Tobio Kageyama had stood at the pinnacle of volleyball skills since his first year of high school.
Although Karasuno's humble gym offered little room for teical growth, it provided the essential foundation for him to develop as a setter: the ability to ect with others.
[Tobio Kageyama—Setter. Overall ability: 92.8: Height: 182 cm, Strength: 90, Jump: 90, Stamina: 98, Speed: 90. Attributes: Serve: 95, Set: 97.]
Even when not in peak form, Kageyama delivered sistently outstanding and posed performances.
Standing at the service line, Kageyama focused ily, fully attuo his body.
Boom!
Kageyama's jump serve was unmistakably remi of Tōru Oikawa's—a powerful blend of ford precision. The ball rocketed toward Shiratorizawa's back row.
Pop!
Hayato Yamagata reacted swiftly, successfully receiving the serve. After all, Shiratorizawa was more familiar with Oikawa than anyone else.
Iands, Oikawa clicked his tongue, feeling an inexplicable irritatioe Kageyama being the one whose serve was returned.
"Cover!" Reon ōhira called out, setting the ball high for Wakatoshi Ushijima.
Ushijima jumped from the front row. Fag him were Karasuno's three blockers: Daichi Sawamura, Ryūnosuke Tanaka, and Shōyō Hinata.
Despite their formidable determination, Karasuno's front row at that moment was the shortest possible bination.
ōhira's set wasn't ideal, but Ushijima attacked without hesitation, aiming for the block. The ball struck Hinata's hands and rebouoward Karasuno's backcourt.
Two figures unched into a.
Hinata, rec quickly, sprio cover the opposite side of the court, taking full advantage of its width. Meanwhile, Yū Nishinoya dashed out of bounds, exeg a perfect save.
Kageyama jumped in pce, seamlessly coordinating the py. Despite being in the back row, his skill was undeniable—he could set the ball precisely to any attacker.
Hinata leapt from the far-left wing, drawing Satori Tendō's full attention. Tendō scrambled to close the gap, but he could do nothing more.
Wham!
The ball didn't go to Hinata.
Instead, Asahi Azumane from the baashed through Shiratorizawa's defending the ball decisively on their side of the court.
[Karasuno 2 – 0 Shiratorizawa]
"It was a decoy? How could someoh such a strong presence be a decoy?!" Tendō excimed in frustration.
Kageyama's lips curled into a wicked grin. Moments like these were what made a setter's role so exhirating.
Hinata, muttering "Kageyama, you idiot," under his breath, froze when he felt a murderous gre.
Clutg the back of his head, Hinata yelled, "Killer serve! Go for it, Kageyama!"
Kageyama frowned, his tration uerred as he unched another serve.
Boom!
The ball's trajectory targeted the gap between Goshiki Tsutomu and Kenjirō Shirabu. A moment's hesitatioween them allowed the ball to nd.
The line judge's fg shot up.
"In!"
Though most of the ball had nded outside the line, a sliver had grazed it.
Kageyama's serve scored directly.
[Karasuno 3 – 0 Shiratorizawa]
"hat luck!" Karasuno's pyers sighed in relief.
"Well served!" Hinata shouted back to Kageyama.
"Idiot! Moron! Imbecile!" Kageyama retorted loudly.
Hinata: "???"
Kageyama steadied his breath, ign his e-haired teammate, and served again.
Boom!
Goshiki received the ball. Shirabu set it quickly to Tendō, exeg a one-man quick attack to halt Karasuno's momentum.
[Karasuno 3 – 1 Shiratorizawa]
-----
The sed set showed a clear shift in favour of Karasuno. The synergy between Hinata and Kageyama rivaled Ushijima's devastating attacks.
The score reached: [Karasuno 10 – 8 Shiratorizawa]
Karasuno's serve. Kei Tsukishima aimed for Ushijima, f ōhira to cover the receive.
When Ushijima moved to approach from the right wing, Shirabu surprised everyone by setting the ball to the left.
Goshiki, grinniedly, soared into the air, finding his shot.
"Double block!" Hinata and Sawamura reacted in tandem, with Hinata shifting slightly to seal Goshiki's straight shot.
