Is the scary part already starting? Why has the left half of the bracket turned into hell already, hey!
The announcer read out Inarizaki's draw result: "Hyogo Prefecture representative, Inarizaki High School, Group A, Number 1."
Coach Kurosu crossed his arms over his chest. "A bad draw."
Although they also played against Itachiyama in the semifinals during last year's National Sports Festival, the situation for this year's Interhigh is different.
This time, the Finals and the Semifinals were held on the same day, without enough time for rest in between, which heavily tested the teams' overall physical endurance thresholds in a short period.
Hinata sat back down in his seat, while the representatives from Fukuda General had also stepped forward to draw lots.
He turned his head to glance at the serious expression on the Captain and the Coach. "Is my luck.. really that bad?"
Miya Atsumu leaned back, his entire body in a very relaxed state.
He didn't look back at Hinata, but instead stared at the results of the draw on the court: "No, being able to play early is a good thing; the pressure won't be too great later on."
Whether we play early or late, we have to play; if we can finish off Itachiyama a bit earlier, the level of torment we face later might be a little less.
Fukuda General drew Group D, so the remaining Fukurodani was naturally placed in Group C.
The remaining part is the drawing for the regular positions. Because an extra draw is required, the process will be a bit slower.
Kanagawa representative, Shonan High School, Group B, No. 3.
Host representative, Gaoyang Academy, Group A, Number 2.
“..”
Akita Prefecture representative, Sannomiya Industrial, Group D, No. 4.
Miyagi Prefecture representative, Date Tech, Group A No. 3.
Hinata blinked. "It's Koganezawa and them."
However, he had only seen this person during the live stream; he seemed to be the Captain of Date Tech.
“Gaoyang's level is quite average; there shouldn't be any problem for Date Tech to take them down.” Miya Atsumu glanced at the half-filled form.
If nothing unexpected happens, our first opponent will be Date Tech.
Hinata lifted his feet, his face full of anticipation: "Oh—that's awesome!"
He had wanted to face the Koganezawa team for a long time.
That kind of Iron Wall, the feeling of breaking through it head-on to score.. it must have been amazing!
"But.. Atsumu-ge was leading the laughter at me just now, wasn't he?" Hinata squinted at Miya Atsumu, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction.
Miya Atsumu felt a momentary pang of guilt, but then decisively shifted the blame. "You misheard me. How could it be me? It was Sakusa and the others who started it, definitely."
Hinata had already seen through everything: "Hmph."
Oita Prefecture representative, Shirabu High School, Group B, No. 1.
Nagano Prefecture representative, Karasuno High School, Group C No. 4.
Miya Atsumu's arms, which he had been holding across his chest, tightened instantly, he gripped his own arms with an uncontrollable force.
This is bad.. How did things turn out to be the worst possible outcome?
In the half of the bracket containing Karasuno, the only difficult opponent to deal with is Fukurodani. Regardless of which side wins, they will likely enter the Finals in a relatively fresh state, making them truly difficult to handle.
However, Shirabu didn't get a seed this time, so in Group B, he will likely face Itachiyama in a life-or-death struggle.
It would be best if they both suffered heavy losses, so their pressure might be a little lighter..
“Kyoto Prefecture representative, Rakusan High School, Group A, Number 6.”
Coach Kurosu pursed his lips, keeping his recent thoughts to himself, as he didn't want to put pressure on the two students beside him.
The drawing of lots was nearing its end, the lot that Inarizaki received..
It could only be described as a terrible draw.
Miya Atsumu couldn't help but say, "I feel like we've got a real fight on our hands this time."
Hinata leaned in a little closer and asked, "That Rakusan, Atsumu-ge said their Ace is really amazing before, right?"
Hearing Hinata's words, Miya Atsumu nodded: "Yeah, he's very strong, but compared to you, he seems to lack a bit of decisiveness."
I don't have enough courage myself, but I feel like I've improved a bit compared to the footage from the previous qualifiers.
Hinata lowered his head upon hearing that: "Oh no.."
On the other side, Coach Kurosu was momentarily stunned by what he heard.
From this angle, he couldn't see Hinata's face; he could only see that the boy seemed to be resting his chin in his hand, lost in thought.
Actually.. I'm a little worried that this kind of high-intensity, concentrated pressure might scare Hinata. After all, the harder the match, the more pressure the Ace himself has to endure.
Miya Atsumu's expression, however, was relaxed, as if he had already guessed what startling remark Hinata was about to make.
The next second, Hinata suddenly looked up at Miya Atsumu, his eyes filled with anticipation and an irrepressible urge to get started.
Atsumu-ge, I think I can't hold back my excitement anymore, I want to start the match right now!
Atsumu raised his hand and rubbed Hinata's hair: "It'll be soon, just bear with it for a little bit."
Hinata rubbed against Miya Atsumu's hand: "Yeah."
The matchup bracket was printed on the spot and distributed to every team present, while the three who had finished their schedule for the day returned to the Shirabu Gymnasium.
Regarding this final lottery result, the Inarizaki members didn't say anything either.
Whether it was a great result or a poor one, the outcome was already decided; all they had to do was prepare for battle based on this list.
Miya Atsumu called out to Kumagai on the other side, "Kuniharu, look through the footage of last year's Karasuno at Haruko and Ichibayashi; I should have given you the edited version."
