Disclaimer: Haikyuu is not mine. It is property of Haruichi Furudate, Weekly Shonen Jump and Shueisha.
Chapter 56: South Paw.
All of a sudden, the roaring cheers raised in volume significantly, and we all looked down to see what was going on.
Shiratorizawa Academy's team had arrived on the court, and at the front, was their Ace – Ushijima Wakatoshi, one of the best players in the prefecture.
I swallowed nervously. This was it. The final obstacle.
Shiratorizawa took to the court to commence their warm-ups. While most of them made busy with passing drills, Ushijima-san stepped into place to practice a spike.
He leapt into the air with his dominant arm raised, and with a shockingly loud smack, he sent the ball slamming into the ground. It sounded like the crack of thunder.
Not only that, but the ball had been hit so hard that it flew up off the ground and nearly hit someone in the audience.
"Yikes!" Sasaki-san gasped from next to us.
"Only one bounce and it flew up into the far side second floor seats," Michimiya-senpai uttered, amazed.
"Did you see how high his contact point was?" Aihara-senpai added, agreeing with.
After that, as if following Ushijima-san's lead, their other players proceeded to step up and show how obviously talented they were. It was like some sort of intimidation tactic, and it was kind of working if my racing heart and cold sweat was anything to go by.
If I was feeling it up here, I worried for Hitoka-chan down there in the thick of it with Kiyoko-senpai.
Since she'd be stepping in as manager next year and not me, it was important she got used to being down on the court's side for the guys, which I was up in the stands without her this time.
It was a good thing, Shoyo-kun and the rest of them didn't seem rattled. In fact, they seemed to rise to the challenge eagerly.
Shoyo-kun and Kageyama-kun showed Shiratorizawa by showing off right back at them, with a quick attack so blindingly fast that human eyes couldn't keep up.
The audience was in an uproar at the amazing shot. They couldn't believe they were pulling something like that out before the match even started!
But they had to do it. They had to show Shiratorizawa that they weren't going to back down just because the wall in front of them was a large one.
With their statement made public, the finals between Karasuno High School and Shiratorizawa Academy officially began.
"Ladies and gentlemen. The national Spring High School Volleyball Tournament, Miyagi Prefecture Boys' qualifying round final match... Karasuno High School versus Shiratorizawa Academy will now begin." The announcer told the audience over the PA system as the two teams lined up in front of a wall of video cameras and commentators.
This wasn't like all the previous matches so far. This one was going to be televised, since it was both the finals of the qualifiers for the whole prefecture and also a match which a Japan Junior Nationals player like Ushijima-san would be playing.
It was a high-stakes game that many people would be watching even if they weren't here in Sendai City Gymnasium.
It was totally nerve-wracking. I did not envy the boys down there. Not one bit.
"We will now announce the starting players for each team. For Shiratorizawa Academy, Number 1, Ushijima Wakatoshi... Number 4, Ohira Reon... Number 5, Tendou Satori... Number 8, Goshiki Tsutomu... Number 10, Shirabu Kenjirou... Number 12, Kawanishi Taichi... and Number 14, the Libero, Yamagata Hayato." The announcer first announced the names of Shiratorizawa Academy's players, then went on to announce for Karasuno.
"And for Karasuno High School, Number 1, Sawamura Daichi... Number 3, Azumane Asahi... Number 5, Tanaka Ryuunosuke... Number 9, Kageyama Tobio... Number 10, Hinata Shoyo..." I gulped at his name, a wobbly smile spreading across my face; "Number 11, Tsukishima Kei... and Number 4, the Libero, Nishinoya Yuu."
This was it...!
"Oomph...! I think I'm getting nervous for them now..." Saeko-san said breathlessly, putting her hand to her chest to calm her racing heart.
"Yeah, though when they were warming up, that one shot with Hinata still looked pretty stable." Shimada-san nodded.
"This is nothing new for Shiratorizawa... But this is the Karasuno team's first time in the finals. Their first time in the centre court. Asking them to stay calm and collected out of the gates is a little much." Takinoue-san said.
Akiteru-san leaned against the barriers an looked over, "If this is their first time in the finals, that means this will be their first best-three-out-of-five game too, right?" he asked.
