𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝙵𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝙷𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 | 𝚁𝚊𝚗 𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒

Japan vs. Italy

Takumi, Mayu, Mama, Papa, and Kiki (Ishii), who joined them, were sitting close to the court, with the other Japanese fans. They were all wearing Yuki's jersey with a #14 painted on the back and cheered when Yuki entered the court.

Some fans who recognized Mayu and Kiki asked for their signature. The two smiled politely before obliging.

Then, the first set started.

Italy took off with an early lead with their tall players and defense.

The team, who were quite discouraged, continued to battle as they fought their hardest back.

With some of Yuki's amazing hits and Nishida Yuji's great aces, the team caught up with Italy before a time-out was called.

"YES YUJI!" Takumi screamed with all of her might as Yuji, who noticed the Ishikawa family in the crowd, smiled brightly, yet a bit childishly at the family.

Yuji, who nudged Yuki on the back, pointed at the Ishikawa family and Kiki as Yuki waved to them and raised a finger-heart at them.

Takumi made sure to record every special moment that happened.

From Ran's superb hits, Yamamoto's digs, Sekita's mind-tricking sets, Yamauchi & Onodera's surprising hits, and her brother and Nishida's hits that were almost as fast as bullets, Takumi was sure inspired even more and cheered loudly with her family.

"AND JAPAN WON THE FIRST SET!" The crowds heard the announcer holler with happiness when Nishida hit the ball with full force against Italy's blockers, sending the ball flying out.

The family and Kiki stood up and yelled and cheered along with the Japanese fans.

Takumi sent all of the pictures and videos to Kenji with the caption "WE WON THE FIRST SET!"

Kenji responded with a thumbs up and happy emoji.

Smiling, Takumi continued to watch the team practice before the second set.

And, with a cool start, Sekita put that setter dump over the net before the Italian players could blink.

The game continued poorly for Japan when many of the hitters were getting blocked by the tall Italian blockers.

Even Yamauchi, who was 6'8" got blocked one time.

However, the team continued to battle ferociously, refusing to give up nor let their mistakes bring them down. Whenever they made a mistake, they cheered each other up and gave themselves a pat on the back rather than blaming.

When Coach Blain called for a timeout, the other assistant coaches reminded the players of what and who to look out for on the court as the players nodded politely, more determined to play their best.