Capítulo 23: The Legionnaires 2
Itachiyama had a clean break for the next four rallies and the point difference began to widen, which worried Coach Soma Yage of Shiroshikata. The game feels so different from the one they played against Kurokumogi. During that match, the team they were against had a skillset at par or similar to their style – equal distribution of powerful offensive plays from their spikers, and prominent blocking game around the net.
But Itachiyama is different. They knew it from their firsthand experience with them in the last Spring Cup. They were strong then, and more so now. He finally acknowledged that they changed dramatically this year. If he were to describe it, they are like a Roman Legion, led by a Praetor, who commands the battlefield they are entering. The Praetor, in Itachiyama's case, is their setter, who facilitates the flow of their offense seemingly like a genius battle strategist, and draws out the 100% of his cohorts.
The Cohort that was currently on court is armed with the right amount of power and intelligence to keep up with the commands of their Praetor, and as a result, they restricted their opponents to only a single point so far in the set. This happened, even in the absence of their Centurion or battle general – their ace, Sakusa Kiyoomi. Coach Soma also noticed that the four rallies that passed were tiresome long ones, and even if his team was on the offensive most of the time, the ball never falls to the opponents' side, thanks to Komori Motoya's excellence on floor defense. His players were already showing signs of labored breathing too early in the set, and this is not good. Soma finally sued for time.
"Itachiyama didn't change much in terms of their lineup, but their style did. And for sure got better since last year. But so have you, guys." He started without second thoughts. "Their setter, Mitsuki, is getting the better out of you right now. He may not be their ace, but he's the Praetor of that Legion. Needless to say, it's him who causes the biggest problem for us. His small commands like 'fall back' and 'go forward' are annoyingly accurate enough for them to take the cake of this game. But we don't want that, do we?"
The answer was obvious from the boys. He continued, "Time to neutralize him now. For the next play, eliminate the possibility of a dump since he's in the backrow. But brace yourselves for a powerful serve, so spread your positions and move a little bit farther to the back. Gaito, Maki, when you receive, try to make it a good A-Pass towards Kouen. Most importantly, score a point. Kouen, I'm counting on you to open up the path for your teammates."
[A-Pass: usually happens during the first touch, where the receiver bumps the ball cleanly towards the setter]
"Also, starting the next side out, aim your serves at their setter. I bet he doesn't like it when he gets the first touch. In that way, we can limit the number of plays he can execute for his hitters. However, don't take your eyes off their libero and their captain, as they can give setter-calibre tosses too. Moreover, mark that Jao. We can't leave him unchecked. Go out there and don't you dare be left behind." His members huddled after that and resumed their battlecry.
"Shiroshikata, fight!" Maki said.
"FIGHT!" Everyone else responded.
For the next rally, Shinya is still serving, and like the last serves he made, it was another nasty jump serve. Gaito followed its path and was able to successfully get a clean dig under it, and the ball went somewhere near Kouen. The latter had to move a little to touch the ball. "Sorry, it's short!" Gaito said.
'This is good enough', Kouen thought. Barely after getting a hand on the ball, he immediately tossed it to the middle, where Hiro was getting impatient already to slam the ball home. The MB scored that quick for them.
"Yosh! Nice kill!" Coach Soma clapped from the bench. The score finally adjusted for them, 6 – 2, Itachiyama.
Hiro walked towards the service line and Gaito went out for Kakuzo. He took a deep breath, and launched a lefty jump serve aimed at Shinya. The latter grunted after raising that difficult serve. "Spread out! Boichi-san!"
Boichi made the follow-up serve and Suki was there to spike it. However, the ball was received by Toshiro. Kouen got the next touch and 3 of their spikers jumped for the toss – Kakuzo, Maki and Kouha. His brother made the hit and it was received by Jao on the other end. The ball returned to Shiroshikata's side and Hiro received it first. Kouen made the set, and this time, Kakuzo scored them a point.
Hiro served again and he aced it after the ball's spin caused it to fly away from Shinya's arms. Consecutive breaks from Shiroshikata. 6 – 4, Itachiyama.
Hiro's next serve was aimed again at Shinya but Suki moved forward to take over their setter's position and raised the ball with extreme difficulty. "Cover!"
Shinya's spatial perception kicked in and of course, he was in the right place to cover for that short receive. He shot a look at Toyambi, wordlessly communicated with him, and the guy jumped from the left and met the ball that was already in the air for him. That ended the break for Shiroshikata.