Bang!
Goshiki exploited the gap between their hands, threading the ball through the block. The volleyball nded ly on the baseline.
A sharp cross-shot!
[Karasuno 10 – 9 Shiratorizawa]
"Fog solely on the line won't work. I pn to surpass Ushijima-senpai in teique!" Goshiki decred, brushing his bangs aside as he addressed a stunned Hinata. "Your block is pathetic—I could tell at a gnce!"
"Damn it…" Hinata gritted his teeth, thinking he'd made a clever block.
"Idiot! Keep your hands steady while blog! The back row 't track the ball properly if you fil around!"
The scolding was expected, and Hinata braced himself.
"Stupid Kageyama…no shred of humanity," Hinata muttered.
The serve rotated to Shiratorizawa. Goshiki stepped up.
As a first-year, Goshiki was already a formidable server, capable of powerful jump serves.
Though he hadn't scored directly in the first set, his serves sistently disrupted Karasuno's rhythm.
Goshiki tossed the ball, took two steps, a high, his body stretg to its limits.
Watg Ushijima's form had clearly inspired adjustments in his teique.
His arm coiled back like a spring, then snapped forward. Karasuno dropped their stances, preparing for the ining serve.
Thud!
A short, crisp sound followed. At the st moment, Goshiki decelerated his swing, sending the ball gently over the into the gap between Karasuno's front and back rows.
"Damn it!"
Caught off guard, Kageyama dove forward, saving the ball with a sprawling dive.
"Nice save!"
Ft on the floor, Kageyama couldn't orchestrate the py. Hinata slowed his pace, seamlessly iing into Karasuno's offence.
From the back row, Nishinoya leapt ahe ball. The target: Hinata again.
Tendō reacted instantly, springing up to block.
Without his usual speed or height, what could Hinata possibly do against the block? Tendō locked his gaze on the diminutive spiker.
In the instant, Hinata gave his answer.
Smack!
The ball ricocheted off Tendō's hands and flew out of bounds.
[Karasuno 11 – 9 Shiratorizawa]
Landing on the floor, Hinata stared at his right hand.
Finally, he had achieved it—the ability to fight in midair, alone.
Shiratorizayers grew sombre. In Hinata, they caught a glimpse of another remarkable first-year.
They now had even more reason not to lose.
Karasuno's arsenal expanded. With Azumane's serves and Hinata's rapid growth, their morale surged. Shiratorizawa struggled tain trol of the game.
Coach Tanji Washijō roared in frustration, but for every point Shiratorizawa mao score, Karasuno found a way to snatch it back.
The mattered a stalemate, one Karasuno weled. Like in the first set, they maintaiheir initial lead, ing closer to the set point.
-----
[Karasuno 24 – 22 Shiratorizawa]
As Shiratorizawa switched to defehey opted for an all-out attack.
The referee's whistle blew. Shiratorizawa requested a substitutioa Semi IN, ōhira Reon OUT.
Pced in the high-pressure role of a decisive server, Semi's posure betrayed no signs of nerves. In fact, his expression was one of calm fidence, perhaps even enjoyment.
Born with an innate resiliend a huo perform uhe spotlight, Semi might not have found his ideal fit at Shiratorizawa, but he had s about his three years here.
At this crucial moment, his only thought was to lead Shiratorizawa to a eback.
He tossed the ball into the air, took a deep breath, and with a grin, licked his lips.
His body executed the motions he had practised tless times, sending the ball hurtling toward the opposing court.
At that moment, it felt as if the entire gymnasium held its breath, everyone waiting for the oute of this serve.
Smack!
Yū Nishinoya mao receive the ball, but at this critical moment, the ball floated backwards slightly.
The volleyball, which had been barely touched by Nishinoya's fiips, nded just outside of Karasuno's baseline.
Semi Eita scores with his serve!
[Karasuno 24 – 23 Shiratorizawa]
"Beautiful serve, Semi-senpai!" Goshiki Tsutomu shouted enthusiastically.
Semi Eita, however, remained posed as he stepped back to the service line. Shiratorizawa was still one point away from averting the crisis.
"Sorry!" Yū Nishinoya called out.
