Chapter 390: The Three Hundred and Ninetieth Fox
Glancing at Hinata twice, Hayami felt somewhat offended.
Although the Libero was indeed constantly diving for the floor.. saying it so bluntly just felt a bit off.
Hinata hopped over to Hyakuwa Takehiro's side, gesturing wildly as he communicated something to him, seemingly discussing issues regarding spiking techniques.
Looking down at his shoes again, Hayami dazedly thought for a moment, then took the two knee pads to the bench and carefully fastened them on.
The size and dimensions were just right, almost exactly like the ones he usually uses, they provided a strong sense of compression when tightened.
Noticing him approaching, Coach Hiya, who was near this court, also walked over. "How does it feel, Hayami?"
Hayami wanted to stand up, but Coach Hiya sat down before him, cutting his movement short.
Coach Hiya chatted with him in a relaxed tone: "Normally, according to tradition, we would switch positions, but since you've just returned, it's better for you to adapt first."
Hayami nodded, "I understand."
To be honest, his test results from yesterday were far from ideal; they could even be described as terrible.
That's exactly why he acted on impulse and did that..
But Coach Unabara did not drive him away just because he might not be able to keep up with the main group; instead, he let him stay to continue participating in this training camp.
—Even though he knew with absolute certainty that he wouldn't be selected this time.
The coaches were willing to give him this opportunity, he wanted to show them his best state..
Coach Hiya continued, "Don't rush. These next two days will still focus on adjustments; we'll only arrange practice matches without changing positions on the final day."
Hinata hasn't played the setter position much. If he has trouble with his coordination in a bit, you might need to put in some extra effort regarding the counterattack.
—If you aren't ready yet, then don't force it.
Regardless, they have plenty of time to wait for the flowers to bloom.
Once they enter the National Team's development system, their observation of a player's growth continues until the player is around twenty-four years old.
Even after this point, their performance will still be monitored during major tournaments to evaluate their value and confirm whether they will be viable players.
After all, even though the National Team's roster typically only has about twenty-six spots, the pool of regular National Team players is always kept at around forty, considering factors such as players' form potentially declining, certain matches not aligning with various national leagues, or some players being unable to return to the team smoothly.
"Based on yesterday's test results, your physical conditioning has declined quite significantly. You'll need to train hard on that again; everything else is acceptable," Coach Hiya said briefly, finishing what he had started yesterday.
They happened to be having a meeting at that time, so the discussion regarding Hayami's issue hadn't concluded, as a result, they returned to hear that Hayami's hand was injured.
Hearing that the trouble was caused by those non-existent metal chairs near the infirmary—which had become corroded and chipped from being left out for so long—Coach Unabara had brought people to throw those chairs out of the Volleyball Association building this morning.
Dr. Kusakabe, who had witnessed everything, rolled around on the floor, wailing and crying, unwilling to be separated from his beloved chairs.
But when it was installed, it was actually Dr. Kusakabe's own strong insistence; in reality, something like that had no business being inside the Volleyball Association building.
After all, with an injury serious enough to cause fainting.. they definitely would have called an ambulance to take them to the hospital.
As for Hayami's reaction time and dynamic visual acuity, they are arguably top-tier; these qualities haven't declined due to his long period of recuperation, but have instead become even stronger.
Unfortunately, Hayami had not stepped onto a volleyball court for a long time, so they were unsure if he could still integrate these advantages into his volleyball.
Listening to Coach Hiya's analysis, Hayami's tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed, under the coach's gentle gaze, he felt his entire body loosen up.
He knew what Coach Hiya wanted to say to him.
“In any case, Hinata and the others are good kids. You don't need to push yourself too hard at this stage," Coach Hiya said, making his meaning clear.
After all.. volleyball isn't about being more desperate to become stronger; the person who can stand on the court until the very end is the ultimate winner.
It's the same for life as a whole.
Hayami nodded seriously. "Yes, I understand."
Coach Unabara and the others have been very busy these past few days due to training camps, the upcoming Junior Tournament, the first round of the Haruko Preliminary Round, the postponement of the National Sports Festival.
Since arriving at the Volleyball Association, he had only met Coach Unabara yesterday during his physical examination and testing. The man had come and gone so hurriedly that it left him feeling a slight sense of unease.
He knew he needed to find his place, he knew that certain emotions should not arise.
He was just.. losing control just a little bit.
"I'll find my rhythm as soon as possible." Hinata, not far away, reached out to wave to him. He stood up, gave a slight bow to Coach Hiya, finally turned to leave.
Seeing him return, Hinata spoke up immediately, "We're not playing S1 this time. I want to start rotating Hyakuwa in at Position 4. A 2m Ace is invincible no matter when he plays!"
Unlike the previous situation, the tallest person on the opposing side was not even 1.9m.
Without the restriction of a 2m Hakuma Mebuki at the same level, Hyakuwa Takehiro could easily get an attacking opportunity.
