A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on december 16th, 2021 @ 5:16am

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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX - THE HALO AROUND THE MOON

BOTH KARASUNO AND SHIRATORIZAWA WERE tied with 22 points. "Nishinoya, nice receive!" Daichi complimented.

"It was only possible because you all narrowed the gap." Nishinoya grinned.

"Great job on the block timing!" Asahi told Tsukishima.

"Oh, right." Tsukishima nodded in reply.

TWEEEET!

"Asahi, nice serve!" Daichi called out as Asahi bounced the ball, getting ready for his serve. Asahi did his jump serve which ended up being in as Karasuno cheered.

"Seriously?" Saito commented.

"All right, they broke through!" Kobayashi cheered.

"Take this set!" Uyeda shouted.

"Asahi, one more! Nice serve!"

Asahi did his jump serve again but this time, Goshiki crouched down to receive it. "Nice receive!" Shirabu complimented. "Ohira-san!"

Tobio, Tsukishima and Tanaka got ready to block. "Ready, and..." Tsukishima began as the three of them jumped up the same time Leon did. However, Leon ended up doing a feint at the last minute.

"Feint!" Nishinoya called out as Daichi barely received it on time.

"Sorry! It's going—" Daichi started to say but was interrupted when Tendou jumped up and spiked the ball down before anyone could react.

"Victory!" Tendou cheered.

"Not yet. We still need two points." Ushijima informed, pointing to the scoreboard that had both teams tied at 23.

"Just how righteous are you?" Tendou questioned.

"This puts Ushiwaka on the back line." Takashi commented.

"But... that means he gets to serve." Nagata informed.

Takashi turned his gaze to the other side of the court to see Ushijima was up to serve as the whistle blew. Ushijima jumped up and did his jump serve.

"It's mine!" Daichi shouted, receiving the ball.

Asahi quickly covered for him. "Get the last one over!" He exclaimed.

"Ryu!" Nishinoya shouted.

"Got it!" Tanaka replied, receiving the ball over the net.

"Chance ball!" Goshiki called out, saving the volleyball.

"Gimme!" Tendou said, running forward. However, Shirabu did a setter dump as Tsukishima tried to block it. Shiratorizawa ended up getting a point due to Nishinoya being late on receiving the ball.

Shiratorizawa was now at match point. "Sorry. It would have been better if I hadn't touched it." Tsukishima apologized.

"Nah, I wouldn't have been able to get that either way." Nishinoya reassured.

"This isn't where we relax!"

"Right!"

"They got the set point first!" Kobayashi exclaimed in irritation.

TWEEEET!

Ushijima did another jump serve as Daichi received it on time. "Cover!" Daichi shouted.

"Left!" Tanaka called out.

"Tanaka-san!" Tsukishima shouted, sending the ball over towards the second-year.

"Three blockers!"

Tanaka jumped up as Leon, Tendou, and Shirabu jumped up to block him. He swung his hand, scoring a point for Karasuno as he cheered in victory.

"A block out!" Uyeda exclaimed.

"And now, it's a deuce." Nagata pointed out, seeing as both teams had 24 points.

"Tsukishima, nice serve!" Daichi encouraged as Tsukishima served the ball in which Yamagata received it. Shirabu tosses the ball for Tendou in which Hinata jumps up to block him.

"One touch!" Hinata shouted.

"Chance ball." Tsukishima said, saving the ball as Hinata stepped back.

"Bring it!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Give it to me!" Tanaka shouted at the same time.

However, Tobio did a dump instead, shocking both Karasuno and Shiratorizawa. Karasuno scored a point since Goshiki was late on receiving it. Meanwhile, Tobio and Shirabu were having a stare down.

"Man, people who hate losing seriously scare me." Uyeda sighed out. "He's definitely related to you, Kageyama-san."

"I feel like there was an insult there that I missed." Takashi mumbled.

"Tsukishima!" Hinata exclaimed, running towards the tall middle blocker for a high five but Tsukishima easily moved out of the way just in time.

"All right! They got it back!" Nagata cheered.

"Now it's set point!" Kobayashi pointed out.

Leon spiked the ball past Hinata and Tobio, scoring a point for Shiratorizawa.

TWEEEET!

Leon threw the ball up in the air and did his jump serve in which Asahi was able to receive it. "Sorry, it's long!" Asahi apologized.

"Kageyama, push it over!" Daichi shouted.

Tobio was able to push the ball past Goshiki but Tendou received it with his foot. Yamagata quickly covered for him before it went out of bounds.

