Nekoma's coach Nekomata had no choice but to call another timeout. If he didn't settle his team now, Karasuno's rhythm would swallow them whole.
"These Karasuno kids…" Coach Nekomata chuckled, though there was weight in his voice. "Not just monsters, after barely ten minutes, they've forced me to call two timeouts."
Hinata's quick attack was also a problem. His speed even outstripped the "first tempo" fast attacks, leaving Nekoma scrambling. To keep up, someone had to mark him one-on-one at all times.
Inuoka, Nekoma's energetic first-year, clenched his fists. Moments ago, he had brushed Hinata off as just a small fry. But that last play lit a fire inside him.
"Please," Inuoka stepped forward, eyes burning. "Leave him to me. I'll stop him."
Kenma glanced over, his voice calm but firm. "It's not impossible. Hinata's quick looks terrifying, but it's just timing. If you can follow his rhythm, you'll block him eventually. It's like a new game, you lose again and again, but you keep learning until you clear it."
Coach Nekomata nodded slowly, then looked toward Karasuno's silver-haired first-year ace, Jin. His spike had been unpredictable from start to finish, his timing so sharp even Kuroo was being tested.
"That setter… that Kageyama boy," Coach Nekomata said. "He's like a ghost pulling the strings. And Hinata, he's the mace in his hands. Ghost and mace… together they're terrifying."
Kuroo set down his water bottle with a small grin. "Then what about their other monster? The silver-haired ace?"
For a moment, even Nekomata fell quiet. His eyes tracked Jin, laughing and joking with his teammates. Then he murmured, "Ghost, mace… and a shadow. That boy is the shadow behind them."
Kenma blinked at the metaphor, but his lips curved faintly. "Shadow, huh? Yeah… that makes sense." He walked over and tapped Kuroo lightly on the back, whispering something only the captain could hear.
---
When play resumed, Karasuno still held control. Even after Nekoma's adjustments, Karasuno's varied attacks pushed them to set point.
"24–20? Karasuno's really impressive," Shimada said from the stands. He and Ennoshita had come to watch.
Shimada adjusted his glasses. "A showdown in the junkyard, huh? To lead like this in the first set, it's something else. And this lineup… it's built entirely around attack."
On the court, Karasuno's rotation had lined up perfectly: Daichi, Asahi, and Tanaka in the back row; Hinata, Kageyama, and Jin in the front.
Hinata and Jin side by side, double quick-attack threats in the front. Tanaka and Asahi steady in attack from anywhere. Daichi as the reliable anchor in receive. It was Karasuno's strongest formation.
Daichi steadied his breathing, then tossed the serve.
"Yaku, I'll cover!" Kenma shifted aside, letting Nekoma's libero handle the first ball.
"Got it!" Yaku dove, cleanly receiving the ball.
Kenma turned under the net, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Jin. Every time he looked Jin's way, it felt like the silver-haired boy could read his thoughts.
"Inuoka!"
Kenma, ignoring the easy option of feeding Kuroo, sent the ball to the first-year instead.
"What guts," Jin thought, surprised. "He'd risk that here?"
Hinata sprang into the air to meet Inuoka's attack. "You're not getting it past me that easy!"
The spike slammed into Hinata's palm, ricocheting high into Karasuno's backcourt.
"One touch!"
"I've got it!" Daichi slid in and passed cleanly to Kageyama.
Now the stadium buzzed. Game point. Everyone knew this would decide the set.
Hinata was already sprinting for a quick on the right. Jin, still in the left wing, hadn't moved yet.
Kuroo's eyes narrowed. "Small? No… in a moment like this, they'll trust their ace." He started to shift toward Jin then froze, remembering Kenma's words during the timeout.
"The genius setter keeps locking eyes with that silver-haired ace. Watch it."
Kageyama set the ball, his eyes flicking once toward center.
Jin exploded forward, blurring into an afterimage. In the blink of an eye he was at the middle, rising high over the tape.
His swing came down like a hammer.
"Boom!"
A hand burst up at the last second Kuroo's block. For Jin, time slowed. He saw Kuroo's sharp eyes, the perfect read.
The ball clipped Kuroo's fingertips… and still forced its way through, bouncing hard onto Nekoma's floor.
"Set one, Karasuno!"
The whistle shrilled.
"Ahhh! So close!" Nekoma groaned.
On Karasuno's side, the players erupted, but Jin only exhaled slowly, sweat dripping down his chin.
"As expected of a national-level team," he muttered. "They read me that cleanly…"
Across the net, Kuroo straightened, meeting Jin's eyes. His grin was sharp.
"You're fast, Jin. But no matter where you run, I'll chase you down. Next time… luck won't save you."