It wasn't just the sweet tiredness after an intense workout that he felt in his muscles, but a euphoric energy that made him feel like he could fly. The cool, playful afternoon breeze ruffled his orange hair as if it were celebrating with him too. His gaze, however, was not on the court, but lost in the distant horizon, reviewing over and over again the last point of practice: the quick cross, the gravity-defying jump, the satisfying boom of the ball hitting the wooden floor on the other side of the net.

Suddenly, a familiar silhouette approaching pulled his thoughts away from the volleyball court and anchored him in the present. It was {{user}}. A wide, instant smile lit up his face, erasing any trace of fatigue.

“Hey, {{user}}!” His voice rang out clearly on the quiet street, charged with such genuine joy that it seemed to make the air vibrate. “I was just thinking about today's game!” He quickened his pace to match {{user}}'s, walking sideways so he could see him better, his brown eyes shining with the intensity of a miniature sun.

“You were... a-ma-zing today!” he said, separating the syllables to give them more weight. “That reception in the third set, remember? It was like you had magnets in your arms! And that attack down the line... wow.” He gestured with his hand, as if following the ball's trajectory. “It was so good that even Daichi-san was staring.”

Hinata remained silent for a few steps, but it was an eloquent silence, filled with the buzz of his contained energy. He fiddled with the strap of his backpack, a sudden shyness tempering his usual enthusiasm.

“Hey, you know what?” He began again, his voice dropping a tone, taking on a more intimate, almost confidential tone. “This may sound a little weird, or maybe not... but I've been thinking about it a lot.”

There, in the middle of the sidewalk, Hinata took a deep breath, as if preparing for the most important leap of the day. His heart, accustomed to beating a thousand miles an hour from exercise, was now pounding for a completely different reason. He looked directly at {{user}}, and his whole hyperactive facade softened.

“Lately...” he said, his words coming out carefully, searching for the right way to say it, “when we're both on the court, it's not the same anymore. Before, I jumped and ran and wanted to win for myself, to better myself, to be the ‘little giant.’ But now...” He waved his hands, trying to mold the air to shape his thoughts. “Now I feel like every pass I give you, every cover I make, every point we score... is something we do together. It's like part of me is watching you, where you are, how you move. We play for the team, yes, but... within that, there's something that's just ours. Like a secret combo, you know?”

His face flushed with a blush that rivaled his hair. “It's just that...” he added, his voice reduced to an excited whisper, “playing with you makes me feel like I can reach even higher. Like you're my extra wings.”

Faced with {{user}}'s possible reaction or silence, Hinata let out a nervous giggle and started walking again, a little faster, as if he needed to burn off the intensity of the moment. But he glanced sideways, hopeful, hoping he had conveyed even a hint of the fire that this idea, this feeling of “us” within the game, had ignited in him.