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The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 380: Matsumoto in Action!
"Goddamnit, Haruo! You cannot act cool like that after stealing my limelight!"
"Hey, I have already given you time to shine, Senpai! It is not my fault that you cannot capitalize it!"
All the Kyoei Gakuen players could only shake their heads in exasperation at the childishness of their two best players. Still, they all were grateful for having two reliable teammates here, knowing full well they would never be able to reach this point if not for them both.
"Okay, Children! No need to fight here! We still have a game to play!" Ito clapped his hands loudly, grinning at how quickly the two heads snapped at him.
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"Cap / Senpai! We are not children!" The two Kyoei best players whined indignantly at the same time, eliciting chuckles from their other teammates.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, Lucas was still dozing off, staring at his own hand silently as if there was something wrong with it. Some of the Konan players looked at him concernedly, but not for Matsumoto. The captain had been dealing with the Brazilian boy’s shenanigan for almost three years and knew what his friend was currently thinking.
"Stop being dramatic, Lucas!" He slapped the back of Lucas’s head, waking up the Brazilian boy from his daydreaming. "You are starting to make the others worry!" Scolded the captain.
Lucas widened his eyes in surprise before realizing all eyes were on him. "Ah, sorry, everyone! I just trying to replay the last play in my head! Sorry for making you worry!" He bowed dramatically just like any foreigner who tried to copy the mannerism of Japanese people for the first time ever.
"Basically, he is trying to replay how the last play went, thinking of what he should do to get a better result during the last attack." Matsumoto acted as a translator for those who couldn’t understand the language.
"Ah! Don’t worry about it, Senpai! It is our fault too for being too passive!" Akihiro chimed in immediately. "If only we didn’t wait for you on the back and help stretch their blockers thin, I am sure you would have a better chance to score in the previous chance!"
Lucas’s eyes lightened a bit after hearing what he said – of course, Matsumoto helped translate it too. Sawada also nodded in agreement, giving a piece of his mind here. "I-It is also my fault for sending a slow, high pass to you, Senpai, forcing you to have a one-on-one battle with him. If only I thought about it for a second…" He clenched his fist unwillingly.
"Eh, don’t worry about it, Nobu! If anything, it is Lucas’s fault for not specifying what kind of pass did he want!" Matsumoto interrupted before Sawada could blame himself too far. He knew his kouhai had low self-esteem, so it was his job as a captain to raise his kouhai’s spirit. "Anyway, since we have already done blaming ourselves, how about starting to think of a way to return this favor?"
"Oh? Do you have any idea, Captain?"
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"Well, nothing specific, but I will try my best to match Lucas’s speed. So, Nobu, try to use more synchronization attacks, okay? A solo attack play would only meet their blonde blocker, after all." Matsumoto asked, to which the setter nodded in agreement.
Akihiro himself scowled, unhappy when he remembered his rival who even managed to stop his senpai’s fierce attack. At first, he thought that joining Konan High would help him catch Haruo. However, this game really showed that there was still a big distance between those two that showed he had to work hard to catch up.
"Well, no need to dwell too much on the past. Let’s forget everything and treat the next play as our new beginning. We are also still on the lead, so we don’t need to be so depressed about the last play, okay?"
"Sure!"
A moment later, everyone went back to their own position with Aki was ready to serve the ball. Even though the spirit on Kyoei’s side was at an all-time high, there was still a worry lingering around since it was two rotations left before Haruo had to be sent out and replaced by the libero. The last time Haruo was replaced for rotation, Konan managed to narrow the score from 23 – 17 to 23 – 22 in the first set, so they all were worried the same thing could happen again.
"Come on, everyone! Before Haruo leaves, we have to at least overtake the score first!"
"Hell, yeah!"
As the referee blew the whistle, Aki sent the ball straight to Konan’s back row, which was still easy for Lucas to return it. The Brazilian boy sent the ball straight to the setter before dashing off, leaping forward for a quick attack.
"Ha! Don’t think you can get away with the same trick twice, Bastard!" Nitta reacted quickly, also jumping forward to close down the area in front of him. However, Nitta had a different idea this time. "No, Senpai! The ball is not going there!"
"Wait, what?!"
True to what Haruo said, instead of going for Lucas for a frontal attack, Sawada decided to send the ball far to the left side where Matsumoto was trying to sneak from everyone’s blindside. Fortunately, Haruo caught his movement and reacted immediately, blocking the area for Matsumoto to attack.
BAM!
"REBOUND!" Matsumoto shouted as the ball he hit bounced back due to Haruo’s block. He was smart enough to recognize that it wouldn’t be easy for him to get through Haruo’s defense, so he just aimed straight to Haruo’s hand to return the ball to his own side and recoiled, getting ready for another attack.
"Nobu! Give it to me again!" He raised one hand, asking for the ball.
"Tch! Don’t think you can do anything you want so easily, Bastard!" Nitta growled, moving from his spot in an attempt to help Haruo shut down Matsumoto. However, Haruo who noticed this shouted instantly, a hint of panic could be heard in his tone. "No, Senpai! Go back! You are fooled by him!"
Matsumoto couldn’t help but smirk as he heard that. "A good judgment, Boy! But you are too late!" And in the next second, the ball flew to the spot where Nitta just left, and Lucas who was already in the air didn’t even have a hard time slamming the ball down to Kyoei’s area.
BAM!
Konan High 18 - !6 Kyoei Gakuen