For several turns, Kageyama still hadn't set to Jin. Not because there wasn't a chance, but because he was waiting. To pull off that 'double speed' quick, he needed the right moment.
Jin didn't push it. Even without a set, he was everywhere, predicting, reading, putting up walls at the net. In just three points, he had already stuffed Asahi once and shut him down too.
Hinata, meanwhile, was flying free, running his crazy quicks and riling up the crowd.
From the sideline, Coach Ukai muttered to himself. "That libero's a monster. The captain and the setter kid stand out too. Serving's shaky on the first-years, but the setter's got bounce.
"The beard and the bald one hit the hardest. That tiny first-year with the monster quick is no joke either. Blocking? The tall glasses and that silver-haired kid both stand out.
"But that silver-haired one tall, sure, but he hasn't spiked once. Maybe he can't. Maybe he's just a defensive type."
Takeda-sensei and Kiyoko, listening nearby, glanced at each other. Kiyoko smiled faintly. "That silver-haired kid… his name's Jin. He's no defensive player, Coach. Just watch."
Sure enough, rotation brought Jin to the service line.
"Everyone, stay deeper," Sugawara warned. Even the alumni shuffled back. If Sugawara was giving instructions, there had to be a reason.
"Can that kid serve too?" Ukai muttered.
Jin tossed the ball. A three-step run, jump, and-
*BOOM! BOOM!*
Two thunderclaps slammed the court. The serves knifed into Nishinoya and Mori's feet before they even reacted. The crowd gasped.
Ukai's jaw dropped. "That speed, those spin! That's insane!"
In high school, almost no one could add that kind of spin to a jump serve. But Jin had.
Mori Yukinari tried to brush it off, steadying his team. "It's fine, just pick up the next one." But his face said otherwise, he wasn't confident at all.
Asahi got back too, covering the deep corner.
Jin caught the next ball, twirled it once. "Feel good today. Let's up the spin."
The toss-strike-another bomb. The ball bent off-course midair and crashed straight at Mori Yukinari. He barely receive it up, but the spin was vicious. The rebound shot right back over.
"Chance ball!" Tanaka yelled, passing it to Kageyama.
But before Kageyama could even think, he felt it, Jin's fiery stare burning from the back row.
"Tch… guess we're doing it," Kageyama muttered. He snapped his wrists and fired a set faster than anything he'd ever tried, the ball streaking to the far right like a bullet.
Coaach Ukai's eyes bulged. "What kind of set is that?! You think you're spiking it yourself? There's no way anyone-"
*CRACK!*
A shadow flew into the air. No one saw him move. Even Kageyama blinked in shock, Jin had gotten there. His full swing detonated, the smash slamming into the floor like lightning.
The sound silenced the gym.
Jin landed, grinning ear to ear. "Not bad, talented setter. That speed, spiking at full throttle feels amazing." He stretched lazily, as if he hadn't just torn the gym in half.
Coach Ukai could only stare, dazed and thought what he just said. "…Can't do a spike? That kid, he spikes better than anyone here."