"Best three out of five?" Saeko-san repeated questioningly.
I nodded, "I've never gotten this far either, but basically... almost all tournament games in our prefecture are best two out of three. But the finals are way more intense. Those are best three out of five. Just like the pro games you see on TV." I explained to Saeko-san.
"Holy crap, really?! They're gonna be exhausted!" Saeko-san was alarmed at learning this.
Shimada-san nodded, smiling nervously, "Exactly right, Mogami-san. I gotta admit, I'm worried if they've got enough gas in the tank to last..." he said pessimistically.
There was a brief silence before both Saeko-san and I started talking at the same time.
"Hey what are we getting all down in the dumps for?!" Saeko-san cried.
"You're underestimating these guys' moxie, Shimada-san!" I cried at the same time. We then both looked at each other awkwardly, and then I blushed.
Saeko-san seemed to not be flustered, but father pleased, and affectionately mussed my hair to show her agreement.
"Ladies and gentlemen. We hope that you will cheer on both teams with enthusiasm and respect." The announcers spoke up again, signifying that the match was about to start.
"Yeah, let's cheer 'em on!" Saeko-san said excitedly.
Takinoue-san started batting his cheering cones together, "Get 'em Karasuno! You can do it!"
Down on the court, all of the starting players had already lined up. Noya-senpai stood off to the side, ready to rotate in when given the go-ahead and cheering on his team-mates as well.
At the start of the match, Kageyama-kun, Tsukishima-san and Asahi-senpai were in the front, with Tanaka-senpai, Shoyo-kun and Daichi-senpai in the rear; Daichi-senpai was elected first to step up for the serve and to start the match off.
"That's a new starting look for Karasuno," Shimada-san hummed as Daichi-senpai stepped up the serving position with the ball.
"Yeah. They usually go with either Hinata in the front row or one of their stronger servers up first. I bet they did that so that they could have their tallest wall to match up against Ushijima." Takinoue-san agreed.
"So they're testing the waters," I commented.
"In a way. Hope it doesn't backfire on them." Takinoue-san agreed.
"Go, Sawamura!" Michimiya-senpai suddenly cheered next to us, as in defiance of any naysayers for Daichi-senpai's sake, which made me smile a little.
There was a pregnant pause, filled of silence, and then, the referee signaled and blew his whistle, filling the air with its sound and with that, the match was finally about to begin.
I leaned forward unconsciously in anticipation as Daichi-senpai threw up the ball, and spiked it, and I held my breath.
It flew towards Number 8, Goshiki-san, who didn't even move towards it, as if having predicted the outcome.
The ball landed out of bounds, just barely and I let out a deep breath, sounding as if I were physically deflating.
"Nice Call, Goshiki!" I heard someone call out, and pouted a little.
"Augh! It was so close...!" Michimiya-senpai groaned.
"LUCKY! YEAAH, YEAH, YEAH! WIN! WIN! WIN! SHIRATORIZAWA!" Shiratorizawa Academy's personal cheering squad boomed, with resounding applause.
"Uggghh, don't let it overwhelm you, you guys...!" Saeko-san groaned out, grimacing.
"Kawanishi, server up!"
With a lucky point in Shiratorizawa's corner from the very get-go, they likely intended to widen the gap immediately, sending up their Number 12 to serve.
It flew, and bounced lightly off the top of the net. Tanaka-senpai and Asahi-senpai were both there to try and catch it, but for some reason, they froze up, and the ball landed on the ground without any interference, scoring another point in Shiratorizawa's favour.
"GAAAAAAAH, I'M SORRRRY!" Tanaka-senpai yelled in apology to Asahi-senpai.
"N-N-NO, MY B-BAD...!" Asahi-senpai cried back.
"Ugh, Kei, speak up louder next time..." I barely heard Akiteru-san mutter, but I wasn't sure what he meant by that.
"DAMMIT GUYS! CALM THE HELL DOWN!" Suga-senpai suddenly yelled at his team-mates from the reserve area, grabbing everyone's attention; "We don't have the time to implode on ourselves! What's got you so scared, huh?! The TV camera's?! You nervous about being on TV?! Well, forget it and calm down already, dammit!" he berated them shamelessly.
