Here's some water, a mask, a mask..
The coach's phone wouldn't go through, Kumagai had already left to find him; Miya Atsumu, having finally recovered a bit, took the initiative to carry Hinata on his back.
Nagumo instructed, "Just take a taxi there, move quickly."
Yeah.
While out buying water during the women's volleyball warm-ups, Hoshiumi looked up and saw the person in the red sports uniform dash out like a bolt of lightning.
A string of question marks appeared over his head, Hoshiumi's face was written with confusion: "What's going on?"
Reaching out to wrap his arms around Miya Atsumu's neck, Hinata, whose consciousness was a bit blurred, opened his eyes and vaguely felt as if he were dreaming: "Atsumu-senpai, the match.. is it over?"
Miya Atsumu replied softly, "It's over."
Hinata's voice followed, ".. Did we win?"
Miya Atsumu replied decisively, "Of course, we both deserve half the credit."
Hinata was a bit dazed: "Doubles?"
Does volleyball even have a category for that? No, wait, I think there actually was someone who wanted him to play doubles..
Miya Atsumu followed his lead and continued, "Yeah, doubles."
After saying that, he laughed himself.
Hearing Miya Atsumu's laughter, Hinata finally snapped out of it: "Atsumu-senpai, Aran-senpai, Akagi-senpai, they all worked very hard too."
"Then we'll give them a tenth of the credit," Miya Atsumu replied reluctantly.
Involuntarily pulling his arms in, Hinata whispered in Miya Atsumu's ear, "Um, won't the award ceremony and everything be delayed?"
That was the champions' award ceremony; eighty percent of the tournament's MVPs also belonged to Atsumu.
If Miya Atsumu missed the ceremony because he was sick.. it wouldn't be worth it.
It's fine, the championship isn't going anywhere," Atsumu said, weighing Hinata in his arms without a second thought. "You're more important right now.
Feeling that Hinata was about to say something more, Miya Atsumu quickly added, "The women's volleyball matches haven't even started yet; they probably won't finish until after seven at the earliest. The awards ceremony won't happen until at least eight, so even if you get a shot, you'll still make it."
It gets dark relatively early now; in fact, it's only just five o'clock.
Hinata felt relieved.
Under the guidance of Nagumo and Miya Osamu, Hinata had his blood drawn and asked the doctor for fever-reducing medication, receiving an IV drip while waiting for the test results.
Today's match was truly exhausting. Hinata leaned against Miya Atsumu, his ear pressed close to the other's chest.
The steady and powerful heartbeat provided enough of a sense of security, making him feel drowsy.
Patting Hinata's shoulder, Miya Atsumu said, "Sleep."
Almost in the next second, Hinata fell back into a deep sleep.
Looking up at Hinata's IV drip, Miya Atsumu spoke softly, "Osamu.."
Sitting on the other side, Miya Osamu looked up at him.
Feeling the warmth coming from Hinata's hand, Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes. "Tell me, am I.. the same as??"
Miya Osamu withdrew his gaze, turning instead to look at Nagumo, who was flipping through a portable vocabulary book in the chair on the other side, did not answer Miya Atsumu's question.
After all.. the answer was actually quite obvious.
Atsumu lowered his head, tilting it slightly, pressed his face against Hinata's head: "Ah, I'm a little, just a little bit unsatisfied."
Anyway, to him, Hinata was different.
It was as if the gods had heard his prayer, sending a true messenger of the gods to descend by his side..
At this very moment, as he secured the first championship of his life, Hinata was undoubtedly the Spiker he absolutely could not afford to lose.
Then, for Hinata, would he be a special setter?
Miya Osamu frowned. "You should take some of that brainpower you use for volleyball and apply it elsewhere; at least try to have some confidence in these matters.."
Before he could finish speaking, he heard Miya Atsumu's breathing become steady as well.
In the end, Miya Osamu sighed, "I knew you couldn't be trusted."
The task of asking the nurse to come and change the dressing still fell on him.
But then again, Hinata had collapsed after several consecutive days of high-intensity exercise.
And even without that terrifying amount of running, Miya Atsumu had truly played through the entire National Sports Festival cycle as the absolute core.
He must be exhausted too.
When Coach Kurosu rushed over with Suna, who was in decent condition, the first thing he saw was Hinata and Miya Atsumu sleeping side by side.
Suna, who was already in a video call with Kita Shinsuke, raised his phone and recorded the scene before him.
—The sound of the camera shutter seemed too loud in the hospital; he wouldn't take any photos this time.
Not long after, Hinata's test results also came out.
Coach Kurosu, who had gone to confirm the results with the doctor, gave everyone a thumbs up.
