Hinata was practically radiating bubbles of happiness: "Hehe, I'll keep working hard!"
I didn't expect Oikawa-senpai to come watch the match too, what a surprise.
Oikawa Tooru was also in a great mood: "I came with Aran. Next time, win MVP for me."
Although Inarizaki won, he still considered it a great match to have watched.
It would be wonderful if Hinata could snatch that MVP title away from Miya Atsumu.
Hinata continued to nod frantically: "I definitely will!"
Before leaving, Oikawa Tooru gave him another reminder: "By the way, don't forget what I told you before."
At the same time as the rapid footsteps echoing from the corridor behind him, Hinata's voice rang out: "About that.. don't worry, Oikawa-senpai, I won't let romance affect my volleyball."
Oikawa Tooru, who was just about to leave, paused mid-step and nearly tripped over his own feet.
Wait, this can't be right! Was that what he meant before?!
"No, don't tell me you're in a relationship." Oikawa Tooru felt a massive headache coming on.
And don't tell him the person is Miya Atsumu!
Hinata patted his chest. "I'm currently pursuing Atsumu-senpai."
Oikawa Tooru felt the world go black before his eyes.
Help, if Hoshiumi finds out that he was actually the mastermind behind this whole series of events.. Hoshiumi will definitely hate him to death!
Hinata's expression was very candid: "Unabara said that Atsumu-senpai also likes me a lot, so I've decided that as soon as I get back later, I'm going to confess my feelings to Atsumu-senpai."
Regardless of whether Atsumu-senpai accepts or not, I'm going to say it.
Oikawa Tooru still wanted to struggle: "Would you consider it one more time?"
Hinata shook his head. "I've given it very serious thought, Oikawa-senpai, so don't worry about me."
Listening to the conversation between the two, Miya Atsumu, who had stopped in the shadows of the corridor, raised his hand and covered his face.
Could it be..
Could this be the legendary "Surprising Victory"?!
He silently took two steps back, his mind a chaotic mess, while simultaneously pulling out his phone at high speed to order something from the hotel.
Actually, he had also prepared to settle things with Hinata today regardless of the outcome, but.. he hadn't expected that the "matter" Hinata had mentioned to him before would turn out to be this.
The gift was already prepared, his life was already on the line, the lines had been memorized in advance; what else was missing..
Right, flowers, buy some flowers.
Do you need to prepare a suit or a Kimono? And formal wedding invitations too?
His mind, already soaring to distant heights under the impact of joy, made his footsteps incredibly light.
As he walked, he quickly ordered a bouquet of roses and some trendy mini cakes, adding a note that said "urgent, urgent, urgent."
Seeing his pathetic expression, Miya Osamu frowned. "What are you thinking about? You're practically drooling."
Miya Atsumu was in no mood to argue with him; he simply shook his phone triumphantly. "Useless Osamu, I'm going to be the happiest person from now on. You lost."
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
Miya Atsumu didn't bother paying attention to Miya Osamu anymore, instead granting himself a mental amnesty.
—I'm sorry, Unabara, I promise I won't exploit you ever again.
I'm sorry, Oikawa-senpai, I admit that you are the most handsome Server and Setter in the professional circuit this year.
Hinata arrived late after finishing his conversation with Oikawa Tooru: "I'm back!"
Miya Atsumu's muscular frame shuddered, his posture, which had been slightly hunched as he looked down at the order, straightened up in an instant.
Seeing everyone gathered, Coach Kurosu, who had just finished communicating with the media, clapped his hands. "You all worked hard in today's match. Go back and get some good rest and sleep. There is an interview with the local media tomorrow morning, we will return to school in the afternoon."
Everyone responded in unison, "Yes!"
Hinata, who was communicating with Masaru Haseda about the insights from this match, followed at the back of the team; as a first-year mentor, he kept a constant watch on the state of his juniors.
“That's about it. Is there anything else besides this?”
Masaru Haseda looked up at Miya Atsumu, who had unconsciously drifted away from the main group toward them, hurriedly shook his head. "Nothing else."
Hinata also looked up at Miya Atsumu as he approached, then nodded to Masaru Haseda. "If you have anything else you want to ask, you can come find me anytime."
After saying that, he took two quick steps to catch up to Miya Atsumu.
The distance between the two was very close, as they walked side by side, their hands would brush against each other unconsciously.
Miya Atsumu shifted his focus, the lines he had memorized playing on a loop in his mind.
But just then, a hand much smaller than his suddenly reached out and grasped his, holding his hand tightly in hers.
Atsumu froze for a moment, but when he looked down, he saw only an orange swirl of hair.
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Miya Atsumu turned his head slightly, but used his other hand to grip Hinata's hand even more tightly.
