Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 502: VS Tachibana Red Falcons (Double-Length)
"Hakuba, are you still afraid of facing Taichi?"
The speaker's lips curled into a teasing smile, his eyes full of amusement.
"Who says I'm afraid?!" Hakuba Gao snapped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling. "I just think there's no need to purposely choose DH as our first opponent in the playoffs. Didn't they beat EJP twice? Logically speaking, shouldn't we face the relatively weaker EJP instead?"
"Weaker…?" Adam Schmidt mused aloud. "Gao, the playoffs are a completely different beast from the regular season. If you keep looking at teams with the mindset of the regular season, I promise you—you'll end up being their weakest link."
"I'm not that naïve," Hakuba replied in a low voice. "But based on what you just said, why would we choose DH? Nobody's ever seen DH in playoff mode."
"That's true, my friend." Adam Schmidt smiled. "But we have seen Akutsu in playoff mode. And if possible, we'd rather face him later than sooner."
"But you—"
"Gao! Come practice spiking with me!"
Hakuba's words were cut off as Ojiro Aran grabbed him and dragged him away.
"Aran, why didn't you let me finish?" Hakuba complained. "Their decision clearly just shows they're afraid of Akutsu. All that talk about playoffs being different—it's because they don't understand Taichi at all."
Knowing they'd be facing DH early did make Hakuba uneasy. Every time he thought about meeting Taichi on the court, a wave of inexplicable tension coiled in his chest like a creeping vine, refusing to loosen its grip.
Hakuba wanted to defeat Kaedehara Taichi—but he also knew painfully well that Taichi didn't even see him as a rival.
"Yeah…they really don't understand Taichi."
Ojiro Aran gave a wry smile.
This guy—who once shut out Inarizaki and sent them packing in the round of sixteen—none of the Red Falcons players had experienced how terrifying he could be when he got serious.
"The team vibe isn't bad," Hakuba muttered, clenching his fists, "but only the captain doesn't treat us like children. I don't want to lose to Taichi again. But the way they're acting makes me feel uneasy."
"Relax. At least they're serious about the match itself." Aran chuckled. "I know what you're thinking—Taichi doesn't seem to see me as a rival either."
"But maybe that's a good thing. Let's show him how much we've grown since going pro!"
"Damn right!"
-----
March 25, 2015—Toyota Gymnasium, Aichi Prefecture.
The DH Club's home court. Their opponent: the Tachibana Red Falcons.
"Aran-senpai! Gao-senpai! Long time no see!"
Kaedehara Taichi cheerfully greeted his former acquaintances from Tachibana Red Falcons.
"Thanks for showing up just in time to hand me my first playoff win."
The Red Falcons had the tallest average starting lineup in the entire league. Their middle blockers were towering Japanese natives, while their wing spikers and opposites were foreign imports.
[Hondo Sakuma—Middle Blocker:Height: 202 cm
Serve: 90 | Receive: 82 | Dig: 80 | Set: 82 | Spike: 95| Block: 96
Spike Reach: 366 cm /Block Reach: 340 cm.]
Hondo Sakuma, with his silver hair, was often mistaken for a foreigner (he was actually half-Japanese, half-Russian). The Red Falcons' defensive core, and a two-time selection for the national team, Sakuma's spikes and blocks were a masterful fusion of raw power and refined technique. His signature was a sharp left-handed line shot that slashed through the three-meter zone. On defence, his blocks were airtight—his opponents often felt as if every route had been sealed, swallowed by despair.
He used to hold the V-League's spike height record—366 cm.
[Hakuba Gao—Middle Blocker:Height: 204 cm
Serve: 82 | Receive: 80 | Dig: 72 | Set: 72 | Spike: 92| Block: 92
Spike Reach: 355 cm /Block Reach: 333 cm.]
Hakuba Gao, an alumnus of Kamomedai High, had switched from outside hitter to middle blocker upon joining the Red Falcons under Coach Hiyoshi's guidance. Over the past year, he had focused intensively on spiking and blocking—and improved at a lightning pace.
[Adam Schmidt—Outside Hitter:Height: 198 cm
Serve: 94 | Receive: 90 | Dig: 85 | Set: 88 | Spike: 94| Block: 89
Spike Reach: 352 cm /Block Reach: 328 cm.]
Adam Schmidt, a German power hitter, had a ferocious serve. On attack, he excelled at spotting gaps in the defence. With nimble footwork and explosive strength, he delivered lethal blows at critical moments.
