Haikyu: Nah, I'd Adapt!

"Hmm, let's see..."

Keishin muttered, leaning forward with his arms crossed as the game began. The Karasuno Neighborhood Association opened with a straightforward serve. 

Daichi stepped up toward the ball and received it perfectly, sending it to Kageyama.

"Tsuna-san!"

Hearing Kageyama's shout, Tsuna moved sharply and decisively toward the net where the ball was coming.

"Yosh! Let's see what you've got, kiddo!"

Takinoue shouted with a grin. Shimada followed closely behind him, both alumni leaping to form a block.

The shout was meaningless to Tsuna. His eyes locked onto the ball, floating perfectly into his strike zone.

With a powerful leap, he swung his arm.

The instant his hand connected with the ball, a deafening boom echoed through the gym, silencing any chatter.

The spike was a missile, hissing through the air with such force that both Takinoue and Shimada felt the impact in their chests.

"Shit…"

Takinoue muttered as he winced, his hands stinging from the brief but intense contact with the ball. It blasted through their block like it wasn't even there.

The ball streaked toward the back of the court, where Asahi stood.

"...!"

His eyes widened in the split second it took for the ball to reach him, but his body refused to move.

It slammed into the floor just inches from his feet, the thud reverberating through the gym.

Asahi stared at the ball as it bounced away quietly. Slowly, he lifted his gaze toward Tsuna.

There was no mistaking it—that spike had been aimed at him.

"..."

Asahi's breath caught in his throat, his hands instinctively gripping his shorts as he gulped.

'That left… It's ridiculous… Wait.'

A thought struck him, and his brows furrowed.

'Huh?'

His gaze darted to Tsuna's arm, his mind racing as realization dawned.

"What...?"

The word escaped Asahi's lips in a hoarse whisper. His jaw hung open as he stared at Tsuna in disbelief.

"Holy shit, is this not just a few seconds into the game?"

Takinoue's voice broke the stunned silence with disbelief etched across his face. Beside him, Shimada adjusted his glasses, "I guess... being young has its perks..."

The other alumni gave wry smiles in response. They hadn't expected the game to start so intensely.

Practice matches usually began with lighthearted energy, giving everyone time to settle in.

Yet, Tsuna's explosive spike had turned the atmosphere heavy in an instant.

On the sidelines...

Keishin leaned forward slightly, "Hmm... Why do I feel like he's holding back, though?"

The spike had been powerful—undeniably so—but something about the execution seemed off to him. The initial leap and arm swing had been decisive, yet the release at the end felt ever-so-slightly restrained.

"Ukai-kun, you didn't know?"

Takeda caught Keishin's murmur as he adjusted his glasses. Keishin blinked, turning toward him, and asked, "Huh? Know what?"

"I thought you'd know this since you're familiar with Tsuna-kun's father," Takeda said. He was perplexed by Keishin's response as he explained, "Tsuna-kun is actually right-handed."

"...?"

For a moment, silence hung between them. Keishin stared at Takeda, waiting for him to laugh or admit it was a joke.

When nothing came, Keishin's brow furrowed deeply, "...You think this is a joke?"

"No, I'm serious!"

"That's ridiculous..." Keishin rolled his eyes, "You don't just use your non-dominant hand like that unless you're ambidextrous—and that's, what, 1% of the population? Maybe less?"

"Eh? Y-you really don't know, huh?"

Takeda's voice faltered as he stared at Keishin.

For someone who seemed so well-connected to Tsuna's family, the coach's cluelessness left him speechless.

"Oh, wait..."

Keishin suddenly froze mid-thought.

He recalled a conversation he had with Ichiro, Tsuna's dad, a while back. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he muttered, "Aniki did say something once… about his kid getting into an accident… breaking his hand or something..."

"Hold up... Broke his hand...?"

The words slipped out of Keishin's mouth before he even processed them. His eyes widened in disbelief as he whipped his gaze back toward Tsuna at the court.

"What the fuck? How is that even possible!?"

Almost shouting, Keishin exclaimed in shock.

"What a noisy coach..."

Tsuna mumbled, rolling his eyes at the commotion Keishin caused.

Keishin pointed an accusatory finger at Tsuna while sputtering incoherent phrases, which made him sigh and almost groan in response as he muttered, "Maybe I should've just let him stay unemployed…"

Meanwhile, the game pressed on with intensity. Both teams displayed strong starts, rallying back and forth.

'Looks like I'm still underestimating what Aniki told me...'

Keishin sighed and massaged his forehead as he scanned the game.

He couldn't help but frown as he picked up on a glaring issue: the first- and second-year players struggled with their receives, often letting the ball bounce awkwardly or failing to control it properly.

"I can understand the first-years messing up," Keishin muttered under his breath, "but what's up with the second-years? Why would they suck at receiving too?"

Keishin figured he could excuse Tsuna's sloppy form for now—the kid had been in rehab for a long time, after all.

But still, it was odd.

'Unless he's been dominating with his spikes that he just let his other skills go to hell...'

Keishin thought quietly. 'But there's no way, right?'

Still, it was a nearly impossible notion. And he wouldn't know for sure—Keishin had never seen how Tsuna played with his right arm.

Meanwhile...

