It was perfect for the members, who were still in the stage of finding their rhythm.
But even without dedicated supporters, the popularity of the Inarizaki members remained high enough that they were met with a burst of cheers as they stepped onto the court.
Inarizaki, the Kings!
“It's Miya Atsumu! He has taken over as Captain!”
“The number 1 jersey is way too cool—"
A few middle-aged men were waving by the second-floor railing: "Shoyo—look over here—"
Suddenly called out to, Shoyo stopped stretching his joints and looked up toward that direction.
The man wearing an Inarizaki supporters headband raised his hand and gave him a thumbs-up: "Good luck! Inarizaki's Little Giant!"
Hinata spread his arms as well, showing them his new number 10 jersey.
The older guys were also very supportive: "So cool!"
Miya Atsumu also stood by his side, the two of them forming 110.
The older men continued to cheer, "A perfect number! So cool! They make a great pair!"
So Miya Osamu raised his hand to call Ginjima over, the two of them formed a pair for the 25th position.
The older men were boiling over with genuine excitement this time: "We won! We won!"
Hinata also had an expression of envy on his face: "Ohhh—we won!"
The captain of the opposing adult team looked up and scratched his head, feeling completely bewildered. "What on earth are they talking about.."
As the Rookie Tournament was in full swing, Hoshiumi Hikari pulled out his phone in the Karasuno Gymnasium, far away in Nagano.
During the training session just now, a junior had told him that his phone had several messages and had been ringing continuously.
Wiping the sweat from his head, Hoshiumi opened his phone.
“What did Shoyo send me?”
The first thing that popped up was a video sent from Hinata's account; he could only see that Miya Atsumu and Hinata seemed to be on the video's cover.
—It couldn't be that Atsumu-senpai was getting handsy with Hinata and got caught by Suna, could he?
He frowned and clicked on the video.
In the very next second, a sentence popped up from the phone.
Then from now on, I'll be your master too.
Why don't you call me Master and let me hear it?
With a snap, Hoshiumi decisively turned off the video, making no intention of continuing to watch it.
Hirugami and Hakuma walked out of the gym together, planning to head to the locker room to grab their jackets before going out to eat.
But just as the two had reached the door, the locker room door was kicked open with a loud bang.
All the doors in Karasuno opened outward, so Hakuma, who was closest, was nearly hit in the nose by the door.
After dodging the sudden ambush from the door, the two of them lowered their heads simultaneously to look at Hoshiumi Hikari, who was already fully dressed and carrying a large bag.
Confusion appeared over Hirugami's head, while Hakuma was still muttering about how he had almost been assassinated.
"Hikari-kun, where are you going?" Captain Hirugami called out to his Vice-Captain, who had clearly lost his composure.
Hoshiumi walked outside without even looking back: "I'm going to Osaka. I've already told Coach."
This time, Hirugami found himself in a difficult position.
He is the Captain now, so it would be impossible for him to leave the entire Volleyball Club and go to Osaka with Hoshiumi, but sending Hoshiumi alone feels somewhat unsafe.
Moreover, there's a high probability that Hoshiumi will be looking for Shoyo and the others; if he ends up getting bullied by the Inarizaki members..
Hirugami Fuku looked at Hakuma Mebuki.
Hakuma, receiving Hirugami's hint, froze for a moment, raising a hand to point at himself in confusion. "Me?"
Hirugami pushed Hakuma into the locker room: "Hurry up and pack your things to follow us; I'll reimburse you for the bus ticket."
Hoshiumi is already reliable enough; Hakuma only needs to be responsible for backing him up.
As long as Hakuma doesn't do anything unnecessary, it shouldn't be a big problem.. right?
Watching Hoshiumi Hikari and Hakuma Mebuki leave from the entrance of the gymnasium, Hirugami Yukio quickly thought through the possibilities of what might have happened.
Ultimately, still unable to set his mind at ease, he still chose to send a message to his brother, who had gone to Osaka for a vacation.
Upon receiving the message, Hirugami Fuku quickly replied with an "OK," then asked Hoshiumi Hikari for his train number, preparing to go to the station to pick him up.
During the lunch break, Hirugami Yukio also quickly searched for the events being held in Osaka today.
The Rookie Tournament.. I remember they invite professional teams..
The teams that ultimately win these kinds of competitions are professional teams, so the prize money for the championship is itself one of the rewards for inviting professional teams to participate.
And as for the professional teams over in Osaka, they would be..
Seeing the pinned invitation message for the tournament, Hirugami Yukio suddenly felt a bit of regret for having sent that message to his brother just now.
[2013 Annual Kyoto, Osaka, Amagasaki Joint Rookie Volleyball Tournament!]
【V1 League · MSBY Black Jackals confirmed to participate!】
Chapter 255: The 255th Fox
On the way from the Basketball Hall to the back door of the Badminton Hall, the elder, who stood over two meters tall, said with a chuckle in English, "Is the Coach still scouting for new players lately?"
The light-haired Libero, wearing a different colored uniform, spoke up and asked, "Me?"
The black-haired young Captain walking at the very front turned his head and waved his hand dismissively. "No, no, I mean the rookies for the year after next."
