But no matter what, he believed that Hinata would always shine.
Even without him or Inarizaki, Hinata would carve out a completely different path for himself.
It's just that.. he, they, would have provided Hinata with a smooth path.
—Just like his own life.
Miya Atsumu's voice suddenly cut off, he began searching frantically through his brain for the right words: "How does that saying go again? I remember seeing it in a textbook a while ago, something about having to endure hardships first to achieve success?"
Heaven will impose a great responsibility on a person; first, it will strain his mind, exhaust his body, starve his skin and bones.
A voice came from behind the two, making Hinata's eyes light up.
Hinata turned around and saw Shiratori and Bokuto sitting in the empty seats diagonally behind him.
He was a bit surprised: "Natsume-senpai! Bokuto-senpai!"
Bokuto raised his hand full of energy: "Atsu-kun! Shoyo! I've come to find you!"
Hinata tilted his head: "Shoyo-chan?"
Miya Atsumu's expression was slightly stiff: ".. Resurrected so soon?"
Help, why does he feel like his private little world with Hinata has suddenly become so noisy?
After spending twenty minutes trying to coax him and nearly crying himself, Shiratori managed a forced smile. "Our Ace is very reliable.. yes, very reliable."
Can someone teach him how to handle Bokuto-senpai with just one sentence! This guy's preoccupations are always so strange!
How could someone spend ten whole minutes sulking and feeling upset just because of something like "calling Hinata by his name feels so unfamiliar"!
Bokuto-senpai was already leaning over the back of the chair behind Hinata: "Shoyo! Did you see my super cool short diagonal just now!"
Hinata nodded vigorously: "I saw it! It was super cool!"
The moment Miya Atsumu spoke, Shiratori felt his vision go dark: "It's a pity the last ball didn't score."
Bokuto's eyes turned into dots.
Shiratori quickly tried to make excuses: "That's not true. In that situation, a Short Diagonal was already the best possible option. Bokuto-senpai completed the task beautifully; it was just a matter of a little bit of bad luck."
Miya Atsumu continued, "Shiratori-senpai, how can you not be angry? The Spiker didn't even score from the ball you set."
Shiratori refuted him decisively, "Why would I be angry? Bokuto-senpai isn't even angry with me, even though the ball I gave was absolutely terrible."
Why was the Short Diagonal the only optimal solution? It was because the ball he gave was a bit too close to the net, making it extremely easy to touch the net when attempting a counterattack.
The atmospheric pressure around Bokuto-senpai dropped again and again.
Hinata blinked. "But Natsume-senpai's form on that ball wasn't actually that good, was it? Being able to get the ball out in that situation is already quite impressive."
But if it were me, I might choose a dump? Even though there's a chance the opponent could receive it, reorganizing the defense and offense is also a good option.
Miya Atsumu gave a light click of his tongue, but he didn't continue to stir the pot.
Ultimately, it was because he had only joined the team for a little over a month and was completely unfamiliar with his teammates.
Who would have thought that kind of Counterattack Libero actually couldn't keep up? When it truly comes down to the court, Hinata himself would probably choose to trust his teammates to the greatest extent possible, might even make the same decision as Bokuto-senpai.
So, that's why.. replacing the Libero for Central Physical Education University is becoming an urgent matter!
Bokuto-senpai's attention was drawn by Hinata's words, he added, "Mm-hmm, I was actually thinking just now if a Tsuru Kage would have been better for that kind of ball."
You could use a time difference, it would also reduce the risk of hitting the net.
Hinata's eyes also lit up: "Oh—true!"
Although techniques like the Tsuru Kage often have more aesthetic value than practical utility and are frequently ignored subconsciously, it was indeed an excellent choice in that recent situation.
As expected, every technique has its time and place!
Listening to Hinata and Bokuto-senpai start discussing technical matters, Shiratori breathed a complete sigh of relief.
Just thinking about how Hinata would arrive in another two years, he suddenly felt that life was worth looking forward to.
But it was fine; at least Bokuto's performance on the court was very stable. He didn't throw tantrums during matches like the rumors during high school suggested, using ridiculous excuses like no one was watching the match at the Sub-gymnasium, or the start time at the main gym was too late and the audience had already left.
Off the court, he could choose to ignore it completely, unless the coach and seniors insisted on dumping it on him—then there would be no helping it.
So.. can he travel two years into the future!
The match between Tachibana Red Falcons and Shwaiden Adler ended with a 3-1 victory for Shwaiden Adler.
The remaining two matches of the morning concluded one after another, the four semifinalists of the Black Eagle Flag were decided: they were Shwaiden Adler, Black Jackals, EJP Gods, Waseda.
The afternoon featured Women's Volleyball matches, but they had no intention of continuing to watch. After saying their goodbyes to everyone, Hinata and Miya Atsumu also left the Volleyball Hall.
Their destination for today was Tenshu Castle; Miya Atsumu had even pre-booked a guide.
Following the crowd out of the Black Jackals' home arena, Hinata looked up at Miya Atsumu and suddenly asked, "By the way, Atsumu-senpai, have you ever had moments like that?"
Miya Atsumu looked a bit confused. "Hmm?"
Lowering his head to process his own words, Hinata continued to ask, "You mean, like what Atsumu-senpai said, when you're making mistakes?"
And the answer Miya Atsumu gave was incredibly decisive, one could even say it was without a second thought: "There is no such thing; I have been a very lucky person since I was a child."
