Offensive Rhythm

After classes ended that afternoon, Hayato met up with Kiyoko and headed for a swimsuit shop. On the way, Hayato chatted with Hinata on his phone. Hinata had just messaged him that Coach Ukai was taking him to train at Old Coach Ukai's house. The former Volleyball Club supervisor, Ukai Ikkei, had just been discharged from the hospital and returned home—the very man who had led the Little Giant to the National Championship.

Hayato had already heard Hinata talk about the Little Giant countless times, and he had known about it himself, so he was not particularly surprised. After thinking it over, he told Hinata everything he knew about offensive rhythm.

Seeing Kiyoko's curiosity, Hayato smiled and told her about Hinata's message.

"You said you were going to train Hinata yesterday, but you skipped out on the job today."

"The gymnasium is under maintenance, and I also have to accompany Kiyoko-senpai to buy a swimsuit."

Hayato explained without the slightest hint of guilt.

From First Rhythm to Third Rhythm, he wrote a whole bunch and hit send. Then he grinned wickedly. Reading that much text had to be torture for Hinata. Hinata was the type who learned techniques through actual matches, so making him sit down and read properly was bound to be painful.

Still, the kid needed to learn how to grow up a little. Volleyball knowledge was important too.

Meanwhile, Old Coach Ukai, who had just thrown his grandson out, was brimming with energy. Hinata, trembling in fright at the old man, still shouted that he looked forward to his guidance.

"Guidance for what? I was only teaching this spineless grandson a lesson. I don't throw just anyone around."

"The senior in charge of training me had something come up today, so Coach Ukai brought me here to learn from you. I came because I want to gain the ability to fight on my own."

"A senior?"

Old Coach Ukai looked toward his grandson, who was lying face-down where he had been thrown, waiting for an explanation.

"A second-year member recently joined the Volleyball Club. He was originally in charge of Hinata's training, but something suddenly came up today. Since you'd been discharged, I thought I'd bring him here to—"

Before he could finish, Old Coach Ukai threw him out again.

"You useless fool! Do players need to be left to look after themselves? What are you doing as their coach? And now you've brought him to me?"

Coach Ukai, sprawled on the ground once more, struggled to his feet. He did not dare argue, since the old man was right. As a coach, he was still too inexperienced.

Ignoring him, the old man looked at Hinata.

"With your height, you want to dominate the air?"

Hinata straightened up and answered as if it were only natural.

"Because of my height, I have to do it."

For an instant, the old man seemed to see the black-haired ace in the number 10 jersey—the Little Giant—from those days in Hinata.

"Maybe you think I'm talking nonsense."

Hinata immediately drooped, adding uncertainly, but the old man cut him off. He casually picked up the volleyball from the ground and pointed at Hinata.

"What nonsense? No matter how talented the setter is, in an attack method like a quick, the absolute one in control is you."

"Ah, Hayato-senpai said the same thing. And when I was talking to him earlier, he found out I was coming here and sent me a whole bunch of notes. Look." After hearing that, Hinata hurriedly took out his phone and showed the old man Hayato's message.

"Heh. I'm suddenly interested in this new member of yours."

After glancing through the message in just a few looks and handing the phone back to Hinata, an unusual expression of interest appeared on the old man's face. After looking at his grandson, Coach Ukai quickly explained Hayato's background from the side.

"Kuroba Hayato. Wing spiker, 191 centimeters, second-year. He only joined the Volleyball Club recently. He basically has no weaknesses. If I had to name one flaw, it would be that he's overly obsessed with attacking, so sometimes his hits go out of bounds. And not only does he have the qualities of an ace, he also has great potential as a captain. Yesterday, Hinata and our setter had a small conflict, and he was the one who stepped in to resolve it. He told Kageyama the same thing too."

"You said he had something to do today, right? Can you bring him here tomorrow?"

Now that he knew all of Hayato's information, the old man became even more interested in him. He especially wanted to see for himself what kind of player this Kuroba Hayato was.

Then the old man took the volleyball and walked onto the court, calling over the elementary school students who were training. He intended to show Hinata directly.

"Anyway, let's first let you see what this so-called offensive rhythm your senior sent you actually looks like. Kid, come over here and try blocking. You're a middle blocker, aren't you?"