Thinking of this, Hinata looked at Hyakuwa Takehiro with eyes full of anticipation.
As expected, if my teammate is 2m tall.. I feel incredibly reassured!
Facing that expectant gaze, Hyakuwa Takehiro raised his hand and awkwardly rubbed his face.
He nodded in response, "I'll do my best."
Hinata reached out and patted his waist. "I'm counting on you!"
The two of them had a height difference of nearly forty centimeters, with Hyakuwa Takehiro blocking his view, Kageyama didn't even see Hinata at first glance from across the net.
Thinking of this, Kageyama turned his head to look at Hoshiumi beside him.
A vein throbbed on Hoshiumi's temple. "You.. seem to be thinking something very rude."
Kageyama answered honestly, "No."
With the Middle Blocker Hyakuwa starting at Position 4, the Libero on Hinata's side swapped positions with the back-row Middle Blocker to move out of the rotation.
The person responsible for playing the other Middle Blocker has quite good serve skills; after all, he is an Ace even within his own team.
But the opposing Libero's recovery speed was also very fast, getting the ball to Hoshiumi almost immediately.
Hoshiumi did not hesitate for long, quickly passing the ball to Kageyama Tobio at Position 4, whose heavy spike and line shot successfully secured the first point.
The person responsible for defending that side hurriedly said, "My apologies."
If they lost this point, there would be no point in them having won the opening serve.
Hinata waved his hand: "It's fine, it's fine, next point!"
With the Libero off the court, it was only natural that such a fast, precise, ruthless Line shot couldn't be blocked, resulting in a lost point.
Kageyama glanced at Hinata and secretly clenched his fist.
If we play like this, we can do it.
Noticing his gaze, Hinata also turned his head to look over, a slight frown appearing on his face as his expression turned very serious.
Regardless, he will not lose.
He remembered Kageyama's spike; he definitely wouldn't lose the next point.
Watching Hinata's expression from the adjacent court, Miya Atsumu couldn't help but chuckle. "So fierce."
"Nice serve, Hoshiumi-senpai!" Kageyama's voice rang out immediately after.
Hoshiumi's serve targeted Hayami, landing with remarkable precision.
He hadn't played against Hayami before, so he wanted to test the opponent's skill level.
After adjusting his position, Hayami lowered his center of gravity and steadily received the heavy, powerful serve.
Hinata!
Hinata stepped forward quickly, turning and passing the ball to Hyakuwa Takehiro.
Hyakuwa Takehiro performed a powerful spike after receiving the ball, but the person he was targeting quickly retreated, the Libero performed a diving save to cover the ball.
Hoshiumi didn't say a word, instead setting the ball toward Kageyama once again.
But just as Kageyama was about to spike, an orange Iron Wall suddenly appeared from the side, breaking through what had previously been Hyakuwa's solo block.
Hinata pumped his fist and cheered, "Yes!!"
With a heavy thud, the ball fell back toward Hoshiumi's side, the speed of the back row diving to defend was a bit too slow, failing to keep up.
Blocked? Hayami's eyes widened, the movement she had just begun to retreat for a coordinated defense froze in place, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Hayami had watched Inarizaki's matches, even many, many times.
He knew Hinata was an incredible jumper and performed well in many aspects, but.. his disadvantage in blocking was something that persisted and something he simply couldn't fully control.
But that block just now was completed quite beautifully by Hinata; his movements were so fast, so fast that even he couldn't react in time.
“Yeah!”
Hinata raised his hand, Hyakuwa leaned forward slightly following Hinata's movement to give him a high-five: "Nice play."
Hayami's voice was a bit hesitant, but he still asked the question that had been on his mind: "Just now.. how did you do that? You shouldn't have had enough time in that position."
Hearing his voice, Hinata turned his head. "A block?"
He stood with his hands on his hips, chest out and head held high, looking incredibly proud. "Because I left early."
Finally! Someone had asked him!
Hayami, whose brain hadn't quite caught up yet, instinctively replied, "Huh?"
Hinata cleared his throat and said seriously, "Even though I can jump high, it takes a player of my height longer to reach their peak."
If it takes longer to reach your maximum speed, then you just have to start your approach earlier.
After saying that, Hinata spread both hands, encircling Hoshiumi Hikari on the other side of the net to show him to Hayami: "Hikari-kun taught me this!"
Ignoring the last sentence, Hayami's mind raced.
Because it was too slow..
So, should we act one step earlier?
On the other side, training for everyone in the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium was also proceeding as normal.
Taking a secret glance at Coach Kurosu, who was standing with his arms crossed and providing precise guidance on blocking to Tokura and the others, Unabara sat cross-legged by the side of the court. He tilted his head back to take a sip of water and whispered to Rishia beside him, "By the way, Coach Omimi hasn't been here for two days. Is he sick?"
Rishia recalled for a moment: "No way, I heard Osamu-senpai and the others say that Coach Omimi went away for further training?"