After playing the entire morning, Ryosuke finally experienced Hinata's almost unbelievable stamina firsthand.
He collapsed onto the floor, wiping sweat from his face, a small notebook lying by his hand.
Hinata sat beside him, lifted his water bottle, and chugged it down.
"Ahh—so refreshing~" His eyes squinted shut in satisfaction.
"Hey, Ryosuke," Hinata said, scooting closer like an overly affectionate puppy and nudging against him.
"What is it?" Ryosuke asked.
"How did you manage to receive my spike? Can you give the Freak Quick some advice? You went shua and flew over, then peng and the ball was up! It was seriously so cool!"
Nishinoya immediately scooted over too, crouching down beside them.
"I wanna know too! That receive was insanely cool! Tell us, tell us!"
Ryosuke stared at the two of them, overwhelmed by the double blast of enthusiasm. Way too energetic… And somehow, Hinata's way of talking just now felt strangely familiar.
He pressed a hand against each of their heads to stop them from crowding in.
"Alright, alright. Honestly, the Freak Quick is still a quick attack at its core. It's just that under Kageyama's ultra-precise sets, combined with Shoyo's speed and absolute trust, it becomes something special. Their individual strengths are what make it work."
Hearing his name, Kageyama pretended not to care—but quietly edged closer to listen.
"To receive that ball, you need anticipation and observation. Shoyo's approach timing for the Freak Quick changes every time. If your technique matures a bit more—if you can open your eyes midair—your Freak Quick will already be on another level."
"But you still didn't say how you received it!" Nishinoya protested, eyes wide.
"I did," Ryosuke said helplessly.
"Huh…?" Nishinoya blinked blankly, clearly struggling to process.
"He already explained," Ukai's voice came from the side. "Hinata's approach timing varies. If Hinata starts his run early, then you find the landing point early and get into position first."
"Waaah!" Nishinoya's mouth slowly dropped open. "That's way too cool!"
Ryosuke stood and gave Ukai a polite nod.
Ukai clapped him on the shoulder. "Kid, I'm Karasuno's coach, Ukai. You've got serious talent. Shutting down Hinata's spike like that? Not bad at all. Hinata, Kageyama—you two still need to keep polishing it."
Hinata nodded, looking a little downcast. He had trained the Freak Quick for so long, only to have someone see through it in a single morning. Anyone would feel a bit discouraged.
Not far away, Daichi and Sugawara watched him with concern.
"Do you think Shoyo's feeling discouraged?" Daichi murmured.
Sugawara hesitated. "Probably… not?"
After finishing his conversation with Ukai, Ryosuke sat back down next to Hinata.
He ruffled Hinata's hair. "Shoyo, the Freak Quick is amazing. But you can't rely on it forever. You have to keep improving."
Hinata looked up pitifully. "But… I thought I was already doing my best."
Ryosuke chuckled and shook his head. "Not even close. There's still a lot you can improve."
Hinata's ahoge sprang upright again with a shua.
"Where?!"
Ryosuke picked up his notebook. "I analyzed your strengths earlier. Your biggest advantage is stamina. But when it comes to spiking, you need to improve your hang time.
"Hitting at a high contact point isn't automatically perfect. Staying in the air longer gives you more options. Hang time is very trainable.
"And your takeoff technique—you should study different jumping methods. A lot of middle blockers in international competitions don't jump in that piu-piu way of yours. They go dong—one explosive motion.
"And most importantly… you're too skinny, Shoyo."
Hinata stared blankly at his own arms. "Skinny?"
Ryosuke nodded.
Hinata immediately turned to look at Kageyama. Under that intense stare, Kageyama reluctantly nodded as well.
"You're not even fully grown yet and your stamina is already this good. Once you mature physically, you'll be terrifying. Your core explosiveness will increase a lot, which will help you develop different jump styles."
"Coach, is what he's saying reliable?" Daichi asked quietly.
"Very reliable," Ukai replied. "He even factored in Hinata's development phase and suggested training for a while to test results. Having someone guide you like this? That's a good thing."
Ukai's smile turned sly. Free guidance? Fantastic.
Hinata's eyes sparkled as he looked at Ryosuke, practically glowing with admiration.
Ryosuke felt a bit overwhelmed under that gaze and covered Hinata's eyes with his hand.
He stuffed the small notebook into Hinata's hands. "This is a training plan I made based on your usual practice volume and daily routine. Follow it when you have time. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me."
Hinata immediately stopped clinging to him and held the notebook like a priceless treasure.
Then, in the next second, he launched himself forward and tackled Ryosuke in a hug.
Startled, Ryosuke instinctively reached out to catch him—
—and ended up knocked onto the gym floor.
To keep Hinata from falling, Ryosuke braced one hand against the floor and loosely wrapped the other around him.
"Ryosuke, you're amazing!" Hinata nearly screamed into his ear.
"Hey! What are you doing?! That's way too close!!"
Kageyama's furious shout echoed from the other side of the gym. Hinata turned his head slightly and saw him marching over, face dark with anger.
Hinata scrambled off Ryosuke and immediately grabbed him, anxiously looking him over. "Are you okay? Did you hit anything?"
Ryosuke discreetly pressed a hand to his slightly twisted wrist. "I'm fine. Just be more careful next time. What if you'd gotten hurt?"
"Oh! Okay!" Hinata nodded obediently.
The next second, Kageyama grabbed him under the arms and hauled him up.
"Hinata, you boke! That was dangerous! And you jumped on Ryosuke like that—have some manners!"
Hinata looked utterly confused. "What are you yelling for? Ryosuke didn't say I was rude! Why are you mad?!"
Kageyama's face darkened further. He huffed, set Hinata back down, and stormed off.
Ryosuke poked Hinata in confusion. "Is Kageyama okay?"
Hinata snorted. "He's fine."
And just like that, the entire morning passed.
At noon, when Ryosuke was about to head home, Hinata grabbed him.
"Come to my house! My mom made something really good!"
His big, watery eyes blinked up at Ryosuke.
Ryosuke felt like he'd taken a direct hit from cuteness. He immediately agreed—while pretending to hesitate.
"Well…"
He watched Hinata's eyes grow brighter and brighter.
"…Alright."
"Yay!"
Hinata grabbed Ryosuke and ran off, looking absolutely thrilled.
Kageyama saw them and let out a displeased "Hmph."
Tanaka happened to pass by and heard it. He immediately turned with a fierce (not really) expression.
"Huh?? Are you 'hmph'-ing at me?!"
Kageyama glanced at the menacing shaved head, expression blank, and simply walked away.
Tanaka was left behind, fuming.
He grabbed Nishinoya and demanded, "Is that guy looking down on me?!"
Nishinoya calmly delivered the finishing blow. "Yes, Ryu."
"..."
Ryosuke and Hinata walked out of the school gates.
Seeing Hinata's bicycle, Ryosuke laughed—then suddenly remembered he had a bicycle too.
"I'll ride. You show me the way, okay?" Ryosuke said.
Hinata nodded.
Ryosuke pedaled at an easy pace.
"My house is pretty far. Won't you get tired?"
"Don't worry—"
"Ryosuke, will you still stay this afternoon?"
"Yeah."
"Waaah! That's awesome!"
...
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