Haikyuu - Chapter 339 (Patreon)

"Bang!"

The volleyball slammed into Komori's arms, and he immediately lifted them to send the ball back up. The entire receive was incredibly smooth, almost ridiculously so.

The first pass flew directly toward Sakusa. Iizuna didn't even need to adjust it. Sakusa could attack it immediately.

Sakusa moved toward position three. Tendo, who had been watching him from the start, locked onto him the moment he began to move. Sakusa noticed the stare but showed no hesitation. He jumped to attack, and Tendo reacted just as quickly, rising with him to block.

This time, Sakusa didn't try to fool Tendo. Tendo was smart. If Sakusa used the same trick too often, he would inevitably catch on. He might already have figured it out, for all Sakusa knew. That didn't matter. For this rally, Sakusa simply decided not to mess with him.

He raised his arm and struck the ball, bending his wrist through the contact.

"Bang!"

Suspicion flashed through Tendo's eyes as Sakusa swung. Was Sakusa really going to attack honestly this time? Tendo didn't quite believe it, so even while blocking, he kept part of his attention on Sakusa in case there was another trick.

But the ball really did leave Sakusa's hand on a straightforward cross-court trajectory.

There wasn't any hidden move at all.

Tendo still found that hard to believe, but the ball was already coming at him. His right hand sealed the path perfectly, and while Sakusa was still in the air, Tendo pressed the ball straight back down.

Poor Komori had only just finished receiving from position five on the previous play, and now he had to sprint all the way over beside Sakusa to cover the block. His legs were practically giving out.

When he realized he wouldn't make it in time, Komori threw himself into a dive.

At that exact moment, something went wrong.

Iizuna, who was beside Sakusa, also dove for the ball.

Sakusa's body blocked Komori from Iizuna's view, so neither of them saw the other coming. Even Sakusa was startled. He looked down and saw that the two were about to collide.

Luckily, Komori reacted in time.

He planted both hands on the floor and kicked his legs around like a scorpion tail, instantly changing direction. Iizuna continued sliding across the floor without obstruction, but even then, he couldn't reach the volleyball.

"Beep————!"

The whistle awarded the point.

Everyone on Itachiyama let out a breath of relief.

They had all seen what almost happened. Another fraction of a second and the rally could have ended in an injury, especially at such a critical stage of the match.

This time, Sakusa didn't care that Komori was covered in dust. He reached down and pulled him off the floor.

Komori stood with a grimace.

Sakusa's gaze swept over him from head to toe. When he didn't see any obvious injury, he finally relaxed.

Then Komori lifted an arm and started rubbing his elbow.

Sakusa's eyes immediately followed the movement.

Only then did he notice the large red patch across Komori's elbow.

Doichiro helped Iizuna to his feet.

Iizuna rubbed his lower back. He'd twisted it slightly when he'd moved too quickly, but that kind of strain was practically routine for him. It didn't hurt badly.

Once he was standing, he immediately walked toward Komori with a guilty expression.

Before he even reached him, Iizuna noticed Komori's bright-red elbow.

Komori caught his gaze and smiled.

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

Nobody was convinced.

Sakusa signaled toward the referee, who immediately blew the whistle for a timeout.

"Beep————!"

Komori blinked.

He felt fine.

Why were they stopping the match?

Sakusa looked at him and, with unusual patience, explained, "Go let the team doctor check it. As long as you didn't hurt the bone, it's fine."

Since even his own cousin had spoken, Komori reluctantly agreed.

Privately, he still didn't think the injury was serious enough to justify all this attention. He was so accustomed to diving and rolling across the floor that little knocks barely registered anymore.

Still, at a moment like this, being careful was better than risking something worse.

Across the court, Ushijima watched Itachiyama with concern.

They might be opponents right now, but he didn't want any player getting injured.

"That was another outstanding rally! Iizuna started with an extremely fast serve, but Yamagata chased it down and somehow kept it in play! Shirabu adjusted and delivered the set to Ushijima. Itachiyama formed a three-man block, and Ushijima attacked!"

"Nishio managed to slow Ushijima's spike for a moment, buying precious time for Itachiyama's defense. Komori got underneath the ball, Sakusa attacked, and Tendo blocked him for the point!"

"However, there was a small scare during the save. Iizuna and Komori both dove for the same ball and nearly collided. Komori managed to change direction in time, preventing a serious accident."