Ennoshita, who overheard Keishin's comment about their receive, hesitantly opened his mouth. "Ah, that..."

"Huh?"

Keishin's gaze snapped to him. "You know something?"

Ennoshita flinched under Keishin's stare but managed a nervous nod, "Y-yeah, I think I do..."

"You think?"

Keishin raised an eyebrow before folding his arms and said, "Well, don't leave me hanging. Spill it."

Ennoshita slowly explained how Karasuno had faced a crushing defeat a year ago at the hands of Date Tech.

That loss caused the team to fall apart.

Asahi's departure from the club only made things worse.

For an entire year, the team went on autopilot, avoiding their issues instead of confronting them. Without both Tsuna and Asahi, they didn't even sign up for the Spring Tournament.

"So let me get this straight...

Keishin sighed deeply, raking a hand through his hair in disbelief. "...you all thought you were hot shit after beating one big team. Then, when you faced another, you realized just how outclassed you were, and the pressure broke you?"

'Seriously?' Keishin thought, biting back a groan. 'I was only kidding, but... he really did just carry everyone with his spikes, huh?'

Utterly ridiculous.

Still, Keishin knew this wasn't entirely unheard of.

Some players excelled at one aspect of the game—like spiking—while lagging behind in others, such as receiving.

But Tsuna? It felt like he was an extreme example of such a case.

As Keishin watched Tsuna position himself on the court to receive the ball. His form was solid but stiff, the kind of stance that looked textbook-perfect but somehow felt... off. 

The ball met his forearms with a sharp thud, but the angle was wrong.

Keishin couldn't take it anymore. He rolled his eyes and shouted, "Tsuna, you idiot!"

"...?"

The court fell silent for a moment as everyone turned to look at the coach.

"Huh?"

Tsuna frowned as he glanced over his shoulder at Keishin.

"Don't just copy someone else's form!" Keishin snapped while waving his hands, "Do you even know what you're doing?"

Seeing Tsuna's clueless expression, Keishin groaned while pinching the bridge of his nose.

He could tell Tsuna was mimicking Nishinoya's form since the libero was likely the only great example of someone with an excellent receive, apart from their captain, Daichi.

However, Tsuna might not have considered another issue that came from just following Nishinoya's example.

The shorter player had a more stable form at a slightly higher stance and was naturally balanced. Unfortunately, a taller player would have trouble with the same higher stance.

A player's leg length influences their center of gravity.

For a taller player, it'd be different as Keishin barked, "Lower your stance a bit more!"

The fact that Tsuna had managed to receive so many balls despite his improper stance was nothing short of impressive.

But Keishin knew that if Tsuna wanted to improve further, this issue had to be fixed first.

"Huh? Lower my stance?"

Tsuna mumbled in confusion as the association team scored another point with Takinoue's spike.

The ball went back into play, sailing over the net toward Tsuna. Instinctively, he moved to meet it, his hands cupping together to form a solid platform.

But this time...

He adjusted, lowering his stance further, and bending his knees just a bit more. As the ball made contact with his hands, there was a soft plop.

"...!"

A jolt of clarity shot through Tsuna, like a switch flipping on in his mind.

The nagging frustration he'd carried during training—something he hadn't been able to pinpoint—suddenly made sense.

It was so obvious now that he almost felt embarrassed for not noticing sooner.

The ball bounced off his hands and arced perfectly toward Kageyama, spinning gently in the air.

"..."

Tsuna stared at it speechlessly. He couldn't believe what had just happened as his eyes followed the ball, now heading toward Kageyama.

'Shit,' Tsuna thought, his lips twitching into a small, almost reluctant smile. 'Having a coach does make a difference, I guess...'

For the first time in a long while, he felt a spark of relief. It was as though he had taken another step forward.

Kageyama looked at the ball that perfectly came toward his position with surprise. He barely needed to adjust his stance as he took a deep breath and scanned the court for the best option to score.

Meanwhile...

"...What the fuck?"

Keishin's jaw dropped, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the scene before him. Tsuna had casually taken his advice, adjusted his stance, and nailed it perfectly on the first try.

The ease with which he executed it left Keishin twitching in disbelief.

"Yoshaaa!"

Tanaka's roar echoed through the gym as he leaped into the air, smashing the ball past the blockers' hands.

The sharp crack of the ball hitting the court was followed by cheers from the team, marking another point for them.

"Keishin-san..."

The voice snapped Keishin out of his daze. Turning toward it, he found Tsuna staring at him.

'Here it comes...'

For a moment, Keishin felt a swell of pride and puffed out his chest. He was totally ready to bask in the well-deserved praise.

But instead...

"Why were you unemployed for so long? You should've worked as our coach sooner."

"Huh!?"

The words hit Keishin like a volleyball to the face. His chest deflated instantly, and his expression twisted in disbelief.

"You little bastard!" he shouted, pointing a finger at Tsuna. "How many times do I have to tell you!? I have a job!"

"Yeah, but not a real job, though..."

"...!"

For a moment, Keishin was utterly speechless.

He felt all the admiration he'd built for Tsuna over the last few minutes crumble into dust. Quietly, he muttered under his breath, "You better be grateful I know your dad, or I'd beat you to a pulp..."