A/N: Hello, readers! It's finally Karasuno's match against Inarizaki! Enjoy!
unedited
***
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE - THE SECOND DAY
"Great job today. I'm sure you're already thinking about tomorrow, but please, allow me to say this. Congratulations on your important victory at nationals." Takeda announced.
"Yeah!" Both Nishinoya and Hinata cheered while Yachi and Kiyoko clapped.
"All right, let's talk about tomorrow." Ukai said. "I mean... The reality isn't gonna change, so I'll just say it... We're going up against the second-place team from this year's Inter-High. Inarizaki High School, representing Hyogo. Well, you know... You can call them the favorites to win this whole thing."
"First, their top scorer, is their #4, Ojiro Aran. He's both very tall and powerful. Just like Fukurodani's Bokuto, he's just outside of being one of the top three hitters in Japan. And when he's on his game, he has that ability to surpass that. Just like when we faced Ushiwaka, you always need to think about stopping him and getting the ball. We'll counter him with our total defense." Ukai explained, making Nishinoya and Tsukishima nod.
"And this is their middle blocker, #10 Suna Rintaro. He's actually shorter than most middle blockers but his instincts are on point. Make sure you're constantly on him when he attacks. He'll definitely get used to our quick attack, too. Make sure you take advantage of the space you have when you attack." Ukai said as Kageyama nodded.
"Ojiro and Suna are Inarizaki's main guns, but the one that's going to cause real trouble is the one who can precisely all of the spikers, including those two... their setter, Miya Atsumu. Kageyama, you probably met him at the youth training camp." Ukai continued on.
"Yes." Kageyama replied.
"That guy's said to be the best setter high school..." Sugawara trailed off as his comment made Kageyama have and irk expression.
"Supposedly, the way he sets the ball makes it look like the spiker's gotten better. To be honest, his sets are really easy to hit. They're consistent and don't waver." Kageyama admitted.
"You're actually admitting that?" Tanaka questioned in disbelief.
"Well, his setting isn't the only thing we have to watch out for." Ukai informed.
"His serves." Kageyama said.
"Yeah." Ukai nodded in agreement.
"Miya-san's basically duel-wielding spike serves and jump floaters for a while now." Kageyama explained.
"So we won't know what he'll hit us with until the last second." Nishinoya pointed out.
"It'll be hard to form a serve-receive formation, then." Tanaka stated.
"I heard that he earned the best server award at both the Inter-Middle and Inter-High tournaments." Kageyama continued on as Hideaki face palmed.
"I really didn't need to hear that..." Hideaki mumbled.
"Sorry." Kageyama apologized.
"The top two teams in the country... That means we get to play both of them!" Hinata exclaimed, leaving everyone in shock.
"That's if the top seed Itachiyama makes it all the way to the finals. They're in the other block." Kageyama informed.
"Oh, yeah." Hinata said. "But then whatever team beat Itachiyama would become the best, right?"
"Oh, yeah... Wait, what?" Kageyama questioned.
"I just can't with you two... I really can't. How are you two so ridiculously confident?!" Sugawara asked, leaving both Kageyama and Hinata confused.
* * *
"Man, it's cold..." Hideaki complained, opening the door. He released a breath as he leaned over the railing next to Daichi.
"Hey, Hideaki. You can do that thing now." Daichi informed.
"Huh?" Hideaki turned to look over at him.
"The thing where you mention that it's finally our last tournament, or something. I didn't let you say it at the Inter-High." Daichi replied.
Hideaki shrugged. "This probably isn't the time for that. It's sorta weird, though. When you're all panicky, I somehow don't feel panicky for once." He admitted.
"Oh, shut up." Daichi smiled.
* * *
It was soon the next day. "We're the second game. We can practice on the court at 8 AM for thirty minutes. Let's be quick." Ukai announced.
"Right!"
"Pardon me. Spiking drills are up next, right?"
"Huh?" Takeda said in confusion. "Um..."