"W-We get it, Suga! We get it! You can calm down too, okay?!" Daichi-senpai exasperatedly tried to get his vice-captain to cool off.
Regardless of any self-imploding that may or may not have been going on, the match continued and Kawanishi-san made his serve.
Daichi-senpai was able to get it back up and Kageyama-kun sent the ball to Tsukishima-san in the front row. The ball got past Number 5, Tendou-san, but was caught by Goshiki-san and sent back into play.
From there, Shirabu-san, the Number 10 player jumped into a Setting position, not unlike Noya-senpai's new move, and sent the ball to him.
"Ushijima!" Shirabu-san called out and I swear I audibly gulped.
It was like everybody in the whole gymnasium tensed up, waiting for lightning to strike after hearing the thunder.
And Ushijima-san certainly lived up to all the stories of his strength and skill.
Just like earlier in the pre-match warm-ups, he sent the ball down so hard it distorted its shape...! Or that's what I'd –admittedly pessimistically- expected to happen.
Rather, I hadn't noticed when Noya-senpai had been switched in for Shoyo-kun, and good thing they had! He was there to catch the ball.
It was only unfortunate that he hadn't been able to control the ball's trajectory afterwards, and it flew out of bounds to earn Shiratorizawa a third point to Karasuno's zero points.
While Shiratorizawa's supporters cheered boisterously for their second consecutive point, I felt oddly calm, considering the situation.
Noya-senpai... and the whole of Karasuno's team, could be like crows themselves. And crows are resourceful creatures. I knew that given the chance, Noya-senpai would do his best to ensure he didn't let that ball fall again.
I saw him show three fingers to his team-mates with a determined expression and grinned, understanding. Give him three hits to feel out Ushijima-san's spikes, and he'll have it down.
And I somehow just knew he would. I had every faith in senpai, in that regard.
"Oh, hey wait! I knew there was something odd about him, but... that other team's Number 1, he's left handed isn't he?" Saeko-san suddenly spoke as the teams were changing rotations for the next play.
She hummed, "Hmm. No wonder he ran up from the right, then. Ryuu always comes from the left." She added insightfully.
I nodded, "Yes! It's easiest for right-handed players to hit a ball put up from the right. And that's reversed for lefties like Ushijima-san." I agreed.
"Exactly! I mean, seriously! Everything about him just screams 'destined to be an Ace'!" Takinoue-san nodded, "See, Ushijima's position in the team's rotation is called the Opposite. Basically, he's directly opposite the Setter. One Karasuno's side, Sawamura's in that spot. What sorts of things the player in the Opposite position specializes in has a really big effect on their team's overall strategies.
One basic pattern is to put a balanced player in that spot –someone who's nimble, intelligent and good at defense. Karasuno did that with Sawamura. Most high-schools tend to do that, actually.
Another strategy is to put a cannon like Ushijima in that spot. These players don't receive any serves. Instead they stay ready to attack at all times, front or back row." Takinoue-san explained it well for Saeko-san and the rest of us.
"In the old days, they used to call those players 'Super Aces'." Akiteru-san added.
Geez, what a name! It really hypes up someone's reputation, to have that title attached to you. I wondered how Ushijima-san handled something like that...
Ushijima-san had already scored another consecutive point, living up to such a title and bringing Shiratorizawa into a 4 point lead, while Karasuno had failed to score a single point so far.
"Mrrrrgggh! Okay, I get this Ushijima guy is, like, amazingly tall and amazingly strong and whatever... but this leftie stuff – what's with that?! Is it really that special?!" Saeko-san complained, audibly frustrated as we were all likely feeling with this demi-god on the court.
Thankfully, moments later a glimmer of hope shined down on Karasuno's side, when Tanaka-senpai managed to successfully score Karasuno's first point of the opening set.
Finally...!
"YEAH, ATTA BOY!" Saeko-san cheered for her little brother heartily, and then turned to Shimada-san, "And?!" she prompted him, surprising the man.
"E-Erm... The vast majority of the time, teams face off against right-handed players. Being so used to right-handers makes dealing with the occasional southpaw that much harder," Shimada-san explained as Asahi-senpai stepped up to serve the ball.
