5:50 AM
Hinata can be seen diving without receiving the ball and ends himself doing it with a fail.
"Hey, your feet stopped short! What happened to your serve, receiving reflexes from yesterday? You need to focus!" Kageyama yelled.
"I've had enough of receiving. We're running out of time, dude! I wanna spike too! I wanna jump too!" Hinata whined.
"Go jump around, then!" Kageyama yelled back.
"Hey, you guys. I should give you fair warning. Daichi is usually gentle, but he's extremely scary when he gets angry. I mean extremely." Tanaka said with a bit nervous about his tone.
"We know." The two replied.
"But he did find a way to make them practice. Why is he still afraid of that?" Zorome asked.
"Have you saw him ask permission from Daichi? No, right? So he'll be really screwed if Daichi finds out that they practiced for their match on Saturday." Ishigami said.
"His face looks scary, but also feel fear." Mitsuru uttered.
"It won't be good if he finds out about this practice. It won't be good for me. Not that I'm scared or anything. Absolutely not. Not in the least.
Anyway, we're the only ones that know about this extra-early practice, so make sure that you..." Tanaka was stopped when someone opened the door.
"Oh? So you are practicing already." The person is known to be Suga said.
"Suga!" Tanaka said.
"Hey." Suga replied.
'He's a third-year.' Hinata thought. Tanaka and Sugawara talked about him having the keys for the gym and this made Tanaka look nervous.
"Relax. I won't tell Daichi. This is like secret training or something. It's kind of thrilling." Sugawara said, making the three feel relief.
"Is there anything wrong if they knew that they practiced?" Kokoro asked.
"They weren't allowed to enter the gym after what they did last time. So if they got caught once again, they can't play with the volleyball team anymore." Fujiwara said.
"Rules are rules in this world, Kokoro." Kaguya said.
"I see." Kokoro replied.
The screen shows the title "A Formidable Ally" on it.
"Come and get it! Good, that was excellent." Tanaka said after hitting a perfect spike from Kageyama's toss. Hinata looked at them and failed to receive the ball from Sugawara.
"Hinata, don't get distracted." Sugawara said.
"I want to hit the ball too. Set for me too. You love the setting, don't you? So set for me too! Just one. Just try me out once." Hinata begged.
"Hell no." Kageyama replied while looking away. Giving Hinata and the others a shocking look.
"Come one! Quit being a spoilsport!" Hinata yelled.
"Yeah!" Tanaka added. Kageyama suddenly spikes the ball to Hinata who receives it but lets the ball flew away.
"That one came right at you. Sets and attacks only come after a receive. Stop acting like your hot shit when you can't even manage that.
For the three-on-three match this Saturday, I'm going to set for Tanaka as much as I can. Let him do the attacking. As for you, just try not to hold us down." Kageyama said.
"What the hell's wrong with him? He's acting like the King of the Court that everyone calls him!" Zero Two said.
"Such a perfectionist. Good grief, kids nowadays." Miyuki uttered.
"He may be right about it but that doesn't mean he'll just tell Hinata such things like that. Doesn't he have trust on his abilities?" Fujiwara sighed.
"Will you set for me if I learn to receive properly?" Hinata asked.
"I'll set for anyone I deem essential to winning. But right now, I don't think you are." Kageyama said.
"Nasty!" Tanaka angrily yelled.
"What's it take to set him a few here and there?" Sugawara asked.
"We're almost out of time. We'd better clean up." Kageyama said.
"Crap! Hurry! Erase all evidence!" Tanaka yelled.
"Okay!" Sugawara added.
'Damn it. Damn it!' Hinata angrily thought.
"I feel sorry for him. He's just using him for his personal needs." Iino said.
"He abuses his talent so much that he'll tell the shrimp to do receiving properly. What a dictator!" One student said.
"That's why he couldn't enter to the best schools because he is really a selfish player!" Another student said.
Kageyama and Tanaka can be seen sleeping on their breaks but Hinata and Sugawara practiced receiving outside the gym.
"Hinata, lower your hops more, and hit it like you're sending it right back in the direction it came from." Sugawara said.
"Right!" Hinata replied.
"Here goes." Sugawara said and does the spike to Hinata who successfully receives the ball.
"Oh, that was a good one." Hinata said.
