Chapter Text
Sawamura Daichi is proud of his team.
His head has been playing back that final point against Shiratorizawa over and over and over. Again and again, the flock of Karasuno players soar to the air in unison, Kageyama’s toss leaping – with pinpoint accuracy, like it’s destiny – into Hinata’s hand, who sinks the spike that ends it all. The ecstasy still hasn’t left his fingertips.
Of course, this doesn’t mean in the slightest that he, or anyone on his team, can lay back complacently. It is for this exact reason that he’s just walked out of the locker room into the gym, freshly changed into his black and orange kit. The lively stomping of shoes on gym floor follows closely behind. He inhales. The air is cool. He smiles. He can beat whoever he’ll be playing against today. To be honest, it feels like Karasuno could take anyone on right now.
‘Hey, Kageyama, bet you an ice cream that I can dunk a volleyball into the basketball hoop with my eyes closed!’
‘No way you could ever do that, you goddamn dumbass!’
He exhales deeply. Well, as long as they don’t leave their brains at home. He turns his head and his heart sinks. Hinata is already mid-jump. He flies through the air, volleyball held in both hands high above in preparation for the majestic dunk –
‘Gwah!’ His forehead clangs against the backboard, having jumped a bit too far right. He falls straight onto his back. The ball sadly bounces once, twice and thrice next to him. Daichi blinks. …Did he really just see that? This must be the new damn speed record for doing something idiotic during practice, and that’s saying something. ‘Ow…’ Hinata rubs his head and they lock eyes. Hinata’s wide-eyed gaze makes Daichi absolutely sure he has his stern captain face on.
He strides up to stand over the little shrimp. ‘Stop fooling around! We have a national tournament coming up – what were you going to do if you actually hurt yourself?’
Hinata looks down. ‘Sorry, captain…’
‘Oh my lord,’ Tsukishima snickers somewhere behind him. ‘That’s the most spectacular way to lose an ice cream I have seen in a long while.’ Daichi offers a hand to the splayed out Hinata, who pulls himself up. He sighs.
‘Looks like we’re in tip top shape for today’s match,’ Suga pipes up, appearing beside him.
‘Don’t even say that,’ Daichi groans. ‘The visiting team – Yuuei, I think they’re called – they should be here in a while. I just hope our resident airheads can collect themselves before then.’ He shoots a glance at Hinata, who looks away.
‘Yeah, you wild animal, get it together,’ Tanaka barks.
‘Tanaka, you really can’t say anything in that regard.’
‘Well, you know what, Ennoshita? Even if it’s true ya shouldn’t say it!’
It’s at this point that his saviour, Coach Ukai, comes into view. ‘Alright, everybody, before we start practice, bring it in!’ Daichi walks over, the rest of them following suit. They gather in a semicircle around him.
Coach Ukai clears his throat. ‘So, about our practice match. They’re on their way, and they should be here in an hour or so.’ Hinata shoots his hand up.
‘Ooh! Are they good? Are they like Shiratorizawa? Or like Nekoma?’
‘I think he was just about to get to that, Hinata…’ Asahi says. Bless you, Asahi.
‘That’s right.’ The coach folds his arms. ‘So, Yuuei High School. They have also qualified for the National Spring Tournament.’ A surge passes through Daichi. He knew it in the back of his mind already, but hearing it loud and clear fills him with jitters. These guys are National-level, on the same standard as Nekoma and Fukurodani. ‘Our surprise win in the qualifiers has gotten some attention, which is why this team from a different prefecture wants to practice with us.’ A smirk slides onto the coach’s face.
‘They’re on the opposite side of the bracket to us, so we’d only meet them in the finals.’ Finals! He’s pretty sure Suga gasped from beside him too. He just casually mentioned going to the National finals. He dropped the F-bomb, so to speak. ‘Even so! Learn as much as you can from this team, and learn about them as well, since you might go up against them in a real game.'
‘Yes, Coach!’
‘From what I’ve been able to gather, Yuuei High is a team that likes to put pressure on their opponents right out the gate with a robust and flexible offence. To enable this, they run a six-two formation.’
‘As in, two setters?’ Tanaka says. ‘Like what we do when we put Suga in?’
‘Yes and no. We put in Sugawara as a pinch server to replace our middle blocker in the back, but they have two setters on the court at all times. Instead of having a wing spiker opposite the setter, they have another setter.’
‘That means that their setters must also be decent spikers,’ Tsukishima says.
‘Exactly. The back row setter comes up to set, which means that the front row setter functions as a hitter. Of course, the formation is only worth using if your setters are versatile. However, if they are, no matter what, you’ll always have three front row spikers ready to hit.’
‘Tch. That sounds painful to deal with.’
The coach bellows out a laugh. ‘I bet that’s what they’re saying about us! When it comes to ridiculous attacks, we’re hard to beat. This is a practice match, so go all out! Even if they poke holes in our defence, if we respond in kind we can deal with them. So, with that being said, give them everything you got!’
‘YES, COACH!’ A smile tugs itself onto Daichi’s face. This is going to be a good one.