He thought it was just someone joking around or an alias, because he had a teammate named Natsume back in junior high.
Shiratori felt even more exhausted: "There's no rule saying a surname can't be used as a given name."
Bokuto's eyes lit up, then he turned and said, "Oh, that's right! Then I'll call you Natsume too."
Hearing this reckless decision, Shiratori's smile became even more strained: "Why?"
He didn't want to agree; deciding to call him by his name so suddenly was just so inconsiderate..
“Shiratori is four syllables, it's such a hassle to say.” Bokuto looked at Shiratori very seriously.
Natsume is only three syllables, it's much easier to say.
After locking eyes with Bokuto's sincere gaze for a full minute, Shiratori declared his defeat.
His eyes were hollow, his entire being seemed to lose all color: "Whatever you say."
Having watched the whole spectacle as a bystander, Miya Atsumu couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Pfft."
His previously slightly uncomfortable mood had been completely rectified; nothing brought him more joy than watching this grand spectacle of Shiratori-senpai being victimized.
He still remembered Shiratori-senpai's speech after the National Sports Festival!
“Atsu-kun, what are you laughing at?”
A sharp gaze swept over, although Shiratori had a smile on his lips, his eyes were very dangerous.
Hearing that name, Miya Atsumu stopped smiling.
Having successfully defeated Miya Atsumu, Shiratori looked at Hinata with a pleasant expression, while simultaneously ignoring Bokuto, who was still eager to say something on the other side. "Why has Shoyo come over here? Do you want to sit in our section of the stands? Rei can't make it, so I have an extra ticket for the first row."
After speaking, Shiratori glanced at Miya Atsumu, a slightly regretful expression appearing on his face.
That's right, there was only one ticket, so it was a pity that Hinata had to come by himself.
Although he was a fan of Miya Atsumu at first, it didn't prevent Hinata's status in his heart from completely surpassing Miya Atsumu's.
Bokuto blinked. "I have too. Ever since Akaashi became Captain, he's been so busy with Volleyball Club matters that he hasn't had any time to come watch my matches.."
The more he spoke, the more dejected he became, his entire aura grew heavy.
Hinata shook his head. "Thank you, Natsume-senpai, but it's no need. Atsumu-senpai has an all-access pass for the entire first row."
Shiratori froze for a moment upon hearing that, then looked at Miya Atsumu with some surprise.
They only had tickets for their own school's matches, it was basically the same for the professional teams; as for something like a pass.. unless you were the organizer or a professional team coach, it would be almost impossible to get one.
Does that mean Miya Atsumu has already decided to join a professional team immediately after graduating from high school? Has he even already contacted a team?
Fine, very good, very excellent.
Shiratori smiled in a good mood, then continued asking, "Just the two of you?"
Completely ignored, Bokuto tested the waters for a long time by his side, but Shiratori had no intention of paying him any attention.
His expression gradually went blank, eventually turning into dot eyes. After spacing out for a few seconds, he turned his head and crouched down on the ground to imitate a mushroom.
Hinata, who hadn't noticed at all, was still looking up and talking to Shiratori: "Yeah, yeah! Atsumu-senpai and I came out to play together!"
Hearing this, Shiratori became even happier: "Then you two must remember to come and cheer for me."
He desperately needed some positive energy; he was truly being driven to the point of suffocation by Bokuto..
Although Bokuto is reliable most of the time, this guy is someone who is utterly impossible to communicate with. Most of the time, he basically has to rely on telepathy to communicate, having to guess what Bokuto actually means.
Moreover, Bokuto is incredibly gullible! Someone teased him today, he actually took it seriously!
Indeed, Bokuto is a very pure and simple person, many times he can be the one to shoulder the pressure within the team.
But.. his compatibility with him was terrible!
He needs a teammate like Shoyo who can communicate with him and give him praise and encouragement!
Instead of him having to play the role of the one doing the coaxing!!
But he couldn't escape it; his four years of university were destined to be spent playing volleyball with Bokuto.
He just wondered which "lucky person" would become his setter when Bokuto entered the professional leagues; he would offer them a second of silence.
Miya Atsumu glanced at Bokuto, who was crouching on the ground, for a moment, he felt exactly what Shiratori felt.
—He absolutely, absolutely would not be the setter for Bokuto-senpai!
Thinking of this, Miya Atsumu suddenly paused.
Wait, neither of these two was on the list of new player announcements for the V1V2 Alliance Winter Transfer Window, which meant they weren't playing volleyball in a professional team.
But.. they appeared here.
In other words, it means they are players from one of the four representative teams in the university division.
He had previously asked the Black Jackals' manager, the professional teams participating in this competition were not staying here. Because they had to consider the possibility of large crowds of fans gathering, the professional players were arranged to stay in other private hotels.
And the hotel they are staying in now is actually the closest to the Black Jackals' home stadium, so it makes perfect sense that the participating university students would stay here.
Then.. which university would Shiratori-senpai and Bokuto-senpai be players for?
Juntendo?
No, with Ushijima-senpai there, they probably wouldn't consider recruiting Bokuto-senpai.
Hosei University is also unlikely.
