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

edited on september 27th, 2022 @ 7:45am

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CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT - CATS VS. MONKEYS

TAKASHI SOON ARRIVED AT THE court where Nekoma was playing. "Am I late?" He asked, coming up to Matsuda.

"You're just on time." Matsuda smiled at him.

"Left!"

The ball was received by Yaku as it went into the air. "Kenma!" He shouted out.

Kenma sends the ball over towards Kuroo who jumps up to spike, but it was received by the opposing team's libero.

"That was a rather difficult position for a quick... but Sarukawa Tech manages to receive the ball. The Tokyo reps, Nekoma High, and the Ishikawa reps, Sarukawa Tech. Both teams are known for their unbreakable defense. Which team's defense will see them through..."

The ball was received once more as Kenma and Kuroo got ready to block.

"to the third round?!"

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"Matsuda-san. You look stressed."

Matsuda was walking down the stairs as he looked over to see Kuroo, Yaku, and Kai sitting down on the couches. "Something bothering you, coach?" Kai asked.

Matsuda sighed as he walked over to the vending machine. He crouched down to grab the milk tea can before joining his juniors. "Nothing you guys need to be worried about. But it seems Takashi will be watching our match tomorrow." He replied.

"Oh? Isn't he mostly keeping an eye on Karasuno's matches?" Kuroo asked.

"Yeah. But after he sees who our match-up is for the second round, he'll be interested and may want to see how Kenma handles them." Matsuda replied. "We're going against Sarukawa Tech."

"That's the school that targets their opposing team's setter, right?" Yaku questioned, causing Matsuda to nod.

"They gave Takashi a hard time back when he played for Karasuno." Matsuda explained. "I can't help but worry for Kenma."

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Nekoma was in the lead with 15 points while Sarukawa Tech had 13. The ball was received before it touched the ground.

"Sarukawa thought they had an opening, but Nekoma manages to get the ball! Solid masters of defense that they are, Nekoma's not going to let the ball drop in their court that easily."

Kenma saved the ball. "Fukunaga!" He called out as Fukunaga spiked the ball.

"One touch!"

"Sarukawa Tech is still managing to keep the ball up!"

"Good job! Take your time attacking!" Shishio encouraged.

"Apparently, Sarukawa Tech's coach, Shishio, was one of Nekoma High's Coach Nekomata's former students."

"Correct. His team's tight defense may be due to everything he learned from his mentor."

The game resumed as Yamamoto dived down to save the ball. Kenma gets ready to set. "Something doesn't feel right." Daisho spoke, a hand was over his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Mika asked, looking towards him.

"It feels like Sarukawa Tech is deliberately avoiding scoring quickly."

"Huh? Why, though? From my perspective, their attacks seem pretty fast and violent."

"Right. They have been scoring, and it's not like their attacks haven't been great. Nekoma's just been able to defend because they're Nekoma. Nekoma's defense is high-level, and they're able to bump attacks even when they seem flawless. And I'm not sure if that's why, but it really seems like Sarukawa is trying to throw Nekoma off their rhythm rather than score." Daisho explained.

"But what's the point if they can't score?" Mika questioned.

"Well, their intention is probably..."

Kenma was rushing over towards the ball. "to make their setter run." Daisho finished.

"Fukunaga!"

Kenma tosses the ball over towards Fukunaga once more as Nekoma was able to score.

"Nice kill!"

"Nice, nice, Fukunaga! Nice, nice, Fukunaga! One more time!"

Shishio takes a glance at the scoreboard.

Sarukawa Tech

20

Nekoma

22

"Even if we have to sacrifice the first set, put as much pressure on Nekoma's setter as you can. He doesn't seem like the type to break mentally, but he's the type that starts slipping up when he gets tired. We need to wear him down physically, not mentally. First, we need to take out... Nekoma's brain." Shishio thinks to himself. "More importantly..."

Shishio glanced towards the sidelines, spotting Takashi next to Matsuda with his arms crossed and a complexed look on his face.

"It seems we have grabbed your attention. Have we, Kageyama Takashi?"

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"Tora!"

Yamamoto dived to the side and saved the ball before it touched the court. "Nekomata-sensei always put defense first. And his setters have always been intelligent and intuitive. That's all because he's so confident in their defense. Even if we can't bring down their defense head-on, we can chip away at it, little by little. If we can chip away at their solid defense..." Shishio thought.

Kenma soon received the ball. "Their weak setter will expose himself." Shishio finished his thought as Yamamoto jumped up to spike, but ended up getting blocked as the ball hit the court.

It was now the second set as Sarukawa Tech was in the lead with 18 points while Nekoma just had 16.

"Crush him... That setter's been babied by having all the passes go right to him. Now, crush him!"

Matsuda glanced over at Takashi, who was drumming his fingers on his bicep.

"He'll be fine." Matsuda spoke, making Takashi turn towards him. "Kenma's a lot smarter than you give him credit for. He won't let Sarukawa Tech get to him."

"I sure hope you're right, Ren."

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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 926 words.