Shiratori corrected his wording: "It's a cat cafe, a shop where you can drink coffee while petting cats."
Bokuto had a sudden realization: "Oh! A cat cafe! So it's not cats making the coffee?"
The next second, he shouted again, "So, do you want to go together?! Shimizu said he wants to go! But Unabara said he's going to use a phone to cook porridge, so he's not coming."
Hearing that someone had already defected, Shiratori sighed as he walked upstairs. "Are you two sure you want to drink coffee at this hour? Aren't you going to sleep?"
Shimizu suggested, "We can have juice."
With the last reason refuted, Shiratori turned his head to look at Shoyo: "Do you want to come along too?"
Hmm.." Shoyo thought about it seriously, then answered decisively, "Am I also going to help cook the porridge?
Bokuto had already rushed down, pushing Shiratori and Hinata upward with one hand on each of them. "What do you mean, what porridge? Unabara Uta can just cook it by herself; she can make enough for both of you."
Shiratori offered a second of silent mourning for Miya Atsumu in his heart: "It's not that kind of porridge—"
Having finished his training for the day and returned home, Miya Atsumu sat on his bed, listlessly scrolling through his phone, while on the other side, Miya Osamu was still gnawing on a dental chew, making crunching sounds.
Miya Atsumu's temple twitched, he couldn't help but say, "You're too noisy."
Miya Osamu, whose body fat percentage had exceeded the limit again, forcing him to eat nothing but boiled vegetables, narrowed his eyes and looked at him. "What are you acting crazy for?"
Watching Miya Atsumu scrolling through his phone, Miya Osamu suddenly understood: "Oh, Shoyo didn't call you."
Miya Atsumu raised an eyebrow. "No one's calling you a mute just because you're not talking; Shoyo is just busy."
That being said, but.. three minutes had already passed since the time he and Hinata had agreed to call, Hinata hadn't even sent a single explanatory text message.
Just as the impatient Miya Atsumu was about to call Hinata, his phone suddenly vibrated; the caller was indeed Hinata.
The original sadness and unease vanished instantly. Miya Atsumu and Meizenmu answered the phone, he said in a sickly sweet voice, "Shoyo-kun, this is Atsu-kun, who is feeling a bit sad after being left on read for a full three minutes."
It was very noisy on the other end of the line; in a daze, Miya Atsumu heard the sound of a cat meowing and Shoyo-kun's startled cry.
Immediately after, the phone seemed to fall to the floor with a thud.
Miya Atsumu quickly moved his phone away and raised a hand to rub his ear, which had just taken a direct hit.
After a while, Hinata's voice finally rang out from the opposite side, "Sorry, sorry, Atsumu-ge! The clock at the cafe was a little slow, I thought it was time just now."
“Bokuto-senpai insisted on using a cat teaser to play with the cat on the top shelf, when it jumped down, it knocked the phone off.. I hope that didn't startle Atsumu-ge."
Hearing a name that shouldn't have appeared, a question mark surfaced over Miya Atsumu's head: "Huh?"
The next second, Bokuto's voice rang out from right beside him: "Is it Atsu-kun? Atsu-kun! It's me, Bokuto! I've been doing great lately! How are you!"
Shiratori used his taller stature and slightly superior strength to drag Bokuto away: "Alright, don't go over there and disturb a couple on a phone call."
After saying that, he added a sentence to the other side of the phone, "Sorry, Atsu-kun, I'll keep an eye on Bokuto."
In the next second, another gasp rang out as Hinata's phone flew out once more, landing on the ground where a passing Calico Maine Coon stepped on the hang-up button.
Attacked by the sound of a collision once again, Miya Atsumu felt his ears ringing, his brain ceased to function.
Miya Osamu laughed so hard he was doubling over, nearly rolling around on the bed: "Hahahaha—that's hilarious."
Miya Atsumu, who was struggling with pent-up frustration and had nowhere to vent it, suddenly stood up and lunged at Miya Osamu. "It's all your fault! You bastard, Osamu!"
Miya Osamu did not back down at all: "What does that have to do with me!"
The two of them were scuffling together when, hearing the commotion, Miya's parents pushed the door open and walked in. "What are you two doing!"
Just as the Twins were being scolded by their parents, Miya Atsumu's phone lit up; Hinata had sent over a picture.
In the photo, Shoyo was smiling at the camera while holding a massive cat, with Bokuto and Shiratori in the background, even a peace sign in the foreground.
Miya Atsumu's face went pitch black.
It's Unabara, right? The one taking photos is probably Unabara.
Great, he is dead.
Meanwhile, in the shop next to the Cat Cafe, Unabara Uta, who was busy chatting on the phone with Imai, couldn't help but sneeze.
Damn it, who's talking behind my back!
Chapter 310: The Three Hundred and Tenth Fox
After two days of learning and adaptation, Hinata and Unabara joined the freshmen's team on the third day as practice partners.
The beach volleyball program at Central Physical Education University is divided into different groups for training, since not every athlete has had experience playing beach volleyball like Shimizu.
Beach volleyball is different from indoor volleyball, one of the three major ball sports; it does not rely on the primary, middle, high school education systems to cultivate talent. Most talent selection before university relies on local prefectural associations, clubs, private volleyball classrooms.
Currently, among the students in this cohort of the Beach Volleyball major at Central Physical Education University, besides some who were recruited because they were scouted for their excellent physical fitness, there is also a portion transferred from highly popular majors, such as football, basketball, baseball.
At this point, just a few months into the new semester, Hinata and Unabara blended in perfectly without any sense of incongruity; after all, both of them had no issues with their basic jumping, serving, or receiving.
