Haikyuu - Chapter 347 (Patreon)

"Snap out of it, little Ryosuke."

Tendo waved a hand in front of Ryosuke's eyes, instantly bringing him back to reality.

"S-sorry, Tendo-senpai!"

Tendo narrowed his eyes with a delighted smile and shook his head without saying anything else.

Who could possibly blame little Ryosuke when he looked like that? His fluffy curls were practically standing on end, his face was red enough to look feverish, and his beautiful eyes were shining.

If everyone hadn't been watching, Tendo would've already demonstrated what it looked like to smother a cat with affection, followed immediately by getting beaten up for it.

Standing by the coaches' bench with his usual stern expression, Coach Washijō allowed the faintest hint of a smile to appear.

Watching Ryosuke surrounded by so many people gave him the strange feeling of seeing his own child grow up.

A good kid like Ryosuke deserved to be seen by everyone.

"Wow. He's popular."

Hoshiumi clicked his tongue, sounding distinctly sour.

He recognized plenty of people in the crowd. A lot of them had watched Kamomedai's matches before, hadn't they?

Nobody had comforted him like that when he'd been playing.

Hirugami looked at Hoshiumi's sulky expression with amusement.

Still just a kid.

The brief interruption quickly passed, and the stands gradually quieted again as everyone waited for the match to continue.

Since Itachiyama had taken the serve away from Shiratorizawa, it was now their turn to serve.

Under Yamagata's serious gaze, Sakusa stepped into the service position.

The score was far from comfortable. Shiratorizawa needed to at least draw level before they could think about winning.

Now it all depended on Yamagata.

Hopefully, he could seize this chance.

Both sides were ready.

The whistle cut through the silent arena, making the atmosphere feel even tighter.

Sweat slid down Yamagata's forehead and fell onto the floor with a faint pat.

The air inside the gym seemed to freeze.

Occasional whispers from the stands and the uneven sound of everyone's breathing blurred together into meaningless white noise in Yamagata's ears.

"Yamagata, get this one. We're counting on you."

Tendo's voice cut through the haze.

Yamagata smiled bitterly.

Tendo, at a time like this, maybe don't add even more pressure.

He took a deep breath, bent forward, and planted both hands on his knees. His back curved slightly, making him resemble a leopard lying in wait for its prey.

Under everyone's gaze, Sakusa tossed the volleyball and began his serve.

The moment the ball rose, Yamagata felt his heartbeat accelerate.

His chest tightened as though something had clenched around it.

At last year's IH, they had faced Itachiyama too.

Sakusa had been serving then as well.

Yamagata had failed to receive one of those serves, and Shiratorizawa's run had ended in the quarterfinals.

That image still returned again and again in his dreams.

Yamagata had looked fine on the surface afterward, but only he and Reon knew that he'd blamed himself for the entire school year.

Even now, he hadn't completely let it go.

"Yamagata, don't overthink it. Just treat it like practice."

Reon's voice pulled him back to reality.

Yamagata nodded and wiped the sweat from his face with his wristband.

Everyone was looking at him.

There was no blame in those eyes.

Only trust.

They believed in Yamagata without reservation.

His throat tightened.

As the libero, he wasn't merely responsible for building the team's foundation.

He was also the starting point of every counterattack.

Sakusa tossed the volleyball high, approached, and jumped. The entire motion was as smooth and precise as something from a textbook, almost like a work of art.

Then the ball shot toward Shiratorizawa like a cannon shell, slicing through the air.

"Mine!"

Yamagata called out instinctively and sprinted toward the landing point.

No matter what happened, he had to keep this one up.

Even if he had to throw himself flat on the floor.

The volleyball spun violently through the air.

Yamagata accelerated to another level entirely, reaching the predicted position in an instant.

Then he planted his feet firmly, his lower body rooted to the floor.

Ever since last year's mistake, Yamagata had repeatedly analyzed what had gone wrong.

In the end, he'd narrowed it down to his center of gravity and the stability of his lower body.

He had found the problem.

He had trained it for a long time.

Even so, now that he was facing the same situation again, he didn't dare become overconfident.

Once he was set, Yamagata lowered into his receiving stance.

"Bang!"

The volleyball finally reached him.

Yamagata turned slightly and received it as naturally as eating or drinking.

The pass drifted farther than intended and left the ideal route, but the important thing was that he'd kept it alive.

The nightmares that had clung to him for so long would finally disappear tonight.

Yamagata hadn't conquered this serve alone.

