But..
Isn't it just the Central University of Sports?
Once they, Inarizaki, win a championship and make a name for themselves, he will also have the thick-skinned audacity to seek out people for recommendations.
Thinking of this, Coach Kurosu grew bolder.
He pointed at Hinata, who was honorably wounded under the supervision of two coaches and the volleyball club captain, said with heartache, "You've let my kid get injured like this, how do you have the nerve to ask me for a player?"
“I think you wasted your time getting that coaching certification. Why don't you just give me your Komori? Even if he's suspended for a year, he'd still have two more uses left in him.”
Coach Utsunomiya shut his mouth and stopped talking.
—This old fox.
Author's Note:
Kurosu: This is how you look after me!
Utsunomiya..
Kurosu: I have such a precious golden egg, I never even let it get a scratch at Inarizaki!
Utsunomiya..
Kurosu: You have the nerve to ask to poach players? Don't even think about it! Get lost!
Chapter 76: The Seventy-Sixth Fox
Having already lost trust in Utsunomiya, Coach Kurosu personally stood by the treadmill as a safety monitor to prevent a situation like the one that just occurred from happening again.
The remaining tests for the first-year students proceeded according to schedule, their overall performance was much like what Coach Kurosu had anticipated.
After all, both Unabara and Kumagai were born into prestigious families, their training volume during junior high was not small. The only standout player.. was Rishia Heisuke.
—The kind that lacks distinction.
Coach Kurosu flipped through the only copy of the report in his hands: "The highest among our players is Shoyo, the lowest is.."
He looked at Rishia Heisuke, who had already hunched his shoulders and was preparing to retreat to the very back. "Heisuke, starting from this afternoon, you will undergo additional physical training. Also, both your body fat percentage and Shoyo's are a bit high; I will send you both meal plans once you return. The intensity of your strength training will also increase accordingly, so be prepared."
Suna clapped silently.
Very good, he saw the annual tradition.
—Even though he was the protagonist himself last year.
That's all for now. We'll leave the day after tomorrow in the afternoon, so consider these next few days a vacation." Coach Kurosu looked toward the Miya Twins. "Don't cause any trouble at Itachiyama. Report to Shinsuke before you head out, you must be back before the dormitory doors are locked.
"Yes!" the Inarizaki members responded in unison.
"You guys are free to move around; I'm going to find Itachiyama's nutritionist." Kurosu handed all the reports to Kita Shinsuke for safekeeping, then left the testing center with Coach Omimi.
The second the coach left, everyone crowded around Kita Shinsuke, trying to snatch the reports.
Akagi looked toward Suna behind him: "Rintaro, you were out of bounds again."
Suna said nothing.
There are many innate factors regarding physical fitness, so as long as he isn't forced into extra training, he'll be fine..
Akagi looked up at Miya Atsumu. "Atsumu, you were at 66.2 last year, so why are you only at 67.8 this year?"
At this moment, one should be grateful that Coach Kurosu set the threshold for second-year students at 66; otherwise, Miya Atsumu and Suna Rintaro would have also experienced the "extra training gift pack" alongside Rishia Heisuke.
Aran also joined in the teasing of Miya Atsumu: "You're not up to it either, Atsumu."
“Shoyo is nearly 10 centimeters taller than you. If he asks you for extra practice when he comes back, will you be able to keep up?”
Miya Atsumu, who was already in a bad mood, put his hands in his pockets. "Shut up! You're talking like any of you are taller than Shoyo!"
After being unexpectedly glared at by Miya Atsumu, Hinata Shoyo, who had just spat out the cotton, was left full of questions, sitting properly and not even daring to breathe heavily.
What happened? Did he offend Atsumu-senpai somehow today?
Beside them, Kumagai, who had finally recovered, climbed onto a chair: "It turns out that giving it your all really does pay off; at least I don't have to do extra practice."
Kita glanced at Miya Atsumu and said, "It's not Hinata's fault; he doesn't fully understand his own physical condition either. It's just that Iizuna and the others didn't look after him properly."
Even for a newcomer collecting this kind of data for the first time, running to one's physiological limit is the best approach, as it is more beneficial for the coach's subsequent grasp of training and other tests.
Normal exhaustion should be like Kumagai's, where one safely steps down with the coach's help.
In the end.. it was Itachiyama's fault.
Atsumu muttered quietly, "I know, I'll crush them at the National Sports Festival."
Aran and Miya Osamu on the other side both gave him a thumbs-up: "Count me in."
As Iizuna, who was diligently packing up the equipment, felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if he were being watched.
After leaving the testing center, the Inarizaki members began their tour of the Itachiyama Gymnasium.
They didn't just visit the indoor volleyball courts; they also took a stroll through the skating rink and swimming pool next door.
An ice rink of this scale is quite rare during the summer, so Itachiyama's rink is not only open to its members; there are also many professional athletes and amateurs present.
However, judging by the intensity of the training Hinata saw, it seemed like everyone was preparing for competitions; there weren't any complete novices at all.
Standing by the side of the court and rubbing his hands together, Rishia lowered his head and asked Hinata, "Can Shoyo ice skate?"
