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Chapter 254: Prophecy (Double-Length)
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 16:40:59 +0000 UTCHirugami Sachirō was born into a volleyball family. His parents, older brother, and older sister had all graduated from prestigious volleyball schools.
Naturally, he took up the sport as well.
From a young age, Hirugami was tall and had an exceptional volleyball IQ. With dreams of making a name for himself on the international stage, he practised day after day, refining his skills.
In middle school, he had no hesitation in enrolling at the top volleyball school in his prefecture.
He wanted to be even better.
He wanted to master the perfect serve.
He wanted to score with a direct spike.
He wanted to block every attack.
He wanted to receive every ball.
He wanted to prove himself.
Surrounded by excellence—his outstanding parents, his accomplished siblings—Hirugami was constantly reminded of his own shortcomings.
Practice, practice, practice...
No mistakes, no mistakes…
He could not lose, he must not lose…
Even when he wasn't hungry, he forced himself to eat more to build muscle. Over time, everyone around him became a competitor in his eyes—including himself.
He had to be better than he was a second ago.
He had to keep improving.
The slightest lapse would mean total failure.
Then, after leading Yurisei Middle School to another prefectural championship, Hirugami finally received the tournament's Most Valuable Player Award.
As for his teammates who had underperformed due to poor form, Hirugami felt nothing but disappointment. They must have been slacking off. Or worse, they had given up on themselves.
As for Hoshiumi Kōrai, who was still stuck on the second-string team back then?
Hirugami barely even acknowledged him.
—Because Hoshiumi was weak.
—And weak players were not worth noticing.
Until Yurisei Middle School fell at Nationals.
"Turns out, I don't really like volleyball that much."
Hirugami apologized to his teammates with a composed expression, then wandered home alone, letting the darkness swallow him whole.
"It's all this hand's fault. If only this hand hadn't made those mistakes."
His right hand clenched into a fist and pressed against the rough stone wall beside him. As he walked forward, the jagged surface scraped against his skin, leaving behind a long, crimson trail.
Yet, Hirugami felt no pain.
-----
At that moment, the last person he expected appeared—Hoshiumi Kōrai, a name he hadn't even bothered to remember.
"If you don't like volleyball, just stop playing for a while," Hoshiumi said casually. "It's not like you'll die without it."
The words shattered something within Hirugami's mind.
—He could quit anytime?
—Volleyball wasn't something he had to do forever?
If he gave it up, his life would open up to more choices.
Then, by that logic—"I could always play again, just for the hell of it."
Outside the ruthless realm of winning and losing, Hirugami discovered the simple joy of volleyball.
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BOOM!
Smack!
Hakuba Gao's powerful spike ricocheted off Watari Shinji's hands and flew out of bounds!
At 2 meters tall, even a standing jump was enough for him to clear the block!
Whack!
Kyōtani Kentarō lunged past the baseline, swinging his arm with one hand to send the ball back into play!
The ball soared toward the net—Oikawa Tōru leapt up for the attack!
"Three-man block!"
Bang!
Aoba Johsai's spike was shut down.
Point, Kamomedai!
[Aoba Johsai 21 - 19 Kamomedai]
"Aoba Johsai's attack has been blocked by Hirugami once again!"
"What a perfect block! Well done, Hirugami!"
"Hell yeah!" Hirugami grinned, slapping hands with his teammates.
"You should just set to No. 10 every time," he said to Oikawa, smiling. "None of the others are getting past me anyway."
-----
"There was nothing Oikawa could do just now," Kuroo Tetsurō mused. "The issue wasn't his spike."
"Kyōtani barely managed to keep the ball in play—that was already impressive," Kozume Kenma added.
"The real problem was the reception."
Kenma's voice was flat, yet decisive.
"If this were Nekoma, Hakuba's spike wouldn't have been nearly as hard to deal with. And even if we had to scramble, we wouldn't have forced a strong attack right away."
"If Oikawa's spike got blocked, Yaku would have picked it up," Kuroo said proudly.
"But even if he did, I doubt Yamamoto or Lev could break through Kamomedai's defence."
Kenma's tone was as blunt as ever.
"Kenma! You can't say that in front of Lev!" Kuroo sighed. "You're the setter—shouldn't you be helping your hitters find solutions?"
"I mean, I could force a few plays, but in the end, we'd still get stuffed," Kenma replied, his irritation growing.
"Alright, alright, let's focus on the match," Kuroo said, waving a hand. "Aoba Johsai still has Taichi, after all."
-----
The serve rotated—Hoshiumi Kōrai stepped up to the line.
"Nothing gets the blood pumping like a clutch serve when you're trailing at the end of a set!"
