Jump with your fastest speed, your highest jump. I'll bring the ball to you…!
Those were the words Kageyama said to Hinata.
The moment he heard them, something like an electric current shot through Kagami's body.
It felt as if lightning had struck him straight from above. It wasn't an exaggeration at all—Kagami simply couldn't find any better way to describe it.
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi weren't particularly on guard yet, but Kagami—who had been constantly calling out during the match—suddenly went silent and focused intensely. Because of that, both of them instinctively felt that something was about to happen.
Hinata and Kageyama's gears had finally begun to mesh.
The trigger had been Hinata's earlier remark—when he declared that his middle school days had nothing to do with this. From that moment on, he kept pushing forward, even forcing Kageyama to set him for a quick attack.
After that, there were several mistakes. But Kageyama had been advised by Sugawara.
And also by Kagami—the one here who had known Hinata the longest.
Kageyama was wasting Hinata's weapon: his quickness.
Hinata wasn't like the players from middle school who had barely managed to keep up with Kageyama. They had hardly practiced together yet. Hinata still lacked the necessary technique. More importantly, he had never once trained to handle Kageyama's ultra-fast sets.
So Sugawara told him: why not make up for all those shortcomings with Kageyama's genius-level technique?
And now—
Kageyama's concentration had sharpened to the absolute limit.
The world grew quiet, as though he were the only person in it. Then Hinata appeared beside him in that silent space. Gradually his field of vision widened—first to Tanaka on his team, then to the three opponents across the net.
Where is Hinata?
Where are the blockers?
Where's the ball?
Where will everyone move in the next instant?
Where will Hinata jump?
Most importantly—
Where is the maximum height of Hinata's jump?
Everything aligned.
—Now. The perfect moment.
Now!! This position!! This timing! This angle!!
Kageyama released an ultra-fast set.
It was almost perfectly accurate, carrying just enough force to reach Hinata's full-swinging hand without reducing his momentum.
A perfect hit!!!
Before anyone realized it, Hinata had already slammed the ball down.
By the time Kagami noticed, the ball had already passed right by his face—missing him by about half a ball's width to the right—and smashed into the court.
No one had reacted.
"—Alright!"
"!? Wh—!?"
Kageyama pumped his fist with all his might, while Hinata looked completely overwhelmed with emotion.
"IT HIT MY HAND!! IT ACTUALLY HIT MY HAND!!!"
"Huh? It hit your hand? Don't exaggerate…"
Tsukishima looked exasperated, as if to say of course it hit your hand—you were spiking it.
But—
"It's not an exaggeration at all, Tsukishima. …Shōyō was hitting with his eyes closed just now. He spiked like that with his eyes shut. …Yeah. I definitely couldn't copy that."
""""HAAAH!?""""
At Kagami's words, Tsukishima—no, not just Tsukishima. Kageyama, Tanaka, and Yamaguchi all shouted in shock.
Everyone's gaze turned toward Kagami.
But Kagami didn't explain further. His eyes were simply shining.
"What do you mean by that!?"
"Hey, Kagami! Don't stay quiet—explain!"
"Yeah, explain!!"
It made sense for Tsukishima to press him for answers. They were teammates now.
But Kageyama and Tanaka asking him instead of Hinata himself was a bit strange.
Still, Kagami calmly started explaining.
"Probably from the moment he jumped—yeah, that's when Shōyō closed his eyes. From then until he swung, he kept them shut the whole time. It's pretty obvious when he squeezes them that tightly."
Seeing Hinata squeezing his eyes shut so hard that wrinkles formed between his brows, Kagami suddenly laughed.
It looked like a declaration that he absolutely refused to open them.
"And then Kageyama brought the ball right into Shōyō's palm—even though Shōyō wasn't looking. And at that insane speed too. On top of that, Shōyō's jumping position, the exact peak of his height, and the speed of his swing—if even one of those had been off, it wouldn't have worked. …Everything matched perfectly, down to the smallest detail. It seriously felt like watching a machine."
"HAAAH!?"
Tsukishima screamed for the second time that day.
For someone who usually stayed cool and provoked people calmly, that reaction was rather rare.
Hinata, meanwhile, was celebrating like it was a festival.
He was completely intoxicated by the thrill of landing a spike. The joy of finally breaking through the wall that had blocked him again and again was overwhelming.
Kageyama was glad it had succeeded too. Delivering the ball to the perfect place with perfect timing was undeniably satisfying.
But he was shocked to learn that Hinata had done it with his eyes closed.
Right now, the only thing Hinata could do was trust Kageyama's toss 100%.
And he executed it purely on that belief.
If you ranked the difficulty, the toss would probably be the hardest—almost a divine feat. But jumping while trusting someone completely like Hinata did wasn't easy either.
With my toss… I can make use of Hinata's springs and mobility!!
Kageyama made up his mind.
"Alright! If Hinata's spikes start landing, their marking will spread out and Tanaka-san will have an easier time hitting!"
"Ohh!"
"Alright!"
The light returned to their eyes.
