With just one py, they recimed the serve from Oikawa Tōru—this was already the best start Irihata had achieved in all their practice matches so far.
"Iwa-...and Taichi too..." Oikawa smiled in resignation.
Aoakanobu stepped up to the service line for Irihata.
Bang!
Aone's powerful jump serve was received by Terushima Yūji.
Without hesitation, Oikawa sent the ball to the right wing. Ushijima Wakatoshi soared.
Thud!
A single blocker stuffed Ushijima's spike—Tendō Satori!
"Touch!" Tendō shouted to the back row.
Goshiki Tsutomu sprioward the sidelio save it, and Shirabu Kenjirō moved into position to set from the left wing.
Here it es!
Kaedehara Taichi charged from the back row and jumped explosively.
"Double block!" Kunimi Akira and Kindaichi Yūtarō had read the py perfectly this time, positioning themselves to block Kaedehara.
"Too bad, there's an opening~" Taichi smirked.
He aimed at the gap on Kunimi's left and unleashed a fierce spike with his left hand.
Smash!
Powerful and precise, the ball hit just ihe left boundary of Team Washijō's court.
[Team Irihata 2 - 0 Team Washijō]
"Incredible…" Goshiki murmured.
Ever siaichi had sought advice from Ushijima about geing power with his left arm, Goshiki had noticed his straight shots improving day by day.
It was one of the few skills Goshiki prided himself on beier at than Taichi...
"And now, what are you better at? Receiving?" Shirabu's blunt words pierced Goshiki's ears.
"Taichi is a first-year, just like you. That means he'll be your rival for the hree years," Shirabu added, log eyes with Goshiki. "When Ushijima-san graduates, you, as Shiratorizawa's ace, defeat the team he leads?"
"I…" Goshiki couldn't answer.
It was the first time Shirabu had called him the ace, but the reition didn't bring joy.
Holy, he had hought about a Shiratorizawa without Ushijima.
His heart sank at the realization: this is the kind of oppo I'll be fag for the hree years?
"Goshiki, Coach Washijō has high hopes for you. So do we uppercssmen," Shirabu tinued. "If there were no Taichi, we'd have time to help you grow at your own pace. Every pyer at Shiratorizawa is strong."
"But with Taichi as your oppo, you don't have the luxury of time." Shirabu's tone grew serious.
"Goshiki, you o grow—both your skills and your mi."
"Yes, Shirabu-senpai!" Goshiki's eyes burned with determination. He would live up to the team's expectations as their ace!
-----
Koganegawa Kanji watched from the sidelines in awe as Tendō blocked Ushijima's spike by himself.
"Hey, Koganegawa! Date Tech has its own blog style!" Futakuchi Kenji scolded him.
"Yes, Futakuchi-senpai!" Koganegawa stammered, flustered.
"Wakatoshi, I'm fired up!" Tendō excimed to Ushijima.
"Hm?"
"I usually 't shut down your spikes, so it's not satisfying. It's b, holy." Tendō spun his fingers. "But today, I feel like winning against you might be fun!"
"I see," Ushijima replied, his expression unged.
"Exactly." Tendō grinned. "If I want to see you ge, first I o beat you."
-----
Aone's sed serve unched into py.
Yamagata Hayato made a fwless receive, and Oikawa set to the right once more.
"What a ruthless setter," Tendō muttered. "Most setters would hesitate to keep sending to the same hitter if they hadn't scored, but if it's Wakatoshi, there's no issue."
Boom!
A straightforward, unstoppable spike bsted past Tendō's block.
No one could block Ushijima 100% of the time—not even Tendō.
[Team Irihata 2 - 1 Team Washijō]
Team Washijō's serve. Ushijima Wakatoshi approached the service line.
"Maintaining a lead against this lineup is tough," Futakuchi thought as he gnced back at Iwaizumi.
"What a resilient guy. Most liberos would crack after stantly fag Oikawa's and Ushijima's serves."
Bang!
