But right now, Tokura's mindset is quite good; he isn't worried about making a service error.
Anyway, it's just one point; they are currently leading by five points!
A good mindset is conducive to good performance. After Tokura adjusted his touch, he raised his hand to toss the ball.
He chose a standard standing float serve, avoiding any serious service errors caused by his poor condition that might gift points to the opponent.
An error is a minor issue, but an error on match point could lead to being relentlessly attacked by the Captain.
Even if Atsumu is about to graduate, there are still more than two months left, since he doesn't have to study for exams, it is truly possible for him to spend all day, every day, at the Volleyball Club.
Tokura isn't focusing on increasing the intensity of his power serves at this stage; most of his plays are tactical.
He locked onto the position where Norikura Isao retreated to cover for Hoshiumi, doing his best to control the ball steadily and aim it in that direction.
As long as they could force Norikura Isao into a positional error, they could block Hakuma's path forward and completely disrupt Karasuno's scoring rhythm.
But Norikura Isao's performance remained very stable; he secured his position while receiving the ball and sending it to Asahina in the front row.
Asahina raised his hand and sent the ball to a high point in front of Hakuma; he didn't want to consider at this moment whether Hakuma had enough stamina to follow up, because they had to seize every scoring opportunity right now.
Hakuma understood this as well, still pushed his body to its absolute limit to chase down the ball, preparing to spike it.
Suna timed his touch perfectly, Atsumu followed up, using the first touch to send the ball directly back to Suna. With the offensive conditions being unfavorable, Suna chose to tip the ball over, but as expected, Karasuno managed to dig it out.
As Asahina spoke his praise, he quickly moved in on the ball, preparing to score by utilizing the coordination between Hirugami and Hakuma in the front row.
Suna quickly assessed Asahina's intent, slightly rising onto his toes in the center, ready to move to either side at any moment.
Asahina couldn't make a pass as fast as Miya Atsumu's, which was so quick that people couldn't react at all, so as long as he was half a step ahead, he could press down from above and completely shut it down.
After performing a feint, Asahina sent the ball into the hands of Hirugami, who was in a better position.
Hinata, who was nearby, did not follow up to block; only Suna, rushing in from the side, Miya Osamu worked together to restrict the trajectory of Hirugami's attack.
Suna adjusted his blocking movement at the last second, managing to get a touch on the ball.
Ginjima, in the back row, lowered his center of gravity and received the ball.
Suna, having landed, shook his hand.
What a joke, he didn't want the match to end here after only playing one round.
Coincidentally, the other Inarizaki members were thinking the same thing.
After another round of confrontation, a ball tipped from Karasuno's side was saved by Miya Osamu, who had not participated in the block, with a diving save.
Watching the stable toss, Atsumu's mood was exceptionally wonderful.
Although Osamu has all sorts of things that need to be criticized in other aspects, his receiving is indeed stable enough to provide peace of mind.
With such excellent offensive conditions, it would be a disservice to volleyball not to show Karasuno what they're made of.
Suna moved to the edge of Position 2 according to Inarizaki's usual tactical arrangement, preparing to coordinate a spread attack with the spiker on the other side.
And at this moment, Miya Atsumu arched his back, his arms pulled back in preparation for a Back Set.
Miya Osamu was near Position 4, while Hinata had already moved into the center, appearing ready to coordinate with Miya Atsumu for a Back Quick Attack at any moment.
With this movement, Miya Atsumu's pass targets both Hinata and Suna.
Hirugami's mind was performing rapid analysis; considering Miya Atsumu's back set, he and Norikura Isao decisively moved toward Inarizaki's Position 2, preparing to guard against both Hinata and Tokura at the same time.
Hakuma's task was to defend against Miya Osamu at Position 4.
The moment the Karasuno block shifted half a step toward Inarizaki's Position 2 where Suna was, Miya Atsumu, while in a back arch, sent an incredibly stable set toward Position 4 directly in front of him.
The blockers suddenly turned their heads, but they only caught a fleeting orange shadow.
Mistakenly thinking Miya Atsumu was preparing a set for Miya Osamu, Hakuma leaped up in an attempt to block.
Witnessing all this, Miya Atsumu couldn't help but curl his lips into a smirk.
He chose the third answer for this question; although it was very dangerous, he could definitely do it.
Hinata, who had originally been half a step behind Miya Atsumu, suddenly charged toward Position 4 following the ball. The speed he burst with was even faster than the ball's velocity; he instantly caught up to the front of the volleyball and leaped up with a single foot push.
Miya Atsumu couldn't help but widen his eyes, like a painter admiring his own masterpiece, his eyes filled with admiration for the miracle itself.
He said it would make Hinata play even more happily.
Using tactics and schemes to make the opponent spin in circles is certainly enjoyable, but that kind of joy is nowhere near as simple and direct as crushing an enemy through sheer brute force.
There was no need to worry about physical exhaustion or specific tactical positioning; all the issues of adjustment could simply be left to him.
Hinata only needs to enjoy the simplest, most straightforward, most primal thing that fascinates every spiker—
The joy of a spike.
He wants to let everyone know that Hinata has never been a weakling.
In the field where Hinata excels, no one can compete with him. On this court, the only thing capable of catching up to him is the ball.
The moment Hinata swung and spiked, he had already left the wall of blockers behind him.
The obstruction vanished from his sight, the Iron Wall was not yet complete.
A wide expanse lay before them.