Since the old man had been discharged, the courtyard at his house had become an elementary school volleyball class. Hinata had arrived at just the right time; several elementary school students were practicing volleyball there.

Hinata followed them onto the court. The four elementary school students on the other side saw his height.

"A middle schooler?"

"Which middle school are you from?"

Accustomed to being mistaken for one, Hinata helplessly explained that he was a high school student, then stood at the net. Since it was for elementary school students, the net in the middle of the court was much lower. Looking at it, Hinata felt as though he had grown taller.

"Then, let's begin."

As soon as the old man's words fell, Hinata got into a defensive stance.

"Third Rhythm."

After the old man called out Third Rhythm, one of the elementary school students tossed the ball. Only after the old man set it did everyone begin their attack, taking their approaches and spiking. Then the ball was blocked by Hinata's face.

"Such an amazing jump. His face was over the net."

Even though tears had come out from the pain in his face, Hinata still pretended everything was fine and said it was decent. The old man beside him praised his jumping ability.

Then the next ball began.

"Second Rhythm."

Almost at the same moment as the set, everyone launched into their attack. It was even faster than the previous ball, but Hinata still blocked it. This time, he properly blocked it with his hands.

"Next ball, First Rhythm." Hinata, who had been watching the ball, realized that before the old man had even set it, the elementary school students had already begun moving. Before he could react, the elementary school students scored with a spike. Watching the ball land on the court, Hinata looked at the old man with shining eyes.

"So fast!"

"What do you think? Can you block it?"

"At least, I can't do it alone."

"Of those three rhythms just now, did you think there was any obvious difference in how the wing spikers attacked?"

"I don't think so."

"Then what was different?"

After thinking carefully, Hinata decided it was the timing of when they began their approaches. His answer also pleased the old man.

"That's right. That's how you use the offensive rhythm your senior wrote about."

"Oh! So that was what all those words meant."

Letting out a sound of sudden realization, Hinata finally understood.

"That's it. First Rhythm is the easiest way to shake off the opponent's block. You begin your approach before the setter sets the ball, then the setter matches the set to the wing spiker. Once the wing spiker receives the ball, he chooses how to attack. That's where you need to use your head and think about where to hit the ball. In other words, the quick attack is led by the wing spiker."

Then the old man passed through the net and walked over to Hinata. He looked not only at Hinata, but also at Coach Ukai, who was thinking beside them.

"Only a set that makes it easy for the wing spiker to attack is the best kind of set."

Only at this point did Coach Ukai truly understand what Hayato had meant yesterday when he told Kageyama about the best set for Hinata. Leaving Hinata there to continue training, Coach Ukai rushed out the door to find Kageyama.

Meanwhile, Kageyama was still at home thinking about what kind of set could be considered the best one for Hinata. He had even searched through a great deal of information online. Just as Kageyama was studying national team match footage, trying to draw inspiration from it, Coach Ukai called.

"Coach Ukai, what is it?"

"Kageyama, where are you?"

"I'm at home."

"Get to Sakashita Store, now! I figured out what the best set for Hinata is!"

Hearing Coach Ukai say that, Kageyama immediately put on his shoes and sprinted toward Sakashita Store.

As for Hayato, he knew Old Coach Ukai would definitely understand what he meant, so Hinata's side would be settled. Coach Ukai would also help Kageyama. With that, Hayato went to the swimsuit shop with Kiyoko without a care in the world, preparing for their upcoming trip to Hawaii.

With Kiyoko and Hayato choosing together, they picked a bikini in contrasting deep blue and rose-red colors. It had a bow decoration at the chest, white triangular lace trim around the bandeau, a halter-neck design, and a deep blue thigh strap around the upper part of her left leg.

However, it was too revealing, so at Kiyoko's request, they added a light purple jacket made of sun-protective nylon with an off-the-shoulder folded-collar design, along with a pair of white hot pants.

For matching shoes, they also chose a pair of deep blue lace-up low-heeled sandals.

After changing into the swimsuit and stepping out of the fitting room, Kiyoko was unbelievably cute. She had tied up her black hair into a bun behind her head, and Hayato gave her a thumbs-up.

"Super cute, Kiyoko-senpai. This is the one."

After turning around in front of the fitting room, Kiyoko agreed with Hayato's opinion. After paying, the two bought some travel necessities such as motion sickness medicine and eye masks. They finished the day's shopping after having a big meal.