Rishia Heisuke puffed out his chest and held his head high, looking incredibly proud. "I studied with Suna-senpai for a bit before."
This way, I can take beautiful photos for Xiaoxia in the future!
After excitedly taking photos with all the various decorations in the hall, Hinata returned to Rishia's side and scrolled through his photos with satisfaction.
And scrolling one more page forward, there was a candid photo of Xiaoxia from their previous trip skiing in Nagano.
Hinata spoke with a hint of regret, "It would have been so much fun if you could have gone skiing with us, Heisuke!"
Never mind that, I don't know how to ski.." Rishia Heisuke flipped through a few more pages before his face filled with shock. "Wait, is this Hoshiumi-senpai?!
The other person's drastic change in appearance made it so he couldn't recognize him at first; he only reacted after seeing those familiar eyes.
Hinata nodded in agreement, "Right? Right? Hikari-kun is super handsome!"
Not only was his serve incredibly cool, but his hair, hanging down naturally like that, was just as handsome.
Moreover, Hikari-kun's snowboarding skills are just as good as his volleyball skills! Watching him makes him want to go learn snowboarding himself.
Rishia Heisuke's hands wouldn't stop flipping through the pages, finally stopping on a photo Hinata had accidentally taken of Miya Atsumu, who was sprawled on the ground in a pathetic state.
The entire space fell silent for a few seconds.
Rishia was a step faster and pressed the button to turn off the screen, then decisively changed the subject: "The Black Jackals' match hasn't started yet, so should we wander around nearby?"
Shoyo quickly followed suit, forcing himself to forget the scene that shouldn't have appeared just now: "Sure, sure!"
Rishia Heisuke counted the change in his coin purse. "Let's go check out the merchandise stall first; I really want Oliver-senpai's jersey."
Well, the Haruko prize money had already been distributed, so his small treasury was currently very full.
Hinata, who also happened to want to bring something back for Xiaoxia, was the first to rush into one of the passages: "Let's go—"
Rishia Heisuke sighed and took two quick steps to grab Hinata by the back of his collar: "You're going the wrong way, it's this way.."
Just the second they both stepped into the corridor, a voice drifted into their ears: "Um, excuse me, sorry to bother you—"
Both of them turned around at the same time and saw someone in a black padded jacket jogging toward them.
The person's hair was a bit long, scattered messily over their shoulders.
The newcomer scratched his head somewhat bashfully and asked the two of them, "May I ask how to get to the Basketball Hall? The sign over there doesn't indicate.."
Rishia Heisuke, looking the person up and down and unsure of their age, asked tentatively, "Is it the venue for the Black Jackals' match?"
Hearing the two of them mention the Black Jackals, he breathed a sigh of relief and then nodded. "Yes, I'm delivering something to a friend; he asked me to meet him over there."
Before Rishia Heisuke could even give directions, Hinata had already taken the initiative to speak up, "It just so happens we're heading that way in a bit. Do you want to walk together?"
The newcomer seemed even happier: "That couldn't be better!"
He had truly spent a long time searching without success; there were simply too many venues of all sizes here.
Moreover, when he entered, he seemed to have walked through the wrong door; there wasn't even any guidance, it wasn't until he reached this area that he saw signs directing people to the merchandise stalls.
The black-haired person lagged half a step behind the two, quietly observing the red sportswear they were wearing.
This color.. is a bit deeper than the color in his memory.
Hinata and Rishia Heisuke arrived very early, there weren't many people in line nearby, so Hinata was also among the first to rush to the front of the stall.
He pointed at the two differently colored jerseys hanging on the wall and said, "Those number 21 and number 10 jerseys! Please give me one in size S!"
The staff member said somewhat sheepishly, "I'm sorry, the number 21 jersey is just for display; we haven't produced the bulk stock for it yet.."
Inunari has never played in an actual official match, the Libero jerseys they are currently selling are actually the old number 12 ones.
The new number 21 jersey is still in production, so there is no stock at all, let alone the S size, which is in even shorter supply.
Hinata also felt a bit of regret, but he quickly cheered himself up and asked for Oliver's jersey: "Then I'll take the number 10, one size S and one child's one-size-fits-all."
Alright, I'll wrap those up for you right away.
Hearing that Hinata wanted the number 21 jersey, the black-haired man was a bit surprised: "Do you know Inunari?"
Rishia Heisuke, standing behind Hinata, tugged at his pants uncomfortably, feeling a bit out of place being questioned by a stranger.
But Hinata was still picking out Fox-Wolf Helper accessories for Xiaoxia, so he could only say to himself, "Yeah, I had the honor of playing a match against the Black Jackals yesterday, but unfortunately, we lost both sets quite badly."
That's incredible, they're a professional team.." The black-haired young man paused, then pointed at Hinata. "Is he also one of your players?
Rishia Heisuke nodded. "Yeah, he's our newly appointed Ace."
Shoyo is incredibly amazing; he can run, jump, he's very reliable.
Upon mentioning Shoyo, Rishia's tension finally eased.
