Hinata took a deep breath, staring at the volleyball smashing toward his side.
Think back, what did it feel like when you received Ushijima-senpai's spike the day before yesterday?
Judge the landing point of the volleyball, lower the center of gravity, then lunge forward..
At the same time, on the other side, Goshiki Tsutomu had already charged toward Hinata.
The next second, accompanied by a loud bang, Hinata completely lost control of the ball, the volleyball flew toward the other side of the court at an extremely low trajectory.
Nice receive!" Goshiki Tsutomu lunged forward, making a beautiful diving save to pop the ball up, "Shoyo!
Hinata quickly got up and rushed forward for a running start.
There was no time to worry too much about ball control right now, it was already too late for regrets.
Regardless of what the outcome of the reception would be, there was only one thing he had to do now—complete the follow-up attack and then score.
Ushijima and Amatori stepped forward at the same time, blocking the direction from which the volleyball was flying.
This ball didn't actually meet the conditions for a spike; after all, while it barely cleared the net, it was still very close to it.
But Hinata's incredibly decisive forward momentum made it impossible to doubt the possibility of this ball being spiked.
Goshiki Tsutomu, having recovered the ball, scrambled up from the ground, his eyes fixed intently on Hinata's upcoming movement.
Hinata's approach path was not a straight line; instead, he adjusted his stride to aim for where the ball would land.
He rushed under the antenna at Position 2, moving in a sharp diagonal toward his jumping point at a very narrow angle to the net, shifting his arm swing from a motion that was almost parallel to the sideline into a lateral one.
With a thud, Hinata leaped steadily beneath the volleyball, raising his hand to spike it.
Amatori's gaze locked onto Hinata's spiking hand in an instant.
A spike from this angle definitely wouldn't be a straight or a cross-court shot, but rather.. a small diagonal near the limit.
He stretched out a hand with the fastest reaction speed he could muster, attempting to block the ball's inevitable path.
But in the end, he misjudged the trajectory of the ball and underestimated the speed of Hinata's spike.
The volleyball instantly whizzed under his arm, grazing the net before slamming into the court behind him.
With a loud bang, the volleyball slammed heavily near the three-meter line with intense spin. The ball moved so incredibly fast that even Sakusa-senpai, in the back row, didn't have time to rush over for a diving save.
The ball bounced back up and finally landed at the feet of Shirabu, who was watching from the sidelines.
"Brilliant." Coach Utsunomiya, who had been watching for a while, clapped his hands, his eyes filled with unreserved admiration as he looked at Hinata.
Despite the flaws in the initial reception, Hinata managed to make up for everything with his own ability, even spiking an incredibly extreme short diagonal.
This kind of on-court reaction ability actually shows that he has put a lot of effort into this aspect during his daily training.
It wasn't any special technique from specific training, just the simplest way of connecting the various steps from daily practice into a ball played naturally.
It's just like.. the nutrients accumulated will eventually make the flowers bloom.
However, with Hinata's level of tactical execution, combined with that speed that can push a Quick Attack to its absolute limit, it truly does have that Inarizaki style.
It's not too late to see it now; I expect this will be the starting lineup for Inarizaki next year, so I'll treat this as advance preparation.
By then, Hinata should have learned most of the technical moves, with Miya Atsumu as the Setter, he will be able to play even more tactical plays.
“Shoyo, Shoyo!” Goshiki Tsutomu looked at Hinata, his face full of shock, “You can actually hit a Short Diagonal?!”
Before he even had a chance to celebrate, Hinata was left dazed by Goshiki's question: "A short diagonal?"
Since when could he hit a short diagonal?
The next second, Hinata suddenly realized that he had just accidentally spiked a Short Diagonal!
“Ohhh—it was a Short Diagonal!” Hinata also became excited, then raised his hand high toward Goshiki Tsutomu. “Akari, you were a huge help just now, great save!”
He had thought he was going to cause a disaster, but he didn't expect Goshiki would actually be able to keep up and save the ball.
"Shoyo's reaction is also very fast." Goshiki and Hinata high-fived.
That was true, not just regarding Hinata's subsequent attacking process.
If the process of Hinata making contact with the ball hadn't happened at the beginning, he wouldn't have been able to catch up no matter what.
Seizing this opportunity, Goshiki Tsutomu asked that question once again: "What were you thinking about when you made that set just now?"
This time, Hinata, who completely understood what Goshiki wanted to ask, replied, "No matter what, I have to chase it down and spike it."
“It would be best if we could score, but if not.. we'll just do it again.”
It was already a miracle that Goshiki Tsutomu could get the ball near the net; if he couldn't even spike it from there, he would be a failure as a Spiker.
"As for the process.. it's just running toward wherever the ball is, doing whatever it takes to avoid hitting the net." Hinata struggled to summarize his thoughts.
That last play, the only way to avoid touching the net was to spike it from the side. The rest is just trying to avoid the block as much as possible.. right?
