[53] Grade 11: Inarizaki Practice Match
But just as his teammates' exclamations reached his ears, Wei Bai felt a dull pain in his left shoulder.
With a muffled thud, the volleyball slammed heavily onto his shoulder, then bounced out of bounds, the force of which slammed half of his body to one side.
Wei Bai raised his right hand blankly and mechanically touched his left shoulder.
His expression froze between shock and confusion, his whole body stiffening as if under a spell, comically striking a pose as if he were clutching his heart in a vow of undying loyalty.
"Alan?" Akagi called out from the sidelines, sounding puzzled. "Are you alright?"
It wasn't until the second team coach, acting as a temporary referee, blew his whistle—that sharp whistle pierced the air—that Wei Bai snapped out of his daze.
"Heming Hall serves and scores!"
He blinked blankly and looked down at the spot where he had just been standing.
That tricky angle, that precise landing point...
—Did he deliberately target me with that message?
Ooshiro looked incredulously at the opposite half of the field.
Koizumi was idly twirling the volleyball in his hand, his bright almond-shaped eyes lowered, his expression so docile that it seemed as if the provocative serve he had just received had nothing to do with him.
After noticing Ooshiro's gaze, Koizumi looked up and gave him a shy smile with an innocent, baby-faced expression.
Or was it just a ball control error?
Looking at his expression, Wei Bai tried to convince himself, but a strange intuition told him that the serve was definitely aimed at him.
"Don't worry about it!" the setter shouted from the side.
The remaining Inarizaki members swarmed forward.
Big Ears took two steps forward first: "Tail White, you're just spacing out on the court?"
"No, that's not it!" Ooshiro protested, rubbing his aching shoulder. "I was just studying his serve..."
"Studying how to catch the ball with your body?" Akagi laughed loudly from the sidelines. "No wonder he's the future ace who's going to replace the captain. Even his learning methods are so hardcore."
"..." The "current" Inarizaki Ace, who was called out, rolled his eyes at Akagi.
Wei Bai waved his hands in alarm: "Senior—I have no intention of usurping the throne yet—!"
The ace caught the key point in his words: "Hmm? 'Not now'...does that mean it'll happen sooner or later?"
Wei Bai: "..."
Wei Bai was speechless for a moment, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
—Isn't that obvious?! Which serious outside hitter hasn't secretly dreamed of being an ace one day?!
But now is not the time to talk about that...
Seeing the conversation veer off course, the setter raised her voice and shouted, "Alright!! Everyone, get serious!!! This is only the first ball!!"
Before Coach Blackbeard's watchful gaze swept over them, the players, who had been making a ruckus, immediately composed themselves and obediently returned to their positions.
Wei Bai took a deep breath and forced himself to concentrate.
He slightly bent his knees, placed his hands in front of his chest in a ready position, and stared intently at the ball in Koizumi's hand.
The stadium suddenly fell silent, everyone holding their breath as they awaited the next serve.
Koizumi took another run-up, tossed the ball into the air, jumped, and swung his arm to hit the ball—
"Smack—"
This ball is another body-chasing shot aimed at the tail of the white ball.
But this time, the target wasn't his shoulder, the blind spot for receiving the ball, but rather the area near his feet.
...Even though you know he's starting to focus, why do you still choose to target him?
—How arrogant.
The thought flashed through Wei Bai's mind.
He hurried forward with quick steps and adjusted his posture.
With a "smack," the volleyball hit his left arm.
...almost.
The first pass was only halfway through, slightly off-target, but his powerful spike hit the ball high enough, giving setter Inarisaki time to adjust.
However, the adjustment time was too short and not enough to organize a fast break, so the setter lobbed a high ball.
The moment the volleyball slipped from his hands, setter Inarizaki touched the roof of his mouth with the tip of his tongue.
—I was originally planning to show the Crane Cry Hall their newly developed fast attack.
