Hinata lay on the ground for a while, calming his overly active heartbeat.
He reached out toward Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-ge.. help me."
"Is Shoyo acting spoiled?" Miya Atsumu raised his hand and stroked his lower lip.
Without waiting for Hinata to answer, Miya Atsumu reached out and grabbed his hand, allowing him to use the leverage to pull himself up.
Touching Hinata's already sweat-soaked back, Miya Atsumu frowned. "You're sweating a lot. Do you need some water?"
Hinata shook his head rapidly. "I drank too much water today, too.."
The reason he was sweating so much was because he had drunk too much water; he had even scared Coach Kurosu this afternoon, so the coach wouldn't let him drink any more.
It's all the fault of those two evil motion sickness pills Atsumu-senpai gave him!
Meeting Hinata's accusatory gaze, Miya Atsumu hurriedly said, "Sorry, sorry, next time I'll check the side effects carefully."
Hinata accepted Miya Atsumu's apology in a second: "Yeah, it's the medicine's fault."
Miya Atsumu laughed. "Alright, let's start practicing serves now."
He turned his head toward Nishizawa Hokuto, who was picking up balls on the other side. "Hokuto-kun, can you help Shoyo set up the bottles? Just put them anywhere!"
Nishizawa raised his hand in response: "Okay—"
Miya Atsumu reached into Coach Utsunomiya's bag by the sidelines and pulled out a clean, large bath towel, before walking back to the sidelines to find a comfortable spot to sit and watch Hinata's serve.
Although Hinata looked quite disheveled, he was actually still quite energetic, his serving form remained standard and beautiful.
He had just served a bit too wildly himself and was already feeling quite exhausted, so it was perfect for him to sit by the side of the court and observe his own teammates' practice.
Thinking this, Miya Atsumu took out the coach's notebook to keep statistics on Hinata's serves.
The number of people in the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium gradually increased, as everyone who had gone out to eat or take a break returned one after another for their remaining self-training, Hinata's serve training also entered its final stages.
Looking at the fallen bottles, Hinata chuckled, "Atsumu-ge, my touch feels great today."
82 in-bounds, with 51 hitting the target. You're much more stable than before.
Sitting by the sidelines, Miya Atsumu closed the notebook in his hands and patted the empty spot beside him. "Take a little break. In a bit, I'll help you practice your approach rhythm for offense."
After saying that, he called out loudly to Rishia and Kumagai, who were practicing bumps on the other side: "Heisuke, Kuniharu! Come over for serves, one hundred each!"
“Alright!” The two responded simultaneously and walked over quickly.
Nishizawa Hokuto, who had come along to handle logistics, picked up all the balls and helped arrange the bottles on the opposite side.
Hinata glanced at Nishizawa Hokuto and Ogata, who was also helping out on the other side, vaguely remembered that during last year's training camp, he and Kumagai were the ones who did this work.
Noticing his gaze, Nishizawa Hokuto looked up at him, after a brief moment of being stunned, returned the smile.
Hinata also raised his hand to signal to him and returned a smile.
Nishizawa turned away, clearly saying something to Ogata in an excited manner.
Ogata patted his head, signaling him to go pick up the ball that Kumagai had just served out of bounds.
Miya Atsumu propped his face up with one hand, his gaze sweeping across the two people opposite him and the ball on the ground, before finally locking onto Kumagai, whose serve had gone out of bounds.
His voice was low, making Kumagai's scalp tingle instantly.
Kuniharu, what are you doing? Was that last ball a home run? You have quite a talent for baseball, don't you?
You're a key server. What, are you planning to hand a few points to the opposition once you step on the court?
Under Miya Atsumu's gaze, Kumagai was almost on the verge of performing a dogeza to apologize: "Yes, I know I was wrong."
On the other side, Rishia Heisuke didn't dare make a sound, merely silently patting the ball in his hands to start adjusting his touch, striving to avoid any mistakes.
Seeing Kumagai looking serious and preparing to serve again, Hinata walked toward Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-ge is bullying Akuma again."
Miya Atsumu leaned back slightly with both hands on the ground, looking up at Hinata from his low vantage point. "What do you mean? This is just a senior's encouragement."
Hinata raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and face with his shirt. From his perspective looking up, Miya Atsumu could see a corner of a bandage peeking out, which he had personally helped apply for him at noon.
A slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth as he opened his arms toward Hinata, gesturing for him to come over.
"It's hot." Hinata shook his head, then sat down beside Miya Atsumu.
Atsumu opened the bath towel and the hand towel he had brought earlier, used the hand towel to wipe Hinata's hair, then covered him with the large bath towel.
Hinata's amount of sweat was indeed terrifying; if he didn't keep warm, he would easily catch a cold from the cold wind if he went outside in a little while.
Then Miya Atsumu reached out to take the water cup from behind, handed it to Hinata, simultaneously tilted his head slightly to observe his profile.
So.. can you tell me now? Where are you and Unabara planning to go after the training camp?
Hinata tilted his head back and took a few gulps of water, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
He let out a soft breath and answered simply, "It's just going to Central Physical Education University to take a look. Coach thinks playing some two-on-two beach volleyball will be beneficial for comprehensive strengthening in terms of defensive support."
It's not just me who needs to practice setting; it would be best if Unabara could do it a little bit too, so that in the future, we don't have to worry about having no one to act as the setter.
They couldn't provide Miya Atsumu with a comfortable offensive environment like Akagi Aran could yet, so they could only try their best to lighten Miya Atsumu's burden by handling some of the unnecessary balls themselves.
