Fukurodani's Bench.
All the players and even the coach wore grim expressions. The atmosphere was heavy with tension.
They were just one point away from elimination. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for anyone to remain calm…
"Hehehe~~"
"What are you all doing? The match isn't over yet. Why the long faces?"
Everyone turned to look at Kotaro Bokuto, who was still brimming with energy.
"Bokuto, aren't you even the slightest bit nervous? We're just one point away from being knocked out!"
Bokuto tilted his head, puzzled. "Why should I be nervous? If we're one point behind, then we just need to get it back, right?"
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
"That's so you, Bokuto!"
"But he's not wrong! Since we're only down by one, let's fight to take it back! At this point, there's no point in being nervous anyway."
────────── ✦ ──────────
"Ugh, do these guys not know what fear is?" muttered Takahiro Hanamaki.
Over at Aoba Johsai's bench, Hanamaki was the first to notice the change in Fukurodani's atmosphere. Despite the intensity of the match, not a single one of their players looked discouraged. His eyes, already dull, seemed to grow even more tired.
"Heh… This is Nationals. Any team that's made it this far isn't going down easy–" said Hajime Iwaizumi as he adjusted his knee pads and stood up. "Enough talk. Let's go!"
With a sharp blow of the whistle, the match resumed.
Serve: Akashi Asuka, Aoba Johsai.
The moment Akashi walked into the service area, everyone on Fukurodani's side visibly tensed up.
"Damn it, it just had to be his serve now? Could this situation get any worse?"
Akashi gently rotated the volleyball in his hands. The closer the match drew to its climax, the calmer he became, like a clear mirror that reflected the entire world, undisturbed by any ripple.
BOOM!
Without warning, Akashi unleashed a powerful jump serve.
The force warped the ball midair, sending it hurtling straight toward the libero in Fukurodani's backcourt…
"Don't look down on me, bastard."
The libero felt a flash of irritation. The serve came directly toward him, as if daring him. Though he knew Akashi likely couldn't control the serve's placement perfectly, the challenge ignited his fighting spirit.
SMACK!
The ball rebounded high, soaring over ten meters into the air, this time, still in play.
"Nice!"
"Great dig, Komi!"
"Well done! Beautiful receive!"
Their spirits lifted, Keiji Akaashi took the ball and delivered a back set, to none other than Kotaro Bokuto.
Kindaichi, Matsukawa, and Kunimi reacted instantly, putting up a formidable triple block. At such a crucial point, landing a block like this could spell doom for any spiker.
But the three blockers felt no sense of satisfaction. On the contrary, a strange unease welled up in their chests.
Because staring back at them was Bokuto.
And his eyes were blazing.
In those eyes, they saw joy, anticipation, passion… but not a single trace of fear.
BANG!
The spike detonated off Bokuto's hand like a bomb. The moment it connected, Kunimi felt a jolt of pain in his arms, his hands knocked apart from the impact, creating a gap in the block.
THUD!
The ball pierced through and slammed into the floor.
[He... He scored!]
[Kotaro Bokuto, at this critical juncture, blasts through Aoba Johsai's defense with a powerful spike, pulling Fukurodani back from the edge of defeat.]
[He truly lives up to the title of "Ace."]
────────── ✦ ──────────
"This guy… even now, he's getting stronger?" Compared to Fukurodani's cheer, Aoba Johsai's players were filled with disbelief.
"What is he?" They couldn't understand Bokuto.
At the beginning of the first set, his mentality was like that of a child. But now, at the very end, even as the team teetered on the brink of elimination, not only was he not discouraged, his fighting spirit was burning brighter.
Clap, clap, clap…
"Alright, enough about the opponent–" Oikawa Tooru clapped, cutting off the team's creeping doubt. "No matter how strong their 'Ace' is, he can only score one point at a time. Don't forget, we're still in the lead."
Then he added, "And hey, their Ace might be powerful, but our Ace isn't any weaker."