He'd done it with the teammates who had stayed quietly beside him all this time.

Shirabu cared in his own sharp-tongued way.

Tendo complained about practice more than anyone, yet every time Yamagata wanted extra work, he stayed with him until the gym closed.

Ushijima silently found footage of comparable liberos for Yamagata to study.

Eita Semi would secretly watch Yamagata's condition during every match, worried he might start blaming himself again.

Everyone had been healing Yamagata in their own way.

The volleyball rose high above the court.

Yamagata looked up at it and suddenly felt overwhelmed.

He really wished he could play volleyball with these people forever.

"He got it!"

Nishinoya was trembling with excitement, both hands braced against the railing as he leaned forward.

His limited vocabulary failed him completely.

He had no idea what to say.

Judging from his expression, though, Nishinoya probably wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

The pass had drifted off course, but Shirabu adjusted quickly and sent the ball back toward the net.

At times like this, Shirabu almost seemed capable of turning disaster into something usable.

If Shirabu heard anyone say that, he'd probably sneer.

Turning disaster into opportunity, my ass.

Tendo and Yamagata were always trying strange new tactics, and Shirabu had no choice but to clean up after them.

His reaction speed had been beaten into him entirely by his own teammates.

To Reon's right, Ryosuke spotted the opening.

He accelerated immediately, shifting from position three toward position two, preparing for a back-row slide attack with Shirabu.

Naturally, this was another tactic Shirabu and Ryosuke had secretly practiced.

In midair, Ryosuke caught sight of Nishio and Kishimoto already waiting across the net to block.

For a moment, he froze.

Were those two really that fast?

Had they already figured out what he was trying to do?

Nishio and Kishimoto, meanwhile, were staring intently at Ushijima around position five.

Ushijima was beginning his approach, ready to jump at any moment.

Neither of them had expected Ryosuke to suddenly appear from the side.

Now both blockers were equally stunned.

One side thought the other had seen through the trick.

The other genuinely hadn't noticed Ryosuke at all.

It was a perfect misunderstanding.

In the middle of his approach, Ryosuke's mind raced through several possible schemes.

Then he saw the completely straightforward look in Nishio's eyes and realized he'd overthought it.

Apparently, all of Ryosuke's scheming instincts had been poured into volleyball.

He swung hard.

"Bang!"

"Beep————!"

The ball hit the floor one body length away from Nishio.

A split second after it landed, Iizuna came sliding across the floor from behind, but he was still too late.

"Nice one, Ryosuke!"

Goshiki looked even happier than if he'd scored the point himself, his smile bright as a sunflower.

Ryosuke heard him and waved toward the bench with a smile of his own.

But that smile didn't look entirely genuine.

Keigo Atobe, who had been watching Ryosuke through his camera the entire time, frowned.

Something was off about that expression.

They'd grown up together.

Keigo Atobe knew every one of Ryosuke's reactions.

He just couldn't tell what was wrong this time.

"Woohoo! That one felt great, Ryosuke!"

Tendo came charging in from behind with his arms spread wide, clearly planning to hug him.

Ryosuke smoothly bent and turned, dodging him with practiced ease, then high-fived Shirabu instead.

"Shirabu-senpai, that combination was perfect."

Ryosuke grinned.

Shirabu gave a proud little huff.

"One look at you and I already knew what you wanted."

"But we still have to thank Yamagata-senpai. If he hadn't received that serve, none of us would've gotten the chance."

Yamagata scratched his head as he walked over from behind them.

"Come on, it wasn't that amazing. I was really nervous too. I'm just glad I didn't let everyone down."

After successfully receiving that serve, Yamagata felt something inside him change.

Physically and mentally.

It was almost like those masters in novels who suddenly achieved enlightenment.

Since Tendo had failed to grab Ryosuke, he immediately wrapped himself around Yamagata instead.

Yamagata didn't mind nearly as much and didn't try to throw him off.

"All right, all right. Back to your positions."

Reon knew everyone was happy and didn't particularly want to interrupt the moment, but they were still in the middle of a match.

"Got it!"

Everyone answered together before returning to position.

As Ryosuke walked, he quietly checked his knee.

That last attack had been beautiful, but the moment he landed, something had felt wrong.

His knees had behaved themselves throughout the entire IH so far.

But after that jump, one of them had begun to hurt.

It wasn't severe.

Still, after so many days, this was the first time he'd felt actual pain rather than simple soreness.

It hadn't even happened during training before.

Given the current situation, Ryosuke couldn't help feeling uneasy.

