The Third Year workload was quite heavy, so when Hinata arrived, the homeroom teacher was still speaking while the students below were continuously packing up their things.
After the homeroom teacher announced the end of class, the once quiet classroom instantly erupted into a frenzy, with everyone quickly packing up their things in preparation for club activities.
Just as Miya Atsumu was tidying up his books, the classmate sitting to his right reached out and tapped him. "Miya, is that person waiting for you? They've been looking this way."
Atsumu froze for a moment upon hearing that, when he looked up, he saw Hinata standing outside the back door with a bag in hand, peering in this way.
A gentle smile spread across his face as he greeted Hinata, then he quickened his pace in packing his things.
"He's looking for me." Having said that, Miya Atsumu shoved everything on his desk into the desk drawer all at once.
Seeing him like this, the classmates around him were a bit stunned: "Huh?"
Miya Atsumu ignored those who admired him, often wearing a sour expression, so this was the first time he had seen Miya Atsumu smile like this.
"I'm leaving, goodbye!" Miya Atsumu stood up abruptly.
Before his classmates could even ask anything, Miya Atsumu, who had tidied up his things at lightning speed, had already grabbed his backpack and was jogging toward the door.
From a distance, he heard Miya Atsumu's voice: "Have you been waiting long? Sorry, Ishida Sensei ran a bit over.."
"It's so rare to see Miya like this." His classmate leaned back in his chair, his face written with curiosity.
They had been classmates with Miya Atsumu for so long that they knew exactly what kind of bastard he was, so they found his current demeanor quite difficult to get used to.
A classmate who had never seen a Volleyball Club match asked Suna on the other side, "Where did Miya go? Why does he look so happy?"
Suna quietly packed up his things: "He went on a date."
"Huh?" Hearing this explosive news, the classmate who spoke was completely stunned.
On the other side, a female student who had once been smitten by Miya Atsumu's face cried out in shock, "Wait, what? A date? Since when did Miya Atsumu become single? Which blind person has fallen for him?"
“Suna, do you know him? The person just now? Damn, I didn't see clearly, what does he look like??”
The girl leaned against the door to look outside, but Miya Atsumu and the other had already gone downstairs, she hadn't even seen a glimpse of his back.
To be honest, she deeply admired the person who could be in a relationship with Miya Atsumu.
—He must be extremely, extremely patient and have a very good temper.
Suna picked up his bag and stood up, preparing for today's training: "Just a junior from the Volleyball Club."
Those two managed to get leave to go out and have fun, but he couldn't get leave from Coach Kurosu no matter what.
Tsk, if only he had known, he would have put more effort into training his physical fitness.
Hearing this, everyone in the classroom was stunned at the same time: "Huh?"
On the other side, Hinata and Miya Atsumu had already boarded the Shinkansen from Amagasaki to Osaka, after getting off the Shinkansen, they took the subway directly to the area near the Black Jackals.
The opening ceremony had just concluded, so the surrounding area was still quite lively.
Watching the fans walking by in their cheering uniforms, with stickers on their faces and volleyball face paint, Hinata couldn't help but say, "The volleyball atmosphere is so intense—"
Miya Atsumu laughed, "Most professional matches feel like this, you know? They're absolutely exhilarating."
Hinata became even more excited: "That sounds truly exciting!"
But unfortunately, they are here to watch the match, so they probably won't have a chance to touch a volleyball.
But it doesn't matter; one day, the person standing on that court will be him!
The two of them stepped through the hotel's main entrance side by side, spotting an acquaintance from a distance.
Looking at the person making a phone call at the front desk, Miya Atsumu froze for a moment. "Coach Utsunomiya?"
Utsunomiya turned his head and looked at the two of them with some surprise.
But, being busy, he only waved a hand at the two of them before following the other adult to the other side.
Miya Atsumu was a bit confused. "Why is Coach Utsunomiya here?"
Hinata raised his hand to answer quickly, "Because Coach Utsunomiya is an honorary teacher at Central Physical Education University, he is involved in the development of the university's Volleyball Club."
He had already done his homework, after all, it was the place he would be attending for his future studies.
Miya Atsumu sensed something was slightly off: "Shoyo knows?"
Hinata nodded. "Coach Kurosu recommended Central Physical Education University to me, so there's a high chance I'll be going there in the future."
Because they had discussed future plans a while ago, Miya Atsumu subconsciously assumed Hinata had gone to ask about it after that, but he soon realized something was wrong.
Those two coaches from Itachiyama seem to have had designs on Hinata for a long time, they have been unusually friendly since Haruko ended..
Miya Atsumu turned his head toward Hinata and asked softly, "Already decided? At the beginning of the year?"
Hinata shuddered, nodding somewhat guiltily, "Ah.. yeah, Coach Kurosu helped me ask at the time.."
Miya Atsumu gave a light click of his tongue. "Honestly, if you have an idea, just tell me. You're making me worry."
