39 Towards the Conclusion

"I guessed wrongg!!" Tendo jumped up in front of Hinata who baited him by using a quick set to the middle.

Haruto ran across the net, from one side to the other and jumped up attempting to do a wide broad attack. As he was sliding in the air Kageyama gave a minus tempo to him and Haruto smashed it down the line leaving the other team unable to get the ball.

"You guys are beginning to get annoying." Tendo said as he narrowed his eyes towards the trio who were at the net.

"Really? It seems like our job is going as planned." Haruto smiled and felt kinda happy seeing the irritated look Tendo gave back.

"Haruto, don't turn to another Tsukishima."

"Yeah, we already have enough people with bad personalities on our team." Hinata said while also discreetly looking at Kageyama adding to what Kageyama told Haruto.

Haruto rolled my eyes and ignored them and went back to his position and waited for Asahi to serve the ball. He looked at the score and it was currently [9-9] with Shiratorizawa tied with Karasuno..

With the combination of Haruto and Hinata they were able to rack up points from the minus tempo making the blockers at the front slightly lack behind due to the speed of the set.

Asahi served the ball and the other team was able to pick up the ball giving a pass to the setter.

"Ushijima-san!"

The setter gave another set towards Ushijima and the trio went up for a block, trying to close off the cross.

"Hinata switch with me!" Kageyama called out and they had Kageyama switch with Hinata and increased the height of the triple block in the middle. In the air Ushijima saw the triple block and hit down the line. Nishinoya was there and got down low to pass the spike.

"Uuu they were able to pick that guy's monster hits." Yachi, who was holding the railing, was peeking over since she felt nervous seeing Karasuno play against Shiratorizawa.

"But they always leave a spot open for that guy to hit down. Shouldn't they try and touch the ball at least?" Mahiru who was watching the match saw how they left a wide spot for Ushijima to hit down.

"It's to allow Karsuno's libero to see the ball better." Mahiru heard a voice near her and turned her head. She saw the same two adults who were also watching the Karasuno and Aoba Johsai game from before.

'D-Did I weird them out…' The guy with glasses began to sweat slightly seeing the two girls stare at him in silence.

"Oh! You were the two uncles who were waving those bottles at their match yesterday." Yachi spoke out as she remembered the two of them.

'Uncles…' The two guys took damage from Yachi's words and felt the need to look at a mirror to see if they really looked like uncles to others.

"What do you mean it allows the libero to see better?" Mahiru who seemed to notice their distress tried to change the focus back onto the game and asked the question.

"Ahem well currently the blockers from Karasuno are unable to block Ushijima so to help counter that, they restrict the path he would take leading to their skilled libero."

Mahiru and Yachi took in what they heard and turned their attention back to the game to see if it was true.

"Close the block!" Haruto yelled out as the trio went up for the block again. Just like last time, Ushijima hit down the line and Nishinoya got the ball up.

Kageyama got under the ball and jumped up to set the ball not towards the antenna but in the space between the outside and middle areas of the court by the net. Haruto quickly dashed and jumped up to hit a hard cross court letting it bounce off the forearms of Tsutomu.

"BREAKK!"

"THEY REALLY TOOK A LEAD FROM SHIRATORIZAWA?!"

With Haruto scoring the point, for the first time this match they were able to take a lead in points. Ukai pumped his fist as this was something he prayed to happen.

'Come on, use this momentum to create a gap..' Ukai said in his mind as this was a good rhythm to have.

Asahi continued to serve the ball and a rally began to start as both sides wanted to get the ball and score a point for their team.

"Ushijima-san!" Shiratorizawa's setter gave another set to his opposite side and Ushijima used that set to bounce the ball straight into Haruto's block making it go out beside him.

"Damn it!" Haruto cursed at the sheer power of his spikes and he still felt the sting on his forearms.

'Just a little more..' Haruto thought in his head as throughout the first set and the beginning of the second set, he began to get used to the power of his hits and was able to slowly adjust his blocking form just for Ushijima.

'Just a little more to shut you down..'

Mahiru and Yachi who were watching the play, frowned and clenched their fist after seeing them lose the point from the block out.

"Is he getting used to Ushijima's spikes…" The adult with glasses whispered as he held his chin to think about what he saw. The person beside him heard the small whisper and asked what he was talking about.

"I started to notice compared to the first set, Karasuno's number 13's blocking had begun to get more steady every time he faces off against Ushijima's hits. At first he wasn't able to touch it and later on he was able to touch the hit but it always blasted off."

He took his hand off his chin and narrowed his eyes at Haruto who was in position to serve receive.

"And at that last point it didn't blast out but went out right beside him." The other guy heard the last sentence and felt like this set may become even more exciting.

Haruto locked his gaze towards Tsutomu who was bouncing the ball getting ready to serve it over. He threw the ball up and spiked the ball making it curve down towards their court.

Haruto got down and passed the ball having one knee on the ground and quickly stood up to transition into his hitting approach. Kageyama shot the ball fast, getting it towards Haruto who was in the air ready to hit.

