The Conniving Crow

Chapter 93: Karasuno VS Johzenji Part 1

As the Karasuno team made their way onto court A, Date Tech took their leave from the court. The scoreboard read 23-25, with Date Tech having won both sets and advanced to the next round.

Now, it was Karasuno's turn to earn their spot.

"Let's go!" Daichi called out, his voice filled with determination, and the team echoed in unison, shouting, "Yeah!" They were ready for the challenge ahead.

On the other side of the court, Terushima was busy hyping up his team, Johzenji. "'Kay guys, we're gonna go out there and play harder than anybody on the court!"

His team jumped up and erupted in cheers, their excitement palpable, "Wahooo!!"

Keishin and Takeda exchanged amused glances as they watched the energetic display from the Johzenji players.

"Aha, there they are," a player from another team remarked. "'The Party Team' Johzenji!"

The match was about to begin, so the captains joined the referees for the coin toss, and Johzenji won, opting to receive first. Karasuno would serve first.

"The day of the qualifiers is finally here," Takeda spoke up, his voice tinged with both excitement and nerves. "I can't say I'm surprised to see that everyone looks a little more nervous than usual."

Glancing over at the Karasuno players, it was clear that the third-years were especially feeling the weight of the moment.

"Whoahh! Those are so cool!" Hinata, always the energetic one, couldn't help but draw attention to Tsukishima's new glasses, "Tsukishima, your new glasses are awesome!"

"You've been saying that every day Hinata." Yamaguchi sighed.

"I don't know if I trust your definiton of 'cool'." Tsukishima deadpanned "Please stop it."

"Hey!" Hinata felt insulted.

"I think they look great!" (y/n) joined in.

"That's not helping." Tsukishime deadpanned once more.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" (y/n) got offended as well as Hinata tried to hold her back from smacking Tsukishima.

"Geez. Right no it's the rookies who're looking focused and ready to go." Daichi chuckled "What're we third years doing, being a bundle of nerves?"

"Yeah!" Asahi agreed, looking much more confident now.

The antics of the first years never ceased to lighten the mood, and they always managed to bring a smile to their teammates' faces.

In the stands, Aone and Futakuchi from Date Tech observed the match. As (y/n) noticed them, she waved at Aone with a smile, and he gently bowed in response, a soft smile on his lips. Futakuchi, assuming (y/n) was waving at him, started waving back intently, shouting, "Better win this one, (y/n)-san! We want a rematch!"

Sticking her tongue out at the second-year, (y/n) averted her eyes back to the court before her, her heart racing with excitement for the upcoming match.

With both teams ready, they exchanged bows, and the game finally began, "Thank you for the game!"

Asahi served first with a powerful spike, but Johzenji managed to keep the ball in play, even scoring a point with an insane spike from Terushima.

After Tanaka saved a net serve from Johzenji, Hinata managed to keep it in play by jumping against the wall.

The rallies were intense, and the players on both sides showcased their skills and teamwork, making it clear that this match would be decided by which team could outplay the other. It was one impressive play after another, this match was clearly going to be about which team can outplay the other.

When Hinata and Kageyama executed their new quick set, the Johzenji team was visibly impressed by the combination. Even the Date Tech members watching from the stands noticed the improvement in their technique since their last match against Karasuno.

"Way to go guys!" (y/n) shouted "Keep going like that!"

"Yes!!" The boys shouted back.

"(Y/n)-chan! Cheer for me too!" Terushima called out with a fake pout. "When we win, you can give me your number!"

"Like that'll happen!" (y/n) rolled her eyes, a small smile forming on her lips.

The match continued with intense rallies and powerful spikes from both teams. (Y/n) couldn't help but overhear bits and pieces of the conversation among the Date Tech team members, who had joined Aone and Futakuchi in the stands.

"Ugh!" Futakuchi groaned "They each look like a total pain in the butt to play!"

"I'm sure other schools say the exact same thing about us," one of the members replied, and (y/n) playfully glared at Futakuchi, who smirked back at her.

The Johzenji setter suddenly decided to hit the ball instead of setting, surprising everyone on the court. Another player set the ball for him, and he scored a point with a well-timed spike.

"My! My!" Takeda chuckled. "I have to admit, watching Johzenji's brand of volleyball is certainly very entertaining."

"I won't argue with that," Keishin agreed.

"It's like Gramps used to say, 'when you're really good at something, you can have fun in a competition,'" (y/n) remarked, her eyes fixed on the Johzenji team. "It seems like they fit that saying perfectly."

"I guess that's true," Takeda replied, "But when it comes to unexpected and free-wheeling attacks, our Hinata and Kageyama aren't easily outdone!"

As the set progressed, the score on the scoreboard remained tight. Terushima couldn't help but glance at (y/n) after every impressive play he made, hoping to catch her attention.

However, the momentum shifted when Kageyama tried to block a setter dump from Johzenji and ended up taking the ball to his face.

"Ahhh! Kageyama!" The Karasuno team shouted in concern.

Kiyoko rushed to help Kageyama, who was determined to get back into the game despite the injury.

"Take it easy, Kageyama," (y/n) spoke gently, patting him on the shoulder. "Just try to relax while we do our best to stop the bleeding. Suga-senpai can handle things on the court in the meantime."

"Yeah, take it easy and leave things to your senpai!" Sugawara reassured with a confident smile, ready to step in as the setter.

Keishin decided to substitute Hinata out for Narita, as Narita had more experience playing with Sugawara. Hinata, though eager to return, cheered on his teammates from the sidelines.

Once Kageyama was cleared to play again and waited on the side, both he and Hinata cheered and internally competed with their senpais, eager to make even better plays when they got back on the court together.

Sugawara, known for his strategic plays, executed a synchro-attack that scored another point for Karasuno. The Johzenji team was once again impressed by Karasuno's performance, and they decided to try a synchro-attack as well, but it failed to earn them the point. Karasuno emerged victorious in the first set.