Either these little guys' comprehension is lacking, or Coach Inubata hasn't been teaching him correctly!
Hmm, it's most likely the former.
Under Hinata's lingering gaze, Miya Atsumu gave a light cough. "If you have a question, just ask."
The first-year junior looked at Miya Atsumu several times, but in the end, he didn't dare to speak up.
Miya Atsumu looked at Hinata with a smug expression.
—See, there's absolutely nothing wrong with him.
If Suna or Aran were here right now, they would have immediately called Miya Atsumu a scumbag, but the only evaluation Hinata could give at this moment was..
“Atsumu-senpai, you're bad.”
On the other side, Tatsuya Yukiya couldn't help but laugh, but to avoid being seen by the two seniors, he could only turn his head away; however, his constantly shaking shoulders still revealed the fact that he was laughing.
See, we have already become better today.
Tomorrow.. will be even better than today.
Right?
The golden-red light of the setting sun gradually covered the entire sky, the people from Yukinoshita waved goodbye to the two of them, reluctant to part: "See you later, seniors!"
Hinata waved while stepping backward, "See you tomorrow!"
Miya Atsumu reached out and tugged at his scarf, preventing the painful outcome of him stepping on a branch and getting hit by falling icicles as he stepped backward: "Watch where you're going."
Hinata turned around and raised his hands high: "Hehe, I'm super happy today."
Not only did he play ball with Kindaichi and the others, but he also got to see his juniors.
And the match they had lost in the past, Suzuki and the others had won, everything was moving in the best possible direction.
Miya Atsumu put his hands in his pockets. "You are happy every day."
Hinata looked up at Miya Atsumu: "Of course, I'm happier every single day than the day before, you too, Atsumu-senpai, right?"
Miya Atsumu tilted his head and thought for a moment, then answered under Hinata's persistent gaze, "Of course."
Without that obnoxious Suna and stupid Atsumu bothering him, he was indeed quite happy.
However.. it really did feel like life became much quieter whenever Hinata was away.
—It's a little bit of an adjustment.
That's right, he still hadn't watched that compilation of embarrassing photos Suna sent him before..
Taking a glance at the orange back of the head already walking ahead of him, Miya Atsumu instantly dismissed his terrible thoughts.
Tsk, with Shoyo around, who would want to watch that kind of thing?
Chapter 249: The Two Hundred and Forty-Ninth Fox
During this time in Sendai, Hinata's life has been quite fulfilling.
He basically maintained a routine where he would go for a morning run with Atsumu-senpai when he didn't want to get out of bed, head to Aobajohsai in the morning to do physical training with Coach Kosano or find Kindaichi and Kunimi at the Volleyball Club, lead the children from Yukinoshita through their practice in the afternoon to solidify his own fundamentals, occasionally head over to Karasuno in the evening to play two-on-two or three-on-three matches.
For the first few days, Miya Atsumu was still able to ride his bicycle back and forth with Hinata all day long, but after struggling for a few days, he eventually gave up on perfect attendance.
When he went over to Yukinoshita in the afternoon, he was just responsible for sitting nearby, occasionally offering a few words of guidance.
Well, it was only two sentences.
After staying in Sendai for a week, Hinata's family set off once again, taking the Shinkansen to reach Nagano, their intended travel destination.
Because they had decided to take Xiaoxia skiing, they had already booked a car in advance, so they could head straight to Hakuma Village after leaving the station.
After getting off the bus, Miya Atsumu, who was on this self-funded trip, took a breath of the local air.
It was currently peak travel season, among the crowds of tourists coming and going, there was no shortage of foreign faces.
Standing on tiptoe to look at the bus surrounded by people in uniform by the roadside, Hinata blinked and asked, "Is there some kind of celebrity over there?"
Miya Atsumu wasn't sure about this either, so he quickly pulled out his phone and searched for it.
He was a bit surprised. "Ah, there's a ski jumping competition here today, but where we're going is Goryu Ski Resort, not over by the jumping hills."
Catching sight of the Olympic rings hanging somewhere, Hinata's eyes lit up: "Ah, has this place.. hosted the Olympics?"
Yeah, the ski jumping events for the Winter Olympics were held right here.
But most of the other competitions are at.. Happo-one Ski Resort. That name sounds so strange.
Miya Atsumu read the information he had searched for on his phone: "They should all be over here. If you're curious, we can go take a look."
Hinata's eyes lit up.
He immediately looked toward his mother, who had already finished taking a photo with her husband near the landmark: "Mom—Atsumu-senpai and I are going over there to take a look! We'll be right back!"
Hinata's mother called out to Hinata, who was about to dash off, "Don't go yet, come over and take a photo."
Miya Atsumu followed over and raised his phone. "Let me help."
Hinata's father laughed heartily. "Atsumu-kun is so reliable."