He sent the ball flying but it was received and sent back up into play by Shiratorizawa's Libero, Yamagata-san.
"For example, good blocking technique is to jump in front of the hitter's arm, not directly in front of their body. That means there's going to be a body width's difference between righties and lefties." Takinoue-san inputted, as the ball went to the Shiratorizawa Setter, Shirabu-san, "But aside from the simplest and slowest of attacks, blockers have only fractions of a second to make decisions. They jump more on instinct and muscle memory than active thought." He added, as Shirabu-san sent the ball to Ushijima-san again.
When he did, it was Tsukishima-san who jumped to try and catch the ball. However, like Takinoue-san just explained, he'd jumped on instinct, and was too far to one side to touch the spike. Asahi-senpai tried to catch it but it was no use.
"Nice Kill, Ushijima!" someone on the player's team called out.
"Bwahaha! Karasuno's on the defensive!" someone laughed obnoxiously behind us and both Akiteru-san and I turned to glare at the Mohawk-guy to blame.
As we turned back to watch the game, Shimada-san added, "Just being left-handed isn't anything special in and of itself. It's being a south-paw on top of having elite-class brute strength that does it. That's Ushijima in a nutshell." He finished.
"Shake it off, guys! Next rally, next rally!" Daichi-senpai called out to his team-mates while trying to rejuvenate their flagging confidence in their ability to block.
Regardless, about 10 minutes passed and Karasuno had failed to keep up with Shiratorizawa Academy's stride. A technical time out was called for, when the score stood at 3 – 8 to Shiratorizawa's favour.
Ukai-san called everyone together for a pep-talk of sorts; "First thing's first! Get your timing and positioning down on the blocks! We can't effectively set up our receivers if they keep going over our heads! Even if you can't stuff 'em, at least get a hand on it! Make Ushijima aware that there is a wall in front of him!" he said loudly to them, pumping the boys up.
"Yessir!" they cheered, reading to put the advice into action.
Soon, the time out was over, and both teams made their way back onto the court.
"Come on guys, you can do it...!" I heard Aihara-senpai mutter next to me and Michimiya-senpai.
The next rally began, and this time, when the ball came to Ushijima-san for a spike, there was a wall of three blockers waiting for him.
"Deflected!" Asahi-senpai, one of the three blockers called back.
Unfortunately, Tanaka-senpai couldn't catch up with the ball in time to stop it from still landing in bounds.
The bad luck continued on in the next few rallies as well, and Shiratorizawa was the first to break 10 points in the first set, while Karasuno was trailing miserably behind with only 5 points.
"No, that was good! That was good! Keep it up!" Ukai-san called encouragingly from the sidelines, as Tanaka-senpai cursed in irritation.
But if I remembered, we still had a trump card; one that had been watching like a hawk this whole time, learning Ushijima-san's movements and habits.
As the Ace of Shiratorizawa came up yet again for a spike, Karasuno's trump card was there in a flash to intercept it.
Noya-senpai...!
He didn't manage to redirect the ball correctly just yet, but I had a feeling he was almost there.
"Even Yuu can't get those?! How the heck are we supposed to stop him then?!" Saeko-san complained.
"Hmmm... I wonder if it's because of the spin." Akiteru-san said.
"Huh?" I asked him curiously.
"It's pretty simple when you think about it. Just by hitting the ball with your left hand instead of your right, you give it a different spinning direction. Volleyball is a sport where you can't carry the ball. You can only bounce it off a very small patch of your body. That's why it's so hard for beginners to correctly bump an evenly lobbed ball.
You only have a small instant to touch the ball and you can only o it with a very small surface. If the surface is even off by just a little bit, it will send the ball on a completely different trajectory. Dealing with the sheer power of his shots is bad enough... but having to counter the odd spin too? Yikes..." Akiteru-san explained wisely and I was amazed.
"Akiteru-san, could it be that you play volleyball too? That was really insightful of you." I asked the older boy.
He looked shocked, "What?! Did Kei not tell anyone anything about me...? W-Well I guess that makes sense..." he sighed out.
