"Tweet—" The sharp, prolonged whistle sighe end of the match.
[Karasuno 25 VS 17 Date Tech]
[Karasuno 25 VS 19 Date Tech]
In the end, Date Tech's iron wall was uo hold back Karasuno's diverse offensive arsenal.
"I never expected that Karasuo bee s," Kindaichi remarked with a deep sense of amazement. Two months ago, Aoba Johsai had easily defeated Karasuno in straight sets—without Oikawa-senpai even pying much.
But now, this Karasu like a pletely different team.
"They are not the only ones who've grown stronger," Iwaizumi Hajime said matter-of-factly. "We're not the same team we were two months ago either."
That was true. The Aoba Johsai pyers looked over at Kyōtaarō and Kaedehara Taichi—just in terms of offensive power, Seijoh had bee a pletely differe.
"e on. Now that we know tomorrow's oppo, we o go bad prepare."
"By the way, Oikawa, stay behind. There's a post-matterview."
Oher side of the court, Date Tech's pyers were pag up their things. Aoakanobu trudged along heavily behind Moniwa Kaname.
"Moniwa-san…?"
Aone said nothing.
"…?"
Still silent.
Seeing this, Moniwa smiled softly. This kōhai really wasn't good at expressing himself—but that was okay. He already uood what Aone was trying to say.
"…sidering how incredible that quick attack was, you did well to hold up this much. This time—"
"Spring High!!!" Aone suddenly shouted, cutting off Moniwa.
Futakuchi Kenji grabbed Aone, pulling himself up to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
"Aone's right! Moniwa-senpai, we have to take our reve the Spring High prelims!"
Futakuchi, full of determination, excimed, "The prelims are iember, right? As soon as we get back, we'll start preparing strategies. If we meet Karasuno again at Spring High, ime we'll—"
Moniwa looked at the two of them with gentle resolve. "The third-years won't be oeam anymore by Spring High."
"Why?! Is it because we're too much trouble?!" Futakuchi grabbed Moniwa's shoulders and shook him vigorously.
"What are you talking about?" Monilied helplessly. "I told you before—the third-years only stay until the end of the Interhigh."
"But—"
Futakuchi opened his mouth to protest further, but Moniwa gently pried his hands away.
"You're strong. Date Tech is a formidable team…"
"But our third-year geion has been called 'all bark and no bite' because of our poor match results."
"It's thanks to you undercssmen that we've been able to live up to the name of the Iron Wall."
As Monioke, he noticed the first and sed years of Date Tech slowly gathering around. Unknowingly, his voice had grown louder.
"So….when you bee third-years, make sure you stay until Spring High!"
"From this moment on, start building a eam. Even if you 't win this year's prelims, year—you'll defeat Aoba Johsai, Shiratorizawa, and Karasuno, then make it to Nationals!"
"But—" Futakuchi still didn't want to give up on persuading him.
"Did you uand me?!" Moniwa's tourned firm and resolute.
Futakuchi knew Moniwa's mind was made up. Relutly, he muttered, "Uood…"
"Why are you so quiet, Futakuchi?" The third-years Kamasaki Yasushi and Sasaya Takehito teased, their voices light with humour.
"Got it!!" Aoakanobu and Futakuchi Kenji answered in unison, their voices carrying the resolve of the ee Tech team.
Behind them, Date Tech's coad supervisor stood silently, their faces filled with pride as they watched the moment unfold.
Date Tech High School. IH Qualifiers. Round 2—Defeat.
--------
At Aoba Johsai's gymnasium, the team gathered for a quiatalysis.
On the first day of matches, Seijoh only pyed one game. Their oppo had been weak, so there wasn't much worth discussing.
Coach Irihata shifted the focus to the uping mat the sed day. Seijoh's m match had already beehey were to face Karasuno.
If they won, the afternoon match would pit them, the winners of Group A against the winners of Group B.
"Oikawa-senpai, what did you say during the interview?" Kindaichi asked curiously. He hadn't expected Oikawa to get pulled into another interview right after the matded.
"Ahem—" Oikawa Tooru cleared his throat dramatically, clearly gearing up for a performance.
"Let's just watch it in the clubroom," Iwaizumi Hajime interrupted, already tired of Oikawa's antics. "We o che the roups' matches anyway."
"Iwa-!!" Oikarotested, visibly aggrieved. Why did Iwaizumi always have to ruin his image in front of the undercssmen?
Ihe clubroom, the team members started watg the footage recorded by some of the club staff. The broadcast covered the day's match highlights, starting from the very beginning.
The schedule of day's match was also announced:
Group A: [Seijoh VS Karasuno], Group B: [Izumiishi VS Ohuu].
Group C: [Dewai VS Suikawa], Group D: [Jouzenji VS Hakuto erce].
Group E: [Wakunan VS Ten'yama], Group F: [Momijihara VS Mine erce].
Group G: [Sakui VS Kuroda], Group H: [Shiratorizawa VS Ten'yama South].
By the end of the first day, out of the 55 teams from Miyagi Prefecture, only 16 remained.
"In a heated match, Wakutani Minami High defeated st year's fourth-pce team, Niiyama Teical, to advao the third round." The reporter was the same one who had e to Aoba Johsai before.
"They made it through too, huh?" The Wakunan team had left a strong impression on Seijoh. Unlike Ushijima Wakatoshi's powerhouse style, their ace was a pletely different kind of teical pyer.
"Meanwhile, powerhouse Shiratorizawa, home of the legendary ace Ushijima Wakatoshi, pyed their first match against Ounan High."
"The first set ended 25-10, and the sed set 25-6. Shiratorizawa domihe game, showg their overwhelming strength."
"Wow, that's brutal…" Kindaichi ented, wing sympathetically.
Kaedehara Taichi rolled his eyes. This was the same Kindaichi who'd been yelling the loudest from the bench when they pyed Oomisaki earlier that afternoon.
"The question remains—will Shiratorizawa breeze through the prelimio cim their spot at Nationals once again? Or will a team capable of stopping them emerge?"
"And speaking of teams with a championship aura, another powerhouse showcased their strength today at Sendai Gymnasium—Shiratorizawa's long-time rivals, Aoba Johsai!"
"Today, they domiheir match as well. The first set ended 25-6, and the sed set 25-8. Aoba Johsai's performahis year is just as anding as Shiratorizawa's!"
The Seijoh pyers sat up a little straighter, pride swelling in their chests as they soaked in the praise.
"And tomorrow, the team challenging Aoba Johsai will be her thaoried powerhouse Karasuno High School, who advanced by defeating Date Tech—a team widely regarded as one of the tour's top eight tenders—in straight sets."
"To discuss this, we've invited Aoba Johsai's captain, Oikawa Tōru."
"With his striking good looks and overwhelming popurity, Oikawa is a pyer who bances charisma and skill."
Oikawa immediately leapt to the TV, striking a pose just as the s cut to a perfectly poised version of himself mid-interview.
The room was now occupied by two Oikawa Tōrus.
"Let's hear what he has to say about tomorrow's oppos—Karasuno High."
"Karasuno is a wonderful team. I hope they give it their all and try their luck against us tomorrow…" Oikawa said, his trademark smile firmly in p the s.
Click.
Iwaizumi abruptly turned off the TV. "We don't o waty more of that nonsense. Everyone, go home a some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."
"Got it!" The Seijoh pyers answered in unison, wasting no time as they packed up their belongings and filed out of the room.
In an instant, the clubroom was empty, save for one person.
Oikawa Tōru: "…???"
_________
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