"Hey, Hinata. Want me to set for you starting tomorrow morning?" Sugawara asked.
"Really? You will?" Hinata asked.
"I'm Karasuno's starting setter, you know. You want to practice spiking, right?" Sugawara asked.
"R-Right! I love spiking. It feels great when you get one just right. Above all, it's so cool!" Hinata said.
"Sounds like you've got quite the spiking fixation." Sugawara said.
"When I was junior high, I didn't have teammates until third year, let alone a setter. My friend on the basketball team would set for me.
Even after I retired, I had first-years, volleyball moms, and setters from the girl's team set for me. But while they were good friends of mine, they were never really teammates. So I was really looking forward to meeting the setter I'd have in high school. I had high hopes... until I got here." Hinata said, remembering Kageyama's insults towards him.
"If I'm not wrong, in basketball, they also do the same thing that the setters in volleyball do. Erm... what do they call of it?" Miyuki uttered.
"They do an alley-oop pass." Fujiwara said.
"Yeah! Right, an alley-oop play! But instead of spiking the ball, the player either slams the ball on the ring or puts it easily in the basket." Miyuki said.
"Hinata's lucky because he can still get some sets from someone whose sport is different from his." Ishigami said.
"Like I said, I'm a setter too. Don't worry, I'll set for you." Sugawara said. Hinata got happy but for a second, he remembered something.
"But if I make you set for me... I'd kinda feel like I've lost." Hinata uttered.
"Why do you keep getting in Kageyama's face? Personally, I try to avoid getting on the bad side of good players as much as possible." Sugawara said.
"When I faced him in junior high, he was great at everything he did. And he was taller than me, to boot. He was just so formidable. I really hated it when he stood in front of me." Hinata said.
"I understand how that must feel." Sugawara said. Kageyama can be seen standing on the vending machine and didn't notice Hinata and Sugawara behind it.
"I came to Karasuno so I could beat him." Hinata said.
"So is beating Kageyama all you want out of volleyball?" Sugawara asked. As he heard his name, Kageyama peeked and saw the two having a conversation.
"Um..." Hinata uttered.
'He's practicing on his lunch break?' Kageyama thought.
"Yeah so that he can show that he is worthy of your sets!" Iino said.
"You really hate his attitude towards Hinata, aren't you?" Ishigami asked.
"Who'll not get angry at his selfishness towards Hinata? Just give him a damn chance!" Iino said.
"C-Calm down, Iino-chan." Fujiwara said while chuckling.
"I just want to be good enough to defeat Kageyama. That way, I could stand on equal footing with all kinds of formidable opponents. I wouldn't be easy to beat in a match. I don't want to lose anymore." Hinata said.
"I see. So basically, you think Kageyama's the best player in your grade, right?" Sugawara asked.
"R-Right..." Hinata replied while hating his answer.
'He sure doesn't like admitting it.' Sugawara thought.
"But het, if he was your formidable opponent, now he can be your most formidable ally." Sugawara said. Hinata remembered what Kageyama said to him earlier and angrily squeezes the ball.
'I don't think you're essential to winning.'
"All right, let's get back to receiving!" Sugawara said.
"Okay!" Hinata replied. The afternoon came and is nearly the end of the classes.
"Thanks for taking out the trash!" The teacher said to Hinata who started to run into the volleyball court.
"One, two, three, four. Five, six, seven, eight. Two, two, three, four. Five, six, seven, eight." The Karasuno players are doing their stretches. Hinata peeked at them and does his own stretching. As he stretched his body upside down, he saw Kageyama standing behind him.
"Let's go." Kageyama said.
"Hey! Where to?" Hinata asked.
"There's not enough room to play ball here. I found a place where we can practice." Kageyama said.
"Where? Good job, Kageyama! Well done." Hinata said.
"Where do you get off acting all high and mighty?" Kageyama asked.
"Don't get mad at every little thing." Hinata replied. Two taller students can be seen walking towards the volleyball court.
"Who are those two tall students?" Kaguya asked.
"They're hell tall!" Miku said.
"Maybe the other first years that Daichi said. And I am wondering if both of them are also Hinata and Kageyama's opponents on the upcoming three-on-three." Miyuki said.
"Is it possible to have taller guys than us?" Ikuno asked.
"Of course. Other people reaches the height of a 7 footer." Ishigami said.
