[65] Grade 11: Spring National High School Competition

The players on the bench had already stood up.

They clenched their fists, but could only watch helplessly as their teammates' expressions grew increasingly somber with each point they lost.

On the other side, however, was a completely different scene.

Tsurumeikan, who scored again, didn't even celebrate much, just high-fived each other.

In the back row, Akiyama wore a proud expression with sparkling eyes—you could tell he was very proud of Koizumi's shot.

Imadegawa calmly stared at Hiroo, who had been tricked into blocking the net.

It was as if all of this had been within his expectations.

This unhurried stability is more somber than any ostentatious celebration.

——————

"fear……"

Lone Claw tucked his chin into his collar and muttered softly.

His gaze remained fixed on Imadegawa.

“The pace… has sped up again.” His voice was low, almost as if he were talking to himself. “When Tomi subconsciously tried to slow down the pace and stabilize the situation, he actually… pushed it even faster.”

His low voice was heard by Kuroo.

Kuroo stroked his chin: "Is the setter from Tsurumeikan pushing and pulling the rhythm? I knew it looked so strange."

In the blink of an eye, Heming Pavilion had scored.

If you don't keep your attention focused on the game, it's like bending down to pick up a pen in math class and then moving on to the next activity the moment you look up.

"—Those shots were just too fast."

Because he had to accommodate his childhood friend, a third-year junior high school student and a member of the non-Otokoma High School volleyball team, Kuroo sat in the corner of the volleyball team, with only Kozume, Yoru, and Kaishin to his left beside him.

Hearing their conversation, Yaku nodded in agreement: "Yes, those points are frighteningly fast."

"Moreover, it's very stable."

The pupils of the lone claw grinding together contracted slightly, like a cat huddled in a corner.

“Every touch of the ball, the choice of pass, even the timing of using eyes and feints to guide the opponent... everything was just right. There was no time for Tomi to react or adjust.”

"It looks like a smooth pass, but it's actually using speed to gradually tighten the opponent's noose."

He exhaled softly, and white steam briefly lingered around his collar.

"Tomi's defensive rhythm... has been completely disrupted by him."

...

"The Yangtze River's waves push the preceding waves forward—"

Meanwhile, in another corner away from the members of the Otokoma volleyball team, the Otokoma's third-year setter sighed deeply at his second-year junior, who was also about to become the future captain of the Otokoma volleyball team.

"The younger generation is terrifying. Kozume's ball control is scary enough, but Tsurumeikan's setter is even more terrifying. He almost scared me to death."

As the starting setter for the third year, he was already on the eve of graduation and didn't need to come with his juniors to watch the Spring High School tournament schedule—after all, he was about to go to college, and the players on the Spring High School court now were just his juniors' future opponents.

However, since today's match was between Tomi and Tsurumeikan, he managed to get a ticket by tagging along with Coach Nekomata and came to join in the fun.

As a result, today's match terrified him.

—This is terrifying! How come there are so many monsters in the Crane Cry Pavilion?

He had already experienced the terror of that best libero remotely through videotapes. The blocking of the two middle blockers was also terrifying. One relied on his height and the other relied on divine sense, and they managed to score a lot of blocking points in the front row of these two sets.

Even the main attacker from the Crane Pavilion was quite formidable. Several times when the first pass was off target, he was the one who made the adjustment. His technique was almost on par with some professional setters from Tokyo high schools.

—That's terrifying. Is this guy really not a setter who switched to outside hitter?

As for Ichikawa... this IH's best setter has evolved even more terrifyingly than the one on the videotape...

The soon-to-graduate Yinju, a setter, glanced nervously at the scene before looking at the innocent juniors around him.

Whether he felt regret or relief after the ordeal, he ultimately remained silent, deeply concerned for his juniors.

...You'll have a lot of work to do next.

——————

The coach used this crucial timeout, which came close to match point.

He hurriedly stepped into the Humei half of the court, taking three steps at a time.

The team members gathered around their supervisor.