The test results for both bacteria and viruses were negative; it was simply caused by excessive exercise. After the fever breaks, drinking more sports drinks should do the trick.
While everyone waited for Hinata to finish the last small bottle of glucose that Coach Kurosu had provided after calling the doctor, the women's volleyball match also concluded after five intense sets, with Shinzan Girls' High School successfully defending their title.
Looking at Hinata, who had regained some vitality, Coach Kurosu asked, "Have you been resurrected?"
As expected, glucose is the most effective thing at times like this.
Hinata raised his hand: "Resurrection!"
Coach Kurosu nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, then go prepare for your award ceremony."
“I've spoken with the organizing committee. The temperature has been dropping lately and the flu is quite severe, so just wear your team jacket. Osamu, don't leave either.”
Miya Osamu had no objections; after all, he was already entitled to a share of this championship.
Just the thought of the MVP going to Miya Atsumu.. he could already imagine the dark daily life he would face for the next few months.
—This guy's tail is definitely going to be sticking straight up in the air!
Chapter 125: The One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Fox
In the cleared court, only the net still stood tall, on the judges' table in front, covered with red cloth, trophies engraved with names and framed certificates had already been placed.
The music belonging to Inarizaki played incessantly throughout the entire venue, dancing in harmony with the cheers coming from Shinzan Girls.
Hoshiumi pulled down his mask slightly, his eyes filled with disdain. "That's why I said we should have gone back first; there's nothing interesting about this kind of ceremony, right?"
Hirugami rested his hands on his knees, watching the six teams enter one after another through the player tunnels on both sides.
Just like the day they arrived, the captain held the sign representing them, leading everyone step by step to their designated positions.
Calming the resentment and bitterness in his heart, Hirugami said softly, "Only by seeing it with your own eyes can you have the material for your dreams in the future."
Hoshiumi's firm and powerful voice rang out: "We will be there in the future, too."
Coach Unabara stood behind the Volleyball Association representative, watching the absolute king, Shinzan Girls, the new king who had ascended the throne, Inarizaki.
[Certificate of Merit - First Place, Municipal Inarizaki High School. In recognition of the team's outstanding performance in the Men's High School Volleyball event at the 67th National Sports Festival, this certificate is hereby awarded as an encouragement for their excellence.]
Kita Shinsuke stepped forward, taking the trophy and the certificate from the chairman, one in each hand. Finally, he lowered his head, allowing the other man to hang the gold medal of the champion around his neck.
The chairman patted Kita's shoulder: "Keep up the good work."
Kita nodded. "We will."
Representatives from various sectors of the country's volleyball industry stepped forward to place medals around the necks of the Inarizaki players.
Coach Unabara, standing beside the chairman, took a gold medal from the protocol officer and walked up to Hinata, who was at the end of the line.
After placing the medal around Hinata's neck, Coach Unabara reached out to him following the established procedure: "Hinata, that was a wonderful performance."
Hinata stared at the other man's name tag; he naturally had an impression of the person who had once helped him during the Interhigh.
—Head Coach of the Japan Junior National Volleyball Team.
A few incredibly shocking words rushed into Hinata's brain. He looked up at Coach Unabara, who was smiling at him, felt completely dazed. "Huh?"
Coach Unabara shook hands with Hinata: "I look forward to seeing you active on a higher stage in the future."
Without staying too long, Coach Unabara had already stepped back into the group of leaders.
It would be impossible to say he doesn't have expectations, but now is far too early.
Their team has no shortage of players who overwhelm Hinata in both height and technique. For Hinata, only by arming himself to the teeth can he break into his and their field of vision.
Like Hoshiumi..
Become someone they must choose.
He is waiting right here.
After presenting the certificates to the gold, silver, bronze medalists for both the men's and women's events, the President of the Volleyball Association stepped forward again.
【Next, we will present the individual awards.】
【MVP, Inarizaki High School, Miya Atsumu.】
【Shinzan Girls' High School, Asai Weka.】
[Miya Atsumu has laid the foundation for the team's advantage multiple times in this tournament through his powerful serves, ranking first in average service points per match.]
[At the same time, as the command center, he coordinated the team to organize many wonderful attacks, collaborating with player number 4 Owari Aran and player number 17 Hinata on several offensive plays to turn the tide of the game.]
Hinata puffed out his chest without making it obvious.
The gold medal around his neck felt heavy, repeatedly telling him that all of this was real.
[In this tournament, Miya's effective scoring and assist ratio is undoubtedly the highest in the field.]
[After careful consideration of various factors, he is hereby awarded the MVP award.]
Miya Atsumu stepped forward steadily and accepted the certificate that belonged to him personally from the Volleyball Association President.
There was joy, but no surprise.