As the third-year students prepared to head to today's review meeting, Miya Atsumu pushed open the door to Gym 1 by himself.
The substitutes from various schools were training on their own inside the gym, while Hinata, just as he did every time he went to Inarizaki Gym 3 before, was practicing basic receiving with Kumagai.
Although his overall accuracy was still average, unlike a month ago, Hinata no longer dropped the ball during this kind of basic training.
Just like their first meeting, Hinata noticed him almost the moment Miya Atsumu walked in.
After setting the ball to Kumagai, Hinata gave his neck a barely perceptible shrug.
He couldn't help but feel that Miya Atsumu had been somewhat unhappy during their conversation just now, but he didn't know why. He hoped he hadn't come here to demand an explanation..
However, contrary to Hinata's expectations, Miya Atsumu simply found a seat on the bench by the sidelines and quietly watched everyone on the court.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Rishia Heisuke, who had gone to ask Kiryu something after being encouraged by Hinata, also returned: "Shoyo! I plan to practice my serves, do you want to practice your receives?"
"Then should I practice serves too?" Kumagai rubbed his chin.
Hinata patted his chest: "No problem!"
The two practiced serves alternately, which also happened to be one strong serve and one jump float, allowing him to try both.
Also, the method for receiving a Jump Float Serve that Akagi-senpai mentioned earlier could be tried out as well; that way, when training with the Kita Team, I won't look too bad..
Kumagai stood in position for his approach, clutching the ball: "Here it comes!"
Hinata lowered his center of gravity slightly, preparing for Kumagai's serve.
With a loud bang, Kumagai's jump float serve crossed the net in the blink of an eye, smashing down two steps in front of Hinata.
Recalling the things Akagi taught him, Hinata moved into action immediately.
Judge the landing spot, make sure your footwork keeps up, then try your best to ensure the ball hits the front of your arms.
When receiving a jump float serve, you have to actively apply some force to prevent the ball from flying wildly..
After simulating everything in his mind, Hinata adjusted his movements, slightly raising his arms in an attempt to hit the ball with his forearms.
But it turned out that merely simulating it in one's head was useless.
The volleyball slammed into Hinata's arm and then bounced stubbornly out of the court.
"Ah—Damn it!" Hinata clutched his head.
He had performed so many receiving attempts that he had become accustomed to it.
After a brief moment of frustration, Hinata perked up again: "Again!"
Rishia's powerful jump serve had a very tricky angle, Hinata failed to receive it as well; in fact, you could say he was nowhere near it.
Shoyo, who had just attempted a diving save, scrambled back up: "Again!"
Miya Atsumu rested his chin on his hand, a trace of imperceptible satisfaction flickering in his eyes.
His diving technique had also become much more skillful, he no longer foolishly slammed into the ground.
Kumagai's Jump Float Serve smashed down onto the court once again.
Kumagai's Jump Float Serve focused more on landing short and moving in a way that was generally deceptive. He couldn't hit those sudden, plunging types of serves yet, so this serve was much like his previous ones.
Although Hinata's judgment was slightly off, he still made contact, but he sent it straight back over the net.
"Damn it! So close! Again!" Hinata did not back down.
Miya Atsumu couldn't help but nod.
That's it, Hinata's learning speed is incredibly fast.
Although it's clear he is still quite unpracticed, he already possesses the most fundamental awareness.
From here on, it's just a matter of time to slowly accumulate experience and allow these techniques to become an instinctual muscle memory.
Looking back, that's true; whether someone has received systematic training is actually quite easy to tell.
Looking back, that amateurish brawl on the riverside court actually showed traces of Hinata's unorthodox style if one looked closely enough.
At that time, he truly failed to notice.
However..
Miya Atsumu stood up and came to a halt beside the court where Hinata and the others were.
Last summer, he had told Aran that he wanted a Spiker who could run, jump, was obedient, loved volleyball with all his heart, just like him.
Although the Hinata before him was still immature, he undoubtedly.. met every single requirement he had mentioned back then.
Fast enough, high enough, capable of tearing through any block to clear a path for others.
Even though they had only played one match, Miya Atsumu could already feel the opponent acting like his own outstretched tentacles, as if they were an extension of his own will—
No, Hinata was just Hinata; they had simply reached a resonance in the sport of volleyball.
Miya Atsumu let out a low chuckle.
As Hinata turned his head to look at him, he softly called Hinata's name: "Shoyo-kun."
Everyone on the court stopped what they were doing, Hinata, whose name had been called, also looked toward Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-senpai?"
Miya Atsumu extended an invitation to Hinata: "After you finish practicing your receives, are you interested in practicing Quick Attacks with me? I'll set for you."
Hinata, who had been feeling discouraged by his poor reception practice, instantly perked up: "Yes! I'm ready anytime!"
