Haikyuu! Reaching New heights

Score: 2-2

The gym was silent for a moment.

Then—

Mayu smirked.

"Alright," she said, rolling her shoulders. "We won't hold back anymore."

Kenji scoffed. "Oh? So what were you doing before?"

Mayu turned to her setter, a girl with short brown hair and sharp eyes.

"Yuka."

The setter nodded. "Got it."

I felt a chill run down my spine.

'Oh no.'

Something was coming.

The real match? It was about to begin.

Yuka served. Fast. Controlled. Deceptive.

Izumi stepped in to receive—but the moment he positioned himself, the ball dropped faster than expected.

Ace serve.

Point: Them.

Score: 2-3.

Izumi groaned. "What the hell was that?"

I clenched my fists.

'A jump float serve.** No spin, hard to read.**

Kenji sighed. "They were testing us earlier. Now they're playing for real."

I exhaled. 'Alright. We'll just have to adapt.'

The next few plays, we realized something horrifying.

The girls' team was faster.

Their sets were quick and low. Their attacks were fast-paced. Their defense was almost flawless.

Whenever we got a good hit, they dug it up immediately.

It was like facing a wall that wouldn't break.

Score: 2-5.

Kenji cursed. "We can't get a clean point!"

Izumi groaned. "It's like they're reading everything we do."

Mayu grinned. "What's wrong? Losing momentum?"

I took a deep breath.

'No. We're just playing their game. We need to change the pace.'

We needed to slow them down.

They were expecting quick plays.

So what if we… did the opposite?

I turned to Kenji. "Start setting higher."

He raised an eyebrow. "What? But won't that give them more time to react?"

I grinned. "Exactly. Let's make them wait."

The next play began.

Yuka set the ball—Mayu jumped in for a fast attack.

But Izumi was ready.

He absorbed the spike, keeping the ball in play.

Kenji ran in—but instead of a quick set, he tossed it high.

Mayu's blockers flinched.

They had expected speed.

Instead, they had time to think.

And that moment of hesitation? That was all I needed.

I sprinted, jumped, and slammed the ball down.

BAM!

The ball hit the floor.

Point: Us.

Mayu clicked her tongue. "Tch. Alright, not bad."

Kenji smirked. "Looks like we found a weak spot."

Mayu just grinned.

"Oh? You think so?"

I narrowed my eyes.

Something about the way she said that made me nervous.

And I was right to be.

Because the next play?

She countered us perfectly.

.....

Score: 3-5

We had finally found a crack in their defense.

For a moment, it felt like we had turned the game around.

But then—Mayu adjusted.

And everything changed.

Mayu stepped back, rolling her shoulders as she prepared to serve.

She tossed the ball up—high, slow, deliberate.

My stomach tightened.

'Wait… something's different.'

Then—BOOM.

Mayu jumped and slammed the ball mid-air.

A jump serve.

It rocketed forward, barely clearing the net with insane speed.

Kenji barely had time to react. "Crap—!"

BAM!

The ball smashed into his arms and flew out of bounds.

Ace.

Point: Them.

Kenji shook his arms, eyes wide. "Ow! That thing was a bullet!"

Izumi groaned. "They're pulling out new weapons now?"

I clenched my fists.

'No. They've had these weapons all along. They were just waiting to use them.'

..

The next few points were brutal.

Their blockers started pressing tighter, forcing us into awkward spikes. Their defense adjusted faster than we could change strategies. They kept catching our tips, cross-court shots, everything.

It felt like no matter what we did, they already had an answer.

Score: 3-8.

Kenji wiped sweat from his forehead. "Tch… They're good. Really good."

Izumi muttered, "We're getting completely outplayed."

Kōji sighed. "It's like they know what we're gonna do before we do it."

I exhaled.

They were right.

The girls' team was better trained, more synchronized, and more experienced.

But even if we were at a disadvantage…

I wasn't going to give up.

..

Mayu smirked. "You're fast, Hinata. But speed alone won't work against a real team."

I grinned. "Good. Because I'm just getting started."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I crouched lower, shifting my stance.

And in that moment—something clicked.

I could see it.

The way they moved.

The spaces they left open.

The split-second delays in their transitions.

Patterns.

They weren't invincible.

They were just playing at a faster rhythm than us.

If we could match that rhythm…

We could turn this around.

..

The next serve came fast.

Izumi received it—cleaner this time.

Kenji set the ball. High.

Mayu's blockers moved to track me.

But instead of spiking immediately, I held back for a split second.

That tiny delay threw them off.

Their timing was off by half a beat.

And that was all I needed.

I swung—and the ball slammed through their block.

Point: Us.

Mayu's eyes widened slightly.

Kenji blinked. "Wait… what just happened?"

I grinned. "I matched their rhythm."

Kenji frowned. "That's a thing?"

Izumi's eyes lit up. "Oh! It's like how some songs speed up and slow down to throw people off."

I nodded. "Exactly. They've been controlling the tempo. Now we're taking it back."

..

Score: 4-8

The next play, I started adjusting my timing.

Instead of jumping at my usual speed, I slowed down, then sped up suddenly. Instead of spiking at full power, I used softer shots to throw them off. Instead of playing their game, we made them play ours.

And little by little…

It started working.

Kenji set a fast ball—too fast for them to react.

Kōji tipped a perfect shot over the blockers.

Izumi finally received a jump serve cleanly.

Point after point.

Score: 7-9.

The gap was closing.

Mayu narrowed her eyes.

And for the first time all match…

She looked serious.