Boom!—
Service ace, Hoshiumi!
[Aoba Johsai 21 - 20 Kamomedai]
"Right on the sideline! A perfect placement shot!"
"Hoshiumi Kōrai closes the gap to just one point!"
"Nice one, Kōrai!"
"Beautiful serve, Little Giant!"
Hoshiumi beamed. "Keep the praise coming! I'll just get better and better!"
He tossed up the next serve.
Same trajectory—same deadly precision—aiming once more for the corner!
Smack!
Oikawa had dropped back to the rear line. He jumped, meeting the ball head-on with a firm pass.
The ball soared high.
"To Taichi!" Oikawa called out, knowing they had to rely on their ace to break through.
Watari set the ball to the right wing.
THUD!
Kaedehara Taichi launched into the air.
"Three-man block!"
Nozawa Izuru, Hakuba Gao, and Hirugami Sachirō rose to meet him.
"How much longer can you keep jumping?" Hirugami smirked at Taichi.
BOOM!
Taichi attacked straight down the line!
The ball shot past Hirugami's right side, hurtling toward Kamomedai's back row!
WHAP!
Hoshiumi slid in, absorbing the impact with a perfect dig.
"I got it!!!"
At the same time, Hakuba also called for the ball.
Suwa Aikichi chuckled. "Kamomedai has more than one ace, you know."
The set soared high to the left—Hakuba dashed forward and soared into the air!
"Three-man block!"
Oikawa, Kindaichi Yūtarō, and Kaedehara Taichi lined up to stop him.
But it wasn't enough.
203cm.
Against 190cm.
A 13cm difference.
CRASH!
Hakuba powered through the block!
Point, Kamomedai!
[Aoba Johsai 21 - 21 Kamomedai]
The scoreboard flashed—Kamomedai had tied the game.
Their unblockable spikes pushed Aoba Johsai's defense to its limit.
Meanwhile, Aoba Johsai's offense…
—had come to a grinding halt.
And Hoshiumi's service run was still going.
"Damn it…!" Iwaizumi Hajime clenched his fists.
The same height of 2 meters—yet Hakuba Gao's attacking angles were far sharper than Hyakuzawa Yūdai's.
Just standing in front of him wasn't enough to receive the ball. With all three front-row blockers participating in the block, the back-row defenders had to expand their receiving range forward by at least one meter.
"It's fine, Iwa-chan." Oikawa Tōru turned back with a smile. "We're strong."
If even with Taichi in the front row, Aoba Johsai still couldn't break through, then that would only mean one thing—he was a useless setter.
[Ding! Oikawa Tōru has entered Burst Mode]
[Oikawa Tōru (Burst Mode)—Setter: Overall Ability Rating: 95
Height: 186 cm | Power: 99 | Jump: 92 | Stamina: 95 | Speed: 90
Technique: Serve: 100 | Set: 100]
"Iwaizumi-senpai, this set will end at 25 points." Kaedehara Taichi's voice was utterly certain.
The score had been evened out? Then they would just widen the gap again.
Hoshiumi Kōrai's third serve targeted Aoba Johsai's front-row—Kaedehara Taichi.
Taichi crouched to receive the ball.
If he simply passed to Oikawa, he wouldn't have time to participate in the attack, which meant his teammates would face greater pressure from the blockers. Rather than that—
Smack!
The ball was lifted high into the air.
"Oikawa-senpai, cover me!" The moment Taichi received the ball, he immediately straightened up and took two steps back for an approach.
"You really love making things harder for yourself…" Oikawa quickly moved into position beneath the ball.
Kamomedai's blocking was a cluster block, different from the standard setup where the three front-row blockers spread out to cover the left, middle, and right. Kamomedai's blockers gathered tightly at the net's center.
Reading the attack, all three would move in unison, shifting laterally to the left or right to block. Even fast attacks to the sides were at least double-blocked, while standard high sets almost always faced a triple block.
This system required an incredibly high level of blocking awareness. If even one person misjudged or was a step too slow, the entire system would collapse into chaos.
Taichi had already sprinted to the right side and leapt into the air. Kamomedai's blockers didn't react immediately—they only needed to move at the exact moment the setter made his set.
Oikawa jumped facing the left, his upper body leaning back slightly as he lifted the ball forward.
"As expected—it's to the right!"
Kamomedai's three blockers moved together, crossing steps to shift to the right.
Oikawa's hands pressed slightly downward, redirecting the ball straight in front of him.
Whoosh—!
Boom!
Kindaichi Yūtarō spiked from the left side, scoring a clean kill!
