The Conniving Crow

Chapter 98: Karasuno VS Wakunan Part 2

The second set started, and it soon became clear that this one was going to be even harder. Without Daichi with his solid receiving skills, it became clear that Karasuno was in for a rough and long battle. Daichi was never a flashy player, but he was the backbone of the team, slowly it became clear that the balls that Daichi used to dig up, weren't going up anymore. Wakunan had taken the lead in the second set.

Ennoshita was truggling with hitting from the right side, he had much more experience with hitting from the left side. It was clearly taking a toll at him and now Wakunan was at set point.

Karsuno did their best, but with another powerful spike from the Wakunan captain, they had won the set. Everything will be decided in the third and final set.

The second set had taken a toll on Karasuno, and as the third set was about to begin, it was evident that without Daichi's solid receiving skills, they were facing an uphill battle. The balls that Daichi used to dig up were now hitting the ground, and Wakunan took the lead in the second set. Ennoshita, struggling with hitting from the right side, found it challenging to fill Daichi's shoes. Wakunan was now at set point.

Just as (y/n) was about to speak up and motivate Ennoshita, his fellow second-year players took matters into their own hands.

"Yo! You know you're the only one looking like it's the end of the world, right?" Kinoshita questioned, while Narita chuckled beside him.

"Hey! Don't put the world on the brink, bruh!" Tanaka smacked Ennoshita on the back.

"Earth Defense Army!" Nishinoya shouted as he jumped and smacked Ennoshita on the chest.

'Well... That probably did the trick.' (y/n) chuckled as she watched the antics of the second years.

"Hey coach!"Hinata suddenly perked up "Was the little giant like Wakunan's no. 1 at all? I only ever saw him once in that one game on tv."

"Yeah, pretty much." Keishin confirmed "Out of everyone in the prefecture right now, his play style is probably the most similar."

Hearing this was enough to set a new rush of energy through the orange haired boy as he kept staring at Wakunan's captain.

"Hold it. Don't even think about comparing yourself to him." Kageyama spoke up "He's in a total different league from you when it comes to aerial combat. Just do what you do and forget about him."

"Why do you always have to break a guy's heart like that?!" Hinata started shouting.

"...?!" Kageyama looked shocked before arguing "Hey! I was just being nice and giving you some advice!"

"How was that nice?!" Hinata questioned.

"The way you say something matters, Kageyama." (y/n) couldn't help but laugh at the two.

Hearing (y/n)'s laugh calmed Hinata down as he spoke again "It's obvious that guy is super good, okay?! That's not the problem! The problem is what are we going to do about it!"

The third set began, and Wakunan continued to dominate. However, Hinata's improved receives from the Tokyo training camps led to a point for Karasuno, boosting their morale. Amidst the celebrations, Hinata and Kageyama started bickering again, but the team remained focused on the match.

Karasuno scored a point after that thanks to Hinata. As the team celebrated, Hinata and Kageyama started fighting again, something about Kageyama calling Hinata a light-weight, but that didn't matter right now.

"Way to go guys!"(y/n) cheered "That's the Karasuno I know and love!"

"Well, even if someone has us backed into a corner..." Kageyama started "One of our best strenghts is to blast straigth throught them."

Whilst the others had a shocked expression on their face, Kageyama continued "It was something like that I believe that you once told me, Ennoshita-senpai."

That seemed to have struck a cord with Ennoshita.

The match continued, Karasuno and Wakunan each scoring point after point.

"I think we should change our blocking strategy..." (y/n) spoke up.

"Yeah, we should stop triple blocking Nakashima." Keishin confirmed as he looked at Nishinoya "No need to give him a bigger target to work with."

"Roger coach!" Nishinoya spoke as he returned to the court.

The match continued, but it seemed like Wakunan still had the upperhand, until Ennoshita called out to his teammembers. It was time to switch the momentum.

Ennoshita mannaged to dig up a ball, Nishinoya followed up, it was up to Hinata to finish it. The orange haired first year showed that he was thinking whilst playing and went for a rebound against the three blockers. Tanaka spiked it down afterwards. A point for Karasuno.

During the celebrations, Nishinoya went to compliment Ennoshita on his receive.

"And... It just clicked." (y/n) chuckled "Getting a compliment on a receive from a libero can do that for you."

"Huh? What?" Takeda questioned.

"I think that, up until now, Ennoshita just felt like a replacement." Keishin clarified "But now, it seems like he finally feels like he fits in the team."

After those words, Keishin and (y/n) both glanced at Yamaguchi, they both knew that he needed to make that click as well.

The match continued as the sibling continued to ponder over letting Yamaguchi try again in this game. Tsukishima managed to block the captain of Wakunan, earning Karasuno another point, finally catching up to Wakunan. The score was now 13-13.

The intense battle continued, both teams scoring point after point.

When Karasuno finally managed to take the lead at 18-19, the Wakunan coach called a time-out.

It was clear that the Karasuno main hitters were getting exhausted. Keishin figured that it would be best to let Asahi hit it more often, as the ace and a third year, he had more strenght and stamina left.

But, Kageyama decided to let Ennoshita hit it, earning Karasuno another point and giving Ennoshita another confidence boost in the progress. This was the break point for Karasuno, the score was now 19-21.

'Good choice, Kageyama.' (y/n) softly smiled to herself as Keishin looked conflicted over being ignored.

With both teams missing a serve, Karasuno reached match point at 20-24. The tension was palpable.

Hinata made a mistake during a spike, but Ennoshita was there to encourage him, showing his leadership as the replacement captain. It was Wakunan's turn to attack, hitting the blocker, but Ennoshita saved it. Now, it was Karasuno's chance to attack, and Hinata's spike secured the final point. Karasuno won the third set and the match.

The team celebrated, and despite Hinata and Kageyama's usual antics, the mood was jubilant. (Y/n) couldn't help but feel proud of the team's performance.

"Well done, guys!" (y/n) said proudly, a smile stretching across her face.