What time is it? You haven't even washed up yet, Atsumu. Is this how a Captain should behave!
Osamu! Can't you just talk to me properly! Why do you have to start a fight first thing in the morning! You even knocked over the table!
Rintaro, you're still laughing! When I just walked in, you were still taking pictures! Can't you do something productive for once? You're ruining Inarizaki's reputation!
You too, Yui! If you're going to break up a fight, then break it up, but you were practically joining in with those two! Was that even breaking it up!
And you, Hiiragi Tadashi! Is there nothing you can do without coming to me first! Was it fun to watch?
Finally, Coach Kurosu glared at Hinata: "Starting tonight, you're going to squeeze in with Rishia Heisuke and the others next door. You're not allowed to stay here!"
He saw it clearly; to some extent, Hinata was the root of all trouble.
Even though the two brothers don't fight without Hinata, at least he wouldn't feel a heartache from the reason.
His good boy, his precious boy, is about to be corrupted by those third-year little rascals!
Being held by Miya Atsumu while sleeping all night.. just hearing about it gives me a headache.
Isn't that just taking advantage of him!
The key was that they were both his own players, so he couldn't bring himself to be harsh with Miya Atsumu.
In the end, Atsumu-senpai was still there, repeatedly emphasizing things like how Hinata had acted on his own and that he hadn't done anything.. As a coach, how could he possibly believe such nonsense!
He knew exactly what kind of person Atsumu-senpai was; such sophistry wouldn't escape his keen eyes.
Kneeling on the ground, Miya Atsumu felt like he was being framed for something he didn't do.
He didn't do anything, he really didn't do anything!
If he knew he was doomed either way, he might as have taken the initiative to do something!
And so, amidst a look of complete confusion, Hinata was swept out the door along with all his bedding and luggage.
The kindhearted Unabara Uta and Tokura hurriedly reached out to pull him back inside and arranged a good spot for Hinata by the window.
Kumagai, who had helped set up the seats, silently pressed his hands together in prayer, expressing deep sympathy for Hinata's predicament: "Stay far away from the demon-like senpai; let's start with us."
Rishia Heisuke scratched his head and decided to divert everyone's attention: "Anyway, let's go eat breakfast first.."
As soon as he looked down, he saw Hinata stroking his chin, thinking about something very seriously.
In the end, Rishia Heisuke still couldn't control his curiosity: "Shoyo, what are you thinking about?"
After all, he wasn't even sure what had caused that whole farce this morning.
Hinata looked up and asked seriously, "Is sleeping with Atsumu-senpai such a serious matter? It feels like Coach seems very angry."
Ogata hadn't yet caught up with everyone else's rhythm: "Doesn't everyone sleep together?"
Aside from going to Itachiyama for testing, the First String usually sleeps in large communal dorms during training. What's the big deal? It's not like Hinata and Miya Atsumu teamed up to sweep everyone else out of the room.
Tokura whispered in his ear, his voice tinged with a hint of heartbreak: "No, no, no, it's those two—they slept together."
Ogata, who had just taken a sip of water, lost control of himself and choked on the spot, startled by those words.
Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough—What?!
“Shoyo, what have you done?! Did I hear that correctly? You and Atsumu-senpai—"
Hinata frowned, looking at Rishia Heisuke who sat down beside him again. "See, Heisuke? It feels like no one can really accept this, right?"
Ogata waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, no, with Atsumu-senpai being such a monster, who could possibly accept that!"
Well, it seems Shoyo has absolutely no problem at all.
But ultimately, it's because Atsumu-senpai's attitude and standards are different for everyone; he is very harsh with them.
Rishia Heisuke looked up and exchanged a glance with Unabara Uta on the other side.
He pursed his lips, raised his hand to press down on Shoyo's shoulder, said with an extremely serious expression, "Actually.. as long as you feel there's no problem, Shoyo, then there's nothing to worry about."
Hinata tilted his head. "Is that so?"
Rishia Heisuke nodded. "That's right, exactly."
On the other side, Kumagai was already getting ready to head out for breakfast, still reaching out to wave everyone over. "Let's go, let's go! All the good food will be snatched up by people from the other schools if we don't hurry."
Hinata lowered his head and gazed at his hands for a while, suddenly thinking of Atsumu's beautiful hands.
He couldn't quite remember where the habit of sleeping with Atsumu-senpai came from; he just felt like it had started during some past competition, it had been like this ever since.
Indeed, he didn't dislike this feeling.
Just like the hugs on the court, he actually quite liked the warmth from Atsumu-senpai.
But if this were a common occurrence, Coach Kurosu and the seniors wouldn't have reacted so strongly, with most of their emotions being opposition.
So.. something must have gone wrong.
Hinata looked up and glanced at Miya Atsumu, who was sitting two tables away.
The focus of Tomoya's words just now was on Atsumu-senpai, so maybe there is something wrong with Atsumu-senpai..
—If he observes Atsumu-senpai more closely, he might just find out.
Miya Atsumu felt a slight chill on the back of his neck, but when he turned his head, he found that no one was watching him.
But this feeling had been there since this morning; it definitely wasn't his hallucination, someone must be harboring ill intentions toward him.
After Atsumu-senpai jerked his head around to scan the area once more, he still found nothing.
He frowned, but he still had no clue, so he could only focus his attention on the toss in front of him.