"Got it!" Kumagai responded, quickly pulling out the laptop he had brought for online classes and searching through it for the file Miya Atsumu had sent earlier.
Rishia Heisuke sat beside him and couldn't help but sigh, "But this match is truly a bit intimidating. Date Tech's blocking is very strong, so the burden of counterattacks will likely be quite heavy."
“Heisuke, haven't you practiced your counterattack quite well?” Kumagai looked up at him, a faint smile on his face.
He raised his hand and nudged Rishia lightly with his elbow. "Don't worry, we'll handle whatever comes our way. There won't be any problems."
Rishia Heisuke took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'll perform my best."
He wanted to become the support behind Shoyo, this time, he would never let him bear such immense pressure alone again.
The results of the first day of the tournament were also not unexpected for the Inarizaki members; Date Tech defeated Gaoyang High School to advance to the top sixteen, they will face Inarizaki in the next day's match.
“This is terrible..” Niokuchi sighed with a frown, walking toward the warm-up area with his hands behind his head.
They, Date Tech, are indeed the strongest group in recent years, but to be honest, compared to the two-time champions, Inarizaki, who are currently at the peak of their powers.. the gap is still quite significant.
But they have their advantages too. After all, Inarizaki's overall height isn't particularly impressive, their Ace is a Little One; as long as they can shut down the opponent's offense, they will ultimately hold the advantage.
Koganezawa thumped his chest loudly. "Don't you worry, seniors! I've got this!"
The Captain, Niokuchi, patted this junior, who had become much more reliable lately: "I'm counting on you. Make them cry with your blocks!"
Koganezawa raised his hand in response: "Leave it to me!"
When Date Tech pushed open the door and looked inside, the Inarizaki members were already warming up.
For Inarizaki, this was their first match of the IH, making warming up and finding their rhythm the top priorities.
So even though the people from Date Tech hadn't arrived yet and formal warm-ups couldn't begin, everyone was already moving their bodies to stay limber.
Seeing that the Date Tech players had arrived, the tournament officials quickly signaled for the players from both sides to come forward and line up to exchange greetings.
Please take care of us!!
Please look forward to playing with us—
Everyone straightened up, but the tall, light-haired man standing at the head of Date Tech raised his hand.
His fingers brushed past Miya Osamu, who was standing beside Miya Atsumu, paused for half a second on Rishia Heisuke, who was wearing the number 4 jersey, then continued backward, finally locking onto.. thin air.
Aone silently lowered his arms, his gaze fixed intently on Hinata, who was also stealing glances at him.
Meeting Aone's gaze, Hinata shrank his neck.
Why is he pointing at him? Is there something on his face? This senior is so fierce, so scary..
Miya Atsumu had approached Hinata from behind at some unknown point. He stood with his hands on his hips, speaking with a dark expression: "Hey, what do you think you're doing to our precious Ace?"
Niokuchi, standing beside Aone, finally reached out unhurriedly and gave Aone's hand a symbolic nudge. "Sorry, sorry. This guy has a habit of refusing to let go of the opponent's Ace."
Hinata had already shrunk behind Miya Atsumu, peeking out from behind his arm at Aone, who was still glaring at him.
That expression.. it's like he wants to chop him into eight pieces and bury him. So scary.
Little One, sorry, he's just like this," Niokuchi said with a smile, looking toward Hinata, "but you should be careful too, don't let yourself get crushed by us by accident.
Hinata gripped Miya Atsumu even tighter.
Miya Atsumu patted his hand to comfort him, looking at the instigating Niokuchi with a slight shadow on his face. "You guys are the ones; that kind of block that crumbles at the slightest touch isn't even enough to get stuck in Shoyo's teeth."
With someone backing him up, Hinata also began to chime in: "Exactly, exactly! I'm going to smash right through your block!"
The four of them glared at each other for a while before the coaches, having finished their negotiations, finally arrived.
Coach Kurosu walked over with a frown. "Atsumu, you're looking for trouble again."
Miya Atsumu shrugged, without a hint of remorse on his face: "They were the ones bullying Shoyo first."
You two, stop causing trouble here," Scorekeeper said, grabbing Niokuchi and Aone by their collars one in each hand as he led them away, then apologized to Coach Kurosu, "Sorry, I'll keep a better eye on my players.
Coach Kurosu waved him off, signaling that it was fine, then turned and said to Miya Atsumu, "What are you doing? At least show some respect to your opponent."
After speaking, he gave Miya Atsumu a thumbs-up where the Date Tech people couldn't see.
Scorekeeper, who was just about to leave, stumbled, turning to look at Coach Kurosu, who had his back to him, his eyes filled with shock.
He was apologizing sincerely, but why did it feel like this black-hearted-looking coach was being sarcastic toward him?
Coach Omimi smiled, casting a slightly apologetic smile toward Scorekeeper.
The coach of Date Tech is still so young.. He'll be fine once he's been baptized by those veteran coaches a few more times.
Looking at the Inarizaki members, Sakunami Kosuke, who was following at the very back of the Date Tech team, couldn't help but purse his lips.
National champions, two-time champions at that; they look so strong and terrifying.
He will work hard to keep up and not fall behind.