They had finally tied the score.

He couldn't let something happen now.

So he decided to monitor it a little longer.

If he could last until the end of the match, that would be best.

Ryosuke wanted to throw everything he had into the match without hesitation.

But he couldn't gamble with his future.

Damage to a growing knee could become irreversible.

If he hadn't been using the medicated patches all this time, Coach Washijō never would've allowed him to participate in this tournament at all.

If Coach Washijō had gotten his way, Ryosuke probably would've been kept out for another full year just to be safe.

"Beep————!"

The whistle interrupted his thoughts.

Ryosuke looked up and saw Ushijima walking toward the service line.

His attention snapped back to the match.

Hopefully, his knee would last until this was over.

Causing trouble for everyone at a moment like this would only make things worse.

Ushijima served like an emotionless machine.

Toss.

Approach.

Jump.

Komori's eyes never left him.

"Bang!"

Ushijima hammered the ball, sending it toward Komori like a missile.

Komori wasn't afraid at all.

By now, he'd found his rhythm.

The volleyball spun violently, and Komori moved quickly toward its landing point.

Once he reached the spot, he planted himself and snapped his arms upward.

"Bang!"

The ball struck Komori's forearms and rebounded into the air.

At this point, Komori's receiving had reached an almost ridiculous level.

He could practically get a ball up without even seeing the exact angle of descent.

Komori was willing to call it a libero superpower.

Getting his arms under the ball was now the easy part.

The real problem was absorbing the force afterward.

And he still hadn't mastered that.

Komori had no time to cushion Ushijima's power properly, so the pass shot straight toward the ceiling.

"Komori, you damn bastard!"

Iizuna finally lost his temper and cursed at him.

How many times had this happened now?

Couldn't the guy give him one decent pass?

Hearing Iizuna swear, Komori smiled helplessly.

"My bad, my bad! Iizuna, please fix it!"

What else could Komori do?

Getting Ushijima's serve into the air at all was already an achievement.

Turning it into a perfect first pass was asking too much.

"The liberos on both sides are pretty hardcore in this match."

Hirugami rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Hoshiumi nodded seriously.

The quality of this match had already gone beyond what people normally expected from the IH.

It would have been worth watching even as a final.

This really was ace versus ace.

Whoever reached the actual final was practically getting lucky.

The stands were close to the court, but Hirugami still hadn't caught exactly what Iizuna had just shouted.

Judging from his expression, though, it had probably been colorful.

He'd never expected to live long enough to hear Iizuna swear.

Hirugami folded his arms, amused.

Just imagining the usually refined Iizuna suddenly spouting profanity made him want to laugh.

If only he'd recorded it.

He could've played it back in front of Iizuna on loop after the match.

Back on court, Iizuna chased the soaring ball with his head tipped back.

He nearly ran himself to death.

By now, his chest burned and he could taste iron in his throat.

As Iizuna prepared to set, everyone on Shiratorizawa moved.

Ryosuke and Tendo led the charge to the net, preparing to block.

Reon and Ushijima stayed behind them, ready for the next ball.

Yamagata's eyes remained fixed on the volleyball.

If the block failed, he would be Shiratorizawa's final line of defense.

Sakusa had already reached the net, deliberately avoiding a direct matchup with Tendo and Ryosuke.

Head-on, he estimated his chances against those two at only around forty percent.

Brute force wouldn't work.

And Tendo would see through any obvious trick.

So Sakusa had to win with positioning and timing.

Seeing that Sakusa hadn't gone toward position two and had instead moved toward the position-five side, Tendo and Ryosuke adjusted as well.

The two shifted toward position three and prepared to block.

Doichiro moved across to Ryosuke's side, screening the view of the players behind him.

Iizuna released the set.

Sakusa jumped first from the back.

Ryosuke and Tendo didn't dare relax and jumped with him.

Doichiro also jumped, pretending to attack.

Just as expected, the ball sailed over Sakusa's head without stopping.

Ryosuke and Tendo immediately landed and adjusted for the next block.

The moment Sakusa jumped without receiving the set, Ryosuke knew they were in trouble.

The problem was the instant both blockers touched the floor.

The ball was flying directly toward Doichiro.

But because Doichiro and Sakusa were attacking along the same lane, and Tendo was especially wary of Sakusa's back-row attack, Sakusa remained the greater threat in Tendo's mind.

Iizuna's set was fast too.

By the time Ryosuke and Tendo prepared to jump again, Doichiro was already in the air.

"Watch the tip!"

...

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