[62] Grade 11: Spring National High School Competition
This is the second game of the national top 16 match between Hemingguan and Humeichun High School.
"Psychological warfare is completely useless—"
After being passed the ball by Sakishima, Daisho Yu jumped again to spike the ball but landed. He pressed hard on the inside of his wrist with his fingers, trying to calm his overly rapid pulse.
He gazed intently at the opposite half of the court, his thin eyebrows furrowed almost constantly throughout the match, forming a knot.
Those carefully crafted words and provocative gestures were like pebbles thrown into a bottomless abyss, sinking to the bottom without even making a proper splash.
The general was completely baffled and even felt a sense of absurd frustration.
He tilted his head, unable to resist quickly reviewing in his mind their provocative attempts against the various "talents" of the Crane Cry Pavilion—
Hiroo, with his top-tier attacking ability, provoked Aoyagi across the net during the first game.
"Your quick attack is nothing more than a sneak attack from behind the setter, how pathetic."
"Without your setters, you are nothing."
Instead of being provoked, the other person blushed and his eyes darted around—Hiroo could even see little flowers silently floating around him.
Although he had already seen from the videotape that Hemingguan No. 4 supported the setter, he didn't even get angry that they completely belittled him.
That's absolutely outrageous.
So they immediately switched their focus to another middle blocker from Heming Hall, number 6, whose jersey number was higher than the previous one:
"Your spike trajectory is so predictable, it's as boring as learning from a textbook—"
Before she could finish speaking, the middle blocker on the other side of the net's eyes lit up, and a bright smile spread across her face: "Really?"
"Thank you! This is the first time someone has said my spikes are textbook perfect!"
general:"……"
Huh? This idiot only knows how to take positive words out of context?
Although they knew that such a carefree person's brain capacity was never very large, Daisho and Takachiho still tried several times, but without exception, they were hit back by this naturally sharp-tongued middle blocker (from the perspective of Tomi and the others).
While frantically attacking Akiyama, the rest of Tomi and her group didn't forget to continue using persuasive tactics on the remaining first-timers at Tsurumeikan.
—Although Akiyama didn’t think they were attacking each other, in his opinion, the people from Tomi were very enthusiastic, chatting with him while playing the game (something that few people from Tsurumeikan could do).
Facing the Tsurumeikan No. 3 outside hitter who excels in skillful attacks, Tomi, who is also a skillful player, chatted with him casually after receiving/blocking his spike: "You seem very smart, but you calculated so much and we still managed to receive it. Aren't you frustrated?"
The other party just gave a weak laugh, their tone even carrying a hint of admiration: "Yeah, everyone at Tomi's defense is really tenacious~ So next time I'll calculate more accurately."
—A perfect dodge, and even managed to shove a soft nail at me.
The hot-tempered libero at Tsurumeikan was the easiest to provoke, even Senjima, who wasn't very good at trash talk, simply said: "Aren't you going to save these kinds of shots?"
"Thanks to the best free agent for such a wonderful gift to Hu Mei~"
The other person immediately bristled: "Huh?! Say that again and see what happens?!"
"That ball was clearly out of bounds! Can't you see it, you idiot! If you don't need your eyes, you can donate them to someone who does!"
—Although he successfully provoked him, it seemed that his anger was directed at the linesman who misjudged the ball, and it had no impact on his concentration on the game.
As for the occasional less-than-perfect passes from Saotome to Imadegawa—after all, anything can happen on a volleyball court, and Saotome can't receive every ball perfectly—it's Hiroo, known for his sharp tongue, who launches a barrage of attacks on Imadegawa from the front row: "Why does your best libero pass you balls like that? Does he have a problem with you?"
The other person simply smiled gently, their golden eyes revealing no emotion, and replied softly, "It's alright, I'm the best setter too."
"No matter what kind of ball it is, I'll catch it properly."
The tone was so gentle, as if it were comforting someone, but for some reason it only made people angrier.
At this point in the debriefing, General Yu took a deep, deep breath.
What kind of monsters are these who are completely impervious to reason?
Hiroo, who was standing next to him, seemed to see through his breakdown and added a cold remark: "Tsurumeikan is also very good at psychological warfare."
Takachiho, with her hands on her knees, took a breath and quickly resumed her ready stance: "It's just that they can suppress the opponent's mentality by controlling the rhythm, unlike us who have to waste words."
Sakishima nodded with a heavy expression: "Their team's overall morale is far superior... It feels like our trash talk is completely ineffective."
"Let's leave that idiot middle blocker aside for now—"
Here, Numai refers to Akiyama, who is sitting obediently in the back row, bending over and listening to Saotome speak.
"Even that seemingly gloomy main attacker has an incredibly good temper; no matter how you try to provoke him, he won't waver."
Here, Numai refers to Koizumi, who received the spike from the general with a gentle smile.
Just as Tomi and the others fell into an eerie silence, the setter from Tsurumeikan, who was leading the Tsurumeikan volleyball team and whom they had just internally criticized, delivered the ball in an extremely beautiful arc.
The moment the ball left his hand, as if unintentionally, his gaze lightly swept over and landed on General Yu.
Then, he slightly, almost imperceptibly, curved his bright golden eyes.
It wasn't a clear smile, nor did it carry any hint of provocation, yet it was like the sharpest needle, silently piercing through the defenses that Tomi had so painstakingly maintained.
General You's pupils suddenly contracted.
He suddenly understood.
There's absolutely no need for a verbal rebuttal.