Ushijima's left-handed on shot barreled across the court. Iwaizumi Hajime moved sharply into position, l his stand tre of gravity.
The ball struck his arm. Despite adjusting his angle for the reception, the tremendous power and spin overwhelmed him, making it difficult to trol the rebound.
In the instant, the ball ricocheted off his arm, struck his shoulder, and flew out of bounds.
[Team Irihata 2 - 2 Team Washijō]
Unfazed, Ushijima returo the service lih his usual expressionless demeanour.
Iwaizumi shook out his reddened arm, a bitter expression on his face. The hard-earwo-point lead had vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Again!"
Iwaizumi readied himself once more.
Kaedehara Taichi didn't turn to look back. His role was simple—believe in Iwaizumi's ability to make the receive and focus on how to attaext.
Bang!
The sed on shot hurtled through the air, carrying even more vicious spin. After clearing the he ball dropped sharply.
Again, Ushijima prioritized power over trol, targeting Iwaizumi.
Smack!
Iwaizumi tracked the ball, and it smmed against his wrist.
"o get it high!"
He tensed his arm muscles and forced the ball upward as much as possible.
"I got it!" Shirabu Kenjirō sprioward the ball's trajectory a high he .
Tendō Satori leapt from the right side, preparing for a spike.
"Kindaichi! Stop him!"
The ball was close to the and low. Kindaichi Yūtarō jumped straight up, fully extending his arm to block the angle, intending to simply keep the ball oher side of the .
But Tendō suddenly withdrew his spiking arm.
The ball hit Kindaichi's blod bounced directly into Irihata's court.
Kindaichi blinked, bewildered.
"???"
What just happened? Was that a free point?
Tweet! The referee signalled a fault—over-the- interference.
Point for Team Irihata.
[Team Irihata 3 - 2 Team Washijō]
"Perfect score!" Tendō spread his arms wide, revelling in the moment.
"Tendō's on fire today," Inubata Nobuteru chuckled, gng at Coach Washijō. "You've got a keen eye for talent."
"Hmph." Washijō scoffed with a hint of pride.
Tendō's instinct-driven, intuitive pystyle thrived under Shiratorizawa's system only because it was built to aodate both Ushijima's overwhelming presend Washijō's precise, calcuted coag.
Before high school, Tendō's unventional style had bee with reje.
When his predis were right, he shined. But when he missed, he became a gring defensive liability.
Few coaches uood the i risk and reward of his gamepy—and even fewer gave him the freedom to explore it.
Coach Washijō was one of those rare individuals.
For most, Washijō's cept of strength boiled down to "height and power." But it went beyond that.
Some pyers had talent but didn't fit a team's dynamic, relegating them to the bench.
Others, like Shirabu Kenjirō and Tendō Satori—pyers seen as either too average or too etric by ventional coaches—were precisely the ones Washijō knew how to use effectively.
As Ushijima once said, Shiratorizawa was fertile ground.
A team backed by ae coach, state-of-the-art facilities, and top-tier pyers from across the region—it was an enviro built frowth, where dreams turned into achievements.
Tendō knew ohing clearly: To be free, he had to be strong.
That's why he had chosen a powerhouse team where freedom wasn't a privilege but a responsibility.
Shiratorizawa's high level of petition allowed for liberty. But with freedom came a demand for results.
Here, Tendō had finally found a pce where he could unleash his full potential.
And for that, Tendō was grateful—to Shiratorizawa's system, to the overwhelming force that was Ushijima Wakatoshi, to the twisted genius of Coach Washijō, and to teammates who could have bee any other school.
He uood: Shiratorizated him because this was where he belonged.
Uy volleyball, though, would be different. His current freedom wouldn't st. The three years at Shiratorizawa were a fleeting miracle—
Which was why Tendō had already decided: his volleyball career would end in high school.
But before it did, he had one wish—to stand across the court from Ushijima Wakatoshi, the teammate who had defined his journey.
And he would defeat him.
_________
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