“BEEEEEP!!!”
At that moment, the referee’s whistle sounded especially piercingly across the court.
As the final point flipped over on the scoreboard, the members of the White Team stared wide-eyed at Akashi Asuto across the net, their faces filled with disbelief.
The momentum that Iwaizumi Hajime had only just managed to revive froze instantly back at rock bottom.
Oikawa Tooru took several deep breaths; his expression became increasingly irritated as he looked at Asuto.
It was as if he could see certain shadows in him that he desperately did not want to see.
“This… damn brat.”
· · · · ·
Mid-match break.
The atmosphere on the White Team’s side was somewhat heavy.
“Damn it, that annoying first-year can even block too?”
“Earlier, when he was in the front row, his blocking looked pretty average. Why was he able to stop Iwaizumi’s attack at the very end? Was it just luck again? This guy’s luck is way too ridiculous!”
“No, that wasn’t luck…” Oikawa shook his head and said, “That obnoxious little brat did it on purpose. During the earlier part of the match, he deliberately hid the strength of his blocking just so he could land a fatal blow at the critical moment.”
At this point, Oikawa paused slightly and looked towards Iwaizumi, who had remained silent since the break began.
“And right now, the effect of that strike was extremely effective.”
“Not only did he take the crucial set point, but he also beat Iwaizumi-chan so badly that he’s rolling on the ground crying his eyes out…”
“Hm?”
Iwaizumi’s expression twitched. His ears practically stood upright after hearing the last few phrases.
“Bastard Oikawa, what the hell did you just say?”
Oikawa covered his mouth in fake shock.
“Ara~ So Iwaizumi-chan can hear after all? Sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken so loudly when talking about you behind your back…”
BANG!
A massive fist smashed straight into Oikawa’s punchable face, instantly cutting him off mid-sentence.
“Trashkawa, don’t compare me to you. I’m not the kind of person whose mentality collapses just because of some underclassman.”
Veins bulged across Iwaizumi’s forehead as he roared angrily.
After venting his frustration, however, his emotions gradually calmed down. Letting out a breath, he said:
“Thanks, bastard Oikawa.”
Oikawa Tooru: “d(ω｀*)~~ No need to thank me. But, Iwaizumi-chan, could you maybe stop insulting me every time you thank me?”
Iwaizumi Hajime: “(〝▼皿▼) Hah? What was that?”
Oikawa Tooru: “(Д｀)y-~ Nothing. I was just saying that we need to pay more attention to their defense in the next set.”
……
······
Asuto: “In the next set, we need to strengthen our blocking defense.”
Inside the Red Team’s rest area, Asuto took a sip of water and continued.
“Although we caught them off guard and won the first set, they’re still third-year seniors. They’ve trained for at least two years longer than us, and their fundamentals are far better than ours. For us, this match won’t go to a third set. We have to settle everything in the second.”
Spiking and blocking were skills that could be developed quickly through physical talent alone.
Receiving, however, was different.
It required long-term refinement through time and experience before it could truly become reliable.
In the first set, the Red Team’s backcourt defense could rely on Watari Shinji to cover the gaps.
But once the match entered a third set and everyone’s stamina started to drop, the Red Team’s flaws would inevitably become far more severe than the White Team’s.
This was the difference in fundamentals.
It wasn’t just technique… but also stamina, tactical strategy, and teamwork.
In short:
If the match entered a third set, the White Team’s strength would be enough to completely crush the Red Team twice over.
Therefore, to avoid exposing their weaknesses, the Red Team had to unleash their full potential while they still had sufficient stamina in the second set, in order to defeat the seniors in one decisive push.
“In the second set, I’ll also join the front-row blocking defense. When that happens… Senior Watari, I’ll have to trouble you to cover the backcourt gaps.”
Asuto looked towards Shinji Watari as he spoke.
Watari patted his chest confidently.
“Don’t worry, leave it to me! You guys just focus on beating the crap out of them.”
· · · ·
BEEP!
The whistle sounded once again.
After the second set began, it seemed as if both teams had silently reached an agreement. With perfect mutual understanding, both sides shifted into a formation of three players in the front row and two in the back row.
The first serve of the second set was taken by the Red Team.
After Mishita Ryuhei served the volleyball over the net, Yahaba Shigeru received it in the White Team’s backcourt and they organised an immediate attack.
Oikawa sent a slightly higher, arcing set towards Hanamaki Takahiro.
Directly opposite him, Kindaichi Yutaro reacted quickly and jumped to block.
However, he then realized that Hanamaki Takahiro hadn’t appeared at the net at all.
It was only after Kindaichi had already begun to descend that Hanamaki Takahiro finally jumped to spike.
A one-man time difference attack.
This was one of Aoba Johsai High School’s most skilful coordinated plays.
As Kindaichi descended, the space in front of Hanamaki Takahiro opened up completely. He swung his arm decisively to spike—
But in the next second, another pair of arms suddenly appeared.
Bang!
Thunk!
Two muffled impacts rang out.
The volleyball was completely blocked by the arms and bounced straight back into the White Team’s court.
1:0.
The Red Team scored first at the very start of the second set.
“Senior Hanamaki, we’re tired of seeing that time-difference attack in the first set. Don’t you have any new tricks?”
Asuto used Taunt.
Asuto never liked meaningless provocation during matches. However, if it served a tactical purpose, he didn’t mind using it.
“Hah?” Hanamaki Takahiro’s mouth twitched immediately, clearly angered.
“Don’t get too cocky, first-year brat!”
“We won the first set.”
“It was only one set. We’ll turn this around in no time.”
“We won the first set.”
“Matches are decided by the final result…”
“We won the first set.”
······
Although Asuto’s tone remained calm, every sentence stabbed straight into Hanamaki Takahiro’s heart, to the point that his entire face began to twist in frustration.
At the end of the day, though…
This was still a welcome match.
In reality, the moment the freshmen won the first set, they had already won, regardless of the final outcome.
For someone like Kunimi Akira, a ‘low-energy, efficiency-first type,’ a result like this would have been more than enough.
But Asuto was greedier.
Whether it was victory on a psychological level or in reality… he wanted both.
“You damn first-year brat, just wait. Next time, I’m absolutely going to crush you.”
Asuto nodded calmly.
“Oh. I’ll be waiting.”
“After all… we already won the first set.”
Hanamaki Takahiro: “·······o(▼皿▼メ;)o”
(End of Chapter)