บท 22: The Twins Take Over the Game! Riku's Masterclass! (II)

"OOOOHHH!!!! THE FRESHMEN FOUGHT BACK!" Keisuke Hori roared in excitement from the booth. "It is not the adults who did it, but one of the twin sisters, GABRIELLA SILVESTRI!" The crowds – especially the male ones cheered excitedly as if they had just seen an idol coming there. "Having enough of being an easy prey, they show to everyone why they wouldn't let this disrespect go easily!"

"That is a smart play." Hisashi praised. "They take advantage of the fact that any player would only lock into one opponent in defense, so by doing that crossover movement, they confused the senior team of which one should guard which one there."

Keisuke Hori nodded his head thoughtfully as if he understood the explanation before grabbing his mic again. "Anyway, the twins finally started to show to us that they are here not just to show off their beauty! They are more than that! They are like roses, too pretty to be seen, yet too dangerous to be touched!"

"Hey, I like that one!" Gabriella exclaimed excitedly when she heard Riku translating the commentator's words.

"He is not wrong, though, we are like roses." Isabella nodded in agreement.

"Of course, you would say that." Riku smiled wryly. "Still, you both sure know how to name your move. A Criss Cross Attack? That is one hell of a name."

"Of course, we know!" The twins high-fived each other.

"Good job, you two!" Yuki didn't forget to praise. "Show them that you are more than your pretty faces!"

Both girls turned around, blushed furiously when they received Yuki's praise. They whispered loudly with rapid Italian that he couldn't understand, and when they giggled at each other, Yuki turned immediately to Riku, asking for help. Unfortunately, his blonde boy just shrugged off his shoulder here while muttering, 'Girls…'

If before, Riku was confused as to why the twins would turn mischievous when they faced him, now it was Yuki who felt the same, puzzled at why the girls would be so shy whenever he talked to them. Still, he decided to not think about it too much and focused on the game.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the nets, the senior members gathered in a circle, discussing what to do against this new development. At first, they were at a loss and confused about what was happening. But after hearing Hisashi's explanation from the mic, they had the basic idea of the attack, which was already half a step to figure out how to stop it.

"Hirano, just stay in the middle. You will be the helper right now. When the ball is about to fall to Agostini, read it quickly and decide where the ball will go. Help us who are in the wing quickly, understand?!" Yori explained.

Hirano nodded slightly, his eyes were on the girls.

"And whoever on the wing side, just stay there! Protect your area! Don't get attracted by that fancy move! It is a bait, so just focus on your area. Do you understand?!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good! Now, let's stop their attack!"

Yori smiled in satisfaction as everyone followed his order. He had the confidence that his strategy would be able to crack the twins' attack easily. What he didn't know though, from behind, Noriyuki stared at him, the ace's expression was complicated. No one knew what the captain thought right now.

In hindsight, Yori's instruction should be a good way to stop the attack. However, what seemed perfect in theory would always be trash in reality. The moment the twins started doing their Criss Cross move, instead of going in the opposite direction of each other, one of the twins, Gabriella, stopped in front of Riku before turning around to her normal route, creating a big V movement.

"WHAT?!"

Now, with two players attacking the right wing, Yoshi who guarded that area was overwhelmed, didn't know what to do. Hirano tried to support his senpai by moving from the middle. However, Riku tossed the ball far to where Gabriella had already jumped on the outer wing as the girl sent a straight spike close to the antenna, scoring another point for the freshmen team.

"YOSSHAAA!"

"Good job, Gabriella!" Riku praised, giving the girl a high-five.

"No, I am not Gabriella!" The girl he talked to said, pouted.

"Eh?"

"Yes, Rikkun! I am Gabriella!" The other girl said, also pouted.

"Hahaha… Sorry, sorry…" Riku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, we are kidding." The corner of the girls' lips suddenly wiggled upward. "I am Gabriella." The one who said he was Isabella before confessed.

"And I am Isabella." The other girl followed.

Then, giggles broke there as they saw Riku had this dumbfounded look on his face.

"Are you an idiot or what?" Yuki rolled his eyes while even the parents giggled at Riku too. "The one with the jersey number 3 is Isabella, and the number 4 is Gabriella. How could you still get tricked?"

"Ahaha…" Riku turned his face away, looking embarrassed. "Anyway, let's focus on the game first!" He tried to shift the topic.

The next few minutes turned out to be a nightmare for the senior team. They couldn't figure out the pattern of the twins' attack. One moment the two girls crossed each other to the opposite wing, and in the next moment, only one did that, making the attack lean heavily on one side. Sometimes, they even stopped right in front of Riku before turning back and went to their original route, using the Criss Cross attack to deceive the senior team.

And even though the girls' spike was not that powerful, that didn't mean they could receive it perfectly. Just like the senior team did to the twins in the beginning, the twins returned the favor by targeting the weakest link in their defense over and over again, and their victims always revolved around Noriyuki, Yori, and Koji, the main attackers of the team. They also tried their best to avoid Okamura, knowing the libero was the best defensive player on the opposite side of the nets, making it hard for the senior team to return the play.

But what they forgot was that it was not the twins who were the brains of the offense, but the setter. And in this case, Riku was able to attract their attention perfectly by using the twins' new attack to make them look like a fool.

Yeah, when the blonde boy noticed the attack could have a lot of variations, he and the twins established a lot of signals quickly to decide what kind of attack they would use. If he raised his left hand first, that meant the girls should go to the left side together. The same could be said for the right side. And when he dropped down both his hands first before doing a set, they should go back to their original route. But when he nodded first before setting the ball, the girls would cross each other to the opposite wing to do their attack.

Riku was able to stay low for so long, using the twins to manipulate the play perfectly like a puppet master controlling his subjects to do what he liked without being noticed by anyone else. And when they were finally one point away to win the first set, the blonde boy finally made his move, announced his presence by setting the ball to the middle, something that he hadn't done for a while since the twins started going berserk.

"Oh, nice pass, Rikkun!"

*BAM!*

Maria jumped, slammed the ball immediately to the attack line where no one guarded it. Okamura reacted quickest, diving forward to get the ball. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough to do so, as it bounced strongly to the floor to end the first set.

When all the eyes of the senior team turned at him in disbelief, Riku just shrugged innocently and said, "What?"

Senior 14 – 25 Freshman