Aside from players like Inunari-senpai, who follow the sport purely out of personal preference, there probably won't be any candidates among them who want to continue on the path of volleyball.
That leaves Waseda and Central Physical Education University.
He had just run into Coach Utsunomiya, who had connections to Central Physical Education University, downstairs; it was likely that the students from Central Physical Education University had not come up yet.
So.. Shiratori-senpai and Bokuto-senpai are probably from Waseda?
The very next second after Miya Atsumu had deduced the answer, a steady and powerful voice came from behind him.
“Bokuto, long time no see, what's wrong with you?”
Hearing the voice, Miya Atsumu turned around and saw Washio Tatsuki, a player who graduated from Fukurodani High School at the same time as Bokuto.
Bokuto looked up at the sound, gazing pitifully at Washio.
Washio instinctively scanned the entire corridor, was clearly somewhat disappointed to realize that Akaashi was no longer with Bokuto, but this was immediately followed by a feeling of a slight headache.
Oh, Akaashi isn't here.
Hinata, who had been chatting intently with Shiratori, was startled by Bokuto-senpai crouching on the ground, hurriedly crouched down beside him to ask, "What's wrong, Bokuto-senpai? Are you feeling unwell? Why are you crouching on the floor?"
Bokuto complained, "Natsume-senpai won't talk to me."
Hinata denied it: "That's not true, Natsume-senpai is just a bit excited because he hasn't seen me in a long time."
Shiratori-senpai must really like Bokuto-senpai!
Hope ignited in Bokuto's eyes: "Really?"
Hinata nodded firmly: "Really!"
Miya Atsumu turned his head toward a relieved Washio Tatsuki. "By the way, which university are you at now, Washio-senpai?"
Washio replied, "I'm at Waseda."
He was also admitted through a recommendation. The Waseda coach liked him very much after watching their Haruko Finals, he sought him out that very day.
Miya Atsumu's expression visibly stiffened.
He looked at Hinata, who was acting as a straight man for Bokuto, then at Shiratori, whose face was filled with a look of relief, a terrible thought flashed through his mind.
This time, Atsumu couldn't bring himself to smile at all.
Chapter 285: The 285th Fox
Miya Atsumu looked at Hinata and Bokuto crouching on the ground, then looked at Shiratori Natsume standing there lost in thought, fell into a long silence.
Shiratori sighed, "It would be great if Shoyo could come to our university too."
Currently, in the Central Physical Education University First String, he and Bokuto are the only two first-years. The seniors all choose to evade the situation; even though they are usually very reliable, every time something happens involving Bokuto, they just try to laugh it off, leaving him and Bokuto staring blankly at each other in the end.
Seeing Shoyo and Bokuto getting along so well, seeing how Shoyo could even coax him out of his moods, if only Shoyo could come to their school..
Hinata quickly moved on to the next topic, pulling Bokuto away from the melancholy of the previous subject: "By the way, Bokuto-senpai, which university are you at now? I'll come cheer for you tomorrow!"
Bokuto's attention was quickly drawn back, he replied, "Central Physical Education University. I'll be there with Natsume."
Hearing this answer, Hinata let out a soft "Ah.." "This is.."
Shiratori, who had been paying close attention to Hinata and Miya Atsumu's reactions, froze for a moment.
Hinata looked somewhat surprised, but mostly delighted; however, what he was mainly concerned about.. was that Miya Atsumu's expression was unexpectedly grim.
Shiratori blinked, then looked at Hinata, a smile of ambiguous meaning appearing on his face.
He also glanced at Miya Atsumu, his expression carrying an unmistakable hint of excitement and a touch of smugness.
The next second, Hinata's voice followed immediately: "Then I'll be classmates with Bokuto-senpai and Natsume-senpai from now on."
Bokuto looked up at Hinata, looking a bit dazed. "Classmates? Hinata, did you skip a grade?"
Shiratori's temple twitched, feeling his blood pressure rise significantly: "How is that possible?"
He ignored Bokuto and instead looked at Hinata: "Has Shoyo already signed the recommendation agreement with our side? Is it certain that he's coming?"
Hinata shook his head. "Not yet. Coach Utsunomiya said it's not time yet. We'll sign it after this year's National Sports Festival, along with Atsumu-senpai's year."
It means signing the agreement a year in advance to prevent either party from going back on their word.
—In fact, Coach Utsunomiya was mostly afraid that Coach Kurosu would have another sudden idea for a different route and stand him up.
However, university admission through recommendation itself doesn't involve financial interests like joining a professional team; at most, Central Physical Education University simply promises to cover tuition, accommodation, any future expenses for advanced training.
Moreover, Hinata is currently receiving personal sponsorships, once Hinata graduates, Coach Kurosu will transfer those funds to Central Physical Education University, just as he does for former students, to cover future training expenses.
But as students, Hinata and the others weren't very clear on those matters. Hinata trusted the coaches, so he only noted down the most important things.
Shiratori laughed, the expression on his face brightening, "That's great! Once Shoyo enrolls, we can play volleyball together."
Bokuto also realized what was happening, jumping up on the spot and cheering, "Really! I'm going to be teammates with you, Hinata!"