A flash of dark color caught his peripheral vision, causing Hinata to stop in his tracks and turn inconspicuously toward the sideline.
The substitution notification sounded at this moment, Rishia Heisuke stood by the sideline, holding the number 10 placard in his hand.
Hinata walked up to Rishia and slapped the hand holding the number plate with both of his hands: "Heisuke, give me a good serve."
Rishia loosened his grip slightly, handing the number card to Hinata, while his other hand took the volleyball from Hinata.
He leaned down slightly, brushing his shoulder against Hinata's sweat-soaked jersey.
“Relax, get some good rest.”
Hinata let go of his hands, brushed past Rishia, walked up to Coach Kurosu, who was standing nearby.
"Good work, take a break." Coach Kurosu handed him a towel and gestured for Hinata to sit in his separate, high-backed chair.
Kumagai had already prepared a cup of water and was standing to the side.
Coach Omimi held a large bath towel in one hand and an oxygen tank in the other, waiting nearby.
Hinata took the towel, wiped his face, vigorously rubbed his hair.
On the chair beside him lay an overturned pain relief spray and some ointment, which must have just been used on Tokura.
Tokura had already protected his fingers before the match, so the injury wasn't serious; he was now on the other end of the chair, cheering for Rishia on the court.
Go for it, Heisuke!
Give them a good serve—
He should have spoken up too.
—Hinata thought to himself.
But his throat was dry and sore; the high frequency of his breathing didn't allow his respiratory tract enough time to fully moisten the air, his nasal cavity and throat were filled with that faint, metallic scent of blood caused by friction.
But it was fine; he had long since grown accustomed to this feeling. Although his muscles were fatigued, they were still far from their limit.
There won't be any problems in the next service turn, nor in the one after that.
Coach Omimi took the towel from Hinata's head and shook out a bath towel to cover him.
As Hinata looked up, Coach Omimi took the water bottle from Kumagai and handed it to him, saying, "Warm water. Drink it slowly, don't drink too much."
Holding the towel Hinata had used, Kumagai turned his head to look at Rishia, who was adjusting his touch.
Coach Kurosu stood with his arms crossed in front of him, also waiting for the Head Referee to blow the whistle.
The cheering in the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium was quite intense. Having long been accustomed to this kind of anticipation, Rishia stood in the approach position holding the volleyball, bouncing it against the floor to adjust his touch.
To be honest, during every previous serve, Hinata would have been cheering for him most enthusiastically; now that his voice is missing.. it is indeed a bit of a shame.
But Rishia didn't mind much; even if he couldn't shout, the look in his eyes during the recent exchange had already communicated everything.
Hinata was already very tired.
That state of needing to cover large areas of the court for both offense and defense was something he, a physical fitness failure, wouldn't even dare to imagine.
So.. it's fine, he will make things easier for Hinata.
Winning this set, then winning the next one with a storm-like offensive to let Hinata be a little less tired, would be the best way to show care for the opponent.
The whistle sounded in his ears, the Head Referee's hand gesture toward the opposite side of the court was reflected in Rishia's field of vision.
The volleyball spun lightly in his hands, before being abruptly gripped and stilled by him at the fourth second of the serve time limit.
In the fifth second, the volleyball left his hands, flying toward the area near the baseline with a heavy spin.
Rishia lowered his center of gravity, leaning his entire body forward as he took a heavy first step forward.
He is currently the only person in Inarizaki who has mastered a mature four-step serve approach, this method of approach is the best medium to maximize his own abilities.
Stuck less than five centimeters from the baseline, Rishia pressed his whole body down, then used the sudden swing of his arms to propel his body upward.
With maximum arm extension to drive his entire body, the moment his palm made contact with the volleyball, a sound like a cannon firing suddenly exploded.
In an instant, the ball traced a beautiful arc, descending diagonally toward Takahashi.
Takahashi reached out to receive it, but the volleyball, carrying heavy topspin, went completely out of control the moment it touched his arm. His center of gravity was thrown off, unable to stabilize himself on one leg, he fell backward onto the floor.
Bang!
The ball hit the railing in the spectator area, causing the audience behind it to cry out in surprise.
The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled that Rishia's serve scored.
The score jumped to Inarizaki 24:24 Karasuno at this moment, with Inarizaki tying the score.
The moment the cheers and applause erupted, Rishia bowed slightly, apologizing to the spectators in the stands who had just narrowly escaped the impact.
Amatori, who was startled out of his wits, even had his sunglasses fall off his face: "My god! What on earth was that!"
This guy wasn't serving like this yesterday!
Sakusa's expression was solemn just before this ball; after reacting, he raised his hand and lightly brushed the hair from his temple.
“He wasn't on the court yesterday, so there was no need to use a serve like that in the previous match.”
Komori swallowed hard, clearly startled as well.
He had previously felt that Fukami's power serve was already terrifying, but seeing it now.. it was clearly learned from watching Rishia's serve.
