Chapter 22: Aoba Johsai vs. Wakutani Minami 7
"Oikawa, when Taiichi goes in, focus the balls on him. I want to see how his offense holds up near the endgame," Oikawa Tooru recalled Coach Irihata's words from the timeout as he saw Kaedehara Taiichi take the court.
Kaedehara Taiichi stood at the net, noticing Oikawa Tooru staring at him.
"What, Oikawa-senpai? Plotting something bad again?"
"Hmm, when it comes to juniors, Tobio-chan's still cuter."
…
Aoba Johsai's serve. Hanamaki Takahiro sent the ball over.
"Nice receive, Naruko!"
"Shunya, spike it!"
"Clean receive, Hanamaki!" The ball flew above Oikawa.
Right after Taiichi entered, Wakutani Minami's defense locked onto him. With Iwa-chan in the back row, setting to him for a back-row attack would be more unexpected.
But after watching so long, don't you want to test their block? Oikawa glanced at the focused Taiichi and set the ball his way.
"Triple block!" Shiraishi Yuki, Naruko Teppei, and Kawato Shunya lined up.
This is the feeling! Kaedehara Taiichi leaped, sensing their movements slowed as if in slow motion. Aiming for Shiraishi Yuki's leftmost palm edge, he slammed the ball down.
The ball grazed Shiraishi's palm, flying toward Wakutani Minami's backcourt.
He's got nerve! Seeing Taiichi's approach, Nakashima Taku vaguely guessed his plan. Reacting instantly, Nakashima sprinted backward to save. Aoba's setter and this middle blocker, daring to play like that at a critical moment—damn bold bastards!
Nakashima's diving leap missed the landing ball.
Kaedehara Taiichi's spike scored!
[Aoba Johsai 23 vs. Wakutani Minami 20]
"Aoba Johsai scores again!" Cheers erupted from the sidelines.
"Nice spike, Taiichi!"
"Scored! Awesome…" Kaedehara Taiichi stared at his hand. Landing a spike exactly as he envisioned felt incredible!
Hanamaki Takahiro continued serving.
"Hanamaki-senpai, nice serve…"
Hanamaki's serve hit the net's top edge, flipping over and dropping into Wakutani Minami's court.
"Aaah!" Naruko Teppei dove, saving the ball.
Akiho Kazumitsu followed, digging: "Too far, save it!"
The ball floated above the net.
"Taku, push it!"
"Taiichi, push it!"
Nakashima Taku and Kaedehara Taiichi leaped simultaneously, pushing the ball toward the opponent's court. With a slight edge, Taiichi pressed it downward, landing it in Wakutani Minami's court.
Nakashima Taku fell, sitting and glaring up at Taiichi across the net, unwilling to accept defeat. At moments like this, he was reminded of that frustrating "iron wall" called height!
Aoba Johsai reached match point first!
[Aoba Johsai 24 vs. Wakutani Minami 20]
"Sorry…" Akiho Kazumitsu lowered his head, ashamed as the libero for failing the receive.
"Take the next one!" Nakashima Taku stood, ruffling Akiho's head vigorously, his tone firmer than ever.
"Hey, Kazumitsu, if you mess up the next receive, you're buying me ramen!" Kawato Shunya shouted.
"Y-Yes!"
Hanamaki Takahiro served his third ball.
Akiho Kazumitsu received steadily this time. The critical point, of course—Hanayama Kazuya set to Nakashima Taku.
Aoba Johsai's Kaedehara Taiichi and Oikawa Tooru blocked, while Iwaizumi Hajime guarded Nakashima's straight-line spike.
"No backing down!" Facing an open path, Nakashima didn't spike straight but angled toward Kaedehara Taiichi's wrist!
Taiichi couldn't react in time, only managing to tilt his palm upward.
The ball hit Taiichi's palm edge, bouncing upward.
The ball hadn't landed—there was still a chance!
"Touch!" Kaedehara Taiichi shouted.
Hanamaki Takahiro chased the ball's trajectory, slamming it back toward Oikawa Tooru.
Oikawa leaped at the net, hands ready to set, eyes scanning for attackers.
Taiichi, after landing from the block, sprinted across the court to the other side, leaping again.
"Again?"
Wakutani Minami's players and Oikawa shared the same thought.
"This guy runs too much!"
Wakutani Minami's front row hurriedly tracked Taiichi, while Nakashima Taku stepped back, anticipating Taiichi wouldn't hit a line shot. Defending his hit-out would suffice.
Taiichi reached his peak, glancing back at Oikawa, eyes burning with spiking desire.
"This kid!" Oikawa nearly flinched at Taiichi's intensity. "Not giving it to you~"
Oikawa's setting motion shifted mid-air. His left hand smacked the ball into Wakutani Minami's court.
Tap.
The ball landed, catching even the referee off guard.
[Aoba Johsai 25 vs. Wakutani Minami 20]
Beep, beep— The whistle blew, ending the first set.
The finish was so sudden, the gym fell silent.
Then, explosive cheers erupted.
"He ended it with a second-touch attack!"
"Oikawa-senpai's so cool!"
"Waaah, I thought the last ball was going to Taiichi…"
Oikawa felt a twinge of fear. Taiichi's glance nearly made him set the ball over.
But hearing the crowd's praise, Oikawa decided this was better.
He shot Taiichi a provocative look, winking and signaling with his eyes—"I won."
"What's wrong, Oikawa-senpai? Eye trouble?" Taiichi grinned at Oikawa.
Oikawa's expression froze. "Hmph, ignorant kid."
Taiichi still savored his earlier run. Though Oikawa scored, seeing Wakutani Minami's blockers chase him, then look shocked, gave Taiichi a thrill.
He understood Oikawa's look but chose to ignore it. Childish jerk.
---
"Everyone did great. Rest up and prep for the second set," Manager Mizoguchi called to the players from the sidelines.
"Yes!"
Taiichi headed to the bench when the system's voice sounded.
"Ding! Temporary task 'Little Giant Successor' progress updated."
"First set ended. Nakashima Taku hit-out points: 3. Host hit-out points: 1."
???
Taiichi froze. Damn, he'd completely forgotten this task.
He checked the system interface. The task hadn't failed yet. Phew, good thing it covered the whole match. Taiichi sighed in relief.
He hurried to Mizoguchi Tetsuyuki's side. "Manager Mizoguchi, can I see the score sheet?"
"Sure." Mizoguchi Tetsuyuki handed it over.
Taiichi found Nakashima Taku's column: 14 attacks, 9 points.
Ridiculous. One guy scored nearly half his team's points, not counting his defensive impact.
Taiichi checked Oikawa Tooru and himself. Oikawa: 6 points (2 from second-touch attacks, 4 from serves). Taiichi: 3 points from spikes.
Taiichi sighed. Whether by points or efficiency, he was still far behind.