"7 footer? Just how tall is it?" Hiro asked.
"Here." Giyu replied as he created a hologram of a 7 footer player from the NBA, Javale McGee.
"Woah! That's hella tall!" Fujiwara exclaimed.
"But I'm afraid if I have the same height as that guy." Hito uttered.
"You can't ride the FRANXX because of having such a useless height." Mitsuru said. Some shorty students got triggered and yelled at him.
"Boo! Useless? How much you know about it?!" One student asked.
"Yeah! Can you jump so high huh?!" Another student asked.
"Calm down everyone!" Giyu yelled with his dull tone and smashes his sword towards the ground, making everyone quiet.
Sugawara and Tanaka yawned in unison after doing their stretching.
"You guys sound sleepy." Daichi said, and the two shivered after hearing him.
"Oh, y-you think so? Maybe I studied too much." Sugawara said.
"I-I think I did too..." Tanaka uttered.
"Yeah, right. Look who's talking!" Sugawara whispered.
"Huh?" Tanaka asked.
"Excuse me." One of the newcomers interfered.
"Oh, hey. You made it. These are the first-years who'll be joining us. Normally, new members wouldn't join until next week, but since we're having a match on Saturday, they'll be starting with us then." Daichi said.
"That guy's huge." Kinoshita whispered.
"Yeah." Chikara agreed.
"Pleased to meet you." The two new students said.
"If Hinata and Kageyama didn't act so stupid from before, maybe the could've started practicing with them right now." Nana said.
"You forgot that they are rivals. But the way they re-enact it are like kids' play." Hachi said.
"Don't just use your hand. Move your feet." Kageyama said as he spikes the ball to Hinata who failed to receive once again.
"Come on. You need to focus." Kageyama said.
"I know that. I'm gonna win this Saturday, be allowed into the gym, and join this team for real.
Oh, I guess we also need to win so you can play setter." Hinata said.
"If you know that, then focus!" Kageyama yelled. The two continued to practice and accidentally sends the ball to a tree.
"I told you to take it easy when we practice outside!" Hinata said.
"It'll be fine as long as you receive properly." Kageyama said while using a stick to reach the ball.
"Whatever, King." Hinata muttered.
"Hey." Kageyama coldly said.
'Crap.' Hinata thought while the ball bounced off his head and Kageyama takes it.
'What's his problem? He gets mad every time I call him King. It's a cool nickname, you know. I hope I get a cool nickname too. Just like the Little Giant. "Wind of the Fast Wind." Wait, that has "wind" twice... "The Forest's..." No, it doesn't work. "The Jet Black..." Um... "The Northeast's Swooping..."
"Hey, let's get back to it." Kageyama said on Hinata who's thinking of a nickname for himself.
"I'll call him the Baby Spiker!" Fujiwara said.
"No, he deserves the title, Flying Giant!" Miyuki said.
"He deserves this one" The Orange Flash." Kaguya said.
"Let's deal with it. They'll just call him "Shrimp", that's all." Ishigami said, making everyone silent
'So rude!' Everyone thought about Ishigami.
"O-Oh yeah. I wonder what our first-year opponents are like. I guess it'll be easier than the third-years." Hinata said.
"Who cares what they're like? We have no option but to win." Kageyama said while pointing the ball to Hinata.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Hinata said. Kageyama turned around from him and walked away.
"Don't you cluck your tongue at me. Now bring it on!" Hinata said and the ball hits his face.
"Hey. You're not supposed to receive with your face." Kageyama said.
"He did it seriously, he's just lying." Ishigami said.
"Getting hit by that ball to the face really hurts. I'm scared if I lose some tooth from my mouth." Ichigo said while touching her cheeks.
"You'll still look beautiful even if you lose one." Goro said, making Ichigo blush.
"I don't know why, but I just don't like those first-year newbies." Tanaka said with an angry expression while he and Sugawara carries a pole for the net.
"You say that every time you meet someone new. I get it. That's how you're wired, right?" Sugawara asked.
"Oh, come on..." Tanaka uttered.
"But I have to say, those guys were better than expected. I'm a little worried about Saturday's match." Sugawara said.
"I-It'll be fine! I'll be playing too, you know." Tanaka said.
"I guess. There's Kageyama too. Don't you think Kageyama's mellowed out since junior high?" Sugawara asked.
