Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

"This is practically cheating! It's a foul!" Tendō Satori exclaimed dramatically. "Even Itachiyama can't do anything against Aoba Johsai's tactic!"

"Has Oikawa-senpai's serve gotten even stronger?" Shirabu Kenjirō asked, his tone slightly tense.

Inside Shiratorizawa Academy's student dormitory, Tendō, Shirabu, and Goshiki Tsutomu were watching the Spring High finals live on a tablet.

"Why is this happening…?" Goshiki was kneeling on the floor. "This is my room, you know!"

"Goshiki, you'll have to face Taichi head-on as the ace in the future~" Tendō said airily. "That's gonna be tough."

"But at least you won't have to deal with Oikawa-senpai anymore. That must be a relief, right?" Shirabu added.

"Shirabu-senpai, you haven't graduated yet either! Why are you talking like this has nothing to do with you?!" Goshiki shouted.

"Oh, that's true," Shirabu responded, nodding slowly as if just realizing it.

"And also, can you guys get off my bed already?!" Goshiki said in exasperation.

Tendō considered it for a moment before replying seriously, "But, Goshiki, lying on the bed is way more comfortable than kneeling on the floor~"

Shirabu nodded in agreement.

"That's not the point!!!" Goshiki slumped in defeat, completely giving up.

-----

At the centre court of Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Itachiyama hadn't expected the game to become so one-sided. Even with Komori Motoya and Sakusa Kiyoomi in their lineup, they still couldn't break Aoba Johsai's serve.

"Taichi, that was a beautiful spike!"

"Oikawa-senpai, that was a perfect set!"

"No, no, it's because of Taichi's high jumps and precise shots~"

"No, no, it's because of Senpai's powerful serves and quick sets~"

"You two, stop grinning at each other. It's disgusting," Iwaizumi Hajime finally snapped, unable to bear watching them anymore.

—"Hehehe~"

Oikawa Tōru stepped up to the service line, took a deep breath, and unleashed his fifth serve.

BOOM!!

"I've got it!"

Although the ball was heading toward Nishimura Hiroyuki, Komori Motoya still moved forward to receive it.

I have to get this up!

Smack!

Komori tumbled backwards, rolling twice before the ball shot high into the air.

"Iizuna-senpai!!!"

Please, we have to end this rotation here.

Iizuna Tsukasa steadied himself under the descending ball. High balls were easy to receive, but setting them accurately was much more difficult.

Whoosh—!

The moment Iizuna touched the ball, he lowered his centre of gravity, using his wrists and fingers to absorb the impact while quickly pushing the ball forward.

No violation!

The ball soared toward the right wing, where Sakusa Kiyoomi was already preparing his approach.

"Double block!"

From the very beginning, Aoba Johsai had made their defensive strategy against Sakusa clear. The number of blockers didn't matter!

They focused on restricting his angles—receiving the ball was more important than stopping it at the net!

Kaedehara Taichi and Iwaizumi quickly switched positions.

With Kaedehara and Kindaichi Yūtarō forming a wall in front of Sakusa, the four players in the back prepared to cover.

Boom!

As expected, Sakusa avoided the block and sent the ball toward Aoba Johsai's left-side midline.

Smack!

The ball struck Iwaizumi's arm and bounced out of bounds.

Sakusa Kiyoomi scored.

[Aoba Johsai 4 - 1 Itachiyama]

So that's how it is…? Iwaizumi mused.

At last, Itachiyama had broken Aoba Johsai's serve streak.

The serve rotated to Itachiyama's side.

In truth, Itachiyama had a lineup of strong servers. Their best were Sakusa Kiyoomi and Iizuna Tsukasa, followed closely by third-years Sakano Sawaji and Takeshita Yūshin. But after witnessing Oikawa's spectacular serving display, it was hard to imagine anything more thrilling.

Sakano launched a powerful jump serve.

Watari Shinji barely managed to receive it.

Oikawa moved to cover, setting the ball to the left wing. Kaedehara Taichi approached and leapt to spike.

"Triple block!"

Iizuna, Sakusa, and Mizushima Yū all jumped together.

The advantage still lies with Aoba Johsai!

Kaedehara Taichi tensed his right arm, the muscles beneath his jersey visibly taut.

BOOM!

The volleyball slammed into Sakusa Kiyoomi's arm, dropping straight down in front of him.

Tap, tap, tap...

The ball bounced naturally on Itachiyama's side of the court before settling motionless on the floor.

Off the block and down.