No one here had given up on the match… but facing Kagami, that terrifying all-rounder, had made them wonder how they could possibly break through him.
Now that feeling was fading.
"…We don't have even the slightest bit of trust between us. But next time too—I'll bring the ball. So jump and believe in it!"
"Yeah!!"
"…And then we'll take down Kagami."
"—!"
Hinata turned around and looked at Kagami.
He definitely didn't want to lose. Absolutely not.
But Kagami was the guy who had always saved him. No matter what, Kagami had always played volleyball with him. Even when he hesitated about coming to this high school, he eventually came back.
Calling him an opponent to defeat wasn't something that came easily to Hinata.
Sure, with Kageyama's quick attack, even Kagami hadn't reacted. We can do this! he thought.
But somewhere in his mind, a little hesitation remained.
More… give me more… Come at me, Shōyō. Kageyama!
"…Y-Yeah!!!"
The moment Hinata saw Kagami's face—his eyes—it felt as if those words had been spoken.
And just like that, all his hesitation blew away.
After that, they tried that miraculous quick attack—rather, the freak quick—one more time.
But it failed spectacularly when the ball smashed straight into Hinata's face.
"…See? That was just a fluke. It makes no sense."
"Hahaha. Didn't I say earlier that Shōyō's that kind of guy? I get why you can't understand it, Tsukishima. But right now, that's the only way he can do it. Even if it means taking about ten face-receives."
"HEY!! I don't even want to take one more, let alone ten!!"
"Like I'd mess up ten times! Don't underestimate me!!"
Hinata and Kageyama interrupted Tsukishima and Kagami's conversation.
Even though they were on opposite sides, they all looked like they were having a lot of fun.
"Hmmm… maybe that really was just a fluke, like Tsukishima said."
"But Kageyama's toss accuracy is definitely improving. …You can feel that insane concentration even from here."
Watching from the outside, it was hard to believe something like that had been done intentionally.
Even with Kagami's explanation, people might assume the first time was luck and the second time wouldn't happen.
But Sugawara didn't think so.
Maybe it was because he was also a setter, but he could clearly feel just how incredible Kageyama was.
Kagami was amazing too, of course.
But Kageyama's precision was on another level.
Sugawara felt excited that a simple 3-on-3 practice match could surprise him this much.
"…They're amazing. I kept focusing on Kagami, but even that Hinata…"
"Daichi?"
"Yeah. I thought I more or less understood that Hinata was incredible after watching that middle school match. His athleticism was insane—but Kagami was even more impressive back then, so Hinata always felt overshadowed by him in my mind. But seeing him now… I think I need to rethink that. Trusting someone else 100% isn't something people can just do. Especially when it's someone you had a rivalry with."
Sawamura chuckled.
"I get what Tsukishima meant by 'impossible to understand.' …We really got some incredible guys joining the team."
Sugawara, seeing Sawamura staring into the distance, lightly patted his back.
"You look like you're about to leave everything to us and set off on a journey or something. Pull yourself together, Captain."
"What kind of description is that?"
The match continued.
Hinata and Kageyama were clearly planning to keep using that quick attack.
Even if it was still incomplete. Even if it might fail.
Even so, they would keep pushing forward without hesitation.
"Hmph. You'll just set it to the shrimp again, he'll fail, and if they somehow score, we just need to mark Tanaka-san—…!!"
Tsukishima's calm analysis was blown away by Hinata's sudden charge.
Perhaps it could be called killing intent—Hinata's intensity sent a cold chill down Tsukishima's spine.
He could no longer ignore Hinata.
"Yamaguchi!! You come too!! We'll stop him with two blockers!! Kagami, cover the back!!!"
"!!"
Tsukishima must have felt something from Hinata himself.
Yamaguchi and Tsukishima moved to block together, while Kagami prepared to handle the receive behind them.
And before Hinata rose the large wall in front of him—
Two towering walls stood in his way.
A hateful, massive wall.
But right now, what Hinata could do wasn't challenge the wall head-on.
If he couldn't break through it—then he would evade it.
Hinata's natural speed and spring-like legs allowed him to stop his jump even right before takeoff and change the direction of his run.
With that much momentum, stopping should have put enormous strain on his leg muscles.
But Hinata brushed it off effortlessly and slipped past Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.
If I jump at the same time as taller players and lose in height—
Then I'll reach the peak one centimeter, one millimeter, one second earlier!!
If he did that, then for that single moment—
the highest point would belong to him.
How many times had he imagined what lay beyond that towering wall before him?
"Don't worry, don't worry. Let's start turning things around from here."
"Calm down, Shōyō. It's okay. You'll get the next one. I've got your back—so swing as hard as you want."
"…I'll return this one."
Again and again, he had been stopped.
And each time, a reliable guy pushed him forward from behind. Protected him.
But he didn't want to be protected anymore.
He wanted to fight together, for real.
Maybe he couldn't do it alone.
Maybe people would say he was just relying on others.
But—
If it meant scoring a point.
If it meant he wouldn't be a burden.
Then this could become my greatest weapon…
my secret weapon!
