That was all.
Hoshiumi turned to leave, reaching out to pat Hakuma on the back. "Good job, keep it up."
Hakuma nodded. "Yeah, leave it to me."
The protagonist always makes his entrance last, after having had enough rest.. this moment is exactly his time to perform!
Unabara Uta reached out and patted Hinata's shoulder: "It's okay, just keep going on the next ball."
Hinata shook his head. "Sorry, I should have been the one defending this side just now."
He was falling into a pattern of habitual thinking; his opponents were living people, not machines, they couldn't remain unchanging.
When he begins to preset an answer and act upon it, he gives his opponent the opportunity to counter him.
He was very skilled at using this against his opponents, but when it came to himself, he failed to notice it immediately..
Watching Hinata scramble up from the ground, Miya Atsumu suddenly called out to him, "Shoyo."
Hinata looked up at Miya Atsumu, who was not far away.
For some reason, his vision was a bit blurry, he couldn't see Miya Atsumu's face clearly.
Miya Atsumu walked over, reached out to brush Hinata's hair upward, revealing Hinata's sweat-drenched forehead.
It wasn't until this moment that Hinata realized his vision had been obscured by his wet hair hanging down as he lowered his head.
My hair has gotten a bit long; I'll need to get it cut when I get back..
Hinata thought about it subconsciously.
His somewhat dazed and numb expression fell into Miya Atsumu's eyes, making Miya Atsumu unable to help but sigh.
He carefully tidied Hinata's hair, then let go and stepped back, moving away from Hinata's immediate space.
The heat source that had been there suddenly vanished, Hinata looked at Miya Atsumu, who had stepped away from him, with some confusion.
Miya Atsumu glanced at Hakuma Mebuki, who was preparing to serve on the opposite side, whispered to Hinata during the final moments.
Don't be afraid.
Hearing this, Miya Osamu turned his head to look at Miya Atsumu, but said nothing.
Hinata's voice rang out at that moment, his voice trembling slightly, yet unable to hide the determination within: "We're going to win."
There's still plenty of time left in the match; we still have a chance.
Miya Atsumu felt relieved: "Of course, it's just a single point disadvantage, we can take it back immediately."
Unabara Uta stretched her legs, leaning forward slightly with her hands on her knees, waiting for Hakuma Mebuki's serve.
Speaking of which.. the competition for the Brass Band Club should have ended and dispersed by now; the results have probably been announced, the awards ceremony might even be over.
I wonder what the results were; it would be great if they could bring home a double championship.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled Hakuma Mebuki to serve.
Hakuma Mebuki took a running start, leaped before the baseline to spike, sent a heavy, spinning ball flying over the net, crashing toward Inarizaki's side with incredible momentum.
Iizuna, sitting in the stands, shifted his posture, looking restless.
Komori's voice rang out: "Hakuma completely built up his momentum after that last play; I'm afraid the intensity of his subsequent offense will only get higher."
He rubbed his chin, speculating on the situation on the court: "Karassuno's dual-core playstyle doesn't place too much emphasis on the players' overall condition; as long as there is one person who can perform, it's enough."
“Inarizaki will probably be difficult to deal with. Suna's decline in form is visible to the naked eye, since the freshmen's blocking intensity can't play a decisive role, Suna must sacrifice part of his offensive power to coordinate the block. Similarly, Miya Osamu or Ginjima will also have to look after the first receive, which means the offensive pressure will all fall on Hinata and the other spiker who has extra capacity."
But unlike Inarizaki..
Karasuno has the most mature blocking system, which can make it difficult for Inarizaki's spikers to make any progress.
Shiratori refuted Shimizu's inference: "No, both sides have already exhausted their tricks; it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious."
Although Karasuno seems to have the advantage, they are merely strong on the outside but weak on the inside, Bessho is not in his best condition either. Even if Shoyo runs out of options, Ginjima can still make an impact.
Besides.. I believe in Shoyo.
Listening to Shiratori's answer, which had already transcended the realm of rational thought, Shimizu said nothing more.
That being said, he was also willing to believe in Hinata's almost infinite potential.
But at the end of the day.. the body has its limits.
His throat was sore, his breathing rhythm felt as if it couldn't keep up with his movement.
Excessive anaerobic respiration caused lactic acid buildup, making his limbs constantly cry out in protest to his brain.
Hinata's mouth hung open, as unconscious mouth breathing had become his instinctive way of maintaining high-intensity physical activity.
Just hold on a little longer.