"Is he the coach for Inarizaki?" Takeda wondered. "He definitely seems used to all of this!"
Ukai quickly ran forward. "We'd like to spend some more time serving if that's all right!" He exclaimed as a lightning bolt struck through them.
"If their setter, Miya Atsumu, is super awesome, then we should aim for him when we send the ball back, right?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah! That's a super smart idea, Shoyo!" Nishinoya agreed.
"Hang on, now... The recording we just saw now was of their qualifier finals match, but during that game, the player who they usually have in the opposite position wasn't at a hundred percent, so he sat out. There's a good chance that they're going to have that player this time."
A gray-haired male spiked the ball that Atsumu tossed to him as Hinata rubbed his eyes. "That's right... 'Even if you manage to contain Miya Atsumu, his twin brother Osamu will make up for him.' The best twins in the high school volleyball scene... The Miya Brothers." Sugawara spoke.
* * *
Kageyama and Hinata were passing to each other. Hinata was lost in his thoughts. "Hinata, you dumbass!" Kageyama scolded.
"You look like you're rarin' to go."
Atsumu soon walked by. "Heya." Kageyama greeted.
"How're you doin', Tobio-kun?" Atsumu asked.
"Fine, thanks."
"Do your best out there today. I absolutely hate playin' against people who suck." Atsumu claimed as he made eye contact with Hinata.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Kageyama apologized.
"Why are you apologizing?! Kageyama, you jerk!" Hinata exclaimed.
"But I don't suck." Kageyama finished.
"Yes, I'm very aware of that."
"Though he sucks."
"How can you say that?!" Hinata said.
"But he's not weak, so I think we'll be okay." Kageyama concluded as Hinata gave a thumbs up while Kageyama just 'tch-ed' in response.
"The first match is in the middle of their second set." Yachi announced as Karasuno had gotten their alternate uniforms.
"Even in our alternate uniforms, Noya-san looks like the star of the show!" Hinata said.
"I know, right?" Nishinoya agreed.
"Kageyama, orange really isn't your color." Hinata insulted.
"Shut up, you human tangerine." Kageyama shot back.
"The hell did you say?!" Hinata shouted.
"These do feel different, but what can we do? Our opponents are in black, too." Yamaguchi informed.
"You're somehow even more annoying now." Tsukishima insulted.
"Tsukishima!"
"You're the last one who should probably be saying that, Tsukishima." Tanaka informed.
"Must be nice... How are they able to stay that calm?" Hideaki questioned.
"But you know, Hinata doesn't really get nervous anymore." Sugawara replied.
"Huh?"
"He seems to be way more excited than nervous now."
"He's actually maturing."
"Oh, yeah. Earlier... I saw some girls hold Miya Atsumu hand fans. What is he, an idol?"
"He pretty much is. He's got different kind of popularity than the champions, Itachiyama. He's definitely got the skills and impressive plays. He's the ultimate challenger that has both of those qualities." Ukai explained.
"So a Tōru 2.0, huh..." Hideaki sighed. "How annoying..."
"They feature him a lot on TV, too." Sugawara added as Daichi had a dark look.
"No one in this arena even knows that we exist..." Daichi mumbled.
"What the heck, Daichi?! Get a grip!"
Daichi then chuckled. "It gets me even more fired up!" He exclaimed.
"Looks like Daichi's finally back." Sugawara noted.
"You were pretty tame yesterday." Hideaki pointed out.
"I was just concentrating." Daichi said.
"All right, let's move." Ukai announced.
"Right!"
* * *
Karasuno walked onto the court to see Inarizaki's band playing in the stands as well as the cheerleaders.
"Go, go, let's go! Let's go, Ina High!"
"I really can't take their cheering section..." Ukai commented.
"Does Inarizaki have a high-level marching band, too?" Takeda asked.
"My stomach..." Yamaguchi muttered, holding onto his stomach.
"Those huge horns are super cool!" Hinata exclaimed.