The high ball wasn't set to the ace setter, but rather to Ooshiro, who seemed to have been targeted by the baby-faced player from Hemingguan.
Ultimately, this was just a practice match; the score wasn't important. What mattered was the practical experience gained against the IH champion team.
This high ball also gave the front row of the Heming Hall time to react. The attackers in the front row focused on the tail white ball and jumped to block the tail white ball's straight attack path.
Wei Bai glanced at the opposite half of the court, and the volleyball in his hand also tilted towards the opposite half of the court.
His straight-line attack was blocked, so he hit a long diagonal shot towards the back row of the Heming Hall.
The players in the back row of the Crane Pavilion weren't in a hurry when facing the ball from Ooshiro. Instead, they tacitly scattered in all directions when Ooshiro hit the volleyball.
At the very moment they dispersed, Koizumi, who had quickly returned to his position from behind the service line, strode over, lowered his center of gravity, clasped his arms, and neatly received Oshiro's spike.
The white hairs on his eyebrows drooped down.
...Although I knew my spikes posed no threat to Heming Hall, it was still a bit annoying that this new baby-faced guy could receive them so easily.
Moreover, judging from the first two serves, this guy was clearly targeting him.
"yuzu-chan——"
A sweet call suddenly rang out in the middle of the Crane Cry Hall.
Koizumi, who was crouching down to pass the ball, quickly stood up, called out Imadegawa's name, took a few steps to run up, and looked at Imadegawa with expectant eyes.
Koizumi's sticky shout was indeed very powerful, drawing the attention of everyone in the Inarizaki half of the stadium.
Not only the six players in Inarizaki's half, but also the other substitutes, starters, and even Coach Kurosu couldn't help but turn their heads to look at Tsurumeikan's half.
Big Ears twitched, and goosebumps instantly appeared on his body.
no--! ! !
etc--! ! !
Who was speaking just now?
What's that sound?
Aoyagi silently took two steps back from the sidelines, shrinking behind Saotome, choosing to avoid the suspicious gazes sweeping over him from some of Inarisaki's men.
—I'm sorry, but Inarizaki and his group, who had played a formal match against Tsurumeikan, had a really deep impression of this tall and strong but socially awkward middle blocker who loved to have his head patted by their class captain.
Aoyagi lowered her head, lowered it again and again, trying to bury herself in the cracks of the Inarizaki floor, wishing she could disappear on the spot.
Saotome, who was blocking his way, closed her eyes slightly, her forehead bulging slightly.
...He's had enough!
It's one thing to embarrass yourself inside the Crane Pavilion, but why does Koizumi still behave like this at another school?!
It's one thing for her to follow Yuzuru around like a little shadow all the time, but it's another thing for her to call people's names in such a disgusting tone every day at Tsurumeikan...
But what does it mean that you are so unrestrained in practice matches at other schools, and your cloying tone is even more disgusting than it was at the Crane Sound Hall?
Is she some kind of girl in the throes of new love?
Does being seen by outsiders make you unconsciously become more coquettish?
It's really embarrassing.
Saotome took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and soothe herself.
Imadegawa, who was being affectionately called out by Koizumi, calmly caught his ball.
Imadegawa glanced across at the opposite side, where Inarizaki, the front-row blocker, had a blank expression, seemingly lost in deep thought.
Koizumi's shout was comparable to a biological weapon.
Not to mention Inarisaki and his friends, even the little chubby bird on the signpost was so disgusted by the sound that it started shedding its feathers in a frenzy.
So Jin Chuchuan simply took action.
The volleyball flew out smoothly and quickly.
After a running start, Koizumi took off, stepping on the three-meter line.
His eyes were incredibly bright.
In stark contrast to the dullness in his eyes during his first serve, his round pupils were now exceptionally bright, as if they were a vast and magnificent constellation, their dazzling light almost blinding.
It was a light that burst forth from the depths of the heart, pure and blazing, like a massive explosion at the birth of a star, completely dispelling all gloom.
