But as soon as he starts talking, especially when he runs into people he knows from his own team, he is very likely to lose control of his facial expressions and start letting himself go.
Miya Atsumu, who was currently keeping quiet, wouldn't have this problem; there was nothing to criticize about him, whether in terms of his looks or his presence and strength.
Moreover, with that faint, elusive smile always playing on the corners of his mouth, there was a certain sense of mystery about him.
It makes sense that one would be fascinated by someone like him..
Hinata Shoyo, Setter.
"Yes!" Hinata, whose name had been called, stepped out of line and stood beside the Position 1 area.
Kageyama, standing beside him, looked down at him and said nothing.
Based on the footage of Inarizaki he had watched and the records of the few times they had coordinated in the past, Hinata's setting technique wasn't exactly good, but it was neither a strength nor a weakness.
He is the type who can set almost any basic tactical ball, but tends to make mistakes when he gets anxious and tries to play a flat ball.
—And yet, Hinata really loves challenging himself with techniques he isn't familiar with during practice matches.
In this set, he is playing as the Opposite here. Even though Coach Unabara's intention was for him to explore the unfamiliar areas as much as possible, but..
When the skill levels of the Opposite and the Setter are relatively balanced, both sides possess a certain level of offensive and defensive coverage, a 4-2 rotation is also a high-priority choice.
However, the setter for this set isn't him, he doesn't have enough authority to decide how the overall play should be executed.
“Kageyama, what do you think?”
Just then, a voice reached his ears.
He looked down and found that Hinata was looking at him.
“What?” Kageyama asked back instinctively.
Hinata stared with wide eyes, his expression filled with disbelief: "Hey, hey, hey, you weren't listening to me at all!"
Although he really wasn't good at tactical maneuvering and hadn't learned that much yet, but.. ignoring him like that was just too much!
Kageyama fell silent for a second.
Damn, whether he admits he was spacing out or not, he feels uncomfortable at a time like this!
Chikatani stepped in to smooth things over: "Forget it, forget it. He might not have heard you clearly, so please say it again."
Hinata squinted his eyes and stared at Kageyama for a while before finally compromising, "I'm saying, our side's offensive power might not be great, so let's play with an Opposite core. Kageyama, you imitate Ushijima-senpai!"
As he spoke, he raised a finger and pointed at Kageyama.
Goshiki looked up at Kageyama, seemingly observing whether he was good enough.
Opposite Hanae and Hayami exchanged a glance, while Middle Blocker Saru remained noncommittal, Libero Chikatani gave two very awkward laughs.
Hanae crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Hinata, saying, "By the way.. the only reason you're doing this isn't because it's the only thing you can do, is it?"
Hayami took a quick glance at Hanae but said nothing.
Hinata recoiled a step, looking at Hanae, his speech unconsciously quickening: "W-what are you saying! How could I only be able to do this!"
My setter was taught by the number one in the country! I just think that you and Hayami definitely won't be able to pull off a strong offense, while Kageyama happens to have a lot of strength and can jump!
Hanae stared at Hinata, having already seen through everything.
Whether someone is taught is one thing, but whether the person being taught can actually learn and master it is another matter entirely.
Moreover, although he isn't as high as Hinata, he considers his technical ball to be quite good.
Even if Chikatani's defensive skills might be lacking and require help, having Hayami there is enough.
After all, compared to him, it would be best if Hayami didn't have to jump at all.
In short, even if Hinata cannot coordinate the Middle Blocker's offense, he can certainly hold his own using Opposite tactics.
After arranging all the matches for the first round of the morning, Coach Unabara walked to the sidelines and glanced over at Court 1, where the warm-ups were already underway.
Coach Unabara said, "Hinata's passing level has indeed improved, but his tactical thinking isn't very clear. Looking at your match footage, when there are many people and things get chaotic, he can often only look out for himself."
However, playing as an Opposite isn't necessarily a bad thing, since he is the absolute core of the team.
Coach Unabara sighed, "But given his physical attributes, it's impossible to take that path; it would inevitably require a certain degree of tactical control."
He needs to adapt well in this regard. Taking advantage of the current opportunity, it would be best to let him play a few more sets as a setter to find his rhythm.
He turned his head to look at Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu, what do you think?"
Miya Atsumu didn't look.
Miya Atsumu, who was somewhat sulking against Coach Unabara, continued to pretend to be mute.
What do you mean that taking that path is impossible?
Their Shoyo can turn the impossible into the possible through miracles!
After holding his breath for a full minute, Miya Atsumu finally gave in.
Alright, he admitted that Coach Unabara had a point.
And Hinata understood this as well, was also actively seeking a breakthrough in this area.