The manager said Oda-senpai doesn't plan to renew his contract. Once his contract ends at the end of this year and the entire season is over, he'll retire and move behind the scenes. Besides, he has already obtained his coaching certification.
The person who spoke first nodded in agreement as well. "Our second team's setter level is still a bit lacking, so the coach is planning to scout for a new setter."
“The setter, huh.." Inunari, a Libero who had joined the Black Jackals a year after graduating from university, blinked. "What does the coach think about that setter from Inarizaki?"
Even he had heard of the great reputation of Miya Atsumu; no matter how one thought about it, such an indisputable number one must have immense value.
Captain Minka Shugo shrugged. "As for Miya Atsumu, you could say he's a perfect fit. But he might not be willing to come; Coach has already sent an email to Inarizaki to ask, their response was that they have no intention for the time being."
In addition, Leonard-senpai has already spoken with the Coach. It's expected that he will transfer to Poland in another two years, so we need to keep an eye on their wing attacks as well.
At this point, the young Captain sighed, "We were too late. How on earth did Bokuto sign that recommendation agreement with them?"
Bringing him in to play for the second team for two years at this time.. by the time he officially takes the court, he'll be a perfect fit for our Ace.
The oldest Opposite, Oliver, patted Minka Shugo on the back: "Take it slow, there's no rush."
Our match against Inarizaki is this afternoon, so we'll observe them on-site, while we're at it.." Minka Shugo rubbed his hands together, "we'll promote our Black Jackals.
Feng Ma-shi, who had also only been here for a few years, laughed heartily. "The second part is the real priority, isn't it?"
Pushing open the doors of the Badminton Hall, the first thing that came into view was the court, which was packed so tightly that not a single person could squeeze through.
Because seating was limited, the spectators who arrived had basically filled up every available spot with high energy, not to mention the overcrowded second floor.
Fortunately, the setter Oda, whom they had just discussed, arrived quite early and had secured a spot for them by the court: "Over here, over here!"
Minka Shugo squeezed through the crowd and immediately saw Hinata, who had just executed a beautiful off-beat Quick Attack in coordination with Miya Atsumu on the court.
He blinked. "Wait, what was that Quick Attack just now?"
Oda turned his head and asked, "That set was terrifying, wasn't it?"
“No, no, no, that Little One's spike was the thing that was terrifying,” Feng Ma-shi said, looking shocked.
Having squeezed his way in, he only saw Hinata's spike at its highest point. Before seeing the full picture, he had subconsciously assumed Hinata would be at least 1.8m to 1.9m tall, but the moment he landed, the boy instantly disappeared behind the wall of people.
It wasn't until he finally squeezed his way in and saw Hinata in person that he realized Hinata was actually only a little over 1.6m.
That spike.. does he have springs in his feet?!
The onlookers nearby laughed and pointed at Hinata, introducing him: "Impressive, isn't he? That's Inarizaki's Little Giant."
Because they didn't have a match in the morning and were scheduled for the afternoon instead, the Black Jackals members were all wearing their own down jackets; if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to see the team uniforms underneath.
Moreover, they were all wearing masks, which concealed their faces to a certain extent.
The passersby only felt that the few people looked familiar and their height was quite intimidating.
But in a volleyball venue, 1.9m or 2m is not unheard of; at least some teams in the V2 League have many players approaching 2m.
Inunari froze for a moment. "The Little Giant.."
Coach Kurosu, standing by the sidelines, naturally noticed those few people; after all, they were his opponents for this afternoon, they had studied them thoroughly before arriving.
Of course, Coach Kurosu had no intention of getting close to the professional players, at least not today, as they were his enemies.
While the Black Jackals members were observing the Inarizaki players on-site, the match on the court was also approaching its conclusion in an extremely smooth state; Inarizaki took the match 2-0, advancing to the second round.
The overall tournament schedule was very tight; after they finished, the fifth round of matches was to be held on this same court.
So the Inarizaki members didn't stay for even a second, but instead followed Miya Atsumu and Coach Kurosu to the corner of the lobby where they had left their things.
After grabbing his things, Suna decisively chose to return to the hotel to lie down, taking Rishia and the others with him.
After the subsequent arrangements were made and everyone dismissed, Miya Atsumu immediately found Hinata, who was looking at a map in the lobby.
Miya Atsumu turned his head to look at him. "What are you looking for?"
Hinata, who was working hard to analyze the map, replied reflexively, "Hoshiumi-senpai said he's by vending machine number 4 in the South Hall, there's also a huge potted plant nearby?"
Hinata spoke so quickly that Miya Atsumu failed to realize exactly what he had just heard for a moment.
What vending machine? What potted plants? What sea?
After finally going through all the words in his head once more, Miya Atsumu's expression contorted when he finally realized what was wrong.
“Hoshiumi?! What is he doing here??”
Hinata scratched his head. "Hoshiumi-senpai said he hasn't seen me in a long time and missed me a bit, so he came to watch me play."
After saying that, his eyes sparkled as he looked at Miya Atsumu. "Atsumu-senpai should be able to find the place, right? So, can you take me there? Atsumu-senpai is the best!"