Score: 11 - 8 Nekoma.
Set 5.
The momentum wasn't just shifting; it was capsizing. Ryuu's arrogance wasn't empty boasting—it was a promise.
Itachiyama Timeout.
On the Itachiyama bench, the air was suffocating. The invincible champions looked mortal.
"They aren't tired," Iizuna said, wiping sweat that refused to stop. "Why aren't they tired? We dragged them through the mud for four sets."
Sakusa sat in silence, staring at the floor. His hands were shaking slightly—not from fear, but from rage.
On the Nekoma bench, it was different.
Ryuu drank his water calmly. Kuroo was grinning like a shark. Yaku was stretching his hamstrings.
"Three points," Kuroo said, slapping Ryuu's knee. "Do we play safe? Or do we break their necks?"
Ryuu crushed his empty cup.
"We don't break their necks," Ryuu said, looking at Kenma. "We suffocate them. Don't let the ball touch our floor. Not even once."
Kenma looked up from his towel. "Okay."
The whistle blew. The crowd was roaring, a sea of red noise drowning out the Itachiyama band.
Ryuu stood at the line. He smirked at Sakusa.
He served. A hard, driving jump serve.
Komori dug it, but the impact pushed him back. "Cover!"
Iizuna set to Sakusa.
Sakusa smashed a cross.
Yaku was there. He didn't just dig it; he absorbed it perfectly.
"Chance ball!"
"Kenma!"
Ryuu, having just served, rushed from the back row. He screamed, "BRING IT!"
Every Itachiyama blocker froze. Their eyes locked onto the Red Giant charging down the pipe. Sakusa, the Middle, Iizuna—they all bunched up to stop Ryuu.
Kenma saw the panic.
He didn't set Ryuu.
He pushed a fast, flat set to the left. Yamamoto.
Yamamoto had zero blockers. An open net.
"ORA!!"
Yamamoto smashed the ball into the floor.
BOOM.
Nekoma 12 - 8.
Yamamoto flexed and roared at the crowd.
Ryuu slowed down his approach, laughing. He pointed at the Itachiyama blockers.
"You guys are obsessed with me," Ryuu mocked. "My teammate is pretty good too, you know."
Sakusa gritted his teeth. "Damn it."
Itachiyama was reeling. They needed a point desperately.
Ryuu served again. Komori received.
"Right side!"
Iizuna set to the Opposite hitter.
Kuroo and Kai jumped. A solid wall.
The Opposite tried to tip.
Kai reacted instantly. He kept the ball off the floor with a one-handed pancake.
"Nice save, Kai!"
The ball flew awkwardly to the back.
"I got it!" Ryuu yelled.
He stepped in and bumped the ball high and center. A perfect transition set.
"Kenma!"
Kenma was under it. He looked at Ryuu.
Ryuu was in the back row. He nodded.
Kenma set the Back-Row Pipe.
Ryuu took off. He soared.
Three blockers tried to close, but they were disjointed. They were scared.
Ryuu saw the gap. He didn't blast it. He hit a controlled, heavy shot right between Sakusa and Iizuna.
THUD.
The ball hit the floor before they could collapse on it.
Nekoma 13 - 8.
The Nekoma bench exploded. Lev was jumping up and down, screaming his lungs out. Coach Naoi was fist-pumping so hard he looked like he might dislocate his shoulder.
Coach Nekomata sat quietly amidst the chaos. He watched the boys he had raised.
The defensive experts.
The quiet, introverted setter.
The loud, arrogant ace.
They were all moving as one single organism. He reached up to wipe his eyes, but his hand shook slightly. He pressed a knuckle against the corner of his eye, catching a drop of moisture before it could fall.
"They are connecting," Nekomata whispered, his voice cracking just a fraction.
He took a shaky breath, smiling through the glassy shine in his eyes. "The Shield saves it. The Brain sets it. The Spear kills it. This is it... this is the Total Volleyball I waited a lifetime to see."
______
Nekoma was two points away.
Ryuu stood at the service line.
The air pressure in the gym seemed to drop. The crowd fell deathly silent.
Ryuu didn't just hold the ball; he gripped it like a weapon.
He tossed it high. The ball spun perfectly against the glare of the stadium lights.
He took his approach.
Step. Step. CRASH.
He launched himself into the air.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
Ryuu hung at the apex of his jump. His back arched beautifully, forming a perfect, terrifying crescent moon. His arm was drawn back to its limit.
To the Itachiyama players, he didn't look like a high schooler. He looked like an executioner raising his axe.
Komori Motoya, the Number 1 Libero, stiffened. His survival instinct screamed one word:
'DEATH.'
Ryuu swung.
KABOOM.
The sound was like a thunderclap. The ball blurred into a beam of light.
It screamed over the net, aiming straight for the back corner.
Komori didn't move. He couldn't. He just watched the missile approach.
Ting.
The ball clipped the very top edge of the net tape.
The trajectory shifted. It floated up... sailing over Komori's head... past the baseline...
Plop.
It landed two inches out of bounds.
Itachiyama 9 - 13.
The entire stadium let out a massive, collective exhale. "OHHHHHHHHHH!"
Komori's knees actually buckled. He grabbed his chest, his heart hammering against his ribs. "I saw my life flash before my eyes..."
On the Nekoma court, Kenma and Yamamoto, who had been ready to celebrate the ace, nearly tripped over their own feet.
Ryuu landed. He stared at the mark on the floor.
He stood up straight, dusted off his jersey, and shrugged with infuriating coolness.
"My bad," Ryuu said, his voice totally flat. "Put a little too much spice on it."
Yaku walked onto the court for the rotation, looking ready to strangle him.
