Score: Nekoma 21 - 22 Itachiyama.
The air in the gymnasium was heavy, thick with the humidity of a thousand breaths.
Ryuu Gojou stood at the net, hands on his knees, staring at the floor. A drop of sweat fell from his nose, splashing onto the polished wood.
'Stamina check,' Ryuu thought, his lungs burning. 'HP is in the red. MP is empty. I'm running on spite.'
He looked up. Sakusa Kiyoomi was standing across from him. The Ace's chest was heaving, his usually pristine jersey clinging to his skin. His face was a mask of misery—not because he was losing, but because he was dirty.
"Hey," Ryuu wheezed, straightening up. "You look terrible, Weasel."
Sakusa narrowed his eyes. "You look worse."
___________
Itachiyama served. A jump floater targeting Ryuu.
Ryuu stepped back. His legs were heavy, but he forced them to move. He took the ball on his forearms.
"Nice receive!"
Kenma set the ball. He didn't send it to Ryuu. He sent it to the middle. Kuroo ran a quick.
But the Itachiyama blockers were disciplined. They stuffed it.
Block.
The ball fell on Nekoma's side.
Itachiyama 23 - 21.
Two points away from defeat.
"Don't mind!" Kuroo shouted, though he looked frustrated. "Get it back!"
Ryuu slapped his cheeks. Smack. Smack.
"Wake up," he muttered. "Villains don't lose to the Hero's sidekick team."
_________________
Itachiyama served. Kai received.
"Ryuu!" Kenma called.
It was a desperation toss. High, left.
Ryuu approached. He didn't have the explosive energy for a super jump. He jumped efficiently.
Three blockers. Komori in the back.
'I can't blast through. I can't hit over.'
Ryuu saw Sakusa in the block.
'Technique.'
Ryuu swung. He aimed for the side of Sakusa's hand. He wanted a Block Out.
Sakusa saw it. He pulled his hand inward to dodge the touch.
'He read it!'
Ryuu's hand was already moving. He couldn't stop.
But Ryuu's Emperor's Eyes caught the movement.
In a split second of pure instinct, Ryuu twisted his wrist. He didn't hit the ball forward. He hit it sideways.
He swiped the ball parallel to the net, aiming for the antenna.
It wasn't a spike. It was a controlled shank.
The ball hit the very edge of the antenna on the Itachiyama side and deflected out.
Because it hit the antenna after crossing the plane, and Itachiyama failed to touch it... wait.
No.
Ryuu hit it off the middle blocker's shoulder who hadn't pulled back like Sakusa.
Thud.
The ball ricocheted deep into the stands.
Nekoma 22 - 23.
"Lucky," Sakusa muttered.
"Calculated," Ryuu lied, breathing hard.
______________________
Ryuu rotated to serve.
"This is it," Yaku whispered from the bench. "If he misses, it's Match Point Itachiyama."
Ryuu stood at the line. He bounced the ball.
He closed his eyes. He visualized the court. He visualized Komori.
'No tricks. Just violence.'
He tossed. He jumped.
He unleashed a jump serve that screamed through the air.
Komori stepped in. "Mine!"
He dug it perfectly. The ball popped up to Iizuna.
"Left!" Sakusa called.
Iizuna set to Sakusa.
Ryuu was in the back row. He watched the play unfold.
Sakusa jumped. He hit a sharp cross.
Yamamoto dove. He barely touched it. The ball flew up, heading for the spectator seats.
"Chase it!"
Yaku sprinted. He vaulted over the barrier, diving into the chairs. He punched the ball back toward the court.
"Connect!"
The ball flew high into the air, back over the net to Itachiyama.
"Chance ball!" Komori shouted.
Iizuna set again. This time to the middle. A quick.
Kuroo was late. The middle spiked.
But Ryuu was there.
He had run from the service line to the attack line. He dove forward, sliding on his chest like a penguin. He stuck his hand out.
THUD.
The ball hit the back of his hand. A pancake dig.
The ball popped up.
"Kenma!"
Kenma was under it. "Last hit!"
Who was ready?
Yamamoto was on the floor. Kuroo was recovering from the block.
Ryuu scrambled to his feet.
"ME!" Ryuu roared.
He was in the back row. He had just dove. He had no approach run.
Kenma tossed it high to the back center. A pipe set.
Ryuu took one step and jumped. It was a standing vertical jump.
Itachiyama's block was late because they didn't expect the guy on the floor to attack.
Ryuu saw the empty court. He saw Sakusa standing deep, expecting a roll shot.
Ryuu swung. He didn't hit it hard. He snapped his wrist, putting massive top-spin on it.
The ball looped over the net... and dropped like a stone.
It landed in the center of the court, untouched.
Nekoma 23 - 23.
The crowd erupted.
"He dug it and he killed it!"
Ryuu stood up, wiping the floor dust off his chest. He looked at Sakusa.
