Another Manager (Akashi Seijuro x OC)

2.5 Greed

It was a question of improvement. Did Karasuno need stability or evolution for more power?

.

"Gather round!" Daichi called.

Karasuno's first game today was with Nekoma. It was the third set overall against the cats, but the crows had lost both of the two sets yesterday, 17-25 and 19-25.

Meaning, they hadn't won a single set against Nekoma. It was also the first set with them since Hinata and Kageyama had arrived.

Ai stood with the coaches wearing red, in front of the three metal folding chairs. She was to Coach Nekomata's left while the younger, Coach Naoi was on his right. Karasuno was to her far left, and Ai could pick up some of Ukai's words as he spoke to the team in yellow jerseys.

The referee blew the whistle, and the players ran onto the court. Once they were in place, a guy from Fukurōdani checked their numbers on their back.

The clock ticked as 10:09 am when the set began with Fukunaga's serve. Hinata flew for a broad jump and hit it with his eyes closed. Lev jumped to block but didn't touch it. Yaku slid after the ball, but he also missed.

"All right!" Karasuno shouted.

"Damn it, that's amazing!" Nekoma's tallest middle blocker admitted.

"Shake it off, Lev! That was close!" The ace, Yamamoto Taketora was good at keeping the team's spirits up.

"Yessir!"

"Tanaka, one nice serve!" Asahi yelled back, and the whistle blew.

"Karasuno's Number 10 does shut his eyes the moment he hits that fast attack," two coaches from Shinzen observed.

"Yeah..." the man with dark glasses said. "So the true nature of that miraculous fast attack is the amazingly sophisticated techniques of the setter."

Hinata made efforts, trying to escape the blocks by switching from an A quick to a C, but it was no use. Lev got to him, and Nishinoya didn't make it.

"All right!" Lev cheered with Taketora and Kai. Kenma was surprised, too. 

"He actually did it!" Taketora applauded.

Ai watched on emotionlessly.
Nekoma had always been good at reacting to the quick attack. On top of that, their new middle blocker's height and quick reaction time were amazing. It was a matter of time they would stop him, as Aoba Johsai had done.

"Kenma, nice serve!" Taketora shouted as the setter jogged to the back line.

Meanwhile, the rotation brought Lev in front of Hinata again. The half-Russian bent over and motioned with his hand to bring it on. Kageyama attempted to combat them with the normal, floaty fast attacks, but Lev also changed to read blocking, as instructed by the opposite, quiet setter.

When the scoreboard changed Karasuno to Nekoma, 2-3, Ukai asked for a time out.

"Well, stay calm. They started off on guard against the fast attacks. Not to mention what kind of 'advice' their new manager might have tipped them with to throw us off," he grumbled.

Nishinoya glanced in Ai's direction, where she was obliging Lev with a high five. The libero trusted her and knew that she wouldn't do anything to betray them. If anything, he liked a challenge that would make his plays better.

"For the time being, when we're up against Nekoma, let's have Azumane and Tanaka focus on attacking from the left."

But, was that being too cowardly? Could they evolve by becoming more defensive?