Haikyuu - Chapter 313 (Patreon)

Shirabu had no idea what Hibarida was thinking. His attention was completely focused on the serve in front of him.

Hibarida stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, watching Shirabu prepare to serve.

Meanwhile, standing at the service line, Shirabu could feel countless eyes fixed on him from every direction. His body tensed instinctively, but he quickly forced himself to relax.

Getting nervous at a moment like this wouldn't do him any good.

Shirabu took a deep breath and raised the volleyball in front of his eyes. Looking past it at Itachiyama's formation, he considered where he should aim.

He thought it over for a while but couldn't come up with any particularly effective way to score.

In the end, Shirabu chose the safest option.

Once he'd made his decision, he tossed the volleyball into the air.

Everyone's gaze followed the ball upward.

The moment it rose, Komori's eyes locked onto it.

Shirabu chased after the toss with his approach.

When the ball reached the right height, he jumped, raised his right hand, and struck it firmly.

The volleyball sailed over at an unhurried pace.

It looked completely ordinary.

That was what everyone thought.

Even Hibarida found himself losing interest.

It was like having a friend tell you they were about to reveal some earth-shattering secret. You got yourself ready to hear it, only for your friend to fart right in front of you and announce that the fart was the secret.

It left you both helpless and disappointed.

Still, Hibarida quickly adjusted his expectations.

Nobody could be perfect.

If God opened one door for you, He was bound to close a window somewhere else.

“Shirabu-senpai's serve has improved.”

Hearing Ryosuke's voice, Hibarida turned toward him thoughtfully.

A “perfect” person...

Ryosuke had a good mentality, was naturally talented, learned everything quickly, had a good temper, was good-looking, came from a good family, and everyone seemed to like him...

Hibarida rubbed his chin as he studied Ryosuke, then quietly sucked in a breath.

So which window had God closed for this kid?

Nobody's perfect, after all.

Ryosuke was watching the match intently when he sensed an unusually intense gaze fixed on him.

He turned around and found Hibarida staring.

Ryosuke looked slightly confused, but still gave him an innocent smile before turning back to the match.

Hibarida was momentarily caught off guard by that smile.

Then, with complicated feelings, he looked away too.

Back on the court, Shirabu's serve crossed toward Itachiyama.

Komori watched the ball approach.

It was fast, but there was hardly any spin.

He couldn't help thinking that Hirugami had been right.

Out of everyone on Shiratorizawa, Shirabu really was the only one whose serve was fairly ordinary.

Komori ran toward the incoming ball.

The volleyball flew straight toward his face while he moved toward it, almost as if the two were meeting halfway.

Nishio was standing not far away.

Seeing the ball coming toward their area, he assumed Shirabu had aimed it at him.

So Nishio shifted two steps to the side and prepared to receive.

As the ball drew closer, he realized the position wasn't quite right and backed up another two steps.

Once he thought he was properly positioned, Nishio started to crouch.

Before he could, Komori shouted,

“Nishio, move!”

Nishio jolted.

His foot twisted aside, and he spun out of the way.

In the next instant, Komori brushed past him and dove toward where the volleyball was falling.

Nishio froze for a moment.

Watching Komori dive past him, cold sweat broke out across his body.

If he hadn't moved just now, the two of them would've collided.

They might even have lost the point.

What a nasty serve...

Nishio looked across the court at Shirabu.

Even from that distance, he could clearly see a flicker of disappointment in Shirabu's eyes.

Nishio immediately wanted to curse.

Remembering they were still in the middle of a match, he swallowed it and could only complain inwardly about how devious setters were.

Komori was just as shaken.

If he'd been even slightly less careful, they might have lost that point.

Still lying on the floor, Komori flicked his arm upward and saved the volleyball.

Iizuna noticed that the ball was taking unusually long to reach him.

He turned around, saw what had happened, and immediately ran after it.

Itachiyama began setting up its attack.

“Ugh...”

Up in the stands, Hoshiumi watched the play and felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

As expected of a setter.

Hirugami found Hoshiumi's reaction amusing.