"WOOOOH!"
Komori went out while Toyambi got the ball across and Kouen bumped it up. He yelled, "Kouha!" and his brother went for the emergency set. The toss was sent to Toshiro, and his spike was touched by Garuma, who was fresh off Itachiyama's bench. Shinya got the ball next.
"LEEEEEFT!" Jao called for the toss and Shinya obliged to it. He executed a back attack, but Maki hustled after the ball from the other side. His body rolled near the bench and it made quite a sound, but he luckily was able to nail that save.
"Maki!" Kouha said, but the captain only uttered one word in reply without getting up.
"Counter!" Kouha understood and got the ball next. He tossed it to his brother for their reverse play.
"Take this!" Kouen said as he slammed the ball and hit Shinya. As it was about to cross the net, Shinya screamed a command. "Direct Boichi-san!"
Boichi need not be told to do it anyway, he spiked the ball but he was surprised to see the figure of Kakuzo loom before him. It was a high wall he didn't expect to see. The rally ended with that block. 7 – 5, Itachiyama.
"Maki-san, are ye okay?" Toshiro asked their captain.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Get in position." He said as he pulled himself up.
"Kakuzo, nice block." Hiro complimented his kouhai. He is, after all, a witness to this freshman's growth during practices and actual matches. His reflexes are also on point today, and his sheer speed, despite his heavy physique, might be the key for their victory in this game.
Meanwhile, in Itachiyama's bench, Shinya reckons that the Stags have finally gotten used to their plays and are now slowly adjusting their positions to widen their defense to neutralize their strategy. "They are aiming their serves at me in trying to exploit my play-making. The next one will be difficult to bump and it will be mine. So, if, after that serve, I get to return the ball directly to their side, focus on their front hitters. Commit the blocks to that tall number 10 and their captain. I'm sure their setter will go for a quick to the spikers who are nearest to him, so time your blocks for their straights." He said this to Garuma and Boichi, who nodded at his instructions.
Kouha served next and true enough, it was aimed at Shinya. The ball hit his shoulder and it bounced back directly to Shiroshikata's side.
"Chance ball!" Toshiro said as he got the receive. The ball went to Kouen who tossed to Kakuzo in the middle. Just then, the triple block of Suki, Garuma and Boichi greeted him and he was awfully stuffed on that play.
"Grrrrr." An annoyed expression of Kakuzo was painted on his face after that block. Shinya smiled knowlingly after correctly guessing that flow of attack. 8 – 5, Itachiyama.
The rest of the set dragged on and neither team has been giving a breather to the other. Both were relentless in showing off their varied arrangement of moves. Shiroshikata displayed their hybrid arsenal of offense and defense specialists, while Itachiyama showcased their colorful plethora of attacks that adjusts immediately to every threat posed by their opponent. It was a feast for the spectators and it is the game which gained most of the crowd's attention.
A rapid succession of quick attacks and more block points happened in the next 25 minutes and now the score reads at 23 – 21, Itachiyama still leading.
Shiroshikata got the last point so Kakuzo's serving. Again, it was aimed at Shinya, who does not seem to be bothered by this targeting. He received the ball with an overhead and he left the rest to their libero to execute the next move.
Komori jumped from the attack line and tossed to Jao, who launched a cross that was touched by Hiro.
"One touch!" He turned to the side, hoping that someone will cover.
"Alright, got it, Toshiro!" Kouen called for the spiker and he sent the ball his way. It was received on the other side by Komori, who arced the ball to Shinya.
He smiled for that perfect A-pass, and obliged to the "Right!" call by Boichi from the opposite side. Their captain found a small gap in between the double block of Kouen and Hiro so he launched a straight there.
Little did he know, Hiro left that opening on purpose to lure him to hit exactly where he wanted. In the last second, he moved his arms to that side and killed the ball, which landed with a thud on Itachiyama's side of the court. "Huh."
"Nani?!" Boichi said, confused by what just happened.
"Daaammit." Shinya squinted at Hiro after that sly manuever, and he returned it with a smirk as if saying, 'You may have outsmarted me, but I have outsmarted your outsmarting.' One more point and the score will be even. 23 – 22, Itachiyama.
"That's how you do it. Good, good." Coach Soma muttered from the bench with his arms folded, pleased with the recent bout with the Legionnaires. Meanwhile, Itachiyama called for their first time out.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
mssuigeneris
mssuigeneris Will end the set with the chapter tmrw hehe.
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