"Itachiyama has now called a timeout. Let's hope neither Komori nor Iizuna is injured."

The commentator's voice continued as Itachiyama hurried off the court.

Shiratorizawa used the timeout to make adjustments as well.

The moment Ryosuke saw everyone coming back, he grabbed Tendo.

"Is Komori-senpai okay?"

Tendo knew Ryosuke was close to Komori and the others, so he didn't tease him. He glanced toward Itachiyama, where Komori was surrounded by teammates.

"He looks fine. His elbow's red. Not sure if he hit it on the floor or what."

Ryosuke still couldn't relax.

He hadn't seen Komori clearly enough himself to know how serious it was.

Just then, Ushijima walked over.

"Let's go check on him."

If Ryosuke went over to the opposing bench alone, it might look a little strange.

If Ushijima took him, however, there was nothing unusual about it.

Ryosuke immediately nodded and followed him.

Halfway there, he suddenly turned around and ran back to grab several sports drinks.

Going over empty-handed somehow didn't feel right.

He waved toward the others.

"I'll be right back."

Ushijima and Ryosuke crossed over to Itachiyama's side.

Nishio, who had been watching what was happening, suddenly felt a shadow fall over him. He instinctively looked up and found Ushijima's expressionless face directly above him.

Nishio sucked in a breath.

Aside from during the match, this was the first time he'd ever been this close to Ushijima.

He almost forgot how to speak.

"U-Ushijima-senpai..."

Ushijima looked down.

It was Nishio, the first-year who had challenged his attacks again and again at the net.

Ushijima gave him a small nod.

At the front of the group, Sakusa heard the commotion and turned around.

His eyes met Ryosuke's.

They lit up instantly.

He had just started to smile when Ushijima's body moved into the way.

With his broad frame, Ushijima completely blocked the smaller Ryosuke from view.

The faint smile on Sakusa's lips immediately disappeared.

A moment ago: happy.

After seeing Ushijima: not happy.

Sakusa walked over with a dark expression and precisely pulled Ryosuke out from behind Ushijima, where he'd been peeking around him.

Then, lowering his head, Sakusa asked in an unusually soft voice, "Why did you come over? To see Komori? He's fine. When are you going back on court?"

The string of words came out so quickly that Nishio stared in shock.

He had never seen Sakusa-senpai act like this before.

This really was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

"Huh? Oh... yeah, I came to see Komori-senpai. I don't know when I'm going back in."

Sakusa listened while idly squeezing Ryosuke's hand.

By then Ushijima had already gone over to Komori and didn't notice.

The team doctor was massaging medicated oil into the bruise around Komori's elbow.

What had been bright red moments earlier was already turning blue-purple.

As Ushijima stepped closer, the familiar sharp smell of the oil hit him.

His nose wrinkled slightly.

He really hated that smell.

It reminded him far too much of the days he'd suffered under fascia scraping treatment.

Ushijima remained a short distance away.

Komori eventually sensed someone watching him and looked up.

"Ushijima? What's up?"

His voice drew everyone's attention.

They saw Ushijima.

And they also saw Sakusa quietly holding Ryosuke's hand.

Sakusa wasn't smiling, but anyone with eyes could tell how happy he was.

He practically looked like he was surrounded by bubbles.

Komori clicked his tongue.

That hopeless expression was embarrassing to look at.

After hearing Komori, Ushijima walked closer and checked his elbow.

Once he confirmed Komori was all right, he relaxed.

"I came to see how badly you were hurt."

The moment Ryosuke saw Ushijima beside Komori, he pulled his hand free from Sakusa and ran over.

Sakusa was left standing where he was, looking thoroughly abandoned.

Tendo, who had been secretly watching Ryosuke from across the court, felt deeply satisfied.

Even Keigo Atobe, watching through binoculars, felt refreshed.

He clenched a fist.

Nice.

"Komori-senpai, are you okay? Does your arm still hurt? It looks really bad."

Ryosuke rushed over like a gust of wind and gently held Komori's arm, which had just been treated.

Komori froze.

Caught completely off guard at such close range, he could only stare.

Ryosuke's clear eyes were focused entirely on him. His eyebrows were drawn together with worry, and his long fingers carefully supported Komori's arm.

