A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!
unedited
***
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR - CATS VS. MONKEYS
"Is this the match you wanted to see, Suguru?" Mika asked.
"Yeah." Daisho replied, looking down towards the court.
"Nekoma?"
"Left!"
The ball was received by Yaku as it went into the air. "Kenma!" He shouted out.
Kenma sends the ball over towards Kuroo who jumps up to spike, but it was received by the opposing team's libero.
"That was a rather difficult position for a quick... but Sarukawa Tech manages to receive the ball. The Tokyo reps, Nekoma High, and the Ishikawa reps, Sarukawa Tech. Both teams are known for their unbreakable defense. Which team's defense will see them through..."
The ball was received once more as Kenma and Kuroo got ready to block.
"to the third round?!"
* * *
"Our first nationals in high school! Aren't you excited, Kai-chan?" Nishimoto asked her childhood friend, who was tossing a volleyball in the air using one hand.
"I suppose so." Mizuki replied. "Hey, Saika... Do you remember Nakamura-san?"
"Hm? Oh. He goes to Inarizaki now, right?"
"Yeah." Mizuki responded. "Kuroo-san reminds me of him."
"Because he yells at you whenever you slack off?" Nishimoto guessed, making Mizuki hold an irked expression. "Now that I think about it, you seem to respect Kuroo-senpai a lot."
"I respect all of our seniors, Saika."
"You threw a book at Yamamoto-senpai once."
"Because Yamamoto-san always finds ways to irritate me." Mizuki sighed as he stopped tossing the volleyball. "The way he flirts with you is annoying... Anyway, Kuroo-san was the only one who treated me like a normal player."
"I'm Nishimoto Saika from Jindai Junior High! I'll be your manager! Please take care of me!" The pink-haired woman bowed in greeting to her seniors.
Yamamoto's eyes sparkled as if he won the lottery. "A female manager! My prayers have been answered!" He exclaimed.
"Don't even think about touching Saika, you imbecile!" Mizuki shouted in anger, grabbing onto Yamamoto's volleyball jacket.
"Huh? Who are you?"
Mizuki releases Yamamoto. "Mizuki Kaito from Jindai Junior High. I was their ace." He responded.
"Oh? So we got a former prodigy player from that school, huh?"
Mizuki looked up to see a grinning Kuroo. "Let me tell you now, you won't be treated like some king here. You're gonna have the same treatment as everyone else." Kuroo informed.
"That's why we have to win nationals. No matter what." Mizuki claimed, causing Nishimoto to smile at him.
* * *
Nekoma was in the lead with 15 points while Sarukawa Tech had 13. The ball was received before it touched the ground.
"Sarukawa thought they had an opening, but Nekoma manages to get the ball! Solid masters of defense that they are, Nekoma's not going to let the ball drop in their court that easily."
Kenma saved the ball. "Fukunaga!" He called out as Fukunaga spiked the ball.
"One touch!"
"Sarukawa Tech is still managing to keep the ball up!"
"Good job! Take your time attacking!" Shishio encouraged.
"Apparently, Sarukawa Tech's coach, Shishio, was one of Nekoma High's Coach Nekomata's former students."
"Correct. His team's tight defense may be due to everything he learned from his mentor."
The game resumed as Mizuki dived down to save the ball. Kenma gets ready to set. "Something doesn't feel right." Daisho spoke, a hand was over his mouth.
"What do you mean?" Mika asked, looking towards him.
"It feels like Sarukawa Tech is deliberately avoiding scoring quickly."
"Huh? Why, though? From my perspective, their attacks seem pretty fast and violent."
"Right. They have been scoring, and it's not like their attacks haven't been great. Nekoma's just been able to defend because they're Nekoma. Nekoma's defense is high-level, and they're able to bump attacks even when they seem flawless. And I'm not sure if that's why, but it really seems like Sarukawa is trying to throw Nekoma off their rhythm rather than score." Daisho explained.
"But what's the point if they can't score?" Mika questioned.
"Well, their intention is probably..."
Kenma was rushing over towards the ball. "to make their setter run." Daisho finished.
"Fukunaga!"
Kenma tosses the ball over towards Fukunaga once more as Nekoma was able to score.
"Nice kill!"
"Nice, nice, Fukunaga! Nice, nice, Fukunaga! One more time!"
Shishio takes a glance at the scoreboard.
Sarukawa Tech
20
Nekoma
22
"Even if we have to sacrifice the first set, put as much pressure on Nekoma's setter as you can. He doesn't seem like the type to break mentally, but he's the type that starts slipping up when he gets tired. We need to wear him down physically, not mentally. First, we need to take out... Nekoma's brain." Shishio thinks to himself.
* * *
"Mizuki!"
Mizuki dived to the side and saved the ball before it touched the court. "Nekomata-sensei always put defense first. And his setters have always been intelligent and intuitive. That's all because he's so confident in their defense. Even if we can't bring down their defense head-on, we can chip away at it, little by little. If we can chip away at their solid defense..." Shishio thought.
Kenma soon received the ball. "Their weak setter will expose himself." Shishio finished his thought as Mizuki jumped up to spike, but ended up getting blocked as the ball hit the court.
It was now the second set as Sarukawa Tech was in the lead with 18 points while Nekoma just had 16.
"Crush him... That setter's been babied by having all the passes go right to him. Now, crush him!"
***
A/N: Sorry that this was such a short chapter! Thanks for reading!
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𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧 ⸺ 𝖧𝖺𝗂𝗄𝗒𝗎𝗎
Fanfiction✦ ━━━ WINNING IS EVERYTHING. 𝙅𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙞 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝. A junior high with a volleyball team that had over 100 members. It was known as a powerhouse junior high, even higher than Shiratorizawa Junior High. But that's not all they were...