In a long-term battle, every bit of stamina is a vital strategic resource, especially for Atsumu, who serves as the absolute core.
And.. this could also be seen as the prototype of a deceptive playstyle.
“That far—and still two weeks?” Miya Atsumu drew out his voice, a look of obvious grievance on his face.
They had only been together for a month, even normally, they didn't have much time to interact because of their classes.
They had finally managed to get summer vacation, they thought they would be able to play ball together every day and have plenty of close contact..
So, are we entering a long-distance relationship phase?
Hinata turned his head away, lightly brushing his hair against him. "I'll call Atsumu-ge often."
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes, reached out to wrap his arms around Hinata, pulled him into his embrace.
This time Hinata didn't resist either, instead moving himself closer into Miya Atsumu's embrace, allowing him to hold him from behind.
Atsumu held Shoyo's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder as his thoughts began to wander.
The two of them stayed in that position for a while before Miya Atsumu spoke first: "Will you get a tan, Shoyo?"
Shoyo, who had been sitting cross-legged and seriously watching Rishia and the others play, also thought seriously about this question.
He leaned back, finding a comfortable position to slump against Miya Atsumu.
Atsumu also adjusted his position, sitting up slightly and resting his chin on Hinata's fuzzy head.
Coach Utsunomiya said the beach volleyball courts over there are also semi-indoor, since they have to train even in winter, but I just don't know if they open the roof during normal times..
Hinata blinked, recalling the precautions the coach had mentioned to him earlier; it seemed he really had been told to bring sunscreen.
He added, "Maybe."
Hinata's eyes darted around as he asked, "Doesn't Atsumu-ge like it?"
Rishia, foot fault!
After shouting sternly, Miya Atsumu looked back at Hinata in his arms and said, "How could that be? I like Shoyo no matter what."
Ginjima, having returned from his meal, looked at the two people by the side of the court and didn't know what to say for a moment: "They're acting like no one else is even there, those two."
"The two of them are already an open secret." Suna didn't say much more; he just silently took a photo and sent it to Hoshiumi Hikari using his alt account.
Ever since Hinata and Miya Atsumu entered a relationship, Hinata had told him about ending their partnership, so he had been handling it on his own since then.
Moreover, without Hinata there to act as a get-out-of-jail-free card, Suna's behavior of spreading unflattering photos of Miya Atsumu has been somewhat restrained.
As for why he was taking pictures of those two dating.. actually, Hoshiumi had specifically requested to see them; it seemed like he wanted to monitor their progress at any time and keep a tally against Miya Atsumu.
Regarding this, Suna could only offer a second of silence for Miya Atsumu, he sent one copy to Hoshiumi Hikari every day, while also forwarding it to Miya Atsumu, charging two yen per photo.
Arima Shuji took it well: "It didn't interfere with training anyway, so it's actually quite good."
Miya Atsumu could even chat and laugh with Hinata while simultaneously staring at the two people on the court, accurately catching every single one of their mistakes.
As it approached nine o'clock, Coach Kusubashi came over to call a halt to everyone's training: "Stop for a moment, it's time to lock up! Go back, take a good shower, then get some proper sleep. We'll continue tomorrow!"
"Yes!!" everyone responded in unison.
As they were preparing to leave the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium, Usui Mitsuru suddenly remembered something and reached out to pat Miya Atsumu on the back.
By the way, Atsumu, you've gone viral.
Miya Atsumu looked up in confusion. "Huh? What? I've always been popular."
He is High School's Best Setter; the total number of fans present here combined doesn't even compare to his.
Usui Mitsuru chuckled and left the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium with a light and joyful step.
Having been notified in advance by Suna, who had just dealt with a high-intensity surfing session, Ginjima stepped up to the plate in a crisis. He braced himself and approached Miya Atsumu, who was currently drying Hinata's hair. "Atsumu, I have something to tell you. Don't be sad."
Miya Atsumu looked confused. "Huh? Me, sad?"
Hinata also raised his head slightly, shook his hair, leaned in to look at the phone screen Ginjima was holding out.
It was a You Tube video interface, titled "Haruko Setter High-Energy Highlights."
The number of likes and subscriptions was mediocre, but the number of shares and comments was terrifyingly high, which was highly unusual.
Miya Atsumu opened the video without any preparation and saw.. a video of him being hit in the head twice by Hinata's serves, which had been carefully edited and even had background music added.
Before he could even snap out of it, Oikawa Tooru's face appeared on the screen, also in a clip where he was nearly hit in the head by Iwaizumi and Kyokutsu's serves.
Hinata fell silent.
Miya Atsumu's hands began to tremble.
Suna and Miya Osamu, who had been holding it in for a long time, burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.
Only Rishia Heisuke in the corner curled up even tighter, attempting to escape from this world.
Having come to his senses, the culprit Hinata was already sliding on his knees in apology: "It's all my fault! Atsumu-ge!"
I'll do anything you ask, Atsumu-senpai! Just don't kill me!
Miya Atsumu reached out to help Hinata up, smiling gently and calmly: "How could it be Shoyo's fault? It's the ball's fault; the ball just wouldn't listen to Shoyo."
As for the one who truly deserves to die..
In the next instant, Miya Atsumu's expression suddenly darkened, a faint black aura gradually spread.
His gaze locked onto the server's nickname, "French Fries," and the corners of his mouth curled into a cruel arc.