Noticing his gaze, Miya Atsumu looked back as well, flashing him a "friendly" smile.
Coach Unabara glanced at Hayami, then looked at Coach Hiya with some confusion: "Were Hayami and Miya Atsumu close before? When did those two become enemies?"
Coach Hiya, who was drinking water, almost choked on it.
.." He fell silent for a moment before saying somewhat helplessly, "They're just young; it's normal for them to have some friction, especially between a setter and a libero.
Rumor has it that Miya Atsumu seems to have always had a difficult relationship with Liberos, whether they are on his own team or the opposing side. If he isn't mistaken, Miya Atsumu seems to frequently put pressure on his own Libero.
Although Miya Atsumu and Hayami had not partnered together this time, it was perhaps due to an unpleasant history of cooperation in the past.
And it wasn't until this very moment that Hayami, standing by the sidelines, realized something.
Hinata has many good friends; some are a bit further away, like Goshiki Hanae, while others are closer, like Rishia, whom he often hears about from Hinata, but.. none of them are on good terms with Miya Atsumu.
He had originally thought it was because Hinata's friends were all his own age, perhaps he was afraid of Miya Atsumu as a senior.
But thinking about it now.. it might not be because Miya Atsumu's persecution indiscriminately targets everyone; it might even be that he targets anyone who gets close to Hinata!
Staring at the back of Miya Atsumu's head, Hayami's resentment grew even more intense.
Having just scored with a spike, Hinata, who had been provoking Miya Atsumu across the net, turned his head toward him and flashed him a smile.
Hayami's mind went blank.
The moment Hinata withdrew his gaze, an even more massive resentment surged out once again, its range even wider than before.
Like a vengeful spirit, Hayami stared intensely at Miya Atsumu's back, trying to burn a hole through it.
Damn it! This is just too damn frustrating!!
Having rotated to the back row, Hinata gained his first Service Right of this set.
Standing in the service position, Hinata flashed a smile at Miya Atsumu, who was preparing to receive the serve.
The setter on the other side of the net felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if he were being watched by something.
But Miya Atsumu is on his side, so he probably won't hold a grudge against him just because his setting is bad.. right?
The setter swallowed hard.
Chapter 478: The Four Hundred and Seventy-Eighth Fox
Slapping the ball against the ground, Hinata grabbed it in his hands with a face full of confidence.
Seeing him like this, Miya Atsumu also became interested.
He and Hinata had only been apart for a single day; what useful new thing had Hinata learned that made him feel like he could target them?
With a couple of huffs, Hinata raised his hand to toss the ball at the sixth second of the serve time limit.
Hinata's current tossing method is basically a high toss. Even though his power hasn't reached the level where he can score directly from a serve, he still has enough strength in a direct confrontation thanks to the speed of his spikes.
Miya Atsumu stared at Hinata's serving motion.
To be honest, although Hinata's serve was something he had personally trained, he had actually only received it a few times.
Regarding the speed of Hinata's spike, he usually observed it from a third-person perspective, but this feeling of being directly locked onto by Hinata.. was somewhat strange.
The volleyball reached its highest point, then began to fall.
In that same instant, Miya Atsumu heard that familiar sound of a jump.
At the moment the sound of the hit rang out, Miya Atsumu blinked, in that same instant, he saw the ball flying right toward him.
Miya Atsumu's mind went blank in an instant.
It was already too late to adjust his position and retreat to receive the ball; at this moment, all he could do was raise his hands and use his arms to brace for the impact.
—So Miya Atsumu did just that.
But Miya Atsumu, who had not received a chest-aimed spike in a very long time, failed to control it smoothly; the ball grazed his arm, which he had not yet fully extended, deflected off it toward the floor.
On the other side, the Wing Spiker lunged forward, but failed to make a successful save.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled a serve point for Hinata.
Landing on the floor, Hinata blinked.
His original intention was just to target the opposing setter's subsequent deployment, but.. We scored! Yay!
Having scored a point in a direct confrontation with Miya Atsumu's set, an incredibly excited Hinata raised his hands and rushed toward Hayami, who had already moved near them on the sidelines.
“I scored, Hayami! You're amazing!”
Hayami raised her hand and gave Hinata a smiling high-five: "It was your serve that was good, Hinata."
With that kind of serve speed, if it weren't for a professional and experienced Libero, they would likely panic the first time they saw it.
—Take Miya Atsumu, for example.
Watching Hinata return to the court, Hayami felt in high spirits after seeing the process of him successfully scoring using the techniques she had taught him.
Letting that obnoxious person steal his position—he deserves to be targeted by the serve!
At that moment, Miya Atsumu, who had been watching Hinata high-five Hayami, also realized the truth. Was Hayami teaching Hinata to target him?
No, his arrival was something neither of them could have anticipated, so Hayami's coaching shouldn't have had anything to do with him, it's even less likely to be something as simple as "targeting a weak receiver," because he had already taught Hinata that point long ago.
So.. Hinata actually had other motives, but his receiving skills were relatively poor, to the point where he didn't even let Hinata achieve his original goal?!
Having suddenly realized the truth, Miya Atsumu let his mind go blank.