Sweat soaked their team uniforms, and everyone's face showed varying degrees of fatigue.

Beneath the tired expression on his face, there was also a faint trace of confusion.

The flood supervisor hurriedly deployed tactics, attempting to rebuild the team's morale.

"Don't panic! Pay attention to your defensive positioning! Break through their block!"

Seeing the somber mood among his teammates, he ultimately didn't say much about tactical arrangements.

There's nothing more that can be adjusted on the fly...

While Tsurumeikan remained completely unfazed by Tomi's overwhelming and controversial shots, Coach Daisui, sitting on the coach's bench, seemed to have already foreseen the end of the game.

So, at the very end of the timeout, Coach Daisui looked around at the players surrounding Tomi and suddenly said in a deep voice:

"No matter what—come with me!!!"

He raised his fist and punched the air above his head three times.

"Go! Go! Go!!!"

Some of the listless little snakes, led by the passionate faction's supervisor, all raised their fists towards the sky.

"Go! Go! Go!!!"

“Tomi seems to be performing some kind of ritual—” Akiyama moved closer to Imadegawa.

...That's quite a vivid description.

Imadegawa silently nodded as he watched their backs as they huddled together and their right arms raised high.

How could such a group of cunning little snakes have such passionate supervision?

Imadegawa looked at the excited Director Tomi.

...It's hard to imagine that Tomi's cunning tactical style was arranged by this coach.

When the timeout ended and the players returned to the court, the invisible pressure seemed to dissipate somewhat.

Even though the pressure dissipated slightly, the next shot from Tsurumeikan brought the atmosphere back to normal.

From serving to the decisive strike after returning to defense, the entire sequence was fluid and seamless, instantly shattering the slight morale that Tomi had just regained.

"...A chance! Saotome, the libero of Tsurumeikan, has once again made a perfect defensive play! His defensive coverage is astonishing, it's almost like he can foresee the future!"

From Akiyama's serve to Tomi's counterattack, and then to Tsurumeikan's attack, the commentator captured every detail of the transition between offense and defense: "The ball is perfectly placed! Imadegawa is also in position! Tomi's block is moving, trying to predict his pass choice—but who will he pass to?"

"Is it Aoyagi on the left wing? Or Koizumi on the right wing? -- No! Wait! It's a fast, flat ball! A very slow fast, flat ball is being passed to Aoyagi! Aoyagi has already taken off! Perfect timing! Tomi's block can't keep up with this speed at all!"

The commentator's pace quickened, his emotions surging: "—A powerful spike from the waistline! Clean and crisp! Undisputed! 24th point! Heming Hall has secured match point!!!"

"They're just one step away from winning this match!!!"

The rousing and resounding commentary echoed throughout the stadium, each word striking the hearts of the Hu Mei team members like a hammer blow.

...What?

The general stood there, slightly out of breath.

The commentator's voice seemed to come from a very distant place, becoming indistinct.

That boast they made right in front of them...

Is this about to happen?

It wasn't even a close defeat after a fierce contest, but rather a completely one-sided affair...

...How embarrassing.

The glaring "24:13" number on the scoreboard seemed to have a physical presence and come to life at that moment.

No longer hanging quietly in the center of his field of vision, but like two ferocious, high-speed rotating drills, with a mocking buzzing sound, they fiercely rammed into the general's eyes and nailed into his mind.

He even vaguely heard the sound of those two numbers swirling wildly in his heart as they passed through his eyes.

13.

They tried their best, and this was the only number they could get.

twenty four.

The opponent strolled leisurely, already approaching the finish line.

It seems like it should hurt...

These two sharp numbers, churning, churning, and cutting through a soft heart, should tear at pieces of flesh, bringing unbearable pain.

But strangely, the general could not perceive any specific pain (JTJc).

All that remained was a vast, white emptiness that swept over everything.

It was a void where even pain was instantly drained away; all emotions, all fighting spirit, all resentment seemed to be crushed to pieces by those two spinning numbers, leaving nothing behind.

What the heck...

