps, so it was still a power serve.
A diving save—he had to choose to go for a diving save to receive it.
With his current physical conditioning, he would absolutely have no way of controlling a ball like this.
As he slightly clenched his fist, Watari could clearly feel the stinging pain in his fingers, the discomfort from the swelling was especially noticeable whenever he moved them.
Frequent setting and diving had already left his hands covered in bruises, combined with the frequent counterattacks during the matches over the last few days, the bruising on his arms was also shocking to see.
But.. he couldn't collapse here yet.
They had already fought with everything they had to crawl out of that bottomless mud pit.
Along this journey, they have been covered in mud.
What if they dared to hope for something they once wouldn't even dare to dream of?
Winning this match would allow them to go just a little bit further.
—Even if it's just a little bit.
At the very last second, Miya Atsumu raised his hand and tossed the ball up.
A smile played on his face, his eyes narrowed slightly the moment his gaze swept over Watari Chikaharu.
Komori's pupils instantly constricted in the stands.
From his angle, he could clearly see all of Miya Atsumu's movements.
And relying on his own experience with Miya Atsumu's serves, he was also able to keenly sense that something was wrong.
Something was wrong.
Miya Atsumu's ball.. everything from his tossing motion to the stride of his approach was wrong.
This wasn't a power serve like before, but rather—
Accompanied by a heavy thud from the impact, the volleyball crossed the net almost instantly.
Just as Watari Chikaharu was about to step back to create distance to receive the ball, a volleyball with absolutely no spin appeared in his field of vision.
—It wasn't a power serve, but a jump float serve.
Watari's mind went blank instantly, leaving him with no choice but to rely on his body's instinctive reaction to lunge forward, stretching his body out in an attempt to touch the ball.
But the sudden ball gave him no chance to react; he could only watch helplessly as the volleyball hit the floor a few seconds before his hand could reach it.
Amidst the whistle, Watari's tense body slowly relaxed, pressing against the cool orange floor to help himself wake up.
Suna and Miya Osamu did an excellent job with the serve cover, while his own height was barely over 1.7 meters.
With his center of gravity lowered in preparation to receive the ball, his vision was quite poor, so he didn't see Miya Atsumu's adjustment during his approach at all.
By the time that ball fully entered his field of vision, he already knew he wouldn't be able to make it.
Even though he knew that lunging after it would be in vain..
“Sorry, Watari.”
Oikawa Tooru's voice rang in his ears: "I'll give the instruction next time."
When the opponent uses a serve cover against the Libero, the players in the front row should have provided the necessary cues.
But Miya Atsumu's movement was just too fast; the Seijo members lacked the deep experience that Komori possessed, so they failed to react entirely.
Miya Atsumu's previous serve wasn't actually anything special; it was just a jump float serve like he had used before.
It was just.. he had adjusted his takeoff position to two steps in front of the baseline, that was all.
Oikawa tilted his head back and closed his eyes, allowing his brain, which had been operating at high speed all day, to briefly go blank.
Has the physical exhaustion caused his thinking to become a bit rigid?
Coach Irihatsu, standing by the sidelines, pondered for a few seconds before reaching out to call Kunimi Akira, who was in the waiting area, over to him.
Seeing Kunimi Akira go to the back to warm up after exchanging a few words with Coach Irihatsu, Coach Omimi said, "Are we going to use the backup battery?"
In the previous match between Seijo and Shiratorizawa, number 13 came on to play for the final two sets.
Coach Kurosu expressed his approval of Coach Irihatsu's choice: "It's about time."
Watching Miya Atsumu prepare to serve again, Kuroe Kao couldn't help but frown in the stands: "Winning three points in a row right at the opening—he truly is the number one server in high school."
For them, who were not as skilled at the first receive as Seijo was.. it was quite a difficult situation.
Shiratori suggested at the right moment, "You should go to the Inari God tonight to pay your respects and ask her to bless you with the opening serve tomorrow."
Kuroe Kao, standing in front, let out a laugh. "That's a 'great' idea."
If he went to their territory to seek blessings, he'd probably trip and sprain his ankle the moment he turned to leave the shrine.
Shiratori smiled even more kindly: "How could that be? The Inari God is merciful and will surely treat you all well."
Miya Atsumu was already prepared to continue serving on the court, but consecutive serves consumed a massive amount of Miya Atsumu's energy, an error inevitably occurred on the fourth serve.
The ball that grazed the net was immediately popped up by Iwaizumi Hajime in the front row, sent toward Oikawa Tooru on the side: "Oikawa!"
Oikawa Tooru's gaze swept across the Inarizaki members on the opposite side, while mid-air, he suddenly turned and raised his hand to spike the ball down.
His own strength was powerful enough to support him in delivering a forceful spike even without sufficient conditions for a spike.
The spike, which faced absolutely no block, prevented Akagi from controlling the ball, causing it to bounce and fly out of bounds.
Seijo scored a point, breaking Miya Atsumu's service turn.
"Nice one, Oikawa!" The Seijo members immediately erupted in cheers.
Miya Osamu clicked his tongue with his back to Miya Atsumu. "What a shame, I thought I could have scored ten points."
Miya Atsumu protested, "Are you trying to kill me with exhaustion!"