"Shinsuke's strength—it's just at a pretty good level!"
"In terms of physical ability and technical skills, there isn't much of an advantage!"
"However, he can execute his usual performance flawlessly in an official match!"
In the coach's box, Taro Omi was originally deep in thought, trying to figure out how to counter Akira's spike.
But after witnessing the reliable performance of Shinsuke Kita just now, he couldn't help but praise him!!
"For Shinsuke, he doesn't need applause or recognition!"
"A calm expression might be the highest compliment you can give him!!"
"Yeah..."
Norimune Kurosu, standing beside him, nodded in agreement:
"It's just that we've never encountered a spike like Akira's in our usual training sessions!"
"So, even someone like Shinsuke couldn't receive that kind of ball!"
At this, Taro Omi's face darkened slightly.
"Don't tell me... we really can't do anything about Akira's strange spinning spike?"
"Sigh..."
"There's no easy solution..."
Kurosu also lowered his head and sighed.
"A spike that constantly shifts like that is one of the hardest offensive techniques to defend against on the court!"
"Because, to defend against it, our defense has to constantly adjust with it!"
"But the initiative to change lies entirely with the attacker!!"
"So how are we supposed to respond?"
At the moment, they were all quite troubled by Akira's spike.
Currently, Akira was only in the back row for Karasuno, and the number of attacks he launched wasn't that many.
But if they couldn't come up with a proper countermeasure by the time Akira rotated to the front row, then...
Once in the front, Akira would definitely use his powerful offensive ability to wreak havoc on Inarizaki's defense!
They were already slightly behind in points—and if the gap widened further...
They wouldn't even have the chance to push the match to a third set!!
They'd be swept 2–0 by Karasuno!!
Just thinking about it made Kurosu feel a headache coming on.
They had actually lost the first set in that way!
Half the set's points were taken by Akira just on his serve!
While he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard Taro Omi exclaim in surprise:
"That's it!"
"Why didn't I think of it earlier?!"
"What's up??"
Kurosu turned his head at the sudden excitement in Omi's voice.
"Do you have an idea on how to deal with Akira's spike?"
"Not yet exactly," Omi shook his head, "but now that I think about it—since we know about Akira's unusual spike from Karasuno's match against Shiratorizawa, why not go back and rewatch that game?"
"Shiratorizawa's coach, Mr. Washijō, is extremely experienced!"
"Surely, back then, he must have devised a method to deal with that kind of ball!!"
Hearing that, Kurosu paused for a moment.
"Right!!"
"Why didn't we pick up on that while watching the video of that match?"
He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, energized.
So, the two of them quickly grabbed the tablet they had set aside and began to search through the recordings.
...
Smack!
Shinsuke Kita once again received a flank attack from Karasuno!
"Great ball!"
"That was awesome, Captain Kita!"
From the front row, Hitoshi Ginjima couldn't help but shout excitedly.
Just a moment ago, he had thought for sure they were going to lose that point.
What he hadn't expected was that Shinsuke Kita managed to save the ball under such extreme conditions!
Yet even as his teammates looked at him with admiration, Kita remained calm.
It seemed...
Like it was just another ordinary drill.
Wasn't it perfectly normal to do something you've already done countless times in practice?
So what was there to praise?
"Right side!!"
A voice roared from the front!
Osamu Miya's spike was intercepted by Karasuno, but just as the ball was about to hit the ground, it was saved by Shinsuke Kita once again!
He had been watching every small detail on the court!!
Repetitive. Persistent. Meticulous.
As if his whole life...
Had never included the notion of cutting corners!
Each day was grounded. Each step, solid.
No matter how trivial the task, when it landed in his hands, he carried it out with the utmost seriousness!
He looked after his health, cleaned the locker room, packed up equipment, greeted everyone daily, practiced volleyball…
Even the things others didn't understand—like scrubbing the bathroom—
Those close to him knew: this was his ritual.
He made his life a ritual.
But only Shinsuke Kita himself felt that—this wasn't a ritual.
This was his life.
His grandmother had told him as a child that God was always watching from the heavens.
That was the belief that had kept him going for years.
But as he grew older, Shinsuke Kita gradually realized...
It didn't matter whether God was watching or not.
After all...
He wasn't doing it for God in the first place!
He lived this way simply because this kind of disciplined life gave him peace.
Just like...
Fish swim in water. Birds fly in the sky.
Kita lived inside his own world of simple, meticulous days.
Smack!!
The ball that had just been saved by him was set by Atsumu Miya and passed to Ren Ōmimi on the flank!
Using a time-difference attack, Ōmimi bypassed the blockers and hit the boundary of Karasuno's court!
Inarizaki claimed a point!!
Everyone on the team shouted in excitement, thrilled.
But for Shinsuke Kita, who remained calm as ever, this was simply the result of routine execution.
Just like...
Every day in practice.
ps: I really love Captain Kita—his personality is just too powerful!