The black-haired youth's eyes widened noticeably, his gaze toward Hinata held an indescribable mix of emotions: "That is indeed very impressive."
Someone in the crowd walking up behind shouted, "Ah! It's the Haruko champion!"
Then a boy walked over and asked Rishia Heisuke excitedly, "Excuse me! Can I take a photo with the Inarizaki Little Giant-senpai!"
The black-haired young man lifted his eyes to glance at Shoyo, who had placed a Fox-Wolf Helper headband on his own head because he didn't have any hands.
Rishia Heisuke reached out to call over Shoyo, who had just finished paying, briefly explained the situation to him.
Looking at the junior high student whose eyes were filled with longing, Shoyo, who was holding a handful of merchandise, nodded: "Of course!"
The young boy, having obtained a photo with Shoyo, returned to the other side, back to the side of the person who was clearly his mother, looking extremely elated.
“Good luck in the match, Giant-senpai! I'll be there to watch the Interhigh!”
Hinata waved at him: "You too! Good luck with volleyball!"
Glancing at the black-haired young man who had started laughing after a brief moment of daze, Rishia Heisuke's face flashed with a look of slight confusion.
But the other party only gave a gentle smile, his expression soft and peaceful.
After finishing his greetings with the junior high students, Shoyo Hinata didn't notice the change in the person unexpectedly traveling the same way as them; instead, he said to Rishia Heisuke, "Heisuke! It's your turn!"
Rishia quickly stepped forward and selected Oliver's team uniform.
He was only a substitute during Haruko, so his prize money wasn't as much as Hinata's, so he only bought one.
Seeing that Rishia Heisuke had also finished buying his things, Shoyo walked ahead excitedly: "Basketball Hall! Let's go!"
Rishia sighed, "Shoyo, you've gone and done it again.."
By the time the three arrived at the Basketball Hall, the Black Jackals' match had not yet started, the players were warming up on the court.
Oliver-senpai was not in the starting lineup for today's match, so after seeing the two people in very obvious team uniforms, he walked over immediately.
He had a deep impression of the Inarizaki members, could even call out Shoyo's name after meeting him for an autograph yesterday: "Shoyo—"
“Oliver-senpai! I've come to watch your match!”
The black-haired youth gave a nod to Rishia Heisuke, then finally walked toward the other side, quickly disappearing from their sight.
After getting another autograph for Xiaoxia from Oliver, Hinata walked contentedly toward Inunari, who was on the other side appearing to be talking to someone.
But the crowd was in the way, it wasn't until Inunari said goodbye to the other person that he realized it was the same person who had been traveling with him earlier.
Hinata was a bit surprised. "Eh? Was the friend that gentleman just mentioned Inunari-senpai?"
Rishia nodded. "Yeah, he knows Inunari-senpai's number."
Theoretically, jersey numbers are not made public before the V1 Semifinals begin; only those who are very familiar with the league, or those who have played in matches like they have, would know them.
Inunari, listening to the conversation between the two, had a look of shock written all over her face; she never expected that these three were actually together.
He spoke up, sounding a bit surprised, "Doesn't Hinata know him?"
This time, the one who was stunned was Hinata: "Should I know that senpai just now?"
Inunari-senpai felt that the person should be someone he knew, but he truly had no memory of that face.
Inunari pointed at the figure's retreating back as he disappeared into the corridor and said softly, "Aman.. that was the person just now, Unai Aman."
My college roommate, who also once led Karasuno to the Haruko quarterfinals, is.. Karasuno's Little Giant.
Yesterday, he asked Unai Aman for some of his recent artwork and an autographed copy from the manga artist Unai.
Unai came over specifically to deliver them today, of course, the payment was a serving of Okonomiyaki.
Hinata's eyes widened.
He truly couldn't recognize him.
Because the brand, that mark left by the Little Giant in his soul and memories that had supported him all along.. was a silhouette belonging to an Ace.
But at this very moment, that silhouette finally had a face.
So.. that's what that person looks like?
Without any hesitation, Hinata turned around and bolted after him, leaving Rishia and Inunari staring at each other in bewilderment.
Rishia was also shocked.
So.. that's what Unai-senpai's expression meant back then..
Chapter 262: The Two Hundred and Sixty-Second Fox
The Black Jackals' match was about to begin, everyone in the corridor was heading toward the court with joyful smiles on their faces.
An orange shadow moved against the flow of the crowd, heading in the opposite direction to chase after that figure.
Please, excuse me!
Hinata sprinted through the corridor ahead of him; it wasn't the path they had taken to get here, but for some reason, he felt he could sense his intended direction with incredible clarity.
Before he was about to collide with someone, Hinata spun around abruptly, using his hand to brace himself against the wall beside him.
“Sorry!!” He hurriedly apologized to the child he had startled, then continued moving forward.
Faster, even faster.
He wanted to catch up to that person; he had to catch up to him.
Moving against the crowd through the entire corridor, the dim and narrow passage in Shoyo's line of sight was instantly swallowed by light, the whole world suddenly opened up, while that black silhouette appeared fully within his field of vision at that very moment.
Giant-senpai!
“Unai-senpai!!”