It's over, it's over, the air isn't even circulating anymore!
Sakusa was the first to squeeze away from Ushijima's side, distancing himself from the already unclean air.
Before Hoshiumi could say anything, Miya Atsumu had already pulled Hinata into the restroom: "Don't delay my Shoyo from using the restroom!"
Ushijima Wakatoshi also followed into the restroom, only to see that Bokuto had not entered yet.
He looked at Bokuto with some confusion. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
No, no, no," Bokuto shook his head. "Yesterday Akaashi told me that if I see Atsumu-senpai, I must stay away and wait for him to come to me, so I decided to wait until Atsumu-senpai leaves before going in.
Ushijima nodded: "I see, then I'll head in first."
".." Hoshiumi remained silent for two seconds before finally decisively leaving this place of controversy.
He felt like staying any longer might cause a scene, it wouldn't be good if he got suspended for getting into a conflict before the match.
More importantly, he thought that staying here any longer might make him go stupid.
Watching Miya Atsumu successfully bring Hinata back, Rishia Heisuke breathed a sigh of relief.
After having a "conflict" with Wakamura and Matou in the restroom during the last match venue, Hinata was truly left with a bit of psychological trauma.
Listening to the announcement over the loudspeaker calling for everyone to line up, Coach Omimi clapped his hands: "Alright, give me your jackets, Shoyo, we're getting ready to enter the court."
Hand the placards to Shinsuke, line up in order of your jersey numbers.
After helping everyone pack their clothes, Hinata also followed the two coaches into the venue to watch the ceremony.
The venue had undergone a world-shaking transformation compared to the day before yesterday; the cheering squads from each school had arrived in the early hours of the morning to finish setting up their respective cheering sections.
From the team flags to the banners to the cheerleading squads, every single detail had been meticulously prepared.
Looking at the banners hanging all over the arena, Hinata's eyes were filled with curiosity about everything new.
All the judges and event officials were already in their places, the national flag and the host's flags had entered the arena, next came the most important part of the ceremony.
—The players' inspection.
Next, please welcome the tournament victory flags into the venue.
Hearing this, Hinata watched the two flag bearers following behind the sign bearers without blinking.
It wasn't until this moment that he realized why Iizuna-senpai hadn't been on the Itachiyama team.
[The flag bearers are the captain of the previous year's men's championship team, Itachiyama Academy, Iizuna Sho.]
【The previous year's winning girls' team captain, Hiura Rei.】
Hinata gripped the folder in his hands, his eyes filled with longing.
So this is.. the previous champions!
The order of the inspection follows latitude from south to north, so the first to enter the field were the two representatives from Hokkaido.
Coach Kurosu leaned toward Hinata and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Hinata stared at the crowd moving forward with heads held high in the middle of the court and replied without the slightest hesitation, "I was thinking that if the Kita Team went up to raise the flag.. they would surely look very cool too."
Coach Kurosu, who had guessed correctly, lowered his eyes with a smile and then said with a hint of regret, "But unfortunately, the only ones who get to carry the flag in this year's tournament are last year's champions, we don't have a championship record from last year."
Hinata was a little disappointed.
That.. what a shame.
Coach Kurosu continued, "Let's strive for a chance to let him compete next year; give it your all so there are no regrets."
"Yes!" Hinata nodded.
[Hyogo Prefecture First Representative, Male, Inarizaki High School. Female, Minetai Academy.]
【Hyogo Prefecture Second Representative, Male, Kobe Municipal Kobe High School. Female, Kitagaya Girls' High School.】
Kita Shinsuke walked at the very front holding a sign, facing all 16 starting and substitute members of Inarizaki's main roster for this tournament.
Rishia Heisuke walked at the very back of the team, stepping with both feet together, with the equally nervous Unabara Uta ahead of him.
Catching a glimpse of Hinata watching them from the sidelines, Rishia Heisuke gave himself a little silent encouragement, then struggled to pull himself out of his clumsy, uncoordinated state.
It's just an inspection, don't be nervous!
Seeing Hinata's restless state, Coach Kurosu decided to brief him on today's schedule right now.
He held Hinata back, making him focus: "After the inspection is over, there will be free time. You can go watch whichever team's match you want. We'll gather in front of our team flag at noon to go to the gymnasium for physical training, you'll need to be back before the final two matches begin."
You can go to the Karasuno match on your own, or you can ask Atsumu-senpai to accompany you. Just remember to come back for the meeting that evening.
When the Shiratorizawa match is halfway through, they will also be responsible for sending word to Coach Anromi of Fukurodani to have them come over.
"Alright!" Hinata nodded vigorously, then handed the folder back to Coach Omimi and walked toward the center of the entire venue with great excitement.
He wanted to see the championship flag up close; it was the ultimate goal that every player on the court aspired to..
[Next, we will proceed with the pre-match oath.]
[Men's representative, Komori Motoya from Itachiyama Academy.]
[Women's representative, Furukawa Fuyumi from Shinzan Girls' High School.]
I hereby swear.. to uphold the Olympic spirit, to face every match with the utmost passion and the most serious attitude..
Listening to Komori lead the oath, Hinata finally walked to the seat beside the podium amidst the heavy encirclement of the media.
Hinata kept his eyes fixed on Komori, completely unaware of the cluster of wires encased in plastic tubing at his feet.
