I Haven't Given Up Yet

"Send a good serve!"

"Cover me!"

"Leave it to me!"

The shouts echoed through the gymnasium as the four teams competing poured all their energy into the match. Hinata, already exhausted, sat on a chair to recover. Sweat poured down his face like rain, and even wiping it with a towel only made it stream down his cheeks again.

Three sets. That's all Hinata could manage at full sprint. This was different from his previous style of conserving energy. Every run, every jump, Hinata was using all his strength, trading stamina for speed that was even faster than before. And faster meant quicker attacks that left opponents no time to react.

At the same time, his coordinated attacks with Hayato at the front row made things difficult for the other teams. Following Hayato's suggestion, Hinata, like others, began using hand signals to communicate with the setter. The first to learn were Hayato, Hinata, and Kageyama for their decoy attacks.

As long as these two were at the front row, Kageyama could set the ball to anyone without issue. Once the opponents were drawn in by the feints, the other player could directly attack and score.

This was an open strategy, but there were ways to counter it. The back row defense needed to receive the ball, and if they could stabilize it, they could save it. However, Hayato and Hinata's attacks were one powerful and the other fast, making them difficult to receive and a true test of bumping technique.

Throughout the morning, Karasuno rotated players continuously. Coach Ukai put in a lot of effort to ensure everyone got a chance to play. Seeing Tsukishima with a bit more drive on the court, he was very pleased. Kageyama, on the court, felt this particularly strongly. Tsukishima, who usually didn't jump for feint attacks, actually jumped today, though the height of his jump was still not significant.

Thanks to Hinata's active play, Karasuno won three out of five sets in the morning. While the goal was to let everyone play, the starting players naturally got more court time, as developing the main players was the most important thing. This also led to a significant increase in the stamina expenditure of the main players. Hinata, the stamina idiot, being completely out of energy was proof that running at full speed really took a toll.

Hayato was also quite tired. Whenever he was on the court, he always went for a full-power spike. While this often resulted in a point, it also consumed a lot of stamina. In the last match of the morning, Yamaguchi was put in to practice his jump float serve. Although he played well in the first half, they lost the match in the second half, as the jump float serve was currently Yamaguchi's only weapon.

During the break, the managers brought out several plates. Parents from Mori High School had specifically sent watermelons to treat everyone.

The players gathered in small groups, holding watermelons and sitting on the grass outside, eating leisurely. Hinata joined the Nekoma group and competed with Lev to see who could spit watermelon seeds further, though he was completely defeated.

Hayato, meanwhile, joined the third-years and reported Tsukishima's situation from yesterday to the captain, Daichi. Since Kuroo had spoken to Tsukishima before training this morning, reporting on the team's condition had fallen to Hayato.

After hearing the beginning of the story, Daichi wasn't too surprised.

"Tsukishima had said something similar before Kuroba joined the volleyball club," Asahi added from the side.

"Yeah, he said his only job was to prevent errors in defense when Hinata moved to the back row."

At this point, Tanaka chimed in, mentioning that his sister had said there was a player named Tsukishima in Karasuno during the Little Giant's era, and he wondered if it was related.

However, Tsukishima didn't talk much about his own affairs, so no one knew if he had a brother.

Hayato did know that Tsukishima's expectations of his older brother had led his brother, who wasn't a starter, to pretend he was a starter for his younger brother, only to be discovered later.

In reality, Tsukishima wasn't ashamed of his brother's shortcomings; he felt guilty that he had put pressure on his brother, forcing him to lie.

"Well, but Tsukishima seems to have a bit more motivation today," Daichi said.

"Indeed, you can tell he's different from yesterday," Asahi agreed.

Daichi and Asahi spoke back and forth, then simultaneously looked at Hayato. Hayato simply said he had talked to Tsukishima yesterday, and what was said between them was their business, so he couldn't reveal everything.

It seemed that Tsukishima's change today was a result of Hayato's words yesterday.

"Ah, seniors, this is a trade secret," Hayato said with a smile, brushing it off. He didn't intend to reveal the details. Fortunately, everyone understood. Just then, Sugawara arrived to call them, and after throwing the leftover watermelon rinds into the trash bags, the group washed their hands and went back to training.

As they walked to the faucet to wash their hands, Daichi and Asahi, who were lagging behind the group, exchanged a look.

