Unabara Uta pressed his hands together in a moment of silence for Miya Atsumu.
Kumagai stood up, holding Hinata in one arm, ran away from that hellish place without a moment's hesitation.
Yes, if we don't leave now..
In a little while, once Atsumu-senpai comes out, they will be the ones who suffer the consequences.
They're definitely going to be the ones who take the brunt of his anger!
When Hinata Shoyo woke up from his sleep, the sky had not yet completely turned dark.
The setting sun dyed the entire room a deep red, as if it were burning.
The person who had been flipping through documents beside him seemed to notice he had woken up and turned his head slightly to look at him.
Still a bit groggy, Hinata Shoyo blinked, trying his best to recall what he was doing before he lost consciousness.
That's right, it seems someone was trying to kill him.
So, is he dead now?
Is this some kind of eighteen-level purgatory hell?
But why does King Yama have a face exactly like Kita-senpai's?
"Want some water?" Kita asked him softly.
Hinata blinked again.
Why does Enma's voice sound just like the Kita Team's..
Kita frowned, reaching out to press his hand against Hinata's forehead, while his other hand touched his own forehead.
Touched by the somewhat cool hand, Hinata finally woke up.
He bolted upright. "Kita-senpai!"
Kita raised a finger to his lips, signaling Hinata to be quieter.
Hinata shrugged his shoulders, only then realizing there was another person sleeping beside him.
—Miya Atsumu, who for some reason had been tied up tightly with a blanket.
"Your temperature was a bit high just now. It's probably because you exerted too much energy, the room temperature over at Itachiyama is quite high, so you might have a bit of heatstroke," Kita said softly.
You don't have a sore throat, a stuffy nose, or a headache, do you?
Hinata shook his head. "Definitely not!"
Kita Shinsuke nodded and stood up, handing a banana to him: "Eat this first."
Afterward, he walked into the bathroom, where the faint sound of running water could be heard from within.
Not long after Hinata finished eating his banana, Kita came back out: "The water is ready. Take a bath first, then I'll take you out to eat."
After we eat, we'll go to the meeting, while we're at it, we'll look over the route for Fukuda General from these past few days.
Seeing Hinata turn to look at Miya Atsumu, Kita added, "Atsumu has already finished washing up, so don't worry about him."
Tossing the banana peel into the trash can, Hinata nodded. "Okay."
He tentatively stepped down, but instead of the expected soreness in his legs, he felt an unusual sense of relaxation.
Hinata's eyes lit up, he walked back and forth on the ground several times.
—That's amazing!
Kita's light chuckle drifted over: "What do you want to eat? I'll ask the coach to help order something first."
Hinata didn't hesitate: "Meat!"
Watching Hinata go in to take a bath, Kita Shinsuke turned back to look at Miya Atsumu, who was playing dead on the bed. "And you? What are you eating?"
Miya Atsumu was silent for two seconds before finally replying, "Anything is fine, I'm not picky."
Setting that aside, that bastard Aran.. Kita-senpai, help me untie this!
Kita Shinsuke walked up to Miya Atsumu's side and looked down at him: "I tied him up."
A question mark appeared above his head as Miya Atsumu stopped his wriggling like a maggot. "Huh?"
Kita repeated the scene from back then: "You wouldn't let go of Shoyo, he hadn't even showered yet, so I had to restrain you."
Miya Atsumu fell silent for two seconds, feeling guilty.
Alright, he understood.
Next time, he would wake Hinata up and have him take a shower first..
With the boost from a brief rest, massage, high-energy food, the Inarizaki members gradually regained some of their vitality.
Before everyone started to get drowsy, Coach Kurosu quickly grabbed a tablet and a tactical board to prepare for a meeting with the team.
"I feel a bit bad saying this to Fukuda General, but in reality, Fukuda General is a bit easier for us to play against than Itachiyama." Coach Kurosu took out the match footage that he and Coach Omimi had selected together this afternoon.
What needs to be noted is their blocking and quick attack system..
Pressing the play button, the match between Fukuda General and Shirabu appeared before everyone's eyes.
Usui's setter didn't deliver a particularly good ball, but Kiryu's back-row attack was very decisive. Under normal circumstances, it would have been quite difficult to block, but..
Whoa! He blocked it," Hinata said in shock, "He's so tall.
After playing another clip of Fukuda General's quick attack, Coach Kurosu tapped Shiratori Natsume on the screen with his pen.
“This number one, their vice-captain, has a latest standing height of 1.93m, a standing reach of 2.69m, a maximum vertical reach of around 3.2m.” Coach Kurosu's expression was very serious.
There is no specific data for his vertical reach after a running start, but it's estimated to be no less than 3.4m.
