Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium - Center Court.
The noise wasn't just audible; it was physical.
A massive brass band clad in black was blasting a fight song that rattled the fillings in Ryuu's teeth. Hundreds of students clapped in perfect unison with plastic megaphones. CLAP. CLAP. CLAP-CLAP-CLAP.
Inarizaki High School.
"It's loud," Kenma complained, covering his ears with his hands. "I can't hear myself think."
"It's designed to be annoying," Kuroo shouted over the din. "It disrupts your rhythm. Just focus on the visual cues!"
Ryuu stood at the net during warm-ups. He looked up at the sea of black in the stands.
"They brought a whole village," Ryuu muttered. "Do they not have school today? Don't they have math homework?"
On the other side, Miya Atsumu was warming up. He set a ball to his twin, Osamu, who crushed it.
The crowd erupted. "MI-YA! MI-YA!"
Atsumu basked in it. He raised his arms, soaking in the adoration. Then he looked at Ryuu and smirked.
'Welcome to my house, Dragon.'
Ryuu rolled his eyes.
"He thinks he's a pop star," Ryuu said to Yamamoto. "Someone needs to tell him his dye job is uneven."
Nekoma vs. Inarizaki.
The referee blew the whistle.
Inarizaki won the coin toss and chose to serve.
The band was blasting music. Atsumu walked to the service line.
He raised his fist.
Cut.
The silence hit the gym like a physical blow. The band stopped. The cheering stopped. Even the air conditioning seemed to quiet down.
It was a display of absolute control.
Ryuu watched from the back row.
'Impressive,' Ryuu admitted. 'He holds them by the throat.'
Atsumu served. He took six steps. A Jump Floater.
It wobbled over the net, heading for Kai.
Kai moved to receive, but the silence made the sound of the ball hitting his arms echo strangely.
"Up!"
Kenma set to Kuroo. Quick attack.
Inarizaki's middle blocker, Suna Rintarou, was there. He jumped.
Kuroo spiked. Suna blocked it, but it deflected out.
Nekoma 1 - 0 Inarizaki.
The crowd murmured, but the band immediately started up again. Bum-bum-bum-BUM!
_____________
Score: 1 - 1.
It was Nekoma's turn to serve. Kuroo walked to the line.
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.
The rhythmic cheering stopped. Instead, a low, disorganized noise began.
"Boooooo..."
"Miss it!"
"Hit the net!"
Trumpet noises playing off-key.
"Booing?" Ryuu raised an eyebrow. "Classy."
Kuroo frowned. The noise was distracting. He tossed the ball.
He hit it, but his rhythm was off. The ball clipped the net tape and didn't go over.
Service Error.
Inarizaki 2 - 1.
The crowd cheered wildly. "LUCKY! LUCKY!"
Kuroo walked back, looking annoyed. "They mess with your tempo. The noise starts right when you toss."
"It's psychological warfare," Yaku said, narrowing his eyes.
The game continued. Every time a Nekoma player served, the booing and off-key music started. Yamamoto served into the net. Kai served a weak ball that was easily received.
Inarizaki was feeding off the energy. Atsumu was setting with flair, Osamu was hitting sharp angles, and Suna was bending his torso to hit spikes around the block.
Score: Inarizaki 8 - 4 Nekoma.
Ryuu stood at the net. He was getting irritated.
Not because they were losing. But because the noise was giving him a headache.
"Hey, Twins," Ryuu called out through the net during a dead ball.
Atsumu and Osamu looked over.
"Can you tell your fan club to shut up?" Ryuu asked, picking his ear. "I'm trying to concentrate on destroying you."
Atsumu grinned, sharp and fox-like.
"Aww, is the noise too much for ya, City Boy?" Atsumu mocked. "This is Nationals. If ya can't handle the heat, go back to Tokyo."
"We don't control the crowd," Osamu added, looking bored. "They just hate losers."
Ryuu looked at them. Then he looked up at the brass band.
"Heat..." Ryuu muttered.
He rotated to the front left.
"Kenma," Ryuu said. His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the noise.
"Yeah?"
"Give me the ball. High. I want everyone to see it."
_______________
Nekoma received the next serve. Yaku dug a hard spike from Aran Ojiro (Inarizaki's Ace).
"Kenma!"
Kenma set the ball. He pushed it high to the left antenna.
The Inarizaki block formed. A triple block. Atsumu, Suna, and Osamu.
"Stop him!" the crowd roared.
Ryuu began his approach.
The booing started. "Block him! Block him!"
Ryuu jumped.
He hovered in the air. He saw the three blockers grinning, ready to stuff him. He saw the crowd screaming.
He felt the annoyance bubbling in his chest.
'You want noise?'
Ryuu didn't snap his wrist this time. He didn't aim for a technique shot.
He channeled every ounce of his 190cm frame, every fiber of muscle, into raw, unadulterated violence.
He swung.
KABOOM.
He hit the ball straight down the line. It didn't touch the block. It flew past Atsumu's ear with the sound of a jet engine.
The ball slammed into the floor.
But it didn't just hit the floor. It hit the floor hard.
The impact was so violent that the ball compressed, exploded upward, and flew directly into the Inarizaki cheer squad section in the stands.
CRASH.
It knocked a megaphone out of a student's hand.
For one second, there was absolute silence.
Ryuu landed. He stood tall, looking directly at the section where the ball had landed.
He slowly raised a finger to his lips.
"Shh."
The gym was frozen.
Then, Ryuu turned to Atsumu, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"That," Ryuu said, his voice calm and terrifying, "is how you conduct a crowd."
Nekoma 5 - 8.
"Did he just..." Osamu blinked. "Did he just shush our school?"
Atsumu looked at Ryuu's back. A shiver went down his spine. It wasn't fear. It was excitement.
"Samu," Atsumu whispered, a crazy grin spreading on his face. "I really, really want to beat him."
_____________
The "shush" didn't stop the crowd for long. In fact, it made them angry. The booing got louder. The insults got personal.
But Nekoma had woken up.
Ryuu's violence had snapped them out of their funk.
"If our First Year can tell an entire school to shut up," Kuroo grinned, wiping his shoes, "then the Captain can't be scared of a little noise."
Score: 12 - 12.
Ryuu rotated to serve.
The booing reached a fever pitch. A trumpet blared a discordant note right as he tossed the ball.
Ryuu didn't flinch.
'Noise is just vibration,' Ryuu thought, watching the ball spin in the air. 'Ignore the vibration. Focus on the target.'
He jumped.
He saw the Inarizaki libero, Akagi, getting ready.
Ryuu whipped his arm.
CRACK.
The serve was a laser. It dipped right in front of Akagi.
Akagi dove. "Up!"
He touched it, but the spin was too heavy. It shot off his arms and into the stands.
Ace.
Nekoma 13 - 12.
Ryuu spun the ball for the next serve. He looked at the brass band.
"Play something better," Ryuu called out. "I'm getting bored."
Atsumu glared from across the net.
"Okay," Atsumu muttered. "He wants a war? Let's give him a war."
Atsumu looked at his brother. He signaled a play.
It was time to unleash the Foxes.