This time, neither coach interrupted the conversation between Miya Atsumu and Kageyama, the former Karasuno player acting as the referee did not urge them either.
Hearing Miya Atsumu's question, Kageyama said tentatively, "Serving the Spiker?"
"Wrong." Miya Atsumu's smile was sincere, but the words he spoke were like the ramblings of a demon from hell.
A good Setter's mindset should be.. if you can't even spike the balls I set, you might as well stop playing volleyball altogether.
Every Spiker on the court suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.
Aran's expression nearly cracked.
—Don't mislead the young ones! Atsumu!
But it wasn't actually a wrong perspective; it was just that Atsumu's remarks carried strong personal character traits.
Just as he had always felt that Kiryu Ya was a bit too accommodating to the Setter, now Kageyama was also being too accommodating to the Spiker.
In short, having high standards for teammates is not a bad thing.
It's just.. forget about the intimidation and threats! You'll end up corrupting Kageyama!
Miya Atsumu's tone was incredibly confident: "My choice is the best; if no point is scored, it's the Spiker's problem."
Hinata looked at Miya Atsumu with a hint of terror.
It seems like he's the one who messes up the most in Inarizaki!
Noticing Hinata's gaze, Miya Atsumu looked back and said, "It's fine, Shoyo-kun, you are very useful."
Kageyama looked at Miya Atsumu, then at Hinata, finally lowered his head to think.
Glancing at Kageyama out of the corner of his eye, Miya Atsumu said nothing more.
So the King on the court must become interesting.
Otherwise.. not just him, even his Spiker would lose all interest in playing.
Ukai Keishin breathed a sigh of relief.
If it were anyone else, Kageyama might not have listened.
But at this moment, the person providing the demonstration happened to be Miya Atsumu, the current number one high school Setter, his words were unexpectedly useful.
"Just like Coach Ukai said, if you want to try something, be bold and try it; if you can't let go, you can take it one step at a time," Sugawara Koushi said softly.
After all.. our goal is victory.
Seeing Kageyama nod, Sugawara Koushi reached out and tapped Kageyama on the head: "Also, remember to apologize to them in a bit."
Kageyama lowered his gaze: "Yes.."
Want to try?
Can he do it? Can Karasuno do it?
——He didn't know.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from across the net: "King."
Kageyama looked up, meeting Hinata's incredibly fervent gaze.
Hinata's voice was incredibly firm: "Whether it's serves, receives, or spikes.. I will absolutely never lose to you."
Even though I am not as good as you right now, I will definitely go much further than you in the future.
Watching the two of them quietly, the corners of Miya Atsumu's mouth curled into an interested arc.
No, in truth, Hinata had already taken that step first.
Standing here, Kageyama, who had even taken a half-step back, had already been left behind.
Being stared at by that gaze, Kageyama felt as if something were pricking his back for a split second.
It was as if something was pushing him from behind, urging him forward..
—Nothing will change if things stay as they are.
Just like this, they will still lose to Aobajohsai and fall into despair once again.
So..
Take a bold risk; no one will blame you for it.
Our goal is victory.
——Can he move forward?
—He must move forward.
Author's Note:
I've finally sent those living ancestors away. Starting tomorrow, I'll have time to write extra chapters, wuwuwu [crying]
I've been so busy these past few days I could die [Wailing][Wailing][Wailing]
Chapter 42: The Forty-Second Fox
Kageyama's first step forward was not that easy to take; Karasuno, who had been almost spoiled by the Setter, could not suddenly adapt to the King's reign.
Under Ukai Keishin's arrangement, Karasuno began adjusting bit by bit, starting with the first receive.
Kageyama, playing as the secondary setter from the back row, now only needs to take back the power of command into his own hands.
Currently, the main force of Karasuno's front row is Sawamura, while Sugawara Koushi is not that skilled at attacking.
But.. even if he isn't good at it, he still has to move.
Kageyama, trying to trust his own judgment, popped the ball toward Sugawara Koushi's side.
Sugawara chased after it in two steps, stretching with all his might to reach the ball.
