Koganezawa let go, Hinata silently turned his head to shake his hand.
Ahhh—dammit, Koganezawa's grip is way too strong!
He didn't take as much damage from playing an entire match as he did from being grabbed for a handshake after the game!
Watching Hinata shake his hand, Suna let out a light chuckle, but he had no intention of helping Hinata get revenge.
Because.. it's important for a person to have self-awareness.
He looked up at Miya Atsumu, who was also looking this way from the end of the line, but the other had already walked decisively toward Koganezawa, preparing to shake his hand.
Suna, who was just about to leave, stopped in his tracks, Miya Osamu, who had already walked toward the Coach's bench, also returned.
A few people stood nearby, watching Miya Atsumu and Koganezawa shake hands.
Hinata wasn't paying attention to the situation over here; instead, he walked up to Aone and Niokuchi once again.
Across the net, he reached out his hand to the two of them: "Aone-senpai, see you at Haruko."
This time, Niokuchi did not say anything to stop him, nor did he mock him; instead, he also reached out his hand and gave Hinata a gentle handshake.
Facing this Little One who had torn their block to shreds, Niokuchi felt a gnawing frustration, but he still managed to maintain a calm expression on his face.
He glanced at Scorekeeper on the sidelines and said to Hinata, "There might still be a chance to meet before then; when that time comes, I'll win a round back."
Hinata tilted his head, not realizing Niokuchi's meaning immediately, simply nodded along. "Yeah! But I'll still be the one who wins!"
Hearing this, Niokuchi let out an annoyed click of his tongue, then walked away without looking back.
Aone, who was one step behind, looked down at Hinata, his gaze equally fierce.
But that ferocity didn't make Hinata feel the same fear he had at the beginning; instead, the sense of unyielding determination being passed over him took the lead.
Hinata also reached out his hand to him.
Aone did not hesitate, grabbing on directly, gave Hinata a nod.
Hinata also said nothing, simply nodding in response.
Aone also left, Hinata, who was still standing in place, silently turned around to face away from the Date Tech Coach's bench.
As Rishia Heisuke cast a puzzled look his way, Hinata raised his slightly red right hand, his face wearing a pitiful expression that looked as if he were almost about to cry.
Rishia understood.
Oh, right, Aone-senpai's strength is super powerful too..
Meanwhile, Miya Atsumu, who had rushed over to compete with Koganezawa, stood with a stiff expression under Koganezawa's bewildered gaze.
Koganezawa, who simply thought it was a friendly greeting from his Setter-senpai, just shook hands as usual and then left the court.
Left behind, Miya Atsumu silently turned around, walking away in the opposite direction from where Koganezawa had left.
Two sneers reached his ears, he quickly turned around with a glare, glaring at Miya Osamu and Suna who had spoken.
Miya Osamu and Miya Atsumu locked eyes, Osamu spoke without mercy: "How pathetic."
Even though Miya Atsumu didn't say exactly what happened, anyone with eyes could guess.
As for Miya Atsumu, he found it even harder to express his frustration, maintaining a sour expression as he completed the remaining process of bowing to the audience.
The Coach didn't say much either; after a brief summary, he signaled for everyone to leave.
They didn't watch the entire Rakusan match because they had to warm up, so they asked Coach Kusubashi, who only started playing in the fourth match, to record it for them. Now, the memory card containing the full footage of Rakusan's round of sixteen match has been delivered to the Inarizaki dressing room assigned to them by the tournament officials.
However, from what they could see of the group stage, Rakusan's overall level didn't show any major changes compared to the preliminaries.
That was true; the preliminaries in Kyoto had been so fierce that even the slightest oversight could have allowed the other teams to pull ahead, so there was naturally no room for maneuvering.
Coach Omimi handed out the pre-prepared bento boxes while briefly checking everyone's physical condition.
Coach Kurosu opened a tablet and inserted a card reader to show everyone the match they hadn't finished watching.
Shoyo stuffed a honey lemon into his mouth while muttering, "As expected, you're amazing, Number 4."
In Inarizaki's own locker room, Miya Atsumu was much bolder, rubbing against him from behind and asking Shoyo for some of his food: "Shoyo, I want some too."
Hinata turned his head and fed him a piece.
Miya Atsumu, who had been fed, was satisfied and casually grabbed a delicious snack from Miya Osamu's bag, stuffing it into Hinata's hand.
Miya Osamu was just about to snap when he was suppressed by the Coach's gaze.
Coach Kurosu cleared his throat, withdrawing his gaze from the twins.
Miya Atsumu's performance over the past few days could be described as very good; he didn't do anything out of line in public, at most just secretly holding a hand behind everyone's backs.
In Inarizaki's own territory, being a little bit reckless was nothing out of the ordinary.
But stealing food from others.. that's a bit much.
Glaring at Miya Atsumu once more, Coach Kurosu spoke of serious matters: "Although we haven't played against our opponents this afternoon much, they can still be considered old friends."
“What's particularly worth noting are the Aoba brothers on their team.”
As he spoke, Coach Kurosu tapped on the screen of the tablet: "Aoba Haruka, the older brother, is a Second Year. His current height is 1.81m, which is considered above average among Wing Spikers."
He was also one of the outstanding players selected for the Junior National Team training camp last year; Atsumu, you should know him.
