Haikyuu - I Am A Different Hinata!

"I'm glad you all came!" said Ukai.

"Well, not all of us could make it," said Shimada, a guy with glasses and parted hair.

"That's alright, it's not easy to gather everyone at short notice on a random weekday, but you'll need people to complete the team," said Ukai.

"Well, let's see... Hey you, I'll need you to play on the neighborhood team," said Ukai while approaching Nishinoya.

"Wait, he can't..." said Daichi reluctantly.

"Is he injured or having some problem?" questioned Ukai.

"I can do it..." said Nishinoya as he walked to the other side of the court.

Hinata was warming up in front of the gym door when he saw Asahi walking nearby.

"Look, it's Asahi! Are you coming to play with us?" said Hinata, waving at Asahi who was startled when he realized he was being seen.

"WHAT? Who does this guy think he is showing up late! We still need players, GO WARM UP NOW!" shouted Ukai, making Asahi obey his call and subsequently enter the gym with his head down, though leaving most members excited.

"Right, now I need a setter... I can't play because I have to observe the game," he pondered.

"HEY! I need a setter from you guys!" said Ukai looking at the Karasuno team.

"I'll go!" said Sugawara.

"Wait! If you're doing this so I can play for the team, I refuse!" said Kageyama.

"Since you joined the club, I feel like I've been stagnating and even relieved to be hiding behind your abilities, so I think I need to do this and also have the chance to set for Asahi again," said Sugawara in a serious tone while looking at Asahi.

The match begins with Shimada, a blonde guy from the neighborhood team serving, making the ball go towards Hinata who easily receives it.

"Hinata, nice receive!" said Kageyama going towards the spot where the ball would fall, and after analyzing his team, he decides to set to Hinata who, after receiving, had already prepared to jump from the back of the court.

The figure of Hinata could be seen being launched into the sky with a powerful jump that seemed to float in the air while watching Kageyama's set coming his way as a triple block from Asahi, Takinoue, and Mori tried to stop him. He hit the ball hard enough to break through the block between Asahi and Takinoue's hands and hit the floor before Nishinoya could receive it.

1-0 Karasuno

"Wow, what a powerful spike! This orange-haired guy is really good! He easily got through the triple block," said Ukai.

"Yes, Hinata was a pleasant surprise for our team, he's just a freshman but already plays at a high level!" said Takeda.

"The game barely started and he's already showing off..." complained Tanaka.

"Let him be, if we're going to face Asahi, Sugawara, and Nishinoya, we have to give it our all!" said Daichi.

"Wow! This kid isn't just tall, he can jump really high too!" said Takinoue.

"I had no idea he was this good..." said Asahi observing Hinata's point.

"Yes! He'll be our biggest challenge in this match! We'll need you more than ever, Nishinoya," said Sugawara.

"LEAVE IT TO ME!" shouted Nishinoya.

In the next attack, Tsukishima served and Nishinoya easily received it, directing the pass to Sugawara who decided to do a quick set to Takinoue who managed to spike skillfully before any block could be formed.

"Hey, nice touch!" said Takinoue while giving a thumbs up to Sugawara.

"Thank you very much!" he said, looking quite happy.

Now it was Takinoue's turn who served powerfully, but Daichi managed to receive it successfully, and then Kageyama decided to set to Tanaka who was in position two. When he jumped, he faced a double block where he tried to hit off Asahi's fingertips, but it didn't come out with much power and left an easy ball for the Karasuno Neighborhood Association team's defense.

"Send it to me!" said Asahi who was preparing to jump and receive, and when faced with a triple block from Tsukishima, Kageyama, and Tanaka, after hitting the ball trying to break through the block, he hit Kageyama's hands and the ball returned to his own court. The ball seemed like it would touch the ground, however, at the last second, Nishinoya jumped and put his hand between the floor and the ball to prevent the opposing team's point.

"Tsk..." said Asahi in a low tone and tense voice until he heard Nishinoya's voice in the background.

"I'LL STOP THEM FROM SCORING, SO ASK FOR THE BALL AGAIN, ACE!!" shouted Nishinoya.

"Hey! Sugawara, SEND ANOTHER ONE TO HIM!" shouted Kageyama.

"Are you perhaps a sadist, King?" provoked Tsukishima.

After Sugawara positioned himself under where the ball would fall, he prepared to set.

"Hey, over here!" Shimada called for a set.

"Right..." said Sugawara who when decided to set to Shimada looked at Asahi.

