Hyakuzawa Yudai had already regained his composure.
Rough on the outside, but delicate on the inside, he wasn't all that different from Asahi-senpai, really.
His two large fists slammed together with a heavy thud.
"Hyakuzawa, you good?" Ukai Keishin immediately asked when he noticed.
But Hyakuzawa lifted his head with unwavering resolve.
"I'm fine, coach!"
"I played terribly in the second half of the last set."
"I couldn't contribute to the team at all."
"But in the second set, I won't let that happen again!"
"O-Oh! Good! Good! Just keep your spirit up!"
Ukai responded with stock encouragement, caught totally off guard by the sudden passion of their two-meter giant.
'He's starting to sound kind of like Hinata…'
'Actually… a lot like Hinata.'
The rest of the team also felt something familiar, until they realized:
Shoyo Hinata was silent.
Even though Karasuno had won the first set, Hinata couldn't shake the feeling of failure.
In the final stretch, his attacks had been repeatedly shut down.
It felt like he had slipped back to that time,
Back when he was weak.
When he had no team, no matches, no setter, no one beside him.
Yukigaoka was always lonely.
The sun that was about to rise was always crushed beneath the blackness before dawn, unable to shine, unable to be seen.
A hand rested gently on his shoulder.
"Again."
Just like the rising sun of Yukigaoka…
That small sun had once illuminated many lives, daily life, practices, matches.
In the darkness before dawn, where no light existed a red lotus began to glow.
Not to brighten the whole world, but because even a tiny light in deep darkness shines unbelievably far, calling to other lights.
Light attracts light.
Light finds light.
And together, they shine, side by side, or individually.
Guren light had drawn to him a young tree.
Hyakuzawa Yudai stepped in front of Hinata.
He said nothing, but his eyes carried one message:
"Again."
The small rays of their light illuminated the snowy path where the sun would rise.
Eventually, those three glowing kids were joined by a small blue sprout, and three more seeds.
Hoshino Katsuri, who still hadn't entered the game, silently sneaked up behind Hinata and Hyakuzawa's dramatic eye-contact moment.
"Secret Taijutsu Art! Forbidden Ninja Technique!"
"Trying to ambush me?! You sneaky Seventh Shadow Member!"
Kageyama only sighed.
"Oi. Don't fold just because you missed a spike. Next set, score more."
Tanaka and Nishinoya hurled encouragement like wildfire.
"Next one's a kill-shot, got it?!"
"YEAH! FULL POWER!!!"
Surrounded by teammates, Hinata's world opened.
He had never been alone.
Never just him and a ball.
[Before you stands a towering wall.]
[What lies beyond it?]
[The view from the top, something I could never reach alone.]
[But if I am not alone…]
"KARASUNO!"
"FIGHT!!"
The stubborn smart kid still refused to shout it himself.
The next set was about to begin.
"Tsukishima."
"…Yeah?"
"You're switching with Asahi."
Tsukishima blinked, confused, but a coach's order is a coach's order.
"…Okay."
Asahi tied his hair back and stepped onto the court.
Before entering, he patted Tsukishima's shoulder.
"I've got this."
Tsukishima answered with only a quiet mm,
then walked to the bench.
Yamaguchi tried to comfort him, saying it was just a tactical adjustment, not his ability,
but he was shut down instantly by Tsukishima's sharp glare.
The second set began.
Coach Nekomata immediately placed Inouka directly opposite Hinata.
Last set, there had only been one rotation where Hinata's super quick was reliably countered.
That was the only reason Karasuno scored during the chase.
This time,
Nekomata wasn't letting Hinata escape.
He was going to shut down the super quick entirely.
But the first one to break Nekoma's defense was not Hinata.
It was Asahi.
The third-year ace returned like a storm.
One heavy spike after another, each one shaking Nekoma's court.
Off the block.
Through the block.
Forcing the reception to fly off.
And Kageyama, sensing momentum, fed Asahi again and again, pulling Nekoma's defense toward him,allowing the other attackers to score freely.
But it didn't last long.
Once Nekoma adjusted, they adapted fast.
Against a power hitter like Asahi, they placed their strongest blocker to seal the straight, forcing him toward the cross-court shot.
On that cross-court angle,stood Nekoma's strongest receiver: Libero, Yaku Morisuke.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria