---
The idea came back to him at night.
Not clearly.
Not completely.
Just a flash.
A moment.
A feeling.
Hinata lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the practice match again and again.
The rallies.
The movements.
The sets.
Kageyama.
That quick set.
Fast enough to erase reaction time.
Fast enough to break structure.
His fingers twitched slightly.
"…Too fast."
He said it quietly.
Not as a complaint.
As a realization.
Speed alone was not the problem.
He already had speed.
His legs.
His jump.
His reaction.
But that kind of speed—
That was different.
Controlled speed.
Directed speed.
Weaponized.
Hinata turned onto his side.
"If I can do that…"
The thought lingered.
Dangerous.
Unstable.
Incomplete.
But impossible to ignore.
---
The next day, he arrived early.
Of course he did.
The gym was empty.
Silent.
Waiting.
Hinata stepped inside and dropped his bag.
No stretching.
No hesitation.
Ball in hand.
He moved to the net.
Tossed.
Jumped.
Set.
The ball flew.
Too far.
He frowned.
Again.
Toss.
Jump.
Set.
Too low.
Again.
Too slow.
Again.
Too obvious.
Hinata stopped.
Breathing lightly.
"…No."
This was not it.
This was just normal setting.
He closed his eyes.
Replayed the image.
Kageyama.
The speed.
The precision.
The timing—
Timing.
Hinata's eyes snapped open.
"That is it."
Not just fast.
Timed.
Perfectly.
He grabbed the ball again.
This time—
He did not just toss.
He imagined.
A hitter.
A run.
A jump.
A moment.
He moved earlier.
Set faster.
The ball snapped forward—
Too early.
It hit the net.
Hinata exhaled.
"…Again."
---
By the time the others arrived, Hinata was already sweating.
Fukuda walked in first.
Paused.
"…You started without us again?"
Hinata did not stop.
"Yeah."
Sato followed.
"…What are you doing?"
Hinata set again.
Faster.
Still wrong.
"Trying something."
Takeda adjusted his glasses.
"…That looks… difficult."
"It is."
Mori stepped in quietly.
Watching.
Analyzing.
Always.
Nakamura stayed near the back.
Observing.
Uncertain.
Fukuda crossed his arms.
"…Explain."
Hinata caught the ball.
Took a breath.
"I want to speed up the set."
Fukuda blinked.
"…Why?"
"Because we are too slow."
"That is not our biggest problem."
"It is one of them."
Sato tilted his head.
"How fast are we talking?"
Hinata paused.
"…Faster than reaction."
Silence.
Takeda frowned.
"…That sounds impossible."
Mori spoke quietly.
"…Not impossible."
Everyone looked at him.
"It requires precision," Mori continued. "And trust."
Hinata nodded immediately.
"Yes."
Fukuda scoffed.
"Trust? We just stopped arguing yesterday."
"I know."
"And now you want blind attacks?"
"Yes."
"…You are insane."
"Probably."
But Hinata didn't look uncertain.
Not even a little.
---
They started practice.
Normal at first.
Receives.
Positioning.
Simple sets.
Stability.
Everything they had built.
But Hinata—
Hinata was distracted.
Not careless.
Focused.
On something else.
Something new.
The opportunity came.
Clean receive from Fukuda.
Perfect position.
Hinata moved.
Set—
Fast.
Too fast.
Fukuda jumped—
Late.
The ball dropped untouched.
Silence.
Fukuda stared at him.
"…What was that?"
Hinata didn't look away.
"…Too fast."
"No kidding."
"I mis-timed it."
"You think?"
Sato laughed nervously.
"That was… weird."
Takeda nodded.
"…I could not even follow it."
Mori spoke.
"You changed tempo."
Hinata nodded.
"Yes."
"Without warning."
"…Yes."
"That is the problem."
Hinata clenched his fist.
"I know."
But his eyes—
Still burned.
---
They continued.
Again.
Again.
Hinata tried it a second time.
This time with Sato.
Set—
Fast.
Sato jumped—
Too early.
Missed completely.
Ball dropped.
Fukuda groaned.
"This is pointless."
"It is not."
"It is not working."
"Yet."
Fukuda stepped forward.
"No. Listen."
Hinata looked at him.
"We are barely stable," Fukuda continued. "And you are adding something like this?"
Silence.
Because it was true.
Takeda spoke softly.
"…Maybe we should master basics first…"
Sato nodded.
"Yeah…"
Nakamura stayed quiet.
Mori looked at Hinata.
Waiting.
Hinata exhaled slowly.
"…One more."
Fukuda frowned.
"One more try."
"…Fine."
---
They reset.
Positions.
Same as before.
But tension filled the air.
This mattered now.
Not just an idea.
A test.
The ball came.
Fukuda received.
Clean.
Perfect.
Hinata moved early.
Earlier than before.
He did not wait.
Did not hesitate.
He set—
Fast.
But different.
Not rushed.
Not forced.
Timed.
Fukuda jumped.
On instinct.
Not thought.
The ball met his hand—
Contact.
Clean.
The spike slammed down.
Point.
Silence.
No one moved.
Then—
Fukuda landed.
Slowly.
"…What."
Sato blinked.
"…Did that just work?"
Takeda stared.
"…That was so fast…"
Nakamura looked stunned.
"…I could not see it…"
Mori nodded.
"…That is it."
Hinata's chest rose.
Fell.
"…Again."
---
They tried again.
Not perfect.
Still inconsistent.
Sometimes too fast.
Sometimes too early.
Sometimes completely off.
But—
Sometimes—
It worked.
And when it did—
It felt different.
Sharper.
Harder to read.
Harder to stop.
Fukuda grinned.
"…This is dangerous."
Hinata nodded.
"…Yeah."
Sato laughed.
"I like this one!"
Takeda still looked nervous.
"…It is scary…"
Nakamura whispered.
"…But exciting…"
Mori crossed his arms.
"This could become a weapon."
Hinata looked at the net.
At the invisible blockers.
At the space he wanted to break.
"…It will."
---
Practice stretched longer.
Harder.
More intense.
Because now—
They were not just fixing weaknesses.
They were building something new.
Something unstable.
Something powerful.
Hinata's legs burned.
His arms ached.
His timing still failed more than it succeeded.
But—
The path was clear.
Speed.
Control.
Timing.
Trust.
All of it together.
Or nothing.
---
By the end, they collapsed again.
Exhausted.
But energized.
Fukuda lay back.
"…We are still bad."
Hinata nodded.
"…Yeah."
"But that thing…"
"…Yeah."
Sato grinned.
"We should name it."
Takeda blinked.
"Name it?"
"Yeah!"
Fukuda snorted.
"Focus on landing it first."
Mori spoke quietly.
"It is incomplete."
Hinata nodded.
"I know."
But his eyes—
Were locked forward.
Focused.
Sharp.
Because now—
He had something.
Not just a goal.
Not just a gap.
A weapon.
Raw.
Unstable.
But real.
"I will perfect it."
The words came out quietly.
But carried weight.
Because this—
This was his answer.
Not just chasing Kageyama.
But creating something of his own.
---