"Whoa, so fast!"
"Huh? How did you know that?"
A girl in the stands suddenly cried out in surprise, startling her boyfriend beside her, who blurted out a response without thinking.
Oh no.
That's one hell of a slip-up!
Cold sweat trickled down the guy's forehead as he tried to cover up, stammering, "N-No, wait, let me explain… Uh, what did you mean by 'so fast' just now?"
The girl gave him a long, meaningful look before finally replying, "I meant the pace of the match. Usually, when I watch games here, each set lasts about 25 to 30 minutes. But now we've already finished two full sets, and not even 40 minutes have passed."
"…Ohhh, that's what you meant…"
Thanks to her explanation, the people around them had a moment of realization.
No wonder the players from Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa were drenched in sweat, it was all due to the intense pace of the game.
"Now that you mention it, both sets felt unusually fierce. Barely any timeouts, and both sides were hammering each other with relentless offense. That kind of tempo naturally burns through stamina."
"Yeah, exactly!"
The guy wiped his forehead again and quickly nodded in agreement.
Just as he felt he'd narrowly avoided disaster, his girlfriend suddenly said in a cold voice:
"By the way, Shota… I think we should break up. You can't give me the happiness I want."
Shota: "…No!!!"
────────── ✦ ──────────
Huff… huff… huff…
Heavy breathing echoed from both teams. The heat of their bodies alone had raised the temperature inside the gym.
Sweat trickled down Ushijima Wakatoshi's face, more than any other match he'd played. After all, he'd powered through the entire second set on offense alone, pushing his stamina to the limit.
On the bench, coaches Nyuhata Nobuteru and Tanji Washijo watched expressionlessly.
As experienced coaches, both had already noticed the shift in tempo, but neither lifted a finger to stop it.
In a regular match, neither would allow this "fast-pace versus fast-pace" strategy. Even if it meant winning, both teams would end up exhausted, giving the advantage to the next opponent.
But this was the final.
It didn't matter if they ended up battered, as long as they won in the end.
Besides, if Nyuhata and Washijo were letting it happen, it meant they had a plan.
Washijo trusted in the stamina he had drilled into his players with Spartan training. He welcomed this fast-paced match.
Nyuhata, on the other hand, wanted to wear down Shiratorizawa's stamina and force cracks in their coordination.
In short…
Both coaches had their own agendas, and doubled down on working their players even harder.
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Set Three.
Aoba Johsai made some adjustments to their formation.
Shiratorizawa's five-man receive formation had dulled the effectiveness of Seijoh's signature "machine-gun" serves. If they kept the same formation, Shiratorizawa would just get used to Oikawa and Akashi's serves, and their scoring efficiency would plummet.
So instead, they split them up, maybe an element of surprise could still be pulled off.
"Oikawa-senpai, let's go with the plan!"
Oikawa gave Akashi Asuka a cheeky wink. "You got it!"
While Shiratorizawa preferred simple, straightforward tactics, Aoba Johsai was the complete opposite, they loved to mix it up with flair.
In volleyball, the more crafty a team is, the better they can exploit strategy. And when it comes to craftiness, Oikawa alone might outmatch the entire Shiratorizawa lineup.
The plan Oikawa mentioned? Nothing too complicated. It was something he and Akashi agreed on before the match even started.
In essence: Avoid Ushijima.
Offensively, Akashi still couldn't match Ushijima. But with Oikawa backing him up, he might just hold his own.
Still, was it really necessary to take Ushijima head-on?
No matter how strong he was, Ushijima couldn't play at full power the entire match. This was a best-of-five final. To stay at peak form, Ushijima would have to pace himself, and that breathing room was Akashi's opportunity.
Akashi wasn't like Hinata or Kageyama, he had no need to fight every strong opponent head-on. For him, power, tactics, experience, technique, all of it was just a means to win.
And if retreating temporarily helped him win in the end, so be it.
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The third set began.
Iwaizumi served first. The ball went to Shiratorizawa, and just as Oikawa predicted, the set didn't go to Ushijima but to the other "ace–" Tsutomu Goshiki.
Goshiki jumped and spiked without hesitation. But at the moment of impact, a figure appeared in front of him, blocking the shot.
Thud.
The ball bounced back onto Shiratorizawa's side.
1–0, Aoba Johsai.
"I may not be able to block Ushijima-senpai's spikes, but if you think I can't stop yours, you're sorely mistaken."
"Blocking you is like swatting a fly through a screen door."
Akashi Asuka activated his taunt, speaking those brutally honest words with a calm tone. Goshiki's face turned red on the spot.
