Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty
Chapter 484: Is There Still Anyone Expecting a Miracle? (Double-Length)

"Not bad." Meian Shūgo said plainly.

In his eyes, Nitta Asahiro's growth was only natural. DH should be stronger than they were in the pre-season—if they weren't, this match would end up painfully boring.

After breaking Miya Atsumu's serve, DH's lineup rotated.

Nitta Asahiro launched a powerful jump serve, aiming for the deep corner where Miya was positioned.

BOOM!!!

Black Jackals didn't pull Bokuto from Position 2 to the back row to cover for Miya. Instead, they had Inunaki Shion, positioned on the left, cover the area in front of him. At the same time, Meian Shūgo shifted over from Position 3 to fill the now-vacant Position 6 in the back row.

The advantage of this setup was that it maximised Bokuto Kōtarō's presence at the net while still retaining the option of a middle attack from Meian.

Smack!

Inunaki Shion received the ball cleanly.

Miya quickly circled to the front and jumped to set. Black Jackals launched a four-point simultaneous attack!

—BOOM!!!

Unstoppable.

From the left side, Oliver Barnes swung hard and scored over the block.

[DH 1 – 4 Black Jackals]

Black Jackals easily reclaimed the serve.

"Focus! Next ball!" Kitajima Kippei shouted loudly.

Was this what they called the aura of a powerhouse team? Black Jackals' entire rhythm had shifted drastically. The change wasn't just because of talented players like Miya Atsumu and Sakusa Kiyoomi—it came from the unified coordination of the whole team.

Even after Oliver Barnes scored, the players of Black Jackals showed no excessive celebration. Everyone calmly rotated and instantly entered attack mode for the next play.

In just two months, Inunaki Shion, Miya Atsumu, and Sakusa Kiyoomi had completely blended into the pack. As captain, Meian Shūgo's leadership was evident.

BOOM!!!—

Bokuto Kōtarō's powerful sidespin serve shot straight toward Iizuna Tsukasa's chest.

Smack!

Iizuna barely managed to get the ball up. Yoshii Hiyu quickly stepped in and set it high for a middle attack. Kaedehara Taichi leapt to spike.

"Triple block!" Sakusa Kiyoomi, Oliver Barnes, and Meian Shūgo all jumped up together.

DH's offence was still too predictable—Black Jackals focused their entire defence on Kaedehara Taichi.

—BOOM!!

The ball passed just over Sakusa's fingertips and slammed down hard into the deep left corner of Black Jackals' court.

Smack!

Inunaki Shion had accurately predicted the trajectory. The ball struck his arm but deflected far out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scored.

[DH 2 – 4 Black Jackals]

"Sorry!"

"Good reaction—next one!" Meian Shūgo encouraged Inunaki Shion.

"That was a bit forced," Coach Nick murmured.

"You mean Shion almost catching Taichi's spike?" the team manager asked. "Not many liberos can perform like this from the start. Still, stopping Taichi for real is a tall order."

"I meant Taichi's spike," Coach Nick shot him a glare. "The point didn't come easy…"

Ever since that six-match win streak, this guy had started getting cockier than the players.

"Bring it on!" Meian Shūgo opened his arms, ready to defend.

"Let's see how far your limits go tonight, Kaedehara Taichi."

Time ticked on, and the score steadily climbed on both sides.

One side—Bokuto Kōtarō, Sakusa Kiyoomi, Meian Shūgo, Oliver Barnes—each scored with clean spikes.

The other side—Kaedehara Taichi, Nitta Asahiro, Kaedehara Taichi again, and again—kept answering back.

It was an exciting match, no doubt. But somehow, it didn't match the image the audience had in mind before it began.

Everyone had expected a fierce, evenly matched showdown between two titans.

They did get the titans—but there was no real back-and-forth.

The flow of the match had remained firmly in Black Jackals' control. DH seemed completely crushed by their sheer momentum.

No—"seemed" wasn't the right word.

DH had no resistance at all. The point difference had never once shrunk below two.

BOOM!!!—

—Smack!

Tom Wilde unleashed another heavy spike—only to be blocked by Meian Shūgo again.

The ball slammed back down into DH's side.

Meian scored with the block.

[DH 21 – 24 Black Jackals]

"Damn it!!" Tom Wilde shouted in frustration.

After a long strategy talk with Kaedehara Taichi, Tom had started to specialise in straight-line attacks from the wing. Over the past two months, his efficiency had steadily improved, and his coordination with Iizuna and Taichi had become increasingly fluid…

Yet here he was, stuffed twice by Meian Shūgo in just the first set.