Goshiki Tsutomu, who had been listening intently, nearly blacked out upon hearing that last sentence.
—He doesn't even know what he's trying to do!
Having failed to describe it with words alone, Hinata gave up and turned to an abstract approach: "It's like, the ball goes whoosh, then bam-bam-bam, thud, then—pop!"
After finishing his animated demonstration, Hinata looked at Goshiki Tsutomu with eyes full of confidence: "Just like that."
With such a vivid demonstration, Akari must be able to understand it this time!
Goshiki's expression looked as if a door to a new world had been opened: "It's like.. I understand a little bit now."
Iizuna's expression contorted for a moment.
What could he possibly have understood! How could he not understand!
Sakusa-senpai nodded. "That is true."
Ushijima also nodded in agreement: "Yeah, it's not just the vertical aspect that needs adjustment; the horizontal aspect needs consideration as well."
Iizuna was even more bewildered, his face written with shock.
How did these people understand it, why did they even start exchanging their experiences?
Did he miss something?
He looked toward Amatori Toru on the other side of the net, who was stroking his chin as if he were also lost in thought, questioned him with his eyes.
Amatori lowered his hand and said seriously, "I didn't understand a word of that."
At this moment, Iizuna suddenly felt a sense of emotion so strong he was almost moved to tears.
—So he really is a normal person.
Coach Washijo, who had also returned after finishing his meal, stood by the sidelines, watching Hinata and Goshiki Tsutomu gesturing to each other on the court, asked Coach Utsunomiya, "How is it going?"
A hint of sympathy appeared on Coach Utsunomiya's face. "You missed a good one."
After a long time, a soft click of the tongue came from beside him.
Author's Note:
Hinata: I'm going to check the surveillance footage! I'm going to record it to show Heisuke, Hoshiumi-senpai, the others! I'll be able to do a Short Diagonal now!
ps. Slacking off for a day, I'll add more chapters tomorrow. [Let me see]
Let me do the math, my progress for extra chapters is 14/35.. oh, it's a long way off. [Clown]
Chapter 54: The Fifty-Fourth Fox
The match ultimately ended in victory for Ushijima's side.
After that set ended, before it got dark, Coach Washijo used an extremely stern attitude to drive Hinata out of the Shiratorizawa Volleyball Gym, ordering him to eat a quick bite at the cafeteria first and then immediately cycle home.
Even though Hinata was extremely reluctant, he ultimately hugged his bag and left the gym, walking toward the Shiratorizawa cafeteria.
Xiaoxia was still waiting for him at home, he couldn't stay at Shiratorizawa forever, especially since there would be another chance to come tomorrow.
Iizuna stretched his somewhat tired shoulders, put on his jacket, followed Hinata out of the Volleyball Gym: "Then I'll go eat too."
Komori glanced at Sakusa, who had naturally begun practicing serves with Ushijima, after thinking seriously for two seconds, he followed after them: "I'm eating too."
With Ushijima there, Sakusa shouldn't be able to cause any more trouble.
—Specifically, a failed exchange.
"Hinata, what do you think of Sakusa?" Watching Hinata eat across from him, Iizuna asked a question that caught Hinata a bit by surprise.
Hinata replied without hesitation, "He's amazing, super amazing."
How on earth can anyone receive a ball like that..
He decided, tomorrow he would definitely muster the courage to go and ask Sakusa-senpai again!
Thinking of what happened yesterday, Komori smiled and said, "Anyway, don't be afraid of him. Although he seems difficult to approach normally, he's actually the type who complains in his head."
Hinata thought seriously for a moment. The one who complained out loud was Aran-senpai, but the one who complained in his head..
Was it Suna-senpai? The Suna-senpai who cares immensely about his personal image?
Sakusa, who showered twice a day, left a deep enough impression on Hinata.
Looking at the two seniors from Itachiyama, Hinata steeled his resolve. "Iizuna-senpai, Komori-senpai, I want to ask Sakusa-senpai for some advice. Is there any way I can get closer to Sakusa-senpai?"
Iizuna was not surprised at all and replied very seriously, "Actually, I think Sakusa should be interested in you."
After all, Hinata is a very sincere child, he had told Sakusa that he would take the initiative to clean his room yesterday.
"Really!" Hinata was very surprised.
Komori nodded. "That's right, at this time, you should take the initiative to close the distance, the best way to close the distance is.."
The scene of Miya Atsumu and Aran making him change how he addressed them flashed through Hinata's mind, he instantly had his answer: "It's about the way I address them!"
Komori, who had just been thinking about playing a few more rounds of volleyball, froze. "Huh?"
"Then can I call you Komori-senpai as Motoya-senpai?" Hinata felt like he had found the right answer and took the initiative to launch his offensive toward Komori.
As expected, even Komori-senpai, who is incredibly amazing at receiving, is someone you need to build a rapport with.
Komori just went with the flow: "Sure, just call him Motoya-senpai, it sounds more natural."
Immediately after, Komori suggested again, "Also, don't ask him, just call him directly."