"SUGA!!! ONE MORE!!" pleaded Asahi who after receiving the set jumped more confident than ever and with a powerful spike managed to overcome the triple block and make the ball hit the ground with force.

"Nice, Asahi! You too, Nishinoya!" said Sugawara.

"It was a great set and a nice receive," said Asahi seeming more relieved and the atmosphere between them lighter.

"Oh, finally the Ace showed up!" said Hinata observing the scene.

"What's wrong? Are you intimidated?" questioned Kageyama.

"No, it just makes me think the game will be more fun, but I still don't think I'll lose," said Hinata.

"Such confidence... I guess you and the King do make a good pair indeed," provoked Tsukishima laughing.

The game continued with both teams trading points, until the moment when the score was 7-7, Hinata went to the serving position.

"Right! It's his time!" said Nishinoya energetically.

"Why do you all seem tense just because he's going to serve?" asked Takinoue.

"Wait for his serve and you'll understand..." said Sugawara.

Hinata jumped and executed his powerful serve that ended up going to the back left of the court which made Nishinoya have to jump and do his Rolling Thunder which despite managing to touch the ball with his hand ended up flying out of bounds.

"This kid is really something, that was brutal!" said Takinoue.

"Certainly! But I'll stop him next time!" said Nishinoya who saw the ball coming in his direction at high speed after Hinata's serve. He positioned himself to receive and as soon as the ball touched his arms it gained height and went towards the side of the court. Sugawara observed the ball's trajectory and jumped to make a desperate back set near the net where Asahi was, who gave his all to spike the ball without touching the net and managed to hit the ball off the fingertips of the triple block they received and score a difficult point.

"Come on, that's it!" shouted Nishinoya.

"That was a great effort!" said Asahi to Sugawara.

"You too! You managed to score with that bad set!" said Sugawara.

"We have a first-year with a powerful serve and equally powerful spikes and can receive well, seems like unlimited potential! Plus we have a skilled Ace, an extremely talented setter and another reliable one, as well as a captain who seems to have the team in hand! Why hadn't you told me that the Karasuno team was so strong and had so much potential," said Ukai while patting Takeda's back.

"I'm tired of telling you this, and don't forget about Tanaka who is also a good player and the other first-years," said Takeda sighing.

It was Shimada's turn to serve again.

"Looks like that rookie has a powerful serve but I can do something interesting too," said Shimada after executing a float serve that hit the net and then fell on Karasuno's floor.

"That was cool!" thought Yamaguchi.

As time passed in Karasuno's volleyball club gym, the game continued with the Karasuno Neighborhood Association team being very solid where their veteran players could score and block without much difficulty against the Karasuno team, and along with a confident Asahi receiving Sugawara's sets and trusting in Nishinoya's receives, they played a tough game against the Karasuno team who could also score with most of their players, but the star of the game was Hinata who dominated the game managing to score in all ways and secured the 2-0 victory, with scores of 25-21 and 25-23.

"Phew... we really lost," said Yukinari Mori.

"But at least we relived our youth! How long has it been since you heard things like: Ask for the ball! Ace!" said Shimada making Nishinoya embarrassed.

"Anyway, I didn't expect we would lose, this just shows that you're on the right path and will reach wherever you want to go!" said Takinoue saying goodbye along with the rest of his team members. Inside the gym, Coach Ukai was preparing for a speech.

"Well, I liked what I saw... but know that you still have a lot to improve and aren't ready yet, starting tomorrow you'll have rigorous training! Now go stretch!" he said.

"Right! Let's do this!" said Daichi.

"Wow, Hinata played really well this match, like a true Ace!" said Tsukishima seeming to plot something.

"What do you mean, Ace?! Our Ace is Asahi!" said Hinata threatening Tsukishima with his intimidating face.

"Hey, Tanaka! Stop that," said Daichi trying to calm the situation until the moment Hinata went to Asahi who was stretching but had heard the discussion.

"Asahi," called Hinata.

"Yes?" he said not seeming very comfortable with the discussion that was happening.

"I want you to know that for me you're the Ace because it's you that the veterans trust with all their hearts, but it's not like I don't want to be the Ace or anything because my goal is to be the best!" said Hinata.

"You don't need to say anything! I feel good that there's a 'lion cub' lurking waiting to take my position... it makes me want to improve even more, so let's do this together as teammates!" said Asahi while squeezing the side of his neck.

"Right!" said Hinata.

After the conversation between Hinata and Asahi, the club members gathered in a circle to end practice.

Note: I normally don't like to use scenes exactly as they are in the anime but this Asahi moment for me is really awesome and important to the plot so there was no way not to include it...