Atsumu looked down at Hinata and gave him a smile.
Of course, it will be in the future as well.
At the corner of the Volleyball Hall behind the two of them, Imai nudged Unabara Uta, who was crouching in front of her, with his knee. "Why don't you go up?"
Unabara Uta built up a massive amount of mental preparation within herself, then stood up and prepared to walk out.
But in the next second, he turned around on the spot and walked back, stumbling awkwardly.
He reached out and hugged Imai, weeping bitterly. "Let's go back. I don't want to care about those two anymore—"
They locked eyes! He just locked eyes with Atsumu-senpai!
Atsumu-senpai glared at him fiercely! His eyes were filled with "get lost immediately" and "you're dead if you dare come closer"!
He's dead, he's absolutely dead!
Unabara Uta could no longer see a tomorrow for herself: "I was wrong, the two of us should have just returned to Amagasaki yesterday afternoon. Why did we take an extra day off to be here? We should have gone back to training!"
Imai leaned against the wall, watching Hinata, who had already walked away. She had wanted to follow him, but unfortunately, Unabara Uta was too large; when she tried to squat down, she couldn't move her at all.
So she could only lower her head and tug on Unabara Uta's hair: "Huh? Why do you suddenly want to go back to training?"
Unabara Uta looked up, her eyes filled with a determination as if she were ready to revolt.
Go back to training, evolve overnight into the strongest Libero in high school.
Chapter 295: The Two Hundred and Ninety-Fifth Fox
After returning and starting his hard training again, Unabara Uta gave up on the delusion of becoming the high school's First Libero.
The reason was also very simple, because an ordinary person from Earth could never become Ultraman.
So he decided to restart the second option once again.
Actually, after the class reshuffle in Second Year High School, especially after Hinata transferred to the sports department, Unabara Uta and Hinata basically wouldn't run into each other outside of club activities.
First, their classrooms were on different floors, second, he would usually spend most of his free time looking for Imai over at Kumagai's place.
After struggling with his thoughts for two days, Unabara Uta finally waited outside the door of Hinata's classroom on Wednesday afternoon, the first day Hinata and Miya Atsumu returned to class after the break.
But..
Meeting the gaze of Rishia Heisuke, who had come out alone, Unabara Uta froze for a moment: "Where is Shoyo?"
Rishia Heisuke replied, "He went over to the third-year section to pick up Atsumu-senpai."
He had been traveling with Tokura these past few days, because he refused to have close contact with Atsumu-senpai unless absolutely necessary.
Especially when it was just Atsumu-senpai and Shoyo!
Unabara Uta's face turned ashen, he crouched on the ground, motionless, even ceasing to breathe.
Rishia Heisuke remained silent for two seconds before changing the subject: "Um.. shall we go find Yukihito?
It's no big deal; every extra second we get is a second more we live.
Unabara Uta sighed, "Fine, fine.."
I wonder if Atsumu-senpai still remembers what happened two days ago; I hope Atsumu-senpai has lost his memory and doesn't hold a grudge against him.
But as it turned out, Miya Atsumu's memory was excellent.
After being glared at by Atsumu for two days and being reported to have extra training for three days, Unabara Uta completely lost all color.
To avoid being targeted even more, Unabara Uta could only throw himself even harder into the training itself and sought protection from the two coaches.
On Friday evening, when club activities ended early and everyone was preparing to go home and rest for Saturday's Interhigh Preliminaries, Unabara Uta, who could no longer bear it, lunged forward and grabbed Hinata's leg just as he was stepping out of the gym doors.
Unabara Uta wailed, "Shoyo—don't go! I beg you, don't go—"
Hinata looked at Miya Atsumu, whose face was incredibly dark, then at Unabara Uta, who looked as if she were witnessing the end of the world, before finally choosing to turn and crouch down in front of Unabara Uta.
He asked with concern, "Unabara Uta, what's wrong with you? You haven't seemed very happy these past two days. Is someone bullying you? I'll go get them for you!"
Unabara Uta was his great benefactor; he felt that picking up Atsumu-senpai from school these past two days had a wonderful effect!
Upon hearing that, Unabara Uta glanced up at Miya Atsumu, who was staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest, forced himself to scramble up quickly. He slammed the large iron gate of the Volleyball Hall shut and locked it behind him.
Miya Atsumu, left locked outside, lowered his hands, his face a picture of confusion: "Huh?"
He closed his eyes, then turned and walked away, skillfully circling around to the back door of the Volleyball Hall, preparing to reach out and open the door.
But.. it wouldn't budge, the back door was locked as well.
Miya Atsumu said with a smile, "Unabara, you're dead once we get out of here."
Meanwhile, the far-sighted Unabara Uta had already taken Hinata to sit down right in the middle of the volleyball court, speaking with a serious expression, "Shoyo, do you still remember what I told you that day?"
Hinata nodded. "Yeah, I remember."
Unabara Uta narrowed his eyes, staring at the bewildered Hinata opposite him. "Come on, repeat the first sentence."
Hinata searched his memory seriously, then repeated it very carefully, "Shoyo, if you want to know if Atsumu-senpai likes you, just go ask him directly. Some things are better left unsaid.. was that the sentence?"
Unabara Uta, the relationship mentor, nodded with great satisfaction, then spoke again with a serious expression: "Very good, so did you ask him?"