25 The Legionnaires 4

During the interval, Itachiyama expected their opponents to change their rotations, but their coach, Hondo, stood firm on their current strategical court composition. They aim to ride this momentum and finish the match in this set.

[Interval – the short break in between sets]

Jao jumped from the service line to launch his serve, and Maki from the other end was there to get the ball up. It was passed cleanly to Kouen who arched his back to toss to Hiro in the middle. Shinya and Toyambi jumped for the deflection, but Hiro bent to the left side and found a way out of that block. The sharp cross was received by Jao on the other side, and it flew out from his receive because of the ball's disgusting spin.

"Ugh sorry!" He said and Hiro thought he'll get the point but Komori, hustled for the save. He almost ran over some audience in the sidelines after getting a hand under the ball. "Send it over!"

Itachiyama's captain had no choice but to just toss it back to Shiroshikata's side.

"Chance ball!" Gai said after getting that receive. The ball went to Kouen and Kouha, Hiro and Toshiro jumped, expecting a toss. But Kouen went on the offensive himself and did a setter dump, mirroring the last move pulled off by Shinya in the previous set.

"Wtf, dude." Shinya said as he failed to get a dig under that ball that was dumped in front of him without warning. He picked himself up and glared daggers at Kouen, who only looked at him with blank, cold indifference.

Nothing else was inside Kouen's mind as he proceeded to the serve line but to rack up points this early to get in the momentum in clinching this second set. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, then bounced the ball twice in the floor, before launching a jumper at full power aimed towards Shinya. The serve was so hard he had to take a step back, and it hit his shoulders before it went out of bounds. "Grrrrr."

In Shiroshikata's bench, Kayo can't help but be awed at the level of focus and concentration shown by their setter in the recent play. "Kouen's engine is finally getting heated."

"Full steam ahead." Coach Soma agreed to her comment.

"NICE SERVE, KOUEN-SENPAI!! GIVE US ANOTHER!!" Genji cheered beside them.

Kouen repeated that serve but Boichi stepped in to take it this time. The ball's arc was so high that Suki had to chase it before he was able to send it in the middle. Toyambi was there for the finish, but it hit Maki's arms and it went back directly to Itachiyama's side. Shinya screamed, "Jao, direct!"

The spiker obliged and met the ball as it crossed the net, slamming it right back to Maki. The ball arced far from their setter, all the way to the left, but still, Kouha got it.

He saw his brother do a run-up approach from the back, while Hiro was already in position for a spike in front of him.

Then, something clicked between the siblings once more. 'So ya really wanna try this, Kouen?', Kouha thought. 'Fine, I'll do what ya always do.'

The triple block of Shinya, Toyambi and Boichi loomed in front of Hiro. But Kouha waited a split-second for Hiro's form to start falling. The middle blocker shot him a sharp, questioning look, saying, 'Where's my toss, you jerk?', then he released the ball towards Hiro's back, where Kouen's vertical glory was flying and waiting for the kill.

Before anyone knew it, Kouen's palm hit the ball and a blistering straight was sent over to the opponent's side, and no one was there to save it.

"Holy shi – " Shinya realized too late that they were toyed by the siblings during their block attempt. Hiro's face shared his similar expression.

"WAAAAAAHH!! SO COOL!! GINOZA-SENPAIS!!" Genji's voice rang loud after seeing that spectacular play.

In that rally, when Kouha noticed that his brother made a run-up, Kouen's message was clear. 'Send the ball here.' Fully knowing that Kouen is on fire, he had every intent to do so, and the perfect opportunity presented itself when Hiro jumped for the hit. The blockers of Itachiyama reacted to it well, and they got themselves caught in Kouha's set up in mind. When they started to fall, he tossed to Kouen in the rear, and that second tempo attack scored them another point. The Ginoza sibling's reverse play, back attack version. 3 – 0, Shiroshikata.

That's three consecutive points to Kouen alone at the start of the set, and he's far from over it yet. Hiro controlled his rage when he realized he was used again as a decoy, and decided to just let it go since it's their point anyway. 'It sucks when only those two get the attention.'