Is this the real, insurmountable gap between him and the national champion team?

The general suddenly recalled all the boastful words and trash talk he had uttered to the crowd at Heming Hall before and during the match.

Every word now echoes clearly in my ears, yet it has become incredibly jarring and ridiculous.

A casual remark like "Don't even think about getting a penny" is about to become a cold, hard fact.

But his grand pronouncements, which sounded so imposing, seemed so pale, so empty, so light and weightless, and didn't even leave a scratch on that high wall called "Crane's Cry Pavilion".

At the referee's whistle.

The general saw that tall figure standing steadily behind the service line.

It's that "idiot" from Heming Hall serving again...

How annoying!

Mingming Heming Hall's No. 3 middle blocker's serve is not difficult to receive. Although the power is great and heavy, his ball trajectory is as easy to predict as a child's.

Even if Sakishima is not good at receiving, he can easily support his serve in his service games.

But at this crucial end of the game, at this critical match point, Tomi couldn't break his serve.

How annoying!

Akiyama's figure faded from the general's sight, while Imadekawa's figure solidified once more.

It was because of this setter that they couldn't break the serve of this big guy.

This setter, through various moves, managed to deceive their blocking and defensive formation.

It was this setter who controlled the rhythm of these two sets, making Tomi frantically run around the court like a grasshopper on a hot plate.

How annoying!

Apart from Imadegawa, the figures of everyone in the entire half of the Tsurumyoukan stadium once again came together in the general's eyes.

He watched one player after another across the net on the other side of the court.

Kenya Akiyama, standing behind the service line; Yuzuru Imadegawa, on the left wing of the front row; Mio Aoyagi, in the center of the front row; Minato Koizumi, on the right wing of the front row; and Chihaya Saotome, in the center of the back row…

These are the people, these monsters, who will defeat him, crush him, and pave the way to a wider national stage, to compete for those higher rankings that he can only look up to.

How annoying...

I really hate it... ...

The general withdrew his gaze and lowered his head slightly.

It seemed as if another voice was questioning him, echoing in his mind and heart.

—Why are they able to handle things so effortlessly?

Why should Hu Mei be someone else's stepping stone?

—Why is it that those golden eyes remain completely unmoved, as if all of this is insignificant?

So unwilling...

So unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling...

General You suddenly raised his head.

He could almost hear the cracking sound coming from his cervical vertebrae.

He stopped looking at the glaring scoreboard and instead fixed his fiery gaze on the calmest figure on the other side of the net.

Even so...

Even if the ending is already predetermined,

Even if there is a huge gap in strength,

General You

And absolutely not willing to accept it.

The contestants of Hu Mei

And I will never accept this—

These people on the other side so easily walked towards their thrones, stepping over the corpses of snakes without even a drop of blood on them.

--no way! ! ! ! ! !

The intense, burning resentment dispelled the empty void, like a powerful stimulant piercing the heart.

The pain finally returned, piercing every nerve with a sharp sting, but it was no longer the pain of despair; instead, it was the scalding heat of anger.

Snakes are animals that, even with broken bones, will use all their venomous fangs to retaliate at the last moment.

So even if you're destined to fall, do it in the most pathetic and unsightly way possible, biting your opponent's ankle hard, so they'll remember it—

The road to victory is stained with the marks of struggle; there is no easy path at all!

————————!!————————

(Happy pats on the little ones' paws) Even though it was a painful Monday, this chapter was so enjoyable to write, hehe.

I've actually written 3,800 words! That's a miracle for someone who usually updates around 3,200 words a day. (I guess this is a pretty good chapter for me.) (Self-affirmation)

As expected, it's impossible to finish writing Tomi's story in one chapter. Fortunately, I said yesterday that I would finish Tomi's story within one or two chapters, so I'll finish Tomi's story tomorrow and then move on to Inari-zaki.

The writing assistant was acting up today. I actually finished writing before 11:30, but I couldn't open the writing assistant, so I couldn't post it. I'm only posting it now.