“The other team’s setter is pretty devious.”
“Huh?”
Oikawa’s sudden comment left the Aoba Johsai players completely baffled.
‘Devious?’
They all turned to look at Mujinazaka High’s setter, Michiru Usuri, whose face was filled with a bright, friendly smile. He didn’t look devious at all.
Besides… if anyone was going to call someone devious, was there really anyone more qualified than Oikawa?
Everyone found it hard to take him seriously. Hearing those words from anyone else would have been one thing, but coming from Oikawa, they had absolutely no credibility.
Asuto, however, seemed to catch on.
“So you’re planning to use him as our breakthrough point?”
Oikawa snapped his fingers. “Bingo! Exactly! So you figured it out too, Asuto-chan?”
Asuto replied calmly, “No. I just know you’re not the type to compliment the other team’s setter for no reason.”
The rest of the team: “…”
It was a strange feeling. They were all teammates, yet they couldn’t even follow the conversation between Asuto and Oikawa.
Why did recognizing someone as “devious” somehow lead to targeting them as the key to breaking through?
And since when was “devious” considered a compliment?
Putting on an exaggeratedly heartbroken expression, Oikawa sighed. “Ahh… So that’s how you see me, Asuto-chan? I’m truly hurt…”
‘Thud!’
“Quit screwing around, Shittykawa!”
Before Asuto could even react to Oikawa’s shameless act, Iwaizumi Hajime’s fist had already landed squarely on his head. One solid punch instantly knocked Oikawa out of his fake innocent act.
“…Sigh.”
‘Life was hard.’ Oikawa let out a long sigh.
“Fine, I’ll explain. You guys probably didn’t notice, but Mujinazaka’s Setter is seriously crafty. During the first set, he deliberately kept baiting me into setting toward the right side. It looked like there wasn’t a block there, but the moment we attacked that lane, their backcourt defenders were already in position.”
“I see,” Iwaizumi said, stroking his chin. “I was wondering why there were a few times when you ignored an open lane and deliberately set toward the side where they already had defenders waiting.”
“Exactly.” Oikawa nodded. “Failing to score against an open court and failing to score against an established defense are two completely different things. If our hitters kept failing to score when the court looked wide open, it wouldn’t just shake the spikers’ confidence, it would affect the setter’s mindset too. So while their Setter looks pretty ordinary on the surface, he’s actually got a seriously black heart.”
There wasn’t the slightest attempt to hide the admiration in Oikawa’s voice.
After thinking for a moment, Asuto said, “Even so, you saw through his strategy almost immediately. Compared to him, I’d say you’re still one step ahead, Oikawa-senpai.”
“No, no…” Oikawa waved both hands modestly. “I only recognized what he was doing so quickly because it’s a tactic I use all the time myself. I wouldn’t say I’m better than him.”
The team: “…”
‘Right… Mujinazaka’s setter had run straight into the grandmaster of mind games.’
“So you’re planning to turn his own strategy against him?” Iwaizumi asked.
“Exactly.” Oikawa looked toward Asuto with a faint smile. “But their defense is incredibly solid, so I’ll need your help to pull it off, Asuto-chan.”
—
‘Tweet!’
The break ended, and both teams returned to the court. The second set began with Mujinazaka High serving first.
Mujinazaka High’s overall serving level was higher than Aoba Johsai’s.
The simplest proof was that, aside from Asuto and Oikawa, most of Aoba Johsai’s players were still using standing overhand serves.
Mujinazaka, on the other hand, had almost an entire roster capable of jump serves. Not everyone could score clean aces like Kiryū Wakatsu, but as a whole, their serves were far more threatening.
‘Boom!’
Before long, Mujinazaka’s player served the opening ball of the second set. As the ball crossed the net, Mujinazaka did exactly what they had done before. They sealed off the middle and right side of the court while deliberately leaving the left side open, inviting Aoba Johsai to attack there.
Previously, Oikawa had always avoided taking the bait. This time, however, he intentionally set the ball to the left, calling for Asuto to attack.
‘There it is… They finally fell for it!’
The moment he saw the set, Mujinazaka’s Setter’s eyes lit up.
As soon as the ball reached Asuto, Mujinazaka’s opposite hitter and libero shifted into position at the same time, instantly cutting off both his straight shot and his right-side cross-court angle.
With those two routes sealed, Asuto’s attacking options from the left side were practically gone.
Yet, faced with that seemingly hopeless situation, Asuto swung without hesitation.
‘Boom!’
He unleashed an enormous deep cross-court spike.
And like a shooting star streaking across the sky, the ball flew diagonally across almost the entire length of Mujinazaka’s court, passing right in front of the Setter and the two waiting defenders.
‘Thud.’
The ball slammed into the floor. Aoba Johsai scored first.
‘1–0.’
Mujinazaka’s Setter stared blankly as the spike flashed past him. There was no denying it, it had been an almost perfect attack.
“So… I really underestimated you.”
A faint, calculating smile appeared on Michiru Usuri’s face.
He had to admit that Kiryū’s outstanding performance in the first set had made him overlook Aoba Johsai’s first-year ace. Now it seemed that defeating Shiratorizawa and Fukurodani hadn’t been just a matter of luck.
…
The next rally began almost immediately. Aoba Johsai served.
After receiving the ball, Mujinazaka wasted no time sending it to Kiryū Wakatsu for a middle attack. He blasted through with another overpowering cannon spike, tying the score.
‘1–1.’
The serve switched hands. Mujinazaka served, and Aoba Johsai regained possession.
This time, however, Mujinazaka’s setter was ready. The moment he saw Asuto jump to exploit another gap in their defense, he immediately had one of the Mujinazaka Twin Towers, Keisuke Unnan, move in to block him.
But Asuto never got the ball. Using him as a decoy, Oikawa sent the set to the opposite side, where Yūtarō Kindaichi was waiting.
Even so, just because Mujinazaka’s Setter was focused on Asuto didn’t mean he let his guard down against everyone else. Instead, he intentionally left the frontcourt block open, repeating the same trap as before and exposing what looked like an inviting gap.
Just as expected… faced with such an obvious opening, Yūtarō Kindaichi didn’t hesitate.
He swung his arm…
…and instead of spiking, gently tipped the ball over.
‘(End of Chapter)’