Chapter Twenty: The Iron Wall

"GO, GO, LET'S GO! LET'S GO, DATE Tech!" The crowd of Date Tech students and supporters all loudly cheered. Endo rubbed his ears in mock pain, they're so loud, my ears might just end up bleeding.

His team all huddled up around their coach. Since this was quite an important game, all of them were quite serious about it. The only reason that Endo was really serious about it was that he wanted to see revenge taken against Date Tech. Just to prove them wrong about assuming his team was some fallen champs, just like the others. The only difference was that if they lose the game after this, he wouldn't be that torn up about it. However, the blond knows that the others would be immensely distraught about losing. 

He's already seen what his friends were like when they lost to this team before. Endo didn't want that to happen again. The fact that the loss had affected them so much to the point where their emotions bubbled over and Asahi and Nishinyoa got into a bit of a fight was not good. If they lose again, there's no telling where the team's morale will be after that.

Endo was broken out of his thoughts as Ukai stood with his hands on his hips gaining all of the boy's undivided attention. "After watching them in round one, I expect their first shot will be a powerful serve. They crush with serves and block every point. Date Tech starts by discouraging their opponents from the get-go. Receive the first ball high!"

"Yessir!"

He then turned to their first-year setter, "So, you know what to do, Kageyama?"

"Yes, Sir," Kageyama nodded his head.

"Good."

Ukai then called out, "Now, break through that Iron Wall!"

"Yessir!"

The boys all huddled up as Daichi called out their battle cry, "Karasuno Fight!"

They all shouted, "Fight!"

The boys all lined up for the start of this no doubt intense game. Endo of course was on the bench since it was really the same starting lineup as the last game. Date Tech and Karasuno stared each other down as they waited for the game to start. Endo could see the determined expression on Asahi's face as he surveyed their opponents. 

The whistle blew and it was Date Tech's time to serve to Karasuno. Daichi effortlessly received it and passed it to Kageyama who set it for their number 10. Though the Iron Wall certainly was a correct name for the team as Date Tech players were there as sturdy as ever as they jumped to block the spike. Thankfully, Shōyō was able to hit it so it ended up getting right in between Aone's arm and the net, winning Karasuno a point. Though it was a really lucky move. There's no way that he'd be able to get one through like that.

"That was quite lucky!" Endo cheered with a small sigh of relief. He could tell that this match was going to be just as tough as the last time they played Date Tech. Hopefully this time they have more of a chance thanks to the first years. Even he would be a little put off if their tournament run ended here. Especially against Date Tech.

Up in the stands, Sakura's eyes widened. She obviously knows that Date Tech was a formidable foe, but to keep up with a quick attack like that was surprising. On the first block of the game too, that's not a good outlook on things. Sure, Karasuno did get the point, but in her mind that was not a promising thing. Date Tech has a different type of blocking, one that her brother's team hasn't played against yet. She didn't really know the name of it, but she understood how it worked. Instead of blocking once they know where the set is going, Date Tech waits until the ball is in motion to which ever spiker it's going to and then block. Sakura would imagine it would take quite a while for such a tactic to be mastered and to be used in a game. No wonder they're call the Iron wall. If they can master such a technique they really are talented. Still, for the time being, Sakura was more than content with the fact that Karasuno was keeping the lead. 

Endo, while on the bench, was also super excited and supportive of his team. More specifically Asahi since he knows his best friend would need it. Date Tech was making perfect blocks and shutting Karasuno's spikers out, but some little mistakes made by the blockers had given Karasuno the opportunity to keep the lead.

"You got this teddy bear!" The blond shouted in support of his best friend. Since it was Asahi's turn to serve, Endo certainly wouldn't want his nerves to get the better of him. "You can break through their wall!"

Besides him, Sugawara chuckled at his friend, "You're going to fluster him if you keep calling him that, Endo."

"Maybe that's the point," His blue eyes glistened in the light with mischief as he shrugged. The blond's perfectly pink lips were pulled back in a smirk, obviously knowing 

The two third-years then turned back to the game and watched as the ball was played for the next point. Suga nodded his head while watching it critically, "They're doing pretty okay right now."

Endo whined and pushed Sugawara away from him, "It's only the first set, Suga. Don't jinx us!" Just as he said that Shōyō came sprinting up to the net but his spike was blocked by Date Tech's Number 7, Aone. As Date Tech's cheer quad went berserk for that, Endo clicked his tongue in annoyance. "It was only one point, no need to lose your minds." Endo then turned to Suga and punched him harshly in the shoulder, "and you jinxed it, you prick!"

"Ow!" Sugawara cried out as Endo started to hit on him a bit. "Stop that!"