With just a series of flawless passes and precise orchestrations, their defense can be torn to shreds, ultimately forming the most arrogant yet most effective psychological warfare.
Crane Cry Pavilion is simply declaring, in the most tranquil way, the insurmountable chasm between them.
"Hey,"
A low call came from the front row, carrying an undeniable seriousness.
"senior,"
The general did not turn around.
His gaze remained fixed ahead, on the opponent's half of the court, on the volleyball suspended in mid-air.
The volleyball was spiked by the No. 3 outside hitter from Heming Hall who received the ball.
Amidst the whistling sound of the ball cutting through the air, and the screech of footsteps on the floor as Tomi's teammates made their runs, the general's voice seemed almost inaudible:
"Let's use every means necessary to achieve victory!"
But Ace Tomi caught the sound and also the tense back of her junior.
The brief silence did not last long.
Immediately, the sound of the volleyball hitting flesh rang out, followed by the ace's voice, clear and resolute, coming from behind the general:
"certainly--"
The lights in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium remained cold and impersonal.
The light was a stark white, sharp as a merciless blade, cutting through every inch of air in the arena without mercy.
The scoreboard on the side of the net was illuminated by the cold light, making each number appear sharp and angular, as if it had been tempered into something cold and sharp, firmly fixed there.
Crane Pavilion: Tomi
19:12
——————
Ichikawa once again lobbed a high ball.
After a few running steps, Akiyama in the back row jumped up and swung his arms.
Currently, Akiyama, the strongest and tallest player in the Tsurumeikan, is quite formidable when attacking from the back row. The volleyball easily passes over the fingertips of Tomi's double block and lands with a thud on the sideline of Tomi's back row.
Logically, Tsurumeikan should have won this point again, but Tomie's side started offering a cacophony of opinions—
"Out!!"
"Out of bounds!!!"
They were so neat and orderly, as if they had rehearsed in advance.
No, it wasn't out of bounds—it was a ball on the line.
Even if only one-third of the ball touches the sideline, and the remaining two-thirds are outside the boundary, it is still considered a ball in bounds.
Imadegawa's gaze swept over Tomi's position on the opposite side.
They moved in perfect unison, their positions forming a subtle semi-circle that perfectly blocked the view of where the ball would fall.
No, that's not right!!!
He suddenly turned his gaze to the referee.
The referee hesitated, his brow furrowed, clearly indicating that his view was obstructed.
—This is bad.
His view was subtly blocked by Hu Mei's teammates.
Imaizumi recalled the extremely polite behavior of the Tomi players towards the staff over the past two games.
...Did they already know this trick in first grade?
Although it is known that Tomi is always good at taking controversial shots, this is also a scene that has appeared in the story.
However, in reality, according to the analysis of previous official match videos by the Hemingguan Volleyball Club and others, they did not seem to have used such methods.
It seems that the national competition stage has indeed quietly changed some things.
With Tomi having the home advantage in Tokyo, the supporters and spectators in the second half of the stadium were also energized, chanting "out!" in unison.
The enormous sound waves, like a real tsunami, came one after another, trying to swallow up all dissent in the arena.
Tokyo and Kyoto, the new capital and the old capital, have always had an inexplicable and complicated relationship.
At this moment, this subtle sense of competition also quietly permeated the air.
The few Tokyo locals who remained in the back half of the stands at the Tsurumeikan stadium, although they could vaguely discern some clues from a professional perspective, felt that the ball might not have gone out of bounds.
But amidst the rising and falling cheers from the home crowd, most of them chose to remain silent, unwilling to easily speak out and get involved.
For a time, the Heming Pavilion support team was outnumbered.
The support team members of Heming Hall anxiously raised their voices and shouted "Inside the zone!" in a hoarse voice, trying to win back this point for Heming Hall.
However, even the head of the vocal department, whose voice was extremely penetrating, was almost suppressed by the overwhelming sound waves.
Therefore, the voices of the support group members were ultimately like a butterfly struggling to flap its wings in a storm, instantly drowned out by the overwhelming collective shouts of Tomi.
——————
"The little snake is indeed cunning; it can even bite a crane."
In the audience, a black-haired boy with messy hair leaned back in his chair, sighing loudly and slapping his hand heavily.
The boy with the smooth, black hair sitting next to him had his knee slapped hard by him, and instantly, like a startled cat, his golden pupils shrank to a straight line.
The plastic seats in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium beneath him creaked in protest from his movement.
————————!!————————
(Sneaking online to pat the little ones' paws) I'll update around this time tomorrow too, and I'll try to adjust it back to 9 PM on Sunday—
Regarding Tomi, I actually quite admire them—they give everything for the victory they crave—
Furthermore, in real life, many controversial shots are awarded to the side with the loudest sound (not in professional-level matches). Spring High School is very professional, but it's 2011 now, and at this time, there probably isn't such a flexible Hawk-Eye replay system.
I hesitated for quite a while about this part—but I felt that if I didn't write about the controversial ball dispute between Tomi and her opponent, besides the psychological warfare, it would really lose Tomi's unique characteristics.
Finally, let me emphasize again that this doesn't count as cheating, just a controversial shot—the landing point of a shot that lands on the line is inherently difficult to judge, relying solely on the referee's judgment. The fact that Tomi blocked the view only shows that they fought tooth and nail for victory. Even if they face criticism and disdain, the spirit of these young men who yearn for victory is undeniable.
So I hope everyone won't dislike Tomi because of my description (tossing and turning at night)
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