"Understood," Hayami nodded.
Actually, Hinata didn't even need to say it; he had already planned on doing that.
It doesn't have much to do with the Quick Attack; it's mainly because Hinata jumps very high and has excellent hang time.
A high enough first receive would give Hinata more time to adjust, making the play much smoother.
Watching Hinata's back of the head as he gathered at the net, Hayami relaxed his clenched fists.
To be honest, spending time with Hinata was very easy, because Hinata would make reasonable requests of him, take the initiative to help him find his rhythm and adapt to everyone in the team, his emotional expressions were very straightforward.
Hayami let out a slow breath, his entire body relaxed considerably.
His first match back..
It's great to be able to run into Hinata.
Chapter 392: The 392nd Fox
The match on the court was progressing steadily, with both Hayami and Hinata playing a very stable game.
After all, they don't have many spikers right now who enjoy playing types of balls like sudden attacks; standard tactics are enough.
Moreover, Hinata himself was exploring the deeper applications of standard playstyles; he couldn't play a quick attack well, so at this stage, simply using his height to exert pressure was enough.
In contrast, Hoshiumi and Kageyama were much bolder. After Kageyama moved to the back row, Hoshiumi also actively rotated the wing spikers to execute harassment tactics.
Compared to the simple violence on Hinata's side, the spikers on Hoshiumi's side leaned more towards being technical, performing tooling the block and various other technical shots impressively well.
Chongtian assisted Hayami with his receiving, the two of them were essentially made to run all over the court.
The two coaches, after walking around the court, finally came to a halt by their side, focusing on the problematic players on the court.
Coach Hiya gave an objective assessment: "They're very steady."
In other words, he played without much passion, staying entirely within the bounds of being steady and conventional.
Coach Unabara commented, "His touch is a bit better than before, his movements are much faster too."
It wasn't just Hinata, who was playing as the setter; Hayami, the libero, was the same. It was obvious that one of them wanted to try something new, while the other was reacquainting himself with the court.
From the initial adaptation period until now, the coordination between the two has gradually started to show results.
However, Hoshiumi also noticed the issue with Hinata's overall receiving ability, began frequently scoring by tooling the block, hitting the ball high and far, making it incredibly difficult to save.
However, the main reason was also that the two Middle Blockers on Hinata's side were mediocre and full of openings; Bai Ze only had the advantage of height, was leagues behind Hakuma in terms of technical skill.
The ball hit the hands of the block heavily and landed outside the court at a high angle. The spiker on Hoshiumi's side once again employed a tooling the block response.
The ball was extremely fast, Hayami judged where it would land almost instantly.
It's a bit far, it's completely on his side, making it hard to receive—even though that position should have been within his defensive range.
No, in his current state.. he probably wouldn't be able to catch up at all.
His reason told him he should chase after him, but his legs felt as if they were bolted to the ground, completely unable to move.
Over the past year, the heavy brace on his leg had almost kept him confined to the ground.
He had once attempted to undergo forced rehabilitation, but the brace worn under his shorts would chafe his legs until they were bloody and raw, resulting in nothing but even longer periods of bed rest..
Lying in bed staring at the unchanging ceiling, he had even forgotten the feeling of actually standing on solid ground.
It was as if something was tied to his feet, dragging his steps, leaving him completely unable to move.
Unable to receive, unable to touch, unable to keep up..
The moment he turned his head, a figure in the front row had already leaped up, tilting his head slightly to look toward him out of the corner of his eye.
—Aren't you going to chase him?
Hayami's mind went blank, yet his body moved on its own.
Instinct drove him to take a large step to the side, then his whole body twisted as he chased after the ball falling toward the ground under Coach Unabara's shocked gaze by the sidelines.
His first step was clumsy, but it confirmed something.
The sound of his shoes stepping on the floor was incredibly clear, the friction-induced noise having accompanied him throughout his entire life.
It's fine; his leg isn't broken, his leg is still there.
Moreover, he was wearing a knee brace to stabilize his patella, so even if he fell, there wouldn't be any problem.
So..
Go after it!
Pushing off with one foot and lunging sideways, Hayami reached out his hand and performed a one-handed dig on the ball.
The positioning was perfect, the reaction force was spot on; this ball would definitely, definitely reach the setter smoothly.
Thud!
A soft sound rang in Hinata's ears, in the next second, the ball fell incredibly gently toward the top of his head, its position unerringly precise.
Hinata's eyes widened slightly, as Kageyama looked over in shock, he suddenly twisted his body and spiked the ball straight down.
A heavy thud echoed through the court as the ball slammed precisely down near the three-meter line in the front row; Hinata scored with a Second Attack.