"What? How has he mellowed out at all? The guy's cocky as hell." Tanaka said.
"Hmm... how do I put this? He had this unwavering confidence back when he was in junior high. He was like this phenom." Sugawara said.
"Either way, he's cocky as hell." Tanaka said.
"Sorry about that. I guess I asked the wrong guy." Sugawara said while leaving the storage room.
"Huh?" Tanaka uttered. Hinata and Kageyama continued to practice until night and Hinata catches his breath after missing another receive.
"One... One more." Hinata said.
"Okay. The back." Kageyama said as he tosses the ball.
"Got it." Hinata replied. Before he can receive the ball, someone taller than him gets the ball.
"Wow, you're really practicing outside. Are you the first-years that stirred up trouble on the first day?" One tall blond student is known to be Tsukishima asked.
"T-shirts? How lame." Another student behind Tsukishima known to be Yamaguchi added.
'H-Huge.' Hinata thought.
"Is he even a first-year in that height?!" Hiro asked in shock.
"You can have such height, depends on your parents, and how you'll take good use of your growth hormones." Ishigami said.
"That's why we aren't tall as Goro and Futoshi, Hiro. Because they are using their thing called "Growth Hormones" really well!" Zorome said.
"Growth hormones? What is that?" Kokoro asked.
"Take this book." Giyu said as a Science book appeared in Kokoro and landed on her lap. Due to its heaviness, she can't grab the book from her lap.
"Let me help you!" Futoshi said and gets the book for Kokoro.
"Thank you, Futoshi." Kokoro said.
'You should learn how you did the thing with Mitsuru from before. And what are the side effects of it aside from having a baby.' Giyu thought.
"Give it back." Hinata said.
"Don't you think it's about time grade schoolers ran along with home?" Tsukishima asked, making Hinata piss.
"Who are you guys anyway?" Hinata loudly asked.
"Are you the other first-years joining the team?" Kageyama asked.
"Hey!" Hinata yelled at Kageyama.
'He's got height...' Kageyama thought.
"I was talking here--" Hinata was stopped by Kageyama.
"How tall are you?" Kageyama asked.
"Hey!" Hinata yelled.
"Tsukki is 188 cm. He'll be 190 soon." Yamaguchi replied.
"190?" Hinata asked.
"Why are you bragging?" Tsukishima asked.
"Sorry, Tsukki." Yamaguchi said.
"You're Kageyama from Kitagawa First, aren't you? What's an elite player like you doing at Karasuno?" Tsukishima asked.
"Huh?" Kageyama said in an annoyed tone.
"Hey! We won't lose on Saturday, you hear me?" Hinata said. Silence dominated the scene before someone can talk.
"Oh, is that so? It might be an important match for you two, but it doesn't matter to me at all. And I don't really care about winning or losing, so if you two really need to win, I can go easy on you if you like." Tsukishima said sarcastically.
"Another rude guy!" Miku said.
"Height is might. He can talk such crap whenever he wants." Ishigami said.
"The way he talks really annoys me a lot." Miyuki said.
"Say what?!" Hinata angrily yelled.
"Whether you go easy or give it your all, the bottom line is "I'll win." Kageyama coldly said.
"You mean "we"! Hinata yelled.
"Amazing confidence! You're the King, all right." Tsukishima chuckled.
"Hey. Don't call me that!" Kageyama yelled.
"So it's true." Tsukishima said.
"Huh?" Kageyama asked.
"The rumor that you lose ut when you're called the King of the Court. What's wrong with the King? It's cool. I think it suits you perfectly, King." Tsukishima said.
'I should stay out of this.' Hinata thought while looking at Kageyama starting to get angry.
"What the hell do you want from me?" Kageyama asked. Tsukishima started to walk past him and stopped.
"I watched the finals of the prefectural qualifier tournament. That was some egocentric setting. I can't believe your teammates tolerated it, because I just couldn't. Oh, I get it.
I guess what happened was because they couldn't tolerate it anymore, either." Tsukishima said. Kageyama remembers what happened before and now chokes Tsukishima with his shirt.
"Tsukki." Yamaguchi said. Kageyama and Tsukishima looked at each other and Kageyama let go of him.
