Haikyu: Nah, I'd Adapt!

'Hmm, so this is what Sugawara mentioned about him only doing enough...?'

Keishin's eyes narrowed as he watched Tsuna from the sidelines.

The players had returned to the bench, grabbing the drinks Shimizu had prepared to rehydrate.

"That was embarrassing," Asahi muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Nishinoya added, "Everyone's laughing at us now..." 

The rest of the team nodded in agreement, their eyes narrowing as they turned to glare at Tanaka.

The bald guy immediately looked away, whistling innocently as if the whole commotion hadn't been his fault.

Tsukishima jabbed, "...He's denying responsibility." 

"Ah-ahaha, guys, chill out," Tanaka said, raising his hands in defense.

He pointed at Tsuna, who was sitting quietly on the bench, and added, "It's his fault for being such an idiot..."

"Oh, I'm the idiot?"

Tsuna asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah!" Tanaka snapped, pointing a finger at him. "Who'd say such bullshit so flatly as if it was the truth?"

"Sure, nice to meet you then,"

Tsuna leaned back slightly, "I'm the idiot who won the gold medal in the national math olympiad back in middle school, ranked number one in the whole school for two consecutive semesters at Karasuno—and going to keep that streak until my third year—and currently the best-selling light novel author in the country..."

"..."

The entire team froze, their jaws dropping in unison.

"Great to meet you, Mr. Smart. Let me know when you've caught up."

Tsuna finished as even Tanaka, who had been ready to argue further, could only stare at him in disbelief.

Tanaka's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he mumbled, "Sorry, I'm the idiot sandwich..."

"Who are you?"

"The idiot sandwich..."

"Say it louder!"

"I'm the idiot sandwich!"

"..."

Keishin watched the scene unfold while twitching his lips.

He then scratched his head, his eyes shifting to Tsuna, who sat quietly on the bench.

The boy seemed to be listening to the others as they awkwardly tried to change the topic, his calm demeanor a stark contrast to the intense, almost psychopathic focus he had shown during their match against Nekoma.

'It seems like he's only letting out that side of him when we face strong opponents...' Keishin thought, crossing his arms.

"Everyone seems to be trying their best," Takeda's voice broke through Keishin's thoughts.

The club advisor stood beside him, his glasses glinting under the gym lights.

"..."

However...

Both of them turned to look at Tsuna at the same time, then nodded in unison as Takeda changed his sentence, "I'm glad that our training seems to have paid off,"

"...Right," Keishin agreed with a sigh.

Still, there were moments when mistakes slipped through. Hinata had failed his serve again during the set, and some of the players had miscoordinated their blocks, allowing Tokonami to steal more points than they should have.

Keishin muttered, "We don't make as many silly mistakes as we used to, which is great." 

Karasuno was holding the momentum tightly, not giving Tokonami even a sliver of a chance to regain their footing.

Besides, Keishin had specifically told Hinata and Kageyama to hold back, keeping their strongest weapon under wraps for now.

"Hinata, you're out," Keishin said abruptly, turning to the orange-haired boy.

"Ehhh!?"

Hinata's joyful expression crumpled into disbelief.

His eyes widened as he stuttered, "C-Coach, I-I'll try not to miss my receives and serves anymore, so..."

"Well, no," Keishin cut him off while asking Tanaka, "You don't mind playing as a middle blocker, right?" 

Tanaka grinned sheepishly, "I can't be picky, can I?"

Hinata's shoulders slumped, his face falling as Keishin gestured for Tanaka to step in.

"Your strongest weapon is that freak quick combo you have with Kageyama," Keishin explained. "And since we're saving it as a secret weapon, your value decreases a lot. I think Tanaka would be a better option for this..."

"S-Secret weapon...?"

Hinata's eyes sparkled at the mention of such a fancy term. He completely ignored the rest of Keishin's words, his disappointment instantly replaced by excitement.

Tsukishima, standing nearby, sneered. He opened his mouth to jab, "He said you're usele—"

"Tsukki! Don't break a man's dream!"

Yamaguchi quickly interrupted, grabbing Tsukishima's arm to stop him.

Tanaka, meanwhile, laughed joyfully while cracking his knuckles, "Keke, finally, yours truly is about to get in!" 

"Good, just keep doing what you've been doing and we're gonna win this..."

Keishin nodded in satisfaction, his gaze shifting back to the court.

The atmosphere on Karasuno's bench was lighthearted despite the embarrassment they had earlier.

It was a stark contrast to the heavy, tense air surrounding Tokonami's bench.

"They're totally unlike what we've heard."

"Fallen crow, my ass..."

Tamagawa and Chaya shook their heads in frustration.

Despite the whispers they'd heard before the match, the team in front of them was nothing like the rumors.

"..."

Tokonami's morale was at rock bottom.

Their energy had been drained by the relentless pace of the game, and even their coach could do little more than offer encouragement.

"Remember, just do what you can..."

"We understand, coach."

Komaki nodded, trying to stay positive, but his weary expression betrayed how he truly felt.

'That's right...'

Ikejiri blinked, lost in thought as a memory floated to the surface. His mind drifted back to middle school, back when he and Daichi had played on the same team.

There was a game, much like this one, where they had been up against overwhelming odds.

The entire team had resigned themselves to defeat, shoulders slumped and heads hanging low. And yet, in the midst of their despair, Daichi had spoken.

"You can't win unless you try."

"...!"

The words slipped out his mouth, startling everyone.

"Huh?"

Ikejiri blinked again, realizing that he had spoken the words out loud. He glanced around and saw his teammates staring at him in surprise.

