Start of Set 3.
Score: 0 - 0.
The interval ended. The whistle blew for the final set.
Ryuu walked onto the court. The adrenaline from the second set had faded, replaced by a cold, heavy focus. His arms throbbed. His legs felt tight.
He looked at Ushijima Wakatoshi across the net. The Shiratorizawa Ace looked exactly the same as he did in minute one: stoic, terrifying, and ready to destroy.
Kuroo Tetsurou walked up beside Ryuu. He adjusted his jersey, his usual provocative smirk replaced by a sharp gaze.
"Listen, Ace," Kuroo said, his voice low. "You're strong. You're a monster. But in this set, you can't just be a sledgehammer."
Ryuu looked down at his captain. "I thought my job was to break things."
"It is," Kuroo agreed. "But if you try to stop a freight train by standing on the tracks, you get flattened. We need to derail it."
Kuroo held up his hands, fingers spread wide.
"We don't need to kill Ushijima every time. We just need to make him hit where Yaku wants him to hit."
Kuroo's eyes narrowed.
"You be the Wall. I'll be the Architect."
Score: 0 - 0.
Shiratorizawa served. Shirabu hit a floater.
Kai received. "Kenma!"
Kenma set to the middle. Kuroo ran a quick A-pass.
Tendou Satori was there. The Guess Monster jumped.
'He's going fast!'
Tendou got a hand on it. "One touch!"
Yamagata dug it. "Counter!"
Shirabu set high to the right. Ushijima.
Ryuu and Kuroo moved to block.
Ushijima approached. He jumped.
Ryuu's instinct screamed at him to shove his hands over the net, to crush the ball before it crossed the plane. He tensed his shoulders, ready to engage in a power struggle.
"Don't press!" Kuroo ordered mid-air.
Ryuu hesitated. He kept his hands vertical, creating a flat wall rather than an aggressive roof.
Ushijima swung.
BOOM.
The ball hit Ryuu's hands. Because Ryuu didn't press forward, the ball didn't get smothered. It slammed into his palms and powered through.
The force knocked Ryuu's arms back. The ball landed on the Nekoma court, just behind the block.
Shiratorizawa 1 - 0.
Ryuu landed, glaring at his hands.
"He blew through," Ryuu growled. "If I had pressed, I could have stopped it."
"If you had pressed and missed the timing," Kuroo corrected calmly, "it would have flown out or hit your face. He's fresh. He's leaping high. We can't gamble on 50/50 kill blocks right now."
_____________
Score: 1 - 0 Shiratorizawa.
Shiratorizawa served again. Yaku received perfectly.
"Kenma! Left!"
Kenma set to Yamamoto.
Yamamoto smashed it off Reon's block.
Nekoma 1 - 1.
Side out. Nekoma rotated. Kuroo was in the middle front. Ryuu was front-left.
Kuroo looked through the net at Goshiki Tsutomu, the first-year ace of Shiratorizawa. Goshiki was bouncing on his toes, eager.
'He wants the ball,' Kuroo analyzed.
Nekoma served. Shiratorizawa received.
"Shirabu!" Goshiki called. "Bring it here!"
Shirabu set to the left.
Goshiki approached. He saw Kuroo blocking him solo (since Ryuu was watching the pipe attack).
'He's tall,' Goshiki thought. 'But I can hit the Super Straight! I've done it before!'
Goshiki jumped. He cocked his arm, eyes locked on the antenna.
Kuroo saw the eyes.
'He's so honest,' Kuroo thought, almost pitying him.
Kuroo didn't jump immediately. He waited until Goshiki's hand started to come forward.
READ BLOCK.
Kuroo jumped late. He shifted his hands slightly to the right, sealing the straight path completely.
DOOM.
The ball hit Kuroo's palms flat. It didn't deflect. It fell straight down onto Goshiki's head.
Nekoma 2 - 1.
Goshiki landed, stunned. The ball bounced off his forehead.
"Nice course," Kuroo said through the net, his voice terrifyingly polite. "But you stared at the line for a full second. Don't be so polite with your eyes, kid."
Goshiki flushed red. "I'm not a kid! I'm the Ace!"