In front of him he saw Ushijima jump up to block. Haruto twisted his torso and recoiled it back to allow him to twist it forward again so that he could use that force to transition it into his arms.

He swung the ball and blasted it off Ushijima's block and got it to go out right beside him. Haruto felt Ushijima stare at him and he stared back before they once again turned around to get into position.

"Get the ball to me." Ushijima said plainly but the chill behind his words made the setter nod his head and not say anything else.

"This guy is finally seeing me as a threat now huh." Haruto who heard Ushijima's words smiled as the feeling of challenging a top ace made his competitiveness grow even more than it already was.

The rallies began to continue with the points steadily climbing up one by one where both teams had a small second of leading, before they lost it once again to their opponents.

The spectators who were watching also began to notice how Haruto and Ushijima began to gradually mark each other and it looked like to them they were competing.

"Haruto, are you not feeling tired right now?" Hinata asked Haruto as he was drinking water during the timeout Ukai called to help replenish their fluids after the intense rallies that went back and forth.

"Kinda but I still have tons of energy left." Haruto, who was drinking his bottle, felt the cold liquid cool down his body. He still had lots of energy to spare and closed his eyes to relax.

He opened his eyes and focused once again as he heard the ref blow the whistle ending the timeout. The score now was [20-20] with them having the serve. Kageyama was up to the service line and bounced the ball.

He did his jump serve and the opponents scrambled to recover the ball as the person who touched it got it up far from the net. They gave a high toss to Ushijima and he slammed the ball to the deep left corner of the court.

As Kageyema was transitioning to get to the net the space was open and Nishinoya had to dive for the ball to which he got the ball up. He rolled on his side to recover from the dive and saw that the ball flew high towards where Haruto was.

"Leave it, Haruto!" Kageyama called out as he saw Haruto try to set the ball but Kageyama was fast enough to reach it. He gave a set towards Haruto as he was the option to give to right now.

Haruto saw the set and jumped up just to find they took advantage of the time it took for them to set up and got a triple block in place.

'Jeez they really want to shut me down..' Haruto thought as he saw the fingertips reaching over.

Haruto began to think quickly and instead of spiking, he volleyed the ball into the block. As he landed he picked up the ball that was blocked and passed it low to recycle the play.

Kageyama who was beside him gave a short set where Haruto was and they did a quick play letting Haruto hit above the blockers who were still trying to recover from the block they did before.

"Yes, they took the lead!" Mahiru yelled out and clenched her fist as the game was getting way too close for the past couple of points.

*Bam

"Hey that was a nice set~" Tendo yelled out as he slammed the ball down the middle after getting a set given to him.

Mahiru felt her brows twitch as she saw the point and felt like she shouldn't cheer too early. The game continued and the rallies continued to go on and became even longer than usual. The score was [22-23] and Shiratorizawa was close to winning.

"Pheew" Haruto took a breath out as he got ready to receive the serve that Shiratorizawa had. Everyone was tense as this might potentially lead to a match point.

They threw the ball and did a jump serve, the receivers on Karasuno's side intently watched the ball and looked at what direction it would go.

*Swoosh

The ball that was about to cross over, hit the tape of the net and slowly rolled over to Karasuno's side landing in front of them.

"LUCKY! LUCKY!"

The spectators from Shiratorizawa screamed out loud while Karasuno's side held their breaths and cursed at the unlucky point that just happened.

"Shit, this is the worst time for a point like that to happen." Ukai cursed out and looked at the players on the court.

Everyone was quiet and felt the pressure from that last point that was scored on them.

"Kageyama let me have the next ball." Haruto spoke up and caught the gaze of everyone who was playing.

"We can still get this point, the final ball still hasn't dropped yet."

Haruto said this and everyone clenched their fists and got into positions. They began to focus hard as what Haruto said sunk in.

""The final ball hasn't dropped yet""

*Tweet

The ref blew the whistle and the server blasted the ball over. This time it didn't touch the tape but landed in between Nishinoya and Daichi. Nishinoya took the initiative and passed the ball, getting it up for Kageyama.

Kageyama remembered what Haruto told him and gave a high toss towards Haruto's direction. Haruto saw the ball and did his usual approach.

'This pressure..' Haruto thought in his head and smiled as this was a small thrill that kept him on his toes. In the air he saw the triple blockers come up aiming to shut down his ball.

'Right here.' Haruto found a small gap that was near the line and quickly swung his arm to take the small gap and hit down the line. The ball quickly passed through and bounced near the area the attack line and sidelines met going high up in the air.

*Tweet

The ref raised his arm towards Karasuno's side and gave them a point showing that it was in.

""NICE HARUTO!""

The team surrounded him and celebrated but he told them that they still needed to play carefully since they still haven't tied with Shiratorizawa yet. They nodded and got ready to try and match Shiratorizawa.

The rallies continued and that small point Haruto made brought a momentum that made the set reach up to the 30s as the set now was currently [33-33].

"Watch the cross!" Daichi yelled out as Nishinoya rolled to dive for the ball and Daichi followed as he brought the ball up too. Haruto ran and passed the ball towards the over side to get it over.

