The Final Day of the Tournament.
The Sendai City Gymnasium was packed to the rafters.
Ever since the news of Karasuno defeating Shiratorizawa spread yesterday, the entire Miyagi volleyball scene had been thrown into an uproar. The media went so far as to declare today's final match the most intense and prestigious Spring High prelims game in the past ten years.
Akashi Asuka couldn't help but suspect that the media had some kind of deal with the tournament organizers, how else could today's crowd be this enormous?
"Yo! Little Tobio, Shrimp! Great work taking down that bastard Ushiwaka for us," Oikawa Tooru greeted them with a dazzling smile, though his words dripped with venomous glee.
Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio didn't catch the underlying meaning, but Daichi Sawamura, standing beside them, definitely did. He replied with a strained grin, "No need to thank us. As far as we're concerned, Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa are one and the same."
Oikawa chuckled, "Oh? Is that really how you feel?" (smiling)
Daichi nodded, "Absolutely fair and square." (smiling)
Despite the friendly expressions exchanged between the two captains, the rest of the Karasuno team couldn't help but feel a strange chill creeping down their spines.
"Brrr, why's it so cold all of a sudden?" Hinata hugged his small frame and shivered.
Ten minutes later.
The referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of warm-ups. The finals had officially begun.
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Aoba Johsai took the first serve. Karasuno would receive.
On the opening play, Aoba Johsai launched their offense through Kentarou Kyotani.
"Heh… They've faced us last semester, but at that time our little mad dog wasn't back in the club yet. Bet these guys aren't used to him at all," Oikawa thought to himself with amusement.
Just as he suspected, Karasuno had spent the previous night analyzing every Aoba Johsai player and developing counter-strategies, except for Kyotani. Back in the first semester, none of the Karasuno players had played against him.
Even in recent matches, Kyotani's court time had been limited. Trying to assess a player's full capabilities just from a few clips? Not exactly practical.
"Nice serve, Kyotani!"
"Give it your all!"
"Blast it past them!"
After a grueling summer training camp, the team's attitude toward Kyotani had softened. Sure, his temper was still awful, but everyone had grown more tolerant, because no matter how difficult his personality, there was no denying his skill.
WHAM!
A thunderous spike cracked through the air. Up front, Yutaro Kindaichi barely dodged the gust of wind that grazed his ears. A second later, the ball exploded against the block like a missile.
Kindaichi gawked.
"... HEY! Kyotani, are you trying to kill someone?!"
Kyotani blinked. "Ah, my bad. Slipped."
Even Karasuno looked stunned.
That was it?
0–1.
Aoba Johsai handed Karasuno the first point on a silver platter.
Karasuno's serve came next. Their first server: Daichi Sawamura.
In the original timeline, Daichi never learned jump serves, not even by the time they made it to Spring Nationals.
And now… still the same.
Not because he couldn't learn, but because as a defense-focused wing spiker, mastering a jump serve didn't benefit his role much. Improving his defensive capabilities offered more to the team.
A straightforward overhand serve crossed the net. It was both familiar and foreign to Watari Shinji in the back row. This time, he didn't hesitate. Determined to prevent Iwaizumi from stealing the reception again, he lunged with near-blinding speed to receive it cleanly.
"Asuka-chan, I'll leave it to you to take that point back."
Oikawa caught the ball and instantly set it high toward Akashi Asuka. It was a simple toss, far from the full extent of Oikawa's setting prowess.
Karasuno's front three, Kageyama, Hinata, and Tanaka, easily tracked the ball's trajectory and formed a triple block.
But the moment Akashi leapt, their confident expressions turned into disbelief.
"He's so high!"
"Are you kidding me? He's practically clearing Ushijima's height!"
On the other side of the net, Akashi soared like a hawk in full flight, his outstretched wings blotting out the ceiling lights. All Karasuno's triple block could see was a looming shadow descending upon them.
They pushed themselves to their limits, reaching as high as they could, but it didn't matter. Akashi cleared them effortlessly, and he wasn't even at his peak height yet.
BOOM!
An explosive crack echoed through the gym. The ball, delivered from such an overwhelming height, blasted over the block and plunged toward Karasuno's backcourt.
"I got it!"
Nishinoya lunged, arms wide, signaling everyone to stay back. This was his ball.
But before he could even finish his sentence, the ball was already upon him. He had no choice but to brace for impact.
The moment it touched his arms, Nishinoya's expression twisted.
Heavy!
So heavy!
Unbelievably heavy!
It didn't feel like a volleyball, it felt like a giant iron weight. He poured every ounce of strength into pushing it back up, but the ball crushed his arms down like a boulder.
Time seemed to freeze.
Then,
PAK!
The ball rebounded off Nishinoya's arms like a rocket, flying wildly into the stands on the second floor.
BEEP!
The whistle blew. Point for Aoba Johsai.
But Karasuno's side was dead silent.
Everyone stared at Nishinoya, who had fallen to the floor, his face transitioning from dazed to shocked to utterly stunned.
1–1.
Aoba Johsai evened the score.
From the sidelines, Coach Ukai watched Akashi descend from the air, cold sweat trickling down his cheek.
"That presence… Looks like our pre-match predictions weren't wrong after all."
"To face the combined might of Oikawa and a 'second Ushijima'... Just imagining it is terrifying enough."
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria