From the first day he met Hinata Shoyo, this was the first time he had gone this long without seeing him.
Hinata was also quite excited: "Rishia! I missed you so much!"
Although the seniors at Shiratorizawa and Itachiyama are all very good, Inarizaki still feels more like home.
Under Miya Atsumu's eager gaze, Suna, who happened to be lying at the entrance scrolling through his phone, sat up, glanced at Miya Atsumu, then proactively reached out a hand toward Hinata. "Long time no see."
Hinata hugged him directly: "Long time no see! Suna-senpai!"
Releasing Hinata, Suna naturally reached out his hand to him.
Hinata understood immediately, pulling out his phone and handing it to Suna.
Lately, his conversations with Hoshiumi-senpai have mostly been about volleyball, so it had been a while since he had let Suna-senpai send anything to the other.
He hadn't really looked at the things Suna-senpai forwarded to him, as he wasn't particularly interested in them; however, the name of every compressed file was "Hot News," and the count had grown from 1 at the beginning to 37 now.
After greeting Kita Shinsuke, Aran, the others in turn, Hinata finally walked up to Miya Atsumu under his expectant gaze.
Hinata opened his arms toward Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-senpai! I'm back!"
Miya Atsumu hugged him without hesitation. "Welcome back!"
He lightly nuzzled Hinata's neck, his somewhat fluffy hair brushing against Hinata's face.
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes, breathing in the air around Hinata Shoyo, which carried a faint, pleasant scent of pears.
Wait.. Pear?
"Shoyo, you changed your shampoo?" Miya Atsumu pulled away slightly from Hinata, turning his head to look at Hinata's profile, which was right before his eyes.
No.." Hinata had just denied it when he suddenly realized what Miya Atsumu was talking about. "Ah, I took a shower at Shin-senpai's place before leaving at noon, I used the disposable shampoo that Shin-senpai brought.
Two unfamiliar names tumbled from Hinata Shoyo's mouth, but Miya Atsumu keenly sensed that he must know these two people.
As for someone who would carry things like single-use shampoo bottles, whose name contains the character for "servant".. there was only one such person in his memory.
On the other side, Owari Aran had not yet realized anything was wrong; he instinctively assumed they might be from the Shiratorizawa Second String, it was normal that they didn't know.
Miya Atsumu let go of Hinata, pressing down on his shoulders to make him kneel obediently in front of him, before calling his name with a serious expression: "Shoyo."
Unaware of what had happened, Hinata blinked, the happy smile still hanging on his face: "Atsumu-senpai?"
Why did he get the feeling that Atsumu-senpai was about to cry? Was it because he had gotten into another fight with Osamu-senpai somewhere behind his back?
Miya Atsumu's voice trembled slightly: "The person you're talking about.. it couldn't be Sakusa, could it?"
Hinata answered honestly, "Huh? Yeah, Sakusa-senpai gave me the shampoo."
Could it be that Atsumu-senpai is allergic to pears? Was he stimulated by the scent?
Hearing that title once again, Miya Atsumu collapsed backward, unable to rise again.
He must be dreaming; to think that in his lifetime he'd actually hear someone call that guy Suna-senpai..
He seemed to have somewhat underestimated Hinata Shoyo's social skills.
Owari Aran also wore a look of great shock. What did he hear? Sakusa? Sakusa-senpai?
Is that someone who can be addressed like that?
But.. come to think of it, when they went to the Junior National Team training camp last time, some Ace who was also in the top five like him had unconsciously given nicknames to all of them.
—Though he didn't say it all the time.
On the other side, Miya Osamu, who knew exactly what Miya Atsumu was thinking, let out a soft click of his tongue, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery.
Does Miya Atsumu think he is some kind of approachable type?
If I had to say.. this guy is about even with Sakusa Kiyoomi.
For some reason, Miya Atsumu sat back up and pressed his hands onto Hinata Shoyo's shoulders again. "Shoyo, listen to me. All the setters outside are bad people, that bunch of Aces are too."
This time, Hinata rarely refused to listen to Miya Atsumu: "But Ushijima-senpai, Tendo-senpai, the others are all good people."
Iizuna-senpai is a good person as well, of course; he can patiently explain anything if there is a problem.
His heart was pierced by another arrow, Miya Atsumu completely collapsed.
After helping Hinata lay out his bedding, Rishia Heisuke asked immediately, "How was it? The Shiratorizawa people didn't bully you, did they?"
Hinata shook his head. "Of course not. I've been acting as a referee during this time, playing three-on-three occasionally, spending the rest of my time doing practice matches with Akari."
Rishia was stunned for a moment. "Akari is?"
When mentioning his new friend, Hinata was quite happy: "Goshiki! His straight shots are amazing!"
Actually, his diagonal attacks are also very impressive; it's just that he has been practicing straight spikes lately, so he sees them more often.