Since his first year, Rishia has been Inarizaki's key player during crucial points. Whether in terms of experience or technique, he is stronger than Fukami, combined with his current absolute physical advantage, it is only logical that he crushes Takahashi.
Holding an oxygen tank, Hinata adjusted his breathing while looking at Rishia with eyes filled with joy and the regret of being unable to celebrate in this moment.
As someone who had been training with Rishia all this time, he knew better than anyone the level of the other's serve, which was why he was so calm when he stepped onto the court.
He trusted Rishia, that was all.
Coach Kurosu clapped his hands, his excitement undisguised. "Hahaha, nice play, nice play!"
Watching Rishia pick up the volleyball to prepare for the next serve, Coach Kurosu recalled his previous conversation with the two of them.
Coach, would it be possible to substitute Akuma into the match during Tokura's Service Turn?
With Osamu-senpai on the court, there's really no need to worry too much about the setter position. Akuma's power serve is strong enough; he should be able to stabilize the flow of the game.
【But.. the same would apply to you, wouldn't it?】
No, Karasuno's Libero's condition hasn't been completely broken yet. If I go up to the front line now, I won't be able to play to my full potential, if Akuma goes up to the back line, his mediocre power serve will be neutralized by Takahashi, who is an expert at absorbing impact and handling jump float serves.
I want to switch to Shoyo's Service Turn in the next round. If the score continues as it is now, it should be near the end of the set by then, the opponents' physical condition will have declined further, making it the best opportunity to score consecutive points and take the lead.
The boy's eyes were firm and bright: [I will completely crush Takahashi and bring home the victory.]
The sound of a heavy strike rang out again as the ball smashed across with terrifying speed, carrying an unmanageable spin at the same time.
People with average dynamic vision would find it difficult to even track the ball's movement.
Takahashi took a step to the side, pressing his center of gravity forward as much as possible so he wouldn't be knocked off balance by the ball.
But because of that, his center of gravity wasn't forward enough to adjust his receiving position. At the moment of contact with the volleyball, his entire body was pulled backward by the momentum.
And then.. he failed to receive the ball once again.
Hoshiumi rushed forward with all his might, attempting to save this ball.
But the ball was too high; he leaped over the barrier and jumped to try and touch the ball, but in the end, he still couldn't reach it.
With the sound of the whistle, the numbers on the scoreboard flickered again.
Inarizaki 25:24 Karasuno.
Inarizaki at set point.
Chapter 541: The Five Hundred and Forty-First Fox
Heisuke! Nice shot!!
Coach Kurosu is going to go home and give that kid a chicken leg—
Sasaki rubbed his nose with his hand and sighed softly, "That's too exaggerated.."
In the matches over the past few days, Rishia had actually played in the earlier matches. Although his serves were already quite powerful back then, they were nowhere near showing the "dominating" fangs he displays now.
If he used this kind of serve against them..
Forget it, no point in thinking about it. Since they had already lost with zero wins, unnecessary matters were not within his scope of consideration.
As if sensing what Sasaki was thinking, Hayami suddenly spoke, "It can be received."
Sasaki didn't realize what Hayami was saying at first and subconsciously asked back, "Huh? For real?"
But in the next second, he wanted to slap himself to take back what he had just said.
He didn't mean to question Hayami's ability; he was just used to being a smart-ass to someone..
Hayami had a sour look on his face, staring intently at Sasaki's profile. "I said, I can receive it."
Sasaki sat upright and nodded seriously, "I think so too."
Hayami gave a soft hum and refocused his attention back on the court.
His judgment was, of course, the result of calm deliberation. At that time, their match against Inarizaki was on the morning of the third day; he was in excellent condition, his proficiency in the first receive was not limited to merely absorbing the impact; he believed his handling of spin was far more delicate than Takahashi's.
The angle of the second ball was almost identical to the first, making it entirely possible to predict the position in advance; the only remaining task was to dig it. However, perhaps due to a lack of stamina, Takahashi failed to handle the dig properly, causing the ball to fly straight off his arms.
Inarizaki had deployed this lethal move during the final stages of the tournament, on the last day of the Finals.
If he were to put himself in Takahashi's current state, he would have lost eighty percent of those two balls as well. Considering that Hoshiumi and the others are there, if he could have controlled his second ball any better, he might have been able to save the rally and keep the rally going.
But.. regardless, with the experience from these two balls, he will definitely be able to receive the next one. It's just a matter of how Takahashi will perform.
Rishia Heisuke was already holding the ball and walking back toward the starting position for his approach again. As he stepped back, he glanced toward Hinata at the Coach's bench and met those bright, shining eyes.
The opponent was using an oxygen mask and was unable to make a sound.
But for some reason, Rishia seemed to be able to hear that voice saying, "Heisuke is amazing."
Rishia curled his lips into a slight smile, withdrew his gaze, turned to stand firmly in place.
—The final point.
If this point isn't won, it will fall into another tug-of-war, but.. there is no such assumption.