The Meaning of a Name

After a long journey, Coach Ukai and Teacher Takeda took turns driving and finally arrived at Morisaki High School in Saitama in the morning. Those who hadn't rested well or fully woken up were yawning.

Hinata, however, was quite energetic and was pulling Kenma from Nekoma, who had arrived with them.

"Sky Tree, where's the Sky Tree?"

The Tokyo Skytree, also known as Tokyo Sky Tree or New Tokyo Tower, is a broadcasting tower located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of Tokyo's famous landmarks, and its attached shopping mall, Tokyo Solamachi, is also very well-known. It can be considered a must-visit attraction for anyone traveling to Tokyo.

"Ah, isn't that Tokyo Tower?!"

The excited Hinata pointed at an ordinary iron tower and asked.

"That's just a regular iron tower."

Hearing their conversation, Kuroo, the captain of Nekoma, who was mixed in with the Karasuno team, turned to look at Daichi, the captain of Karasuno. His face held a teasing expression.

"What, doesn't Miyagi have any iron towers? And that conversation feels so familiar."

In fact, the last time they went to Tokyo, Tanaka and Nishinoya had pointed at an iron tower and shouted "Sky Tree!" It was indeed a sense of déjà vu to see something that had already happened with them being repeated by others.

"To people from out of town, Tokyo's iron towers all look like the Sky Tree."

After Daichi said this, Sugawara, the vice-captain, immediately retorted.

"Hey, don't talk nonsense. And we're in Saitama."

Kageyama, who was still a bit groggy following behind the main group, heard the conversation ahead and silently thought to himself, So that wasn't Tokyo Tower.

Hayato was helping the two managers with their luggage. Hitoka quickly said, "Seniors, it's not a bother," but Hayato blocked her by saying, "We'll need your help with logistics for the next week, so this is a small matter."

The superior-subordinate relationships in sports clubs are really troublesome. Juniors have to use polite language towards seniors, and they can't disobey seniors. Hayato felt all these troublesome things were unnecessary, so he interacted with the first-years and third-years in a relaxed manner.

This was also why he could quickly build good relationships with others. After all, it was truly troublesome, but it was the general trend, and no one dared to say otherwise. Hayato's easygoing and friendly nature was even more precious.

Haiba Lev specifically came to greet his friend Hinata.

"Hinata, have you grown taller?"

Lev, who had run up to Hinata waving his arms, was scolded by Kenma for being too loud.

"You're so rude right after meeting! How could you have grown in just two weeks?"

"I grew two millimeters."

"What, really? Damn it."

The group carrying their luggage first went to put their belongings away. After washing up and changing clothes, they headed to the gymnasium.

After warming up, Coach Ukai called everyone over.

"Today, I'll be substituting players in and out constantly, so everyone be ready."

Coach Ukai said to the team members gathered before him. He wanted to use this opportunity to train the others more, as after the third-years graduated, the others would have to become regular players. They couldn't just watch from the sidelines all the time; that wouldn't lead to any improvement.

Their first opponent was Fukurodani. Hinata, Kageyama, and Asahi were on the front row, while Tanaka, Daichi, and Tsukishima were on the back row. Nishinoya would rotate with Tsukishima. Hayato was placed as a substitute.

Hayato had no objections to Coach Ukai's arrangement. The coach had also said that he would be substituting players frequently, so it was fine for him not to be on the court for now. The first serve belonged to Fukurodani.

An opportunity ball flew over, and Nishinoya received it. At this moment, Hinata suddenly started running, and Kageyama understood Hinata's intention, using the new quick attack. Kageyama first looked at the position of the opposing blockers, then at the incoming volleyball, and calculated the trajectory in his mind.

"Stop the ball, stop it right there."

Taking a deep breath and concentrating, Kageyama, muttering to himself, made a decisive move the moment he received the ball. The volleyball spun from right to left, stopping exactly there. Hinata felt that the set was perfect and excitedly spiked for a point.

The Fukurodani players responsible for blocking had no time to react and conceded the first point. Most importantly, Hinata and Kageyama's new synchronized attack was different from before.

