Before this, he had actually been more proud of this upcoming authority, but at this very moment, he suddenly felt something as heavy as a mountain pressing down on his shoulders.
The Kita Team is leaving.
All the Third Years are about to leave.
That responsibility, which the Kita Team had once carried, was being completely transferred to him at this very moment.
—It was so heavy.
"Good luck." Kita Shinsuke's voice was full of encouragement.
He knew that being a Captain might be a bit difficult for Miya Atsumu, but..
It's no problem. His juniors are all the elite of the elite, especially Atsumu; he will definitely fulfill all the missions that belong to him.
Miya Atsumu took two deep breaths, preventing tears from falling from his eyes.
He responded loudly, "Yes! I will definitely not let down the expectations of the Kita Team and the coaches!"
Watching Miya Atsumu walk back while carrying his clothes, Coach Kurosu immediately called out the second person.
Vice-Captain, Number 2, Miya Osamu.
No one was surprised by this.
After all, since the Captain had already chosen Miya Atsumu, there was a ninety-nine percent chance the Vice-Captain would choose his twin brother to balance him out.
“Number 3, Kumagai Kuniharu.”
Kumagai's number remained the same; after all, this was the number Nagumo Kanata had proactively offered, Coach Kurosu had no intention of pushing it back during his second year.
However, Kumagai's height had increased quite a bit himself, his physique had become much sturdier than the first years' thanks to physical training, so his team uniform was also custom-made.
Number 4, Rishia Heisuke.
Rishia Heisuke, who had suddenly been called by name, stood up with a start, feeling completely dazed.
Wait, why was number 4 given to him? Shouldn't it be—
After thinking hard, he paused for a moment.
Inarizaki's number 4 belongs to the Ace Wing Spiker most of the time.
With Miya Osamu having reserved number 2, Hinata having reserved number 10, Ginjima Yui playing the Middle Blocker position that the Second Year had taken, he was indeed the only one left.
Aran, standing behind Coach Kurosu, raised his hand and gave Rishia Heisuke a thumbs up.
Rishia being able to get this number wasn't simply because he had gotten lucky.
Hinata and Miya Osamu are both technical players; among the current Inarizaki starting lineup, only Rishia Heisuke is like him, playing direct strong attacks based on a foundation of both offense and defense.
And during several appearances at Haruko, Rishia Heisuke's performance was commendable, proving he was more than capable of carrying the number 4 jersey.
Rishia Heisuke took his uniform with a bit of nervousness, walking back to Hinata's side with clumsy, uncoordinated steps.
That's amazing! Heisuke!" Hinata's eyes were full of envy. "Number 4 is the Ace's number!
Rishia Heisuke grinned foolishly. "No, the Ace will be you."
Just like Sakusa-senpai and Unai-senpai were the number 10 Aces, looking at the current situation within their team, Hinata will most likely be the number 10 Ace as well.
Number 5, Ginjima Yui.
Ginjima's number hadn't changed either; it was also just a change to a new size of jersey.
Number 6, Suna Rintaro.
Suna stepped forward to collect his uniform.
He was actually quite satisfied with this number.
He didn't have to stand next to the twins during the lineup, nor was he in a position to attract attention at the very end of the line.
Number 7, Kosaku.
Kosaku came back with his uniform and sat down beside Suna, looking just as excited.
Number 8, Arima Shuji.
Upon hearing that name, Hinata snapped his head up.
Meanwhile, someone in the Second String raised a finger to point at themselves, as if they were confirming with the person beside them whether they were experiencing hallucinations.
“Arima-senpai!”
The several first years who had been promoted from the Second String during the summer all knew them; when they were in the Second String, they had taken great care of them and were never stingy with what they could teach.
And now.. they actually had the chance to reunite in the First String!
Arima, who was currently playing as the Libero, took his uniform from Akagi, his face beaming with joy.
He had actually had a premonition that he would be chosen, but when this moment arrived, he still couldn't suppress his joy.
Number 9, Unabara Uta.
The uniform held in Akagi-senpai's hands was a completely different color from the others.
Unabara Uta took his jersey with both hands and made a solemn promise to Akagi: "I will become a pillar of support for Inarizaki, just like you, Akagi-senpai!"
“So reliable!” Akagi said, patting the junior who was much taller than him, his eyes full of praise.