"I guess this is a good chance to let him meet someone who has a really annoying and cheeky personality like Hinata and that Tsukki guy. Kageyama's confidence must be lowered or he'll be treated as the same from before." Kaguya said.
"The way they annoy him, the more he gets worse. What are you even talking about, Shinomiya?" Miyuki asked.
"I'm just telling that people that can match his ego are the ones who can tame the likes of him." Kaguya said.
"No! They'll make it worse either!" Miyuki yelled.
"Better!" Kaguya yelled.
"Worse!" Miyuki yelled.
"Better!"
"Worse!"
"Am I seeing such a love quarrel between you two?" Giyu asked and this made the two stop arguing and looked away.
'Give me a break.' Giyu thought while shaking his head slowly.
'What's going on? I don't know what they're talking about, but why is he holding back on this creepy guy? Tell him off like you usually would. Say something back at him!' Hinata thought.
"Let's go." Kageyama said while carrying his bag.
"Hey!" Hinata called.
"Running away? I guess the King isn't all he's cracked up to be. Maybe I'll beat the King this Saturday too." Tsukishima said while lifting the ball in the air but Hinata grabs it with his jump. Tsukishima was shocked after seeing such jump from Hinata.
"Shut up with the King crap. I'm here too. I'll spike the ball over your head during the match!" Hinata said.
"Huh?" Tsukishima asked.
"What? You got a problem? You wanna fight, bastard?" Hinata asked while stepping away from Tsukishima.
"Don't get so worked up. Let's take it easy and have some fun. It's only a practice match, after all." Tsukishima said.
"What do you mean, "only"? Hinata asked.
"I mean exactly that. See you later." Tsukishima said and now leaves.
"Hey! Wait! Who are you guys?" Hinata asked.
"Class 1-4, Tsukishima Kei." Tsukishima said.
"I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi." Yamaguchi said.
"We're your teammates starting today. Oh, but I suppose we're opponents for now. I'm looking forward to seeing the King's sets." Tsukishima said and now walks away.
"See ya." Yamaguchi said.
"Man, those guys totally give me the creeps. We've gotta beat the crap out of them." Hinata said on Kageyama.
"I don't need you to tell me that." Kageyama said while also walking away.
"Hey, where do you think you're going? We're not done yet." Hinata said. Kageyama drops his bag and on the other hand, Yamaguchi chases Tsukishima.
"Tsukki, wait up. Is something the matter?" Yamaguchi asked.
"Guys that get too worked up really get on my nerves. Like the King... and that shrimp..." Tsukishima uttered. Tanaka and Sugawara saw Hinata and Kageyama doing practice outside the school.
"If you just know how they are awesome together, you'll regret what you just said!" Miku said.
"He hates to get worked up because maybe he sucks." Zero Two said.
"Don't just judge him yet, Zero Two. With his height, he can do many things." Hiro said.
"But still, he still sucks for me." Zero Two said while wiggling her face towards Hiro.
"You take too long to get in position! I told you to focus!" Kageyama yelled.
"How much longer are they going to do this?" Sugawara asked.
"Who knows? I'm so sleepy I can't stand it." Tanaka said after yawning. Kageyama remembered Tsukishima calling him "King" and forced himself to spike another into Hinata without making him prepare.
"Hey, Kageyama. It's too dark to see clearly. Don't hit it so hard." Hinata said.
"Sorry." Kageyama replied and gave Hinata a death look.
"That's an improper way to say sorry!" Kei said.
"He's just angry at all. What do you expect from someone who has some issues with his nickname?" Fujiwara said.
'Scary. What's with him? If he's sorry, then he sure doesn't look it! His nerves have been on edge ever since he met that big guy. But if he doesn't set for me, I can't spike. I'll do my best at receiving until he does.' Hinata thought.
"All right. Do that again." Hinata said. Days have passed, Hinata continued to train every day and faced all the challenges throughout those days. Hinata and Kageyama practiced in the gym and as Kageyama does a serve towards Hinata, he receives it properly and successfully sends the ball back.
'He couldn't handle a serve like that before.' Kageyama thought.
"Hey, don't go easy on me!" Hinata yelled.
"You asked for it!" Kageyama yelled back as he does a spike on him and he successfully receives it.
"He's finally improving! He can finally get the set he really wants!" Fujiwara said.
"But the question is if he'll let him have one." Mitsuru said.
