Haikyu: Nah, I'd Adapt!

"Hmm..."

Keishin looked at the others, noting their mixed reactions. His eyes drifted to the bracket next to their name, where Date Tech's name was listed.

'I did hear they've got something against them...'

Date Tech was one of the few teams he kept an eye on since they were among the best in the prefecture. Despite not making it to the top four last year, Keishin knew better than to underestimate them.

'The only reason they didn't make it was because they played Shiratorizawa so early...'

It had been tough luck for Date Tech to face the number-one team in the earlier rounds.

Keishin didn't know much about Karasuno's past games with Date Tech, but judging by the team's expressions, it hadn't been a pleasant experience.

And as a coach, he needed to understand that history.

'As for the other one...'

His gaze shifted upward to Aoba Johsai, listed in the upper bracket for the third round. They were one of the top four teams last year.

That ranking had given them the advantage of skipping the first two rounds entirely.

"Date Tech is our opponent if we win the first round," Keishin began, shrugging. "They're strong. Their blocks have the highest success rate in the prefecture, so even for the top four teams, they're tough."

"..."

The players looked back at him, some frowning, others determined.

Keishin continued, "And then there's Aoba Johsai. They're one of the top four, so we'll need to be extra careful with them. But it's not just them. Other strong teams are out there too, like Wakutani South, but..."

He trailed off, glancing at the bracket again.

A small smirk tugged at his lips, "We don't have to worry about them yet. Looks like Shiratorizawa will take care of them first."

"Shiratorizawa? Oh, the school Kageyama couldn't get into!"

Hinata chimed in, nodding in recognition as Kageyama snapped, "Shut up!"

"Coach, are you saying Wakutani South is in the same bracket as Shiratorizawa?"

Daichi asked curiously.

"..."

Tsuna raised his eyebrows at the team's reaction to Shiratorizawa. He'd heard their name a lot recently but never bothered to look into them.

Still, he couldn't help but ask, "Is Shiratorizawa strong?"

That's all he cared about.

"Huh...? What did you just say?"

Everyone turned to him sharply, their disbelief was quite visible to see.

Knowing that Tsuna was genuinely clueless, Suga massaged his forehead before replying, "They're the best among the top four. Isn't it obvious?"

"Ah... so they're that strong?"

The surprised voice echoed across the room.

"Huh?"

Suga glanced at Tsuna, noticing his lips hadn't moved. Everyone exchanged puzzled looks before turning to Hinata, who looked just as clueless as Tsuna.

"You too...?"

They were completely speechless this time. Even Tsukishima was the same as he muttered, "You both must've been living under a rock..."

"Well, anyway..."

Keishin's voice cut through the chatter as he suddenly grabbed the whiteboard and dragged it to the front.

"Alright, this is our default starting position," he began, pointing to the diagram. He tapped on Tsuna's position at the left back and said, "Tsuna's usually here, but from now on..."

"Hmm..."

Keishin then paused before erasing Tsuna's number and replacing it with Asahi's, "We're switching him with Azumane."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow at the change while everyone looked at each other confusedly at the sudden swap.

"Oh, is there any particular reason for this sudden adjustment, Coach?"

Suga raised his hand, glancing between Keishin and the whiteboard.

The team fell silent. They understood their shortcomings—they'd had a bitter taste of defeat against Nekoma High after all.

It was another wake-up call for them.

Even so, they were still curious as all eyes turned to Keishin, waiting to hear his plan.

"Well, we'll get into details later..."

Keishin had thought it through. He knew they were bound to face Date Tech in the bracket, and there was a clear way to break through their defense.

'Keke... the old man won't be too mad if I borrow their idea a little, right?'

An evil smirk crept across his face as he imagined Nekomata's grumpy reaction.

Stealing Nekoma's strategy and applying it to Karasuno was quite a genius idea. He was looking forward to actually using it in a real game and eventually showing it off in front of the real one.

'That'd be a delightful experience for sure. But for now...'

Keishin's eyes shifted to Tsuna. He would be perfect for executing the blow with his left hand. It would make it harder for any receiver to return.

But then he hesitated.

'His presence would overwhelm the decoy instead...'

Keishin decided to pick Azumane instead. Tsuna's presence wasn't suited for a hidden attack like that.

Hinata had the same problem. He was far too noticeable on the court.

Keishin's gaze moved to the middle blocker position in the center front, right beside Tsuna as he let out a small chuckle.

'They're going to be too easy to spot...'