Central Physical Education University is a quite good choice; he was still worried about Hinata's recommendation quota.
But as it turned out, this little guy and Coach Kurosu had already agreed on it, they were collectively keeping it a secret from him.
Hinata apologized honestly, "I'm sorry, Atsumu-senpai, I was afraid you would worry."
Miya Atsumu didn't understand. "What's there to worry about? This is a good thing."
Hinata steeled himself, staring ahead while ignoring the alarm bells ringing wildly in his head, spoke, "Because my main reason for going to Central Physical Education University is—"
Before he could finish, the elevator had already stopped at the corresponding floor with a ding.
In the next second, two familiar voices reached their ears.
That's why I told you not to easily believe the words of those with ulterior motives.
The first voice to come through sounded quite exhausted: "Even if we aren't getting along, I am someone who prioritizes the bigger picture, so I wouldn't do something so misplaced on the court.."
Another person spoke immediately after, "So what are you talking about? What do you mean, 'what ghost'? What do you mean, 'overturned'?"
The first person let out a deep sigh, their voice becoming listless.
Oh.. that's enough.
As soon as Hinata stepped out of the elevator, his eyes lit up: "Ah, it's—"
Chapter 284: The 284th Fox
Hinata unconsciously quickened his pace, wanting to turn off from the elevator into the hallway to see what was happening.
Miya Atsumu couldn't help but let out a soft click of his tongue, his expression turning quite unpleasant.
There was no other reason; it was simply because both of these people had voices that were very distinctive and difficult to forget once heard.
So.. he also recognized the identities of these two people.
Watching Hinata walk forward without even looking back, Miya Atsumu's mood was quite terrible.
—As expected, the thing you fear most is exactly what you'll encounter.
Hinata rounded the corner and rushed into the hallway, spotting a person with hands on their hips and another person with their head pressed against the wall from a distance.
Both of them had white hair, though the former had black at the roots.
Bokuto-senpai! Natsume-senpai!
The two people who were called out to turned their heads at the same time, looking toward Shoyo who had spoken.
Seeing Hinata with both hands raised high, Bokuto also raised his hands and rushed over, giving Hinata a heavy high-five: "Ohhh—Shoyo! Long time no see! You've grown!"
Hinata puffed out his chest and held his head high. "I've grown nearly two centimeters!"
That's right! He was already 1.66m tall!
But.. why does Bokuto-senpai also seem taller?
Bokuto also grew excited as well: "That's amazing!"
A smile rose on Shiratori Natsume's face as she walked up to Hinata and reached out her hand to him: "It's been a long time. Shoyo, you've become much more mature than before."
Hinata became even more smug: "Of course! Natsume-senpai, you've grown taller than before too!"
Shoyo is indeed very observant," Shiratori laughed, expressing amazement at Hinata's memory and observation skills. "To tell you the truth, I just reached 1.95m.
Hinata looked up at Shiratori, his eyes filled with shock: "1.95m! That's incredible!!"
But it was true; he remembered that more than half a year ago, Shiratori was already over 1.93m, so it wasn't surprising that he had reached 1.95m by this time.
Shiratori's face was filled with a satisfied smile, the annoyance caused by the nonsensical conversation he just had with Bokuto vanished without a trace at this moment.
As expected, Shoyo is an angel—
Bokuto raised his hand and squeezed through from the other side: "I'm 1.9m too!"
He was just one millimeter short of 1.9m during his measurement five days ago; he believed he could definitely grow that one millimeter in these few days!
The envy in Hinata's eyes grew even deeper: "Bokuto-senpai is also super amazing!"
Moreover, compared to Natsume-senpai, Bokuto-senpai has a larger frame and a more robust build; when he approaches, his sense of pressure is even stronger.
And Bokuto-senpai's hairstyle.. actually has a similar visual effect to Natsume-senpai's.
Bokuto accurately caught sight of Miya Atsumu, who had finally emerged after much hesitation: "Atsu-kun! You're here too!"
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Long time no see, Bokuto-senpai."
Shiratori rubbed his chin, tilting his head as he glanced at Miya Atsumu, who had walked up behind Hinata. "Atsu-kun?"
A sudden chill surged through Atsumu, he took a half-step back, a look of resistance appearing on his face.
But before he could voice his protest, Bokuto-senpai had already spoken up first.
"Aren't you named Shiratori? Why does Hinata call you Natsume-senpai?" Bokuto looked at Shiratori beside him and asked a question that even left Miya Atsumu silent.
Veins throbbed on Shiratori's temple, his wonderful mood, which had been soaring upon seeing Hinata and Miya Atsumu, instantly plummeted to rock bottom.
He turned his head toward Bokuto, his forced smile failing to hide his blatant disdain: "Is there a possibility that my name is Shiratori Natsume?"
Has this guy still not remembered his name?
Although the two of them were not in the same class, they had skipped the self-introduction phase when joining the club, still..
Bokuto's expression became even more dazed: "But both of those are surnames."