Boom!!!
A sudden thunderous sound echoed over the court.
Before Kitagawa's back row, Tobio Kageyama, the libero, and the opposite, could even react, a sharp whoosh cut through the air. By the time they came to their senses, the volleyball had already slipped past their defense.
Tweet~
The referee blew the whistle, and the line judge pointed their flag forcefully to the ground.
Point for Sengoku.
13:11.
Kageyama stood frozen. As he listened to the referee confirm the point, it felt as if the entire world had fallen into dead silence.
He looked across the net just in time to see Akashi Asuka land from his jump and stand tall. In that moment, an overwhelming pressure seemed to crash down on Kageyama like a wave.
"No. I can't lose. I absolutely can't stop here…"
The Kitagawa coach quickly called a timeout.
Just like in the previous set, the purpose of this timeout was simple: break Akashi Asuka's rhythm. With a prodigy like Kageyama on his team, the coach understood better than anyone how dangerous it could be to let a "monster" like Akashi get into the zone with his serves.
Maybe it was that shocking serve just now, but...
For a moment,
The coach failed to notice Kageyama's increasingly unstable condition.
Maintaining "form" is extremely difficult for any athlete.
Very often, a single one-minute timeout is enough to kill a player's momentum.
After the break, when Akashi Asuka served again, he could already feel his focus had dropped a notch. Still, relying on brute strength, he smashed the second serve over the net with explosive speed.
Boom!
At the last possible moment, Kitagawa 's libero managed to touch the ball, but the angle was completely off, forcing the opposite to barely tip it into a high set.
But Kindaichi wasn't Akashi Asuka. With his skillset, there was little chance of scoring from a ball that offered nothing but height.
Smack!
Thud!
His spike was completely shut down by Sengoku's triple block.
14:11.
Akashi's third serve went into the net, a rare mistake. The gap closed slightly.
14:12.
It was just one point more than before, but the momentum had clearly shifted.
In volleyball, a two-point lead is enough to win.
What's more,
Next serve was Kitagawa 's, but it turned into another chance ball for Sengoku.
15:12.
The glimmer of victory now shone clearly in the eyes of Sengoku's players. Their morale soared.
For a moment, it was as if the fatigue in their bodies had lightened.
Sengoku regained serve, though this time it wasn't Akashi serving. The ball floated gently over the net, received cleanly by Kitagawa's libero, and passed perfectly to Kageyama.
It was an ideal first touch. With Kitagawa's skill level, as long as they played it steady, they should have been able to win this point.
But the moment the ball left Kageyama's hands, another mistake happened.
Kindaichi jumped and swung his arm… but the impact never came. He'd missed.
Thud.
The ball landed outside the boundary line.
The whistle blew again. The scoreboard updated to 16:12.
"How many times do I have to tell you to jump earlier on quick attacks?! If you want to win, then cooperate with my sets!" Kageyama shouted furiously.
To everyone's surprise, Kindaichi didn't argue back. He simply gave Kageyama a flat look and turned away.
Most people thought Kindaichi had chosen to endure it.
Only Akira Kunimi sensed something deeper, something unsettling.
Sengoku kept the serve.
After a round of excited celebration, they served again.
Kitagawa 's libero made the receive and passed to Kageyama. As the ball rose into the air, Kageyama had only one thought in his mind:
"Faster. My sets need to be faster. That's the only way to avoid their blocks. That's how we'll score. I have to keep winning… I have to move forward…"
Whoosh!
Fingers quick and light, Kageyama set the ball with blazing speed.
"Nice. That felt just right."
He felt confident. The set had gone well. This should result in a clean point.
Or so he thought,
Thud.
The sound of the ball hitting the floor echoed again.
But it wasn't the explosive impact of a spike.
It was just… the sound of the ball falling.
What?
Was that… a misplay?
Kageyama turned his head in confusion,
Only to see Kindaichi standing still, not having moved at all, just watching the ball drop to the floor.
"Kindaichi…"
"I'm not hitting any of your sets anymore." Kindaichi replied coldly.
Kageyama froze, unable to process what he'd just heard.
Then he looked around,
Only to see cold, indifferent expressions on every teammate's face.
It was as if an invisible chasm had opened up between him and the rest of the team.
His mind went blank. Everything inside him turned to static.
He didn't know how much time passed,
Until the referee's whistle snapped him out of it.
Then came the coach's voice:
"Kageyama, take a break. You're subbing out."
"Did they… have a fight again?" One of the spectators from Kitagawa 's side asked, stunned by the unexpected drama.
"This time, I think it's more than just a fight." replied Jujiro Kazama.
They didn't know exactly what kind of conflict had flared within Kitagawa, but there was no question about Kageyama's importance as a setter.
For the coach to sub him out at such a crucial moment… the issue had to be serious.
"Honestly, that setter is pretty intense. He's insanely skilled, sure, but with that kind of attitude, I wouldn't want to be his teammate either."
"Yeah, feels like his serves are scarier than even our 'ace.'" Nishimori Tomohiko nodded in agreement.
What kind of weird comparison is that?
Akashi understood exactly why Kageyama had been taken off, but he didn't have much of a reaction.
At this point, Kageyama's problem wasn't just teenage angst or emotional immaturity.
Genius often lives in a world of its own. Unless he meets the one person who can truly connect with him,
Even Kitagawa 's coach may not be able to fix Kageyama's mindset now.
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