Kita Shinsuke frowned. "Don't mess around too much, be careful not to fall.."
Before he could even finish his sentence, the Miya Twins, who had been holding up Aran's legs, simultaneously set him down on the ground, while Hinata, Rishia Heisuke, the others approached Kita Shinsuke from behind.
Before Kita could even react, his entire body was already tossed into the air.
The victim, Aran-senpai, also turned into a perpetrator at this moment, joining the juniors to toss Kita Shinsuke into the air.
Nagumo, who was still talking to Matou, noticed the commotion over here and quickly signaled to the other person before joining in on this outrageous frolic.
Kita Team! Happy Graduation!
Congratulations on your graduation, seniors!!
The two coaches in their sharp suits were originally waiting in the school building for the kids to come over for a group photo, but after seeing the joyful scene through the window, they couldn't help but stand up and leave the room.
Indeed, sitting upright in stiff suits simply didn't fit the style of their Volleyball Club; if they were going to take photos..
The sunlight outdoors is the best, after all.
When the two walked over to the lawn, Hinata was already crying, clutching Kita Shinsuke in one arm and Aran-senpai in the other.
Kita Team, you must come back to visit us often in the future—I'm going to miss you!
Aran-senpai, you must remember to come watch our matches too!
Unabara even grabbed Akagi and wouldn't let go: "Akagi-senpai, what am I going to do without you!!"
Unabara Uta, having been thoroughly lectured by a professional team for being the starting Libero, had a look of genuine reluctance on his face, looking as if he could cry out for Akagi-senpai to repeat a grade at any second.
Rishia Heisuke stood there like a pine tree; he wasn't very good at expressing his intense emotions, his face was already a messy blur of tears.
Oori Ren stood by his side, reaching out to pat his back, his silent gaze filled with warmth and concern.
Kumagai, the only one who wasn't feeling any pressure, was still chatting with Nagumo about exams, while Nagumo was very thoughtfully sharing his own study tips with him.
A large area opened up around the two of them; clearly, the members of the Volleyball Club were not very eager to approach.
Seeing two very well-dressed coaches appear, everyone stood up at the same time: "Coach!"
Coach Omimi said with a smile, "The weather outside is quite good today, so let's take our group photo right here. Everyone, please check your appearance."
He held a professional camera borrowed from a colleague next door and gestured to the crowd.
Just then, Suna took off the bag he was carrying and pulled out a tripod and two large bags from it.
Looking at the two bags, which had a somewhat familiar shape, Aran froze for a moment. "What are those?"
The tripod could be ignored; after all, it was Suna, so having something like that wasn't surprising at all.
Miya Atsumu gave a small huff of laughter, reached out to take the two bags, unwrapped them right in front of Coach Kurosu.
Inside were none other than the two championship trophies from last year's National Sports Festival and this year's Haruko.
Not only were the Third Years stunned, but even the coach was a bit bewildered.
Coach Omimi lost his voice instantly. "You took them secretly from the Principal's office?!"
Although this was the glory of their Volleyball Club, because their gymnasium's storage room had not yet been renovated, like other sports clubs, the collective honors from previous years were kept in the display room on the top floor of the main school building, which was actually just the Principal's office.
Miya Atsumu gave Coach Kurosu a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, Coach, we spoke to the Principal directly. The Principal personally secured it for us!"
It was a trophy they had earned themselves, so if it was damaged, the responsibility would lie solely with them.
Say a few more nice things to the Principal—for example, something like, "There will be new ones this year," and the Principal would, of course, gladly agree.
Shoyo looked at the two trophies with eyes shining: "Long live Atsumu-senpai!!"
Suna had already found a spot with excellent lighting and a view that captured the silhouette of the Volleyball Hall, had set up his camera there.
He looked up at the messy crowd opposite him and decisively began to give directions: "Seniors, sit in the middle. The Kita Team should hold the trophy in the center."
“Shoyo, stand a bit more toward the middle. You can squeeze in from behind between Kita Team and Akagi-senpai. Yes, that's perfect.”
Atsumu, don't stand right next to Shoyo. Go stand over there with Osamu, the first years should move toward the middle of the back row.
Coach, change your posture, don't give a thumbs up..
Five-second timer, don't blink.
Pressing the shutter, Suna quickly ran back into the group, coming to a halt beside the Miya Twins in the back row.
The next second, the flash went off, freezing everyone's figures within the frame.
Cherry blossom petals drifted down from the treetops, fluttering down one after another onto the boys' shoulders.
Hinata looked up at the sign standing at the entrance of Inarizaki, which bore the words welcoming the new students of the Class of 2013.
It was almost exactly like the scene from his own memory when he first stepped through these gates, as many young, smiling, unfamiliar faces entered the campus one after another.
Noticing Hinata had stopped in his tracks, Rishia Heisuke asked him with some confusion, "What's wrong?"
Hinata looked at Rishia Heisuke, a wide smile spreading across his face. "I just realized.. we're seniors now."
His hair, which he had trimmed not long ago, had returned to the same length it was this time last year, but his physique was countless times more upright than what Rishia Heisuke remembered.
Rishia lowered his eyes and smiled. "Indeed, you're already a senior."
The new school uniforms and standard athletic wear were sent to my home along with the admission notice.
On the way to Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium after school, Hinata saw many figures in white track jackets lingering nearby, seemingly wanting to catch a glimpse of the scene inside.
