The chairman in charge of the awards ceremony patted Hinata on the shoulder: "Hinata, keep up the good work."
"I will!" Hinata nodded.
Next year, he will definitely win Best Spiker or MVP!
Chapter 234: Two Hundred and Thirty-Four Foxes
Clutching his own certificate while walking through the Players' Tunnel, Hinata couldn't stop grinning foolishly.
He looked it over several times, even holding it up to observe it closely under the lights.
The gold-bottomed certificate shimmered under the overhead lights, with the four characters of Hinata Shoyo standing out particularly clearly.
This was.. his very own honor.
He held the certificates against his chest, turning his head to show them to Miya Atsumu while walking with a tilt, "Atsumu-senpai, look!"
Miya Atsumu, holding the two certificates, laughed loudly. "Cool."
After receiving Atsumu's affirmation, Hinata jogged a few steps forward to stand right in front of Kita Shinsuke. "Kita Team! Look!"
Kita Shinsuke nodded with a smile. "Very impressive. This is the only individual award given to a first-year this year."
He was just about to show the coaches, but he discovered that Coach Kurosu and Coach Omimi, who had been watching them receive their awards from the sidelines, had not come over to meet them.
A somewhat disappointed Hinata looked up at Kita Shinsuke. "Where are the coaches?"
Kita Shinsuke chuckled softly. "They've already gone to the Sub-gymnasium to wait for us. Let's head over there together now."
Hinata was stunned by his words.
Sub-gymnasium?
Didn't they already finish their stretching? What else are they going to do at the Sub-gymnasium?
Aran added, "You'll find out once we get there."
Before they could even turn into the corridor leading to the other sub-gymnasium, a jubilant voice rang out in everyone's ears.
“Big brother, big brother! Congratulations on winning the championship!!”
After being released by Coach Himegomiya, Xiaoxia immediately spread her arms and rushed over.
Shoyo understood perfectly and turned around, shoving his certificate into Miya Atsumu's hands behind him.
He crouched down slightly and reached out to catch Xiaoxia as she lunged toward him.
Hinata had originally wanted to pick up his younger sister, but he failed after trying hard.
His aching lower back and weak legs made it difficult for him to sustain the movement, so he could only press his face against Natsu.
I heard all of Natsu's cheering, she's so reliable!
Xiaoxia patted her chest, a look of pride on her face: "I'm super reliable!"
Taking Hinata Natsu's hand to help her stand up, Hinata Shoyo bowed deeply to Coach Himegomiya as he approached. "Thank you, Coach Himegomiya, for taking such good care of my sister during this time!"
Coach Himegomiya reached out and rubbed both orange-headed children's heads, one in each hand. "No need for thanks; Xiaoxia will be my disciple in the future."
Looking at the Inarizaki members, Coach Himegomiya said with a chuckle, "Alright, I'm heading out first. See you all tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow!" Hinata waved and said goodbye to Himegomiya.
Hmm? See you tomorrow?
The moment the three words "Itachiyama" appeared in his mind, painful memories surged into Hinata's heart.
The blurred figure of the blonde man had already surfaced before Hinata's eyes, accompanied by a pain that made him tremble just thinking about it.
Watching Coach Himegomiya's back, Hinata couldn't help but take a step back.
Help, I'm going to die.
I'm definitely going to die against Itachiyama this time—
That Amari Yuka! She was so cool!
To pull off such a cool spike even while being targeted by serves!
Without noticing her brother's pale face, Natsu continued to describe Tennai's performance in the previous match to him.
However, she didn't know that much yet, many of the things she said could be heard as her recounting Coach Himegomiya's original words.
Listening to Xiaoxia's excited voice, Shoyo pushed those terrifying images out of his mind bit by bit.
Even if he dies, it will have to be tomorrow; today, he is still a "good" person!
Listening intently to Natsu's description, Hinata Shoyo could already imagine what Tennai looked like on the court.
—Even though he didn't know what Tennai looked like.
But the Ace's words.. would be the same, wouldn't they?
Natsu's tone was very firm: "I also want to become someone like her."
Shoyo reached out and rubbed her head. "You definitely will. Xiaoxia will become stronger than everyone else."
Hehe," Xiaoxia laughed happily after receiving the affirmation, but she immediately became serious. "Big brother isn't allowed to pat my head anymore, or I won't grow tall.
