Adding more types of tosses must be tough for a setter. Even I struggle with varying my spikes or how I jump.
These things don't happen overnight.
But what if we’re not talking overnight—but rather, by the prefectural Spring High qualifiers in November?
Of course, it’ll take effort to get there, but Hina is a hard worker. That much, I’m not worried about. She’s got decent athletic ability, too. Actually, back in elementary school, she was athletic enough to beat high school girls in a footrace—even if Nee-chan isn’t the most athletic person.
Alright, let’s do this, I was thinking—when...
“Hey, Yuuri-chan. I hate to dampen your motivation, but what I said earlier—being able to pull all of that off by November’s Spring High qualifiers, let alone right away—it’s going to be quite a challenge. And it’s not just you. The setter has to train just as much. Probably more than you think. It’s not an easy task, you know? Also, your team runs a two-setter system, right? That means your sister has to practice spiking too. You’re both first-years. You don’t have to master everything this year. Rather than suddenly trying to do it all at once, it’s better to add things little by little.”
That’s what the ikemen senpai said—but that’s only because she doesn’t know Hina.
“It’s alright. Out of all my sisters, Hina-nee is the one who works the hardest. I know that. I’ve seen it!”
It might not make sense for me to say that, considering I supposedly got taken in by the Tachibana family just about a year ago. But I do know that Hina is someone who doesn’t give up when faced with a high wall—she just keeps going.
She’s been compared to Ryou-nee and Mika-nee ever since preschool, and even so, she’s never let it get to her. If we’re talking about the ability to keep pushing with grit and determination, she might be the strongest among us.
“Hmm. Well, you see, this isn’t just a matter of trying hard and making it work.”
“Right, Hina-nee? We can do it, right?”
“Ah, uh…”
…??????
Something’s off with Hina—
SLAP!
Hina slapped her own cheek!
Both cheeks have bright red marks blooming on them—proof that she didn’t hold back.
“At last, Yuu-chan, you’ve made it to my level. Geez, I’ve been waiting, you know?”
“Your level? What do you mean?”
“I mean, we can finally train as equals.”
Huh? Hina’s calling us equals? But we always practice together, and the content hasn’t really—
“Ah, yeah. Sorry. I guess now you’re finally free from having to hold back.”
Now that I think about it, Hina has been playing volleyball with limitations because I was so clumsy. Honestly... sorry about that.
So, while I was at it and looked up at Hina’s face—
“…Hina-nee, didn’t you slap yourself a little too hard? You’ve got tears in your eyes.”
“Yeah… When I realized we could finally play volleyball together, I tried to psych myself up… and I overdid it…”
Seriously. If you’re teary-eyed like that, people might think you’re crying—unless they see the cheek marks.
So then, I was planning to do some spike practice with Hina—and the ikemen senpai joined in too.
“We, the alumni of Tamaki Commercial’s girls’ volleyball team, are here to support students from other schools who might be unfamiliar with how things run, so don’t worry about it.”
That’s what she said. Still as generous as ever.
She handled the ball tossing. Hina tossed the ball mid-air, and I spiked it.
Normally, I’d adjust my steps to a high toss, but this time, I started my run-up when Hina touched the ball.
Rather than spiking a ball dropping from above, I spiked one floating in the air.
…I’d heard it was hard, but I pulled it off pretty easily?
“Wow. You nailed it on the first try.”
That’s what the senpai said, but…
“It wasn’t all that difficult.”
“Ah, no. I wasn’t talking about you. Sure, it’s impressive that you spiked it so smoothly—but what’s even more impressive is your sister. At first, I thought the height wouldn’t match…”
…???
“Listen, Yuuri-chan. Having you hit anything other than an open toss puts pressure on the setter. Your hitting point is about 80 centimeters higher than the average high school girl’s.
That in itself is amazing, but it makes the setter’s job a lot harder. With open attacks, you could just toss it high and that’s it—but for second tempo or first tempo attacks, the toss has to come first, meaning the setter has to adjust the toss height by 80 centimeters just for you.
Normally, there isn’t such a big height difference between players on a team. But you’re special. If you thought it wasn’t difficult just now, that’s because your sister adjusted her toss perfectly for you.”
“That’s nothing special. It’s natural for an older sister to look after her little sister.”
Despite the compliment from senpai, Hina kept a straight face. But her nose twitched—she was clearly happy. What a simple girl.
“Well, to be honest, that only worked because the ball came back high with a perfect A-pass. If it had come back lower, it wouldn’t have worked. So, Yuu-chan, if you want to spike like that off my toss, make sure to return the ball high, even if it’s a bit off.”
Hmm…
Hina’s making requests about my receives now. I’d like her to deal with a few off ones, but—
Ah, I get it now.
This is what she meant by equals.
Up to now, Hina would cover for my sloppy receives. But from now on, she’s going to start asking for what she needs too.
After that, we practiced second tempo spikes—and amazingly, we didn’t miss the timing even once.
According to the ikemen senpai, this is actually really impressive (on Hina’s part).
We got carried away and decided to try first tempo—basically quick attacks—but this time…
“Daaah! Too early! You came in too fast!”
“You’re one to talk, Hina-nee! That toss was too high! I can’t jump that much!”
It completely fell apart.
Not just my approach timing—Hina’s tosses also became a lot less accurate.
But neither of us gave up easily.
As for the approach timing, the senpai who’d been watching from the side said,
“Yuuri-chan, I’ll clap my hands. When you hear the sound, start your approach.”
With that advice, things started to click.
As for the tosses—
“Hina-nee, again! I’ll match the timing, so you just get the toss right!”
“Yuu-chan, here I go. Ichikawa-san, please!”
And then, we just kept practicing. I think we spent a good chunk of time just on first tempo.
Thanks to that, we somehow managed to get the quick attack down—
…But not exactly.
“That’s not quite it. That worked because it was practice. In a real match, the ball won’t be returned that cleanly to the setter, and with other players around, you won’t get to make a perfect approach.”
“Unlike serving, spiking is the least likely to go as practiced. You’ve got the receive and the toss before it, and those steps are never 100% in practice. That’s why I think spike practice is the most important kind.”
Ugh...
No wonder Hina never encouraged me to try this before. It’s definitely not easy to pick up.
But doing this together with Hina doesn’t feel bad at all.
When I glanced over at her, she was looking at me too—with a big smile.
We were probably thinking the same thing.
I’m really glad I chose the same high school as Hina. Without her, I doubt my high school life would feel this fulfilling.
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