Kaedehara Taichi scored.

[Aoba Johsai 5 - 1 Itachiyama]

"Huh? Taichi rarely goes for this kind of play," Kuroo Tetsurō remarked with interest, leaning back in the spectator stands. "Isn't this something he only tries when he can't avoid the blockers?"

"Probably because he wasn't that familiar with it before," Kozume Kenma responded, mentally adding another skill to the ever-growing list of Kaedehara Taichi's abilities. "But now, it looks like he's gained confidence through using it in matches."

"That guy sure is bold," Kuroo chuckled. "Still, even if he suddenly picked up a new skill, it's not like a video game where he can pull it off perfectly every time."

"Hmph—"

"Huh?" Kuroo turned at the unexpected scoff beside him.

"In games, you can't just pull off a special move whenever you want," Kenma said in a rare burst of enthusiasm. "Timing is one thing, but sometimes, you can't even execute it properly no matter how hard you try!"

"...You're taking this way too seriously all of a sudden." Kuroo obediently lowered his head. "I apologize to all the gamers everywhere."

Kenma ignored him, his gaze locking onto Kaedehara Taichi on the court. Something felt off.

His brows furrowed slightly as he tried to analyze Taichi's movements. There was a deeper meaning behind his actions.

-----

"Sakusa-senpai, didn't you want to go up against Ushijima-senpai?" Kaedehara Taichi asked with an amused glint in his eyes.

"What are you implying?" Sakusa Kiyoomi frowned.

"I'll make sure you get to experience that feeling firsthand." Taichi's words carried an ambiguous weight.

Sakusa Kiyoomi seemed to grasp part of his meaning. Was he suggesting that he could rival Ushijima?

"Hah, arrogant fool."

"Is that so?" Taichi glanced at Sakusa's reddening arms. Guess that wasn't painful enough…

With Aoba Johsai reclaiming the serve, Iwaizumi Hajime stepped up to deliver a powerful jump serve.

Boom!

Smack!

Takeshita Hironobu received the ball.

"Cover!"

Iizuna Tsukasa quickly shifted into position. Aoba Johsai's serve had disrupted Itachiyama's transition offence, forcing their attack into a predictable pattern.

"Kiyoomi!"

The ball was set to the middle. Sakusa Kiyoomi soared up for the spike.

"Double block!"

Aoba Johsai's defensive strategy remained the same.

Boom!

This time, Sakusa Kiyoomi aimed down the line.

Smack!

The ball struck Watari Shinji's arm and flew out toward the left sideline.

A figure darted after it—Kunimi Akira!

However, after taking just two steps, he halted.

The ball landed out of bounds.

Sakusa Kiyoomi scored.

[Aoba Johsai 5 - 2 Itachiyama]

Kaedehara Taichi: "..."

"You had the right read, so why didn't you go for it?!"

Kunimi Akira: "It was obvious I wasn't going to reach it."

"But you thought you wouldn't, right?"

Kunimi Akira: "No, I knew I wouldn't."

Kaedehara Taichi: "..."

"Alright, alright, that ball was tough to chase down anyway," Oikawa Tōru cut in, smoothing things over. "The match has just begun, so let's focus on the next play!"

Kunimi remained silent, a vague irritation stirring inside him.

Beside him, Kindaichi Yūtarō watched the exchange, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.

"Fine, if you say so," Taichi suddenly said brightly. "But hey, you basically admitted you're not as fast as me. Heh."

Kunimi Akira: "…"

Taichi really isn't like Kageyama, but somehow, he's just as annoying.

"Next time you can reach it, make sure to set it to me!" Taichi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You better score, or there won't be a next time," Kunimi shot back with a small smirk.

Kindaichi let out a quiet breath of relief. The tension had lifted.

Aoba Johsai was nothing like their past selves at Kitagawa Daiichi. Back then, none of them had been completely in the wrong, yet all of them had been. That was why they had gone their separate ways in the end.

But now, Kindaichi only hoped that he, Kaedehara Taichi, and Kunimi Akira could help lead Aoba Johsai further than ever before.

-----

On the other side of the net, Sakusa Kiyoomi's expression darkened as he fixed his gaze on Kunimi.

So Aoba Johsai had simply accepted the ball going out?

But in reality, a deflected ball could only go in one of two directions—toward the sideline or the baseline.

Had they decided to forgo saving the ball just to adjust to his spike rotation?

"If you think it'll be that simple, then go ahead and try," Sakusa Kiyoomi muttered, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

_________

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