Haikyuu - Chapter 349 (Patreon)

Hibarida kept talking at Coach Washijō nonstop, one-sidedly sharing his thoughts on raising children. The veins on Coach Washijō's forehead were practically bulging. If Hibarida weren't someone he couldn't afford to offend, Coach Washijō would've smacked him by now.

Hibarida had even forgotten about the match, holding Coach Washijō by the shoulders as he continued his parenting lecture. At this rate, Coach Washijō's shoulders were about to break.

Watching Coach Washijō's anger successfully get redirected elsewhere, Ryosuke narrowed his eyes and quietly smiled, content to remain an unsung hero.

"Beep————!"

The instant the whistle sounded, Hibarida and Coach Washijō fell silent.

Both turned toward the court.

Ryosuke straightened up and leaned forward to watch, only to have his view completely blocked by the two giants standing in front of him.

With a sigh, he picked up his little stool and obediently moved it to a spot right in front of Coach Washijō's feet.

Now all Coach Washijō had to do was look down to see Ryosuke's head.

The irritation he'd just managed to calm immediately surged back up.

He hurriedly restrained his hand.

Otherwise, he genuinely might have flicked the damn kid on the head.

As though sensing a chill at the back of his skull, Ryosuke calmly picked up his stool again and moved over to sit in front of Hibarida instead.

That only made Coach Washijō even angrier.

"Hmph!"

He let out a heavy snort through his nose, but ultimately said nothing.

"Shirabu-senpai, I'm counting on you!"

Goshiki was bursting with energy like the morning sun, as though he had an endless supply.

Shirabu was nearly blinded by the huge grin and gleaming white teeth.

He awkwardly nodded.

Shirabu had discovered that he really didn't know how to deal with people who were this enthusiastic. Every time he spoke to Goshiki for more than a few sentences, he found himself wanting to answer sarcastically.

He had no idea why.

Goshiki didn't mind Shirabu's silence.

That was just how Shirabu was.

He might not say much, but Goshiki knew Shirabu remembered everything he said.

Only after stepping onto the court did Goshiki belatedly realize that Ryosuke was probably physically uncomfortable.

Otherwise, Coach Washijō wouldn't have substituted him so casually.

At least in Goshiki's mind, Ryosuke was far more valuable to the team than he was.

While Goshiki wasn't paying attention, Tendo suddenly attacked from the side and wrapped an arm around his neck.

"Little Goshiki, Ryosuke may be off the court, but he'll be watching you the whole time You don't want Ryosuke seeing you make mistakes, do you?"

Now that Goshiki was on court, he would inevitably have to block alongside Tendo.

What Tendo worried about most was that Goshiki's body and touch had already cooled off while sitting out.

If his mentality slipped too, the whole thing could collapse.

Sure enough, the moment Tendo spoke, Goshiki, who had been relatively calm, immediately caught fire.

He whipped his head toward the bench.

Ryosuke was startled by the sudden eye contact and stared back with round, wide eyes.

Goshiki assumed Ryosuke had been watching him the whole time.

Tiny flames of determination practically erupted all over him.

He threw Tendo's arm off and declared, "Don't worry, Tendo-senpai! Leave everything to me! OOOOOOOH!"

Shirabu: ...

Cheering up a kid was one thing.

This was probably unnecessary.

Goshiki was practically combusting now.

Reon smiled good-naturedly and didn't stop Tendo.

"Back to your positions. The match is continuing."

The two were still inexplicably fired up, but under the referee's increasingly dangerous stare, Reon finally stepped in.

Only then did Goshiki and Tendo return to position.

Itachiyama still had the serve for this rally.

Tendo might have lifted the mood, but everyone understood that the situation was dangerous.

One more step backward and everything could collapse.

Sakusa glanced toward Ryosuke, who was sitting obediently off the court, and decided that Itachiyama absolutely had to win this match.

He was genuinely pleased that Ryosuke had grown enough to stand on the same court as him.

But once the two of them actually faced each other during a match, Sakusa's eyes couldn't help being drawn toward Ryosuke.

Sakusa wasn't a saint.

Every time he watched Ryosuke jump or spike, it felt like something small rammed into his chest.

The pride and admiration in his eyes were nearly impossible to hide.

Look.

That's the person I like.

He deserves to be liked by everyone.

Now that Ryosuke had left the court, there was almost nothing left to distract Sakusa.

For this rally, Sakusa had entered a state of perfect clarity.

"Beep————!"

The whistle sounded.

Nishio stood at position one to serve.

He had long since given up expecting a service ace.

He wasn't asking for a point.

He just wanted a stable serve.

