He, who had always been good at expressing his emotions, let himself be driven by his inner feelings at this moment, letting himself laugh and cry.
The words that once seemed like a joke had become reality, leaving him feeling somewhat dazed and overwhelmed.
The sweat of hard work, the cheers of victory, the joy of reaching the summit..
His high school life was so fulfilling and wonderful; he has no regrets left.
It was just.. a little bit difficult to let go.
Hinata raised his hand: "Then Kita Team, please come watch our matches again next year! We will win the championship again!"
Kita Shinsuke nodded. "Alright, I will definitely come."
Of course he will come; he looks forward to seeing his teammates in a more mature state in the future.
It will definitely.. be so incredibly cool.
Hinata cheered excitedly, "Yay! Long live the Kita Team!"
The post-match interviews and photo sessions with fans were carried out one after another in the Sub-gymnasium.
After taking photos with Xiaoxia, Kuroo, Shimizu, several other Third Years from Fukuda General, Hinata saw Aran being led away by Coach Kurosu.
It looked like the person arriving was a foreign coach, Oikawa Tooru was right beside him.
Hoshiumi's voice followed immediately after, "Shoyo, group photo!"
Hinata pulled his gaze back and looked at the Shiratori Natsume beside him. "Natsume-senpai, I'm going over to Hoshiumi-senpai's side first."
"Go ahead, go ahead." Having gotten the photo and even getting to touch Xiaoxia, Shiratori was practically radiating happiness.
Watching Hinata leave, Shiratori walked toward Miya Atsumu, who was looking at them with a dark expression, said, "Atsumu-kun, let me take a photo with High School's Best Setter too."
Suzuki Nanao broke free from his mother's supervision and rushed to Hinata Shoyo's side: "Hinata-senpai! I'm here for a group photo!! And the championship trophy too!"
He is also someone who will win the Haruko championship in the future!
Hinata Natsu clung to Hinata Shoyo's arm, his gaze towards Suzuki Nanao filled with wariness: "I want to join in too!"
Shoyo held the championship trophy, letting the two children cling to his arms on either side. "Everyone together, everyone together."
After seeing off all kinds of people, the Inarizaki members, having finally finished the entire Haruko tournament cycle, began their journey back to the hotel.
Miya Atsumu turned his head to look at Hinata beside him. "By the way.. Shoyo, do you have any plans for the holidays?"
After Haruko, they will have a long break. Although the gymnasium will remain open, the Coach won't arrange many special training sessions.
This period is meant for recovering and adjusting one's state after the intense matches, training won't restart until the end of the month.
Turning around, there is also a Rookie Tournament in early February held alongside the ones in Osaka and Kyoto, where professional players and university rookies will come to join the excitement.
Then there was the Prefectural Tournament in early April; at that time, Coach Kurosu might bring over the freshmen who had already been recommended for admission, providing an opportunity for the lineup after the Third Years graduate to build their chemistry.
Back in April of last year, Hinata was still building his foundation in the Second String and didn't have the chance to participate in this tournament.
Hinata replied, "To go back to Sendai to see my grandmother and the others."
And Coach Nekota's request..
At this thought, Hinata paused.
Ah, he seems to have forgotten to call Oikawa-senpai; senpai said he wanted to meet him privately.
I'm doomed.
Chapter 235: The Two Hundred and Thirty-Fifth Fox
Seeing Hinata stop for no apparent reason, Miya Atsumu and Xiaoxia, who were by his side, both looked at him at the same time.
Miya Atsumu was a bit confused: "What's wrong?"
Did he leave something behind at the venue?
That can't be right; he even did a thorough check before leaving, he definitely didn't forget anything.
“I.. I..”
Hinata stammered for a long time, his thoughts jumping back and forth between "Oikawa-senpai might have something important to discuss" and "Oikawa-senpai is going to bury him."
Under Miya Atsumu's increasingly worried gaze, Hinata finally spoke up, "I forgot to call Oikawa-senpai; he had asked to meet me earlier."
Alarm bells rang loudly in Miya Atsumu's head as he recalled that previous scene; he couldn't help but feel that Oikawa-senpai had some ulterior motives.
Plus, with his usual frivolous mannerisms.. he couldn't possibly have any designs on Hinata, could he!
Without thinking, Miya Atsumu shouted out, "No! Shoyo, you can't call him!"
At the sound of that shout, the Inarizaki members in front couldn't help but turn around and look at him.
Aran scratched his head. "What is this guy doing?"
Hearing Miya Atsumu's decisive words, Hinata was still a bit hesitant: "But Atsumu-senpai, I don't feel like Oikawa-senpai is the kind of person who would hurt me."
After all, he had made a promise to Oikawa-senpai, so it wouldn't be right to break it like this.