Hirugami, diving in from the side, was ultimately less than ten centimeters away from him, could only watch helplessly as the ball smashed into the court behind him.
Takahashi attempted a diving save, but his feet lacked sufficient strength to support him. He failed to push off smoothly, instead nearly collapsing onto the floor where he landed.
The sound of the ball hitting the floor rang in Miya Atsumu's ears. Tilting his head slightly, he saw the boy's lively expression as he looked at him after landing.
The long whistle sounded like the signal for a ceremonial cannon, almost at the same time, the Inarizaki cheering area erupted into a mountain-toppling roar of cheers.
“We won!!”
“Inarizaki Champions! King Inarizaki!!”
Hinata turned his head and, before Miya Atsumu could even react, lunged at him, using both his hands and feet to spring upward.
Miya Atsumu, who was completely unprepared, was knocked back several steps by him, but he eventually stabilized his body, grabbing Hinata's leg with one hand and wrapping his other arm around his waist.
Hinata rubbed his chin haphazardly against Miya Atsumu's hair, the bony, un-fleshy chin made Atsumu let out two pained wails.
Atsumu gave Hinata's waist a retaliatory squeeze, then rubbed his face against Hinata's collarbone with a hint of reluctance. "Alright, alright, get down. Hoshiumi is going to come over here with a knife to assassinate me in a moment."
He felt it—that gaze that looked as if it wanted to slice him into a thousand pieces.
Hinata was gently placed on the ground by Miya Atsumu, he stood with his hands on his hips, seeking credit from Atsumu: "Are you satisfied with my performance today, Atsumu-ge?"
Atsumu leaned down slightly and whispered in Hinata's ear, "Of course, my dearest Shoyo."
Hinata, who had originally prepared to say some trash talk like "the new wave pushes the old wave," froze. The hot breath being whispered into his ear made the flush on his face, already red from intense exercise, even more pronounced.
He tilted his head, his gaze sweeping toward the Inarizaki members who were also cheering and celebrating, but were not near the two of them.
One side of Karasuno was exceptionally quiet.
Takahashi, who had been completely broken by Inarizaki, was crying, the others were comforting him.
For some reason, while Hinata's heart was overflowing with the joy of winning the championship, there was also a faint, indescribable sense of sadness that he couldn't quite name at that moment.
—What was it?
Looking at Hinata's slightly frowning profile, Atsumu, who had originally intended to use the current atmosphere to say a few more sweet words to Hinata, called out to him, "Shoyo?"
Hinata waved his hand at Miya Atsumu and walked toward the net.
Hearing his footsteps, Hoshiumi looked back slightly, his tired eyes meeting Hinata's eyes on the other side of the net, which were inexplicably tinged with sadness.
He patted Hirugami's arm beside him, then left the group and walked up to Hinata. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy that you won the championship?"
Hinata looked up and met Hoshiumi's gaze, responding very, very seriously, "No.. it's just that I suddenly realized.. I won't be able to see Hikari-kun on the court for a while."
A crack seemed to appear in Hoshiumi's originally calm expression. He frowned, wanting to laugh but unable to. The words were stuck in his throat, no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't say them.
Hinata reached out toward Hoshiumi from below the Net: "Anyway.. Happy graduation, Hikari-kun."
Like the final stone thrown into a lake to break the ice, Hoshiumi suddenly reached out, grabbed Hinata's hand, pulled him close to the net.
Hoshiumi leaned down, closing the distance between the two of them. As he lowered his head, a voice that sounded like chewing on crushed glass rang in Hinata's ears.
I'll let you be happy for a little while, but I'm going to win it back.
——I'll be waiting for you in the professional leagues.
Hinata responded without backing down: "Don't worry, Hikari-kun, I'll win next time."
Hoshiumi laughed out loud, let go of Hinata, as he turned to leave, he pointed a finger at him. "We'll see."
Watching the Karasuno members depart, Hinata turned his head and met Miya Atsumu's eyes.
Atsumu crossed his arms over his chest and looked at him with a sour expression: "Are you done talking? Are you finally willing to look back at the poor, abandoned man.. Setter?"
Hinata chuckled and pushed Miya Atsumu toward the baseline.
While lining up, Hinata popped his head up from beside Miya Atsumu. "There's nothing to do after the match, the handover will probably take a while, so while we're on break.. let's go out and have some fun!"
"Sure," Miya Atsumu agreed readily.
After looking up and thinking seriously for a moment, Atsumu took the initiative to suggest, "Let's go to a hot spring, then come back and go skiing."
Hinata nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah!"
On the other side, Miya Osamu's mind was already blank, he didn't want to think about anything regarding what would happen after the match ended.
He felt the soreness in his body, knowing that he was likely finished for this afternoon.
So now, here's the problem.
If I just run away.. will the Coach put me on the wanted list?
Chapter 547: The 547th Fox
The court was being cleared. Because the Third-place match had been canceled, the Men's Volleyball and Women's Volleyball matches were sold as separate tickets, the entire Men's Volleyball match schedule was set to conclude in the morning.
On one side of the Judges' table, a comprehensive evaluation of today's matches was being conducted to determine the final recipients of the individual awards.
The Inarizaki members were stretching in the open space next to the Center Court. Tables had already been set up in the court, holding a series of items such as trophies, medals, certificates.
Hinata was stretching his legs very seriously, while Nishizawa, who was helping from behind, controlled his weight to avoid putting too much pressure on Hinata.