"It was nothing." Miya Atsumu adjusted his position and took a family portrait of the family of four.
He stepped closer and showed the photo to Hinata's mother and Xiaoxia, both of them were very satisfied with it.
Miya Atsumu took the opportunity to say, "Uncle, Auntie, you can just call me by my name."
Hinata's mother happily agreed, "Okay, Atsumu."
Then I'll leave Shoyo in your hands, Atsumu-kun. If you run into any problems you can't solve, remember to call me.
The reliable Miya Atsumu gave a small smile. "Okay."
His handsome face, paired with the snowy scenery behind him, elevated the sense of reliability he projected to a whole new level, Hinata's mother felt more relieved than she could ever be.
After saying goodbye to the three of them, Miya Atsumu walked toward Hinata, who had already joined the crowd, all while under Xiaoxia's resentful gaze.
He reached out his hand to call Hinata back: "Come on, Shoyo, let's take a photo together."
"Coming, coming!" Hinata ran back quickly and crowded close to Miya Atsumu's side.
Miya Atsumu leaned down slightly and put his arm around Hinata's shoulder, their faces almost touching.
Hinata squinted one eye slightly, feeling a bit tickled by Atsumu's hair, just as Atsumu pressed the shutter for the selfie.
Looking at the photo on his phone, Miya Atsumu smiled. "Perfect."
After selecting a chat box and clicking send, Miya Atsumu put his phone away with satisfaction. "Alright, let's go watch the excitement!"
Hinata raised his hand: "Let's go!"
An international competition was being held over at the ski jump arena, tickets had long since sold out, but you could still catch a glimpse of it from the outside.
Miya Atsumu pointed toward the facilities at the mountain peak. "From there, the athletes will descend and accelerate, then they will take off at that spot, after that.."
As soon as he finished speaking, a notification sound rang out, followed by a dark shadow racing down the slope at extreme speed. It took flight from the exact spot Miya Atsumu had just pointed to, "flying" down at an angle almost parallel to the ground.
At a speed of over 100km/h, from their perspective, it was no different from true flight.
With a loud thud, a dark shadow landed several hundred meters from the mountain peak, before sliding down toward the foot of the mountain.
Miya Atsumu's attention was also completely drawn away by it.
Incredible.
With just two skis, humans could actually possess the ability to fly, even if only for a brief moment.
Cheers erupted immediately after, a score of over 240 meters appeared on the large screen within their field of vision.
Hinata's eyes widened, after a brief moment of breathlessness, he also felt that sense of disbelief that comes from witnessing a miracle.
Just watching him brought an exhilarating rush of adrenaline.
So.. so cool!
Atsumu-senpai! This is so cool!
Miya Atsumu also laughed, "This is the charm of extreme sports."
However, this sport also comes with extremely high risks; they should just watch.
Carried away by the excitement, Hinata looked at Miya Atsumu with eyes shining. "Atsumu-senpai! Let's go skiing too!"
He was feeling eager to give it a try!
When he was little, he had also followed his parents to many ski resorts to ski.. he could, for the most part, still do it a little!
Thinking of this, the full of confidence Hinata looked at Miya Atsumu: "Can Atsumu-senpai ski?"
Miya Atsumu remained silent for a few seconds, finally letting out a very cool "Hmph."
Hinata patted his chest: "It's okay, I can teach Atsumu-senpai!"
Looking at that face practically screaming "praise me," Miya Atsumu reached out with both hands and patted Hinata's shoulders. "So reliable, Shoyo."
Xiaoxia and the others had already headed over to the beginner slopes and ziplines of the ski resort, accompanied by a ski resort instructor.
After Hinata and the other one rented their equipment, they also entered the ski resort. "Let's go to the ski lifts over there!"
After putting on his skis, the somewhat uncoordinated Miya Atsumu stumbled along behind, even falling several times while getting on the chairlift.
Luckily, the snow was very soft, his clothes were thick; Miya Atsumu's protective gear was also worn neatly, so he wasn't hurt at all by those falls.
After several twists and turns, the two of them finally made it to the top of the beginner slope.
Standing steady on the slope, Hinata and Miya Atsumu looked at each other and burst into laughter at the same time.
Hinata pointed at the snow still clinging to Miya Atsumu's pants: "Atsumu-senpai, it looks like you're not quite acquainted with your legs right now."
He was so cool on the volleyball court, handling all sorts of high-difficulty moves with ease, so why was he looking so pathetic now?
—He even fell, even with ski poles in his hands.
Miya Atsumu grew red with embarrassment and anger: "Stop talking, I'll be able to adapt in no time."
It's all the snow's and the skis' fault; he definitely wouldn't have fallen if he were walking on his feet!
Just then, a child came skiing up from behind, unable to control their braking, crashed into Miya Atsumu right under the Coach's horrified gaze.