A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on may 27th, 2022 @ 3:00am

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CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE - ENHANCEMENTS

"SHOYO!"

Rei looked over and spotted Nishinoya running towards them with his arms in the air. "Heya!" Hinata called back.

"Heya." Kageyama greeted. 

"Noya-senpai, hello." Rei also greeted.

"Hey, Kageyama, Shiro." Nishinoya said.

"Hey!" Sugawara said. "Hinata, Kageyama, Shiro! You guys made it back in one piece!"

"Heya, Suga-san."

"Heya."

"Heya, heya." Sugawara smiled widely. "You guys better not have been fighting as soon as you got back." He added towards Kageyama and Hinata.

"Nah, they were already fighting when I brought the key over." Tanaka informed.

"That's way too fast." Sugawara commented.

"Well, I mean... That basically defines them! Right?" Nishinoya questioned, patting the duo on the back as he walked in.

"Kageyama, Shiro, how was the youth training camp?" Tanaka asked.

"Yeah, that! How was the All-Japan?" Nishinoya asked as well.

"The floor wasn't made out of wooden planks." Kageyama replied, causing Rei to deadpan next to him.

"You're talking about the court?" Tanaka said. "How was the volleyball? There were crazy-good guys from all over there, right?"

"Yes. Everyone was really good." Kageyama responded.

"Most of them were super annoying." Rei added on. "Oh, except for Komori-senpai. He's a fantastic libero, Noya-senpai!"

Nishinoya was then seen with a gloomy aura. "Senpai?" He thought, recalling Rei's conversation with Tanaka a few months ago.

"Hey, Shiro. I have a question that's been bothering me lately." Tanaka spoke, getting the first-year's attention. "How come you only use the senpai honorific on Noya?"

"I use it for liberos who I respect and admire. Noya-senpai is the first one I've come across, so that's why." Rei shrugged.

"This 'Komori' is trying to take my junior away!" Nishinoya thought, having a firey look in his eyes as Rei looked at him.

"Huh? Noya-senpai?"

"Hinata, you didn't try to sneak into the All-Japan Youth Camp, did you?" Sugawara asked.

"Well, I, uh..."

"Apparently, he didn't try because he'd get arrested."

"Arrested?" Sugawara repeated as Hinata looked towards Tsukishima's direction with irritation written on his face.

"Tsukishima!"

"He was actually planning to sneak into the Tokyo camp." Tsukishima added on.

"Nice, Shoyo!" Nishinoya complimented.

Sugawara places his hand on top of Tsukishima's head. "Did you grow a little at your camp, too, Tsukishima?" He asked.

"Yeah... I guess..." Tsukishima responded.

"Did you get taller?"

"Are you his aunt or something?" Asahi questioned.

"He'd better not have grown taller in five days." Daichi stated.

"Heya!" Hinata, Kageyama, and Rei bowed a little in greeting.

"Yo."

Hinata then walked forward as he bowed. "I-I'm sorry for all of the trouble I've caused!" He apologized.

"I mean, even if you stayed here, you'd be worthless on your own." Kageyama commented.

"Oh, shut up! You guys don't need to keep reminding me!" Hinata exclaimed.

"He only said it once, Hinata-kun..." Rei mumbled.

"Look at you, acting like a big shot!"

"Tsukki! Did you get taller?" Yamaguchi asked.

"Shut up, Yamaguchi." Tsukishima replied.

"And you'd better not have forgotten those Gungun Yogurts!"

"It sure was quiet for a couple of days..." Narita commented.

"Yeah." Ennoshita agreed.

"Sorry, Tsukki! So hey, how was the training camp?"

"Their fighting makes me feel at ease." Kiyoko claimed.

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Practice eventually began as there was green tape on the net. Asahi threw the ball up into the air as he did his jump serve, causing it to land on the court.

"Nice hit!"

"Yes!" Asahi cheered to himself.

Tanaka did his jump serve next in which Nishinoya received it. "Talk about straightforward!" Nishinoya commented.

"Damn it... He got it so easily." Tanaka scolded himself.

Kinoshita did his jump float serve as Nishinoya missed on receiving it. "Nishinoya-kun couldn't receive it." Takeda commented.

