But, we will win.
Hinata's voice was very soft, unlike his usual self, but that sense of determination had remained unchanged from beginning to end.
Itachiyama used to be an invincible opponent to them, but they have also overcome that great mountain.
It is the same now; they will defend their ground and fight until the very last moment.
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Karassuno is indeed quite flawless, but considering they have to play in the group stage, we still have a natural advantage in terms of physical conditioning."
Despite the two-day break in between, for a long-term tournament like this, it was better than nothing.
Atsumu raised a hand and placed it behind his head, saying in a deliberately relaxed tone, "Besides, it's not even a certainty that we'll end up facing each other."
Maybe before we even meet, Karasuno will have gone through several consecutive matches against Itachiyama or Rakusan and been swept right out of the tournament.
He lowered his hands and looked toward Hoshiumi, who was walking toward the spectator stands to offer his greetings, his eyes filled with an unmistakable excitement and fighting spirit.
But.. I still really want to play a match against you and see how it goes.
After the post-match ceremonies were completed, Hinata raised his hand high toward Hoshiumi Hikari as he approached. "Hikari-kun! That was an amazing match!"
Hoshiumi raised his hand to high-five him, slightly lifting his chin as he said, "Of course, I will definitely claim the championship this time."
Before Hinata could even argue, Hoshiumi suddenly frowned and stepped closer to him.
Wait, Shoyo, are you..
Staring under Hoshiumi Hikari's gaze, Hinata froze for a moment, then he felt as if someone had placed a hand on his head, pressing his hair down.
Immediately after, Hoshiumi's voice rang out again: "Have you grown quite a bit compared to the height registered on the player roster?"
Hinata stood up straight, his face beaming with pride: "Hehe, that's right! I'm already 167.4 centimeters tall!"
Hoshiumi Hikari, who had already surpassed 170, was also pleasantly surprised and praised him repeatedly: "I knew I hadn't misjudged you! Shoyo, your height has been growing very quickly lately!"
Hinata stood with his hands on his hips, his chin tilting even higher after being praised: "The coaches have been making proper meal plans for me, I've also been exercising and getting plenty of sunlight."
Maybe I'll be even taller than Hikari-kun in the future!
Hoshiumi Hikari slightly raised an eyebrow, but he didn't bother to argue too much: "Growing taller is a good thing, but I will definitely be taller than you."
He was already nearly 1.68 meters tall at this time last year; he didn't believe Hinata could grow taller than him.
But.. even if he truly surpassed him in height, it wasn't that he couldn't accept it.
—Even though he would be very angry.
After all, in volleyball, growing even one centimeter means the distance between you and the sky is shortened by nearly two centimeters.
Every single bit of growth is incredibly precious and incredibly important.
Hakuma also stood still behind Hoshiumi Hikari, speaking up at an inappropriate moment, "If you're around 170cm, it doesn't matter how much more you grow, right? It's not like you're two meters tall."
Hoshiumi wanted to say a few words, but Hinata was already jumping up and down: "Two meters is definitely amazing! But I'll jump higher than you!"
And my receiving will be better than yours, so will my offense!
Hoshiumi Hikari gave a huff and a chuckle, turning his head slightly to cast a teasing look at Hakuma, who was being outplayed by Hinata.
He and Hinata stood on the same side: "Anyway, that's just how it is."
Looking at the empty space behind Hinata, Hoshiumi Hikari turned his head and asked, "Where is Miya Atsumu? Wasn't he just here?"
Hinata pointed a finger toward the crowd not far behind them, where Miya Atsumu was standing right in the center of the group.
“Atsumu-ge was called away by the reporters over there for an interview. The reporters wanted to interview me too, but I wanted to talk to you, Hikari-kun.”
Hoshiumi Hikari was a little surprised. "Huh? No more interview?"
He remembered that Hinata really liked the feeling of being interviewed; every time Inarizaki did an exclusive interview, they would always leave enough space specifically for Hinata.
Looking in Miya Atsumu's direction, Hinata nodded. "Yeah, Atsumu-ge said he'd let me do interviews after Inarizaki finishes their matches, that I should just leave the pre-match trash-talking to him."
Upon hearing that, Hoshiumi Hikari fell silent for a moment.
He glanced in Miya Atsumu's direction and lowered his arms, which he had been holding across his chest. "I understand."
Alright, alright.
As Hinata's mentor, he tentatively acknowledged Miya Atsumu, but.. that was all.
Taking an interview before a match is indeed a dangerous thing; after all, one might be asked sensitive questions and could easily be made a scapegoat afterward.
Moreover, there are so many contestants in the IH, there are only a few famous print media outlets and online streaming platforms. Unless it is an exclusive interview for the championship or an individual award, it is difficult to be interviewed repeatedly.
Miya Atsumu's intention was still to wait until Hinata demonstrated enough strength and sufficiently stunned the crowd before accepting interviews; doing so would be a much more reliable approach.
But then again, he was indeed a little curious about what kind of bold claims Miya Atsumu would make.
It wouldn't be.. some delusional nonsense about three-peat or five-peat, would it?
Of course.
Miya Atsumu's voice came through the television, making Yamaguchi, who was sitting in front of it, unable to help but let out a bitter smile.
Miya Atsumu, in front of the camera, was still talking incessantly: "My goal is a three-peat. We're going to take this championship without holding back, we thank the other teams for coming along to be our runners-up."
