Although they had won the match, Hinata sought out Kageyama during the break and told him he no longer wanted to close his eyes during the Monster Quick Attack. Kageyama looked thoroughly displeased.
"Wasn't that why you learned the regular quick attack? Because you couldn't do it?"
"Staying the way we are won't work. A quick attack that relies on you putting the ball right into my hands won't cut it. If this keeps up, I'll only ever be Kuroba-senpai's decoy. I don't want that. I want to fight with my own abilities too."
"So that's why, because you can't—"
Kageyama, irritated by Hinata's words, was cut off before he could finish.
"In the Aoba Johsai match, on that last ball, by the time I came to my senses, we'd already lost. The ball I hit flew behind me and landed on the court. Afterward, even though it was my fault, you were the one who apologized, Kageyama. In the air, I want to fight with my own strength until the very last second."
After taking a deep breath, Kageyama looked at Hinata with equal seriousness.
"The Aoba Johsai match made me realize that the person who can bring out a Wing Spiker's ability one hundred percent is the setter. That quick attack is your greatest weapon, and your greatest decoy. Now that Kuroba-senpai has joined us, our offensive options have expanded enormously. What you can do now is help Kuroba-senpai share the offensive burden, not make things harder for him."
"Even the slightest deviation in that quick attack is fatal. That's why it doesn't need your will."
Neither of them spoke particularly heatedly, but the atmosphere between them grew increasingly tense. Sugawara, who had listened from beginning to end, hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Both of you, calm down, okay? You're both doing this for the team, right?"
"Kageyama, did you think about any of that when you set to me?"
Hayato joined the conversation at just the right moment, hooking an arm around Kageyama's neck as he asked.
"No. Kuroba-senpai, your fundamentals are very solid. When I set to you, you're the one who decides specifically how to attack."
"But Hinata's technique—"
Kageyama understood what Hayato meant, but he still argued back.
"So Hinata should just obediently listen to you? Kageyama, you're being a little too conservative. The one who holds the initiative in an attack isn't you, but..."
As Hayato spoke, the arm resting on Kageyama's shoulder lifted. Hayato pointed his index finger at Hinata. When Kageyama followed that gesture with his eyes, he heard Hayato's calm voice.
"Hinata."
After hearing Hayato's words, not only Kageyama but the surrounding club members also agreed with him. Across from them, Hinata was deeply moved by Hayato's support.
"Kuroba-senpai..."
"Well, Kageyama isn't wrong, though. Hinata, your technique really is terrible."
With that abrupt turn, Hayato curled his lips into a grin and spoke cheerfully.
"Uh, senpai, don't say that at the very end. I was really touched just now."
"Haha, sorry. So, Tobio, from now on, practice how to give Shoyo the best possible sets. I'll make sure Shoyo can keep up with you."
"Shoyo, starting today, Hayato-senpai's one-on-one tutoring class is in session. Don't start complaining that you're tired."
After apologizing to Hinata first, Hayato warmly called his two juniors by name and told them the general direction they would take next, giving them a goal to work toward. Hearing their respected senior call their names, both answered excitedly.
"Yes, Hayato-senpai!"
Having resolved the matter perfectly, Hayato glanced at Coach Ukai. Knowing the coach had heard everything, he waved at him.
"Coach, was my way of handling that okay? Do you have anything to add?"
"This brat."
Coach Ukai laughed and shook his head. Hayato's approach had been much gentler than he had expected. He had pointed out the problem and offered a solution, and most importantly, he had not made either of them feel uncomfortable in the slightest. Weren't those two first-years already fired up again?
"Do it the way you said. All right, everyone, rest a little longer and get ready for the next set."
Coach Ukai clapped his hands to signal that the matter was over and told everyone to continue resting. The others, especially Sugawara, let out a huge sigh of relief. Before Hayato spoke up, Sugawara had not known what to do. Thinking that, he looked at Hayato with satisfaction. Once the third-years retired, there would be no need to worry about the Volleyball Club.
