Haikyuu - Chapter 346 (Patreon)

"Ryosuke, you're no exception. Look at that serve just now. Your service turn ended after only two balls. I never objected to you practicing that serve, but if you're going to learn a skill, then learn it properly. You can't keep using it like this. If it happens again, you won't be serving in matches anymore!"

"I was gone for only a little while, and you managed to turn the match into this. You absolutely have to win this one. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Coach Washijō unleashed a furious tirade. Everyone stood rooted to the spot like frightened quails, not daring to say a word. Seeing them all silent only made him even angrier.

He was going to die of frustration. He had barely been gone at all, and somehow the match had already turned into this.

Coach Washijō stood there breathing heavily, clearly furious.

His outburst even managed to silence Hibarida. With the timeout almost over, however, Hibarida finally stepped forward to calm him down.

"The match is about to resume. That's enough scolding the kids."

Since Hibarida had given him a convenient way to stop, Coach Washijō didn't continue.

Then he turned around and saw Hibarida.

His anger immediately started rising again.

He had specifically asked Hibarida to serve as the temporary coach. Instead, the man had spent the entire time standing there watching the show without offering much guidance at all.

Coach Washijō suddenly wondered why he'd asked Hibarida to come in the first place.

Hibarida: ...caught in the crossfire for no reason.

Coach Washijō had only lost his temper because his emotions had gotten the better of him.

Once he calmed down and thought over the earlier part of the match, he realized there had actually been plenty worth praising. Overall, for a team playing without him there, Shiratorizawa had performed very well.

They were just a little short.

It wasn't a technical problem. Their overall strength simply wasn't quite as high as Itachiyama's, and everyone on Shiratorizawa had already been playing above their usual level.

Realizing he'd overreacted, Coach Washijō felt a little regretful.

They were still in the middle of a national tournament. Scolding the team like this in front of the entire country meant there was no telling what the magazines and newspapers would write afterward.

"Whoa, Coach Washijō is scary."

Hinata looked down from the stands.

Even from all the way up there, he could hear Coach Washijō roaring. That alone showed just how angry the little old man was.

"Hmph. Washijō has always been like that. He's extremely strict with his players and completely uncompromising."

Ukai, who had been quietly watching the match until now, suddenly spoke with a cold snort.

Hinata turned toward him suspiciously.

It was rare to hear Coach Ukai talk about someone like that.

It seemed Shiratorizawa and Karasuno really were destined to be rivals.

Over at Shiratorizawa's bench, however, the players didn't look particularly discouraged.

If anything, they looked strangely refreshed.

Ryosuke most of all.

Hearing Coach Washijō's familiar scolding finally made the anxiety in his chest settle.

Sure enough, having Coach Washijō there made it much easier to feel secure.

Coach Washijō was still regretting his outburst and didn't notice the subtle change in the team's mood.

Hibarida did.

He quietly took in the scene and couldn't help thinking that Coach Washijō really was something else. One scolding and the team's fighting spirit came right back.

Nothing like those spoiled national-team brats. You couldn't scold them, couldn't be too hard on them, and always had to worry that they'd suddenly start sulking and stop putting in effort.

If Hibarida got to coach kids like these from Shiratorizawa every day, he couldn't even imagine how happy he'd be.

While Coach Washijō was still reflecting, Goshiki suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

"UNDERSTOOD, COACH!"

Coach Washijō jolted.

Not because he was moved.

Goshiki had simply scared him.

The moment Goshiki spoke, everyone else started chiming in too.

"Coach is right!"

"We'll take this set!"

"Thank you, Coach Washijō!"

They were suddenly brimming with energy, looking nothing like a group that had just been verbally torn apart.

Coach Washijō began wondering whether he'd gone too far.

Why did these kids suddenly look so strange?

Their eyes were practically shining with tears.

Had he scolded them stupid?

The next round of complaints got stuck in his throat. Saying them felt wrong, but holding them back felt uncomfortable too.

Faced with all those sparkling eyes, Coach Washijō coughed awkwardly twice.

"Since you've understood, I won't say anything more. For the rest of this match, every single one of you gives it everything you've got!"

"YES!!"

The atmosphere immediately caught fire.

From Hibarida's perspective, their fighting spirit looked strong enough to blow the roof off the arena.

He smiled.

Coach Washijō really did deserve his reputation as a gold-medal coach.

A few sentences had completely changed the mood.