Watching Hinata cheering so excitedly, Rishia Heisuke couldn't help but complain to Kumagai beside him, "Atsumu-senpai shouldn't be acting like this, right.."
"Huh? Then what should it look like?" Kumagai was bewildered.
Rishia said solemnly, "It's about seriously crushing a newcomer's confidence, then saying something like—'I'm not giving you a good toss.'"
Kumagai got goosebumps: "That's a vivid image. It feels like something Atsumu-senpai would actually do."
Heaven knows what it felt like to be stared at with that disdainful look from Atsumu while training with the two first string setters before..
Thinking of this, Kumagai turned his head to look at Rishia Heisuke: "But you make it sound like you've seen it with your own eyes.."
The moment he locked eyes with Rishia Heisuke, Kumagai shut his mouth.
Yeah, I have indeed seen it with my own eyes.
Meanwhile, after the team dismissed, the coaches also prepared to head out for a meal.
The Inubushi Higashi coach took this opportunity to make a request: "By the way, I'm very curious about that Quick Attack of yours; my Middle Blocker is quite interested."
You can't keep such good things to yourself; we should all progress together.
Coach Kusubashi, who was also eager to try after hearing his own player's description, looked toward Coach Kurosu: "So, can you arrange something?"
Coach Kurosu looked a bit conflicted. "That.. wouldn't be appropriate."
Of course, he also wanted to send Hinata, but Hinata's Nekoma, which lacked strong offensive points in its fundamentals, was only just getting by; against these teams, he would certainly be crushed.
At least for now, he didn't want Hinata, who had finally built up some confidence, to suffer such a severe setback.
Ultimately, Coach Kurosu settled for a compromise: "Let them organize it themselves tonight."
The next day, after spending the entire day absorbing knowledge from Coach Kurosu, Hinata found himself staring wide-eyed at Kai Kiyoharu across the net.
Miya Atsumu's mouth twitched. "What.. kind of lineup is this?"
Inarizaki's Suna, Shirabu's "Twin Towers," Inubushi Higashi's Middle Blocker rising star, Seito's Libero, Kaifang's Ace Setter..
What kind of ironclad defense is this!
Tachibana Shinji, the Libero of Seito High School, waved his hand dismissively. "Everyone is curious, so we just decided to form a team and give it a try."
Compared to the somewhat headache-inducing Miya Atsumu, the Hinata beside him could truly be described as "eager to try."
Is everyone really that curious about his Quick Attack?! To think that everyone, even people this strong, would actually be paying attention to him!
Miya Atsumu looked at Suna: "What about you?"
How is there even a defector here!
Suna replied, "The coach told me to come."
If possible, he still wanted to record the video from the sidelines..
The extremely positive Hinata raised his hand: "Atsumu-senpai! I'm ready!"
Looking at the assembled lineup, Kumagai, who was watching from the sidelines, gave a strained laugh: "I feel like if I were there.. I'd definitely be driven into total isolation."
Looking around, these were all top-tier blockers, Seito's Libero was also incredibly strong.
Rishia lowered his head in thought, then, under Kumagai's shocked gaze, walked over to Miya Atsumu's side: "Senpai, I want to try too."
"Alright.." Miya Atsumu nodded in agreement.
Under Bōwàng's scrutiny from across the net, Miya Atsumu shook his head vigorously: "No, no, no—"
This absolutely won't do!
What kind of lineup is this on the other side? Two freshmen definitely won't be enough; he needs a Spiker who can smash right through the Block.
So he called out loudly to his childhood friend, "Aran! Come here—"
At the same time, he also called out to another super Ace: "Kiryu-senpai! Want to play!"
Kiryu glanced at the lineup over here and ultimately let go of Usui Mitsuru, who was being held down for extra training: "Fine, I'm coming."
Facing such a powerful defensive lineup, he was somewhat interested as well.
Not to mention having Miya Atsumu as the Setter, Hinata, whom he had previously seen to be exceptionally useful as a decoy, on the court.
Having successfully gathered most of the powerful Spikers present, Miya Atsumu finally looked across the net at Bōwàng: "Alright, I'm ready this time."
As the only first-year on the opposing side, Kai Kiyoharu's face was filled with excitement: "Is this the battle between the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield!"
"It's too extravagant." Miya Osamu, watching from the sidelines, nodded in agreement.
Hinata turned his head to look at Kiryu, then at Miya Atsumu and Aran, as a sense of immense happiness enveloped his entire body.
Two of the top five Aces in the country! Two!
And the top Setter in the country!
He was actually standing on the same court as these people.. it felt like a dream!
On Hinata's side, everyone tacitly handed the initiative over to Miya Atsumu.
In a team with such a distorted lineup, especially one containing players who aren't even well-acquainted, the simplest solution is to follow the Setter's direction.