"Why? Why is this happening!?"
Just three minutes into the finals, the once-confident Gao Hakuba, who had been so sure he could shut down Akashi Asuka, was already questioning everything.
"Didn't the footage show his playstyle was straightforward and forceful? Why is he pulling out so many tricks now!?"
In the early stages of the match between Kamomedai High and Aoba Johsai High, the score quickly shot up to 4–2 in Aoba Johsai's favor.
From the moment the match began, Gao Hakuba, who had been entrusted with the task of defending against Akashi Asuka by Kamomedai's veteran coach, was continuously overpowered at the net. Forget blocking him, he couldn't even touch the ball.
BEEP~~~
Seeing how quickly things were spiraling out of control, Kamomedai's coach had no choice but to call an early timeout.
"As expected, one man alone can't stop Akashi Asuka. We'll need to add another."
Coach Aaron Murphy rubbed his chin as he swiftly adjusted their strategy.
To be fair, even when he'd handed the responsibility to Hakuba the day before, he had known it was a long shot. But he had still hoped, maybe Akashi would be off his game, or maybe Hakuba would rise to the occasion.
If one person had been enough to contain Akashi, this match would've been a walk in the park.
Unfortunately, reality hit hard: Akashi was still Akashi, and thinking one defender could shut him down was pure fantasy.
They had to double up.
"Hoshiumii, we'll need you to step in," Aaron said, turning to Hoshiumi Hoshiumii.
Hoshiumii's all-round ability meant he could slot into nearly any position on the court and still perform at an elite level. But even so, Murphy wasn't thrilled to pull him into defense.
After all, energy was a finite resource. If Hoshiumii exerted himself too much defending, his offensive impact would take a hit.
Still, Kamomedai had no choice.
In fact, none of the teams that had faced Aoba Johsai in this tournament ever had a choice.
Akashi Asuka had proven time and again that trying to defend him solo was not only unrealistic, it was flat-out impossible.
────────── ✦ ──────────
BEEP~~~
Timeout over. Both teams returned to the court.
Gao Hakuba strode out brimming with fiery resolve. At 203 cm, he was a towering presence, but he was still just a second-year high school student with pride to protect.
Yesterday, the coach had put his faith in him.
Today, just three minutes in, that faith had been withdrawn.
What self-respecting high schooler would just let that go?
So Hakuba swore, if only for his pride, he would block one of Akashi's spikes.
The match resumed.
Aoba Johsai still held a 2-point lead, along with the serve.
Kamomedai's serve was cleanly received. Oikawa Tooru quickly stepped in to orchestrate the offense. With a simple glance, he baited one of Kamomedai's blockers, then without hesitation, he tossed the ball high, right into Akashi Asuka's strike zone.
Akashi soared like an eagle, his form flawless.
But then, a wall appeared in front of him.
It was Gao Hakuba.
Height wasn't always fair. Even if Hakuba couldn't jump as high as Akashi, his sheer stature alone could nullify the "vertical weapon" that Akashi relied on so much.
BOOM!!
Expression unreadable, Akashi floated midair, analyzing the court in a flash, then whipped his arm forward in a decisive strike.
The volleyball thundered off his hand, a missile of force and spin.
But then, Hakuba's eyes glinted. He read the angle. His arm dropped to intercept.
"Got you!" he thought, heart pounding with vindication. This was it. His redemption.
He could already picture his celebration.
Except, the ball curved.
With a spin-induced swerve that made it look remotely controlled, the ball bent sharply around Hakuba's block and headed straight for Kamomedai's backcourt.
Hakuba's pupils dilated in disbelief.
"What the hell!? You're pulling out more tricks?! How many points do you need before you stop!?"
His inner voice screamed, but screaming wouldn't help.
The ball was about to hit the floor, when a flash of white streaked in.
Korai Hoshiumi.
He had predicted Hakuba's prediction and moved early.
WHAM!
With a heavy impact, Hoshiumii somehow managed to dig out Akashi's curved spike.
But, he went flying.
"Now that's a clean KO!" The commentator chuckled from the stands.
There was no doubt about it, Aoba Johsai matches never disappointed. You paid for a volleyball game but ended up with a full-blown action movie. Totally worth the ticket price.
But Hoshiumii wasn't like Motoya Komori, the nation's #1 libero.
Komori stood at 180 cm, but Hoshiumii was only 169 cm, and he kept his body weight below 60 kg to maintain peak agility and jump height.
With that kind of build, taking a direct hit from Akashi's "arc spike" was like trying to catch a cannonball bare-handed.
Any slight imbalance in posture, and you'd get blown away.
And let's not forget, Akashi was in "Clear Mind" mode.
Even his curved spikes carried the impact force of a normal straight-line meteor smash.
Still, the effort paid off, Kamomedai's two core players, Hakuba and Hoshiumii, had successfully stopped Akashi's spike.
Then they immediately counterattacked, exploiting the moment before Akashi could regain balance from his jump.
Quick attack.
Point secured.
4–3.
Akashi was visibly displeased.
"Why did you only assign one blocker to Bokuto, but send two after me?"
Bokuto (off-screen): "Could you not…?"
The crowd roared with excitement.
Sure, some previous teams had managed to block Akashi through joint defense, but Kamomedai managing it with just two players was rare.
And this was only the beginning.
With the energy rising and tension building, one thing was clear,
This was going to be a battle for the ages.
No doubt about it.
This final is worth every damn yen.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria