The referee's whistle signaled the start of the third and decisive set.
Fatigue was no longer just a concept. It was a weight crushing my legs.
The giants of Datekogyo were lined up at the net. In the center stood Takanobu Aone, the eyebrowless colossus, the pillar of their wall. Beside him was Kenji Futakuchi, the wing spiker with arrogant manners and lightning-fast reflexes.
The set opened with a roar. The ball served by Datekogyo hissed over the net.
Daichi received it with a grunt.
"Kageyama!" he yelled.
The setter immediately fed Hinata.
SWISH!
The little guy soared into the air, but Aone's wall rose even faster. The ball came back with absurd violence.
Nishinoya dove face-first, saving it by a miracle. "Cover!"
Asahi tried to spike again, but he slammed into the arms of Yasushi Kamasaki, the most experienced and loudest middle blocker of the group.
STOMP!
The ball hit our floor. I was sitting on the bench with a towel over my face.
I could feel the anger rising.
I watched my teammates struggle while I was trapped by a stabbing pain in my temples. Under the fabric, my eyes were red and pulsing.
The use of the Sharingan was not only draining me physically, but my vision was beginning to turn slightly blurry.
Karasuno 3 | 5 Datekogyo
The match had become a physical slaughter. Tanaka hit a razor-sharp cross-court shot.
BAM!
But Kousuke Sakunami, Datekogyo's young libero, flew and recovered it with a dive.
Kamasaki immediately bolted for a quick attack.
BOOM!
The ball exploded onto our court before Tsukishima could even jump.
"Don't give up!" shouted Ukai.
He looked at me and sighed. He didn't expect much from me. He had probably put me in the starting lineup just for my height.
"Sub out," Coach Ukai said as he noticed my condition.
I clenched my fists in frustration and anger as I returned to the team bench.
Karasuno 8 | 11 Datekogyo
Datekogyo began to take the lead.
Every one of their blocks hurt.
Futakuchi smiled after every point, a smile that made Tanaka's blood boil. "One more time!" Hinata yelled. But Aone blocked him again, clean, without even looking at him. The ball bounced off Hinata's head and landed out of bounds. The silence from our fans was deafening.
From the anime, I thought this would be a simple match, but I realized that their strength is far greater than what was shown in the anime.
I felt Kiyoko's breath beside me. She was motionless. Perhaps she was thinking of when her own dreams as an athlete were shattered.
I, meanwhile, was sitting with a white towel covering my face. The atmosphere around me was heavy. I couldn't even open my eyes because of the pain. My vision was now totally blurred and my clenched fists were trembling from intense emotions.
Professor Takeda looked at me with a silent concern that stung.
Karasuno 15 | 16 Datekogyo
Karasuno fought back thanks to Kageyama's serves.
BOOM!
First ace.
BOOM!
Second ace. The stadium was a madhouse. But Datekogyo did not waver. Kaname Moniwa, their captain and setter, kept his cool and tossed a perfect ball to Aone. BAM! A lightning-fast central attack destroyed our defense.
Under the towel, my thoughts were dark. "Why am I so weak?" The anger was a blade. I heard the jumps, Nishinoya's shouts, and the impact of the balls. Every sound was a pang of pain.
Karasuno 19 | 21 Datekogyo
We were back in the mud. The Iron Wall seemed to have grown even taller. Asahi received a messy ball. Kageyama tried to clean it up with a desperate jump set. The ball went to Asahi, but the triple block, led by Moniwa and Aone, was already there. CLANG! The ball came back. Nishinoya lunged sideways and hit it with his knuckles. "Give it to him again!"
With a decisive move, Kageyama jumped high and set the ball toward Asahi's side again, but the wall on the other side was already waiting.
Karasuno 20 | 22 Datekogyo
The psychological pressure on our Ace was enormous.
The Datekogyo captain served the ball with precision into the corner of the court.
Seeing the ball's trajectory, Nishinoya dove with determination.
The ball went up and Kageyama moved into position. Tension was at its peak and every wrong move could have caused the team to falter.
"Toss it to me!!" Our Ace's scream surprised most of Karasuno.
A great determination ignited in Asahi's eyes. The fire he had lost was rekindled.
Trusting him, Kageyama launched the ball high with pinpoint precision while Asahi prepared to jump.
On the other side of the court, Aone and his teammates prepared a triple block.
Asahi jumped with power.
Swoshh!
With great strength, he hit the ball without fear of the opposing wall. The ball struck Aone's arms, but the force of the ball was too much to handle.
Bam!
The ball hit the floor with a deafening thud.
"Yesss!!!" Asahi and Nishinoya embraced while jumping in euphoria, as the heavy atmosphere vanished, transformed into pure joy.
The set reached its end. Every rally lasted minutes. The players were drenched in sweat. Tanaka scored with a millimetric line shot after an incredible save by Daichi. BAM! The equalizer set the Karasuno stands on fire. We were alive by a miracle.
Karasuno 24 | 23 Datekogyo (Match Point)
Aone was in front of Hinata. It was the final act of a war. Kageyama tossed the ball. Hinata sprinted with his last bit of strength. Aone jumped to shut down every gap. But it was a decoy! The ball flew behind toward Asahi, who had stayed back for a pipe attack.
BOOM!
Asahi hit it with every ounce of strength left in his soul. The ball impacted Aone's hands. There was a moment of surreal silence. The ball rolled slowly over the white tape of the net, suspended. Then, it fell into Datekogyo's court.
Final whistle.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEEIP!
Karasuno exploded.
Hinata jumped onto Asahi, Nishinoya was screaming, Daichi was crying.
We had won. The Iron Wall had crumbled. I took off the towel. The bright lights of the rafters blinded me.
I saw the exhausted faces of my teammates. The joy on their faces was evident, but I remained seated. My eyes were still burning.
We had won, but I had remained a spectator, useless. Ukai placed a hand on my shoulder during my silence after the victory.
I looked toward the exit. Oikawa was leaving the stands. He stopped and turned toward us. His eyes met Kageyama's and then mine. He said nothing, but his gaze and his smile needed no explanation.
He was issuing a challenge.
[MISSION COMPLETE] [OBJECTIVE. Win against Datekogyo High] [REWARD. +40 Sharingan]
The locker room smelled of sweat and adrenaline. The noise was almost unbearable. Tanaka and Nishinoya were shouting victory chants, dragging Hinata into an absurd dance on the benches. Asahi was laughing through tears, finally free from his ghosts. In the middle of that chaotic joy, I was an island of silence.
I tried to pack my things into my bag with slow, almost mechanical movements. I felt the anger pulsing in my temples along with the pain. I felt like a stranger at this party.
"Yuya, are you okay?"
I turned. Sugawara was there, with a towel over his shoulders and a worried expression. Beside him, Daichi watched me closely, ignoring the others' celebrations for a moment.
"You look wrecked," Daichi added, lowering his voice. "You were motionless for half of the last set. Do you feel sick?"
"I'm fine," I replied, trying to force a normal tone as I zipped my bag. "I'm just dead tired. It was a heavy match."
"Are you sure? If you need to take a break or stop by the infirmary..." Sugawara tried to insist, but I interrupted him with a nod.
"Really, I'm fine. I just need to sleep. See you tomorrow." At my answer, they nodded, not wanting to push the conversation further.
I grabbed my bag and left without looking anyone in the face. As I walked down the corridor, the shouts of joy from my teammates grew more distant, replaced by the thumping of my own footsteps. I was furious. Angry at my body for not holding up, angry at that power that was betraying me at the most critical moment.
The journey home was a torment of blurred lights. When I arrived, the bag weighed on my shoulders as if it were full of stones. I entered trying not to make noise, but my sister, Kaede, was still awake watching TV.
She turned to look at me and remained silent for a few seconds. "Welcome back," she said softly. Then she frowned, noticing how I kept my head down and the way I clenched my fists. "You look terrible, Kazuki. Did something happen in the match? You seem... elsewhere."
"Nothing," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. "It was just a long day. I'm tired to death."
I didn't wait for a reply. I climbed the stairs one step at a time, feeling every muscle complain. I closed the bedroom door behind me and threw myself onto the bed without even taking off my uniform. The darkness of the room wasn't enough to quench the burning behind my eyelids.
"System," I whispered into the silence. "Analyze ocular condition. I want to know how long it takes to recover."
No glowing interface appeared this time. Only a cold, mechanical voice resonated directly in my mind like a sentence.
[WARNING. Optic nerve overload at 92%. Cells are unable to process further high-frequency visual information flows.]
"Give me the recovery times," I insisted, clutching the sheets.
[Full recovery requires absolute rest. Necessary condition for the next match against Aoba Johsai. the use of the Sharingan is strictly prohibited. Any attempt to activate it will cause permanent damage to the Host's vision.]
I lay motionless, holding my breath. My heart was beating hard, echoing in the silence of the room. "What are you saying? Tomorrow is Oikawa. If I can't see his trajectories, if I can't anticipate his sets... we're finished."
I turned onto my side, staring at the wall in the dark. I was back to being a normal student, a normal middle blocker with little experience, at the very moment a monster was needed. Tomorrow I would have to face the "Great King" without tricks, without slowed-down visions. Just me, my tired body, and my fear.