The days at the Shinzen training camp were flying by, and the Karasuno players were getting better and better at mastering their new skills. After having breakfast on the last day of the camp, they were on the main court playing against Nekoma. The game was tied at 22-22, and it was an intense battle between the two teams. Kai was serving towards Karasuno's side.
"IT'S MINE!" shouted Daichi as he received Kai's serve and directed the pass to Kageyama. As Kageyama moved towards the ball, he could see all the Karasuno players moving in perfect sync this time. Kageyama then set the ball, which first went to Hinata. Hinata pretended to go for a spike but let the ball pass, and the same thing happened with Tsukishima, who also let it go until it reached Tanaka.
"You're not fooling me!" said Kuroo, who was at the net watching the play unfold. He ignored all the traps set by Karasuno and went for a preventive block, signaling Fukunaga and Yamamoto to jump with him only when the ball reached Tanaka. Tanaka, who had just released the ball, saw the triple block coming.
"I CAN DO THIS!" Tanaka thought, swallowing hard as he saw the triple block. He executed his Inner Cross, which slipped through Fukunaga's arms with a short trajectory, landing just before Nekoma's attack line. Yaku couldn't reach it, even after diving.
23-22 Karasuno.
"TAKE THAT, YOU BASTARD!" Tanaka yelled, pointing at Kuroo, who had been constantly teasing the Karasuno players.
"Hey, baldy! Don't get cocky just because you've improved a little!" Kuroo shot back, slightly annoyed by Tanaka's successful attack. Tanaka then went to the serving position and served the ball towards Nekoma's side. Yaku easily received it.
"Nice receive," Kenma said in his usual monotone voice as he moved under the ball to set it. He faked a set to Kuroo to try and deceive the block.
"Calm down... wait... read the play and go for the preventive block..." Tsukishima thought as he tried to analyze the play. He noticed Kenma's fake but didn't fall for it. Kenma then set the ball to Yamamoto.
"Don't jump too far to the side... stop your body completely and jump as high as possible!" Tsukishima thought as he jumped alongside Hinata and Kageyama. Yamamoto spiked, and the ball hit Tsukishima's hands, almost resulting in a block, but it bounced back to Karasuno's side.
"Free ball!" Daichi shouted as he received the ball that had hit the block and directed it back to Kageyama. This time, Kageyama set it to Tsukishima, who also faced a triple block. Tsukishima skillfully tipped the ball over the block, catching them off guard, but Yaku was ready and dove to receive it. Kenma then moved to the ball to set it again.
"Kuroo!" Kenma said, now trying to set up a quick attack with Kuroo and setting the ball in his direction.
"A QUICK?" Tsukishima thought as he watched Nekoma's play.
"No..." Tsukishima thought, instructing Hinata and Kageyama not to jump, anticipating Kuroo's play. Kuroo delayed his jump for a moment and then spiked, only to be met by Karasuno's triple block.
"WHAT?" Kuroo thought, surprised that his play hadn't fooled anyone on the block.
"THUD!" The ball spiked by Kuroo hit Tsukishima's hands, resulting in a clean block.
24-22 Karasuno.
"NICE!" Tsukishima celebrated, a bit more enthusiastically than usual.
"GREAT BLOCK!" Hinata said, slapping Tsukishima on the back.
"Here we go!" Tanaka said as he put the ball back in play, serving towards Nekoma's side. This time, it was received by Kai.
"Here!" Kuroo said, waving his hands, looking a bit annoyed at having been beaten twice in a row.
"Alright..." Kenma sighed as he set the ball to Kuroo, who this time didn't hesitate and spiked the ball firmly down, over Karasuno's block.
"TSK! I'm not just going to sit back and watch!" Kuroo said, as if he was taking out his frustration on that attack.
After Kuroo's point, it was Fukunaga's turn to serve. He served towards Karasuno's side, and Nishinoya received it.
"Nice receive!" Kageyama said as he moved towards the ball and saw Hinata already running. Instinctively, he realized what Hinata wanted to do, and the two executed the super-quick attack they hadn't used since their last match in Tokyo, easily beating the block.
25-22 Karasuno
"HEY! We agreed not to use that attack during this camp!" Kageyama said accusingly as he approached Hinata.
"Well, it seemed like a good time, didn't it? Besides, you set it!" Hinata retorted with a mischievous smile.
"Yeah... but!" Kageyama started, only to be interrupted by Hinata again.
"Don't worry, in the next game we'll win without using it!" Hinata said confidently.
"Looks like your little crows are fighting even after winning the match. They're really something..." Nekomata said to Ukai.
"Hmm... what can I do? Those two consider that quick a cheat and didn't want to use it, but they got carried away... but you still lost!" Ukai said, teasing.
"Don't say that like you guys weren't getting beaten the other days!" Nekomata countered, smiling.
"WE ONLY GOT BEATEN BECAUSE WE WERE TESTING NEW THINGS!" Ukai retorted, indignant.
"What can I do if your team was so raw and relied so much on those two first-years!" Nekomata said, shrugging.
"Those two are starting to sound like the old Ukai and the same Nekomata-sensei who never changes..." Naoi thought, smiling as he watched the interaction between the two.