Yamaguchi, standing beside the pair, watched them begin to fight a little bit with uncertainty. He wasn't sure what to think about his senpais antics. Endo is one for dramatics, but he wasn't sure what to do with this situation. He spoke up shakily, "U-uh, don't hurt each other please!"

Though even losing that point, Karasuno didn't seem all that nervous. At least, Shōyō and Kageyama weren't. There was still a secret weapon that they had yet to use against Date Tech. One that would surely shake up Date Tech's expectations of them.

After finally letting Sugawara go and forgiving him for jinxing them, Endo shrugged his shoulders. "Though, I'd say it's about time those two start using their freak quick."

"This soon in the game?" Sugawara asked him.

Endo nodded his head, "When else are they going to use it?" When Ukai talked to them about it the other day, they all know that most teams would try to be prepared for their demonic quick. If they used it too early, it just meant that Date Tech had enough time to adapt to it and learn to shut it down like any other spike. Though if they saved it for too long, then it might become useless cause Date Tech could just end up winning the game for it to be effective.

Just as Endo had thought, the troublesome duo was going to do just that. It happened within a blink of an eye. The ball was served to Karasuno and ended up on Date Tech's side in seconds. The quick attack didn't even seem to register in Date Tech's mind. None of their blockers even moved. It certainly was too fast! Maybe it was a fluke? No way something that fast or precise could be used in a game. It was as if those two first-years were demons! Date Tech thoroughly left in a bit of a confused state. Never had they seen anything like that before. All they could hope was to adapt to it quickly.

The game continued on, and Karasuno did end up losing a point because Shōyō messed up his serve. Meaning that the score was 4-3 with Karasuno in the lead. As Nishinoya was put back in the game and Shōyō was pulled out, Endo greeted the younger boy with a wide smile. 

"Doing well, little guy! Sure gave Date Tech a good scare!"

Shōyō returned the smile as Endo ruffled his hair, "Thanks! We're doing pretty good, huh?" He then turned his attention back to the game, "but they sure are tough."

"No worries," Endo brushed away any doubt that the small guy might have, "We've got you. Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Asahi on our side. All of you will win this game!" Shōyō's eyes sparkled at the encouraging words from his teammate. 

The game continued on with a back and forth between them. Once Karasuno got a point, Date Tech would get one. It went like that for a while until Shōyō went back on the court. Just having Shōyō step up to the net seemed to shake Date Tech just a little bit. They even scared them, even more, when Kageyama was able to send a quick pass to Shōyō from the back of the court. Their quick freak certainly wasn't a fluke. With that soon being understood by the team, Date Tech then called for a time-out. 

Shōyō had gained all of their opponent's attention, Sakura could see that from miles away. Though that's his job on the team, more or less. He's a decoy. The greatest decoy! Sakura was more than happy to see that he was doing just as he's supposed to help the team. He brought an asset to the team that no one would have thought of. He's gaining everyone's attention, shinning the brightest so that their other spikers could emerge from the shadows to attack.

As Sakura snapped yet another photo, she could hear a couple of people headed in her direction. She turned to find that it was the Karasuno alumni apart of the neighborhood association. It was the one wearing glasses with black hair, the one with that float serve if Sakura remembered correctly. Along with him was the dirty blond middle blocker, that she also didn't remember the name of.

"You're so slow!" Shimada shouted as he and his friend came up to the railing, "We could've missed the game!"

Takinoue whined, "But customers are so rare!"

Shimada then glanced over at his friend and caught sight of the orange-haired girl only a few feet away from them. "Hey, it's that little shorty's twin." He waved at the girl who was glancing at them. Sakura nodded her head slightly in greeting and then turned to focus on the court. It's not that she didn't really want to talk with them, she'd just rather focus on the game.

From the other side, a group of girls came running up to the railing. "Hurry up!" Michimiya Yui shouted as she and her teammates came running up to the railing. Even if she and the other Karasuno girls lost their game, they were more than ready to support the boys. "Great! The boys are still playing round two."

"I can't believe it!" One of the wing spikes of the team, Sasaki Chizuru, said in amazement, "They're beating Date Tech!"

"Bring it on!" Shōyō shouted before Kageyama passed him his quick attack. Karasuno had gained yet another point since Date Tech had yet to come up with a way to combat the attack.

Michimiya and the other girls all stared at the boys in awe. She blinked, "What was that?"

"A fast attack?" Sudō Rinko, another member of the team said with her mouth left open.

Aihara Mao, another girl on the team was in awe of the duo, "That is a first-year, isn't it?"

"Did that little guy just jump incredibly high?" Sasaki asked.

On the other side, Takinoue smirked at the awestruck expressions on the girl's faces as they watched the game. Shimada snickered at his friend, "Don't look so smug." Sakura rolled her eyes at the older men and just focused on the game at hand. She's not one for bragging or anything like that, she's proud of her brother and would gladly talk to someone about it. Though she wouldn't be smug or anything about it.

