The game continued once again with Shimoyawata having a slight edge over Tsunemori. The appearance of Ezaki changed the gamepletely, and when all of his teammates supported him, their offense became way more dangerous.


    It wasn''t perfect, per se, since they needed to adapt to each other in the middle of the game considering Ezaki had been training alone almost all the time this year. Their movements were chaotic with no coordination, no game-calling strategy, and not even a single sign of what they should do or where they should run.


    However, they were able to make everything work by bombarding Tsunemori with one powerful spike after another.


    However, that didn''t mean Tsunemori couldn''t do anything. In fact, while they kept getting pressured by Shimoyawata''s new wave of offense, there were two yers who shone the most to keep them alive. Those were Hirano and Yuki.


    Yeah, just like before, Tsunemori''s middle blocker kept haunting the opponent''s hitters with his presence. Even though he almost did everything on the front side alone since everyone had to retreat to anticipate Ezaki''s attack, Hirano was still able to scare the shit off everyone on the other side of the.


    His intimidating tactic worked perfectly, forcing the hitter to keep spiking the ball toward Yuki''s direction. Meanwhile, Yuki also did the same, trying to appear in the hitter''s line of sight so the ball would be spiked into the other direction, the one that Hirano had been guarding.


    Their chemistry worked perfectly in the second set, keeping the team alive while helping them score with a kill block or two. Their performance even made Miura shake his head in wonder and admiration, cursing Akira''s good luck for being able to get two amazing yers like them in such a weak team.


    ''How could he have all the luck in the world? Did he feed the fucking entire world in his past life or what?''


    Still, Miura was not worried. It was clear that his team was slowly taking over the control. And no, it wasn''t his team who suddenly got better, rather it was Tsunemori whose performance was declined. Their movement got sloppier, their reaction was slower, and even their defense was not as perfect as before.


    At first, all the Tsunemori yers didn''t notice the problem. They thought it was because Shimoyawata was getting better with Ezaki on the court. However, they finally realized something was wrong when...


    *BAM!*


    "Oooh!"


    "Nice spike, Captain!"


    "Goddamnit! Finally!"


    While the opponent was celebrating, all Tsunemori yers looked at each other confusedly. The spike from Hideo before was just a normal one, not as powerful nor as deadlier as the one that came from Ezaki. However, how could they all freeze on the spot and couldn''t move their body?


    "They finally reached this point, huh?" Akira muttered gloomily.


    "Eh? What do you mean, Sensei?" Megumi who was not as knowledgeable as Akira asked confusedly. "Reach what point? Was the point lost before because of something else other than the spike?"


    "Yeah." The coach nodded solemnly. "Normally, Kobayashi would be able to save such a weak spike. However... He couldn''t move his body as freely as he wanted."


    Megumi was still confused before she pondered for a moment, then her eyes widened as she finally got it.


    "Exhaustion?"


    "Exactly." Akira nodded.


    His eyes turned to his yers, especially Yuki. It was clear that the sses boy looked exhausted, from the way he held his knee to support his body and how erratic his breathing was.


    Out of everyone else, Yuki was probably the one who deserved rest right now. Not only because he was the most active yer in the second set, but because he was also a rookie. No matter how talented he was, being exposed to systematic training only for a month wouldn''t be enough to put his physical ability up to the standard.


    Still, Akira had no intention to let Yuki rest. It was cruel, maybe, but he needed the sses boy on the court right now more than ever. Yuki was the pir of the team''s defense, so if he were reced, it would hit the other yers'' morale.


    After pondering for a while, Akira finally took a decision. "Ogawa, be ready. You will y again after this."


    "Yes, Sir!"


    It was a hard decision to take, yet the only thing Akira coulde up with to keep the team alive. Rather than staying passively, it would be better for the team to take control of the game, and what was the better way other than turning the gear into an offensive one?


    Meanwhile, on the court, Yuki was still holding his knees, trying to regte his breath more steadily. Three times he yed in a regr game this month, this was probably the worst exhaustion he had ever felt. His muscles ached and were so stiff, making it harder to move.


    "You okay, Kobayashi?" Riku asked, concerned.


    "Don''t worry, it is nothing," Yuki reassured with a fake bravado that was obvious enough for the blonde boy to tell that his friend was lying.


    Still, Riku didn''t expose his friend. He just gave a simr reassuring smile that Yuki just had while patting his friend''s shoulder before saying, "Well, we better end this game as quickly as possible, okay?"


    Yuki nodded slightly before they both nced at the scoreboard. 16 - 12. While they were tailed behind, it was still within reach. But if the game prolonged into the third set, they could say goodbye right now.


    "You are right, Agostini. Let''s end this game as quickly as possible."


    -0-


    After a while, the game resumed again with Shimoyawata''s turn to serve the ball. Fortunately, while exhausted, Yuki still gave the impression that his defense was impable, frightening the opponent to aim the serve at him. In the end, the ball went to the right back where Ogawa who juste back to the court stood.


    *Thud!*


    "Nice receive, Ogawa!"


    "Riku! Left!"


    "Right!"


    While his teammates shouted to ask for the ball, Riku waited patiently until they reached their base position. The tempo was a bit slower whenever they wanted to do a synchronization attack, but Tsunemori made it up with the quantity of attackers who participated.


    After ncing at thest moment at Shimoyawata''s side for confirmation, Riku sent the ball to the right side, far away from Ezaki''s side. Yeah, he ran away. There was no way the blonde boy would do anything stupid by passing the ball in the direction of the opponent''s strongest blocker.


    "Nice pass, Riku!"


    *BAM!*


    "DAMN!"


    Asahi spiked the ball straight, aiming at the sideline. However, Oda, the libero of the team was quick enough to recover. Now, the ball flew again to the middle where Ueno had anticipated its route before.


    "UENO! HERE!"


    Even though the shout didn''te, the setter would still pass the ball there. When the team''s stamina was low, Ezaki was his best bet. And the boy didn''t disappoint, by spiking the ball in a particr direction that it touched Hirano''s block and deflected far outside of the court.


    "YOSSHAAA!"


    "NICE SPIKE, EZAKI!"


    "COME ON!"


    All the yers with white jerseys had already celebrated as if it was clear they would get a point. However, when a green jersey suddenly rushed with incredible speed, Oda realized something.


    "NO! IT IS NOT OVER! EVERYONE, GO BACK!"