"Got it!" Goshiki reassured as he received the ball.

"Chance ball!" Nishinoya shouted, saving the ball and Hinata ran forward.

Hinata jumped up and Tobio sent the toss towards Tanaka instead of Hinata as the second-year ran forward.

Tanaka spiked the volleyball past Shirabu, scoring a point for Karasuno in which they cheered.

"All right!"

"Tanaka, nice kill!"

"Did he set to their #5 because he knew our eyes would be on their #10?" Shirabu wondered, looking over at Tobio.

"Nice toss, Kageyama!" Tanaka complimented.

"Actually, it was a little early... I'm sorry." Tobio apologized, clenching his fist.

Tanaka deadpanned at him. "You sure are hard on yourself." He told his junior.

The buzzer sounded as Takashi looked over. "So it looks like Shiratorizawa is taking their first time out." He pointed out.

The Shiratorizawa's cheering squad were cheering as Saito was talking to the team. "It's true that they're different from anyone we've faced so far. But there's no reason for us to panic. We just have to score points like we usually do." He informed. "Anyway, make sure you break their streak!"

"Right!"

The buzzer sounded once again as some spectators were talking in the stands.

"Man... When I saw the first set, I thought it'd be an easy win for Shiratorizawa, but... I guess they're what you call a dark horse?"

"But Karasuno's a former powerhouse school, too."

"Well, yeah. They've got Nishinoya from Chidoriyama, Kageyama from Kita-Ichi,  and Azumane from Seikodai. They've got quite the lineup."

Takashi glanced over to see that Semi was subbing in for Tendou. Semi did his jump serve as Asahi crouched down to receive it. "Sorry!" He apologized.

"Daichi-san!" Tanaka called out to the captain, receiving the ball over towards him.

Daichi spiked the ball as he spiked it. Shirabu tossed the ball over to Semi who tossed the ball over to Goshiki, who ended up getting a point for Shiratorizawa. Takashi looked over at the score.

Karasuno

26

Shiratorizawa

27

"Come to think of it, I guess he was a setter." Asahi commented.

Daichi let out a breath. "Concentrate!" He told his team.

"Right!"

Semi did another jump serve. "Daichi!" Asahi called out as Daichi dived down to save the ball.

"Damn it! It's short!" Daichi cursed.

Tobio sends a toss from the back row to Hinata, who spikes the ball and scores a point for Karasuno.

"Huh?!" Shirabu exclaimed in shock.

"All right!"

Nagata sighed. "Man... Looks like logic doesn't work for our side either." He commented.

The buzzer sounded again as Tendou subbed in for Semi.

"Who does Karasuno's setter think he is?" Semi commented before taking the number plate from Tendou.

Both teams were tied with 27 points. Tanaka was next to serve.

"Tanaka, nice serve!"

Tanaka threw the ball up in the air and served it. However, it got saved.

The game resumed as Nishinoya received the ball and Asahi jumped up, spiking the ball past Shirabu, but Yamagata saved it on time.

"Wakatoshi!" Leon shouted, sending the ball over to Shiratorizawa's ace.

"Three blockers!"

Ushijima ran forward and spiked past Asahi, Hinata, and Daichi as Nishinoya barely received it.

Asahi jumped up to spike it but got blocked by Shirabu and Kawanishi as Shiratorizawa scored another point.

"Damn it!" Asahi exclaimed.

"Sorry! It was close to the net!" Tanaka apologized as Shiratorizawa was in the lead with 28 points.

"Shirabu-san, nice serve!"

Shirabu hits the ball in the air as Nishinoya saved it. Everyone was on edge as the game had resumed.

Daichi spiked the ball, able to get a point for Karasuno as Tsukishima entered the court.

"I was hoping they could break through while they still had Hinata as a decoy." Nagata commented.

"He looks really anxious on the back line." Kobayashi added. "He sucks at both serving and digs..."

Hinata was up to serve next as he looked over, seeing that Tobio was giving him a signal in which he smirked and nodded in reply.

"Hinata, nice serve!" Tanaka encouraged.

"Right!"

Hinata serves the ball as Yamagata crouched down to receive it. Shirabu tosses the ball to Ushijima as Asahi and Tsukishima jump up to block him.

"One touch!" Tsukishima called out as Hinata received the ball.

"Connect!" Ukai shouted from the sidelines.

Tanaka quickly covered for him as he sent the volleyball over. "Hit! Hit!" Daichi exclaimed as Tobio jumped up and spiked the ball it hits the net as Kawanishi barely saved it on time.

"Nice, Taichi!"

