Miya Atsumu looked through the list of participating teams and handed it to Hinata to read: "The teams you're familiar with participating in V1 this time are Shwaiden Adler and MSBY Black Fox Wolf, as well as Tachibana Red Falcons. The rest are VC Kanagawa, Azure Rockets, EJP Gods, Izumo Hornets, finally, Dai Nippon Railway, who finished eighth last year."
Hinata counted the V1 teams listed above: "Great Hirugami-senpai's team, Inunari-senpai's team, Aran-senpai's and Oikawa's teams.. I don't know the Kanagawa ones, but Azure Rockets has Kiryu-senpai and Wakamura-senpai, right? As for the rest.. I think I only have an impression of this railway company."
Hirugami Fuku had mentioned to him before that the other party was interested in him, but he had rejected him.
Having heard several names, Miya Atsumu pursed his lips, then decisively skipped and turned to the next page: "V2 or the Semifinals, Gyuden Elephant, Sendai Frogs, Tokai Heavy Industries, Shizuoka Leopards."
Hinata rubbed his chin. "I'm not very familiar with any of these.."
But these Sendai Frogs should be a team from Miyagi, right? I'm a bit interested. I wonder if any acquaintances will join them in the future.
Miya Atsumu clicked his tongue lightly and decisively turned the page again: "There aren't any for now, skip."
The University Championship Semifinals featured Suntory University, Central Physical Education University, Waseda, Hosei University.
Hinata's eyes lit up: "I remember Little Giant and Inunari-senpai are from Hosei University, right?"
Although he was also very interested in Central Physical Education University, the current focus was on the school where the Little Giant was!
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Yeah, Hosei University isn't actually a powerhouse, but they managed to drag out the quarterfinals thanks to Inunari-senpai, beating the old powerhouse Tokai University, that's how they made it to the Semifinals."
At this point, Miya Atsumu's tone was slightly regretful: "However, it was unexpected in itself for a player like Inunari-senpai to choose a liberal arts university like Hosei University."
Besides, with the Black Eagle Flag, Inunari-senpai has already graduated. If Hosei University has no one to follow in his footsteps, they might be eliminated in the first round.
Miya Atsumu's words suddenly paused, then he abruptly turned his head to look at Hinata: "Speaking of which, if you actually want to go to university, Shoyo, Tokai, Tohoku, Tsukuba, Nippon Sport Science University, Central Physical Education University are all good choices."
There's no need to even mention Nippon Sport Science University; just like Central Physical Education University, they're almost all government-affiliated universities where admission to the sports departments is basically entirely through special recommendations.
Miya Atsumu's tone was very serious, as if he had already scouted all the universities within Hinata's range of consideration.
Hinata opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say anything.
Atsumu continued speaking, describing the universities he mentioned as if they were old friends: "Tokai University, Tohoku University, Tsukuba University are all comprehensive universities, but they are also committed to developing their sports programs, they recruit many players from the high school leagues every year."
“These few schools also have very inclusive playing styles and aren't as selective as Juntendo or Waseda; as long as you can produce results, there's basically no problem.”
If it were him, he might be snatched up by every university.
But Hinata would need to think carefully; for a school like Juntendo, their coach tends to prefer players who are both tall and sturdy, even when it comes to the Libero, preferring them to be over 1.8 meters.
Although he has confidence in Hinata's ability, the treatment he receives after joining the team is also a factor that must be considered.
Moreover, the schools he mentioned are all teams that actively utilize freshmen; as long as their skills are sufficient, they basically won't be sidelined.
Atsumu immediately followed up with his strong recommendation: "Especially Tohoku University. You might be quite familiar with it since it's in Sendai; Shiratorizawa is one of the teams they invest in."
Although he also really wanted to recommend Osaka University or Kyoto University, but.. there were all sorts of reasons why that wouldn't be appropriate.
Listening to Miya Atsumu say so much, Hinata couldn't help but purse his lips, but in the end, he could only say, "I'll consider it carefully, I'll also make sure to ask Coach Kurosu for his opinion later."