Hinata was startled: "Then I won't touch it anymore."
Wait..
Thinking of this, Hinata suddenly turned his head to look back at Miya Atsumu and the others.
Atsumu-senpai and the others pat his head every single day; he's really not going to grow anymore, is he!
".." Seeing Hinata's terrified expression, Miya Atsumu guessed what Hinata was thinking in less than a tenth of a second.
But Shoyo, you've grown quite a bit taller.
Hinata's attention was quickly diverted, he looked at Miya Atsumu with a hint of pleasant surprise. "Really! I've grown a lot?"
But immediately following that, a look of hesitant disbelief crossed his face.
He clearly felt that the height difference between him and Hinata Natsu had become even smaller; had she really grown taller?
Miya Atsumu, having once again successfully read the information on Hinata Shoyo's face, felt it was somewhat funny. "It's just that Xiaoxia is growing fast. Girls develop a bit earlier; she's at the age where her body is growing rapidly."
Hinata really wrote everything he wanted to say on his face; seeing it so often made him feel like he had mind-reading abilities.
Walking at the very front, Kita Shinsuke reached out and pushed open the doors to the Sub-gymnasium.
What entered Hinata's sight was a crowd of media, scouts, reporters gathered around the entrance, along with cameras set up all around.
Countless gazes were cast upon everyone, as everyone turned their heads to look at the group walking into the arena.
With a swish, the black banners and red team flags were unfurled one after another.
[No Need to Reminisce About Yesterday]
Coach Kurosu, who was holding the banner, waved to everyone: "Let's take a group photo first."
Rintaro, hold the banner. Shinsuke, go squat in the middle of the front row, Shoyo, go stand next to Shinsuke.
“Shinsuke, hold the trophy steady. You all make sure to hold your own certificates out so they can be displayed clearly.”
Coach Kurosu quickly arranged everyone's positioning: "Give the tournament championship flag to Atsumu-senpai. Natsu, you go get the certificates for Atsumu-senpai."
After speaking, he and Coach Omimi also quickly walked to both sides of the team, striking the pose middle-aged men typically use for photos in front of the camera.
—Give a thumbs up.
The official Haruko tournament photographer, standing right in the center, couldn't help but nod. "Very good, everyone smile. Captain, give us a smile too, Number 14, don't look so stiff."
The winning team's group photo will be permanently recorded in the Haruko archives, the name of Inarizaki will also become a permanent part of the championship banner.
Great, come on, three, two, one.
“Cheese——”
Flashbulbs lit up from all directions, at this moment, all the media waiting here captured the champion's smile.
——The camera flashes were a bit blinding.
While holding the championship trophy in the very center, Kita Shinsuke's vision suddenly blurred.
A stinging sensation welled up in his nose, something trickled down his cheek.
Standing right next to Kita Shinsuke, Hinata Shoyo was the first to notice his change.
Seeing Kita Shinsuke shedding tears, Hinata Shoyo was a bit stunned: ".. Kita Team?"
The Kita Team is crying?
Kita Shinsuke stood up with his head bowed, looking at the heavy trophy in his hands, unable to control his emotions for a moment.
This trophy is even heavier than the one from the National Sports Festival.
It wasn't just the weight of the trophy itself, but the sheer length of the battle that spanned from the autumn of one year to the beginning of the next during Haruko.
A hand appeared in his field of vision.
Kita looked up and met Hinata's eyes, which were filled with worry.
Kita Shinsuke gave a soft laugh, letting Hinata lean in, reached out to hug him.
He used one hand to protect the trophy to prevent it from falling, while his other hand reached back to embrace Hinata.
Watching the two of them, Aran breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, before this, the members of the Inarizaki starting lineup were not really the type to be good at offering comfort.
When Shinsuke cried while distributing the team uniforms before, the Inarizaki members were all a bit at a loss.
But this time.. someone gave him a hug.
Stroking Hinata's hair, Kita Shinsuke laughed happily, "Hahahaha.."
His teammates were so hardworking, so brave.
ly the Inari God would also be moved by this, blessing them to live through the coming days free from illness and disaster, enjoying the happiness of a bountiful harvest.
"Thank you, thank you everyone, everyone worked very hard." Kita Shinsuke released Hinata.