The middle-aged man with a beard beside him reached out and grabbed Hinata, who was about to trip: "Careful, watch your step."
Hinata froze for a moment, only then realizing that he had almost tripped over a pipe.
He hurriedly turned back and bowed, saying, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention just now. Thank you for warning me."
The other person waved him off, signaling that Hinata should just go about his business: "It's fine, it's fine. Just be careful."
Hinata nodded and quickly bypassed him, walking toward the front.
Before leaving, he glanced at the badge hanging around the other person's neck; although he couldn't clearly see the name or position, he could vaguely make out a national flag.
But he didn't pay it much mind; instead, he saw Coach Washijo and hesitated for two seconds before finally walking over quickly. "Coach Washijo, long time no see."
Washijo glanced back at the name tag around Hinata's neck and let out a cold snort through his nose. "A manager? I can't believe that brat Kurosu actually thought of that."
Don't cause trouble once you get here, just stand still. Be careful not to break anything; you wouldn't be able to pay for it even if you sold yourself.
"Yes!" Hinata responded loudly.
"Players from Inarizaki?" The person wearing glasses looked at the person who had just reached out to grab Hinata.
“It should be the manager," the other person said, not paying much attention to Hinata, but instead thinking of something else. "Speaking of Inarizaki, Aran won't be able to join the Junior National Team after the end of this year. I'm wondering whether I should consider their Opposite and Middle Blocker."
Miya Osamu and Suna Rintaro?
The bearded man, who was also the head coach of the Junior National Team, Kumoita, said, "Hmm, but I'm still hesitating. The latter's current results are mediocre, I also want to see if his playing style has further potential for growth."
The former.. how should I put it, his volleyball is missing something important. Because of this, it will lead to him lacking enough potential for growth.
Pushing up his glasses, Fire also sighed, "Indeed, we can only wait a little longer."
Suddenly remembering something, Coach Fire sighed and turned his head to look at Hinata, who had already run over to the live broadcast camera to join the excitement, said to Kumoita, "By the way, a while ago, Coach Utsunomiya mentioned to me that Inarizaki is putting all its effort into nurturing a Little Giant."
"Little Giant?" Kumoita froze for a moment.
Regarding this term, the first person to enter their field of vision was Karasuno's Unai Aman.
But unfortunately, while Unai Aman might have been strong enough in junior high, his achievements at that time had already hit a dead end against that wall, limited by his results and the environment of the time, preventing him from reaching even higher stages.
Perhaps with a few more years of training, there would have been more progress and opportunities, but after Unai went to college, there was no more news of him; it is likely that he stopped playing volleyball.
And Hoshiumi Hikari, who has already scaled that wall.. is undoubtedly someone who has inherited the former's will and is moving toward an even greater future.
Of course, he certainly won't be the last one.
Kumoita laughed, "Inarizaki, huh? Coach Kurosu's eye for talent shouldn't be wrong; perhaps there's something to look forward to."
How could they not look forward to the Little Giant? They look forward to every player with potential.
Coach Aran pointed toward Hinata over there: "No, what I mean is, it should be that little guy."
Following Coach Aran's finger, a little orange-haired kid was looking around excitedly, occasionally exchanging a few words with Coach Washijo from Shiratorizawa beside him.
The stubborn old man, who could make the entire coaching circle tremble, looked quite impatient, but he still answered every question asked.
A large question mark appeared above Kumoita's head: "Huh?"
Immediately following the inspection, the first round of knockout matches began.
Men's volleyball and women's volleyball matches are held simultaneously. According to the venue capacity, eight matches are scheduled per round, nearly sixty teams will be eliminated on the first day.
Because the schedule was so tight and required formal procedures, there was no warm-up time between matches except for the first round, which is why the players needed to warm up in other venues beforehand.
The teams with matches had basically already left the gymnasium, so there weren't many left.
After receiving Coach Washijo's permission to act independently, Hinata went straight to the Shiratorizawa side with him.
Shiratorizawa and Inarizaki belong to the same district, so of course, they are also a primary focus for Inarizaki.
So, when Hinata arrived, the first people he saw were Coach Kurosu and Kita Shinsuke, who had also come to watch the match.
However.. they were on the other side of the court.
Seeing the expression on the coach's face darken visibly beside him, Kita Shinsuke didn't know what to say.
They had guessed that Hinata might want to watch the Shiratorizawa match, but they hadn't expected him to arrive with Coach Washijo.
Miya Atsumu, who had already gone to the third-floor restaurant to buy a bottle of drink, leaned over the railing to peer down, Miya Osamu stood beside him.
Looking at the situation below, Atsumu almost sprayed the drink in his mouth.
He looked completely puzzled. "Why did Shoyo run to the other side? I knew something was up when I didn't see him when we dismissed just now.."
Miya Atsumu quickly ran through the pros and cons of whether or not to go and grab Hinata back in his head, but ultimately, he chose not to.
Besides, Hinata is going to watch the Karasuno match anyway, so there's no stopping him.
Besides, those are all Wing Spikers! Miya Atsumu is a Setter!
To Hinata, the setter is the one who is truly significant!
Glancing at Miya Atsumu, Miya Osamu let out a scoff. "Have you finally come to face reality?"