"Yeah, Coach Kurosu is very reliable. My advice is just for your reference." Miya Atsumu nodded, then withdrew his gaze from Hinata and shifted his focus back to the tablet in his hands.
That's right, the one who can truly take control of his own destiny is Hinata himself.
Coach Kurosu is a qualified guide, he will surely select a suitable path for Hinata..
Watching Miya Atsumu's expression, Hinata, feeling a slight discomfort in his heart, silently shifted closer to Miya Atsumu, almost pressing against him.
He pointed a finger at a name above and asked, "I've never heard of this Juntendo University before."
Miya Atsumu's attention followed Hinata's finger and landed on Juntendo.
He smiled, then turned his head to look at Hinata. "This Juntendo has—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, he suddenly found Hinata's face right before his eyes.
Miya Atsumu froze for a moment, then slightly turned his head, creating a small amount of distance between himself and Hinata.
He raised his hand to slightly cover half of his face and gave two light coughs.
And just then, Hinata raised his head. "What is it?"
Seeing Miya Atsumu's expression, Hinata was also stunned for a moment.
After a brief moment of thought, he asked softly, "Is Atsumu-senpai feeling hot right now?"
—His face is very red.
Miya Atsumu gave a light cough and tugged at his collar, fanning himself a few times. "It is a bit much, this summer heat.."
Hinata glanced at Suna, who was sitting there playing on his phone behind the glass door, suggested to Miya Atsumu, "Then shall we go inside and enjoy the air conditioning?"
Atsumu shook his head. "No need for now. There's no direct sunlight here, so it's actually fine."
No, the reason he's feeling this hot is because he's being baked by the sun at close range!!
But he loves this sun; it's very comfortable!
Miya Atsumu quickly changed the subject: "The biggest news at the beginning of the year was that Ushijima-senpai was recommended for admission to Juntendo University. I thought Ushijima-senpai would choose to play volleyball directly.."
Just as Miya Atsumu expected, Hinata's attention was easily drawn over: "Ushijima-senpai!"
But in the next second, the words that escaped his mouth made Miya Atsumu's heart sink halfway.
“Then wouldn't that mean I'll get to see Ushijima-senpai in just a few days!"
Miya Atsumu's vision went black.
He suddenly realized something very serious; although no one from Inarizaki besides the two of them was planning to watch the Black Eagle Flag, there were quite a few of their acquaintances among the participating players.
Setting the V1 aside, he actually gets along quite well with everyone, except for Oikawa.
Moreover, the V1 team's winter transfer window had ended long ago; the Semifinals and Finals had already been played, Shwaiden Adler were the champions.
All the new players who joined during the winter transfer window have been announced on the website. He has already seen it, there truly are only a few familiar faces.
But as for the universities.. it's hard to say.
Some were recommended through early admission while others took the exams themselves. Aside from the widely reported Ushijima Wakatoshi, he had no idea which university the others had attended.
The only certain thing was that Iizuna had tested into Tokai University himself, Amatori-senpai had been recommended to Nippon Sport Science University, the rest..
I hope no troublemakers pop up from these four universities under the Black Eagle Flag when the time comes!
Absolutely not!!
Miya Atsumu, unwilling to give up, scrolled through the Black Eagle Flag's roster once more, only to find that there was indeed no complete player list.
At this time, recruitment for all the universities has just finished. Whether the first-year students are integrating smoothly is still uncertain, there is also the possibility that they might not be able to use the first-years at all..
Should I go ask around again? Or should I go check out the recruitment information for each school?
But you wouldn't find recruitment information like that online, he didn't have any connections at universities like Waseda, so he had no idea where to start.
Forget it, whatever.
As long as some annoying setter doesn't pop out from some random corner!
Chapter 283: The Two Hundred and Eighty-Third Fox
The sound of a door opening came from behind them. Hinata and Miya Atsumu stepped apart and turned to look toward the gymnasium entrance.