_______________
Score: 3 - 3.
The game was tight. Ushijima was scoring, but Nekoma was making him work for it.
Shiratorizawa attacked. Shirabu set to Ushijima on the right.
Ryuu and Kuroo formed the double block.
"Seal the cross!" Kuroo shouted.
Ryuu jumped. He wanted to block the straight, because that was where Ushijima hit hardest. But he followed orders. He shifted his hands inward, closing off the cross-court angle.
Ushijima saw the wall. The cross was dead.
He had one option: The Straight.
Ushijima swung. He blasted the ball down the line.
It flew past Ryuu's outside arm. It looked like a clean kill.
But Yaku Morisuke was standing there.
The Libero didn't dive. He didn't scramble. He was standing still, planted on the line as if he knew the future.
THUD.
The heavy ball hit Yaku's platform. He absorbed the impact with his knees.
"Center!" Yaku shouted calmly.
The ball arc was perfect.
"Counter!"
Kenma set to Ryuu.
Ryuu was frustrated from not blocking, so he took it out on the ball. He smashed a cross shot that nearly took Reon's head off.
Nekoma 4 - 3.
Ryuu landed. He looked at Kuroo, then at Yaku.
"You forced him," Ryuu realized. "You made him hit it to Yaku."
"It's called funneling," Kuroo grinned, wiping sweat from his eye. "We give him a 'safe' path, and then we put a landmine at the end of it. Yaku is the landmine."
_____________
Score: 6 - 6.
It was a war of attrition. Ushijima was getting the ball every single time.
"Ushijima-san!"
He jumped again.
Ryuu jumped. He was getting tired of watching Ushijima score.
'I want to stop him. I want to feel the impact.'
Ryuu stiffened his arms. He shoved his hands forward, trying to kill the ball.
Ushijima saw the aggression. He saw Ryuu's hands invading his space.
He aimed for Ryuu's fingertips.
WIPE.
The ball hit the very top of Ryuu's middle finger and flew high and far into the stands.
Shiratorizawa 7 - 6.
Ryuu cursed. "Son of a—!"
"Yeah, because you're making it obvious," Kuroo said, his tone biting. "You're pressing so hard you might as well be waving a target."
"I'm asserting dominance!" Ryuu snapped. "I'm not gonna shy away!"
"Great, well, your 'dominance' just gave them a point," Kuroo countered. "Quit trying to be the hero who kills the ball. Just touch it. Soften up your wrists or get off the court."
Ryuu grit his teeth, glaring at the net. "Fine. Fine. I'll soften up."
________________
Score: 8 - 8.
Shirabu set to Ushijima again.
Ryuu jumped. He took a deep breath.
'Soft. Soft hands. Angle back.'
He didn't press. He kept his hands high and tilted slightly backward, like a rebound board.
Ushijima smashed it.
BLAM.
The ball hit Ryuu's hands. It pushed them back violently. Ryuu's shoulders screamed.
But because his hands gave way, the ball didn't ricochet into the stands. It lost its momentum and looped high into the air behind the block.
"One touch!" Ryuu shouted, falling back.
Kai was there. He stepped under the slow ball.
"Chance ball!"
Kenma set to the middle. Kuroo ran a slide attack.
Tendou was late because he was watching Ryuu.
BOOM.
Kuroo killed it.
Nekoma 9 - 8.
Ryuu landed. He rubbed his aching shoulders.
Ryuu landed, rolling his shoulders to work out the sting. "It worked," Ryuu muttered. "But it feels weak. I prefer the crushing sound."
"We got the point," Kuroo slapped Ryuu's back hard. "That's the only sound that matters. Keep it up, Softie."
Ryuu glared at him. "Call me that again and I'll block you in practice."
On the other side, Ushijima stared at the net. He was breathing heavier now.
"They are touching everything," Ushijima said to Shirabu. "The big one... he stopped trying to overpower me. He's killing the momentum"
"It's annoying," Shirabu scowled. "They're like cockroaches. They won't die."
Ushijima narrowed his eyes.
Ushijima narrowed his eyes "Then I'll just have to hit it through him."