DH never expected that Black Jackals would assign Meian to mark Tom Wilde one-on-one. Even knowing the chances of blocking Kaedehara were slim, Black Jackals chose to eliminate the rest of DH's offensive options.

It was the most classic strategy—drain the star player's stamina.

And it clearly worked. While steadily wearing down Kaedehara Taichi, Black Jackals had already reached set point.

"Should I switch back to my old approach?" Tom Wilde wondered. "Even if the threat level drops, at least I won't get blocked outright…"

He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The muscles in his face twitched slightly, full of hesitation and frustration.

These past months, the whole DH team had worked in perfect sync, training hard and going all-out in every match. They could clearly feel each other growing, and they had believed, naturally, that their collective strength had reached a new level—enough to face any strong team head-on.

But for some reason, the gap between them and Black Jackals…the one they thought had narrowed—

—had only widened.

"Keep going. We play it this way," Kaedehara Taichi said, his breathing heavy but his eyes unwavering.

From tonight's performance, it was clear: whether it was a spike that didn't score (giving Black Jackals an easy chance ball), or one that was blocked outright—it didn't make a difference.

DH simply couldn't defend against Black Jackals' full-powered offence.

Was he wearing his thoughts on his face that obviously?

Smack!

Tom Wilde slapped both hands hard against his cheeks—

No wonder the other side could read him and block his attacks so easily.

"…Got it."

Kaedehara Taichi nodded slightly, shifting his focus back to the court.

"Until the final whistle blows, I will never fall."

---

Service change, Black Jackals to serve

Meian Shūgo stepped up to the service line, his deep eyes sharp and cold. He drew in a deep breath, his chest subtly rising and falling. Then, his right hand launched the volleyball high into the air.

The ball traced a perfect arc through the sky. The moment it reached its apex, Meian surged forward beneath it and sprang into the air like a coiled spring. His powerful arms swung with full force, and he brought his hand down mercilessly.

His palm struck the ball with a deafening crack.

BOOM!!!

The ball shot forward like a cannonball, cutting through the air with a roar, speeding toward DH's back row with thunderous force.

SMACK!

Kubo Wataru managed to receive the ball, but the sheer impact sent him tumbling backwards in a roll.

"Cover!!"

Iizuna Tsukasa darted to the net and leapt for a one-handed set.

Out of reach!

The ball dropped straight back onto Black Jackals' side.

"Save it!"

But as luck would have it—or misfortune—Black Jackals hadn't been ready for a net tip, and they missed a perfect opportunity for a quick putaway.

Smack!

Sakusa Kiyoomi, at position 3, stepped back behind the three-meter line and scooped the ball up one-handed.

"Atsumu!"

"I got it!" Miya Atsumu slid beneath the ball.

Whoosh—!

The pass flew cleanly into the air above the right side. Oliver Barnes charged up the sideline and leapt into a spike.

"Double block!" Kaedehara Taichi and Tom Wilde leapt together to intercept.

Swish!

Barnes' arm swung through nothing.

A decoy?!

Back-row attack!!

BOOM!

As the blockers fell back down, Meian Shūgo soared over the net and spiked cleanly past the defence!

[DH 21 – 25 Black Jackals]

"BEEP—!"

End of Set 1.

Winner: MSBY Black Jackals.

-----

Set 1 Stats—DESEO Hornets:

-Kaedehara Taichi: 19 spike attempts, 14 points scored, 3 aces—total 17 points

-Nitta Asahiro: 8 attempts, 4 points

-Tom Wilde: 4 attempts, 0 points

MSBY Black Jackals:

-Bokuto Kōtarō: 12 attempts, 9 points

-Meian Shūgo: 7 attempts, 5 points

-Sakusa Kiyoomi: 5 attempts, 4 points

-Oliver Barnes: 5 attempts, 3 points

-Miya Atsumu: 2 service aces

-----

In the stands, DH's fans were stunned into silence. Kaedehara Taichi had already pushed himself to the limit, and the rest…they'd tried hard enough.

And yet, it still wasn't enough to defeat Black Jackals.

"We have to believe in them!" a fan shouted. "How can we give up before the players do?!"

"Exactly! Didn't Black Jackals come back from 0–1 to beat Tachibana Red Falcons 3–1? We can do the same!"

Roused by that voice, the crowd began to rally again, gripping their fan gear tightly as they chanted in unison:

"DH! Let's go! DH! Let's go!"

"Taichi! Let's go! Taichi! Let's go!"

Their voices were still overwhelmed by Black Jackals' cheering fans for now—but the sheer will behind their chants refused to be drowned out.