By the time Unabara Uta returned, Hinata Shoyo was already poised and ready to go.
Next was him, his number 10!
But Coach Kurosu was slow to call out the next one.
Under the gaze of Hinata Shoyo's increasingly confused and dejected eyes, the occasionally mischievous Coach Kurosu finally spoke.
Number 10, Hinata Shoyo.
Hinata Shoyo, who had been sitting on the ground, sprang up like a projectile and jogged all the way to the Coach.
His face was full of impatience, silently urging the Coach, who still wanted to delay and tease him, "Number 10!"
Coach Kurosu chuckled as he placed the uniform into Hinata's hands. "Hold onto it tight, our Little Giant."
Holding the jersey, Hinata held the top up.
Although the details were different, the overall color and style were not much different from the Karasuno uniform in his memory, to the extent that if the two teams were to meet, one of them would inevitably need to change their uniform.
And most importantly, right at this moment.. it's the number 10 jersey, just like the Little Giant Unai Aman-senpai.
It was just so incredibly cool!
Watching Hinata come back, Miya Atsumu immediately raised a hand and patted the empty seat beside him, signaling Hinata to come and sit.
But at this moment, Hinata's mind was entirely focused on his own jersey, he didn't notice Miya Atsumu's movement at all.
"Heisuke! This is so cool!" Hinata excitedly squeezed over to Rishia's side, showing him his number 10.
Number 10 and number 4 are equally cool, the Little Giant-senpai was number 10 in his second year!
Rishia Heisuke could completely understand Hinata and nodded along, "Indeed, just looking at him makes you feel reassured."
He still didn't quite trust himself, so at this stage, he could only place his peace of mind in Hinata.
“Number 11, Tokura Yukihito.”
Having been called, Tokura Yukihito raised his hand and stood up, stepping forward to take his team uniform.
Compared to the others, Tokura, who comes from a dance background, does not have particularly prominent muscles himself; he is the tall and lean type.
But that doesn't mean he lacks muscle; on the contrary, his strength test results were very objective.
And..
Coach Kurosu looked Tokura over from this perspective.
In terms of how he looks, Tokura is very much like Itachiyama's Agatsuma, especially in terms of his muscle distribution.
Given that his explosive endurance and flexibility are both quite good, he can certainly copy Itachiyama's Agatsuma to some extent, without being entirely restricted to Suna's style of play.
After all, Suna Rintaro's playstyle relies not just on flexibility, but more so on thinking, observation, the ability to read people's minds.
Regrettably, Tokura is not a smart person.
No, it would be more accurate to say that among the current first years, there aren't many smart ones besides Kumagai.
Number 12, Teruya Masato.
Number 13, Hayato Kazuto.
Both were Wing Spikers selected from the Second String; Teruya played as a Setter/Opposite, while Hayato played as a Left Wing.
When Hinata Heisuke and the others joined the club last year, they played a match together.
Coach Kurosu closed the folder in his hands, the official roster for the starting lineup was now complete.
The members of the Second String who were not selected all felt more or less disappointed.
After a brief summary, the two coaches left one after another, leaving the gymnasium to the students.
After all, for everyone in the First String, this was a farewell.
"Everyone—" Kita Shinsuke called out to the group.
Everyone looked at him in unison, while Aran, Akagi, Oori were all standing by his side.
Kita Shinsuke's expression was very calm, as if he had already repeated the words he was about to say countless times in his heart.
All this time.. thank you all for your hard work and for being by our side.
For us, these have been three years without regret or sorrow, we also hope that the path ahead of you will take you even further.
No matter when, you will always be juniors that I am proud of.
Kita Team!!
Hinata was the first to rush forward, grabbing onto Kita Shinsuke and refusing to let go.
Meanwhile, Miya Atsumu, who had been holding it in for a long time, let large tears stream down his face, causing even Miya Osamu to lose some control over his emotions.
Kita Shinsuke's gaze swept over everyone, a gentle and peaceful smile playing on his lips.
“I believe you will all become very remarkable people. One day in the future, I will definitely be able to point at the television and say to everyone with pride—these are my juniors.”
Miya Atsumu raised his hand to wipe his face clean, thinking of his current status as Captain, he forced himself to steady his emotions.