With his shoulders hunched and body drawn inward, he looked almost like a startled kitten with its fur standing on end.

Still, what Shirabu had done really was unexpected.

It might not have been enough to impress anyone at this level of competition, but if it worked, it worked.

Watching Shirabu's little trick left Hibarida torn between laughter and exasperation.

At the same time, it reminded him of one thing.

Shiratorizawa really didn't keep useless players around.

Iizuna raced toward the volleyball.

At the same time, Sakusa and Doichiro sprinted toward the net.

Sakusa led the way, preparing to attack, while Doichiro stayed behind him to cover the offense.

Iizuna caught up to the ball just as Sakusa reached the net.

Timing it perfectly, Iizuna jumped and gently pushed the volleyball upward with both hands.

The next instant, the set flew toward the net.

Tendo and Reon ran toward Sakusa.

Tendo couldn't be completely certain who would attack, but it had to come from that side.

Itachiyama's main offensive threats were both there.

Either Sakusa would spike, or Doichiro would.

As for Nishio or Kishimoto scoring on this rally, the possibility was almost nonexistent.

Shirabu and Kawanishi had them completely covered.

By the time Tendo reached the spot opposite Sakusa, Sakusa was already beginning his approach.

Iizuna's set traveled behind him.

Sakusa took several quick steps, planted both feet, and sprang into the air with a sharp whoosh.

Tendo and Reon jumped a moment after Sakusa, almost creating a timing gap of their own.

In midair, Sakusa met Tendo's red eyes.

He knew perfectly well how troublesome Tendo was.

Scoring outright might not be possible, but Sakusa was still confident he could at least get the ball across the net.

Sakusa swung his right hand and drove the ball diagonally downward.

The intent was far too obvious for Tendo to miss.

The problem was the angle.

From his current position, Tendo couldn't adjust his arms properly to block the ball.

So he extended a foot instead, trying to hook it up.

At the exact same moment, Reon also stuck out his foot to save the ball.

Their feet collided in midair.

Both of them startled.

Reon immediately pulled his leg back.

Despite the little mishap, they still managed to keep the ball alive.

Tendo's foot sent the volleyball flying toward the area behind the net.

Seeing this from the back, Kawanishi abandoned his position behind Ushijima and sprinted toward the ball.

He slid sideways, dropped onto one knee, and extended both arms to receive it.

The save sent the volleyball up near Tendo, with Reon also nearby.

Seeing the situation, Shirabu decided there was no need for him to step in and set.

Reon turned around and saw the ball rising again.

He backed up several steps, preparing to attack.

Sakusa immediately ran toward Reon's hitting lane, intending to block him head-on.

Nishio and Kishimoto were still on the opposite side of the court and had no chance of joining the block.

It was up to Sakusa and Doichiro.

Reon watched the volleyball arrive above his head.

He bent his knees slightly, gathering strength.

Then he exploded upward from the floor.

His right hand rose above his head.

Reon didn't even need to look to know exactly where the ball was.

He swung hard.

“Bang!”

The sharp impact echoed through the gym.

Reon aimed directly at Sakusa's arms.

He had no intention of avoiding the block.

Sakusa's wrists were far too flexible. He could deal with practically any difficult angle Reon came up with.

Trying to beat him through placement would be pointless.

If Sakusa weren't a wing spiker, he would've made an excellent blocker.

His wrists seemed almost made for blocking.

Back in the moment, Reon had already driven the volleyball straight into Sakusa's arms.

If cross-court shots and other tricky angles would be read, then he'd use the simplest method possible.

Straight through.

With enough power, any block could be broken.

A tremendous force slammed into Sakusa's arms.

The volleyball spun against them, trying to tear through his block.

Sakusa tensed his arms, determined to stop it.

But the previous play had already drained some strength from them.

Holding back this attack was proving difficult.

In the end, Reon's spike broke through.

The volleyball spun past Sakusa's block and flew toward the backcourt.

Doichiro had stayed directly behind Sakusa the entire time.

The moment he saw the ball break through, he changed direction and dove toward the floor, trying to dig it up.

But Doichiro couldn't move faster than the volleyball.