The Inarisaki Gymnasium reflected in his clear, sky-blue pupils melted and vanished rapidly, like cream falling into hot coffee, until it disappeared completely from his sight.
Instead, the steady and familiar gymnasium of Heming Hall clearly appeared before his eyes.
He heard Imadegawa's steady and clear ball-tossing sound once again, one after another, like the tolling of a bell piercing through the mist, striking his heartstrings unhurriedly.
The Heming Stadium, with its ample power supply, is always brightly lit, day and night, and has never been shrouded in darkness.
Yet, in the memories that surged up at this moment, it was as if they were covered by a hazy, gentle glow, like that of an old movie.
Those days and nights, countless jumps and lifts, the sound of sweat hitting the floor, and Imadegawa's consistently calm profile.
That was his own private, unblemished "fantasy land".
(QMyB)
……No.
It's not "Gensokyo".
Koizumi gently corrected herself.
He recalled an old saying from a neighboring country that he had once seen in Imadekawa's office—
"Home is where my heart is at peace."
That's why it's not a fantasy.
Hemingguan is his true hometown.
"Bang!"
The volleyball, like a pair of scissors, flew at high speed, shattering the illusion of Tsurumeikan in front of her, and Inarizaki Gymnasium instantly reclaimed Koizumi's view.
His gaze swept across the net, clearly capturing the stunned, frozen faces of the Inarizaki players on the other side.
Koizumi was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized.
So, were you startled by his shout just now?
Well... I'm really sorry.
I was too excited just now and couldn't control my emotions at all.
ah……
Isn't that a bit too scary...?
He looked hesitantly at Imaichi Chuan.
Now, Chu Chuan is watching the temporary referee standing on the sidelines, seemingly in a daze.
After Koizumi hit the ball, Inarisaki was a full two beats late in trying to save it—startled by his loud noise, he frantically searched around to see whose voice could make such a strange sound.
So Koizumi's spike landed steadily in the right wing of Inarizaki's backcourt.
The temporary coach hastily blew the whistle, signaling that Heming Hall had scored another point.
Halfway to the side of the Crane Cry Hall.
Seeing the shocked expressions on Inarizaki's faces, as if their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, Saotome's anxious little self strangely calmed down.
fine……
This could be considered a different kind of psychological warfare tactic.
Saotome calmly came to her senses.
Thus, in the eyes of the Inarizaki group, the other dozen or so members of the Tsurumeikan team all looked normal, with expressions of complete indifference, as if that earth-shattering "Yuzu-chan" was just an ordinary greeting.
The goosebumps on the faces of the Inarisaki group, who had pinpointed the owner of the voice, were not going to go away anytime soon.
The words of "affection" still echoed in Akagi's ears.
He couldn't help but wonder if his stadium was too big, so big that he felt like he could hear the echoes.
How terrifying...
Akagi winked at Big Ear: How exactly did he make that sound?
Akagi: I remember his voice wasn't like this before...
Big Ears: Does anyone know what happened...?
So Akagi nudged Ooshiro, who had some connections with the Tsurumeikan team members, with his elbow.
Weibai:......
Big Ear nudged Tail White with his elbow.
Weibai:…………
Ace nudged Tail White with his elbow.
Tail White, who was being poked and prodded: ………………
Wei Bai closed his eyes tightly, his face full of resistance.
He made it clear that he didn't want to make eye contact with them.
So don't even think about sending him out again.
Back during the national youth team training camp, I had witnessed Saotome and Aoyagi's intense admiration for Imadegawa, and I had a bad feeling about Oshiro.
—Could this be another die-hard fan of Imadegawa?
—What exactly is going on with their Crane Cry Pavilion?
————————
(Sucking the little ones' paws frantically) (Feeling dizzy and lightheaded) I think I caught a bit of a cold; my head has been spinning all day. So I'll reply to comments tomorrow.
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