The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Chapter 261 Haruo Steps Up His Game! (II)

"YOSSHAAAA!" Haruo roared, clenching his fist in the air as he celebrated the block he had just made.

"Good block, Haruo-kun!"

"Damn, you finally did it!"

Amidst the celebration on the other side of the net, Haruo's reaction took Riku by surprise, as this was probably the first time the setter had seen Haruo express his emotions so freely. Although they came from different schools and their only interactions were either in games against each other or the training camp a few weeks ago, Riku had only ever seen Haruo in a playful mood, as if he knew something that no one else knew.

Honestly, this was why Riku got irritated easily by Haruo. The infuriating know-it-all smile from the taller blonde boy always managed to get under his skin. And no, he would never admit that another reason was that Haruo was taller and more popular than he was.

So, he was surprised when Riku saw Haruo venting out his emotions like this.

"What prompts him to do this? He didn't even react this strongly when we beat Kyoei Gakuen," he muttered. After thinking for a moment, he widened his eyes in realization. "He didn't show any reaction when his team lost because he still played well. But today, his block is like wet paper—it got broken too easily by Uehara-senpai or Shou-senpai. That last play should be the first clean block he's delivered today. No wonder he's suddenly so expressive. This game must be frustrating for him."

Out of nowhere, Haruo, still in the middle of his celebration, noticed the pitying gaze from Riku. At first, he was confused, not understanding why Riku suddenly gave him that stare. However, he shrugged it off, not wanting to be distracted by that gesture.

Inwardly, he thought to himself, "The game is not over yet!"

-0-

Stay tuned to empire

The celebration lasted for about a minute before the referee had to stop it to continue the game. Honestly, it was embarrassing that a powerhouse team like Giant Bear would celebrate so crazily over a single point at the beginning of the set. If any fanatic supporters who left the game early saw this, they would roll their eyes exasperatedly, thinking it was unbecoming behavior for the players representing Giant Bear.

However, no one cared about that at this point. For now, all the Giant Bear players were happy that for once they had finally managed to grab the momentum from their opponents. With that on their side and a bunch of new players just coming off the bench, this was probably the best opening they could hope for.

"Give us a good serve, Kuniyoshi!"

The boy took a deep breath, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. When he finally heard it, Kuniyoshi didn't hesitate to throw the ball straight at Uehara, just as Haruo had asked.

"Nice receive, Uehara-senpai!"

Haruo had to hold back a sigh of frustration when he saw the ace pick up the ball and recover from his initial position to prepare for an attack so easily. Even though he wished for luck, Haruo knew that luck wasn't on his side today.

"Genta-senpai, get ready! The ace is coming!" he shouted, warning the opposite hitter on the right side.

However, as Haruo saw Uehara take off from the ground, he widened his eyes, realizing that Riku was up to no good. "Shit! He's using the ace as bait! That means the ball will be there!"

The moment that registered in his brain, Haruo charged like lightning, moving from one side of the net to the other in a second. His teammate who happened to be there was taken aback when he saw Haruo approaching, but before he could even question it, he heard Haruo shout, "JUMP! COVER YOUR FRONT!"

BAM!

Fortunately, the player there didn't question him at all and did what Haruo asked without hesitation. As a result, even though the block was one second late, it was still enough to send the ball that Kojima had just spiked back to the Thunder's side.

"Oh! Nice block, Wakaba!"

"Don't celebrate yet! This is not over!" Haruo shouted, his body tense as he constantly observed the entire court to predict where the ball would go next. When he saw Uehara approaching again, and Riku finally sent the ball to the ace, Haruo muttered to himself, "Now, let's see if I can stop this."

And in a second, the collision between the strongest spear and the unbreakable wall finally happened again.

BAM!