He called out to Kozume Kenma, who was preparing to slip away quietly: "Kenma? Where are you going?"
Kenma, with his hands tucked into his pockets, looked down at the two people sitting on the steps. "Aho told me to go back for the afternoon practice match; Teshiro Kyuhiko isn't in great shape."
Actually, he felt that even if he slacked off for the whole day, it wouldn't be a big deal, but he did feel that the afternoon match on Inarizaki's side wouldn't be much to watch.
Moreover.. he has something new he wants to try right now, so he might as well take the opportunity to give it a go while he can.
Hinata glanced at Coach Kurosu walking through the door, looking a bit regretful. "I want to watch Kenma's matches, but I probably won't have the time."
“It's okay, Shoyo can watch the Tokyo livestream later. We'll probably be playing from June until the end of July.” Kenma had already walked down the steps and reached Hinata, who was sitting on the edge of the shadows.
He smiled at Hinata and said, "I'll send you our match schedule and the corresponding streaming sites later."
Hinata nodded repeatedly, "Mm-hmm! I'll definitely watch it!"
Kenma smiled and waved to him. "Well then, Shoyo, I'm heading out."
Hinata jumped up and said goodbye to Kenma, "See you later, Kenma!"
They will leave very early, probably around two or three o'clock, as the conclusion to the Golden Week training camp, Coach will treat everyone to a meal in the evening.
It was said to be a combination of sukiyaki and yakiniku, the Kita Team would be joining them.
Kenma also waved at him: "See you in summer."
Before leaving, Kenma glanced at Miya Atsumu, who was resting his chin on his hand while looking at him, but he didn't say much.
He and Hinata were indeed good friends, but it wasn't as if they would interfere in each other's love lives, let alone..
It felt like Hinata was enjoying himself as well.
Kenma's figure disappeared from Hinata's sight, he sat back down, leaning in toward Miya Atsumu again to ask about the Black Eagle Flag.
Since only he and Miya Atsumu were going to Osaka to watch the match this time, they only needed to book one room.
Atsumu-senpai had already booked a standard room at a hotel closest to the Black Jackal Home Stadium through a website, so they could just go straight there when the time came.
The Black Eagle Flag has always been held in Osaka, once the Black Jackal Home Stadium renovation is complete, it will be held here.
Because the stadium used for the matches only has a single Center Court, every match of the Black Eagle Flag is held individually, so there is never a situation where multiple matches overlap and make it impossible to watch.
As one of the more important tournaments in the Japanese volleyball world, Black Eagle Flag tickets are quite difficult to grab, not to mention that more than half of the seats are occupied by supporters from various professional teams and universities.
The tickets Miya Atsumu received were requested from the Black Wolf Club, who were the hosts of the Black Jackal Home Stadium.
Coach Sansou gave them a pass for the entire tournament period with a grand wave of his hand, even securing front-row seats just a few meters from the court, saying he wanted Miya Atsumu to see the Black Wolf Club's heroic performance on the court.
After all, Miya Atsumu hadn't clearly expressed his intentions before, so the Black Wolf Club was somewhat unsure of what he was thinking.
But now that Miya Atsumu had taken the initiative to contact the Black Wolf Club, it meant they had already won half the battle. Miya Atsumu was practically one of their own now, so Coach Sansou naturally wouldn't be formal.
Every player in the club had tickets to give to their family and friends. These two front-row tickets that Miya Atsumu obtained were exchanged from Inunari Shion after Coach Sansou fought for and gained approval.
—Just consider it a benefit for the reserve players.
Hinata sighed, looking quite sad: "It's a pity Heisuke has family matters those days and can't go with us, Akuma has to go to cram school too.."
Miya Atsumu spread his hands. "It's so much better with just the two of us; we can go wherever we want."
That's right, he was extremely satisfied with the current situation; no random person who shouldn't be there was going to show up and interrupt his plans!