"Well, as you all already know, tomorrow we'll be facing Shiratorizawa in the finals. In the last two years, when Aoba Johsai and Oikawa faced them in the finals, they couldn't win a single time. This situation we're in—going through the entire tournament without losing a set—is something natural for them because they're always in this position. They have Ushijima, but the rest of the team is also at an elite level, so no one can say they don't deserve the title of best in the prefecture!" Ukai said, making the atmosphere tense.
"Well, not many people believe we can win, but we do, so we have to prepare well. Our assistant took notes on a lot of things you need to know about Shiratorizawa," Ukai said, pointing to Shimizu.
"As expected from Kiyoko-san!" Nishinoya said excitedly.
"Yes! We can always count on her!" Tanaka added.
"That's amazing, Shimizu!" Daichi said.
"It's nothing…" Shimizu replied, looking away.
"Now that you have the information, read through it. But I'll say in advance that, as you might imagine, their team is very focused on Ushijima. They love using that high set far from the net that we sometimes use for Hinata, but they do it more frequently to take advantage of his powerful spikes. Before Hinata, there was no one who could even come close to that kind of power, but now we have power too, and we don't rely solely on Hinata," Ukai concluded.
After the Karasuno players finished reading the notes prepared by Shimizu, Ukai dismissed them.
"Hey! Kageyama…" Hinata called out.
"What?" Kageyama asked, turning around.
"I think we should try practicing that super quick set… I feel like if we don't have that ready for the match, our chances of winning will be really low…" Hinata said with a serious expression.
"I was thinking the same thing… I don't mind staying late, so let's do it!" Kageyama responded.
"If you're staying late to train, you'll probably need someone to toss the balls…" Shimizu, who had overheard their conversation, said.
"Can you help us, Shimizu-san?" Hinata asked.
"Of course!" Shimizu nodded in confirmation.
Hinata and Kageyama got ready to try their super quick attack.
"Let's do this," Hinata said, starting to run.
"Alright," Shimizu said as she tossed the ball toward Kageyama. Before the ball even touched his fingers, Kageyama saw Hinata already in the air and, with absurd precision, sent the ball straight to Hinata's right hand. In the blink of an eye, Hinata spiked it straight down to the court floor.
"Nice!" Kageyama cheered, clenching his fists.
"It worked this time! I think we should try ten times and see what our success rate is," Hinata said.
"Let's do it," Kageyama replied as he made the same set for Hinata nine more times.
"Hmm… We managed to land eight out of ten. It's not perfect, but I think it's good enough. Though, if I tried doing this with my left hand, my accuracy would drop drastically," Hinata said.
"I don't think you'll need to. This attack is already strong as it is, and it's getting really late—we need to head home," Kageyama said.
"Alright! Thank you so much for your help, Shimizu-san," Hinata said.
"Thanks!" Kageyama added, bowing slightly.
"It was nothing… See you later," Shimizu said as she walked away.
After getting home, Hinata greeted his mom and sister, quickly ate dinner, and went straight to bed. The next day, he woke up, ate an apple, took a shower, and headed to school to catch the bus with the rest of the Karasuno team.
"Alright, everyone, get on the buses!" Takeda called out, gathering the team for their trip to the Sendai City Gymnasium. Upon arrival, the Karasuno members stepped off the bus.
"It was really unexpected for Karasuno to make it to the finals, but after they beat Date Tech and Seijoh without losing a single set, everyone knew they'd win the semifinals," a guy said in a group of friends.
"Yeah, this is going to be a really interesting match. It's a battle of the undefeated—one team that's always been a powerhouse and the other rising from the ashes. Definitely a great story," another guy said, smiling.
"Speaking of them…" another person said, noticing the Karasuno players walking toward the gym entrance.
"Sawamura!" Michimiya called out, approaching them.
"Oh, Michimiya… You guys actually came!" Daichi said as the rest of the Karasuno members stepped aside to give them some privacy and entered the gym.
"There are so many people here!" Tanaka said, looking impressed.
"Ryu, this isn't the time to get nervous… We need to stand out!" Nishinoya said.
"Did you see? The two Aces from both teams are pretty good-looking…" a girl passing by commented.
"See?! Hinata's already winning over their fans… We need to stand out too, so we can win over some girls!" Nishinoya shouted, grabbing Tanaka's shoulders with both hands.
"You're right! I'm going to play my best in this match and become a hero!" Tanaka shouted.
"Ryu?" A female voice called from behind Tanaka.
"Kanoka-chan?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Tanaka exclaimed in shock.
"Well, I heard your team was playing in the finals today, so I came to cheer for you," Kanoka said shyly, accompanied by another girl.
"And who are you?" Tanaka asked, pointing at the other girl.
"I'm Maiko Yonezawa, nice to meet you!" she introduced herself.
"Oh, I'm Ryunosuke Tanaka, and this is Yu Nishinoya," Tanaka said, pointing at Nishinoya.
"…" Nishinoya didn't respond, frozen in place, staring intensely at Yonezawa.
"Noya-san, Noya-san, NOYA-SAN!" Tanaka shouted after multiple failed attempts to snap Nishinoya out of his trance.
"Oh, NICE TO MEET YOU!" Nishinoya suddenly burst out energetically.
"Anyway, thanks a lot for coming to cheer for us! But we have to go… Our teammates already went ahead," Tanaka said.
"Alright…" Kanoka replied shyly.
"Hey! Ryu, change of plans! You have to introduce me to that girl!" Nishinoya said.
"Kanoka-chan?!" Tanaka asked, surprised.
"No, the other one!" Nishinoya corrected.
"Well, I'll see what I can do for you," Tanaka said, smiling.
"That's it… I'm playing this match to impress that girl!" Nishinoya declared, now standing near his teammates on the court.
"What girl?" Daichi asked, sitting on the floor as he sorted through his things.
"A girl he just met!" Tanaka answered.
"Oh, another love at first sight? Good luck, Nishinoya!" Sugawara said.