"The almost telepathic way those siblings can communicate with each other is rather scary." Coach Hibaraki commented from the upper box.

"Yes. I also saw them pull off a move similar to that one before, when I watched them play in the Nationals." Hijikata Juichiro replied without taking his eyes off from the action happening in the orange court.

A murderous Kouen made his way once again to the service line, his strong serve sliced through the air another time, and Shinya met it head on – literally. The setter turned to the side when he realized his hands can't keep up with the ball's speed, and that it will land on his face. To prevent a nosebleed, he just allowed the ball to hit his cheek. His face contorted in agony after that. It was red. "Tchsgrrrrrr...!"

The bump was low and Komori had to dive to get the second touch. Toyambi got the next but he simply returned the ball over, where Kouha was there for the save. Kouen went after the ball and made a set for Toshiro. He spiked it from his position close to the antenna of the net, and the ball landed with a soft thud on Itachiyama's side. "Yusss!"

But Toshiro's celebration was cut short by the referee who blew his whistle. Apparently, the ball lightly grazed the antenna, which made the spike out. A lucky thing for Itachiyama, as they finally scored.

"Ugh! Sorry!" Toshiro said.

Now Shinya's back to send the ball over and his serve was nothing short of wicked. The game is turning into a service frenzy, and the crowd went wild each time a successful receive is made after a nasty serve. Gaito was thrown back as he received it with utmost rigor. "Kouen!"

Kouen went after the ball and he tossed to Kouha, but the latter's spike was touched by Toyambi. Jao ran after the ball and sent it back to the Stags' side, where Maki was able to raise it. Kouen again got the next touch, and three spikers jumped in – waiting for a set.

"CENTER!" Hiro's demand for the toss was loud and clear.

'Oi? Look who's being proactive'. Kouen smirked at the call. 'That's right, beg for my tosses.' He noticed that the tall three-man wall of Toyambi, Boichi and Suki covered the hitting zone. So, to score on this one.....

"Hiro!" He blurted out and sent the ball to Hiro. However, it was the 'ugly toss', as the latter called it - the one that was too high for him to reach.

'This asshole.' Hiro grunted as he tried to spike the ball that was tossed over. 'Can't bend for this.' His left hand struggled for the reach and he successfully got it, but the attack was weak, and neither was it a spike. 'A pissy push.' An accidental feint. Somehow, this only irritated Hiro more.

What's more frustrating is, the bane of their attacks, Komori, lunged after the area where he aimed the dink, so the ball bounced and Shinya positioned himself to receive it via overhand. The setter got and and yelled, "Boichi-san!"

Boichi launched a cross and Gaito was fortunately able to raise it. "Follow!"

Kouen got the ball and similar to what happened earlier, three hitters jumped for the toss. This time, however, Hiro shot him a dangerous look, and the glint in his eyes is telling something obvious. 'Toss it here.'

'One more time? Ask and ye shall receive.' He tossed it to Hiro and it was his normal quick set to the middle.

Three blockers again formed a wall around the net, but Hiro found a way out. 'To the left, then.'

He bent to the left to widen his spike range and executed his lefty-left special. No one was there for the save as the ball made a resounding boom on the floor before it flew to the stands. 4 – 1, Shiroshikata.

[I hope the imagery of this 'lefty-left special' is clear haha. Basically, Hiro bends to the left and hits the ball using his left hand. You can try doing it haha]

'That irksome bending freak, manipulating my blockers every single time.' A vein popped from Shinya's head after seeing Hiro's spiking technique again. The ones who jumped thought of the same thing.

Kouen whistled and complimented Hiro. "Nice kiiiill." His tone was teasing and sarcastic, which did not really please the middle blocker.

Hiro knew that Kouen was like saying, 'It's a shame you can't hit my high tosses, but you're good enough to hit my normal ones anyway, so that's fine.'