[Aoba Johsai 22 – 21 Kamomedai]
"What…What just happened?!"
"Kamomedai's blockers didn't even jump!"
"Ahh, all three of them misread it together," Oikawa said, flashing a sly grin at Kamomedai's front row.
The serve rotated. Oikawa stepped up to the service line.
"Hirugami-senpai, you guys must have been pretty pleased about tying the score just now." Taichi glanced up at the scoreboard. "I think 21 points would look nice for Kamomedai in the final scoreboard."
Hirugami Sachirō's smile faded. "You always talk this arrogantly?"
"Hmm?" Taichi made a show of thinking it over. "But everything I say ends up happening."
-----
Oikawa tossed the ball high. A subtle tension and excitement rippled through the air.
This was Nationals. After so many consecutive victories, Aoba Johsai's mentality had subtly shifted. Their experience was still lacking—but they couldn't afford to let that affect them.
BANG!—
"Gao!" Hoshiumi shouted from the back row.
A jump float?!
The ball dipped sharply over the net, dropping straight in front of Hakuba Gao.
No preparation—his mind went completely blank. In recent matches, he hadn't seen Oikawa serve a jump float even once!
Thud!
The ball landed at his feet.
Oikawa's serve scored.
[Aoba Johsai 23 – 21 Kamomedai]
"As expected, you're not great at receiving," Oikawa remarked, looking straight at Hakuba. "Don't think I can't find you just because you're in the front row."
"They're starting by targeting Gao to rack up quick points?" Hirugami's eyes flickered. "His control is way too precise—this is troublesome…"
Oikawa served again.
BANG!
Hakuba hugged the net, while Suwa Aikichi stepped up to receive.
Smack!
"Save it!"
But just changing receivers wasn't enough to handle Oikawa's serve.
Hoshiumi rushed in to cover. Hakuba had no choice but to jump in place for a spike—meanwhile, Hoshiumi set the ball high toward the right.
Hirugami took his approach from the back row.
"Triple block!" Kindaichi, Taichi, and Iwaizumi all jumped in unison.
Aoba Johsai had never underestimated Hirugami's offense. If they only saw him as a defensive specialist, they would suffer for it.
Boom!
Smack!
"One touch!" Iwaizumi called.
So blockers always tried to go over him, huh? They really looked down on him…
Taichi landed and sprinted left, dragging Hakuba with him. Kamomedai's blocking formation was instantly shattered.
Watari Shinji prepared to receive—but Oikawa had already moved past him.
"I got it!"
Oikawa jumped to set, giving Taichi more room to decide.
Hirugami and Nozawa guarded the middle but couldn't keep up with Taichi's left-side attack. They had no choice but to focus on Aoba Johsai's other hitters.
Taichi soared up from the far left, with Hakuba extending his arms in front of him.
He had already given up on blocking Taichi outright. At the very least, he had to seal off one angle—there were three defenders behind him covering the shot.
BOOM!
Taichi swung his arm through in a fluid motion, smashing the ball.
Hirugami had already retreated to the three-meter line, locking down the cross-court shot.
Thud!
The ball landed just behind Hoshiumi.
A line shot—right on the boundary.
Taichi had scored.
[Aoba Johsai 24 – 21 Kamomedai]
Hoshiumi's eyes widened. He should've expected it—Taichi had scored using the same technique he himself favoured.
"One more point. Can you still catch up?" Oikawa sent his third serve.
BOOM!!
A blistering jump serve. Hoshiumi received it calmly, but Oikawa's goal was already achieved.
Forced into a heavy pass, Hoshiumi couldn't attack.
Hirugami stepped in and set the ball high to the middle.
Hakuba's attack didn't need a decoy.
Thud!
As Hakuba jumped, a towering figure had already risen in front of him.
"Double block!"
Kindaichi was there—alongside Taichi, who had launched into the air with a powerful approach. Their block reached an astonishing height.
Iwaizumi had already dropped into the back row. Knowing the spike would go over their hands, he prepared for a dig, just as he had against Hyakuzawa.
Aoba Johsai's four back-row defenders lined up across the court. Lacking individual blocking dominance, they compensated with sheer numbers.
Hakuba avoided the block and went for a sharp cross-court shot.
Boom!—
—Smack!
The hands blocking his shot suddenly pressed downward, stuffing the ball straight back into Kamomedai's court.
Kaedehara Taichi's block had scored.
[Aoba Johsai 25 – 21 Kamomedai]
"Your shot selection is way too dull," Taichi wiggled his fingers in the air. "Not a single surprise."
"Tweet—!"
The first set had ended.
Winner: Aoba Johsai.
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