"W-Wait! Sorry, everyone!"

Ikejiri stammered, raising his hands in embarrassment, "I didn't mean to say that. It just... slipped out."

"..."

His face flushed as he scrambled to explain himself, but the silence around him only grew heavier. And Ikejiri could feel the awkwardness building like a pressure in his chest.

"G-Guys..."

Before he could say more—

Tweet!

The referee's whistle pierced the air, signaling the start of the second set. The sound broke the tension, and the team turned their attention back to the court.

"Ah..."

Ikejiri hesitated as he felt so guilty seeing his teammates go back in without a word. He followed behind as his thoughts tangled with worry.

'Why did I even say that?'

As the second set began...

Everyone realized Karasuno had made a substitution, and their momentum was only growing stronger as the game unfolded with even more intensity.

"..."

But it was hard for Ikejiri to focus since his mind was still stuck on the awkward moment from earlier.

"Ikejiri!"

The sharp call snapped him out of his daze.

"Uh...?"

He realized too late that the ball was already heading his way. Panicked, he instinctively tried to adjust his stance, but his form was all over the place.

With a dull slap, the ball ricocheted off his hands and veered out of bounds.

"Ah, s-sorry!" 

He stammered with his eyes wide open in shock.

Ikejiri then clenched his fists, staring at the ball as if it had betrayed him. His frustration boiled over, and he muttered under his breath, "What am I doing!?"

But before he could spiral further into self-doubt—

"Tamagawa, cover!"

The shout erupted from his teammates, startling him.

"Huh?"

Ikejiri turned his head just in time to see Tamagawa sprinting after the stray ball. Gritting his teeth, Tamagawa pushed himself and dived forward with everything he had.

His fingertips brushed the ball, but it wasn't enough as it hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Ahh!"

"That was so close!"

Tokonami's players groaned in unison, shaking their heads at the near-save.

And their reactions surprised him deeply since from their frustration, Ikejiri could tell that they weren't giving up!

"..."

He stared at Tamagawa, who was still on the floor, slapping the ground in frustration. He looked at the others, who muttered to themselves about what they could've done better.

They weren't frustrated because they were defeated. They were frustrated because they were still fighting.

"Everyone..."

Ikejiri's voice was barely a whisper. He didn't understand where this sudden fire had come from. They had been so defeated just moments ago.

But then—

"Ikejiri."

Komaki's voice brought him back as a hand landed firmly on his shoulder, and when Ikejiri turned, he saw Komaki smiling at him.

It wasn't just Komaki, though.

The entire team stood behind him, grinning despite their sweat-drenched faces.

Komaki said, "You can't win unless you try, right?" 

"...!"

Ikejiri froze.

For a moment, he could only blink at them, speechless. Then, the words hit him like a jolt of lightning.

He felt a lump in his throat, and tears prickled at the corners of his eyes.

"Ah..."

He let out a shaky breath and nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

"That's right!"

He said louder this time.

Straightening his back, Ikejiri clenched his fists. The spark inside him reignited into a roaring flame.

"The game's not over! We can't win unless we try!"

His teammates nodded, their grins widening, and together they turned back to face the court.

"..."

As the game raged on...

Even Karasuno noticed the shift.

'They've yet to give up!'

The atmosphere around Tokonami's players had changed.

Despite Karasuno's increasingly intense offense, especially with Tanaka joining in with their aggression, Tokonami didn't falter.

They ran after balls that seemed impossible to save.

They jumped to block spikes even when they knew they wouldn't make it in time.

The sweat, the pain, and even the tears—they poured everything they had into the second set.

Seeing this moved even Tsuna...

"I take back my words, Tokonami…"

His voice rang out across the court, loud enough for everyone to hear.

A year ago, Tsuna wouldn't have understood them. He wouldn't have been able to see the value in their struggle.

But since piecing himself back together from the ground up, he knew...

He knew how hard it was to keep moving forward, to grit through even when defeat loomed large.

The ball floated toward him, spinning in the air like a slow countdown. Tokonami's players moved immediately. Their bodies were battered, their breaths short, but they scrambled into position without hesitation.

They jumped together, hands reaching high to stop him, their eyes burning with determination.

"You might be weak..."

Tsuna continued as his figure twisted in the air, his arm coiling back like a spring ready to snap.

"But I can't tell it doesn't stop you, and that mentality of yours to keep on going even when all odds are against you!"

CRACK!

The sound of his spike cutting through the air echoed like thunder.

The ball blasted past their block and slammed into the ground on Tokonami's side with a sharp, resounding thud.

"That was commendable, Tokonami High!"

TWEETTT!

The long whistle blew, signaling the end of the second set—and the match.

Tokonami had lost.

"..."

For a moment, the court was silent even the crowd somehow seemed to feel entranced by the game, forgetting to cheer.

Meanwhile, Tokonami's players stood frozen, staring at the ground. Their breaths were heavy, their bodies trembling from exhaustion.

But then, their eyes lifted.

Tsuna stood on the other side of the net with his still unbothered expression. Yet, there was no mockery in his gaze—only genuine respect.

Around him, Karasuno's players smiled, their looks of approval clear as day.

"Ah..."

Somehow, those words seemed to hit harder than any spike.

Ikejiri and his teammates clenched their fists. Their bodies ached, and the sting of defeat weighed on their hearts.

"We've lost the game..."

Yet a strange feeling erupted from the bottom of their heart since for the first time, they felt like they had truly fought.

They had lost the game. But they had earned Karasuno's respect.

---

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