'You really sound and act like Ishigami over here!' Fujiwara thought.
"Crap, I overslept. I was runnin' down the road, tryin' to make it on time... When I ran into Kiyoko with toast in her mouth... I wish." Tanaka hummed but he stopped when Hinata and Kageyama are practicing Hinata's receives successfully and Sugawara observes them.
"How long have they been at it?" Tanaka asked.
"It's been fifteen minutes since I got here." Sugawara replied.
"Fifteen minutes straight?" Tanaka asked.
"Yeah." Sugawara replied.
"What?! How is that possible?" Miyuki asked.
"Like you never experienced that before when I trained you!" Fujiwara yelled.
"Oh, right." Miyuki chuckled nervously.
'His outstanding agility makes up for his lack of skill. But...'
"You must be at your limit now! Let's wrap it up--" Kageyama was stopped by Hinata.
"Not yet! I haven't let the ball hit the floor yet!" Hinata yelled.
"Take that." Kageyama said and does a serve away from Hinata.
"Wow, bad form! How's he supposed to get that?" Tanaka asked on Kageyama.
'Crap! I didn't mean that...' Kageyama thought.
"Hinata's had amazing agility since he was in junior high. That's not all, though. I feel like he has the tenacity to become a winner." Sugawara said.
'It's not about being born with the right physique or having superior athleticism. His forte lies somewhere else.
"I can't take it anymore."
"I want to quit."
When faced with such thoughts, he can... take that extra step.' Kageyama thought. Hinata saves the ball by one hand.
"Such stamina he has." Goro said.
"Can we do the same as he does?" Zorome asked.
"If you'll aim for it, you can." Nana said.
"But it'll take you years for you to learn and understand playing volleyball." Fujiwara said.
"He saved it! That's amazing, Hinata!" Tanaka said.
'I'll set for anyone I deem essential to winning. But right now, I don't think you are.' Kageyama thought and remembered Hinata's words from before. He now sets the ball in the air.
"A set?" Tanaka asked.
"Kageyama set for him." Sugawara said.
"Hinata is to worn out to spike, though." Tanaka said. Hinata saw the toss from Kageyama and smiled at it. He quickly ran and jumped to spike the ball.
"He sure can jump." Sugawara said.
"He actually did it in that state. And look how happy he is." Tanaka said.
"I think that he meant something special to Hinata. We take for granted that a setter will set for us, but for him..." Sugawara uttered.
"Hey. Let's win tomorrow." Kageyama said to a tired Hinata.
'But hey, if he was your most formidable opponent...'
'Now he can be my most formidable ally.' Hinata thought while looking at Kageyama who looked away and left.
"O-Of course we will!" Hinata replied when suddenly, he puked out and get loose.
"Ah! Tanaka, get some water! And a washrag!" Sugawara cried.
"Eww!!!" Everyone in the gym yelled after seeing Hinata puke out.
"That's the result of pushing himself too much." Miyuki sighed.
"But still, he is awesome as ever!" Fujiwara said.
"They can win against those tall arrogant guys in their match soon!" Hiro said.
Kageyama can be seen walking in the morning and noticed Hinata running past him to race towards the gym.
"Wait up, you idiot!" Kageyama yelled.
"What's the point of getting worn out before the match? You'd better rest up." Tanaka said as Hinata and Kageyama got tired of running and sat down on the ground.
"Damn... That was a draw... I won't ever lose to the likes of you." Kageyama uttered.
"But..." Hinata uttered.
'He's irritating, and pisses me off...but he's going to set for me from now on. A setter's gonna set for me!' Hinata thought.
"You and I are gonna win today." Hinata said.
"Let's get ready. Kageyama said as he stands up.
"Yeah." Hinata replied.
"Morning, King." Tsukishima greeted on Kageyama as they have arrived.
'This time... I'm gonna break through any wall that stands in my way!' Hinata thought and the screen turned off.
"So their match is next?! Shall we start?" Zero Two asked in excitement.
"I wanna see their combo so quick!" Ichigo added.
"Relax. Don't get excited so much. Now, we'll start the next one." Giyu said.
"Let's do it!!!" Everyone in the gym roared.
'Noisy... Crap.' Giyu thought.
To Be Continued...
Another chapter is done! I hope you liked this one. Stay safe as always!