“This guy really can't keep his mouth shut, can he?” Tsukishima Kei sat on the sofa with his knees pulled to his chest. His tone was quite indifferent, yet it carried an inexplicable sense of helpless melancholy.
Yamaguchi could only manage a forced smile, turning back to look at Tsukishima sitting on the sofa. "Miya Atsumu-senpai has always been like this. Didn't he say our gymnasium was shabby the last time he came here?"
Tsukishima fell silent for two seconds, looking at the motionless, round back of the head in his field of vision, he couldn't help but say, "Then why did you all come to my house?"
Hitoka Yachi, who was frantically recording anything useful in her small notebook, replied, "Because the Tsukishima family's living room is very large, the TV is also very large, it's close by."
Kageyama turned his head slightly and nodded in agreement.
Tsukishima's eyes went dark, he couldn't help but turn his head away. "His Majesty, just where exactly did you get that jagged bangs cut.."
Kageyama raised his hand to touch his very short bangs. "My sister cut them for me. Do they not look good?"
His sister had been wanting to try her hand at men's hairstyling lately, since his hair was getting a bit long and needed a trim, he became her practice subject.
Hitoka Yachi gave a thumbs up: "Very stylish."
Miya Atsumu was still talking trash on the television, while Tsukishima Kei looked up at the ceiling, feeling mentally exhausted.
Fashion.. It certainly is fashion.
But it's completely being carried by Kageyama's face! This guy could wear a trash bag out of the house and it would still be fashion!
The hairstyle itself is already at a disaster level!
Yamaguchi turned his head to look at him, his face full of a helpless smile: "Tsukishima, it's better to just vent it out."
Tsukishima raised his hand to take off his glasses and leaned back against the sofa, beginning to contemplate life. "No, just let me have a moment of peace."
“It's a pity we won't be able to see Inarizaki's match for a few more days.” Hitoka Yachi capped her pen, taking a moment to rest during the break between sets.
Although she didn't understand much about volleyball yet, Kageyama did; Kageyama would tell her what to pay attention to, she would make a note of the corresponding match, set, score, the two schools involved, so that later the Coach could go through the notes one by one.
There were many matches being played simultaneously during the IH group stage. They, the Third Years, the Coach himself were watching different television channels, the matches they were watching were different as well.
Yamaguchi flipped through the IH tournament broadcast announcements. "The Date Tech match is being broadcast on our channel, right?"
Hitoka Yachi replied, "Yeah, the next one is."
So Tsukishima put his glasses back on and stared intently at the television screen.
Miya Atsumu's interview had already ended, the camera cut to a high-angle shot of the current match court.
Hitoka Yachi noticed that splash of orange by the sidelines at first glance: "Ah, it's Hinata. Is he talking to Karasuno's Ace?"
The morning inspection had just finished, Hinata was still wearing a casual short-sleeved shirt under his sports uniform; Yamaguchi noticed the number on it immediately.
It's number 10.
Hitoka Yachi immediately caught the key point: "The number 10 from the Second Year.. isn't that just like our Little Giant-senpai?"
Kageyama nodded, "Yeah, Hinata said it's because of that Inarizaki coach that he was given the number 10."
Tsukishima was a bit shocked by this: "You two actually stay in touch quite a lot."
Judging by Kageyama's tone, it was obvious that he and Hinata communicated frequently, even about things like this.
Kageyama's gaze shifted unnaturally. "Yeah.. because I occasionally ask him questions.."
Tsukishima was even more shocked: "His Majesty actually asks questions?"
Kageyama, feeling exposed and awkward, suddenly lashed out, "What! Is that not okay!?"
It wasn't a matter of technique; he was just asking about communication skills!
But as expected, those things didn't apply to Tsukishima at all.
Yamaguchi tried his best to break them up: "Alright, alright.. stop fighting.."
Seeing the two of them still glaring at each other, the veins on his forehead bulged, he finally shouted with a smile, "Everyone, sit down!"
Kageyama and Tsukishima both stopped talking.
Seeing the atmosphere return to harmony, Yamaguchi continued to ask, "Kageyama, you're going to the Junior National Team training camp at the end of the month, right?"
Kageyama nodded. "Yeah, Coach told us before."
Yamaguchi marveled at how amazing Kageyama was in his heart before continuing, "Then the people from Inarizaki should be going too, so you two can go together."
Although the distance between Karasuno and Inarizaki is quite far, Tokyo isn't in the same direction, at least having company during the training camp would mean not being too lonely.
"Hinata said that both he and Miya Atsumu-senpai are going, so I probably won't be going with them?" Kageyama's own tone was somewhat uncertain.
Now it was Yamaguchi's turn to be confused: "Why?"
Setting aside training, he should be able to lend a hand during the voluntary training after the match.
Kageyama recalled Hinata's exact words: "Because.. Hinata said that he and Miya Atsumu-senpai are.. dating?"
He struggled to organize his words to describe his understanding: "Um.. although I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'dating,' I should probably just keep up with them?"
Tsukishima's house was silent for a full five minutes, with only the commentator's voice continuously coming from the television.
The next second, Yamaguchi and Hitoka Yachi's shouts rang out at the same time.
Eh!! Dating?!
“That's right, we're dating.”
Miya Atsumu looked at Sakusa across from him and showed him his new wallpaper.