Glancing at the orange hair appearing in his peripheral vision, Miya Atsumu silently adjusted the height of his toss just a little bit, ensuring it would be comfortable for Hinata to spike, but not so high that it would cause knee injury.
“Shoyo!” he called out his name.
Hinata, who had already moved forward, jumped steadily and raised his hand to spike the ball in a straight line toward his field of vision.
The training project they were working on now was line shots, so he had to pursue the most precise trajectory and the fastest ball speed.
Miya Atsumu also turned his head to watch the ball, seeing it land steadily near the baseline, he couldn't help but praise, "Nice shot!"
And in that very instant, he felt an incredibly burning gaze coming from right beside him.
He snapped his head to the side, locking eyes with Hinata, who had just slid under the net to the other side.
The two of them locked eyes across the net, then the voice of Coach Kurosu calling the next name came from behind them.
Hinata hurriedly reached his hand out under the net toward Miya Atsumu, Atsumu understood his intention, giving him a high-five underneath.
Watching Hinata leave, Miya Atsumu prepared to toss to Rishia Heisuke.
But just at that moment, Atsumu felt that subtle, lingering gaze once again, but when he turned around, there was still no one there.
Atsumu's smile almost faltered.
Who on earth is it! What are they trying to do! Does he have flowers on his face! Why does he keep staring at him! Even if it were a crush, he wouldn't agree to it!
At dinner, Miya Atsumu was frantically complaining to Miya Osamu on one side about someone staring at him, while on the other side, Unabara Uta silently sat down across from Hinata with her tray.
He looked at Hinata opposite him and asked with extreme seriousness, "You've been watching Atsumu-senpai all day; have you noticed anything?"
Hinata put down the chopsticks in his hands, his expression serious and earnest: "Yes."
Unabara Uta also turned serious and asked, "What?"
Hinata replied, "Atsumu-senpai is amazing. He tossed so many balls during today's attack training without a single mistake; he's countless times better than Usui-senpai."
Unabara leaned in closer to Hinata, resting his chin in his hand, asked in a low voice, "Shoyo, you like strong people, don't you?"
Hinata nodded without hesitation upon hearing that, "Yeah, I do."
The answer to this question required no thought at all; he felt that everyone who played seriously on the court was incredibly cool.
Hearing this answer, Unabara Uta was satisfied: "Very good, continue observing."
Hinata raised his hand: "Roger!"
After having a hearty meal, Hinata belatedly felt that something was wrong.
He should be able to ask Unabara Uta directly; it feels like Unabara Uta seems to know everything..
However, Unabara Uta didn't say anything more after that, starting from the third day, the training content consisted of practice matches.
This time, the coaches from each school also organized matches for the substitutes and the second string. Since they were using two gyms simultaneously, with no one coming in to rotate, their primary focus was entirely on the matches themselves.
During the match, Hinata himself was observing the entire court throughout, so he didn't need to focus solely on Miya Atsumu, thus Atsumu no longer felt that gaze.
Among the schools in the Kansai League, aside from Inarizaki, Seito is currently the only one with particularly strong overall strength.
Shirabu has undergone too many changes in personnel, after several days of practice matches, his win rate against Inarizaki's full starting lineup has not been high.
Kaifang has also undergone many changes, since their overall strength cannot keep up with the rest of the group, their win rate in training matches is currently dead last.
Inubushi Higashi's original Setter graduated, the current starting Setter is a first-year student, so their overall coordination hasn't been very smooth.
Relatively speaking, Seito is in the best condition.
The important Ace and Libero are both experienced Third Years, both are top-tier experts. Although the Setter is a freshman, he is the last year's Kyoto Prefecture Best Setter, snatched from the jaws of Rakusan by the Seito Coach, his strength is quite formidable.
Moreover, many of the remaining players are substitutes with actual match experience, which will make integration even smoother.
But..
Kumagai, who was catching a breeze on the steps by the gymnasium's back door, bit down on his straw. "Speaking of Kyoto, Rakusan is definitely the more difficult one, isn't it?"
Sitting beside him, Hinata froze for a moment upon hearing this. "I don't think I know much about this school. Is there anyone particularly amazing there?"
He remembered that this school seemed to have reached about the top eight during the previous National Sports Festival. He had even gone to watch their match on the day of Atsumu-senpai and Osamu-senpai's birthdays, but he had been a bit surprised then, as he couldn't remember the details of the match at all.
As I recall, there was a Wing Spiker who wasn't particularly tall?
But he wasn't as exaggerated as him or Hoshiumi-senpai; he seemed to be about 1.70 meters tall..
Aoba Haruka, the Best Spiker in Kyoto Prefecture for four consecutive years from junior high to high school, is in the same year as you, Shoyo.
A voice reached out, when Hinata turned his head, he felt something incredibly cold pressed against his face.
Hinata was startled by the sudden attack: "So cold!"
He looked at the item Miya Atsumu had handed him; it was a cup of chilled juice. Atsumu was also holding a box containing sliced chilled watermelon and other fruits like melon.
Hinata's eyes widened: "Watermelon!!"
Miya Atsumu stepped over from behind, squeezing himself between Hinata and Kumagai. "It was sent by Seito and Inubushi Higashi's parents. Eat it quickly while it's still cold."