This is bad.
Kageyama's set was fine; he was just too slow to react.
Unfortunately, Aran's reaction was very fast, he blocked the ball directly.
Before Kageyama could say anything, Sugawara Koushi took the lead and said, "Sorry! I was too slow to react!"
Kageyama froze for a moment, then proactively approached Sugawara Koushi. "Senpai, should we set a code or something.."
Sugawara had taught him before that communication was very important.
He knew that the members of Karasuno didn't have Hinata's kind of speed, which meant their coordination couldn't rely solely on reaction speed, so deciding on an offensive pattern in advance was the best choice.
Suna turned his head to look at Hinata. "I'm actually curious, Shoyo, how you usually spike Atsumu-senpai's sets."
Not referring to a Quick Attack, but rather the occasional sudden whims of Miya Atsumu's sets, like that cross-handed spike from before.
Hinata's expression was extremely serious: "Because Atsumu-senpai's sets are definitely not the problem; if I can't keep up, then the problem is with me."
Suna didn't want to say anything else.
Yeah, that is indeed Miya Atsumu's creed.
Hinata is the same, actually being able to trust Miya Atsumu unconditionally to such an extent.
His words.. it would be absolutely impossible for him to do, he wouldn't do it anyway.
Of course, Hinata believed in Miya Atsumu.
He believed in the other's ability itself, believed that he could become the sharpest blade under Miya Atsumu's command.
Spiking Miya Atsumu's set feels completely different from spiking Kumagai and the others' balls.
Every time he played with Miya Atsumu, Hinata vaguely felt as if he had become stronger.
But he knew clearly that it was because Miya Atsumu's set was simply too good.
Because of this, he would also never settle for the status quo.
He couldn't rely on Miya Atsumu's sets for the rest of his life; even within Inarizaki, many times it was Miya Osamu who gave him the sets.
For this reason.. he had to train himself to the absolute limit.
Even if the Setter is not Miya Atsumu, he must become someone of value.
Moving from the back row to the front row, Hinata shifted from a defensive position back into an offensive one.
He wasn't skilled enough at things like back-row attacks yet; in the back, his main job was to receive the ball for Miya Atsumu.
Although his receives were poor, he still managed to fulfill his responsibilities.
Omimi laughed by the sidelines: "In other words, Karasuno's Spiker isn't very good at ball control. If it were Municipal Kobe, Shoyo's receive would be completely shut down."
Coach Kurosu also added, "That's why we need to start practicing with something a bit simpler."
Moving to the front row, Hinata shifted into a full attacking stance.
Aside from the necessary blocking, he only needs to focus on covering the gaps in the block to receive the ball.
In the back, Akagi received the spike from Kageyama, Hinata quickly retreated, preparing to run around the court to build momentum.
Kageyama's blocking is incredible, much better than his.
In contrast, although that light-blonde-haired, bespectacled Middle Blocker is tall, he lacks much enthusiasm and can be completely ignored.
Karasuno's Libero is very capable, which means the chances of scoring with technical shots like tips are not very high.
In that case.. it should be a competition of height and speed.
Hinata remembered it very clearly. Before, while watching Hoshiumi-senpai's match, Coach Kurosu had told him that Hoshiumi's timing gap didn't need to be a full one. Because Hoshiumi jumped so high, he could spike over the block even without sufficient preparation.
During the subsequent training camp, Bōwàng-senpai and the others also mentioned things like Kai Kiyoharu jumping too early for the block..
At that time, he only had a vague understanding and simply remembered it. But looking back now, these two points were actually connected.
Hoshiumi's vertical reach is over 3.4 meters, but jumping from a standstill after a timing difference will inevitably result in a loss of some height.
But the blockers' heights were excellent; normally, as long as they timed it correctly, they could reach or touch the ball even with a time difference.
The reason Hoshiumi could completely bypass the block was due to his powerful hang time after jumping, which was also why Bōwàng judged the block had jumped too early.
When the Setter is able to provide a well-timed set, the longer the Spiker can stay in the air, the more he can create distance from the Block.