In terms of jump float serve teiques, Semi Eita was, without a doubt, the best on the court at that moment.
"Bring it on!" Nishinoya readied himself. He couldn't let Karasuno's victory slip away because of him!
Boom!
Semi's sed serve unched into py, the volleyball wobbling in the air as it clipped the top of the .
"Damn it!"
Nishinoya stared helplessly as the ball dropped slowly in front of the , just out of his reach.
Smack!
Tobio Kageyama lunged forward, catg the ball with one hand and shouting to the back row, "Nishinoya-senpai!"
Nishinoya surged fain, jumping from the back row aing the ball to the left wing—his most familiar position.
"I got it!"
Asahi Azumane roared, running along the sidelio approad leap into his attack. This ball carried the weight of victory!
Boom!
Smack!
Kawanishi Taichi and Goshiki Tsutomu formed a double block, halting the ball.
"Oouch!" Kawanishi called out.
Semi Eita jumped from the back row, exeg a fwless set.
"Shirabu!"
"Yes!" Shirabu Kenjirō leapt in the front row, preparing to spike.
Tsukishima Kei reacted swiftly, blog him one-on-one.
"Goshiki! Get in position!" Semi shouted.
"On it!" Goshiki sprio the front row and jumped.
At that moment, Shirabu switched from spiking to setting, delivering the ball perfectly to Goshiki's hands.
Boom!
Without hesitation, Goshiki smashed a straight shot, hitting Ryūnosuke Tanaka's hands in the back row. The ball ricocheted out of bounds.
[Karasuno 24 – 24 Shiratorizawa]
"Woahhhhh!"
"They've tied it!!!" Shiratorizawa's cheeriioed.
"Tendo, another one!" Ushijima Wakatoshi gnced over. "Finish it now."
"Got it!"
Semi's serve rotation wasn't over yet.
At this crucial moment ich, Shiratorizawa revealed they had a decisive server in their setter!
Karasuno was caught off guard. From the serves, the sets, to his ands, Tobio Kageyama realized that Semi Eita was no less capable than Shirabu Kenjirō as a setter.
Semi served again, the ball darting sharply over the and dropping fast. Nishinoya dove forward to save it.
Karasuno's offensive core had to move!
Kageyama stepped into positioing the ball to the left wing where Asahi Azumane awaited—he hadn't scored on his st attempt.
-----
"Tobio- always seems so ruthless in moments like these. This set isn't trust—it's a challenge," Oikawa Tōru murmured with a small smile.
"But to break through long-standing barriers, a gentle push isn't enough," Kaedehara Taichi replied, turning his head.
Oikawa and Taichi exged gnces, recalling the practice match that had forever ged them.
Their owamorphoses had been forced by that little monster…
-----
As the team's aatter the situation, every ball must lead to a poihrough the oppo's bloe dramatic strike…Enough to shift the emosphere.
Asahi Azumane's mind was flooded with thoughts until his braiied.
He ran instinctively, jumped, and locked his eyes o destined for him.
In mid-air, swinging his arm, Asahi's mind honed in on a sihought—score!
The weight of being the ace?His teammates' trust?There was o dwell on any of it—just score this point.
—Boom!!!
"Triple block!" Shiratorizawa's front-row pyers leapt with all they had, knowing how crucial this point was.
—Smack!
The ball ripped through Shirabu Kenjirō's block, smming into Shiratorizawa's court with undiminished force.
[Karasuno 25 – 24 Shiratorizawa]
Karasuno's ace turhe tables once again!
Karasuno recimed the set point!
"Asahi-senpai!! You're amazing!!!" Karasuno's support trio shouted in unison.
"Tweet!—"
Shiratorizawa requested substitution—ōhira Reon IN; Semi Eita OUT.
The match wasn't over yet—Karasuno was still one point away from winning. Kageyama Tobio walked to the service line.
At this critical juncture, he felt a rare hint of nervousness, though he preferred to call it excitement.
He exhaled deeply and tossed the ball skyward.
Boom!
A serve that bined speed and power streaked toward Shiratorizawa's backcourt.
Smack!