Hinata froze for a moment. "Yeah, I have great balance."
But Xiaoxia is still a bit more impressive. Once, when we went to the ice rink, a coach from the kids' club even asked about her.
"What about swimming?" Rishia Heisuke was not giving up.
"I can do the breaststroke, also.. the dog paddle," Hinata gestured.
Rishia Heisuke was left speechless by the landlubber who tripped even on ice; the Hinata family's athletic genes were simply too good, even if their height couldn't quite keep up.
“Xiaoxia is?” Miya Atsumu asked, following behind.
It sounded like a girl's name, he felt like he had heard it somewhere else before.
Mentioning his younger sister, Hinata was quite excited: "My sister can win so many first-place prizes at her school's sports meet!"
"Do they look like you?" Miya Atsumu asked, sounding a bit curious.
Hinata thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded decisively, "Yeah, Heisuke's mother also said that Xiaoxia and I look like we were carved from the same mold."
Miya Atsumu leaned in close to Hinata Shoyo, his eyes glancing toward Hinata Shoyo's already medicated knee: "Do you have a photo? Let me see."
Hinata Shoyo, who had plenty of photos of Hinata Natsu saved on his phone, decisively pulled up his lock screen wallpaper and held it up for Miya Atsumu to see with a face full of pride: "Look! This is Xiaoxia!"
In the photo, the orange-haired boy was crouching beside the little girl, holding a birthday cake crown and placing it on her head.
Both of their faces were covered in cream, that feeling of happiness almost overflowed from the screen.
When mentioning his sister, Hinata clearly became excited: "Isn't she cute? But don't underestimate her, Atsumu-senpai; Xiaoxia's athletic ability is even better than mine."
His gaze lingered on the boy in the photograph for a long time before Miya Atsumu quickly glanced at Hinata Natsu.
He chuckled softly. "Yeah, very cute."
Beside him, Osamu glanced at him but ultimately said nothing.
“Right, right! Atsumu-senpai, let me tell you, Xiaoxia, she..” Hinata began bragging incessantly about his younger sister.
Hinata's original plan was to go to the training grounds to watch, but the poor Rishia Heisuke was called to the Volleyball Gym for extra training by a phone call from the coach.
Watching Rishia Heisuke's retreating figure, the three remaining first-years held the utmost respect for him.
Heisuke, take care.
After dinner, with nothing else planned, the Inarizaki members each rested in their respective rooms.
Just after finishing a phone call with his family, Hinata heard a knock at the door.
Hinata opened the door and found it was Kumagai. "Akuma? What's up?"
Kumagai asked Hinata, "Are you two going to play volleyball together? Iizuna-senpai said we can use their gym whenever we want."
The mention of this made Hinata wide awake, he immediately replied, "Okay!"
Just as he was about to follow, he stopped in his tracks again: "But Coach won't let me practice anything involving running and jumping, so I probably won't be able to practice receiving, spiking, or serving anymore."
Even though it was just a scrape, the coach was quite serious about his knee.
Kumagai offered a reasonable suggestion: "Isn't that perfect? Come practice setting; I happen to have Iizuna-senpai here too."
Didn't Hoshiumi-senpai mention practicing setting before, too? We'll have to practice it sooner or later.
Having received a reasonable proposal for playing, Hinata quickly turned back to grab his volleyball shoes: "I'm coming!"
He poked Rishia, who was lying on the bed listening to music: "Heisuke! Get up and play volleyball!"
Rishia Heisuke, who had been dragged by the coach to do extra physical training, wanted to protest, but he sat up after meeting Hinata Shoyo's sparkling eyes.
Fine, let's train then..
Unabara hadn't returned from the gym, just as Kumagai, who had returned to call out to them, arrived at the elevator entrance with Hinata, a dark shadow approached them from behind.
The elevator doors opened, the moment Hinata stepped forward to enter the elevator, he felt something grab him by the back of his collar.
The moment his feet left the ground, by the time Hinata came to his senses, he saw the elevator doors being pressed by a long finger to close.
Miya Atsumu's voice, tinged with a hint of danger, drifted from behind: "Didn't I tell you not to do any strenuous exercise these few days? Why are you trying to play volleyball again?"
The High School's Strongest Setter turned his head to look at Hinata, who was being held by him and didn't dare to breathe, his face clearly written with disapproval.
Faintly sensing that Miya Atsumu seemed to be getting angry, Hinata Shoyo quickly ran through everything he might have done wrong over the past few days.
Having gradually mastered the skill of how to soothe Miya Atsumu, he said tentatively, "I won't do any strenuous exercise; I just want to practice my setting."
Miya Atsumu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Setter?"
Yeah, Akuma said Iizuna-senpai is also over at the volleyball gym. I had asked Iizuna-senpai about this matter before when we were at Shiratorizawa..
Feeling the hand gripping his collar lift him higher and higher, Hinata's voice grew smaller and smaller.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, Hinata quickly tried to make amends: "It would be great if Atsumu-senpai wanted to come along too! After all, Atsumu-senpai's setting is the best!"
Miya Atsumu put him down.