Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 493: Stay or Leave
"This is EJP—the league champions. There's no way this is happening…"
From the stands, a fan clad in EJP's team jersey stared in utter shock. The glowstick in his hand slipped down limply, his mouth moving in a daze as disbelief clouded his gaze.
The situation unfolding on the court had far surpassed everyone's expectations. Just minutes ago, EJP had been firmly in control of the game's tempo. In fact, they had been the ones to initiate the tempo shift and ramp up the offence—so how had they ended up being cornered by a mere first-year rookie?
"Even EJP's timeout couldn't stop it—Taichi has taken over the game in the final stretch!"
The commentator's voice trembled with excitement as he gripped his microphone tightly and leaned forward.
He had been completely swept away by Kaedehara Taichi's dazzling performance. Five consecutive points in the final phase of the set—if that wasn't divine intervention, what was?!
Komori Motoya wore a bitter expression. Just recently, Sakusa Kiyoomi and Hoshiumi Kōrai had both achieved revenge against Kaedehara Taichi. So why, when it came to him, did something still feel off? The pressure this guy gave off was still just as overwhelming as ever. The more crucial the moment, the harder he was to deal with.
"It's my fault," Akutsu Ao said flatly, his voice void of emotion.
Akutsu had believed that he was already giving Kaedehara Taichi the attention he deserved. As the MVP of the highest-level league in Japan, there weren't many players Akutsu would take notice of before a match—but the newly professional Kaedehara Taichi had earned that rare distinction.
Even so, Taichi's performance had surpassed Akutsu's expectations again and again.
"It's not about whose fault it is," Kitō Yūkan said calmly. "In a match, all that matters is how to win. Next rally—we take the serve back!"
"Right!"
EJP stuck with a five-man receive formation to deal with the next serve.
Kaedehara Taichi paused briefly in thought, then launched his fifth serve.
BOOM!!!
Smack!
Akutsu received it.
The first touch was off, but Kitō quickly stepped in and made the set.
From the right side, Akutsu adjusted his steps and joined Washio Tatsuki in launching a synchronised attack from the centre lane.
"Right wing!" Iizuna Shō shouted.
They could launch attacks from various points on the court, but if the set was too easy to read, it wouldn't matter.
"Triple block!" Kitajima Kippei, Iizuna Tsukasa, and Tom Wilde all leapt at once.
BOOM!!—
Smack!
It was another explosive spike straight over the blockers' outstretched hands, slicing past Kitajima's reach and slamming into Kubo Wataru's arm before flying out of bounds.
Akutsu Ao scored off the spike.
[DH 23 – 22 EJP]
Stopping EJP from scoring was never going to be easy—once again, everyone on DH was reminded of that fact.
The serve rotated. EJP's turn.
If one put aside the shock of Kaedehara Taichi's five-point streak, the current situation still favoured EJP more.
With Taichi now in the back row, even if DH's offence didn't necessarily weaken, their blocking was no longer enough to pose a threat to EJP. As for Taichi's receiving—so long as they avoided spiking toward his area, they had nothing to worry about.
"Beep! Substitution for DH."
"Kujō Reiji IN, Kitajima Kippei OUT."
"A substitution now? Who is that guy?"
"He's tall? A secret weapon maybe?"
"No way. I've never seen him play before."
#22, Outside Hitter, Kujō Reiji, age 24.
-----
Four years ago, Kujō had joined DH with dreams of going pro. Standing at 2 meters tall with impressive technical ability, he had once been groomed as DH's future ace.
But his first year as a professional was nothing like he imagined. With just 8 wins and 18 losses, DH finished fourth from the bottom and failed to qualify for the playoffs that season.
Though it was a heavy blow, Kujō Reiji didn't crumble. Instead, he threw himself into training with even more dedication.
The lights of the practice court often stayed on deep into the night, silently bearing witness to every moment he gritted his teeth and endured in pursuit of his dream.
Yet, fate never seemed to favour him. In his second season, Kujō appeared in only three matches before suffering an unexpected injury.
Sometimes, effort alone simply isn't enough to deliver the results one desires.
While Kujō was recovering, the team—out of tactical necessity—brought in Kitajima Kippei, a player from the V2 League who was in peak form.
By the time Kujō returned, he found that the team's focus had shifted. On his own initiative, he challenged Kitajima for the ace position. Unfortunately, he failed.
Recognising Kujō's height advantage and strong fundamentals, the team suggested he switch positions to middle blocker. But Kujō's attachment to the outside hitter role ran deep—he flat-out refused the offer.
With no other choice, DH reinforced their lineup by signing a foreign middle blocker, Tom Wilde. And just like that, Kujō Reiji's hopes of reclaiming a starting position were completely dashed.
This year marked the final year of Kujō's contract with DH. He was still desperately fighting for a place in the starting lineup.
However, with the arrival of Kaedehara Taichi, even his opportunities to come off the bench became increasingly scarce. In recent matches, it seemed the team preferred to send in Nishikawa Tadahisa instead.
On the bench, Kujō Reiji sat with eyes full of loneliness and frustration.
Until last month—when Coach Nick came to him with a direct question:
"You've got half a year left. Do you want to be part of a championship team, or leave with nothing but your meaningless obsession?"
"Dignity is earned on the court. No one cares what you do in training. What matters is what you can do in a match!"
-----
[Kujō Reiji—Outside Hitter:Height: 201 cm
Serve: 90 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 80 | Set: 85 | Spike: 94| Block: 90
Spike Reach: 352 cm /Block Reach: 334 cm.]
Kaedehara Taichi looked at Kujō's back with a hint of disbelief. This guy seriously isn't a middle blocker?
Actually, Taichi had already taken note of Kujō Reiji a while ago. But it wasn't because they both trained diligently—
—it was because he could always feel Kujō's faint yet persistent gaze on him.
At first, it creeped him out a little. During breaks in training, Taichi even watched a bunch of self-defence videos online. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Then…then Kitajima Kippei found out and roasted him mercilessly.
Eventually, Taichi realised that Kitajima and Kujō had been on the same team for three years without anything "happening," and he let his guard down.
Maybe the guy just has a serious obsession with the ace position.
"Tweet!—" The whistle for serve blew.
Sengoku Chisato aimed his powerful jump serve at Kaedehara Taichi. There was no way he could score an ace, but even forcing a one-touch receive would be good enough.
"Mine!"
Smack!
Yoshii Hiyu shielded Taichi and made the receive.
"Tsukasa-senpai!" Taichi was already at the net.
Trying to get too clever might backfire and break our own rhythm…
"Double block!" Akutsu Ao and Kitō Yūkan leapt together.
Whoosh!—
BOOM!
The ball flew to the left side—Kujō Reiji slammed it past an empty net for the score!
[DH 24 – 22 EJP]
"Ahh~ Looks like someone's very excited to be on the court," Taichi said with a teasing smile toward the two who had fallen for the decoy.
_________
[T/N] - If you guys want to read 50 Chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome!
Link - (P)atreon.com/Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m fre𝒆webnov(e)l.com