Watching Hinata still bouncing around with energy even after completing five sets of physical training, a freshman from Central Physical Education University wailed, "That Little One must be a monster.."
He had transferred from football and considered his physical conditioning to be quite good, yet he was completely crushed by a Second Year High School Little One.
The person beside him pushed up the glasses on his face. "A starter for a high school national champion—the level of talent is self-evident."
The person who had spoken first sighed, "That is indeed terrifying."
And what is the most terrifying part?
It was that smiling Coach Sparta, who used Hinata as a "child of others" every single day to whip them into shape, saying that they couldn't even compete with a Second Year High Schooler.
At first, they would fall for such provocation, but after three days of physical training.. they had come to realize the full truth: that person was not a normal human being!
Hinata bounced over to the entrance of the gymnasium, turning his head to look at Shimizu, who was following behind him. "Can we play a match today?"
Shimizu nodded. "Yes, it's possible. Hinata Hideyoshi has theory classes this morning, so why don't you try being my partner?"
His current partner was still his childhood playmate, who was one year older than him and was now a second-year student.
However, both of them were quite unfocused on their studies. He had spent his high school years playing volleyball, while the other had played basketball, they were only brought back to their original paths once they entered university. Nevertheless, they both participated in multiple sports during that time, they would still participate in youth competitions during their holidays.
Hinata pointed to Unabara, who was walking at the very front. "What about Unabara?"
Shimizu had her usual smile on her face as she said in a very soft voice, "I found him a high-energy Spiker partner."
Hinata blinked, failing to understand Shimizu's meaning immediately.
Full of.. energy?
The moment Unabara Uta stepped through the door, she saw a tall figure standing in the middle of the court, hands on hips, shouting toward them, "HEY—HEY—HEY!!"
I heard you needed me! So I'm here to help!!
Having already guessed half of it, Hinata revealed an "I knew it" expression: "It's Bokuto-senpai."
Shimizu also smiled with crescent-shaped eyes. "It's him."
Only Unabara at the very front had a look of confusion on his face, then he raised a finger to point at himself. "Me?"
Shimizu pushed Unabara toward the opposite side and gave him an encouraging look.
Meanwhile, Bokuto was already thumping his chest with loud, resounding slaps. "Leave it to me! I'm in top form today!"
Watching Bokuto instantly revive from his low mood—having just been squatting on the court drawing in the sand—Shiratori sat in the stands, expressionless.
He had already grown used to it; this person was either at full capacity or in a state of negative infinity, a total extreme—there was simply no middle ground.
Today was a rest day for indoor volleyball. Although, in theory, it was meant for taking elective courses for credits, the classes the two of them had signed up for weren't at this time, but rather on the evenings of regular school days, leaving the two of them quite free right now.
If Shimizu, who shares a room with Bokuto, hadn't invited Bokuto over to play beach volleyball, the two of them might have gone to play baseball instead.
Looking at Shiratori, Hinata asked, "Isn't Shiratori-senpai playing?"
Shimizu pointed to the hooded sun protection clothing Shiratori was wearing. "He hates being exposed to the sun."
Unabara Uta, who was on the opposite side, had already resigned himself to his fate. After greeting Bokuto, he asked Shoyo, "Shoyo-kun, you've applied enough sunscreen, right? On your arms, the back of your neck, your legs, places like that."
The roof of the venue was open today, the four courts in the middle were bathed in the scorching sunlight; if one didn't apply sunscreen, they would likely get sunburned by the end of the day.
Hinata gave a thumbs up. "Yeah, I've already applied it. Atsumu-senpai taught me how."
Unlike Shimizu and the others who wore tank tops, he and Unabara Uta were still wearing their usual short sleeves and shorts, so it wasn't as if there were any spots he couldn't reach.
Shimizu nodded. "Then there's no problem."
Coach Sanjo arrived late at this moment: "Alright, alright, all courts can begin preparations."
After saying that, he also gave Bokuto a warning: "Bokuto, don't cause any trouble today."
Right, don't do anything like burying yourself in the sand during break time.
Hinata gave his word for him: "Bokuto-senpai is super reliable!"
Bokuto-senpai definitely won't cause any trouble on the court! He is a super Ace!
Coach Sanjo nodded. "That would be perfect then."
We're short-handed today, so you'll have to handle the drawing of lots, scoring, serve timing yourselves. Keep an eye on the opposing side during quick attacks and ball handling. If you see an opportunity, call the fault immediately; don't hold back.
After checking the personnel configuration at each court, Coach Sanjo closed his notebook. "I will be checking each court one by one, so don't slack off."
YES!!
Hinata tapped the sand twice, while behind him, beyond the baseline, Shimizu was already prepared to serve.
Unabara Uta lowered her center of gravity, preparing to receive the ball.
He had a deep impression of Shimizu's serve; although he hadn't received one himself, that high ceiling serve she displayed at the National Sports Festival was quite terrifying. Even watching from off the court, he felt quite dizzy.
It might be that his ability to see it now was developed through playing beach volleyball; it just so happens that it's useful for indoor play as well.
For him, this is a great opportunity.
—An opportunity to experience a top-tier Ceiling Serve in the most extreme setting.
Bokuto made a sound to indicate that the serve could proceed.
Shimizu didn't hesitate much and crouched down.
Then he raised his hand and tossed the ball up, his right arm sweeping in a semicircle from bottom to top. His entire body rose during the process, he struck the volleyball fiercely with the full strength of his body, the impact centered at the base of his clenched fist.
A loud "bang" erupted, the slightly empty gymnasium was filled with continuous echoes.
Unabara Uta tilted his head back, watching the ball turn into a tiny black dot in his field of vision.