[Karasuno 21 vs 25 Shiratorizawa]

  [Karasuno 26 vs 28 Shiratorizawa]

  Shiratorizawa cluded the afternoon match with a dominant 2-0 victory.

  Kaedehara Taichi gazed at the scoreboard. While irely ued, he had assumed the match would at least stretch to three sets.

  Karasuno now was far stronger and more tenacious than they had been in the inal timeline. Yet Shiratorizawa had also made signifit strides—and most crucially, they hadn't uimated their oppos this time.

  In the inal story, Tsukishima Kei needed almost a hundred rallies to block just one of Ushijima Wakatoshi's spikes.

  Through relentless pressure from himself and Hinata Shōyō on Shirabu Kenjirō, bined with the team's sustained effort to wear down Ushijima, they had forced Shirabu into a slightly fwed set, leading to Ushijima's awkward attempt to spike close to the .

  That had resulted in That One Block—a moment that shook the arena.

  But this time, that iic se never materialized. her Shirabu nor Ushijima gave Tsukishima the opportunity to shift the momentum.

  Sighing, Taichi thought about how merciless Miyagi's "group of death" truly was. At least three teams here were of national calibre.

  By year, that number would likely rise to four.

  But only oeam could cim the ticket to nationals, leaving everyone else with nothing but regrets.

  "Let's go. Tomorrow, we face Shiratorizawa again." Iwaizumi Hajime rose from his seat, guiding Aoba Johsai's pyers out of the stands.

  Oikawa Tōru remained, silently watg the court. Unnoticed by himself, his emotions had undergone a subtle transformation.

  In the past, seeiher of these teams lose would have brought him satisfa.

  Now, he felt only a sense of loss.

  Whether it was Tobio or Ushijima, he couldn't help but wish for one more ce to face them himself in his final tour as a high school pyer.

  The greatest regret of high school volleyball wasn't losing a match but knowing you could never again share the court with your teammates.

  Karasuno's pyers exited the court with heavy hearts, their expressions a mixture of bewilderment and frustration.

  "Asahi-san, you're not bming yourself for not sg on that st ball, are you?" Nishinoya Yū asked. Of everyone, he was most ed about the third-years, knowing they had no sed ce.

  "Well...maybe a little," Asahi admitted, recalling that final moment. "But holy, I felt great during that rally. Better than I've ever felt before. I gave it my all."

  "Exactly! I thought that spike was incredible. Even Ushijima almost didn't block it. It's just a shame their libero reacted so quickly," Nishinoya said with a grin.

  "Shiratorizawa really is amazing..." Asahi sighed. "But if I have ret, it's that I didn't embrace the responsibility of being an ace sooner. pared to those who've been obsessed with volleyball from the start, I wasted so much time...My training, my itment to winning—it all came too te."

  Asahi tried to force a smile, but tears fell before he could.

  "Asahi!" Sugawara Kōshi and Sawamura Daichi cpped him on the back, walking alongside him at the front of the team.

  Nishinoya remaiill, fists ched. He never wao feel this helpless again.

  "Tsukki..." Yamaguchi Tadashi walked beside Tsukishima Kei, searg for the right words.

  "I couldn't block a single ball," Tsukishima muttered, his voice heavy. "I knew I wasn't good enough beforehand, but I still wao block at least one of Ushijima's spikes."

  "Tsukki, you already did so well earlier!" Yamaguchi interrupted hurriedly. "That bloade helped us even the score—"

  "But it wasn't enough." Tsukishima cut him off, raising his head with determination. "I just want to get back to practice right now."

  He turo Yamaguchi. "And you o serve directly for points ime."

  "Got it!" Yamaguchi responded firmly.

  A few paces behind the others, Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shōyō walked in silence.

  "Why are you staring at me?" Kageyama finally snapped. "My decision during that rally wasn't wrong!"

  "I know," Hinata replied, his voice lifeless.

  "You were the perfect decoy. Asahi-senpai's spike was incredible. Even you wouldn't have been able to do better in that moment!" Kageyama shouted, his tone filled with frustratio somehow expnatory.

  "I know." Hinata's response remaihe same.

  Kageyama grabbed his shirt colr, smming him against the gym's outer wall.

  "Then why are you staring at me like that? What do you want to say? If you have a problem, spit it out!"

  Hearing the otion, Asahi rushed over, but Daichi held him back.

  "Let them ha themselves, Asahi. The team will be theirs soon. They o sort this out."

  Asahi nodded relutly, though worry lingered in his eyes.

  "I know Asahi-senpai was the best choice at that moment," Hinata said hoarsely, his voice trembling. "I know even if I'd spiked that ball, it might not have scored..."

  "But I still wanted you to set it to me!" Hinata's eyes lit up with fiery determination.

  "I don't want to be just a decoy anymore."

  "ime, I'll make sure you set to me."

  -----

  On the Aoba Johsai team bus, Chiba Kano handed Kaedehara Taichi a ly piled set of data.

  "The stats you wanted."

  "Thanks," Taichi replied, ign Yahaba Shigeru's death gre as he accepted the papers.

  Ushijima Wakatoshi had scored 10 points in the first set and 14 in the sed.

  For most teams, these were outstanding aumbers.

  But for Shiratorizawa, the data was unusual.

  Despite fag Karasuno—a team with Nishinoya Yū anch their defence—Ushijima's spike success rate still exceeded 80%.

  A...Shiratorizawa had ged.

  It wasn't just about Ushijima participating in receives or blocks.

  Other pyers had stepped up. Goshiki Tsutomu, in particur, had shown glimpses of carrying the team when hat's why, in the sed set, he had been pced in Ushijima's rotation to share the offensive load.

  Tendō Satori's antics aside, Kawanishi Taichi had also matured, revealing the potential of his versatile blog.

  Additionally, Shirabu Kenjirō and Semi Eita were beginning to execute dual-setter pys. Semi wasn't just a clutch server anymore.

  And ōhira Reon, supp libero Yamagata Hayato, had signifitly bolstered the team's defence.

  Since losing their dominance over Miyagi, Shiratorizawa has evolved siderably.

  Chiba watched as Taichi alternated between frowning and smiling while studying the data.

  Suddenly, Taichi stood up.

  "Everyone, I have something to say about tomorrow's match..."

  _________

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