[Ojiro Aran—Outside Hitter:Height: 188 cm
Serve: 90 | Receive: 85 | Dig: 82 | Set: 80 | Spike: 94| Block: 85
Spike Reach: 348 cm /Block Reach: 322 cm.]
Ojiro Aran, a graduate of Inarizaki Academy. In the pros, his height disadvantage became more pronounced. Once one of the top five outside hitters in high school nationwide, he had spent all of last year warming the bench.
Under Coach Hiyoshi's advice, Aran worked on strengthening his speed and power. With his bounce and brute strength, his spikes were on par with even their ace Adam Schmidt.
On defence, though his receive technique hadn't improved much, he made up for it with quick reactions and relentless hustle—repeatedly saving balls others thought were lost causes and turning the tide for the team.
[Akutagawa Jirō—Setter:Height: 192 cm
Serve: 88 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 88 | Set: 92 | Spike: 85| Block: 88
Spike Reach: 332 cm /Block Reach: 326 cm.]
Akutagawa Jirō was the "brain" of the Red Falcons, always in command of the court's rhythm. Besides orchestrating offence, he was also actively involved in blocking and spiking.
[Ulrich—Opposite Hitter:Height: 198 cm
Serve: 88 | Receive: 85 | Dig: 88 | Set: 88 | Spike: 90| Block: 90
Spike Reach: 348 cm /Block Reach: 330 cm.]
Ulrich, from Cameroon, had rugged features and piercing eyes. His role was highly flexible—capable of supporting attacks or plugging gaps on defence as needed.
[Sakata Hajime—Libero:Height: 182 cm
Serve: 60 | Receive: 94 | Dig: 91 | Set: 82 | Spike: 60| Block: 60.]
Sakata Hajime, 25 years old Japanese libero.
-----
8:00 PM
With the referee's long whistle, the match officially began.
DESEO Hornets' starting lineup:
Front row—Middle Blocker Nitta Asahiro, Opposite Hitter Yoshii Hiyu, Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi.
Back row—Outside Hitter Kitajima Kippei, Setter Iizuna Tsukasa and Middle Blocker Tom Wilde (Libero: Kubo Wataru).
Tachibana Red Falcons' starting lineup:
Front row—Outside Hitter Ojiro Aran, Middle Blocker Hondo Sakuma, Setter Akutagawa Jirō.
Back row—Opposite Hitter Ulrich, Middle Blocker Hakuba Gao (Libero: Sakata Hajime) and Outside Hitter Adam Schmidt.
"Hey, something's not right…"
A confused DH fan murmured in the stands. "Weren't teams limited to two foreign players max? Why do the Red Falcons have four?"
"Huh? The roster says just two," a friend replied. "Their outside hitter—Adam Schmidt—is from Germany, and the opposite, Ulrich, is from Cameroon."
"Where's Cameroon?"
Furumoto Enoki asked. "Never mind that—look at that two-meter-tall white-haired dude. Don't tell me he's Japanese?"
"That's Hondo Sakuma. Half Japanese. One of V League's top middle blockers. Do you even watch volleyball?" Kawaguchi Hiro said, exasperated. "He's on the national team."
"Then what about that guy? Don't tell me he's mixed too!"
Funamoto pointed to Ojiro Aran.
Kawaguchi nodded. "He is."
Funamoto: "…"
"You are not joking, are you...?"
Funamoto asked again, still unwilling to let it go.
Kawaguchi gave him a look usually reserved for idiots.
"Just shut up and watch the match."
-----
"Beep!—" The whistle blew, signalling the serve.
Tachibana Red Falcons took the first serve—Adam Schmidt's powerful jump serve.
—BOOM!!
No holding back—Adam Schmidt put full force into his very first serve!
The crowd gasped. The ball shot cleanly between Kitajima Kippei and Iizuna Tsukasa and pounded into DH's end line before bouncing high.
"Hakuba, you see that?!" Adam Schmidt grinned, giving a thumbs-up toward the bench.
"That's what playoff-level serves look like!"
Ace by Adam Schmidt!
[DH 0 - 1 Red Falcons]
"What a vicious serve," said Taichi with a narrow-eyed smile.
"They came prepared. Don't let your guard down," Yoshii Hiyu called out to the back row.
"Yes!" Iizuna nodded seriously.
Kitajima straightened up, then leaned forward into his ready stance.
"A show of dominance? They're hitting their rhythm fast."
Red Falcons continued serving.
Adam Schmidt confidently launched the second serve.
BOOM!!!
The power behind the ball was just as overwhelming!
Smack!