Get the serve in cleanly, and the attack afterward would take care of itself.

Nishio tossed the ball, began his approach, jumped, and struck, all in one smooth sequence.

"Bang!"

The volleyball flew steadily across the net.

Yamagata let out a huge breath of relief when he saw it.

Finally.

A normal serve.

"Bang!"

He received it without hesitation.

Shirabu relaxed too.

Thank goodness.

He wouldn't have to run around adjusting this one.

Truthfully, Shirabu's stamina wasn't much better than Tendo's.

This match had nearly emptied his entire energy bar.

In the past, he'd mostly just set to Ushijima.

Now that Shiratorizawa had changed its tactics, Shirabu was the one suffering the most.

He had gone from setting from relatively fixed positions to running all over the court.

His stamina was clearly starting to fail him.

Every movement was becoming harder.

Coach Washijō sighed softly, his emotions complicated.

He had finally molded Shiratorizawa into the style he'd once wanted.

Now, because of Ryosuke, he had to begin changing it again.

Coach Washijō could admit that his old thinking had been a little too extreme.

The month or two of adjustments before the tournament simply hadn't been enough.

Next year.

By next year, they should be about right.

Shirabu moved toward the net to set.

His steps were already growing heavy.

The two blockers across from him looked at Shirabu like predators spotting prey, swarming toward him and watching every movement.

Sweat slid down through Shirabu's hair.

The accumulated exhaustion had left his head buzzing.

His brain was barely processing properly anymore.

When Nishio came rushing toward him, staring at the ball, Shirabu glanced toward Goshiki, who was practically vibrating on the other side of the court, then toward Ushijima farther back with his usual serious expression.

Who should he give the ball to?

Shirabu could hear his own breathing clearly.

Setting Goshiki wouldn't work.

Nishio had practically guessed Shirabu's intention already, his feet poised to move toward Goshiki at any moment.

Ushijima wasn't an ideal choice either.

Shirabu gritted his teeth and raised his arm as though he were setting toward Goshiki.

Just as he'd expected, the instant he moved, Nishio's engine kicked into gear.

One blocker had been drawn away.

Now only Kishimoto remained.

But Kishimoto was being far too cautious.

Shirabu couldn't shake him.

With no better option, Shirabu forced himself to commit.

The instant he appeared ready to set, his left hand suddenly rose and pushed the ball over the net.

A setter dump.

For Shirabu, this was a move reserved for situations where he had no other choice.

Kishimoto had been waiting for it.

The instant the ball crossed the net, he received it from directly underneath.

"Sakusa!"

Kishimoto sent the ball toward the opposite side of the court, directly across from Goshiki.

At a moment like this, anyone could become the setter.

Sakusa appeared at Kishimoto's intended point almost instantly and jumped.

Directly in front of Goshiki.

Every nerve in Goshiki's body tightened at once.

He had never expected the pressure of facing Sakusa head-on to feel this overwhelming.

Sweat poured down him.

Ryosuke sighed from the sideline.

Running into Sakusa at a do-or-die moment like this had to be putting enormous pressure on Goshiki.

Under Sakusa's stare, Goshiki felt rooted to the floor.

"Tsutomu Goshiki!"

Shirabu was about to lose his mind.

What the hell was that idiot doing instead of preparing to block?!

That full name made it obvious just how angry Shirabu was.

Goshiki jolted.

The next instant, his legs suddenly worked again.

He jumped straight up by himself, both arms raised to block.

He attacked the jump with tremendous force.

In Coach Washijō's eyes, however, the form looked like complete garbage.

"Smack!"

Sure enough, the ball slammed into Goshiki's hands and flew out of bounds.

The moment Goshiki realized he'd been tooled, his blood ran cold.

I'm finished.

I'm absolutely finished.

"Goshiki! What the hell are you doing?! Do you want extra training?! You little brat, you'd better make that point back immediately, or you're finished after the match!"

Coach Washijō erupted from the sideline.

Ryosuke opened his mouth, intending to defend Goshiki.

Then he quietly closed it again.

Coach Washijō was already in a terrible mood because of Ryosuke's knee.

If Ryosuke spoke now and redirected that anger onto himself, he'd be finished too.

Goshiki, I can't save you.

Take care of yourself.

Ryosuke lowered his head guiltily, his little curls trembling slightly.

He looked like an obedient child who had nothing to do with any of this.

Goshiki hung his head in guilt.

Shirabu stormed toward him, looking ready to drive an elbow into him.

Reon reacted quickly and caught Shirabu before he could.

"Enough. Goshiki's already in a bad state mentally. Don't yell at him now."

"He was substituted in at match point and then immediately failed to defend the point. He's probably feeling worse than anyone."