"Free ball!" The other team used this chance to get Ushijima a set and he smashed it down. Haruto quickly got up for the block and touched the ball making it go back over onto their side.

"Use the ball again!" The libero on their side yelled out while he passed the ball back. The setter gave a set towards the outside and their outside hitter slammed the ball into Kageyama's hands going out.

Watching the server get the ball and feeling the potential match point, Karasuno got ready to score the point back. The serve came over and Kageyama gave a set to Haruto.

Haruto slammed the ball and Ushijima was there to soften his hit just like what Haruto has done to him throughout the last few points.

'This guy..' Haruto grinned and saw a small smile on Ushijima's face as he liked the challenge Haruto was giving him.

The rally continued and both sides refused to drop the ball. With Shiratorizawa wanting to win the match and Karasuno wanting to survive and continue playing.

"Touch!" Haruto jumped up as he blocked Ushijima's spikes and it went back high onto Shiratorizawa's court as he didn't want to lose this set.

'Just a little more..' Haruto thought in his head as the feeling of his blocks became what he wanted it to be.

"Touch!" Once again he blocked the ball back onto the court and the setter began to feel frustrated by the continuous blocks from Haruto. He was about to give it to the outside when he felt the hard gaze of Ushijima.

(Give it to me.)

He felt the message and gave a high toss to him. Ushijima glanced at the high toss and ran up and flung his elbow back to break down the block.

'I got it.'

Haruto jumped up again and swung his arms to get more height into his block. Feeling the eyes of Ushijima he got in front of his hitting shoulder and applied force into his finger tips. Watching the ball get hit, Haruto adjusted his arms to match the course of the ball and pushed forward while squeezing his core.

*BOOM

The sound of the ball meeting the arms of Haruto who pushed his arms down and blocked the hit Ushijima did. Ushijima's eyes opened as he saw the ball go back on his side of the court beside him.

*Tweet

The court was quiet and Haruto quickly looked up at the ref and saw his arm raised and went towards the side of…

Shiratorizawa

*Tweet

The ball that Haruto blocked went out of the court indicating the end of the set as Shiratorizawa had won the second set [33-35]

Haruto closed his eyes and looked up, feeling the sting still present on his forearms. He began to think back on the last block he did and tried to find out what he should have done to block the ball properly.

"You were fun to play against."

Haruto heard a deep voice call out to him and opened his eyes to see Ushijima look at him from the other side of the net.

"But it looks like I was the winner in the end."

Haruto saw the stoic look on his face and decided whether or not he was boasting or just saying it normally.

"Next time… Just wait until next time. I will completely shut you down and break through all of the blocks you guys will put up no matter how tall and how strong they are."

Haruto said back in a plain tone but the feelings behind them made Ushijima give a maniac smile at the ridiculous challenge he had heard.

"I will wait until that time comes." Ushijima said and turned around to go back to his team.

"I'm sorry about that last block." Haruto also went back to his team and apologized for the last play.

"You didn't do anything wrong so don't apologize for anything." Daichi said and the rest of the team nodded. Haruto heard this but still clenched his fist tightly.

"Haruto…" Mahiru saw the small action Haruto did and quickly rushed down from the stands.

""THANK YOU FOR THE GAME"" Karasuno and Shiratorizawa bowed their heads and they made their way to their respective spots.

"I want to cool off my head a bit." Haruto said quickly and everyone gave a pat on the shoulder to him. He made his way to the water faucet outside and put his head under the faucet to feel the cold water wash down his face.

'Did my foot placement affect it?.. Or was it the way I swung my arms..'

Haruto took his head out and dried his hair with the towel he brought. He continued to think about the last play when he heard a voice.

"Haruto.." Mahiru gave a small breath out as she finally found out where Haruto went.

"Mahiru… hahh Shiratorizawa really proves its reputation as a powerhouse school. Did you see how close the match was in the second set."

Haruto saw Mahiru and spoke to her with a smile telling her all about the match that was played.

"But did you see the smile on Ushijima's face, it sure was creep-"

As Haruto was talking to the silent Mahiru in front of him, he felt a soft body crash into him mid sentence and small arms that wrapped around his torso giving him a hug.

"You were really amazing in that match." Mahiru said softly as she gave a comforting hug to Haruto.

"You'll beat them next time right?" She said shortly and looked up while giving a small smile.

"...I definitely will…" Haruto said plainly and gave a small hug back to Mahiru and got his mind out of thinking about that last block he did and focused on the small comfort that Mahiru tried to give at the moment.

"...Ukai, I think we should wait a bit and call him back in like 5 minutes."

Takeda who saw Mahiru and Haruto together whispered to Ukai beside him who wanted to call Haruto so he can tell him that they will have dinner together with the team.

Ukai nodded his head and turned around quietly leaving Mahiru and Haruto in silence as they had a peaceful moment together.

***

Wow, such a big chapter huh. I will take a small 1-2 day break since my brain is fried from writing all of these volleyball matches. I hope you enjoyed it though. Peacu.