"Too much spice?!" Yaku yelled, slapping Ryuu hard on the chest. "You nearly gave their Libero a heart attack! Just put it in!"
Ryuu grinned, unfazed, walking toward his defensive position in the back right. "He looked scared though, didn't he?"
"Wipe that grin off and get low!" Yaku barked, though he was smirking. "I'll clean up the mess. You just get ready to pipe from the back!"
"Roger that, Mom," Ryuu teased, dropping into his receiving stance.
"I'LL KICK YOU!"
_____
Itachiyama served. They had to score. There was no tomorrow.
Iizuna served a short, nasty floater that dropped like a stone.
Yamamoto lunged forward, knees hitting the floor. "Sorry, it's low!"
Kenma had to dive just to get his fists under it.
He couldn't set an attack. He bumped it high and deep.
"Free ball!" Komori yelled, his voice cracking with urgency.
Itachiyama countered. This was their lifeline.
Iizuna didn't look for a trick. He looked for his Ace.
"Sakusa!"
Sakusa Kiyoomi approached. He was usually a surgeon—clean, precise, avoiding the mess. But now, he was a butcher. He jumped. He poured all his anger, his pride, and his desperation into his right arm.
Kuroo jumped to block, sealing the line.
BAM.
Sakusa didn't aim around him. He blasted right through him. The ball smashed into Kuroo's arms with enough force to blow them backward. It tore through the block and cratered into the floor.
Itachiyama 10 - 13.
Sakusa landed. He didn't wipe his hands. He didn't fix his jersey. He turned to his silent team and screamed, veins popping in his neck. "WE ARE NOT DONE! WAKE UP!"
The Itachiyama side jolted awake. The fear was gone, replaced by the terror of their Captain's rage. They were fighting for their lives.
Ryuu, standing in the back-right corner of the court, watched the celebration. He looked at Kuroo.
Kuroo was shaking his arms out, grimacing as he rubbed the red marks on his forearms.
He caught Ryuu's eye from across the court.
Kuroo grinned—a sharp, feral look. "He's desperate," Kuroo mouthed, winking. "We have them."
Ryuu nodded, crouching low in defense. "One more," Ryuu whispered. "Just get me back to the front."
___________
Itachiyama served again. A desperate, heavy serve to keep the game alive.
Kai received. It was a perfect, high pass to the setter's sweet spot.
"Kenma!"
Kenma had options. Ryuu was screaming for it on the left. Kuroo was rushing the middle.
Kenma decided to break their spirit. He didn't use power; he used misdirection.
Kuroo leaped for an A-Quick—a lightning-fast middle attack. He sold it perfectly, swinging his arm as if he was going to crush the ball.
The Itachiyama Middle Blocker bit. He jumped with Kuroo, trying to stuff the quick.
Komori shifted forward to cover the tip.
But the ball never touched Kuroo's hand. Kenma didn't set the quick. He pushed the ball past Kuroo's face, all the way to the right wing. To Fukunaga Shouhei.
The Itachiyama defense was completely fooled. The net in front of Fukunaga was wide open. No block. Fukunaga didn't smash it. He hit a calm, clinical straight shot down the line.
BAM.
The ball hit the floor untouched.
Nekoma 14 - 10. Championship Point.
The stadium shook. The chant began, low and rhythmic, vibrating through the floorboards. "NE-KO-MA. NE-KO-MA."
Kuroo landed, grinning at the confused Itachiyama blocker. He turned and pointed at Kenma.
"Nasty, Kenma. Using me as bait? Absolutely nasty."
Kenma just wiped his forehead, looking drained. "It was the logical choice," Kenma muttered, turning away. "Can we finish this? I want to go home."
Nekoma Match Point.
One point to win the Nationals.
Nekoma served. Komori received.
"Sakusa!"
Iizuna set to Sakusa. Sakusa smashed it. Yaku dug it.
"Counter!"
Kenma set to Yamamoto. Yamamoto smashed it.
Komori dug it. "Counter!"
It was a stalemate. Nobody wanted to let the ball drop. Finally, Iizuna set to the Opposite on the right.
The Opposite hit a wipe off Yamamoto's block. The ball flew deep... and landed in bounds.
Itachiyama 11 - 14. They survived one match point.
Ryuu rotated back to the front row. He walked to the net.
He stood opposite Iizuna (the setter). Sakusa was in the back row now. Ryuu looked through the net. His presence was suffocating. He wasn't just a blocker; he was a gatekeeper.
Itachiyama served.
Kai received.
"Kenma!"
Kenma set to Ryuu. Ryuu jumped. Three blockers committed. Ryuu swung. The block deflected it.
"Chance ball!" Komori yelled.
Itachiyama countered. Iizuna saw Ryuu land. He thought Ryuu was slow recovering.
Iizuna decided to Dump the ball.
A Setter Dump to catch Nekoma off guard.
He turned his wrist fast.
Ryuu had just landed. His knees were bent. But his eyes never left Iizuna's hands.
Ryuu exploded upward. He didn't even take a step. It was pure vertical reflex.
WHAM.
Ryuu's hand appeared over the net like a guillotine. He stuffed the dump attempt inches from Iizuna's face. The ball ricocheted straight down.
Iizuna gasped, falling back. But Komori—miraculously—got a foot under it. "CONNECT!"
The ball flew high into the air. Itachiyama was still alive, but barely. Ryuu landed, staring down at Iizuna.
"Don't try cheap tricks," Ryuu whispered, his voice cold. "Not against me."
The ball came down. Itachiyama sent a free ball over. Nekoma had the ball. 14-11. Ryuu was in the front row. Kenma had the ball.
"End it," Ryuu whispered.