Suna, don't go up against them directly when you're not fully prepared; it's very easy to get crushed.
Suna nodded, "Understood."
Coach Kurosu continued, "His individual skills as a setter are average, but his chemistry with all his teammates is excellent, it's clear from his tactics that he has been well-trained; his standard plays are very professional."
However, his height gives him a natural advantage in quick attack coordination, so you need to be wary of the back quick attacks frequently coordinated between him and the number 3 middle blocker, Fukai So.
Kurosu immediately pointed to Kuroo beside Shiratori: "This Opposite No. 2, Captain Kuroo Rei, treat him with the same caution you would Ushijima; his power is immense."
Miya Atsumu leaned back in his chair. "Only half, then. Not something to be feared."
Glancing sharply at Miya Atsumu, Coach Kurosu continued, "He is very skilled with technical plays, he is extremely proficient at using tooling the block and short diagonals. He doesn't receive many balls, but his level is very solid; in a certain sense, he is just as difficult to deal with as Ushijima."
However, he is only just over 1.8m tall, so his competitive edge in height is limited; he can suppress opponents by occupying the high point instead.
Additionally, their two Middle Blockers are 1.84m and 1.91m respectively, their overall blocking strength is very high, so don't let your guard down.
Number 9 Spiker Midorikawa Aki has exceptional receiving skills and can act as a second setter, but his personality is very unpredictable; he will set those quick attacks that fly straight from the baseline, so try to avoid strong attacks against him.
Aran frowned.
To be honest, with this lineup, they aren't much different from Itachiyama; it doesn't feel at all like they are "easier to play against," as the coach said.
Moreover, Fukuda General's blocking pattern looks more like Karasuno's; this kind of two-person block combined with a middle blocker, honed through long-term training and integration, is quite difficult to deal with.
This kind of block is also very difficult to break through; if the back row's receiving skills are slightly better, it easily leads to a stalemate.
Imagine if Karasuno's Libero was Yaku and the Setter was Oikawa Tooru..
Wow, how terrifying.
Finally, Coach Kurosu pulled out the profiles for the last two people. They were also the only two second-year players.
Kurosu pointed to the first one: "Number 12, Wing Spiker, Kazama Junichi."
Hinata remembered this person: "Ah, it's that delinquent senior."
Kurosu was silent for half a second, then pointed to the second one: "Number 5 Libero, Matsuda Shuji."
The skill level of these two is only within the range of regular players; they can be treated as a weak point.
The Inarizaki members all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, Aran also felt that he could do it again.
Oh, so the Libero is the weak point.
Then it's fine.
Chapter 114: The One Hundred and Fourteenth Fox
“I feel like today is an important day..”
A bird landed on a book not far away, sunlight spilled from overhead; the post-midday sun was exceptionally scorching.
Oikawa Tooru squinted his eyes, but he couldn't quite remember if there was any major event happening today.
Glancing at Oikawa Tooru, who was staring blankly while holding a volleyball, Iwaizumi Hajime tossed over the chilled soda that Kawarai had just bought: "Want to watch? The finals of the National Sports Festival?"
Oikawa only then realized, "Ah, the National Sports Festival finals are today?"
—It was indeed a major event for them.
However, he hadn't paid much attention to the National Sports Festival this time, especially since Shiratorizawa was eliminated in the first round. Additionally, they had been so busy adjusting their tactics lately that he hadn't watched it at all.
Moving back from the door, Oikawa Tooru looked at Iwaizumi Hajime, who was currently rummaging through his tablet. "Who's playing in the finals?"
Iwaizumi Hajime quickly found the National Sports Festival's broadcast and located the live stream for the high school boys' volleyball tournament.
There was still a long time before the match began; the players had not yet entered the court to warm up, the cameras were filming the situation throughout the entire arena.
The adult division matches had already concluded yesterday, so today's matches are being held on the only Center Court, which is also the home venue used for local professional matches.
Iwaizumi Hajime was still using his phone to look up player introductions, while on the other side, Oikawa Tooru had already begun to lament, "The Center Court.."
A vein popped on his forehead as Iwaizumi Hajime pulled a large bag of bread from his pocket and tossed it over. "Stop making that face; it's annoying to look at."
You're going back sooner or later anyway, so what's there to be melancholy about?
Yes, even if he doesn't have the chance in high school, he believes Oikawa Tooru can reach even higher stages.
When that time comes.. there will be endless matches at the Center Court.
Oikawa Tooru, having been struck on the head, protested, "Iwaizumi! Ow! I didn't even do anything!"
Iwaizumi Hajime sat down next to Oikawa Tooru with a bag of bread in his hand and nudged him with his elbow: "You're so annoying!"