It was beginning to get dark, and Karasuno's practice was about to start. Hinata had already arrived along with Kageyama, and they began their stretches.
"Here starts another training arc, but I've already learned my lesson from the match against Shiratorizawa... I also need to approach my teammates during this training and try to help them..." Hinata thought.
"What are you thinking about with that dumb look on your face?" Kageyama asked, still stretching while sitting on the floor.
"It's nothing... by the way, I made some changes to my spiking mechanics, so I'll need your help..." Hinata said, his hands on his chin, looking thoughtful.
"What do you mean? What are you trying to say?" Kageyama asked, now stopping his stretches and paying attention to Hinata.
"So, basically, I used a straight arm swing mechanic that had a specific timing to hit the ball at a certain point, but now I've switched to something called a circular swing. I feel like I can hit with more power, but I'm still not used to the timing," Hinata explained.
"So, you're saying that in less than a day, you went from hitting super-quick sets from the back of the court to missing simple attacks..." Kageyama said in a dark tone, a vein popping on his forehead, his irritation clear.
"Yeah, but it's for the greater good!" Hinata said, laughing.
"Tsk! Well, there's nothing to do but improve. Let's get to it!" Kageyama grumbled, grabbing a ball and preparing to set.
"Alright, go ahead!" Hinata said, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Kageyama sending the ball his way. He jumped, executing the circular motion, trying to hit the ball, but he only grazed it, and the ball fell on their own side of the court.
"THIS IS AMAZING! EVEN WHEN I MISS, I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO CRUSH THE BALL WITH MY SPIKE, AND I CAN FEEL THE IMPACT WHEN I SWING THROUGH THE AIR!" Hinata said, smiling even though he failed to hit the attack.
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU JUST MISSED THE SPIKE IN A REALLY UGLY WAY!" Kageyama complained.
"Alright, send me another one!" Hinata requested, still smiling and seeming to be having fun.
"Fine..." Kageyama sighed, setting another ball to Hinata, who jumped again and repeated the motion, resulting in the same outcome—the ball slightly deflected, spinning and falling back on their side of the court.
"Oh, seeing Hinata miss a spike like that isn't common..." Daichi said as he entered the gym along with the rest of the team.
"Are you already training that circular swing thing Ukai told us about earlier?" Tanaka asked, walking closer.
"Ukai-san, you told them?" Hinata asked, staring at Ukai.
"Yeah, to save time, I explained the basics of what you're trying to do..." Ukai replied.
"But it's not just Hinata who wants to try something different! Ryu, after practice, I want you to help me by spiking some of my sets!" Nishinoya said confidently.
"You want to do sets?" Kageyama asked, his eyes narrowing at Nishinoya.
"Yeah! I want that weapon in my arsenal!" Nishinoya replied energetically.
"Man, I also need new weapons... I didn't feel very useful in those matches in Tokyo, and in a few days, we're going back there..." Asahi sighed.
"Worse, I feel the same way, Asahi-san!" Tanaka responded.
"Well, we can come up with a development plan for each of us. We just need to think about what we need!" Hinata said, grabbing Ukai's whiteboard and a marker.
"Ukai-san, what we know is that, as a general rule, it would be good for all of us to improve our blocking, especially Tsukishima, since he has the best read on attacks out of all of us, right?" Hinata said, preparing to write on the board.
"Correct," Ukai replied.
"As for blocking, from what I remember, Tsukishima is going to learn a lot about blocking from Kuroo in a few days, so I think that can wait..." Hinata thought.
"Now, about you, Asahi-san!" Hinata said, pointing the marker at Asahi.
"Me?" Asahi asked, pointing at himself.
"Even though you're not a bad blocker, your coordination with Kageyama on quicks is really good. And from what I remember, you were really impressed and paid a lot of attention to his timing difference attacks. Why not try to learn how to do that?" Hinata asked.
"Well, I can try, but I don't think it'll be that easy..." Asahi replied.
"We still have time, and when we go back to Tokyo, you can observe Kuroo even more and maybe ask for tips..." Hinata said, writing Asahi's name and his next focus on the board.
"As for Nishinoya-san, he already said what he wants to do, so he just needs to focus on that!" Hinata said, giving Nishinoya a thumbs-up.
"As for the rest of us, I think we're doing fine and don't need to focus on anything else!" Daichi said.
"Wait, what about me?" Tanaka protested.
"Let me think!" Hinata replied, putting his hand on his chin and closing his eyes slightly.
"If I remember correctly, Tanaka learns to use his Straight Spike and Inner Cross, with the latter being really important for his performance at nationals. I think I should just explain those moves to him..." Hinata thought, opening his eyes.
"Why not try an attack where you fake a cross shot but end up hitting straight?" Hinata asked.
"Or maybe a cross shot but at a sharper angle, making the ball land near the line separating the defense and attack zones..." Hinata said, trying to remember how Tanaka's attacks worked in the anime.
"Hmm... that sounds interesting. Noya, when you're spiking my sets, I'll work on that!" Tanaka said, clenching his fists, looking determined.
"Well, I think that's everything!" Hinata said, finishing writing the training plan for each member of Karasuno on the board.