He decided to just use Tsuna's overwhelming presence along with Hinata's and combine it both to be the ultimate decoy when needed.

"Why is he giggling like that?"

Tanaka leaned over to whisper to Nishinoya, who nodded in agreement. "I don't know. I think he's scheming something bad."

"I agree..."

It wasn't just the two of them. Everyone was watching Keishin suspiciously.

"..."

Meanwhile, Tsuna didn't seem to care.

Keishin had more experience and knew more about volleyball than him. Obviously, Tsuna decided to trust him.

If it helped the team, then it was the right call.

Besides, he wasn't thinking too much about it because...

'Shiratorizawa, huh? I wonder if I could have more fun playing against them...'

Tsuna rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

That was one thing on his mind. The other was harder to ignore as he could feel a certain gaze fixed on him.

It almost made him break his bored expression as his lips twitched slightly, 'Dammit, why is Dad a genius?'

"Ah, right..."

Keishin turned to Asahi. Much to everyone's surprise, he suddenly asked, "Azumane, are you good at back attacks?"

"Umm, I can certainly do it, but—"

"Alright, I'll take it as you're good at it. Then, it's decided."

Keishin turned back to the whiteboard, finalizing the position swap.

"...?"

Asahi stared at him, feeling a wave of nervousness at the sudden question. It was as if he'd been handed a responsibility he didn't fully understand.

He stuttered, "Eh.. are you actually serious? B-But—"

"Oh, don't be a wimp, Asahi-san!"

Nishinoya slapped him on the shoulder with a grin. Asahi scratched his neck awkwardly, glancing at the libero, "Come on, be a little confident!"

"That's easy to say..."

Asahi slumped his shoulders, helplessly watching as Keishin made decisions without much consideration for his input.

"..."

Tsuna quietly observed the group. His eyes caught Asahi's hand, clenched into a tight fist despite the wing spiker's meek appearance.

He didn't know the full story of what had happened against Date Tech, but it was clear they had left a deep scar—especially on Asahi.

Tsuna's lips curled into a smile as his interest was piqued, 'Date Tech, eh? I suppose I'll have a little fun before our rematch, Oikawa...'

"Enough talking," Keishin interrupted, clapping his hands sharply to draw their attention.

He looked at each of them seriously before continuing, "Remember, we only have two weeks left. Just like you, the teams we're going to face are training hard. They didn't come here to lose."

No team in the tournament wanted to lose—especially not Karasuno.

This time, they wanted to reach the top.

The determination was clear as the team poured everything into their training over the next two weeks. They practiced the hand signals relentlessly, worked on the new strategy Keishin had introduced and pushed themselves to the limit to ensure they were ready.

Finally, the day arrived.

With only one day left until the tournament, the team gathered at the auditorium for the all-club pep rally. They weren't the only sports club competing, and this was tradition—a way to wish all the clubs good luck.

"Ah... we're going to stand in front of everyone?"

Hinata's voice broke the tension as he exclaimed nervously.

"You only have to stand there," Suga said with a wry smile. "Daichi will do all the talking."

Hinata still looked uneasy, but Suga's calm reassurance seemed to ease his nerves as they walked toward the auditorium.

Up ahead, the space was packed with students, creating a buzz of energy and noise.

There were so many people ahead, which made Tsukishima mumble, "So much hassle..."

"Tsukki, you can't say that!"

Yamaguchi whispered to him.

Tsukishima only clicked his tongue, his eyes twitching in annoyance as he watched the other members socializing with other club members.

However...

As he looked at the team, Tsukishima realized something. "Huh? Where's our lord again?"

"Lord?"

Hinata repeated, tilting his head in confusion.

"Ha..."

Tsukishima adjusted his glasses with an exaggerated sigh, glaring at Hinata as if the answer should have been obvious, "You're just a commoner like me, and yet you don't even understand the hierarchy in our club, do you?"

"..."

Kageyama could only frown at the conversation since Tsukishima had also been calling him dethroned king these days.

"You call him lord?"

Suga, who had been trying to avoid jumping into the conversation, sighed inwardly.

Thankfully, Daichi spoke up with a chuckle, "If you're talking about Tsuna, I think he went to Tokyo again for some business."

"Oh..."

The team exchanged curious looks, wondering what Tsuna might be up to this time.

Some of them whispered among themselves, speculating if it had something to do with his next series.

Whatever it was, they were already looking forward to hearing about it.

---

Another chapter coming soon.

EDIT: I'm rewriting the whole chapter, so it's most likely going to take a bit longer