Saeko-san jumped in, "Did Ryuu not mention it to you guys? I told him that there used to be another Tsukishima in Karasuno's volleyball club, back in the days of the Small Giant. That's probably this guy!" Saeko-san told me.
I blinked in realisation, "Oh, right! Tanaka-senpai did mention that, at the summer training camp! Sorry, Akiteru-san," I turned to bow my head to the older Tsukishima.
He waved it off, "It's fine... Kei's not the sort of guy to talk about personal stuff anyway and I didn't mention it either." He said with a small smile.
We turned back to watch the match again.
It had felt like not much time had passed, but still, the score board looked horrifying.
Shiratorizawa was already at 15 points and Karasuno only just gotten up to 7 points. Things really didn't look good for our guys. They really had to get the hang of Ushijima-san's style, and fast, or they were going to have a terrible disadvantage.
"Geeeeez! Does that glasses kid even wanna be here? Show us some more fire, kid! More fire!" I heard an older man complaining loudly and rudely.
I scowled at what I'd heard, glancing at Akiteru-san who also seemed to be frowning.
His little brother, Tsukishima-san had been blocking when Kawanishi-san got the latest spike through. While I couldn't deny that until recently, Tsukishima-san hadn't been putting much effort into his volleyball, since the Summer Camp he had changed! He really wasn't like that anymore!
"Maaaaan! They've gotta do something about that south paw, and fast!" Saeko-san sighed out, looking worried.
"They're trying their best... Changing habits that are so ingrained is really difficult." I reasoned.
"Well, in Kei's case, at least... He isn't the kind of player to move on instinct. He's the direct opposite, in fact. He has no faith in his own abilities... and he doesn't trust the instincts or habits he's built," Akiteru-san explained.
"How could you say that about your own brother?!" Saeko-san gasped, alarmed.
"I-It was a compliment!" Akiteru-san yelped.
I tilted my head, "It was?" I asked him, because it sure didn't sound like one.
Akiteru-san recollected himself, and started explaining; "You see... my little brother is disgustingly logical. The only things he ever believes in are cold, hard fact right in front of him." He said, directing our attention to his little brother.
Tsukishima-san was running up to block Ushijima-san's spike yet again. He jumped up, just a little after Ushijima-san did, with his arms stretched upwards in a defensive block.
He managed to touch the ball, it smacking painfully against his fingers. I winced at the loud sound it made, as the ball went backwards and out of bounds.
Yet another point widening the gap for Shiratorizawa, sitting comfortably at 16 points to Karasuno's 8. Another technical time out was called.
Tsukishima-san was pulled aside by Kiyoko-senpai during the time-out, and it was only when Yamaguchi-kun called out to him that I realised why.
"Tsukki! Did you jam your finger?! That looked like it really hurt!" he cried out in concern.
Tsukishima-san held on of his fingers tenderly in place, as Ennoshita-senpai helped him wrap it up, "It's no big deal... Thanks," Tsukishima-san added as an afterthought to his senpai who was helping him out; "Besides, it isn't like this is any different to normal. Hell, we'll be lucky if it doesn't get any worse than this," he said rather negatively.
"There. It's all wrapped up," Ennoshita-senpai said as he finished up, stepping away from the blonde.
I leaned over the railing to call down to him, "Tsukishima-san, be careful, okay? Nobody wants you to do any permanent damage today," I told him.
He looked up to me thoughtfully, not saying anything, then tsked, frowning at his brother next to me so hard that even I felt it, second-hand; Tsukishima-san turned away with a sigh, "No promises." He muttered.
Looks like he didn't intend on holding back even with that at stake. Tsukishima-san really has changed over the past half-year or so.
As time-out was coming to an end, Takeda-sensei had been trying in earnest to keep their spirits up and their nerves down, but any effort he made went in vain as soon as Shiratorizawa's next server stepped into place, bouncing the ball in experimentation in front of him.
Ushijima Wakatoshi-san.
"Uh-oh..." Akiteru-san mumbled beside me and I had to agree. If his spike is so monstrous, how bad is his serve going to be?
After a great swing, Ushijima-san sent the ball soaring towards Karasuno's side.
