NUMBER 13

Chapter 11

As the teams are waiting to begin the third set, Tendou comes to the realization that Tsukishima had purposely left an opening for Ushijima to be able to spike through during the previous set; tricking him into thinking he would be able to get by only to be blocked. With Shiratorizawa having lost the second set, Tendou is quite concerned that their coach hasn't yelled at them yet.

The third set begins with Daichi serving. Shirabu is quick to set Reon's receive to Ushijima and score. When the same repeats with Tendou's spike, Kageyama realizes that Shirabu is not letting the loss of the second set get to him and he seems to be more focused than he was before.

Shirabu sees that Kageyama is observing him and thinks back to seeing the quick attack and how it made him dizzy just watching it.

He sets another toss to Ushijima whose spike knocks over Nishinoya when he attempted to receive and wins the third set for Shiratorizawa. When Asahi tries to help Nishinoya up, he sees how frustrated the libero is becoming. Nishinoya openly admits "It is no secret that the taller you are in volleyball, the greater the advantage. But such a thing does not matter to a libero. With Ushijima being the biggest player before them.", Nishinoya states, "the only one equal to the ace is himself."

The teams switch sides in preperation for the fourth set. Ushijima stops to speak to Hinata, stating, "When I see you jump when we met, I believed that you would be talented in receives and blocks but now sees he was wrong." He also points out, "You cannot fight with height and your playing style is clumsy.", shocking Hinata greatly.

As Goshiki serves he is determined to get a service ace only to have put too much power into the serve as it goes out, resulting in annoyed reactions from his team and coaches. Daichi delivers the next serve that Reon receives over-handed. Tsukishima spots the pattern that has given Ushijima the most success thus far and a quick flashback of him telling his plan to Asahi reveals the two will block to tighten the path of a cross shot which will lead Ushijima to do another straight shot right at Nishinoya.

Nishinoya gets the ball up with the determination not to let Karasuno lose. Asahi spikes past a double block to an open back space that gains them a point. Goshiki is once more scolded by Washijo for standing in a place that will not allow him to receive or follow with a one touch.

In the next rally, Tendou lands a spike when Tsukishima is unable to block in time. Tendou taunts Tsukishima by saying, "You're too slow and that blocking is of read blocking.", and following the scent of victory. Tsukishima instead voices, "I believes blocking is systematic."

Hinata's next spike is received and the ball is tossed to Goshiki. Kageyama prepares himself due to Goshiki's sharp straight shots but is taken back when Goshiki instead deflects the ball off Kageyama's arm. Daichi reluctantly admits that Goshiki's shot was impressive but says Karasuno will just need to use another method to get the point back.

With the score tied at 7-7, Shirabu sets to Ushijima but Tsukishima is able to get a one touch. Daichi receives and the remaining players launch a synchronized attack. Kawanishi surprises the Karasuno team by successfully blocking Asahi's spike. Takinoue and Shimada see this was possible because Kawanishi had seen that Daichi had not been able to get ready for the attack due to having received the previous spike.

Daichi prepares to serve after he and Ukai nod to each other. Reon receives Daichi's serve and Ushijima is able to spike the set past Tsukishima and Asahi. Karasuno soon takes the point back and the score is tied once more.

Asahi does the next serve. Goshiki receives but the ball is sent off. Yamagata sends the last hit to Ushijima while Tanaka, Tsukishima and Kageyama hurry to block and Nishinoya prepares to receive. Tanaka gets a one touch on Ushijima's spike and it flies toward the back of the court.

With Shiratorizawa now leading by one point, Ushijima is next to serve. He gets another point when Asahi is unable to receive the serve. On Ushijima's second serve, Daichi receives. Kageyama sets to Tsukishima who gets past a double block from having aimed for Shirabu due to him being a low blocker.

When Tsukishima goes to serve and Hinata rotates in, Tsukishima taunts Hinata by saying that the game will not get started if Hinata fails to score any points while he is up front. Hianta gets riled up by this though he does not argue back. Sugawara recalls that Ushijima had spoken to Hinata earlier and questions Tadashi if he knew what it was about.

As Shirabu sends the ball to Reon, Hinata remembers how Ushijima stated he could not fight with height. Going to block, Hinata surprises Ukai when he looks to be making a running approach for a spike.

Hinata is able to jump high enough to block Reon's spike and the ball lands on Shiratorizawa's side before Yamagata can save it.

At Hinata's next attempt at a running approach, he goes too far and crashes into the net. He apologizes to the team as Daichi tells him not to mind it while Kageyama scolds him on not watching his speed. When Nishinoya rotates in, he delivers a message to Hinata. Ukai advised that the ideal jump is jumping straight up but, for now, he is allowed to go to the sides as well. Tanaka and Kageyama catch on to the plan and agree they will be there to support Hinata.

They throw their plan into action in the next rally as Hinata begins numerous attempts at blocking. His first misses Goshiki's spike from not being quick enough but then gets a one touch on Tendou's spike before he quickly runs to the right side and spikes past Tendou and Reon.

When Shiratorizwa receives Tsukishima's serve, Hinata quickly charges to where the ball was sent and jumps to block while being supported by Kageyama only for Reon to use the feint instead of spiking. Tanaka tries to spike the ball back but Tendō gets a one touch. Shirabu sends the set to Ushijima while Hinata jumps to help Tanaka with the block.

With the added height, Hinata gets a one touch on the spike. As Kageyama positions himself to set Asahi's receive, he calls out to Hinata to not get worn out. Hinata proclaims that he will not as he rushes over to the right side. Tendou nearly follows but quickly jumps to block when Tanaka is sent the ball. Because of Tendou's delayed jump, Tanaka is able to spike past him and score.

As the teams catch their breath while staring each other down, Ukai goes over how if one's strength were determined by an individual's physical abilities, height and power, the game would not be as interesting.

(A/N): 1,184 words, I know that Akihiko was not there, but he will be in a few chapters.