Softness

Bang!

Tobio Kageyama's second serve rocketed in.

The speed and power were still impressive, but the placement wasn't quite as sharp as the first. At the last possible moment, Neko Kurata dove and barely managed to keep the ball from hitting the floor, popping it shakily into the air.

But the ball floated straight back over to Kitagawa's side.

"Nice! I got it!"

The ball hovered above the right-side spiker. With a shout, he calmly passed it to Tobio Kageyama.

Standing at the net, Akashi Asuka kept his eyes locked on Kageyama's hands.

"Who's he passing to this time? Will it be Kindaichi again, or will the back row join the attack...?"

Asuka usually preferred a "late block" technique, waiting to see the setter's direction before committing to the block. It made it harder to be fooled, though the downside was a slightly slower reaction.

Against most opponents, this worked well. Thanks to Asuka's athleticism, he could make up for the lag.

But against a setter like Kageyama, this method was failing.

The reason was simple.

Kageyama's sets were blindingly fast and gave no physical cues, no tilts of the body or flicks of the fingers to hint at his target.

Compared to other teams' quickest attacks, Kitagawa's regular plays already outpaced them.

To block Kitagawa's offense, Asuka had to start predicting.

"Right now our front line is me, Ryuhei Sanashita, and Oda Miki. Jujiro Kazama and Oomae Masato have rotated to the back row. So this is probably the weakest our block gets."

"If they attack now, it's unlikely they'll send the ball my way, that'd be too risky, and unnecessary."

"No, in fact, it's almost certain."

"This next attack won't just avoid me, it'll go where I can't reach. Which means the most likely target is, "

Whoosh!

Almost the instant the ball left Kageyama's hands, Asuka took a powerful step to his left, charging toward position 4, the far-left side of the front row, where Oda Miki was defending.

Kageyama's eyes widened sharply.

Asuka reached the position just as the Kitagawa spiker leapt and swung.

Bang!

Thump!

Asuka's palm met the ball cleanly.

It was a one-handed block. The ball hit his hand, deflected down, but landed just outside the line.

2:5.

Since the start of the qualifiers, this was the first time Sengoku had fallen so far behind in the opening phase.

Pressure began to mount...

Sengoku players started breathing heavily. The haunting memory of their last crushing defeat at the hands of Kitagawa threatened to resurface.

…

"Whoa! That was close, almost got blocked."

While Sengoku struggled under pressure, Kitagawa's position 4 hitter was patting his chest, visibly relieved.

To be honest, 

When Akashi Asuka suddenly lunged into view, it scared the hell out of him.

Their coach had analyzed Asuka's attacks and blocks in detail before the match, but nothing compared to actually facing him.

In that instant, Asuka's presence had been suffocating.

Just a little closer...

He knew it.

No, not even that, 

That shot was blocked. He had just gotten lucky it bounced out.

The referee's whistle blew again.

Kageyama stood at the baseline, ball in hand. Even though they'd scored and still held the serve, he didn't feel relaxed at all.

"That last play... that guy..."

Kageyama's mind replayed the scene of Asuka reading his set.

He had shaken it off before serving, but the moment the ball left his hands, a cold realization hit him.

"Damn. Too low."

Bang!

Kageyama jumped and struck the ball, but the speed and power didn't compare to his earlier serves.

The Sengoku back row immediately noticed and stepped forward to receive.

"Free ball!"

Ryuhei Sanashita shouted, then passed it perfectly to Akashi Asuka.

Bang!

The ball flew in a clean arc, landing sharply inside Kitagawa's court.

3:5.

After three service turns, Sengoku finally reclaimed the serve.

And now, it was Asuka's turn to serve.

"Let's go, Asuka!"

"Make it count, show them we can serve too!"

"Turn the game around!"

One after another, his teammates fired him up.

Meanwhile, Kitagawa tensed the moment Asuka picked up the ball.

Just as Sengoku braced for Kageyama's fastballs, Kitagawa treated Asuka's powerful serves like a loaded weapon.

Asuka stepped up beyond the baseline.

"Phew, "

He exhaled slowly, calming both breath and mind.

But on the other side of the net, Kageyama saw Asuka's movements and suddenly, without reason, felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

His instincts kicked in. "Everyone get ready, don't let your guard down!"

Fwoosh– 

The ball left Asuka's palm, floating upward.

He began his approach. A run, a jump, an elegant arm swing...

Every movement looked light, like a feather drifting through the air.

Until, 

His palm connected with the ball.

Boom!

A sound like thunder echoed through the arena.

Asuka had never felt anything like it.

Normally, his palms registered the firmness of the volleyball. But this time, he felt something soft.

He knew it wasn't the ball itself.

It was an illusion, created by the sheer force of his strike compressing the ball in midair.

BOOM!

The ball screamed across the court.

It hadn't even reached them yet, but the players of Kitagawa could already hear the wind howling past their ears.

A moment later, 

It arrived.

There was no time to blink.

The ball landed with such violence it compressed on impact, then sprang high into the air.

Thud!

Only when it smashed into the back wall did the sound finally catch up.

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