Daichi-senpai did a great job catching the ball at all, but it flew off sideways and out of bounds before Tanaka-senpai could even catch up to it.
A Service Ace.
"Holy freakin' crap... Just who or what the hell is that guy...?!" Saeko-san uttered in disbelief.
Everyone who was supporting Karasuno were feeling pretty much the same, up in the stands. Shiratorizawa was only one point away from a gap of ten points!
And since Shiratorizawa's Ushijima-san was already setting up for his second serve, it was only a matter of seconds before that ten-point gap could become a reality.
"Sorry guys! Just focus on the next rally!" Daichi-senpai called out, trying to keep his team's spirits up. Although, it wouldn't surprise me if mere words wouldn't work for some of them anymore.
Nevertheless, it seemed that one particular player hadn't lost faith, with or without words of encouragement.
"BRING IT OOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!" Noya-senpai suddenly yelled, startling me, his words a very obvious challenge to the server he was facing.
Ushijima-san merely frowned and prepared his serve, without a deigned response.
And then, he sent the ball flying again. Noya-senpai dove into position. His eyes were laser-focused on the incoming ball while Daichi-senpai moved out of Noya-senpai's way knowingly.
As if by muscle memory, Noya-senpai easily readjusted his posture, bring out his forearms to receive the ball. And with a harsh smack of the ball hitting his forearms...
The ball went up!
Not to the side, not to the ground, but UP!
My arms went up as well, a celebratory reaction I was only half-aware of, and I let out a breath in response. I had no words to yell out, after all.
Simply, Noya-senpai is amazing!
"It's UUUUUUUPPP!" Tanaka-senpai yelled out, mirroring my happiness and vocalizing it.
Now that Noya-senpai had seemingly mastered how to receive Ushijima-san's spike, perhaps the match could be turned around!
There may have been a gap of almost ten points between them, but that didn't matter! Karasuno was used to being backed into a corner before rising above their opponents, after all!
With the opportunity finally placed before him, Kageyama-kun jumped, making as if he were going to actually spike instead of Set. But I knew that had to be impossible to do since he was the only Setter on the field... or perhaps not. After all, Libero's can act as secondary-
Ah! He switched tactics at the last second, and because the guys on Shiratorizawa's side had bought it and jumped to block him, nobody was there to stop Tanaka-senpai when Kageyama-kun sent the ball his way.
After what seemed like forever, Karasuno scored a point!
Tanaka-senpai and Noya-senpai shared an enthusiastic double high-five, screaming in celebration over the sounds of their team-mates' equally excited yelling.
"Wow, we have one amazing Libero! He literally used his entire body to kill the velocity on that ball." Akiteru-san gushed, amazed.
And on the third hit, just like he'd promised Daichi-senpai earlier, too! He came in clutch, right in the nick of time!
It was too bad that because of rotation, Noya-senpai had to step out of the court and allow Shoyo-kun back in. Shoyo-kun had some big shoes to fill, so to speak, after that exciting play. Tsukishima-san was being subbed out for Suga-senpai as well so they were pulling out all of their tricks, probably, to not let Shiratorizawa take the first set.
"Ah-ha! Sho-chan came back out on the court!" Yukitaka-kun gasped, excited, from his and Sekimukai-kun's seats behind our row.
"Yeah, the first time he was out, the rotation moved around so fast he was back out in an instant," Sekimukai-kun agreed.
Suga-senpai was stepping up to serve. He sent the ball Ushijima-san's way. He was probably hoping to make it so he touched the ball and couldn't spike afterwards in the same rally.
But that huge player on his team, Ohira Reon-san, stepped in front of him and took the receive instead. Looked like those guys weren't dumb; they wouldn't let their best attacker wear himself out on something he wasn't as talented in.
"Man, they don't make him go after the serves at all..." Saeko-san commented, noticing this too.
Shirabu-san, after getting the ball from Ohira-san, sent the ball to that redheaded player, Tendou-san, to spike.
Shoyo-kun jumped up to try and block the ball, but Tendou-san seemed to have read his movements and delayed his jump, so that Shoyo-kun was already landing when he jumped up and spiked it right over the top of his head.