——So warm.
Chapter 303: The Three Hundred and Third Fox
The way back to the hotel was very quiet.
Although he could hear the laughter of Fukami, Masaru Haseda, the others behind him, as well as the voices of the seniors ahead, Hinata still felt a sense of peaceful tranquility around him.
Suna, who was beside Miya Osamu, looked back repeatedly, his gaze sweeping over Hinata and Miya Atsumu several times before he finally raised his phone and took a photo of the two of them.
The flash of the camera was exceptionally bright in the darkness of the night. Hinata, who had been repeatedly planning his schedule for when he returned, suddenly looked up, the moment his eyes met Suna's, he realized he had become the subject of the other's photography.
Miya Atsumu squeezed his hand, lowering his head slightly to whisper in his ear, "Don't worry, I'll make him delete it once we get back."
As he leaned in close, Miya Atsumu realized Hinata's face was bright red, his ears flushed crimson as well.
But even so, Hinata's miraculous thought process still delivered a critical blow to Miya Atsumu the very next second: "Atsumu-senpai.. if it requires paying money to buy out the contract, then never mind, it doesn't matter to me."
He felt that he didn't really have much of an image to begin with, so it probably wouldn't be a problem even if unflattering photos were flying everywhere.
By comparison, Atsumu-senpai's wallet was indeed more important.
Miya Atsumu laughed out of sheer exasperation, using his free hand to completely mess up Hinata's hair. "What are you talking about? I'm the Captain now, I can use my authority as Captain!"
Hinata also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that: "Atsumu-senpai is amazing!"
It's such a relief not to have my wallet emptied!
Everyone walked back to their respective floors in the hotel, but from a distance, they saw a large bouquet of red roses placed in front of a room door.
.. Roses?
Ginjima looked up at the room number; it seemed to be Miya Atsumu and Hinata's room.
Walking behind, Miya Atsumu hurriedly took Hinata's hand and stepped forward, picking up the bouquet of roses before pushing Hinata toward the room.
I ordered it, I ordered it, don't worry about it. Goodnight, goodnight, everyone!
With a loud bang, the others were locked out by Miya Atsumu.
Miya Osamu let out a soft click of his tongue, together with Suna, he gave the room door the middle finger before turning around and heading into his own room next door.
Unabara Uta passed by the doorway and, under Kumagai's bewildered gaze, performed three devout bows.
As if he had just opened the door to a new world, Fukami pointed at the tightly closed room door: "Shoyo-senpai, Captain Atsumu—"
Reo Mizuta quickly covered his mouth and ushered him away, "There, you didn't see anything."
In the end, only Coach Kurosu, with a dark expression, was left sighing in the hallway.
Meanwhile, in the room, Miya Atsumu was staring wide-eyed at Hinata while holding that bouquet of roses.
The rich fragrance of the roses made Miya Atsumu's heart flutter.
He looked at the flowers in his hands, then at the slightly dazed Hinata across from him, finally turned his head to place the flowers on the nightstand between the two beds.
Miya Atsumu took a deep breath, cheering himself on in his heart.
Don't be nervous! Shoyo likes you a lot! Just say it!
Under Hinata's gaze, Miya Atsumu's face turned slightly red from holding it in.
Despite having memorized so many so-called romantic lines, when the moment actually arrived, he couldn't think of a single one.
He wanted to get closer to the boy in front of him, to reveal his true heart to him, to pour out his entire soul into his ear.
What should he say? How should he express his love?
Miya Atsumu opened his mouth, the moment he did, he felt a distinct sensation of dryness as he met the air.
He raised his hand to clutch the clothes at his chest, attempting to press down on his racing heart, struggling to calm his turbulent emotions.
Atsumu stepped forward aggressively, his eyes staring straight at Hinata.
Shoyo, I admire you.
Hinata felt his mind go blank, the sound of the air conditioner that had been present in his hearing vanished at this moment.
He could only hear the thumping in his own chest, beat after beat, leaving him feeling a little lightheaded.
In his field of vision were Miya Atsumu's serious and earnest eyes, the scent of roses drifted around his nose.
Ah.. I lost.
Atsumu-senpai beat him to it.
But he didn't seem sad; instead, he felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his heart.
Because he truly, truly loved Atsumu-senpai—loved the way Atsumu-senpai looked so high-spirited on the court, loved the patience Atsumu-senpai showed when teaching him, loved the intense emotion of every embrace following a perfect play.
He knew that the other person wasn't perfect; he had seen his disappointments, his clumsiness, his sadness, because of that, he found him even more full of life.
So Atsumu-senpai likes him very much too, really..
That's great.
His nose tingled for no reason, Hinata also took a half-step toward Miya Atsumu.