Beeeep,

The long whistle signaled the end of the match.

It also snapped Hinata Shoyo out of the trance he'd been in during the intense game.

As he came to, Hinata stared at the scoreboard flipping to its final page. For a brief moment, he stood frozen. Then, as if his mind had been struck by a hammer, everything went blank.

"...It's over already?"

He remained motionless, disbelief flooding his heart. It felt like the match had only just begun. He'd only just started to enjoy it. So how, how had it ended so fast?

Smack!

A large hand clapped his back.

Startled, Hinata turned around and saw Daichi Sawamura, drenched in sweat and with a tense expression, saying, "Come on. Time to line up."

"Captain, I, "

"There's nothing more to say. We lost. We'll get them next time."

────────── ✦ ──────────

"Thank you for the match!"

"Thank you for the match!"

The two teams bowed to each other and quickly exited the court in silence.

"…Not going to say anything to your underclassman?" Hajime Iwaizumi asked softly, noticing the rare silence from Oikawa Tooru.

"There's nothing to say. The score says it all–" Oikawa replied.

That's the reality of competitive sports. No matter how much you trained, no matter what hardships you endured, one result could render it all meaningless.

The Karasuno players exited the court. As the victors, Aoba Johsai would soon begin preparing for their quarterfinal match.

Since their next opponent hadn't been decided yet, Seijoh had a decent window to rest and recover.

────────── ✦ ──────────

In the locker room,

The Seijoh players had already put on their warm-up jackets.

Body maintenance was a key part of any athlete's routine, especially in a single-elimination tournament like Nationals. A single lapse could lead to disaster.

"Hey, Akashi–" someone asked as Akashi Asuka was stretching, "how did you see through Karasuno's 'Freak Quick' combo?"

"I'm not sure I'd call it 'seeing through' it–" Akashi replied calmly. "That combo might look terrifying, but in reality, it's an attack completely dictated by the setter. In that entire play, Karasuno's Number 10 is just a spike machine."

"Sure, on the surface it seems like Kageyama's changed a lot compared to Junior High… but that 'king complex' of his hasn't disappeared."

"So when defending against their quick, it looks like you have to guard against both of them, but really, you only need to focus on Kageyama. Even if he passes to Number 10, all he can do is spike a straight ball."

The room went quiet for a beat.

The players mentally replayed Karasuno's Freak Quick. It did seem that way, Number 10 jumped and swung, but didn't make any other moves.

Still… even knowing that didn't make it easy.

If you only focused on Kageyama, sure, you had a better chance of predicting the pass, but Number 10's speed and reaction time were no joke.

And reading Kageyama's exact passing route? Easier said than done.

The reason Akashi could adapt so fast was because he had already seen this play during Junior High when he faced Kageyama before. It was an old trick reused in a new context.

A team entirely controlled by one person might look well-coordinated, but it lacked the most crucial element, unpredictability.

"Still–" Akashi added, "compared to back then, Kageyama's started shedding that 'Lone King' image. If he ever truly evolves… Karasuno could become our biggest threat in the future."

His words left a quiet tension hanging in the room.

Looking back on today's match, Karasuno had its bright spots. That libero in particular had managed to receive even Akashi and Oikawa's serves several times.

But the real threat? The first-year duo, Kageyama and Hinata.

They were still raw now, which made them manageable. But once they filled in the gaps in their fundamentals and grew stronger, just how powerful would they become? The source of thɪs content is No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt

"Alright, alright, let's not get ahead of ourselves–" Iwaizumi clapped his hands. "Forget about Karasuno for now. We've got a more pressing opponent to deal with, remember?"

Right.

More than these black-feathered crows with uncertain futures, their real problem at the moment… was the white-feathered bird they couldn't afford to lose to.

If they wanted to make it to Nationals, they'd have to face this opponent head-on.

────────── ✦ ──────────

About thirty minutes later,

A staff member arrived with news of Seijoh's next opponent.

Wakutani Minami High.

Like Seijoh, Wakutani Minami was a seeded team from Group H.

They were a top-tier program within the prefecture and had reached the quarterfinals in last year's Spring Tournament qualifiers.

But when it came to raw power, they were still a notch below Seijoh.

After all, in Group A alone, there were already three schools with quarter final-level strength, including Seijoh.

Another twenty minutes passed.

A staff member came to the locker room to tell Seijoh to begin warming up.

"Let's go…"

Iwaizumi rose to his feet and led the team back out onto the court.

Wakutani Minami High had already begun their warm-ups. Seeing that, Seijoh's players also started moving to get their bodies ready.

That said,

Though it seemed like Seijoh had enjoyed more rest, an hour-long break wasn't necessarily a good thing.

It wasn't long enough for a full recovery… but long enough for the body to start cooling down.

So when they stepped onto the court, including Akashi Asuka, most of them felt sluggish and unmotivated.

But as soon as the referee's whistle echoed through the gym, their focus began to return, bit by bit.

────────── ✦ ──────────

In the stands,

Karasuno hadn't left yet. Since it was the weekend, they had nowhere else to go. They chose to stay and watch Seijoh's next match.

But judging from their dull, listless expressions, it was clear, they still hadn't recovered from the sting of defeat.

────────── ✦ ──────────

Note: You might notice that I've changed how I write names—for example, using Oikawa Tooru instead of Tōru. This is because it's difficult to always add the line above the "u" (macron), and Tooru is more commonly used within the fandom anyway. So, expect names to be written without macrons going forward (but still with the same spelling just without the ¯(macrons).

==========

You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria

There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 418+ advanced chapters available across them!

From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 270

Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 197

Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97

Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 112

I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 95