With all his strength, Hinata leapt after a feint.
He left Tsukishima and Yamaguchi—both far taller than him—behind, and sent the ball straight into the court.
Kagami managed to read the course and reached out—
but he was one step too late. The ball brushed his fist and slammed onto the court.
""Alright!!""
Kageyama and Hinata both clenched their fists in triumph.
And their momentum didn't slow down after that.
Kageyama sharpened his senses even further, constantly feeding every movement—of the ball, the blockers, the spiker—into his mind in real time.
He kept capturing Hinata's highest contact point with perfect timing.
Just as Kageyama had said—there were no more mistakes.
After that second face-hit toss, the accuracy had only continued to improve.
"Whoa! They were down by six points, and now it's tied! They caught up!!"
"Both teams are in the twenties now… who's going to take it!?"
The excitement around them kept rising.
After all, they were witnessing incredible plays.
Kagami's receives had been amazing too, and they had fired up the crowd.
But Kageyama and Hinata's quick attack might have been even more astonishing.
Great receives were something people had seen before—on TV, and even within their own team, which had a libero talented enough to be called a genius. So while Kagami's plays were impressive, people could still accept them as the result of his individual ability.
But Kageyama and Hinata were different.
If even one of them were missing, it wouldn't work.
And Kageyama's ultra-precise toss required every piece of information on the court to align perfectly.
Only when all those conditions matched could it succeed.
That was a play worthy of being called a miracle.
"The accuracy of those tosses… it's still increasing. Just how far is he going to take it…?"
People could only stare in amazement at Kageyama's ability.
This was Kageyama fully displaying his power as a setter.
And they could only take their hats off to Hinata for drawing that out of him.
"Haaah… he really endured and waited for that moment, huh… I've never seen someone get hit in the face by a toss before…"
"Seriously. And even after getting hit, he still trusted it and jumped in again. …Well, maybe it's about time we stop being amazed by the Hinata–Kageyama duo."
Sawamura placed a hand on Sugawara's shoulder as he said that.
Sugawara looked like he was almost tearing up.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"They're definitely incredible, and yeah, it surprised the hell out of me. Honestly, it feels impossible to stop. Especially if Tanaka's attack gets mixed in too. …But even so, I just can't imagine him ending here. I've got a feeling he's about to do something."
The one Sawamura was looking at—
was Kagami.
Kageyama's plays had momentarily overshadowed everything. But Sawamura had seen Kagami's expression.
"…He's smiling?"
Kagami was smiling.
Not just smiling—it was almost a radiant smile.
While Tsukishima and Yamaguchi chased desperately, gritting their teeth in frustration, Kagami was smiling.
Of course, it wasn't because he was holding back.
Not at all.
"…He's been like that the whole time."
"Haha. I thought so."
"…And if I borrow Sugawara's words… Kagami's receives also seem to be getting more and more intense."
Kiyoko, who had been silently watching beside Sugawara, said that.
After that quick attack, the first time Kagami let it go, the second time it slammed into the court—
but after that, he kept touching the ball.
Again and again he dove.
Again and again he chased it.
He wiped the sweat from his face.
Just leading a team should already be exhausting, yet he was moving more than anyone else.
If Hinata was the one moving the most on Kageyama's team—
then on Tsukishima's team, Kagami was the one moving the most.
Even when it was painful, even when he was exhausted—
he took one step forward.
And smiled.
"Haha… right. Hinata and Kagami went to the same middle school. Maybe… Kagami's kind of like Hinata's mentor or something?"
"…."
It was true that Hinata and Kageyama's play had stunned everyone and captured all attention.
But even then—
Sawamura and Kiyoko had kept watching Kagami.
Because they kept watching, they noticed.
And then—
Kageyama's team finally took the lead.
21–20.
"Damn it…!"
Tsukishima kept thinking desperately for a strategy, but he couldn't find an answer.
He couldn't ignore Hinata.
If he paid even a little attention to him, he got pulled in.
If he focused entirely on Hinata, Tanaka would break through.
They were completely cornered.
"Yamaguchi. Tsukishima."
In the middle of that, Kagami spoke.
"Sorry. But… can you give me this set?"
Hearing that, Tsukishima turned around.
"What do you mean by th—…!!"
The moment he saw Kagami's face, he felt something similar to the sensation he had when Hinata charged at him earlier.
Kagami should have been the most exhausted person on the team.
Yet he was smiling.
And at the same time, there was an indescribable pressure coming from him.
"For this set… I want Tsukishima to take care of Shōyō. Just keep chasing him somehow. If Tanaka-san gets a free hit, then it can't be helped. But let's at least try."
Let's at least try.
How could such a simple phrase carry so much conviction?
If Tanaka hit freely, it would be difficult not only to receive it, but even to touch it.
Yet both Yamaguchi and Tsukishima nodded.
"Let's do it, Tsukki!"
"Tch… that little shrimp's been running around everywhere and pissing me off anyway."
After confirming that, Kagami once again turned his gaze toward Kageyama and Hinata.
=================================
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Next chapter 18 – 3 vs 3 (3)