Anyone would have struggled under that earnest gaze.

Komori's face instantly turned red.

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

Before Komori could fully enjoy the moment, Ryosuke suddenly felt someone tugging him from behind.

The next second, Ushijima grabbed the back of Ryosuke's collar and hauled him upright.

Ushijima gave Komori a cold, knife-sharp look.

"If you're fine, we're leaving."

Then he dragged Ryosuke away.

As they passed Sakusa, Ushijima didn't forget to glare at him too.

Sakusa met that murderous look and sighed deeply.

Ushijima really was the biggest obstacle on his path to romance.

Komori was still standing there red-faced and speechless.

Iizuna gave the two cousins a meaningful look.

Then he pinched Komori's arm hard.

"Ow!"

Komori shot to his feet, clutching his other arm.

"Snap out of it. Snap out of it."

That finally pulled everyone's scattered attention back.

Komori glared furiously at Iizuna.

Iizuna only pressed his lips together to hide a smile.

Then Komori waved dismissively at everyone.

"I'm fine. It wasn't anything serious. You guys are making a huge deal out of nothing."

The team doctor smiled and promptly smacked Komori on the back of the head.

After getting hit twice in such a short time, Komori's face completely collapsed into misery.

"A huge deal out of nothing? Have you been secretly doing extra training again? You've got another bruise on your arm."

"How many times have I told you not to overtrain? You never listen. What are you going to do if you end up with a real injury?"

"Every time I tell you something, it goes in one ear and out the other. Wait until you're twenty-four or twenty-five. Then you'll understand, and by then it'll be too late to regret it..."

The team doctor kept lecturing beside Komori's ear.

Komori covered both ears and pretended he couldn't hear anything.

People like the team doctor were exactly the kind he had no idea how to deal with.

Everything they said was for your own good.

Even when they were angry, they didn't yell.

They just kept talking.

And talking.

Until Komori's head hurt.

Because Komori was the player most prone to getting hurt, the team doctor paid extra attention to him.

Over time, that had turned into constant lectures.

One person nagged every day.

The other never changed.

So at Itachiyama, seeing the team doctor corner Komori for another lecture had become completely normal.

Komori wore a miserable expression and didn't argue.

If he talked back, this would only last even longer.

Everyone else watched his suffering with amusement.

Everyone except Sakusa, who stood there like a statue waiting for someone to return, his neck stretched toward Shiratorizawa as he stared after Ryosuke.

Back on Shiratorizawa's side, Ushijima made a decision.

Kawanishi would come out.

Ryosuke would go in.

Kawanishi's scoring rate had been solid, and Itachiyama's blocker was still a first-year who could often be tricked.

But judging from the first half of the set, most of Shiratorizawa's attacks were now going through Ushijima and Reon.

Kawanishi had mostly been receiving and blocking.

So Ushijima decided replacing him with Ryosuke would be more useful.

With that change, Shiratorizawa's front-row defensive system became much stronger.

Tendo would remain the primary blocker.

Ryosuke could support Tendo or block independently.

If Tendo missed or Yamagata couldn't react in time, Ryosuke could fill the gap.

In a way, Ryosuke was almost a natural counter to Itachiyama.

Everyone agreed with Ushijima's proposal.

Everyone except Goshiki, who looked visibly disappointed.

The moment Ushijima suggested the change, Goshiki knew he probably wouldn't get another chance to play in the final set.

Ushijima rarely changed the lineup.

This was likely the last adjustment of the match.

Goshiki understood that.

He still wanted to finish the final set standing on the court with everyone else.

And deep down, he had another uneasy feeling.

Their IH journey might really end here.

Even if Shiratorizawa managed to beat Itachiyama, winning the championship would still be another matter.

Everyone on Shiratorizawa knew exactly how strong Fukurōdani was.

Ryosuke understood why Goshiki looked so dejected.

He sat beside him and rubbed his hair.

The soft strands felt so nice that Ryosuke couldn't resist doing it a few more times.

"It's okay. You'll still have another chance next match."

Ryosuke deliberately didn't say anything about their current situation.

Goshiki's lowered head suddenly shot up.

Then he buried his face against Ryosuke's chest with a muffled whine, leaving only the back of his head visible.

"But I still want to be on the court with everyone."

Ryosuke didn't answer.

He simply patted Goshiki gently on the back.