"Nishinoya's not great with overhands." Ukai explained.

"Then couldn't he have just dug the ball like usual?" Takeda questioned.

"Jump floaters are hard to receive because they're so unpredictable. The best way to counter them is to position yourself further forward and catch the ball with an overhand pass." Ukai responded. "There's a good chance that we'll be facing stronger opponents who can use jump floaters. It doesn't hurt to come up with a few ways to counter those."

"Great serve, Kinoshita." Narita complimented.

"Right? So great." Kinoshita agreed.

"I'm gonna stick to floaters." Narita stated.

Yamaguchi went next as he threw the ball up in the air but it went out of the court. "Out." Tsukishima called.

Kageyama was next to serve as he bounced the ball a few times. He throws the ball up in the air and jumps up, hitting the ball as Hinata receives it, getting knocked down in the process as everyone stared in surprise.

Soon enough, it was dark out as practice was over.

"Great job."

"Apparently, it's supposed to snow tonight."

"Ugh, seriously?"

"Hey, Kageyama. What did you mean by I can "jump higher"?" Hinata questioned.

"Come hit some fours with me." Kageyama responded, not giving him a straight answer. "Rei, do you mind receiving?"

"Of course not." Rei replied.

"You guys are tired from your training camps, aren't you? No overworking yourselves." Daichi told them.

"J-Just a little bit, please?" Hinata begged.

"Just a little." Daichi agreed.

"Yes, sir!"

"Your jumps are always just 'boing, boing.'" Kageyama informed.

"Wait, what?"

"But amazing jumps..." Kageyama puts his foot forward. "Are like 'bam.'"

"Basically, your job is to scuttle around." Rei added on bluntly.

"Don't say it like that!" Hinata exclaimed.

"So, like... You sorta jump on a whim like 'boing, boing.'" Kageyama repeated. "So far, they've been doing the trick and I'm sure you're doing your best during matches. But... I know that you can jump higher."

"When you jump, where do you put your weight?" Kageyama then asked.

"Where?" Hinata repeated. "My feet, right?"

"What part of your feet, you dumbass!" Kageyama shouted as Rei ran a hand down his face.

"Well, I never really thought about it!" Hinata shot back.

"Really?! So you were just flying that high without thinking about it, you nitwit?!"

"Wait, why am I getting yelled at?!"

The duo then growled at each other as Rei stepped in between them with a bored look on his face. "I swear, you two fight about the stupidest things." He muttered.

"Huge and stable jumps give you more freedom to react when you're in the air. And when you make those jumps, you hear the sound of your feet kicking off the floor." Kageyama claimed.

"One more time!"

Kageyama sends the ball in the air as Hinata jumped up. "Hey!" Kageyama called out. "Your jump's drifting again!"

Kageyama's shout made Hinata miss the ball as it fell onto the court. "Put all of your weight on the balls of your feet! There's a huge difference when you're actually thinking about that!" Kageyama scolded.

Hinata was about to spike the ball until the three heard a shout. "Go home!" Daichi shouted from the window. Asahi and Sugawara were laughing.

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Snow was on the ground from the night before as Tsukishima spiked the ball Kageyama sent towards him.

"Nice kill!"

"I think... That when Koganegawa was setting for you, you were hitting at a higher spot." Hinata pointed out as Kageyama looked towards Tsukishima's direction.

"I'm jumping like I'm supposed to, thanks." Tsukishima stated.

"Really? Maybe I just imagined it, then." Hinata said.

Soon enough, the practice jerseys were out, getting ready for their practice match with Date Tech. "They should be here any minute." Daichi informed.

"Yeah."

"Asahi-san, you're not scared anymore, are you?" Nishinoya asked.

Asahi gave a thumbs up. "I couldn't ask for better opponents." He answered.

Nishinoya stared at him in awe. "Not to mention, there's something I want to test out." Asahi added on.

"Huh?"

Date Tech were in their track suits as they walked up the snowy path towards Karasuno. They stared in front of the school's entrance as Nakano had a lollipop in his mouth and a blank look on his face.

"Thanks for having us!" Futakuchi shouted out.

"Thanks!"