Rishia also fell silent, feeling a sudden sense of empathy toward Miya Atsumu for a moment.
Coach Kurosu, who had come to check on things upon hearing that Hinata had returned, had just pushed open the door when he saw the room was eerily silent, whereas he had expected it to be very lively.
Coach Kurosu looked at Hinata, who was already preparing to crawl into his sleeping bag: "Shoyo, you're back?"
"Yes! Coach!" Hinata instinctively prepared to stand up, but was immediately pressed back down by Coach Kurosu.
Coach Kurosu laughed, "The bus ride back was quite tiring, so just take a seat."
He sat down beside Hinata and asked, "How has the training been lately? Have you learned anything new?"
"Coach Washijo had me practice saves in all sorts of situations, mainly counterattacks, as well as side receives and back receives.." Hinata counted them off on his fingers.
Coach Washijo has indeed focused solely on his receiving during this period; as for his offense, he learned it from several seniors during matches.
Coach Washijo was actually quite patient, it's just.. if only he wouldn't yell at him.
As the items Hinata recited became increasingly basic, Coach Kurosu's expression gradually stiffened.
For some reason, he felt as if he could see Coach Washijo standing in front of him, scolding him for his poor fundamentals.
Miya Osamu applauded silently in his heart.
Great, now everyone is unhappy.
Miya Atsumu rolled over from Suna's futon nearby and raised his hand toward the coach: "I want to use Shoyo, tomorrow."
Miya Atsumu had tossed the ball to Miya Osamu so much that he felt like he was going to vomit; he needed a change of pace.
"Tomorrow.. isn't that a bit too sudden.." Before Coach Kurosu could finish his sentence, a head poked in through the door.
Kai Kiyoharu said, "I want to play against Shoyo too."
Since the opponents had all agreed, Coach Kurosu decisively changed his words: "Alright, then let's try a match tomorrow."
Actually, Kai, who had thought the Inarizaki students were discussing something else, shrank his neck in apprehension.
Help, how did he manage to strike up a conversation with the opposing coach?
After greeting Hinata Shoyo, he left the entrance to the Inarizaki room in disgrace.
—How embarrassing.
But despite the embarrassment, he had also secured the right to be the first to play against Inarizaki the next day.
After putting on his number 17 jersey, Hinata stood beside Miya Atsumu, looking at the Inubushi Higashi group opposite them with burning eyes: "I'm ready!"
Miya Atsumu spun the volleyball in his hands.
Let him see what Hinata has learned during his absence.
—I hope he hasn't been corrupted by those people.
Author's Note:
The merchandise for this book will likely start being drawn on Valentine's Day, so keep an eye out then!
Thanks for the support, oh yeah! Wait for me to perform a thirty-coin trick tomorrow! [Let me see]
Chapter 56: The Fifty-Sixth Fox
The Shirabu group, who had been assigned to run a few extra laps because they had a bye in the first round, also returned at this time. Everyone arrived at Inarizaki's side at the same time, all intending to watch this match.
Usui Mitsuru's eyes lit up: "Ohhh, Hinata is taking the court."
It had been a few months, I wonder what new things Hinata has learned.
During the last training camp, Hinata's receives were still quite terrible, he often fell to the ground while attempting a diving save.
Seeing Shirabu and the others approaching, Hinata instantly became excited: "Kiryu-senpai! Long time no see!"
He already knows all three Major Spikers now; just thinking about it makes him so happy.
It seems like the top five is still missing one person; Aran-senpai said he's the Ace of some school, but I wonder if I'll have the chance to meet him during Interhigh.
Kiryu Ya also waved to Hinata: "Long time no see."
Hinata wanted to say something more, but was pulled back to his position by Miya Atsumu: "It's about to start, don't run around."
"Okay," Hinata nodded.
He'll give Kiryu-senpai a proper greeting after the match is over; for now, the match is definitely more important!
It is also time to integrate what was learned at Shiratorizawa into his own team.
Miya Atsumu served first.
Lately, he has been focusing on practicing his jump float serve, which previously had a low success rate.
After all, whether it's Miya Atsumu's Dual Wield or just a simple Jump Float Serve, if the success rate doesn't improve, it's meaningless; he might as well just use a regular Power Jump Serve.
Let him take the first point of the match!
"A great serve, Atsumu-senpai!" Hinata shouted, raising his hand to shield his eyes.
The moment the whistle blew, Miya Atsumu raised his hand and tossed the ball into the air without a moment's hesitation.
Taking a running start, he leaped before the baseline, maintaining his stance as if to strike the ball with his palm—
Bang!
A loud bang rang in Hinata's ears, at the same time, Hinata stepped back, preparing for the follow-up spike.
Suna and Miya Osamu in the front row also began adjusting their positions, getting ready at the center of the net.