"Got it!" Asahi reassured as he received the ball with Tobio getting into setting position as Hinata raced forward and jumped up as he spiked the ball down on Shiratorizawa's side. Takashi looked at the score.

Karasuno

29

Shiratorizawa

28

"Taichi! Don't just stand there!" Tendou shouted at the second-year.

"Nah, that one was impossible." Kawanishi stated in his head.

"Nice one touch." Asahi complimented.

"If it weren't for Hinata's cover, it would have just been blown away." Tsukishima informed.

"But if we didn't have that one touch, we might have been done right then." Asahi stated.

Hinata served the ball in the air but ended up messing up as the ball headed towards Goshiki as he dived down to receive it, but it was off.

"I'm sorry!" Goshiki apologized as Yamagata covered for him.

"Wakatoshi!" Yamagata called out.

Daichi, Tsukishima, and Asahi got ready to block. "Ready, and..." Tsukishima began as the three of them jumped up. Ushijima ended up getting past them, scoring a point for Shiratorizawa.

The scores were now tied with both Karasuno and Shiratorizawa having 29 points. "Don't fall behind! We're going to keep going forward!" Daichi shouted.

"Right!"

Goshiki was up next to serve as he spun the ball around. He did his jump serve as Daichi dived down to receive it. Tobio tossed to Asahi who jumped up to spiked as Ushijima and Kawanishi jumped up to block him.

Tanaka saved the ball by tossing it back up in the air. "All right!" He shouted as Karasuno got ready to do their synchronized attack as Kageyama tossed the ball to Daichi, who scored a point for Karasuno.

TWEEEET!

Daichi was up to serve. "Daichi-san, nice serve!" Tanaka encouraged. Daichi served the ball in the air and Leon dived down to receive it.

"Ushijima-san!" Shirabu shouted, sending a toss to Ushijima, who ran forward as Tobio, Tsukishima, and Asahi got ready to block him.

They jumped the same time as Ushijima as Nishinoya barely received it on time. "So persistent!" Shirabu exclaimed in irritation.

Tanaka quickly rushed over and dived down to save the ball before it hit the court.

"Return it! Return it!"

Daichi covered for Tanaka as he sent the ball over. "Nice, Daichi-san!" Tanaka complimented.

"Chance ball!"

Shirabu sends the ball over to Ushijima. Tsukishima joined Asahi in blocking as Tsukishima was able to block Ushijima, sending the ball to Shiratorizawa's side of the court as Takashi widened his eyes while the audience was silent.

"D-Did he just..." Uyeda began.

"...block Ushijima?!" Uyeda and Kobayashi exclaimed in unison.

The crowd then cheered.

"He stopped Ushiwaka?!"

"Who is that guy?"

"No idea!"

"Amazing!"

"They took back the second set!"

Tsukishima raised his fist in the air as he screamed in victory. "Tsukishima!" Nishinoya and Tanaka ran forward before jumping on him.

"Tsukishima, nice block!" Daichi complimented.

"Great job stopping that!" Asahi added.

"I'm sure there were other blockers before that were at my level, but I think that Nishinoya-san's receives and that weirdo duo's attack that completely ignores their blocks added pressure to their setter." Tsukishima explained.

"You were thinking about all that?" Asahi asked in disbelief.

"Scary... Tsukishima, you're scary." Daichi commented.

"I might be completely wrong, but I think Tsukishima had been waiting for the right timing of Shiratorizawa's tosses to skew." Uyeda spoke up.

"Huh? He thought that far ahead?" Kobayashi questioned.

"Of course." Takashi replied as Kobayashi, Uyeda, and Nagata looked at him. "Shiratorizawa's setter was pressured, and when you panic, you make rash decisions." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I should know all about that."

Nagata shot him a worried glance. "He's still thinking about his match against Korea... Where he got injured." He thinks to himself, looking at Takashi's injured knee. "I don't think he's accepted the fact that he may never be able to play volleyball again."

TWEEEEET!

"Tsukishima!" Hinata spoke up, grabbing Tsukishima's attention as he sent a thumbs up towards him. "That one point was worth 100 points!"

Tsukishima could only smirk in reply. "Thanks." He said as Hinata had a fiery aura around him.

"What?!"

"Calm down, Hinata!" Tanaka told him. "I'm sure he meant it as, "if you're a middle blocker, you try it, too," but calm down!"

"Please stop making such a fuss." Tsukishima said as his teammates looked at him. "That was just a point. The game's just getting started."

"Yeah!"

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A/N: Another chapter is done! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2219 words.