Down below, Sugawara cheered on his team, "Looking good, Hinata-kun!" He shouted, "That's the way! Do another one!"

Michimiya heard him shout and looked down, "Sugawara isn't in the game." She certainly was surprised by that. Considering he is a third-year, you'd think he would be the starting setter. Though now that she looked, that dark-haired first-year seemed to be the setter on the court right now.

The game continued on and this time instead of using their quick freak, Kageyama just passed Shōyō a normal fast attack. That threw off their blockers since it ended up getting Karasuno the point. Sasaki questioned, "Now a normal fast attack?"

Sudō nodded her head, "So are they tossing at different speeds for each scenario?"

"They'd have to against a team like Date Tech," Sakura commented looking over the photo she just got of her brother.

The girl's team all jumped slightly at the voice since they had barely even registered that there was anyone else there. Michimiya turned to look down at the younger girl and smiled, "Huh, oh, hi there!"

The rest of her team all looked at the smaller girl, Sasaki marveled, "Wow, you really look like that little number 10 down there."

"He's my twin brother," Sakura commented, "so I would think we'd look similar."

The girls all stared at her in amazement, "Oh, really!"

"You're brother sure is amazing down there!" Michimiya exclaimed happily with a wide smile.

Sakura's chest felt warm as she turned her camera back to the game. A smile graced her face as she softly said, "He sure is!"

Michimiya then noticed the younger girl taking the photos, "You're taking pictures of the game?"

"Well, yes, I'm the team's photographer," Sakura explained.

"Whoa! That's cool!" Sudō exclaimed, "It'd be so awesome if we had a photographer too. You think you could take photos of our games in the future too."

"Maybe." Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "Though I only do it for my brother…"

"Still, take it into consideration." Another member of the team, Kikuchi Moe, said encouragingly, "Next year, we're going to make it far, so we'll need someone to document it!" 

Sakura appreciated the confidence in the older girl's words. Perhaps she'd consider it. Maybe next year she'd be more inclined to branch out to other teams or something like that. Though for now, she has her brother and his team to focus on.

The next point was played, though this time it ended with Date Tech making the block against Shōyō. Thanks to his height and long arms, Aone was able to jump twice and make sure that the little number 10 was shut out.

Shimada sweat just a little bit, "Hey, hey, that block is scary."

Takinoue nodded, "A block like that can turn the tide. They need to make the next point, or Date Tech will ride the wave."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. There was still some room for hope at the moment. Karasuno still had the lead and as long as they kept this momentum going, they might just squeak by this set with a win. The next set was still up in the air if they could keep this going, but for the moment, she'll focus on this moment in time.

Endo clapped his hands, "don't lose it now, guys!"

"Keep your cool!" Yamaguchi encouraged them.

Sugawara joined in on the cheering and shouted, "Make the point!" 

The ball was then in play, with a score of 18-15 in Karasuno's favor, it was quite important for the crows to get this next point. If they did and were able to make it to twenty before Date Tech, well, their morale will be higher than ever before. After a bit of back and forth, and Nishinoya's amazing save, the ball was sent to Kageyama. It wasn't clear on who it was going to be sent to. However, thanks to Shōyō's shining beacon, Date Tech focused on him, Aone was more than determined to block him. By doing this, Asahi was left completely unblocked. A blazing path was left clear just for him! As Aone realized this and came falling back to the ground after trying to block the orange-haired boy, he saw that their ace was completely left untouched.

Asahi could see it; the view from the summit. It was clear, complete, and utterly clear. Nothing was standing in his way from scoring his team a point, just as Kageyama had wanted. Just about everyone went crazy once Asahi scored the point. 

"That's…" Shimada tilted his head, "the same pipe Nekoma did!"

Sakura let herself smile, seeing Asahi really gain back his confidence. This was obviously the moment. Just like how she had her own moment at the gallery a few weeks ago. Asahi had finally gotten his groove back. Date Tech certainly was in for it now.

On the court, everyone cheered on their ace for his accomplishment. "Yes!" Suga cheered as he thought back to the conversation he had with the troublesome duo before the game.

Endo laughed loudly while jumping up and down, "Yes! Teddy Bear!" He latched on to Ennoshita and Narita in a tight hug as he celebrated that one point. The two second-years were just as excited about winning the point that they didn't mind it, for the moment.

This was the momentum that they needed in the game. Asahi had gained his groove and would no doubt try to carry it going forward. It certainly was going to be looking up for Karasuno as the game continues on. Even if Sakura's pessimistic side wants to keep a realistic idea of how this game would end. It was still looking quite good since the team morale was higher than ever and they kept surprising Date Tech with every play they made. Things hopefully would continue like this!