The Miyagi Prefecture Gym buzzed like a living creature. Every breath, every murmur, every flicker of anticipation seemed to tangle together into a single, electric hum that coiled around the court.
On one side, Date Tech stood in a crisp, unshakable line. They were still during warm-ups, yet somehow radiated force — the sound of their shoes hitting the floor in perfect sync during their blocking drills was like the steady rhythm of war drums. Their faces were locked into soldier-like focus. No wasted motion. No stray glances. No cracks in the armor.
On the other side… Karasuno looked like a traveling circus had gotten lost and ended up in a volleyball tournament.Hinata was trying to balance the ball on his head.Nishinoya was spinning his ball like a basketball player.Tanaka was flexing at the crowd for absolutely no reason.And Akira? Akira was casually leaning against the net post, grinning like a fox as if he'd just been waiting for the right moment to ruin someone's day.
The crowd was already primed. The "Chaos Derby" against Johzenji had exploded online. Viral clips of Karasuno's plays were everywhere — looping gifs of Hinata zooming across the court, Nishinoya diving like a stuntman, and Akira's impossibly clean "holy wall" blocks now set to meme music. People who had never cared about high school volleyball were suddenly here, phones out, ready to see if the madness was real.
In the stands, Fukurodani's Bokuto had already been shouting since warm-ups."Akashi! Akashi! Look! It's the chaos team! Oh-ho-ho this is gonna be GOOD!"Akaashi, ever patient, muttered, "If you keep screaming now, you'll lose your voice before the first serve."
Across the way, Shiratorizawa's Ushijima stood silently, arms crossed, watching Akira with the faintest narrowing of his eyes. Beside him, Tendō grinned."This is gonna be great… Chaos vs. Wall. Ohhh, who's gonna crack first?"
From Aoba Johsai's section, Oikawa leaned forward on the railing, his voice dripping with that mix of rivalry and brotherly irritation."Don't mess this up, Akira. I want to be the one to crush you in the finals."Izumi, sitting between them, waved her little Karasuno flag. "Go, Akiraaa! Show them the super-demon-chaos-wall-thingy you do!"Oikawa whipped his head toward her. "Izumi! You're supposed to be neutral!""I am neutral," she said innocently, "I'm just… louder for Akira."
Even Inarizaki's Miya twins had somehow found a way to stream the match live, lounging in their gym while practicing serves."Look at this, 'Kita-san…' These guys are absolute idiots.""And yet," Osamu replied, "they win."
When the announcer finally called the starting lineup, the building shook with cheers.
For Date Tech, the Iron Wall: Koganegawa at setter, the triple-block core of Aone, Futakuchi, and Moniwa, each standing tall and radiating intimidation.
For Karasuno: Sawamura as captain and outside hitter, Kageyama at setter, Akira as wing spiker, Asahi back in the starting lineup as opposite, Hinata in the middle, Tanaka as the second outside hitter, and Nishinoya at libero.
The crowd roared louder than the whistle. The air thickened — everyone knew this was not just a match, it was a clash of styles so violently opposite that something had to give.
Somewhere up in the stands, Fukurodani's bench players were already betting snacks on whether the first rally would end in a point or an outright circus.
The whistle blew. The chaos was about to meet the wall.