The ball hit the floor.

“Fweeeet!”

The referee's whistle awarded the point.

After falling behind earlier, Shiratorizawa had finally clawed one back.

The struggle to get there, however, had been exhausting just to watch.

Up in the stands, Oikawa let out a huge breath when Shiratorizawa finally scored.

The extended battle between both sides had made the atmosphere on the court increasingly tense and frantic.

Even Oikawa, sitting in the stands, had felt it.

He'd watched the rally while holding his breath so intently that he'd nearly forgotten he actually needed to breathe.

Only after exhaling did Oikawa realize something.

He had just been nervous about whether Shiratorizawa would score.

The realization made him roll his eyes hard.

As if he'd ever worry about whether that bastard Ushijima could score.

The match was simply exciting.

That was all.

Exactly.

Watching the expressions cycle across Oikawa's face, Iwaizumi didn't even need to ask what he was thinking.

Iwaizumi could only feel helpless.

He genuinely wondered when Oikawa would ever learn to be a little more honest.

Out of every part of Oikawa's body, his mouth was undoubtedly the toughest.

If the sky fell, that mouth of his could probably hold it up.

“It really is different once the third-years come in.”

A voice came from behind Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

Both turned around.

At some point, Wakatsu Kiryū had appeared in the stands.

He was rubbing his chin and murmuring to himself.

Oikawa glanced at Wakatsu Kiryū and recognized him immediately.

He'd watched this wing spiker's previous match against Ushijima.

Hirugami leaned slightly forward.

He'd heard Wakatsu Kiryū too.

Reaching over, Hirugami rested a hand on his shoulder.

“You think so too?”

Wakatsu Kiryū turned and saw Hirugami and Hoshiumi.

“Oh, Hirugami and Hoshiumi are here watching too?”

“Of course. With a match this good, how could we not come?”

Hirugami replied with a smile.

Wakatsu Kiryū then returned to the subject Hirugami had brought up.

“Actually, they played pretty well during the first half of this set too. It just felt strange somehow. Now that Tendo and Kawanishi are on the court, everything looks different.”

Hirugami laughed happily.

So he wasn't the only one who had felt that way.

“They're still first-years, after all. They're short on experience. Once they've played a few more matches like this, they won't look so restrained. Their natural talent is even better than Tendo and Ushijima's was back then.”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi couldn't help glancing over at that.

For “Immovable Hirugami” to give them such high praise was genuinely surprising.

Back on the court, after Shiratorizawa took that point, the flow of the match seemed to shift almost imperceptibly.

Shirabu was still serving.

He headed back toward the service line.

Behind him, Tendo dragged Kawanishi along as he enthusiastically cheered Shirabu on, hoping he could produce another good serve.

Tendo's expectations weren't particularly high.

Something about as good as the previous serve would be enough.

No matter how bad Shirabu's serve was, as long as he didn't commit a service error or hit it into the net, Shiratorizawa was confident they could fight for the point afterward.

Nobody had expected Shirabu to score service aces in the first place.

Shirabu knew that too.

When he'd first realized what everyone thought, he'd definitely been a little unconvinced.

He might not have been as naturally gifted as the others, but Shirabu didn't consider himself bad either.

So he had started putting extra work into his serve.

Everyone had kindly warned him that serving might not be where his greatest potential lay.

But Shirabu had been stubborn since childhood.

He insisted on grinding away at it anyway.

Eventually, time managed to convince even someone as stubborn as Shirabu.

He stopped obsessing over serving and shifted most of his attention toward technique and setting instead.

That was how Shirabu saw things now, though the others didn't know it.

None of that stopped Tendo from wildly waving his arms around and cheering him on.

“Shirabu-bu, do your best~! You're definitely the greatest!”

The exaggerated sing-song voice immediately drew everyone's attention toward the unfortunate person Tendo was cheering for.

Shirabu.

His entire body shuddered.

He stared at the still-delighted Tendo while feeling strange looks coming at him from every direction.

His fists clenched tightly.

A vein bulged on his forehead.

Shirabu swore he'd never wanted to strangle Tendo more than he did at that moment.