As long as we can make even one play work, as long as we can get a single consecutive score.. we can take the lead.
"Give me the ball!" A somewhat hoarse voice rang in Miya Atsumu's ears.
Miya Atsumu did not hesitate for long; after confirming that Hinata's position was the best option at this stage, he decisively sent the pass over.
He didn't jump very high.
Although the setter's workload wasn't particularly high, in the later stages when the first receives were frequently out of position, his movement increased significantly; now, he was somewhat struggling to jump.
The moment he landed, Miya Atsumu, unable to steady himself, nearly fell.
The next second, a heavy thud rang out as the ball was forcefully slammed back into Inarizaki's court by Hirugami Yukio.
Miya Osamu, who dove from the back row, ultimately failed to save the ball.
The whistle blew, Karasuno scores on the block.
Hinata clenched his fists and turned away from the net.
It's fine, Suna-senpai's service turn wasn't their advantage zone to begin with. Next ball.
Hirugami Yukio, who had scored from a block, walked back to the service position once again while holding the ball, tilting his head slightly to glance at the scoreboard showing Inarizaki 12, 13 Karasuno.
Winning this point would mean game point for Karasuno.
After patting the ball against the ground to confirm his touch, he decisively tossed it into the air.
Thud!!
"I've got it!" Unabara Uta stepped forward, placing his hands directly in the ball's trajectory.
It was already incredibly close to the end of the set; act without any reservations, give everything you have to ensure that every one of their attacks is in its best possible state.
"What a great first receive!" Miya Atsumu's voice was also hoarse.
"Give me the ball!" Ginjima shouted, calling for the ball.
Seeing Hinata being marked by Bessho, Miya Atsumu instead passed the ball to Ginjima Yui, who was in a better position.
The ball flew toward the high point at Position 4; Ginjima Yui stepped forward quickly, jumped, spiked with all his might.
The sweat on Ginjima's hands caused the ball's trajectory to veer slightly, it looked as if it was about to fly out of bounds.
Hoshiumi made a quick judgment in his mind, stepping out with his right leg to try and save the ball.
But a sweat stain left on the floor at some unknown time caused him to slip, he fell to the ground, losing his balance.
Hirugami Yukio slid in from the side to receive the ball, sending it flying back toward the net.
Beautiful!!
Follow up! Cover!!
Takahashi shouted from the Coach's bench, getting worked up himself.
Hakuma in the front row quickly kept up, but someone was even faster than him.
Hinata had already jumped at the net, his fingers touching the ball to tip it back into the Karasuno court.
His positioning was precise, ensuring he wouldn't be suspected of a net violation.
Hoshiumi, having just scrambled back up, lunged forward again, reaching out to touch the ball.
The ball was sent to a high point near the net once again, but this time it didn't reach the top of the net, so naturally, it didn't give Hinata a chance to compete for it.
Norikura Isao, having secured the ball, swung his arm with all his might to spike it, forcing it down through a gap in the block that had closed in from behind the Inarizaki players. After a heavy thud, the ball slammed into the floor near the Inarizaki front three-meter line.
The whistle blew, at that moment, the score jumped to Inarizaki 12:14 Karasuno.
Karassuno match point.
"Nice play!!" the people in the Karasuno waiting area shouted at the top of their lungs.
Watching from the stands, Inunari broke into a cold sweat: "Consecutive scores at a time like this.."
Unai nodded. "Yeah, this is going to be tough."
To be honest, there was no longer any suspense regarding the outcome of the match at this point.
But.. he was willing to believe in the existence of certain miracles.
Hirugami served again, this time Unabara Uta still used an overhead receive, sending the ball precisely toward Miya Atsumu's set.
Miya Atsumu lightly touched the volleyball, sending it toward Hinata near Position 2.
Hinata rushed to the net, but just as Bessho and the others followed him to jump, he instead used the momentum to drop down.
An individual time difference?!
Bessho's face was filled with disbelief.
Miya Atsumu's ball wasn't actually that good; could a ball like this.. really be used to execute an individual time difference?
Watching Hinata jump and precisely spike the ball just as it was about to drop past the hitting point, Bessho's mind went blank with a heavy thud.
No.. is this "bad ball" also part of a feint?
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
The score jumped to Inarizaki 13:14 Karasuno.
"Nice!" Miya Atsumu and Hinata high-fived.
The service right passed to Hinata, who was substituted for Rishia at the sidelines and returned to the Coach's bench.
Hinata sat down, slowly letting out a breath.