In short, he didn't care about what happened before or what would happen after; he only knew that it was that guy Hayami's terrible idea for Hinata that caused him to be targeted by Hinata and suffer a failed First Receive!
You're something else, Hayami! He'd better pray that Star First doesn't end up in his hands during Haruko, or else he'll make Hayami experience exactly what it's like to be a floor rag!
On the adjacent court, Kageyama tilted his head slightly to observe the situation here, feeling a hint of surprise when he saw Miya Atsumu's Fei Yichuan.
Did.. did Hinata do something?
Coach Unabara remained silent by the sidelines, merely casting a silent glance at Miya Atsumu.
No, it was that Miya Atsumu had neglected his receive practice and was being somewhat overconfident.
But it was true that Miya Atsumu was the Setter, Inarizaki's protection of him could be described as all-encompassing; the number of times Miya Atsumu had to perform a Receive Serve might not even exceed single digits in an entire year.
Coach Unabara didn't intend to be overly harsh with Miya Atsumu, after all, he was just a substitute.
Atsumu felt like he was losing face. Seeing Hinata prepare to serve again, he stared at Hinata with full concentration, preparing to bring out his best state to receive it.
But.. according to his teachings to Hinata, unless he was specifically suppressing a special player or playing tactical balls, frequenting the same spot was not recommended.
If Hinata's second ball was still targeted at him simply because he was weak, that would be a major taboo.
By the same token, if Hinata still played it, it would mean that it was definitely a tactical ball.
As for what kind of tactic it was.. one would understand by continuing to watch.
Hinata adjusted his stance once again and decisively tossed the ball, this time, his target was still Miya Atsumu, who was defending near Position 1.
The ball speed remained at the same high level as the previous one, but this time, Miya Atsumu's full concentration allowed him to react immediately, lowering his center of gravity to receive the ball.
Without the addition of power, pure ball speed is of little significance; as long as one can adapt to it, they can receive it.
Miya Atsumu's set was incredibly stable, sent from near the corner of Position 1 toward the front row Attack Line.
The setter, who had originally been positioned near Position 3.5, looked up and retreated two steps, adjusting his positioning while observing the ball's location.
From this perspective, he had no way to smoothly observe the movements of the opposing block, did not dare to lightly coordinate a multi-point attack.
In the end, he conservatively chose to give the ball to the Wing Spiker in Position 4 who was able to move forward.
Seeing the opposing team gather at the net in an incredibly decisive three-man block formation that was virtually impossible to overcome, Miya Atsumu cursed inwardly.
As the most mature setter in the high school circuit, he could see exactly what Hinata and the others were doing.
By using the angle of the first receive to interfere with the setter, they force the opponent to abandon the multi-point attack, allowing the three blockers to successfully gather and suppress the opponent.
I have to say, this move is quite effective right now.
Because the setter who moved to that position lacked his kind of flexible thinking, the simplest thing to do in such a situation was to execute a Second Attack.
But.. in reality, most setters at the high school level are stuck at this stage. Players who can be selected for the Junior National Team are already the cream of the crop among their peers; even if they change positions, they still play quite well.
If this style of play were actually applied to Inarizaki's lineup, it could greatly compensate for the disadvantages Tokura brings due to his lack of judgment while playing as a setter in the front row.
As long as they aren't facing a setter with Kageyama's extraordinary level of skill, they can execute a strong attack from Position 4 and play from the back row.
The ball blocked by the block hit the ground, the Wing Spiker responsible for defense on the other side failed to save it.
The whistle blew, Hinata's side scored through a block.
Watching the scoreboard being flipped at the side of the court, Miya Atsumu suddenly laughed.
His voice carried a hint of pleasure, an uncontrollable smile played on the corners of his mouth.
As expected, he couldn't take his eyes off Hinata for even a single step; as soon as he looked away even slightly, Hinata would find a way to surprise him.
Having seen the tactic work successfully, Hinata rushed to the sidelines again to high-five Hayami, his words of praise nearly lifting Hayami to the heavens.
Hayami looked at Hinata with a beaming smile, appearing thoroughly pleased with himself.
Miya Atsumu curled his lip and turned his head toward his own Setter. "You."
The setter stood at attention, not even daring to breathe: "Yes, sir!"
Atsumu narrowed his eyes. "What, do you not have long arms? Can't you do a Second Attack? The opponent's Block is right there, you're still setting the ball toward them?"
Even if you're going to set, can't you set it higher or to the head of the attacker? Does it make you feel good to just hand points to the opponent's block?
The Setter prepared to drop to his knees.
Fortunately, after Miya Atsumu finished berating him, he averted his gaze and turned his fire toward the other Wing Spiker who had just failed to save the ball.
“And you, the opponent's three-person block was clearly right there, yet you were just standing there like an idiot in the back.”
If you can play, then play. If you can't, pack your things and go home immediately. How can the Junior National Team have players of your caliber?
The Wing Spiker knelt down alongside the Setter, both of them bowing and nodding repeatedly in agreement with Miya Atsumu.
Coach Unabara was instructing another court, in a moment of inattention, the people behind him were already kneeling in a row before Miya Atsumu.
He had just prepared to speak when, at Miya Atsumu's signal, the two of them got up, ducked their heads, returned to their positions, erupting with even greater fighting spirit than before.