Clearly not out of embarrassment.
The other Shiratorizawa players were stunned.
Holy crap. Freshmen these days are this bold?
They thought Goshiki was already wild enough, challenging Ushijima right after joining the team, but this guy just one-upped him.
Still, something felt off.
They'd faced Aoba Johsai in practice matches before, and back then, Akashi gave off a tough, no-nonsense vibe, but wasn't much of a talker. Had he really changed this much in such a short time?
Until someone noticed Oikawa snickering behind Akashi.
And just like that, it clicked.
"Oh, of course. You damn puppet master."
They'd played Oikawa long enough to know he was a master of manipulation.
It was hard to believe someone could change their personality that fast. But if those stinging words had come from Oikawa and were simply relayed by Akashi, then it all made perfect sense.
"Ugh, that damn Oikawa. Even first-years aren't safe from his tricks… Just proves setters are the sneakiest players on the court."
Shirabu Kenjiro: "??? Why am I catching strays?!"
Of course, Oikawa had no idea his little smirk just earned him another round of blame.
All he wanted was for Akashi to mildly provoke Goshiki.
This level of savagery? Pure Akashi talent.
And sure enough,
Goshiki nearly ascended to another realm in rage.
You can hit a guy, but don't humiliate him. And unfortunately for Goshiki, Akashi had just done both.
Everyone knew: Goshiki had two rivals in high school volleyball, Ushijima and Akashi.
His feelings toward Ushijima were complicated: admiration mixed with the desire to surpass him. That's why he'd spiked so confidently earlier, to imitate Ushijima's powerful scoring style and crush Akashi in one move.
If he'd pulled it off, he'd have satisfied both dreams in one go.
But instead, Akashi blocked his shot, and insulted him afterward for good measure.
That was a brutal blow, both literally and emotionally.
If Goshiki didn't have decent mental resilience, he might've cracked on the spot.
────────── ✦ ──────────
The match continued.
Aoba Johsai served again. Shiratorizawa received, and Shirabu set it to Ushijima. Akashi moved to block, but Ushijima used his superior height and timing to slam the ball down.
1–1.
After tying the score, Shiratorizawa gathered to celebrate,
But Akashi's voice rang out again:
"See that? That's how an ace should score. You're still a long way off."
Goshiki: "(°ヘ°)???"
Shiratorizawa: "∑(O_O;)???"
You what now?
We're the ones who just scored, what are you bragging about!?
Even Aoba Johsai was confused, except for Oikawa, whose smile twitched slightly.
"Did I… accidentally flip some kind of switch in Akashi?"
────────── ✦ ──────────
Rotation.
Shiratorizawa served. Aoba Johsai received, and Oikawa set the ball for Akashi.
"I'm gonna block this one!"
Furious from the taunts, Goshiki leapt in to block.
But Akashi didn't move.
Goshiki's heart sank. "A delayed attack, ?!"
Sure enough, just as Goshiki began falling, Akashi exploded off the ground. They completely missed each other.
And as Goshiki looked up, helpless,
Another figure appeared in front of Akashi, forming a perfect wall.
"You're not getting past me that easily! I've been waiting for this moment… The best things should be saved for last."
The blocker was none other than Tendo Satori, wearing a manic grin as he stared at the ball like it was the most delicious dish on Earth.
"Tendo-senpai!"
Goshiki shouted joyfully.
But Tendo didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the ball above, savoring the anticipation of shutting down Akashi's spike.
This was his volleyball high.
And yet,
He waited… and waited…
Until suddenly, he realized,
He was falling.
Not the ball rising, but him dropping.
His expression froze. "Why?! I jumped later than him, how am I falling first?!"
That's when Akashi finally spoke:
"Hey, Tendo… back at Shiratorizawa, did you ever block Ushijima's spikes?"
Tendo froze.
And then, his pupils widened.
BOOM!
The ball, like a meteor, slammed down onto Shiratorizawa's court.
Tendo landed just in time to see the faint dent on the floor behind him.
When he turned, a tall figure descended on the opposite side of the net. Because of the ceiling lights, he couldn't see the face clearly…
But the silhouette alone sent chills down Tendo's spine.
Tendo had strong instincts.
That's how he developed his "intuitive blocking."
It didn't always work, but in high school, it had shut down countless spikes.
Except one.
No matter how many times he tried, he had never blocked that person's spike.
Because no matter how tight the net, it can never trap a beast.
And just now, from that silhouette, Tendo felt the exact same predatory pressure...
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