"Daichi, Kuroba has solved another problem for us without us knowing. Have you decided?"

"Ah, with Kuroba's sense of responsibility, I'm very confident entrusting him with the captain and vice-captain positions."

Since Karasuno had played enough matches in the morning, the afternoon was relatively relaxed. After another match, the defeated Karasuno had to accept their punishment and run up the slope. After completing the sprints, Asahi was greeted by an unexpected guest: Tsukishima.

First, he praised Yamaguchi's improvement in his jump float serve. Then, Asahi turned to Tsukishima, gesturing for him to say whatever he wanted to ask.

"Azumane-senpai, don't you feel any discomfort? The strong sense of threat from the newcomers surpassing you."

After Hayato joined the club, he quickly took over the starting position. Although these were just practice matches, everyone understood that Hayato would be a starter. Compared to the competition between Tsukishima and Hinata, Asahi, who had already lost his position, could only imagine how he felt.

"To be honest, it's uncomfortable, of course. Hayato is very strong and has the confidence of an ace. From a positional standpoint, Tsukishima, we are quite similar. We both have a formidable opponent."

Asahi said this with a wry smile, feeling a bit down himself.

"But, you know, with you first-years this year, and Kuroba joining, it's really given us third-years a lot of hope. Our dream is to advance to nationals. 'Fallen powerhouse,' 'crows that can't fly' – these were the names we heard about the Karasuno Volleyball Club when we joined."

"We tried hard too, but we weren't enough. But it's different now. With you all, you've brought hope. So, Tsukishima, even though I feel uncomfortable, I've received so much more fighting spirit from you all. I haven't given up yet. Whether it's the starting position or the ace, I haven't conceded yet."

In the setting sun, Asahi's profile seemed to glow, and the fighting spirit in his eyes burned like a flame.

Seeing Asahi's demeanor, a spark seemed to ignite within Tsukishima as well. He instinctively placed his hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat, and recalled what Hayato had told him the previous night.

The light in Tsukishima's eyes gradually intensified.

"Azumane-senpai, thank you very much."

He bowed solemnly to Asahi, and his steps as he left seemed much lighter.

Asahi, somewhat bewildered, watched Tsukishima walk away. Yamaguchi, standing nearby, understood.

"Azumane-senpai, Tsukki seems to have perked up. Please look forward to Tsukki's performance when he's regained his fighting spirit."

Yamaguchi also bowed and chased after Tsukishima.

"Heh, looks like I've gained another rival for myself," Asahi chuckled.

In the next two matches, although Tsukishima remained taciturn, everyone could see that his running, blocking, and attacking were more proactive, and there was a fighting spirit in his eyes.

Even Hitoka could see the change in Tsukishima.

"Kiyoko-senpai, Tsukishima-kun…"

She reached out and patted Hitoka's shoulder.

"Another baby bird from Karasuno is about to spread its wings."

Hitoka's cheeks were flushed with excitement. For her, any progress made by anyone in the volleyball club was a cause for happiness.

"Yes!"

The next day's training also ended, and Bokuto seized the opportunity to catch Hayato.

"Kuroba, you promised this morning, let's go, let's go."

"Ah, Bokuto-senpai, wait a moment, I'm going to call someone else, Tsukishima~"

Seeing Tsukishima wiping sweat, Hayato tried calling out to him. He had seen Tsukishima's performance that afternoon, so he was now trying to see if he could get him to join them.

Tsukishima saw Hayato and Bokuto, and after a moment of silence, he walked over to the two of them.

"Seniors, are you going to do individual practice again today?"

Hearing Tsukishima's words, even Kuroo was alerted. He walked over and looked at Tsukishima with Bokuto, teasing Tsukishima with "Oh my, oh my."

Tsukishima, with a look of disgust, was about to lash out, but Hayato pushed his back.

"Alright, alright, don't mind them, don't mind them, let's go train."

"Aww~ Tsukishima is going to train with Hayato-senpai and Fukurodani's ace, I'm so jealous, damn it."

Hinata said enviously as he watched Hayato and the others leave. Yamaguchi, who was beside him, explained that they had been training together since yesterday.

"I'm going to go spectate."

Hinata, whose body always moved before his brain, immediately ran after them.