Miya Atsumu grabbed Hinata directly: "You're not allowed to go—"
After thinking it over seriously, Hinata Shoyo still decided to give Oikawa Tooru a call.
Just as he had pulled his phone out of his pocket, Miya Atsumu snatched it away and tucked it into his shirt, crouching down so Hinata couldn't grab it.
Seeing Miya Atsumu acting like this, Hinata Shoyo was a bit puzzled.
It was true that Atsumu-senpai and Oikawa-senpai didn't seem to get along very well, but it shouldn't be to the point of such intense resistance.
Hinata made up his mind: "I'll go take a look at the gymnasium entrance. If Oikawa-senpai really has something to say to me, he might not have left yet."
Under Hinata Natsu's disdainful gaze, Miya Atsumu, who was crouching on the ground, reached out and grabbed Hinata's leg, looking as if he refused to let him leave no matter what.
The Inarizaki members watched the spectacle from the side, while Suna had already taken out his phone and started recording.
However, the weather was a bit cold right now, so he held it in one hand for a while before switching to the other.
Hinata tugged at his own leg, only to find he couldn't move it: "Atsumu-senpai.. didn't you say before that you would go with me?"
Miya Atsumu, who had been rubbing against Hinata's leg, stopped his movements.
That's right, he can go together.
Even if Oikawa-senpai had any improper thoughts, he could simply extinguish them.
Having thought it through, Miya Atsumu let Hinata go and returned the phone.
He sniffled and raised his hand to tidy the hair he had messed up against Hinata.
Miya Atsumu puffed out his chest and held his head high: "Let's go, let's go right now!"
"I'll give Oikawa-senpai a call first.." After scrolling through his phone's contact list, Hinata froze.
Wait, he remembered that he and Oikawa-senpai had exchanged phone numbers, so why was it missing?
Miya Atsumu, who had just deleted Oikawa Tooru in a moment of haste, remained silent.
Having guessed what had happened, Hinata Shoyo looked up at Miya Atsumu, the two of them stood there in a deadlock, staring each other down.
Xiaoxia pouted, "Atsumu-senpai, bad."
Miya Osamu chimed in, "Exactly, stupid and bad."
In the very end, it was Kita Shinsuke who provided Oikawa Tooru's number.
The call was answered quickly, Oikawa Tooru's voice, sounding as if he had just woken up, came through the line: "Hmm? Shoyo-kun? What's up?"
Hearing that nickname, Miya Atsumu's expression contorted for a moment.
Hinata got straight to the point: "Oikawa-senpai said he wanted to meet with me before, but I forgot. Does senpai still have time now?"
Their post-match interview took quite a long time, by the time they came out, it was already dark.
During this time, he saw Oikawa Tooru come to find Aran with a coach, but it didn't take much time.
Oikawa Tooru regained his senses: "Ah.. we're already on the bus back, we've already left Tokyo."
He actually wanted to wait for Hinata, but the distance to Sendai was simply too far, their bus couldn't wait any longer, so they had no choice but to give up.
Hearing this, Miya Atsumu breathed a sigh of relief.
Hinata pressed further, "Then.. what does Oikawa-senpai want to say to me?"
Oikawa Tooru on the other end of the phone seemed to be silent for a while.
A light chuckle seemed to ring out from the other side of the phone, followed immediately by Oikawa Tooru's voice: "It's nothing, I just wanted you to stay in touch more with Kunimi, Kindaichi, the others."
Glancing back at the two juniors who had already fallen asleep, Oikawa Tooru continued, "They are good kids; I think you all can become friends."
Hinata finally felt relieved: "Yeah, absolutely no problem! Besides, we're already friends!"
He is super close with Kunimi and Kindaichi!
After returning to Sendai in a few days, he also planned to go into the city to find those two people to play volleyball with.
Watching Oikawa Tooru exchange a few words of congratulations with Hinata Shoyo before hanging up the phone, Iwaizumi Hajime raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you planning to bring up the matter regarding Miya Atsumu? Why have you stopped talking about it again?"
Oikawa Tooru rolled his eyes. "Don't think I don't know, that guy Miya Atsumu is definitely right next to me, and.."
After briefly recalling everything he had seen over the past few days, Oikawa paused for a moment before continuing, "And I think you're right, Iwaizumi-kun."
He felt..
Perhaps even in his own subconscious, Hinata likes it.
After all, Hinata was never someone who could hide his true feelings; a smile never lies.
Oikawa leaned back against the chair, preparing to go back to sleep: "We'll see if there's another chance to meet again later."
However, once he graduates, he plans to leave, so there probably won't be another chance to meet again.
Next time.. it will most likely be on some international stage.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Miya Atsumu and Hinata Shoyo, who were crouching at the entrance of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, both breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
—It's such a relief that Oikawa-senpai doesn't want to bury him!
—It's such a relief that Oikawa-senpai didn't have any ulterior motives!