Only a few fans remained quiet. Yes, Black Jackals had come back against Tachibana Red Falcons…but could the Red Falcons have done the same if the roles were reversed?

-----

After a short intermission, both teams switched sides.

Set 2 began quickly.

Perhaps it was the fans' chants that reignited DH's flame—because the second set was far more intense than anyone had expected.

In response to their earlier loss, Coach Nick made a bold adjustment:

Open with Kaedehara Taichi's powerful serve and have DH go all-out on offence against Black Jackals!

His reasoning had two parts.

First: DH's standard defence had already proven inadequate against Black Jackals. Rather than sit back and take the hits, it was better to go on the offensive and disrupt their rhythm.

That's right—Coach Nick never thought DH could overpower Black Jackals' attack. His true aim was to win through chaos.

And from what he'd seen in Set 1, Kaedehara Taichi was still undoubtedly their most dangerous weapon.

Second: It was also a matter of conserving Taichi's stamina.

It sounded counterintuitive, but by involving everyone in the offence and disrupting Black Jackals' coordination, Taichi could save his energy for the key points.

Worst case scenario, even a quick loss in Set 2 was better than slowly getting dismantled.

After all, both Kitajima Kippei and Kubo Wataru were in their 30s now—dragging the match out would only hurt them more.

But things didn't go as Coach Nick had expected.

Set 2 ran long. Far too long.

Both sides fell into a gruelling deadlock that lasted forty full minutes.

Kaedehara Taichi had opened with a 3-point lead through his serves. Then it became a full-on slugfest—an intense rally with every point fiercely contested, the score climbing evenly on both sides.

And yet, Black Jackals never lost composure.

They kept their formations tight and tactics clean, executing with quiet efficiency.

On paper, DH appeared to hold a consistent lead, much like Black Jackals had in Set 1.

But in truth, Black Jackals controlled the rhythm from start to finish.

They kept the gap at one or two points—never more—like shadows stalking just behind.

Even the audience could tell. DH's lead felt fragile.

And as the set neared its conclusion, Black Jackals suddenly accelerated their pace.

The lead DH had clung to the entire set vanished.

Still, they'd come too far to give up now.

Kaedehara Taichi once again took control of the offence, and the two teams clashed relentlessly around set point.

Coach Samson's approach—walking a tactical tightrope—was a high-risk gamble. One mistake could've cost Black Jackals the set.

But thinking long-term, he was willing to bet against Coach Nick—because he trusted in Black Jackals' identity as the strongest offensive team in the league!

[DH 36 – 38 Black Jackals]

As if echoing the epic preseason showdown, Black Jackals and DH had just produced an even more spectacular scoreline in this regular-season match.

And once again, Black Jackals emerged victorious.

DH's home court fell into momentary silence.

Their six-game winning streak—not a single set lost—was now shattered.

And they were down 0–2 to Black Jackals.

-----

Set 2 Stats—DESEO Hornets:

-Kaedehara Taichi: 25 spike attempts, 18 points, 5 service aces—total 23 points

-Nitta Asahiro: 13 attempts, 7 points

-Tom Wilde: 7 attempts, 3 points

-Iizuna Tsukasa: 1 spike, 2 second-touch attacks—3 points

Black Jackals Club:

-Bokuto Kōtarō: 16 attempts, 12 points

-Meian Shūgo: 10 attempts, 7 points

-Sakusa Kiyoomi: 8 attempts, 5 points

-Oliver Barnes: 7 attempts, 4 points

-Adriah Thomas: 7 attempts, 4 points

-Miya Atsumu: 1 service ace, 1 second-touch point

-----

23 points in a single set!

Kaedehara Taichi had once again broken the league's record—and DH and Black Jackals also entered the top 5 for single-set scoring in V1 League history.

But right now, he had no interest in records.

To him, victory was all that mattered.

At that moment, a few boos rang out from the crowd. Many fans wore despairing expressions.

Down 0–2.

Comebacks from such a deficit were extremely rare. And those rare comebacks? They usually came from teams either equal or stronger than their opponent.

DH, in its current state…wasn't looking like either.

Kaedehara Taichi stood at the sideline, taking a long moment to steady his breath. His eyes drifted toward the scoreboard—growing colder by the second.

A potential straight-sets loss—this was a first for him.

In DH's bench area, the players had come to terms with the gap in strength. Their frustration was palpable, but in the end, they could only sigh.

This was becoming…all too familiar.

"Does anyone still believe in miracles?"

A voice rang out behind them—cold and emotionless.

Kaedehara Taichi.

_________

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