He knew that himself. But it will take him a little more time to adjust to those kinds of tosses. 'And more practice with that emoboy.' He hated to admit that. Nevertheless, that spike quelled the pent-up frustrations of Hiro as he walked towards the service line. Gaito switched out with Kakuzo. His dissipating frustrations were unleashed along with his serve, so the ball went out. 4 – 2, Shiroshikata.

"We've no need for homeruns, Hiro!" Kouha spat at him. Hiro got a feeling that he already said this before.

Komori went out for Garuma during the side out. Toyambi found it galling that the scores their team got so far in this set were from lucky breaks and mistakes of their opponents. His focus was set as he got his serve over the net, which resulted in a net in. The newly entered middle blocker, Kakuzo fell down as he moved forward to get a hand under it. "Please, cover!"

The ball was followed up by Toshiro, but the ball went back to Itachiyama's side. Suki was there to receive it and he passed to Shinya, who tossed to Garuma in the front. His spike was touched by Kakuzo on the other end, but the ball crossed the sides and the linemen called it 'out'.

Toyambi served again but Kouha got it cleanly this time. The ball was passed to Kouen, and he tossed to Maki. Garuma and Boichi jumped for the deflection, but the ball hit Garuma's fingers before it went out of bounds. That was a blockout by captain. 5 – 3, Shiroshikata.

Hiro rotated out and Gaito returned in the back row for defense. Toshiro served next but it hit the net. 'Damn', the sophomore thought. 'I made lots of errors lately.' "Sorry!" he said out loud.

Coach Soma noticed his left wing spiker was looking down after that serve. Fukuzawa Toshiro is one of the most hardworking members of the team. He seldom hears him complaining on just about anything. Although he might not be as explosive as Kouha, and as reliable on defense as Maki, he sure got an excellent spiking technique of controlling the ball's trajectory. He just do what he does best. His aims are usually on point to where he wanted the ball to land, but recently, his aims seem to be off a lot more than usual.

"Hijikata-san, were you able to check all of our players' medical profiles?" He asked their manager.

"Yes, but the data is from last year. I already scheduled for the players' general check-up prior to the Inter-High this summer. There should be new updates soon."

"I see. But have you noticed anything off with Fukuzawa lately?"

"Actually, coach, now that you mention it…..it's his aims, right?"

"Yeah, I thought so too."

Suddenly, the assistant manager, Megumi joined in their conversation. "I think it's because he has visual problems. Maybe astigmatism or he's getting nearsighted."

Both the coach and Kayo turned to her for more. So she added, "Hehe I – I don't know if I'm right though, coach, Kayo-san. It's just that, I've observed he's squinting most of the time. Maybe he needs glasses?"

Meanwhile, Hiro, who heard the entire thing, had the same concern as Coach Soma. He likes reading his opponents, but he can't help to read his teammates as well. He also noticed that Toshiro seems to be 'off' his usual style lately. He glued his eyes in the court to further observe.

The game went on and it's the freshman, Suki's, turn to serve. His train of thought was running simulations for the next possible plays. He hasn't done this in earlier, but he really wanted to try this serve he's been practicing for quite some time now. He took six steps back before tossing the ball in the air. When he felt the timing was perfect, he pushed the ball in the center, which cancelled its spin as it travelled towards the opposite side of the court.

Toshiro positioned himself for the receive, but the ball looked like it will go farther out so he stepped back. In the last second, it curved a little in midair before it touched the backcourt line. The ball was 'in'.

"Yes!" Suki and the rest of Itachiyama cheered at the freshman's successful jump floater serve. The score is now tied at 5 – all.

The game continued and the rallies that followed in the next 15 minutes kept the match at a steady, exciting pace. Neither team is going easy and the serves of each member always try to outdo the others'. Shinya scored another dump, and Kouen continued not to disappoint. The rest of the players also kept the action entertaining, and soon enough, the game is still tied at 17 - all.

"We need to change something else." Coach Soma said to his boys when he called for a timeout. He decided to take a gamble here. "Toshiro, I'll sub you in the next side out. Asuma," the energetic freshman snapped upon hearing his name. "Warm up. You're going in."