With all ten practice matches pleted, Team Irihata had only mao secure that one victory in the end.
Futakuchi Kenji, who had hoped to sound the horn of a terattack, was left bitterly disappointed. He dreaded returning to his school, where Kaneme Moniwa would undoubtedly make fun of him.
On the final day of the camp, all pyers returo their inal teams. Just like the first day, the teams faced off in pairs:
Shiratorizawa—7 wins, 1 loss—defeated once by Aoba Johsai.
Aoba Johsai—7 wins, 1 loss—defeated once by Shiratorizawa.
Date Tech—4 wins, 4 losses—losing every match against Shiratorizawa and Aoba Johsai but winning all others.
Johzenji—1 win, 7 losses—their only victory was against Kakugawa Academy.
Kakugawa Academy—1 win, 7 losses—their only victory was against Johzenji.
Although the outes of the matches didn't differ much from before, nearly everyohey had improved. When progress happens across the board, the gaps between teams don't close easily.
Among the teams, Kakugawa Academy dispyed the most noticeable ge, rgely due to Hyakuzawa Yūdai.
His handling of spikes and defensive judgments had improved so much that it was as if he were a different pyer.
Date Tech also stood out.
Koganegawa Kanji had fully ied into the team's famed "Iron Wall" defence. However, his setting skills showed little improvement, giving Coach Oiwake some headaches.
Johzenji's individual pyers showed fewer visible ges, but their teamwork had matured. pared to their previous chaotid uable style, they now exuded a newfound steadiness, taking a signifit step toward being a more disciplined and powerful team.
For Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa, even though their skills didn't seem markedly different, their presen the court was overwhelming. A palpable sense of invincibility radiated from both teams.
The kind of unspoken pressure usually associated with Shiratorizawa had now spread to Aoba Johsai as well.
Simply standing on the court, their pyers veyed a formidable aura.
"Is this what happens after pying at Nationals?" Coach Oiwake of Date Tech murmured in awe.
He held high hopes for his team's future, but deep down, he khe truth: with a little more than two months left before the Spring High qualifiers, it would be difficult for Date Tech to defeat either of these teams.
During the camp, the pyers had momentarily set aside their rivalries.
But wheood together on the final day, the pyers from Kakugawa Academy, Johzenji, and Date Tech felt the weight of the pressure from Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa.
"See you in the finals, Ushijima-," Oikawa Tōru teased with a grin.
"Mm." Ushijima Wakatoshi finally accepted the niame.
Oikawa waited for a eback that never came. Words were unnecessary—Ushijima preferred proving his points on the court.
"Kakugawa still has to gh the preliminary qualifiers, right?" Taichi suddenly asked Hyakuzawa Yūdai.
More precisely, he recalled that Kakugawa would face Karasuno in the preliminaries.
"Yes, about a month from now," Hyakuzawa answered holy.
As the prefectural Interhigh tour winner, Aoba Johsai had bypassed the initial rounds and would ehe representative pyoffs directly in October.
The first preliminary had many teams, but with eight spots avaible, avoiding a match against Date Tech would make advang for Kakugawa manageable.
"The preliminaries shouldn't be a problem for you guys. It's a shame we didn't get to py you at Interhigh," Iwaizumi Hajime said, addressing Aoakanobu and Futakuchi Kenji.
Even after their third-years had retired, Date Tech hadn't lost much strength. Most of their core pyers were sed-years, and their talented first-years had already bee dependable.
The six months between their entrand the Spring High qualifiers were more than enough to transform them into key assets.
Aone nodded silently.
"Yes, Iwaizumi-senpai," Futakuchi replied politely. "We'll do our best to defeat Seijoh in the finals."
"Haha," Iwaizumi ughed heartily.
Shortly after, the teams boarded their buses for the return journey.
Ihe bus, a heavy siletled. Exhaustion from a week of gruelling training and inteches finally found an outlet.
"Oikawa-senpai, have you noticed that even pyers with difficult personalities act well-behaved around Iwaizumi-senpai?" Taichi whispered from the seat behind Oikawa.
Oikaohis observation. "Our own mad dog, Date Tech's Futakuchi…yeah, they all do respect Iwa-."
"Think about how they treat you, though. pared to Iwaizumi-senpai, you barely qualify as a senior."
"Barely!?" Oikawa's reflexive indignation kicked in.
"You too! You have no respee!" Oikawa lu Taichi.
"Stop!" Taichi raised his hand to halt Oikawa's charge. "Don't you want to know why?"
"Spill it!"
"I think it's because Iwaizumi-senpai has been training difficult people for so long that he exudes an intimidating aura."
"You're still insulting me!" Oikawa dove fain. "Taichi, you're dead today! Even pudding 't save you!"
"You two! No fighting on the bus!"
Thump!
Thump!
After receiving two punches from Iwaizumi, both Oikawa and Taichi settled down.
The quiet that followed felt oddly lighthearted. When Oikawa and Iwaizumi exged a gnce, a shared moment of uanding passed between them.
Siionals, Kaedehara Taichi had carried an inexplicable heaviness in his demeanour.
Though he trained harder than ever, showing no signs of discement or defeat, there was a new ess about him that uled his teammates.
Throughout the camp, no oio, fearing it might affect his mood.
But on the fifth day, when Taichi sealed the final match with a precise service ace, the unshakable fidence seemed to return.
It was as if that decisive point had unlocked something within him.
Taichi was back—the same eic, mischievous spirit his teammates had known.
As the bus rolled onward, Oikawa leaned back, closing his eyes at st, a weight lifted from his heart.
"Taichi, we won't lose again."
_________
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