The rest of this match was going to be interesting.

After Coach Washijō finished, everyone dispersed.

At some point, the air conditioning in the arena had been turned on.

Ryosuke could feel the heat gradually leaving his sweat-soaked uniform, and with it, his overheated thoughts began settling too.

Now calmer, he took a deep breath and forced himself not to get anxious.

Goshiki came charging over like a little cannonball.

"See?! It really is better when Coach Washijō is here! Everyone was acting so weird earlier, and now suddenly everyone's normal again!"

His eyes were wide, as though he'd discovered something incredible.

Ryosuke came back to himself and smiled.

His eyes curved gently, almost glowing, and the expression looked as though he'd finally shaken off some invisible burden.

Goshiki froze for a moment.

"You're right. It really does have to be Coach Washijō."

After saying that, Ryosuke began stretching and preparing himself for the rest of the match.

Goshiki was still standing there blankly.

Ryosuke tilted his head, puzzled, but didn't disturb him.

Goshiki probably had his reasons.

Over on Itachiyama's side, Iizuna looked toward Shiratorizawa's bench and spoke in a complicated tone.

"Ah... their mood got better all of a sudden. I was hoping we could take advantage of that and finish them off."

Sakusa answered flatly.

"Stop dreaming."

Iizuna shrugged.

"And what exactly are you basing that on?"

Komori grinned and hooked an arm around Iizuna's neck from behind.

"Shiratorizawa isn't going to lose that easily. It's Shiratorizawa. One server after another hits like a monster, and their defense is ridiculous too. There's no way they just collapse like that."

Iizuna shook Komori off in disgust, then sighed and covered his eyes with one hand.

"If they don't finish this soon, I'm the one who's going to collapse."

"No way, no way! Iizuna, who can eat four bowls of rice in one sitting, is saying something like that? Who possessed you? Get out right now!"

Seeing Iizuna sounding discouraged, Komori laughed and started shaking his shoulders.

This wouldn't do.

Itachiyama's foundation couldn't be allowed to crumble.

Iizuna grew dizzy from the shaking and waved him off.

"I know, I know. I'm fine right now. If you keep shaking me, then I actually won't be."

Komori sheepishly let go.

The tense atmosphere on Itachiyama's side gradually relaxed as well.

"Once they go back on court, we're probably entering the decisive stretch."

Hirugami rested his chin on his hand and watched the court intently.

"Kourai, which side do you want to win?"

Hoshiumi rolled his eyes.

"It's not like the side I want to win automatically wins, okay? Itachiyama and Shiratorizawa are completely evenly matched right now. Even if you asked the coach, he probably couldn't give you an answer."

"Ehhhhh..."

Hirugami drew out the sound in disappointment.

He'd thought Hoshiumi might say something interesting.

The kid had grown up.

He was starting to have opinions of his own.

Ryosuke stretched out his cooled muscles, trying to get the blood flowing again.

Goshiki kept watching him from nearby.

Ushijima glanced at him every so often too.

Shirabu acted as though he didn't care, but his eyes had already drifted toward Ryosuke several times.

Ryosuke's previous service turn hadn't gone especially well, and his mood had clearly been off.

Naturally, everyone was paying attention to him.

Everyone except Reon, who was basically the team parent.

The rest of Shiratorizawa's players were still awkward when it came to showing concern. A group of grown boys constantly checking whether another boy was about to cry sounded strange no matter how you put it.

Reon walked over and patted Ryosuke's shoulder.

"How's your knee? Does it hurt?"

"You didn't score many points on your last service turn, but you still bought us time. Don't dwell on it. Next time you serve, just blow them away."

It was rare to hear Reon-senpai talk so boldly.

Ryosuke couldn't help laughing.

The moment he smiled, the distant quality in his expression disappeared, making him look much more like the kid he actually was.

After all, Ryosuke was only sixteen or seventeen.

Seeing that smile, even Reon was briefly caught off guard.

Ryosuke lifted his legs and bounced lightly a few times.

His knees felt a little stiff and sore, but not painful.

"It's fine, Reon-senpai. My knees are okay. They're just a little sore. I've been using the medicated patches Coach Washijō gave me every day."

The two chatted normally.

Everyone who had been secretly watching Ryosuke finally relaxed and withdrew their attention.

"Beep————!"

The familiar whistle sounded again.

Everyone's attention returned to the court.