"NICE! KILL! TEN! DOU!" Shiratorizawa's cheer squad loudly cheered for the successful kill.
Over the roar of their applause, I watched as Suga-senpai, his pinch serve done, he had to be switched out, letting Tsukishima-san return to the court.
The following rally was quite a lucky one for Karasuno. Ohira-san was up to serve, and he overdid it on his serve's strength. Asahi-senpai was a quick enough thinker to let the ball land out of bounds, calling out 'Out!' as it landed.
"Nice call...! Phew... Lucky for us, it was actually out," Takinoue-san said shakily.
"Shiratorizawa is not immune to making mistakes! This is great! We have opportunities to take advantage of that humanity." I heard Takeda-san enthusiastically chatter to Ukai-san below us, as Kageyama-kun stepped up to serve.
I practically squealed in happiness, as Kageyama-kun performed an amazing Service Ace. Saeko-san was squealing alongside me as well.
"Daaamn... that guy is stupid good... better even than before..." Sekimukai-kun begrudgingly muttered behind us and I couldn't stop myself from grinning.
The gap was slowly getting smaller now. Maybe they had this set after all...? Well as long as we kept getting lucky breaks is all...
But after Kageyama-kun stepped up to serve again, hoping for a second Ace, that gap was widened yet again. They managed to send his second serve back up, easily moved to setting the ball, and sent it to one of their younger players Goshiki-san, who scored a point in Shiratorizawa's favour.
He turned back to his team, looking for praise from Ushijima-san, only to be (perhaps) unintentionally ignored by the Ace, while their Setter muttered something to him.
In the following rally, after Asahi-senpai's spike was received by Ohira-san, Noya-senpai managed to receive yet another of Ushijima-san's spikes.
This time, it flew off to the side a little, so Noya-senpai had clearly not mastered receiving Ushijima-san's spikes completely as of yet, but this time Tanaka-senpai managed to save it, sending it towards Daichi-senpai who was jumping up to spike as if having read Tanaka-senpai's mind.
When Shiratorizawa's Goshiki-san jumped up to block, Daichi-senpai deliberately let the ball bounce back, giving Kageyama-kun a chance to set the ball up for Shoyo-kun.
Shoyo-kun jumped up, and spiked, and actually managed to force Ushijima-san to receive the ball.
No... Rather than forcing him, it seemed like something made Ushijima-san want to get the ball himself, even though his team's strategy had been to let everyone else receive the ball so he could focus on attack rather than defense.
I had no idea what made him want to do something against that strategy though...
"That guy can even do receives and stuff!?" Saeko-san whined beside me, surprising me.
I glanced at her then looked back down on the court, to watch Ushijima-san for any kind of clue.
He looked super mad. It was actually kind of scary looking...!
And he showed his anger, by jumping up and spiking the ball, hitting it really hard against Shoyo-kun's block in particular, even though it was a three-person block.
He scored the point. That made Shiratorizawa Academy the first team to break 20 points in this game. Things weren't looking good...
But all I could do was wince for Shoyo-kun, watching as he held out his trembling, stinging palms. That must've really hurt...!
From there, it went from a slow roll to a tumble downhill that was too fast for my liking. Before I knew it, the first Set was over, and Shiratorizawa Academy were the first victors.
If they won a further two sets, that was it.
But like hell if Karasuno and the rest of us were going to just let that happen! They'd all worked too hard for this, to be stopped, right at the last challenge.
No... This was just the beginning!
Onigiriri: This is just the beginning. The beginning of the end, that is. Hi, all, back again from another unplanned hiatus. It's been a mentally tough year for me so far, and the lack of response from my readers has contributed to that. I know I've messed up a lot and kept you all waiting, right when we're in the last chapters of this story, so I'm not going to beg for comments this time.
It's enough, for me to look at the analytics of this story and to see how many are actually clicking on my new chapters and reading them, so thank you. I'm aiming to finish this story at around Chapter 60.
I'll also be making the Shiratorizawa match chapters a little longer, which is why this one took slightly longer than I wanted it to, so you get more out of these chapters. Next chapter will be called, 'Guess Monster', so I hope you'll look forward to it. xxx