Everyone instinctively turned to Akashi Asuka.
And that's when they noticed something strange.
Compared to Bokuto's radiance, shining like the sun, Akashi was like a shadow lingering at the back of the court. If you didn't look closely, you might not even notice he was there.
His mood was oddly calm. He felt like he was just one step away from entering a state of complete clarity, Seijaku no Kokoro, or "Stillness of the Mind."
It was as if he was missing a single key to unlock the door.
Tweet!
The whistle blew, Fukurodani served.
Oikawa received the pass from Watari and used his eyes to bait Fukurodani's blockers before setting the ball to Akashi in the back row.
The front-row defenders immediately rushed to block the straight, while the back row sealed off the cross.
Fukurodani's formation was perfect, even Oikawa's expression shifted.
But Akashi remained unshaken. In his eyes, the "flawless" defense looked full of holes.
Midair, he considered which route to take.
In 0.1 seconds, he chose the harder option.
BOOM!
With a dull thud, the ball rocketed from Akashi's hand, flying straight, then curving at the last moment, gliding just outside the sideline before landing right on the line.
Thud~
A hushed silence swept through the court and the audience.
[A curved spike…]
[Unbelievable! Absolutely incredible! Aoba Johsai's Ace, Akashi Asuka, just delivered a crescent-moon spike, slicing through Fukurodani's ironclad defense!]
[The blockers had no time to react, the ball curved sharply and scored right on the sideline!]
[25–24. Aoba Johsai retakes the lead!]
BOOM~~
The crowd erupted after three seconds of stunned silence.
"What was that?!"
"No way! Can a ball even do that?! Is that first-year from Aoba Johsai even human?!"
"I thought spikes like that were only in manga!"
"Aoba! Aoba! Aoba!"
The cheers thundered through the arena.
Even Fukurodani's players stood frozen, struggling to believe what they had just seen.
What kind of divine spike was that?
Faced with a spike like that, even the most determined player would feel despair.
Yet Kotaro Bokuto… didn't falter. His eyes only shone brighter.
The next rally began quickly.
Aoba served.
Fukurodani regained possession and once again sent the ball to Bokuto. His spike blasted past Matsukawa and Kunimi's double block as if it were nothing.
But just as it was about to hit the floor,
Aoba Johsai's back row moved.
Without warning, and even without fully realizing how, Akashi Asuka was already there. As if he had foreseen the spike's trajectory, he calmly stepped to the perfect spot and dug the ball with ease.
Even Bokuto couldn't help but stare in stunned silence.
The momentum flipped in an instant.
Oikawa's heart trembled at Akashi's miraculous receive.
"Nice one, Akashi-chan!"
Just as he shouted, Akashi had already leapt. His speed was so absurd, he jumped before Oikawa even set the ball.
The ball seemed magnetized, zipping into Akashi's strike zone without delay.
And in that moment, Akashi's vision sharpened.
He could see it all:
The scrambling libero Komi Haruki (#11) and wing spiker Konoha Akinori (#7)…
The stunned middle blocker Wataru Onaga (#12)…
The blockers Yamato Sarukui (#2) and Keiji Akaashi (#5), rushing forward to leap…
Even Bokuto, just landing, is still frozen…
He saw everything, positions, movements, numbers, faces…
Time slowed.
He didn't even swing hard, just lightly tapped the ball.
And it glided past everyone, landing cleanly on Fukurodani's court.
"BEEEEEP~~~~"
"Game over! Aoba Johsai wins, 2–0! Final scores: 25–19, 26–24!"
In that instant.
The long, shrill whistle echoed across the court.
And with it, time seemed to freeze.
Fukurodani's players stopped, expressions hollow. The spark had vanished from their eyes.
Only Kotaro Bokuto remained, his head held high, eyes full of fire, standing tall in the center of the court.
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 562+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 333
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 279
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 176
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 158
Playing Genshin Impact in Danmachi (Danmachi x Genshin Impact) — Up to 88