"Oikawa, when Taichi gets on the court, focus the ball on him. I want to see how well his offense performs near the endgame." Oikawa Tooru recalled what the coach had told him during the timeout as he watched Kaedehara Taichi enter the court.
Standing at the net, Taichi noticed Oikawa staring at him.
"What is it, Oikawa-senpai? Thinking up more mischief again?"
"Hm, when it comes to juniors, I still prefer little Tobio."
...
Aoba Johsai served, and Hanamaki Takahiro sent the ball over.
"Naruko, nice receive!"
"Shun, spike it down!"
"Nice dig, Hanamaki!" The ball flew over toward Oikawa.
Taichi had just stepped onto the court, but the opposing defense was already focused on him. At this moment, Iwaizumi was in the back row—sending it to him for a back attack could catch the other side off guard.
But after watching him for so long, you want to test that opponent's block too, right? Oikawa looked at the intensely focused Taichi and sent the ball his way.
"Three-man block!" Shirai Yuki, Naruko Teppei, and Kawawatari Shunki all lined up at the net.
This is the feeling! Kaedehara Taichi leapt up, and everything in front of him seemed to slow down. He aimed at the side of Shirai Yuki's hand and smashed the ball down.
The ball brushed the edge of Shirai Yuki's palm and flew toward the back of Wakunan's court.
He really went for it! Watching Taichi's jump, Nakashima Takeshi had a rough idea of what he was trying to do. He reacted immediately, sprinting backward to save the ball. Aoba Johsai's setter and this middle blocker—playing like this at such a critical point—they've got guts, damn it!
Even with a diving leap, Nakashima couldn't reach the falling ball.
Point for Kaedehara Taichi spike!
[Aoba Johsai 23 - 20 Wakunan]
"Aoba Johsai scores again!" Cheers erupted from the sidelines.
"Taichi, awesome spike!"
"We scored—thank goodness…" Kaedehara Taichi stared at his hand. Scoring from a play that went exactly the way he envisioned—it felt amazing!
Hanamaki Takahiro continued serving.
"Hanamaki-senpai, give us a good serve…"
His serve hit the top of the net, rolled over, and dropped into Wakunan's court.
"Ahhh!" Naruko Teppei dove desperately and barely saved it.
Akiu Koko followed up with a bump. "It's too far! Someone save it!"
The ball floated directly above the net.
"Take it, Takeshi!"
"Taichi, take it!"
Nakashima Takeshi and Kaedehara Taichi jumped at the same time to push the ball into the opposing court. With a slight advantage, Taichi pushed it down from above into Wakunan's court.
Nakashima fell onto the floor and looked up at Taichi across the net, frustration written all over his face. In moments like this, he always remembered that annoying wall—the iron barrier called height!
Aoba Johsai reaches match point!
[Aoba Johsai 24 - 20 Wakunan]
"Sorry…" Akiu Koko bowed his head. As the team's libero, he hadn't made a clean receive.
"Just get the next one!" Nakashima stood up, firmly rubbed Koko's head, and spoke more firmly than ever before.
"Hey, Koko! If you miss the next one again, you're treating me to ramen!" Kawawatari Shunki shouted from the side.
"Y-Yes!"
Hanamaki served the third ball.
This time, Akiu Koko received it steadily. For the crucial point, of course—Hanayama Ichimasa set the ball to Nakashima Takeshi.
Kaedehara Taichi and Oikawa Tooru went up to block, and Iwaizumi was ready to receive any straight spike from Nakashima.
"I won't back down!" With a clear path ahead, Nakashima didn't go for a direct spike. Instead, he angled his shot toward Taichi's wrist.
Taichi didn't have time to react properly—he just tried to lift his palm.
The ball hit the edge of his hand and bounced upward.
It didn't hit the floor—there's still a chance!
"First touch!" Taichi shouted.
Hanamaki chased the ball and knocked it toward Oikawa.
Oikawa leapt at the net, ready to set, scanning for attackers.
Taichi landed from the block and sprinted across the court again, leaping on the opposite side.
"Again?!"
At that moment, both Wakunan's players and Oikawa had the same thought:
"This guy runs too much!"
Wakunan's front row scrambled to follow Taichi. Nakashima stepped back two paces—he figured Taichi wouldn't risk a line shot, so as long as he blocked the angle off-hand, they'd be fine.
Taichi reached the peak of his jump and turned to look at Oikawa, eyes filled with the desire to spike.
"This kid..." Oikawa nearly gave in to that stare. "But I'm not giving it to you~"
Oikawa suddenly changed his action midair and dumped the ball into Wakunan's court with his left hand.
Thud.
The ball hit the ground on Wakunan's side. Even the referee hesitated for a moment.
[Aoba Johsai 25 - 20 Wakunan]
Tweet! Tweet— The whistle blew. The first set was over.
The end came so suddenly, the gym went silent for a moment—
Then erupted into thunderous cheers.
"He ended the match with a setter dump!"
"Oikawa-senpai is so cool!"
"Waaah, I thought the last ball would definitely go to Taichi…"
Even Oikawa felt a bit spooked—Taichi's stare had nearly made him give in and send the ball.
But hearing all the cheers and praise around him, he felt satisfied this way.
He looked provocatively at Taichi, winking and signaling with his eyes—"I win."
"What's wrong, Oikawa-senpai? Is something in your eye?" Taichi smiled at him.
Oikawa's expression stiffened. "Hmph. Ignorant kid."
Taichi was still basking in the thrill of that full-court sprint. Even though Oikawa had scored the point, seeing the opposing blockers chase after him and then react with such shock—that alone felt so satisfying.
As for Oikawa's signal? Of course he understood it—he just didn't feel like entertaining that childish nonsense.
"Everyone did great. Take a good rest and get ready for set two," Coach Guchiguchi called from the sideline.
"Yes!"
Taichi headed toward the sideline when suddenly, the system's voice chimed in.
"Ding! Temporary Quest 'The Next Little Giant' progress update."
"End of Set 1: Nakashima Takeshi — 3 'tool out' points; Host — 1 'tool out' point."
…???
Taichi froze. Crap—he'd totally forgotten about the mission!
He quickly checked the system interface. The task hadn't failed yet. Phew. Luckily, the mission covered the whole match. He let out a sigh of relief.
He hurried to Coach Guchiguchi. "Coach, can I see the scoring sheet?"
"Sure." Coach Guchiguchi handed it over.
Taichi found Nakashima's row: 14 attacks, 9 points scored.
Absurd. Nearly half the team's total, and that's not even counting his defensive contributions.
He checked Oikawa's and his own stats next.
Oikawa Tooru — 6 points (2 setter dumps, 4 aces)Kaedehara Taichi — 3 spiking points
Taichi let out a deep sigh. Whether in terms of points or efficiency—he still had a long way to go.