Precognition (Haikyuu x Male Reader)

Chapter 16

They always say that the best liberos go unnoticed, that they blend with the other six players on the court and sink in and out of the opponent's vision, receiving any spikes, serves, or dumps that the other team throws at them.

[Name] believes that a good libero should have a presence that makes the enemy team waver. Simply by being on the court, a good libero should be able to mess up the enemy team's offense just with his presence.

It's weird how two completely different ideas aren't necessarily mutually exclusive from one another. Like how a person could be street dumb and book smart at the same time.

A libero is a defensive specialist because they're able to plug up the holes in their team's defenses, constantly adjusting to the rotation to make up for the weak points in their formation. To [Name], it was more than just receiving spikes and serves that came his way.

Because before knowing how to predict how the opponent would play, he had to first understand how his team would play.

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Watching Hoshiumi play was definitely an amazing experience, probably up there in the top five. He watched as Hoshiumi soared into the sky, jumping higher than most middle blockers on his team could do. Hoshiumi aimed the ball at the tip of one of the middle blocker's hands, sending it flying off the court, unable to be saved by the enemy libero.

If he were to describe it, it would be like a bird of prey soaring into the sky, ready to go for the kill. He was the complete opposite of what he was off the court. Calm and collected.

"Wah! Did you see that senpai?!" [Name] turned to see a boy taller than him jumping up and down in place after witnessing Kamomedai score a point. His black hair badly gelled upwards slightly to the left while the strands on his side and back of his hair went in various directions. A huge smile on his face with stars in his eyes. "He looked so cool! Do you think I could jump like that?"

[Name] let out a small huff before his lips curved upwards into a smile. "Of course, you can, Ken-kun."

Hada Ken was definitely the most energetic and enthusiastic first year on the team. It was hard not to like the kid considering he always tried his best in whatever task he was given, eager to prove himself and how 'cool' he was.

An interesting fact about [Name] that every second and third year on the team knew was that he always had a soft spot for any kouhai, no matter the height, no matter the team. If you were a first-year, you were getting doted on. Period.

"If you want I can ask Dai-san to give you pointers... though he'd probably be happier to hear that from you."

Ken nodded at the suggestion before returning his attention to Hoshiumi. "Will do, senpai... though I wonder how does he jump higher than me?"

[Name] squinted his eyes while trying to go over the steps the little giant took in his head. "He takes an interesting running approach, focusing all his force into the balls of his feet before actually jumping. I think it has something to do with the momentum?"

Ken nodded while closing his eyes. "I don't get it."

[Name] let out a snort, before thinking about how to explain it better. "I suppose it's about using your entire body to jump upwards, like how he uses his arms. Usually, when you jump there's always a bit of momentum that sends you forward instead of upward."