The match was resuming.

"Let's go."

Sakusa picked up a towel and carefully wiped his hands before standing.

He led Itachiyama back onto the court, the others following behind him.

Coming from the opposite direction was Ushijima, leading Shiratorizawa onto the court.

Sakusa's gaze immediately searched behind Ushijima.

Eventually he spotted Ryosuke behind Reon.

The instant he saw him, Sakusa's usually expressionless face finally showed a hint of emotion.

Ryosuke had been looking down, but he sensed someone staring at him again and instinctively started to raise his head.

Reon seemed to predict exactly what he was about to do.

Without even looking back, he reached behind himself and pressed Ryosuke's head down.

Ryosuke: ???

He had no idea what Reon-senpai was doing.

Still, if Reon wanted his head down, then he would keep it down.

Ryosuke obediently lowered his gaze.

The instant he did, Reon and Sakusa's eyes met.

A silent confrontation passed between them.

Reon wasn't stupid.

If he still couldn't see what was going on, someone would steal Ryosuke away sooner or later.

From now on, this guy wasn't getting close to Ryosuke.

Sakusa noticed the warning in Reon's eyes and simply turned his head away, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Keigo Atobe, holding a camera with an eight-times zoom lens, captured the entire interaction.

"Tsk."

No matter how many times he saw him, Keigo Atobe still couldn't stand Sakusa.

Matsukawa noticed the cold air practically radiating from Keigo Atobe and quietly moved farther away to avoid becoming collateral damage.

After the silent confrontation, everyone calmly passed one another as though nothing had happened.

Ryosuke could tell something felt strange, but he couldn't identify what.

Completely confused, he stepped onto the court.

"Welcome back to the match! Shiratorizawa and Itachiyama are about to resume play! The current score is 20 to 21. Shiratorizawa's advantage has once again been taken away by Itachiyama!"

"So who will emerge as the final winner? Let's find out!"

The moment the commentator finished, both sides of the stands erupted.

The cheering became increasingly ridiculous, with people shouting anything and everything.

It almost sounded like the roof might come off.

Ryosuke stood on court again.

Once more, he could feel countless eyes watching him.

This time, however, he wasn't nearly as nervous.

So many people were standing with him.

He couldn't disappoint them.

"Hey! Curly-haired number six!"

Just as Ryosuke was starting to reflect on how much better his mindset had become, a voice suddenly came from above.

A question mark practically appeared over his curls.

Then he snapped his head up.

Number six?

Wasn't that him?

Following the voice, Ryosuke saw a middle-aged man in flip-flops leaning over the railing high in the stands.

Several arena security guards were behind him.

One had both arms around his waist.

Two others were holding onto his arms to keep him from tumbling over.

The rest of Shiratorizawa also looked up.

Once the man saw Ryosuke looking, he stopped struggling and shouted down.

"Kid! You're playing some damn good volleyball! This old man is getting fired up just watching you! Keep it going!"

Something inside Ryosuke quietly gave way.

One of them stood on the court.

The other stood high in the crowd.

Even across that distance, Ryosuke could almost feel the man's enthusiasm and heat washing straight over him.

He'd never experienced anything like that before.

"O-okay..."

Heat slowly climbed into Ryosuke's face.

Even his words started stumbling.

What was with this?

That completely unprompted enthusiasm reminded him of Goshiki.

Goshiki would sometimes become inexplicably enthusiastic too.

Ryosuke had always assumed that was just his puppy-like personality coming out.

He still wasn't used to such direct, overwhelming friendliness.

But he liked it.

"Kid! Answer properly!"

"YES!"

The man roared again, apparently dissatisfied with Ryosuke's weak reply.

Ryosuke answered reflexively at full volume.

Satisfied, the legendary flip-flop warrior finally waved and climbed down from the railing.

Everyone else in the stands had witnessed the exchange.

They smiled good-naturedly at the boy who blushed when praised.

Then the cheering began.

"Go, number six!"

"Ryosuke Hanyu! Unleash your full power!"

"Big brother, become the champion!"

The voices kept coming.

It was strange.

These people hadn't even known him before.

Why could they be this enthusiastic about him?

Ryosuke's head was normally filled with little besides volleyball and his teammates, so he genuinely couldn't understand it.

But he was happy.

The feeling was like opening a bottle of soda for the first time, sweet and sour and fizzing until the bubbles threatened to burst everywhere.