"I see they're as intimidating as ever..." Sugawara commented as Asahi was sweating with nerves.

Aone was about to point towards Asahi until Futakuchi stopped him. "No locking on." He told him.

"Hinata!" Koganegawa exclaimed.

"Kogane!" Hinata shouted back, his arms raised in the air.

Tsukishima was trying to walk away from the two. "Tsukki!" Koganegawa called his name as Yamaguchi looked back at him in irritation.

"Shiro-chin, I'm gonna crush you this time." Nakano claimed in a bored tone.

"Bring it on, Kano-kun." Rei said.

"Thank you for coming today." Takeda thanked Oiwake, shaking his hand.

"Congratulations on getting into the Spring Tournament. All our boys are pumped today." Oiwake said.

"Thank you! We look forward to playing you!" Takeda told him.

Hinata and Aone bowed to each other. "You'd better not hold back just because it's a practice match." Futakuchi said to Koganegawa.

"Yes, sir! You got it!" He replied.

Kageyama remembered Hinata's words towards Tsukishima as he looked towards Koganegawa with a fiery aura surrounding him.

"Gather 'round!"

Karasuno gathered around their coach. "Date Tech's blocking is definitely the best in the prefecture, probably even on a national level. I heard they've gotten even better since the Spring Tournament prelims. We definitely don't have enough time to get our blocking up to their level." Ukai started to say.

"Listen up. Date Tech's blocking has gotten even better in the last six months. Get familiar with those walls. That way you won't panic when you face similar walls during nationals." Ukai concluded.

"Right!"

STARTING ORDER:

Date Tech.
Team Captain.
Second-Year WS.
Futakuchi.
184 cm.

Date Tech
Second-Year MB.
Aone.
192 cm.

Date Tech.
Second-Year WS.
Obara.
187 cm.

Date Tech
First-Year S.
Koganegawa.
193 cm.

Date Tech.
First-Year MB.
Nakano.
210 cm.

Date Tech.
First-Year MB.
Fukiage.
186 cm.

Date Tech.
First-Year Li.
Sakunami.
166 cm.

DATE TECH.

Karasuno
Team Captain.
Third-Year WS.
Sawamura.
176 cm.

Karasuno
Third-Year WS.
Azumane.
186 cm.

Karasuno.
Second-Year WS.
Tanaka.
178 cm.

Karasuno.
First-Year S.
Kageyama.
181 cm.

Karasuno.
First-Year MB.
Hinata.
164 cm.

Karasuno.
First-Year MB.
Tsukishima.
190 cm.

Karasuno.
First-Year Li.
Oshiro.
172 cm.

KARASUNO.

"Let's play!"

The whistle blew as Date Tech was the first one to serve. "Shiro!" Daichi called out as Rei received the ball.

"Got it!" Rei reassured.

Kageyama got into setting position as Hinata ran forwards. Instead, Kageyama tossed over towards Asahi who jumped up to spike the ball. However, he ended up getting blocked by Koganegawa, Aone, and Futakuchi. 

Rei quickly dived down to save the ball. "Yikes..." Takeda commented. "Our fast back row attack usually gets only one blocker, if any at all. Not to mention, they used Hinata-kun as a decoy..."

Kageyama looked towards Aone, Koganegawa, and Futakuchi. "They pretty much had three blockers." Takeda concluded.

"They all blocked! Talk about lightning-fast reflexes!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Just like Tsukishima during our matches with Shiratorizawa... Great blocks apply a lot of stress not only to the spikers, but to the setters, too." Ukai explained. "For Kageyama, this might be a much harsher game than the one against Shiratorizawa."

"All right!"

"We did it!" Koganegawa cheered.

"Taunt us, will you?" Futakuchi spoke in a bored tone, causing Koganegawa to let out a noise in confusion as the three looked towards Kageyama who said nothing and just walked away.

"Damn it... I was sure they were going to follow Hinata." Kageyama thinks to himself.

"Let's see... The way that Date Tech jumps for their blocks... is read blocking. That's when they jump after seeing the set, right?" Takeda questioned. "And their formation... They use the bunch shift, right?"

