24 The Legionnaires 3
Hondo Takeru, head coach of the Itachiyama, wanted to make sure that his team will get the clincher for this set. He's always known that the team from Nara is a force to be reckoned with. But the drastic development they had in the last 8 months has been astounding.
Their captain, as well as their libero, now had a more solid floor defense. The sibling setter-spiker duo remained forbidding together, and their net game has never been this good, what with the presence of their impregnable left-handed blocker, and the addition of the tall rookie with incredible reflexes.
"Alright, tell me if you know what went wrong." He placed his hands on his sides as he scrutinized his members, eyeing them one by one.
"It's me. I can't set properly." Mitsuki Shinya blurted out. The coach smiled at his reply, fully knowing that Shinya must've realized the same even earlier in the game.
"It's good that you are aware of that, Shinya. Listen team, I'm stating the obvious here, Shiroshikata is targeting our setter during their serves. Their goal is to disrupt the momentum of our attacks, which we displayed in the earlier part of the set. They are hyperaware of Shinya's movements when he makes a set, so they aim the ball towards him in order to prevent him from getting in the right place to execute a good play."
"In other words, we should just take the serves aimed at him, right?" Boichi suggested.
"Correct. Shinya will not participate in serve receives. Komori, that's on you mostly. Instead, you make sure he gets the next touch cleanly. Leave the rest to him, you could trust him whenever he plans to toss to whoever."
"You've got huge shoes to fill, buddy." Komori commented towards their setter.
"What you have to do is just what Koenma said – take the serves that are aimed at him. Similar to what you did earlier Suki." The freshman flinched upon hearing his name from the coach. "Now, go!"
"Itachiyama, fight!" Kurome said.
"FIGHT!" The rest shouted in unison.
As expected, the serve by Kakuzo went to Shinya, but Suki stepped in to take it, he went down but the ball was sent properly this time to their setter. There's no other thing inside Shinya's mind but the thought that 'if we score this one, we'll be at set point.' From his peripheral vision, he could see that Garuma and Boichi were poised for an attack in the front.
'But the troublesome Hiro-and-friends is marking them', he thought. Next, he eliminated Suki from the people whom he'll toss this one to. 'He's in no position to spike after being downed by that serve.'
Boichi jumped from the right. 'Perfect', Shinya thought, 'I'll gladly use you.'
Hiro and Kouen jumped for the deflection, but the setter postponed the timing of his toss. He released when the spiker and the blockers' forms were crumbling, and sent the ball to Jao, who was at Boichi's back.
*woosh!*
Jao looked at his palm like he can't believe the ball actually came. Then he shouted "YEAAAHHH!"
"WOOOOHH! THAT's JAO YOU DO IT!" The Itachiyama supporters went into a frenzy once again. 24 – 22, Itachiyama.
"Nayz kill." The deep voice of Toyambi, who clapped Jao on the shoulder, interrupted his moment of utter disbelief and glee. The guy seldom speaks, probably because of the language barrier, and though he insists he knows and understands Nipponggo, his accent still sounds a tad bit on the heavy side of things. Jao smiled nervously at the MB, who also went to Shinya and said, "Nayz toss." At least, he really tries to communicate.
'The language of volleyball is just the ball. Action speaks volumes.' Their Coach Hondo said this when the freshmen met the older team members in the beginning of the term. He was referring to their particular foreign member.
Shinya now moved forward and Boichi got the ball across the net. It was received by Kakuzo and Kouen got it next for Maki's back attack. The spike was raised on the other end by Jao, who sent the ball to Shinya.
"Toyambi!" He said after setting for Toyambi in the back. The guy hit it but the spike was touched by Hiro.
"One touch!"
"Yah, sorry!" Toshiro said after the ball went near the net. Luckily, Kouen was there for the dink. Shinya and Jao dived after the ball which was pushed lightly in a nasty unguarded area, but failed to bounce it back. Itachiyama did not expect this sudden turn of events.
Kouen smirked in satisfaction after seeing their bodies on the floor. 24 – 23, Itachiyama.
He served for Shiroshikata next time, and Suki stepped in front of Shinya to take on that monstrous ball which sent him on his knees.
"Nice receive, Suki!" Shinya went after the ball and motioned for a toss. Three attackers moved at once, but Shinya betrayed them all as he shifted from a throwing stance, and did a setter dump, right in Kouen's face.
He began the set with a dump, and ended it the same way. Itachiyama leads the set count at 1 – 0.
--
In Machida City, Tokyo, where Sakusa Kiyoomi lives, he was wrapped around the comfort of his blanket with his mask still on despite being inside his own damn room. He was busy browsing the net for his college program choices. Yes, even as early as now, Sakusa already made up his mind that he will not join the pros yet after he graduates from high school. A career in sports is not permanent, so he wants to establish an insurance for himself first prior to entering that chamber exclusive only for volleyball freaks. After all, life gives you 'meteorites' every now and then. Suddenly, he got a 'ping' from someone as his phone flashed a notification.
"Check LINE." The message said. It was from his rival-turned-friend, Ushiwaka. The text left Sakusa puzzled. Curious as to what Wakatoshi was yapping about, he opened his LINE and scanned through the list of his unread messages. Finding the Ushijima Wakatoshi's name, he clicked it and an image with a single caption was sent to him. It made himself squintfor a clearer vision.
It was the orange court where two teams were playing. He recognized his school and the opponent's colors.
'So Shiroshikata and Itachiyama capped off at the camp.' He read the single line that followed after that image.
"They're doing fine without you." Reading that message made him frown, because it's like saying 'They don't need you to win.' He isn't one to be easily affected by taunts, but every now and then, he wants to show off too. And so it shifted his mood into a sour one. He got his sanitizer and disinfected his hands and phone, then he went to bed. The college prep can wait a little longer.
--
Meanwhile, inside the Itachiyama gym, in a comfortable position by the upper box, Hibaraki Shoei, Ushijima Wakatoshi and Hijikata Juichiro were conversing about the set that just ended.
"Who do you think will win this game, Coach?" Juichiro asked.
"I can't say for certain, but despite the absence of their ace, Itachiyama is holding on their own. Komori's incredible as ever. And their new setter is doing an excellent job despite being the target of Shiroshikata's serves. He's dictating the flow of their game seemingly, like a conductor of an orchestra playing a divine melody in a concerto." Hibaraki replied while stroking his goatee.
Juichiro nodded but asked again, this time, to Ushiwaka. "How about you, Athlete Ushijima?"
"We will never know since it's just the first set. True, Itachiyama has the momentum, but I don't think this is all that Shiroshikata's got. They've also been solid out there. I'm pretty sure they have a plan for the next set." Japan's cannon replied.
"Aren't you just saying that because you don't wanna root for Itachiyama since you're from Shiratorizawa?" Hibaraki flashed him a teasing look, waiting for his previously coached NT athlete's reaction.
"No, I really think they have a strategy for this. Look at their current rotation."
They did and they found an immediate change. Shiroshikata shifted the line-up of their rotation for the second set. Whereas Itachiyama's remained the same. In the back, Maki, Gaito and Kouha were positioned while Kouen, Hiro and Toshiro were in the front.
"Hmmmm, I see. Their setter is starting in the front and their best receivers are at the back. In that way, for the next side out, their setter will be serving those nasty jumpers and they'll get their best blocking trio in front. Clever." Hibaraki said approvingly.
"Let's see how this will play out." Juichiro squinted as well, like finding a flaw to that plan.