"I'm messy," Ryuu grinned, teeth white against his flushed face. "But I clean up my own messes."
_______________
Score: 23 - 23.
Ryuu served again. Komori received.
Sakusa spiked. Point Itachiyama.
Itachiyama 24 - 23. Match Point.
The pressure was suffocating. One mistake, and Nekoma goes home.
Sakusa served. A nasty, spinning jump serve.
Kai received perfectly. "Nice pass!"
Kenma set to Kuroo. Quick attack.
Point Nekoma.
24 - 24. Deuce.
"My heart can't take this," Coach Naoi whispered.
________________
Score: 25 - 25.
Itachiyama served. Yaku received.
"Gojou!"
Ryuu was in the front left.
He approached. Two blockers.
Ryuu jumped. He saw the line was open. He hammered a line shot.
Komori was there. He dug it with his face. Literally. It hit his forehead and popped up.
"Nice head!" Iizuna shouted, setting the ball.
Sakusa attacked. He hit a wipe off Ryuu's block.
Ryuu saw it. He pressed his hand forward.
Roof.
Sakusa covered his own blocked ball. "It's up!"
The rally continued.
The ball went back and forth. Four times. Five times.
Everyone was exhausted. Form was breaking down. It was a mud fight.
Finally, the ball came to Sakusa on the left.
Ryuu was blocking on the right.
One on One.
Sakusa jumped. Ryuu jumped.
Sakusa's eyes were wild. He hated this. He hated the sweat, the dust, the length of the game. He wanted to end it.
'I'll spin it past him.'
Sakusa snapped his wrist for his signature curve.
Ryuu's Emperor's Eyes saw the wrist angle.
'I know that move, Weasel.'
Ryuu didn't block the space. He invaded it.
He shoved his massive hands over the net, penetrating deep into Itachiyama's airspace.
Sakusa swung. The ball hit Ryuu's hands.
Usually, the spin would carry it off.
But Ryuu grabbed the ball.
Not literally held it, but his hands were so firm, so encompassing, and pressed so far forward that the ball had nowhere to spin. He smothered it against the net tape.
CRUNCH.
Ryuu forced the ball down. Sakusa tried to push back, but Ryuu had the leverage. He had the weight. And he had the Villain's malice.
"Down," Ryuu grunted.
He shoved the ball through Sakusa's resistance. It fell straight down, hitting Sakusa's shoe.
Nekoma 26 - 25. Match Point.
Ryuu landed, hanging on the net. He was face-to-face with Sakusa.
"You can't spin your way out of a cage," Ryuu whispered.
_________________
Nekoma Serve. Kuroo served.
Komori received. "Sorry, short!"
Iizuna had to run. He couldn't set the middles.
"Sakusa!"
It was a high, obvious set to the Ace.
Sakusa backed up. He looked tired. But he was the Top 3 Ace. He wouldn't miss.
Ryuu was waiting at the net.
'He's coming.'
Sakusa jumped. He put everything into this swing. He aimed for the deep corner, away from Ryuu.
Ryuu saw the path. He couldn't reach it with a block.
"YAKU!" Ryuu screamed.
Yaku was already there. The Demon Libero dove.
PAM.
Perfect dig.
"Counter!"
The ball flew to Kenma.
"Ryuu!"
It was the same set as the beginning. High. Left.
Ryuu backed up. He looked at the Itachiyama block. Three blockers. They were desperate. They were going to stop him.
Ryuu ran.
He didn't feel his legs. He felt the adrenaline.
He jumped.
He hovered.
He saw the block. He saw Komori.
'Power? No. Technique? No.'
Ryuu realized what he needed.
'Dominance.'
He cocked his arm. He didn't aim for the line or the cross.
He aimed for the top of the block.
He swung. He hit the ball with maximum top-spin, driving it directly into the fingertips of the middle blocker.
BAM.
The ball hit the fingers. It bent them back.
The force was so great that the ball didn't just deflect. It exploded upward.
It flew high into the air, toward the ceiling lights.
Everyone watched it. Sakusa watched it. Komori watched it.
It hit the ceiling beams.
Whistle.
Ball Out of Play. Point Nekoma.
Final Score: Nekoma 27 - 25.
Set Count: 2 - 1.
The gym went silent for a heartbeat, processing the violence of the final kill.
Then, the roar.
"NEKOMAAAA!"
Ryuu landed. He stumbled backward, his legs finally giving out. He sat down hard on the court.
He looked up at the ceiling where the ball had hit.
He laughed. A dry, hacking laugh.
Sakusa stood on the other side of the net, hands on his hips, staring at the floor.
Ryuu pointed a trembling finger at the Itachiyama Ace.
"Hey, Weasel," Ryuu called out, his voice cracking.
Sakusa looked up, his expression unreadable.
"I told you," Ryuu grinned, sweat stinging his eyes. "I'm the one who breaks things."
[End of Match]
Chapter 19: The King's Fall