But club recruitment hasn't started yet; lately, Teruya Masato, Tokura, the others have also been making posters and flyers for this year's Volleyball Club recruitment.
By Wednesday afternoon, recruitment booths will be set up near the Volleyball Hall, the stadium, the plazas on both sides of the school building; at that time, they will just be responsible for handing out flyers.
Even though, as the strongest high school for volleyball in Hyogo Prefecture, they never have to worry about their annual intake of students, for the coaches, the more club members, the better.
The larger the scale of the club, the higher the probability of finding good prospects. After all, not everyone with talent has achieved success during Junior High; people like Hinata and Tokura were both discovered by Coach Kurosu from the vast sea of applicants in the Volleyball Club.
After changing into short-sleeved shirts and shorts for training, Hinata and Rishia Heisuke entered the gymnasium one after another.
From a distance, Hinata saw someone wearing a red tracksuit jacket standing there, holding a tactical board and saying something to Kumagai beside him.
Looking at that figure, Hinata dazed for a moment.
“Atsumu-senpai?”
Hearing his voice, Miya Atsumu looked back, a smile instantly breaking across his originally serious face.
“Shoyo, you've arrived at just the right time. Some new students who have been recommended for admission will be coming by to introduce themselves in a bit. The Coach and the others have gone to attend a meeting regarding the club recruitment for the day after tomorrow.”
“Miya Osamu, Kuniharu, I will head over to the Second String and Third String in a bit to take a look; you and Heisuke might need to help out here.”
Shoyo patted his chest. "Leave it to me!"
Miya Atsumu, feeling completely reassured by Hinata, pulled two sheets of paper from his folder and stuffed them into his hands. "You're so reliable, Shoyo."
Noticing that Hinata didn't look at the papers in his hand immediately, but was instead staring at him intently, Miya Atsumu blinked in confusion.
“What's wrong? Is there something on my face?”
It's nothing, I just thought..
Hinata swallowed his saliva and spoke quite seriously, "Atsumu-senpai, you were absolutely amazing today."
The expression on Miya Atsumu's face clearly faltered for a moment, before he turned his head away and gave a light cough. "Your senior is handsome every single day."
As if trying to cover his tracks, he pushed Hinata and turned away. "Alright, alright, everyone get back to work. Don't just stand around here."
Leaving the doors of Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium, Miya Osamu glanced at his twin brother's reddened earlobes and couldn't help but let out a sneer.
Look at you, acting so cheap, when he only gave you a single compliment.
Miya Atsumu was somewhat flushed with anger, he strode forward quickly. "Shut up! If you don't speak, no one will think you're a mute!"
Walking at the very back, Kumagai blinked, a clear look of confusion and bewilderment flashing across his face.
What? Did something happen that he didn't know about?
Just as Hinata was about to look at the materials Miya Atsumu had given him, Unabara Uta stealthily leaned in.
After confirming that Atsumu-senpai's figure had disappeared, he whispered to Shoyo, "Shoyo, don't you think Atsumu-senpai is a little different toward you?"
Hearing this question, Hinata froze for a moment. "Huh?"
He looked up and thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded. "Atsumu-senpai has always been very kind to me."
Unabara Uta organized his thoughts. "Then.. um.. do you feel like Atsumu-senpai has something special about him?"
Rishia Heisuke's expression was somewhat horrified, his face was filled with deep disapproval as he looked at Unabara Uta.
Special?" Hinata thought seriously once again. "The best Setter, also the best senpai.
Hmm.. the special part lies in that word "best."
Suppressing the disagreement on Rishia Heisuke's face, Unabara Uta pressed further, "Then.. what do you think are Atsumu-senpai's most attractive qualities?"
Stroking his chin, Hinata's words became much more numerous this time: "There are actually many! For example, Atsumu-senpai's setting technique is excellent, he's very powerful when serving, he's very handsome, he's very patient many times.."
Hearing Hinata start listing Miya Atsumu's qualities one by one, Unabara Uta laughed even more happily.
Very good, he felt there was a chance.
Just as Hinata was about to continue counting, Unabara Uta raised his hand and patted his shoulder, interrupting him.
His face was full of irrepressible excitement, his eyes betrayed a strange sense of confidence. "Don't worry, Shoyo. Leave it to me; I will definitely help you guys to the utmost extent.
Hinata was even more confused: "What? Unabara, are you going to evolve into some kind of superman who can receive any ball?"
Unabara Uta went silent and began crouching on the ground, imitating a mushroom.
As luck would have it, Akagi, who had already passed his exams and whose university semester hadn't yet begun, came over at that very moment: "Unabara—come practice diving!"
Hearing that voice, Unabara quickly cast all those useless thoughts aside and walked toward Akagi and Arima with a pale face: "Eh! I'm coming!"
Finally having some free time, Hinata flipped through those two sheets of paper, which clearly displayed the personal information of two freshmen who had been specially recommended for the First String.
He immediately noticed the most important piece of information: "Reo Mizuta.. he's a setter."
Does that mean their team will have three setters? That's just too wonderful!
Looking at the blonde bangs on the two-inch photo with a white background, Rishia Heisuke remarked, "He looks like he has a dirty heart."
Hinata blinked, clearly disagreeing with Rishia Heisuke's deduction: "How could that be? This person looks very kind."
Rishia Heisuke remained silent.
By comparison, the setter he knew, Kumagai, was already quite good-looking in a friendly way.