Ushijima received the ball ly, exeg a perfect pass to Shirabu. Ushijima's movements were seamless as he rushed forward.
"Give me the ball," Ushijima said calmly.
Karasuno's front row—Sawamura Daichi, Asahi Azumane, and Tsukishima Kei—formed their stro blog formation. There wasn't a shred of fear in their eyes as they stared down Ushijima.
—Bang!
The ball flew straight through the middle, nding on Karasuno's side.
Shirabu Kenjirō had ignored Ushijima's request, opting for a setter dump instead!
[Karasuno 25 - 25 Shiratorizawa]
"I've thought it through. My duty isn't just to set for Ushijima-senpai." Shirabu Kenjirō's calm voice broke the tension.
The two teams were once agai the same starting line.
With a single py, Shiratorizawa broke Kageyama Tobio's serving streak, and more importantly, Ushijima Wakatoshi returo the front row.
The serve switched hands. Goshiki Tsutomu stepped back to unleash another powerful jump serve. Nishinoya Yū read the ball perfectly and received it ly.
Kageyama worked with Tsukishima Kei to execute a deyed attack, but Tendō Satori saw through the py with ease.
Pop!
"Oouch!" Tendō called out loudly, his voice sharp and full of energy.
On the bench, Hinata Shōyō could only sit in frustrated silence. Unless Karasuno scored another point, he wouldn't be able to rotate bato the front row.
At that moment, he felt a deep sense ret about his receiving skills. If only his defence were stronger, he could have stayed on the court loo make a difference…
ōhira Reon delivered a perfect pass to the setter.
"Ushijima-senpai!" Shirabu now called fidently for the ace he trusted the most.
Ushijima approached for his spike, his form as fwless as it had been at the start of the match. The earlier py hadn't shaken him in the slightest.
"Three-man block!" Karasuno's front rot into a, determio stop the spike they had failed to tain earlier.
—Boom!—
The volleyball smashed against Tsukishima's arms and ricocheted far into Karasuno's backcourt.
Nishinoya sprinted after the ball, but it was out of reach. All he could do was watch as it hit the wall of the gym.
[Karasuno 25 - 26 Shiratorizawa]
Shiratorizawa recimed the lead!
The absolute ace—Ushijima Wakatoshi!
With this, Shiratorizawa reached set point!
"Damn it!" Nishinoya growled, his voice filled with frustration.
The sed set's lead had pletely evaporated, and Karasuno was now backed into a er.
"Don't dwell on it. ball!" Sawamura Daichi called out, his voice both a reassurance for his teammates and a reminder for himself to stay posed.
Goshiki stepped up for his sed serve.
Nishinoya delivered a perfect first touch. Kageyama set the ball high to the left wing—when Hinata wasn't on the court, the team had to rely on their ace!
Azumane Asahi pulled back, creating space as he prepared for his approach. Each step carried the weight of his resolve.
One point for himself. One point for Ushijima Wakatoshi.
What must a true ace aplish? That question hung in the air as he approached the .
Asahi jumped, his body stretg to its limit. For the first time, it felt like he was looking down upoire court.
"Double block!" Tendō and Ushijima leapt to intercept him, their timing perfect.
Sensing the challenge from the rival ace, Ushijima aimed to shut this ball down pletely.
For a fleeting moment in the air, it was a csh between aces.
—Tap!—
Instead of p through, Asahi opted for a feint, delicately tipping the ball over Shiratorizawa's front line and into the space behind them.
"It's not over yet!" Shirabu dove forward, his arms outstretched as he dug the ball with all his strength.
The ball sailed back over the , floating above Karasuno's court. Suddenly, a pair e hands appeared and smmed the ball downward.
"This point ends here…"
Thud, thud, thud…
Tsukishima Kei blocked the returning ball, sending it straight into Shiratorizawa's side of the court.
[Karasuno 26 - 26 Shiratorizawa]
"I thought for sure that was going to be a full-powered spike!"
"And that guy in gsses—his rea was so quick! How is he so calm in such a teuation?"
Asahi's surprise tip and Tsukishima's posed follow-up saved Karasuno from the edge of defeat.
This match wasn't over—not yet!
_________
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