Score: Nekoma 1 - 0 Inarizaki (Sets).
Start of Set 2.
The whistle blew.
The Inarizaki brass band started up immediately, a wall of brass and percussion designed to intimidate. The crowd chanted, "I-NA-RI! I-NA-RI!"
Miya Atsumu stood on the court, his face darkened with a mix of humiliation and rage. Losing the first set 26-24—after leading for most of it—stung. He looked at Ryuu, who was currently inspecting his fingernails at the net.
'He's not even looking at us,' Atsumu thought, gripping the ball. 'He thinks we're a joke.'
Ryuu cracked his knuckles. He didn't look fired up. He looked like he was queuing at the DMV.
"Kenma," Ryuu said, his voice flat. "Let's make this quick. The tuba player is off-key and it's giving me a migraine."
_________________
Score: 0 - 0.
Inarizaki served. Kai received perfectly.
"Center!"
Kenma set to Kuroo. But Inarizaki's middle blocker, Suna Rintarou, was there. Suna was fast. He touched the ball.
"One touch!"
Inarizaki countered. Atsumu set to Suna in the middle.
Ryuu was blocking.
In the first set, Suna had scored repeatedly by using his "Wide Range Spike"—using his core strength to twist his torso in mid-air, bending the spike around the block. It was a technique that frustrated blockers because the ball never went where their hands were.
Suna jumped. He looked lazy, but his core was coiled like a spring.
Ryuu jumped.
'He's going to bend it,' Ryuu thought, watching Suna's torso torque to the right. 'He wants me to commit to the center so he can hit around me.'
Most blockers would try to chase the ball, reaching out desperately.
Ryuu didn't chase. He simply... expanded.
He didn't try to seal a specific angle. He spread his arms wide, creating a massive "V" shape in the air. He prioritized area denial over a kill block. He trusted his size.
Suna swung. He tried to hook it around Ryuu's left arm.
But Ryuu's arm was massive, and his positioning was deep.
THUD.
The ball hit the meat of Ryuu's forearm. Because Ryuu's arms were stiff and heavy, the ball didn't deflect out. It bounced straight back.
It wasn't a kill block. It was a "Stuff." The ball fell harmlessly on the Inarizaki side.
Nekoma 1 - 0.
Suna landed, staring at the ball. He looked up at Ryuu with his dead, narrow eyes.
"You didn't move," Suna muttered. "You just... stood there."
"You do a lot of twisting," Ryuu noted, looking down at the shorter blocker. "It looks tiring. Why not just hit over me?"
Ryuu paused, then smirked.
"Oh wait. You can't."
Suna's eyebrow twitched violently.
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Score: Nekoma 4 - 2 Inarizaki.
Atsumu was getting annoyed. His middle was stuffed. He needed to take control back.
He rotated to the service line.
He silenced the band with his fist. The gym went quiet.
He tossed the ball. He took four steps. Hard steps.
'Spike Serve,' Ryuu analyzed from the back row.
BOOM.
Atsumu crushed it. It was a wicked serve, curving toward the sideline.
Ryuu moved. He didn't dive frantically. He took two large slides to the left and planted his feet. His form wasn't pretty, but it was solid.
POP.
He took the heavy serve on his platform. It stung, but his arms didn't waver. The ball arc was high and perfect to the setter position.
"Nice receive!" Yaku shouted.
Atsumu clicked his tongue. 'He dug it clean. He's getting used to the speed.'
Nekoma attacked. Kenma set to Yamamoto. Yamamoto scored off a rebound.
Nekoma 5 - 2.
Atsumu served again.
This time, he tossed it differently. He took six steps. Light steps.
'Jump Floater.'
Ryuu saw the change instantly. The toss was lower. The approach was buoyant.
Most receivers panic at the switch-up. They wait for the ball to float, and by then, it's dancing.
Ryuu didn't wait.
He took a step forward. He attacked the serve.
Before the ball could start its wobble, Ryuu took it overhand, using his fingers to stabilize it.
Set.
He used his hands to bump-set it high.
"Kai-san!"
Kai spiked. Point Nekoma.
Nekoma 6 - 2.
Ryuu stood up, dusting off his knees. He looked at Atsumu across the net.
"You telegraph your moves," Ryuu called out casually. "Four steps for power. Six steps for float. You count out loud with your feet, Fox."
Atsumu froze. His eyes widened.
'He counted my steps?'
"Maybe try five steps next time?" Ryuu suggested helpfully. "Confuse me a little."
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Score: Nekoma 10 - 5.
The gap was widening.
Inarizaki was a team that relied on momentum. When they were hot, they were unstoppable. But when they were cold... they started to crack. They were getting frustrated that their usual tricks weren't working on the giant.
Ojiro Aran (Ace) called for the ball. "Tsumu! Left! Give it to me!"
Atsumu set a high ball. "Break him, Aran-san!"
Aran jumped. He was huge. He was a Top 5 Ace candidate. Powerful. Experienced.
Ryuu jumped to block.
It was a clash of strength.
Aran swung with everything he had. He aimed right for the center of Ryuu's chest, trying to blow him backward and shatter the block.
BLAM.
The ball hit Ryuu's arms.
Against a normal blocker, that ball would blast through.
But Ryuu Gojou was built different. He leaned into the block. He engaged his core, his shoulders, and his massive frame. He became a statue.
He didn't budge. Not an inch.
The ball hit the "Iron Wall" and died instantly. It dropped straight down.
Nekoma 11 - 5.
Aran landed, shaking his hand. The impact had jarred his shoulder.
"He's... heavy," Aran whispered to Akagi. "It's like hitting a concrete pillar. There's no give."
Ryuu landed. He looked through the net at the shaken Ace.
He remembered the Semifinals. He remembered Sakusa's spin that crawled up his arm. He remembered Bokuto's sheer weight that nearly broke his fingers.
Ryuu tilted his head.
"Is that it?" Ryuu asked, genuinely curious. "Sakusa hit harder than that. And he did it with spin."
Aran frowned, offended. "Don't compare me to a second year."
"Then hit like a third year," Ryuu retorted, walking away.
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Score: Nekoma 12 - 5.
Ryuu stood at the service line. He looked at the Inarizaki team.
They were arguing. Atsumu was yelling at Suna for being lazy on coverage. Aran was looking frustrated with the set.
'Itachiyama didn't argue,' Ryuu thought, spinning the ball. 'Even when I scored, they just recalibrated. They were a machine. These guys...'
Ryuu sighed.
'They're just talented kids throwing a tantrum because their toys aren't working.'
"Boring," Ryuu whispered.
He tossed the ball.
He jumped. He whipped his arm.
BOOM.
Service Ace. It slammed between the libero and Aran.
Nekoma 13 - 5.
The Inarizaki band played a sad, off-key noise.
Ryuu glared at the band.
"Even the music is giving up," Ryuu muttered. "This is the Number 2 seed? Where is the steel? Where is the pressure?"
He caught the ball from the ball boy.
He realized something.
Inarizaki was a glass cannon. They hit hard, they played fast, they had style. But Ryuu was a sledgehammer. And against a sledgehammer, glass doesn't fight back.
It shatters.
"Okay," Ryuu said to himself. "Let's sweep the shards."