"Yeah. Bunch as in "bunch up." For bunch shifting, the blockers bunch in the middle so they can move wherever the opponents might attack, and that they counter it with as many people as possible. But since they are bunched up in the middle, it is harder to counter fast attacks from either end of the court." Ukai explained. "Up until now, we and most of our opponents, have used a spread shift. Spread means to "spread out," so in this formation, the blocker spread out across the whole net. It's not the best formation for fast attacks in the middle, but it's be able to apply at least one blocker to an attack anywhere on the court."

"It sounds like the spread shift would have a higher probability of success. Because they're evenly spread out." Takeda commented.

"Evenly spread out, huh?" Ukai repeated. "True. But when read blockers are experienced with bunch blocking, they're pretty damn scary."

"Daichi-san!"

Daichi received the ball, making it go back into the air as Hinata rushed forwards once more. "Their goal is to always build multiple walls anywhere along the net. That's the bunch read blocking strategy." Ukai concluded.

Hinata tried to spike through Aone and Nakano's block, but the ball ended up landing on the court.

"Nice kill!"

Nakano gritted his teeth as he had a look of frustration on his face. "The pressure you feel when you've got multiple blockers on you is intense." Ukai commented.

The practice match resumed as the whistle blew. Rei looked over at the score.

Date Tech

09

Karasuno

07

"Give it all you've got!" Rei told Tsukishima who was subbing in for him.

"Right." Tsukishima replied.

Hinata served the ball once the whistle blew in which it got received. Koganegawa tossed the ball over towards Aone as both Hinata and Tanaka dived down to receive it. 

Kageyama got into setting position as he immediately felt the pressure. He tossed the ball towards Daichi as Aone and Nakano quickly rushed over to block him.

"Damn! Date Tech's blocks are so damn cool!" Hinata thought.

"They moved to the side so fast!" Sugawara exclaimed.

"Not to mention, two of them bunched up so fast." Kinoshita added on.

"I'm not really surprised." Rei commented, causing Sugawara and Kinoshita to look towards his direction. "Back in our Jindai days, Kano-kun always pissed our opponents off with his blocks. It was really amusing."

"Yeah!" Aone and Nakano cheered.

"Sorry about that." Kageyama apologized to Daichi.

"It was a perfectly fine set." Daichi reassured him.

"Just now, I thought an attack from the right was our best bet. Setting aside if that was actually the best decision or not... The pressure I felt just now definitely affected my actions. Even if it was just a little. Just now, Date Tech's block, actually made me choose anything but the middle." Kageyama thinks to himself.

"Even watching as an amateur, Date Tech's blocks are terrifying." Takeda stated.

"Blockers and setters continue battling even before and after the attack. It's a battle to see who can apply the most pressure." Ukai said.

Kageyama had flashes of the players he met at All-Japan. "This is great. Playing a strong team... feels so good." He thought. Date Tech was currently ahead by 10 points.

"Obara!"

"Got it!" Obara reassured, saving the ball.

"Kogane!"

Koganegawa's eyes widened as he did a setter dump. Nishinoya dived down to receive it, but failed.

"My bad!" Nishinoya apologized. "That was an intense dump!"

"Left!"

"Azumane-san!"

Kageyama tossed the ball over towards Asahi who jumped up to spike, but ended up getting blocked once more.

"My bad!" Asahi exclaimed.

TWEEEET!

"One touch!" Tsukishima called out.

"Huh... I guess Karasuno does have a blocker." Futakuchi commented as Sakunami dived down to save the ball.

"Futakuchi-san!" Koganegawa shouted out.

Futakuchi ran forwards as Kageyama and Tsukishima got ready to block. However, Futakuchi ended up doing a feint.

"Feint!" Tsukishima shouted.

"Rolling... Thunder!" Nishinoya thought as he saved the ball.

"Nice, Nishinoya!" Sugawara praised.

"Nice receive, Noya-senpai!" Rei complimented his senior from the sidelines.

"Nishinoya-san! You're in the way!" Kageyama warned. Everyone on the team gave him a stunned look.

"Huh?!" Nishinoya exclaimed, having an irked expression.

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A/N: Another chapter is completed! Yes, I had to changed things up at the end. Thoughts on Nishinoya being jealous about Komori? Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2718 words.