This training camp lasted only two days and was held over the weekend. Since they still had two weeks of school after their exams, teaching Hinata would have to wait until after the practice matches ended. Regaining their momentum, Karasuno achieved an excellent four wins out of seven sets by 3:20 in the afternoon and ended the camp early. After all, they still had to take the bus back to Miyagi Prefecture, and they could not leave too late.
Standing at the entrance of the gymnasium, Coach Nekomata chatted with Coach Ukai and Teacher Takeda, who had stayed behind to say goodbye.
"Your newcomers are really impressive. We'll see each other again at the summer training camp the week after next."
"Yes, we look forward to working with you."
Coach Nekomata smiled at the two of them.
"This is where the real work begins. Before the Spring High preliminaries, this will be our only extended training camp."
In front of the bus, the two captains, Kuroo and Daichi, were chatting.
"Though it may be unnecessary to say it now, I see your third-years stayed too."
"Yeah. You guys ran into last year's champions on the second day, didn't you? Hinata told me about the recent high school league preliminaries."
"Yeah, we went out in the quarterfinals."
"Making Tokyo's top eight is still impressive."
"If you can't win it all, it's all meaningless."
With his right hand resting on his hip, Kuroo spoke somewhat wistfully. No matter the sport, no athlete competed without aiming for the championship. The quarterfinals were still far from enough.
"You're right."
"Still, that newcomer on your team is impressive. Your chances of getting through the Spring High preliminaries have gone up quite a bit."
"Yeah. Sometimes I feel like Kuroba-kun is more mature than I am, even though I'm a third-year. He handles things perfectly too. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll be next year's captain."
"As expected of a captain. You're already training your successor."
"Give me a break. It's not like you aren't training one too."
Meanwhile, Haiba also went over to Hinata.
"Next time, I'll block you too."
"Just wait. After learning from Hayato-senpai, I'll definitely make you eat your words."
Having already formed a friendship, the two smiled together after speaking.
And so, the brief training camp came to an end, and the bus carried everyone from Karasuno toward Miyagi Prefecture.
On the ride back, everyone was exhausted after two days of intense training and fell asleep against their seatbacks. Kiyoko and Hitoka, the managers, were no exception. Not only did they have to prepare water bottles for everyone, but recording the matches, handling towels, and washing the clothes everyone changed out of were all part of the managers' duties.
Although they used the school's washing machines, each laundry basket held more than ten pieces of clothing, and the entire team used three baskets. Carrying them back and forth was still very heavy. The past two days of training had not been just for the starters either; under Coach Ukai's arrangements, the substitutes had also taken the court to train.
"This training camp was really great. It feels like we gained a lot."
Teacher Takeda spoke to Coach Ukai in the passenger seat as he drove.
"There are plenty of problems too. We'll have to solve them one by one when we get back."
"That's true. We'll solve them one at a time once we're home."
"Home, huh."
"Ukai-kun?"
"I don't really want to go home. A huge problem is coming to my house."
Resting an arm on the window and propping up his chin, Coach Ukai made a cryptic remark.
By the time the sky had fully darkened, the bus finally returned to Karasuno High. After everyone carried their luggage down in the parking lot, Teacher Takeda reminded them that the gymnasium would be unavailable for a while starting tomorrow, so they could take the opportunity to get some proper rest.
They had been notified before that the gymnasium would be closed for maintenance.
"All right, everyone, good work."
"Thank you, Teacher!"
After thanking the teacher, everyone formed groups and prepared to leave school. Since Hinata and Kageyama had resolved their dispute, they did not linger and went straight home. As usual, Kiyoko, Hayato, and Hitoka headed home together.
After seeing Hitoka off, Hayato sat in the nearly empty train car and freely stretched out his legs. Leaning his head against the window behind him, he let out a huge yawn.
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