At the moment of reception, Kitajima's feet braced and his centre of gravity lowered. His arms absorbed the ball's impact softly before he forcefully rebounded it.
Perfect receive!
"Nice pass!" Iizuna leapt at the front and set a high ball to the right wing.
Kaedehara Taichi jumped for the spike!
"Double block!' Both Hondo Sakuma and Akutagawa Jirō went up together.
"Wait—this guy…"
As the Red Falcons' block height began to descend, Taichi was still airborne!
BOOM!!—
Smack!!!
The ball slammed into Adam Schmidt's arms in the back row and deflected out of bounds.
Point for DH – Taichi's spike lands clean!
[DH 1 - 1 Red Falcons]
"Oh? Couldn't handle that one?" Taichi said in mock surprise. "And that was just my regular season power."
Service rotated—DH to serve.
Nitta Asahiro jump-served with force, aiming straight at Adam Schmidt.
BOOM!!
Smack!
It wasn't his hardest serve—more on the safe side. Schmidt received it with ease.
Akutagawa moved quickly to set.
"I've got this!"
Noticing he was being targeted, Adam Schmidt adjusted and rushed up for an attack.
Swoosh!—
The ball veered to the left wing—Ojiro Aran jumped for the spike!
"Double block!" Yoshii Hiyu and the fast-arriving Taichi jumped together.
Aran's expression was razor-focused. His arms tensed as he hammered the ball down.
BOOM!!—
The ball zipped past Hiyu's left side—
"Asahiro!"
Smack!
It hit Nitta Asahiro's arm and bounced out of bounds.
Ojiro Aran scores!
[DH 1 - 2 Red Falcons]
"Taichi, I know how strong you are—but don't underestimate us," Aran said with a light smile.
Taichi merely gave a smile in response.
"Getting underestimated in a match is actually a good thing," muttered Akutagawa Jirō. "Who even reminds their opponent like that…"
"Uh—" Aran felt like he'd just been roasted.
"Sorry, Akutagawa-senpai."
"Mm," Akutagawa replied half-heartedly. "Then make sure you score the next point too."
"Yes, sir!"
Service rotated—Tachibana Red Falcons serve.
Akutagawa targeted the center-right seam between Tom Wilde and Iizuna Tsukasa.
Smack!
Iizuna quickly stepped forward and bumped the ball up from underneath.
"Mine!" Taichi sprang into action, leaping from behind the three-meter line to set.
At this distance, it was clearly too low for a spike…
"Double block!" Aran and Hondo Sakuma jumped together.
The pressure Taichi gave off was immense—the way he twisted his body looked exactly like he was about to spike!
Still, Hondo Sakuma held back a bit of strength—if the actual attacker was Tom Wilde, he was confident in going for a second jump to block it.
Whoosh!—
"Wait, what?! A back set?!"
A spike or a quick toss to the right side wouldn't have surprised them—after all, Taichi's entire body was a giant fakeout machine.
But—a full-length back set?!
From that twisted pose, he sent the ball high to the left wing.
Yoshii Hiyu jumped for the spike!
Ulrich reacted swiftly and went up alone to block.
Smack!
Yoshii didn't power through—instead, he tipped the ball softly toward the centre of Tachibana's court.
No one could reach the "slowly" dropping ball.
Point for DH – Hiyu scores with a tip!
[DH 2 - 2 Red Falcons]
"That was close—"
The one most startled was actually Yoshii himself. He hadn't expected the ball to come his way like that at all.
"Hehe." Taichi grinned and raised both hands, asking for praise. Yoshii sighed and gave him a half-hearted high five.
---
"That guy's just playing out there," Miya Atsumu muttered bitterly. He was beginning to suspect that someday, Taichi's setting skills might actually surpass his own.
"No, no, no." Atsumu shook his head quickly to rid himself of the terrifying thought. "No way. Absolutely not."
"Oi, Tsumu~ what're you doing?" Bokuto Kōtarō asked with curiosity. "Trying to set a record for fastest head shaking? Bet I can beat you!" Bokuto started wildly shaking his own head like Atsumu.
"Idiot." Sakusa Kiyoomi turned away, refusing to look at either of them.
"...…"
Atsumu said nothing. He knew that once Bokuto got clingy, there was no escape.
---
"Taichi, I thought you were gonna set that one for me," Tom Wilde said. He was convinced Taichi was faking a set only to spike—but then fake a spike just to set it. Classic Taichi.
"But that would've been too easy," Taichi replied seriously.
"???" Tom stared at him, puzzled.
"Mm." Taichi nodded firmly.
For this first set—he wanted to have fun.
_________
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