Mute Atsumu recovered: "That's why he wants to learn beach volleyball, to experience the feeling of every position."
Coach Unabara nodded. "That is a good idea."
He just hoped their players wouldn't be scouted away while they were training; he was still counting on Hinata to come back and be the core of the Quick Attack system!
On the court, Hinata beautifully set a high ball to Position 4 for Kageyama, Kageyama successfully scored with a Kou Chokusen.
Miya Atsumu frowned: "Tsk."
He turned his head toward Coach Unabara: "I'm serious, am I only allowed to watch from the sidelines?"
If this continues, he won't be able to play volleyball for several days, he'll regress!
Coach Unabara replied, "We happened to select twenty-eight players for this trip, so both courts are at full capacity; there's no spot for you."
That's why he was advising Miya Atsumu to go back!
It's hardly appropriate for him to be doing odd jobs here.
Miya Atsumu had a look of righteousness on his face, appearing like a good person who cared deeply for his juniors: "I think Hayami won't be able to keep playing in a little while; I can take over her shift."
Coach Unabara raised an eyebrow. "What? Watching them play makes you itch to play?"
Miya Atsumu shook his head. "No, I just think Kageyama is unreliable."
Coach Unabara couldn't keep up with his rhythm: "Huh?"
What was unreliable about it? Didn't his coordination with Hinata just now turn out quite well? Although it wasn't flashy, it was standard and error-free.
Miya Atsumu pointed toward the court: "As an experienced setter, he should provide some guidance when Hinata's set isn't up to standard, rather than staying silent like this."
“He has no sense of responsibility at all!”
For some reason, Coach Unabara felt that Miya Atsumu was nitpicking.
Watching Hinata and Kageyama start bickering because of the mismatch on that last play, Miya Atsumu said a word to Coach Unabara and then started walking over, intending to release some cold air up close.
Watching him leave, Coach Unabara turned to look at Coach Hiya, who was walking over.
“Is it my hallucination? Atsumu is actually this kind? He cares about his juniors this much? Have I been misunderstanding him all this time?”
He could understand him occasionally acting like a know-it-all, but after saying those words just now, he couldn't help but feel that something else was living inside Miya Atsumu's shell.
As if he, Miya Atsumu, actually possessed a sense of responsibility!
Coach Hiya laughed heartily. "I can only say that the relationship between the seniors and juniors at Inarizaki is very harmonious. The Miya Twins haven't played together much these past two years, either."
Coach Unabara thought seriously.
Coach Unabara gave up on thinking.
Watching Miya Atsumu glare at Kageyama with a sour expression by the sidelines, Coach Unabara felt his heart settle back into his stomach.
It seemed he had overthought it; Atsumu might just be decent toward his own people.
In the National Team right now, Ushijima might be decent at commanding, but his social skills are still quite lacking.
If Atsumu's temperament could be a little better toward others.. I wouldn't have such a headache.
Coach Hiya fell silent.
Chapter 475: The 475th Fox
With the experience of partnering up during the last Youth Training, the coordination between Hinata and Kageyama didn't encounter any major problems.
Before getting to know his current teammates, Hinata's playstyle was still on the conservative side.
This was something Miya Atsumu had taught him: if you were to take over an unfamiliar team, as a setter, you had to use the shortest amount of time possible to figure out all your teammates' habits.
To do this, one must explore the spikers' hitting points and their distance from the net during the initial stage, Coach Inubata had taught him the specific methods for this a long time ago.
For those he personally judged to have strong jumping ability, he would use his own contact point plus the height difference of two people. For those who were weaker, he would find a reference point for himself, using the height difference.
Although it might be affected by arm length, it is accurate most of the time.
The high ball he set to Kageyama at Position 4 was based on his own hitting point as a reference, then adjusted to be slightly lower.
But as it turned out.. his high ball was a little too high.
Kageyama, the setter, probably hasn't focused much on training his jumping ability, so his overall contact point is about the same as his.
That first set was a bit too high, causing Kageyama to ultimately tip it over.
However, he had already found his rhythm later on and could "handle" Kageyama!
Watching Hinata's eager expression, Hayami found it amusing.
He caught the serve thrown back by the opponent and walked toward the serving position near the baseline.
He stood ready behind the baseline, taking a step back, holding the ball in his left hand.
Miya Atsumu, standing by the sidelines, rubbed his chin. "A Ceiling Serve?"
He and Hayami weren't actually close at all; they hadn't faced each other during their active Junior High years, he hadn't watched any National Team Junior Division matches either—at most, he had only seen a few clips Iizuna had watched.
Hayami's figure did indeed appear in the video, but he didn't pay much attention to it.