Hayami, who had rolled sideways to absorb the impact and was preparing to get up and return to the court, froze the moment he heard the sound of the ball hitting the floor. He knelt on one knee, letting out a long breath.
He did it.
Looking at his own hands, Hinata, who had landed on the ground, couldn't help but let a smile spread across his face, as a sense of excitement surged from his feet all the way to the top of his head.
He rushed toward Hayami outside the court, raising his hands and crouching down right in front of him. "Ohhhhhh—great play, Hayami!"
You were pretty amazing! You rushed over in a flash! That was awesome!
Hayami also raised his hand and gave him a light high-five. "Of course it was."
After high-fiving Hayami and pulling him back up, Hinata rushed toward the net, cheering, "Did you see that, Hikari-kun?! My back row Second Attack!"
Hoshiumi bared his teeth and clawed at Hinata: "I saw it, I saw it! That was disgusting!"
Hinata's second receive is terrible; he's only thinking about how to use a Second Attack to shake them off. His offensiveness is just a bit too strong!
It feels like even if Hinata were to play as a Libero, he would still be thinking about how to score from a first receive or organize an offense from the back row.
Kageyama stroked his chin, lost in thought.
To think there are actually this many ways to execute a Second Attack.. It feels like something I could really learn from.
Hayami raised his hand to wipe a bead of sweat from his chin, watching the people on the court as he exhaled slowly.
His body was warmed up, he was sweating a little..
It had been a very, very long time since he had experienced the feeling of pouring his sweat out on the court.
It has been confirmed; he can still play, he can still play just like he used to.
Even if his condition wasn't at its best due to the lack of sufficient exercise for a long time, he could still produce a decent play.
Someone was willing to trust him, believing no matter what, he would save the ball..
That was enough.
Hayami couldn't help but burst into laughter.
As expected, playing volleyball is a joyful thing at any time.
Coach Unabara crossed his arms over his chest, the expression of slight bewilderment he had just worn now completely vanished.
A smile played on the corners of his mouth, his whole body was relaxed. "It seems.. his adaptation speed is even faster than I imagined."
If he had played with Hayami's conservative style from earlier in this set, he wouldn't have tried to chase that ball no matter what.
According to Hayami's current mindset, as long as a ball is beyond his established range of perception, he would never force himself to chase it.
Even though this range wasn't actually the limit of Hayami's true ability, for Hayami himself, it was his own safety zone.
But.. the Hayami Subaru they once knew was the one who could chase down any ball, the one who was the most fearless.
His injury was also caused by a staff member passing by and interfering while he was diving for a crucial ball that had flown out of bounds, causing it to land in the wrong direction.
For most volleyball players, knee injuries are irreversible and fatal, but fortunately, Hayami is a Libero.
He does not need to perform those jumps that are inherently damaging to the knees; as long as he controls them well, he can completely slow down the rate of patellar wear. As long as he takes good care of it and avoids accidents, he can certainly play steadily until the day of his retirement.
As long as he is willing to take that step, everything will be fine.
Coach Hiya also laughed, "It really does require a bit of pressure after all."
The source of that confident pressure was, as expected, a useful tool no matter the circumstances, the one holding that blade happened to be someone who simply couldn't make anyone feel any resistance.
Their arrangement was originally intended only to have several people with good personalities help Hayami adapt, but it turned out to be a stroke of luck.
Coach Unabara said seriously, "Add a steak to Hinata's dinner."
Coach Hiya laughed, "I heard Hinata has a huge appetite; one piece probably won't be enough."
They had been surprised the day before when they observed the players' appetites; Hinata was small in stature, yet he could eat even more than Miya Atsumu's portion.
But for Hinata, this was a good thing; being able to eat meant he could gain weight faster. Besides, Hinata was still in his growing phase and his height was increasing, so they needed to arrange more calcium-rich foods for him.
Coach Unabara decisively increased the amount: "Two pieces.. no! Three pieces!"
Standing by the sidelines, Chongtian tilted his head slightly toward Hayami, his eyes questioning why he was still standing there.
Hayami stepped toward the court and reached up to grab his hair.
He came to a halt in front of Chongtian and asked softly, "Um, Chongtian-senpai, do you have any spare hair ties? My hair is getting in my eyes a little."
Chongtian raised his hand to touch his high ponytail, fumbling for a while before pulling a teal hair tie off it. "You can use this for now."
"Okay, thank you, senior." Hayami took the slightly loose hair tie and tried to tie her hair up, but she could never quite succeed.
His hair wasn't that long either, the kind that was a bit of a struggle to tie up.
Chongtian volunteered, "Shall I give it a try?"
But combing one's own hair is different from combing someone else's hair; even without a comb, he managed to succeed after trying for a long time.
Seeing that Chongtian had already started laughing, the temporary captain Hinata raised his hand and called a time-out.