Karasuno, having successfully taken the opening point, celebrated loudly.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Kageyama, it worked on the first try!"

"Shut up, I saw it."

Even though he said that, Kageyama couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Did that strange quick attack come back?"

"No, this one is different from the previous one."

Bokuto, Fukurodani's ace, thought the quick attack was the same one they had used during the training camp. However, Akaashi, the setter, said it was different this time, which confused Bokuto.

"So, was that play amazing? Can we do it too?"

"That... we can't imitate it. Although that short vice-captain looked like he was hitting it with ease, if you're not used to that kind of set, it's hard to hit it. The most important thing is to stop the ball at the point of impact, and I can't achieve that kind of superb technique."

Looking back at the match, Hinata was jumping excitedly at the net. Bokuto, however, spread his arms and said, "Don't get too carried away, it's just the beginning."

In the subsequent matches, the success rate of the new quick attack remained at fifty percent. However, Coach Ukai was quite optimistic, thinking that this was just the beginning and there was still plenty of time during the training camp. He had great confidence in Hinata and Kageyama.

The new tactics, libero sets, and multi-person attacks were also put into use. Of course, the proficiency with these was even lower. It was a practice match, so it was meant to train these new techniques. Winning would be great, but even if they couldn't win, it would still be good practice.

Under the policy of substituting players and practicing new tactics, Karasuno fell behind in the first set against Fukurodani, with the score at 16:10, entering a one-minute technical timeout.

After summarizing the match, Coach Ukai looked at Hayato.

"How about it, Kuroba? Are you ready to play?"

"Of course, I've been ready all along."

While it was relaxing to watch others play, Hayato was also genuinely getting restless and eager to get on the court.

Hayato subbed in for Tanaka and joined the practice match.

"Go for it."

Hayato high-fived Tanaka as he was subbed in. Listening to his teammates cheer from behind him, he slowly stretched his wrists, his gaze gradually becoming serious.

"Now, let's catch up on the score."

"Yes, Hayato-senpai."

Patting Hinata on the shoulder, Hayato made a declaration. Hinata nodded seriously. Although he had scored a lot in the previous match, he had also conceded many points. He made a gesture behind him, and the setter Sugawara, who had just subbed in, understood what Hayato was planning for the next play.

"Hinata, decoy operation."

As he got ready at the net, Hayato quietly told Hinata about the upcoming play. Hearing this, Hinata understood and nodded seriously. The decoy operation, just as its name suggested, would use the opponent's current focus on Hinata to have him jump with full force, allowing Hayato to attack.

While it wouldn't succeed every time, it could still catch the opponent off guard for now.

The serve was with Fukurodani. After the whistle blew, a Fukurodani player served an opportunity ball. Daichi received it and, while shouting "opportunity ball," Hinata started running. His faster-than-before movement involuntarily drew the attention of the opposing players to him.

"So fast!"

"Block him, the quick attack is coming."

"But the setter isn't the black-haired guy. Can the short middle blocker even pull off the previous quick attack?"

In that moment of confusion, Hayato on the other side of the net was left unguarded. The setter Sugawara passed the ball in a route convenient for spiking. Hayato smiled, shouted "Nice pass," and powerfully spiked the ball into Fukurodani's court.

Fukurodani's libero did notice Hayato's spike, but Hinata interfered with him, and he couldn't save the ball in time.

"Nice shot, well done!"

"I'm counting on you again next play, setter."

Hayato and Sugawara high-fived in celebration. Sugawara was quite happy that Hayato consistently called him "setter" instead of his name while playing. More than being called "senpai," he wanted to be recognized as a setter, and the fact that Hayato, who was now considered Karasuno's ace, called him setter further indicated his approval of his volleyball skills.

This made Sugawara very happy.

Of course, this was only on the court. In normal situations, Hayato still respectfully called him Sugawara-senpai.

"Cheer up, everyone, let's keep catching up on the score!"

Loudly encouraging his teammates, Hayato immediately scored after subbing in, boosting everyone's morale another level.