Inarizaki soon walked onto the court as Daichi released a breath.
"All right, let's go!" Daichi told his team but didn't receive a response.
"Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
Official Warm Ups.
The Inarizaki players were spiking the ball that was tossed to them as Yachi looked terrified.
"Nice kill!"
"Last one!"
"Soul swap delayed spike!"
Osamu tossed the ball while Atsumu spiked it.
"Wow!"
"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's not a delayed spike."
"I think he just wanted to say that."
"Did the setter just spike right now? That was actually pretty good."
"But isn't the guy who set even better?"
"Good job, Miyas!"
Next, it was Karasuno's time to warm up. Ukai tossed the ball as Hideaki spiked it. Then it was Tanaka, and then Hinata.
"Hinata, nice kill!"
"Man, that kid sure can jump..." Aran commented as both teams lined up.
"All right, the match between the Hyogo representative, Inarizaki High School and the Miyagi Prefecture representative, Karasuno High School, is about to begin!"
TWEEEET!
"Let's play!"
"No one thought Karasuno would beat Shiratorizawa. Let's surprise everyone yet again!" Takeda smiled.
"Yeah!"
The Inarizaki band started playing as Atsumu was first to serve. The whistle blew as Atsumu raised his hand and clenched it, making the band stop playing.
Atsumu got ready to serve the ball.
"Ready..."
"Uh-oh." Osamu commented.
"... go!"
Atsumu jumps as he spikes the ball, making it fly right by Tanaka and Nishinoya in an instant as Inarizaki cheered.
"Nice serve!"
"Hey, loosen up a bit. You guys are stiff as boards! It's not like he's throwing knives at you!" Ukai scolded.
"Right!" Daichi replied as Atsumu turned to look towards the two girls.
"He's looking at us!"
Atsumu had a dark aura around him. "Don't interrupt my serve again, you squealin' pigs." He thought, making the two girls flinch back.
"Sorry. Could you keep it down during the serves?"
"Wh-What?"
"They do it all the time on TV!"
TWEEEET!
Atsumu serves again as it flew by Daichi and Nishinoya as everyone sighed in relief that it was out. "Damn it!" Atsumu shouted.
"Lame." Osamu insulted.
"Shut yer trap!" Atsumu shouted at him. "My serve toss got a bit away from me."
Soon enough, Hideaki was next to serve.
"Hideaki! Stay focused!"
Inarizaki soon began booing. "Is the crowd... actually booing? At the server?" Takeda asked.
"They make sure to stay perfectly quiet for their own team's server, but make sure to be loud and cause a fuss when the opponents serve. Their fans definitely are trained." Ukai replied.
The whistle blew as Hideaki served and the ball got caught on the net.
"Uh-oh! It got caught on the net!"
"Sorry." Hideaki apologized.
"We'll get the next one!" Daichi reassured.
"Both teams are showing strong serves as each side tries to build momentum."
Ginjima was up to serve as the ball got tossed to him.
"Could the one to keep our eye on this match be the one people are calling the top high school setter, Inarizaki's Miya Atsumu?"
"Indeed. But we should keep our eyes on Karasuno's setter as well."
"Karasuno High School's Kageyama Tobio... He's another skilled player who was invited to the All-Japan Youth Camp this year."
Tsukishima served the ball in which it got received.
"We're definitely seeing a setter battle between the East and the West!"
Hinata jumped up as Suna and Aran went to block him. However, he ended up missing the ball. "I forgot to hit!" Hinata exclaimed.
"If you can't jump and hit at the same time, don't even try, dumbass!" Kageyama scolded.
"Did he just say he forgot to hit?" Aran asked.
"He did." Suna replied.
"Is he really experimenting while playing against us?" Osamu questioned.
"I figured Tobio-kun was the kind of guy who marched to the beat of his own drum." Atsumu began as both teams had a stare off with one another.
"But apparently that kid's just as bad."
***
A/N: Another chapter is finished! Thanks for reading!