"Whatever you want to say, save it until after the match."

Shirabu had a short temper, but he did listen to reason.

Looking at Goshiki's miserable lowered head, he sighed.

Fine.

Fine.

After the match, nobody was escaping.

"I'm sorry, Ushijima-senpai... I couldn't stop that point."

Ushijima looked down at Goshiki, his expression unchanged.

"Goshiki. This is what the road to becoming an ace is like."

"You fail again and again."

"Then, eventually, you succeed."

Goshiki blinked and forced the sting in his eyes back down.

He understood.

He really did.

But he still felt guilty.

They had lost such an important point because of him.

If Ryosuke had been there, they absolutely wouldn't have lost it.

Iizuna had been watching Shiratorizawa's side the entire time.

The atmosphere that had been blazing moments ago was now beginning to stagnate.

His eyes shifted.

One wicked idea after another appeared in his mind.

He beckoned Sakusa and the others closer.

"From now on, target number five. His mentality is unstable. He's nowhere near as reliable as little Ryosuke."

Nishio thought about it for a moment and silently mourned for Goshiki.

They were both first-years.

If Nishio had been targeted until his confidence shattered during his first official match, that would probably haunt him for life.

"Isn't that a little too cruel...?"

Kishimoto voiced exactly what Nishio was thinking.

Iizuna said nothing.

He knew it was underhanded too.

From a short distance away, Sakusa, who could still hear them, spoke.

"Don't worry. Someone like Goshiki won't collapse over something like this."

Komori looked at Sakusa in surprise.

It was rare to hear Sakusa evaluate someone else.

In truth, Komori was overthinking it.

Sakusa simply thought that dumb dog Goshiki wasn't the type to brood over something like this.

Only someone with Ryosuke's cat-like personality would repeatedly search himself for faults afterward.

Sakusa didn't particularly like Goshiki.

Then again, Sakusa disliked everyone around Ryosuke equally.

Still, he had to admit that ever since Ryosuke became friends with Goshiki, he had grown less withdrawn.

"Since Sakusa says he'll be fine, let's do it!"

Iizuna made the decision.

Then he looked toward Goshiki with a darkly amused expression and grinned.

Still wallowing in guilt, Goshiki suddenly shuddered.

Why did he feel like something had just locked onto him?

This felt ominous.

"Beep!!"

The referee saw that neither side had returned to position and blew the whistle to hurry them along.

"I've got a feeling Shiratorizawa might lose."

Nishinoya watched the court and spoke thoughtfully.

Hinata tilted his head.

He didn't understand.

They were only down one point.

Why did Nishinoya already think they were going to lose?

Sugawara seemed to read the confusion on Hinata's face.

He reached over and ruffled the orange puppy's hair until Hinata was wobbling around, then explained.

"Nishinoya's right. Number five is going to get targeted now."

"The two teams are evenly matched, but when Ryosuke was on the court, Shiratorizawa didn't really have an obvious weak point."

"Now that Ryosuke's gone, they've got a gap."

Daichi continued from there.

"Ryosuke's mentality is extremely stable. Honestly, he may even be calmer than some of us third-years."

"But number five isn't like that."

"Being sent in at such an important moment and immediately given that much responsibility would make anyone nervous."

"If it were you, Shoyo, you'd be nervous too."

"Ah... I'd be so nervous I'd die."

The moment Hinata imagined himself in that situation, his stomach started hurting and his face turned pale.

Without changing expression, Kageyama smacked the back of his head.

"What was that for?!"

"Boke! We're just watching the match! Stop putting yourself in his shoes so hard. You look half-dead!"

The stands were noisy.

The court was anything but.

Goshiki drew in a deep breath, trying to warm his hands and feet as they gradually turned cold.

He had a terrible feeling.

If Shiratorizawa lost this match, it would definitely be because of him.

Then he'd never be able to live it down.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

The thought of Coach Washijō's merciless extra training afterward made Goshiki feel as though his future had already ended.

Either he won back a point.

Or he was dead.

"Welcome back! The tension in this match has remained incredibly high! The score is now 24 to 23!"

"If Itachiyama scores one more point, the finalist will be decided!"

"These two teams have been fighting point for point ever since the score reached fifteen!"

"Both teams have shown astonishing resilience, and the level of technique throughout this match has been nothing short of textbook quality!"

"Absolutely. I'd recommend that the underclassmen competing next year watch this match footage repeatedly. There's probably a lot they can learn from it!"

Hearing the commentators only made Goshiki feel worse.

There was going to be video footage too?

So his mistake was going to be replayed over and over?

This was inhumane.