Miya Atsumu nodded, giving his evaluation based on his own memory: "He's very skilled at all kinds of technical plays; he's basically just a Sakusa without that freakishly flexible wrist."
Hinata rubbed his chin: "A mini version of Kami-senpai."
Miya Atsumu denied it: "It's a shrunken version of youth."
What on earth are you talking about..
Coach Kurosu sighed, having no choice but to continue with the business at hand and bring the topic back: "The younger one, Aoba Haruka, is a First Year this year. He played as a Wing Spiker in Junior High, but now he is a Middle Blocker."
He's 1.87m tall, his blocking skills are average, but his offense is very sharp.
Hinata raised his hand to rub his chin again. "A big version of Ginjima-senpai."
Miya Atsumu shook his fingers. "It's the Yui plus version."
Coach Kurosu sighed, "You guys have really had enough.."
Ginjima Yui, who was still eating her stir-fry bento, looked up and pointed at herself with a confused expression: "Huh? Me?"
Meanwhile, in the Rakusan locker room, the Aoba brothers both sneezed at the same time.
The Vice-Captain hurriedly handed them some tissues. "Don't tell me you two actually caught a cold.."
The two shook their heads frantically and pointed at each other.
“It must be him, he's been talking bad about me!”
Chapter 321: The Three Hundred and Twenty-First Fox
“Those two brothers.. how should I put it.." Coach Kurosu fell silent for a moment after glancing down at the two faces on the video.
"How should I put it?" Shoyo asked while mumbling, chewing on something in his mouth.
He glanced sideways at Miya Atsumu, who was leaning in again, suddenly had an epiphany: "Oh! It couldn't be that you're constantly clashing like Atsumu-ge and Osamu-senpai, can it!"
Miya Atsumu, who had just prepared to grab a bite to eat, choked on his own saliva: "Cough, cough, cough, cough—Shoyo, what are you talking about!"
Coach Kurosu didn't even spare a glance for Miya Atsumu, who was trying to protest to Hinata, spoke directly and mercilessly: "Yes, the relationship between those two is very strained, you could even say.. they have absolutely no chemistry."
Hinata was being shaken from side to side by Miya Atsumu, but he still struggled to raise his hand: "That's different from Atsumu-ge and the others; Atsumu-ge and Osamu-senpai still have great chemistry."
During matches, the two of them could often pull off many spectacular plays, sometimes it even felt like they were communicating through some kind of brainwave connection.
He and Miya Atsumu primarily played together frequently, they had their own unique signals.
Although they could often rely on a single glance or a simple set to guess what the other was specifically planning to do, it was nowhere near as absurd as the telepathy shared between the twins.
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes, looking at him with a very dangerous gaze: "You seem to be saying something quite disgusting."
Miya Osamu also rolled his eyes. "Who would have chemistry with him?"
The very thought of having chemistry made him feel sick; having that kind of thing was enough for Hinata and Miya Atsumu.
Hinata just quietly watched the coach in front of him.
Coach Kurosu silently locked eyes with Hinata for a few seconds, which served as a tacit agreement with Hinata's thoughts, before decisively choosing to skip this segment and swipe directly to the next person's video.
He tapped the screen on the person with the meticulously styled slicked-back hair: "Captain, Harukawa Kazuya, the Middle Blocker positioned next to the Setter and Opposite, is 1.88m.. 1.88m, he is currently the tallest player in Rakusan."
Miya Atsumu rested his chin on his hand. "One point eight.."
This height is indeed a bit awkward, but considering he can still grow during his third year of high school, there shouldn't be much pressure to break 1.9m once he reaches adulthood.
However, being short by a few centimeters doesn't matter much; in terms of blocking height, it won't be that different.
But among the top national schools, there are actually none with a height exceeding 1.9m.. It's just as miserable as Inarizaki.
His individual blocking level is quite average, but his control over the overall blocking rhythm is excellent; you must pay close attention when he is acting as a Middle Blocker.
As he spoke, Coach Kurosu looked at Miya Atsumu, his expression very serious: "Atsumu, you must also maintain your setting's concealment at the highest level throughout the entire match; never let him find an opportunity."
"Understood." Miya Atsumu also sat up straight and responded seriously.
Kumagai, who was still eating, blinked and raised his hand to ask, "If they are very good at coordinating the block.. does that mean there are players among the non-Middle Blockers who are also very good at blocking?"
Coach Kurosu nodded, casting an appreciative look at Kumagai: "Correct. Their Right Wing Spiker, Miyazaki Sho, is 1.85m tall, but he has very long arms. When he jumps to block, he's actually comparable to a 1.9m Spiker."
"Long arms.." Hinata rubbed his chin, the image of Lev flashing through his mind, but he immediately shook his head and continued to recall the match he had watched this morning.
He pulled a figure with a very low presence out of the corners of his memory: "Ah! That number 8!"
As he spoke, Hinata stood up excitedly and swung his arm to mimic the opponent's movement, "He only managed two spikes in that half-set, but his arms can whip around like a snake—he's incredibly amazing!"
Passing by, Unabara Uta silently ducked backward to avoid Hinata's attack, his expression looking quite terrified.
Hinata had only just noticed Unabara Uta suddenly appearing and hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't see you."
He had almost hit the cup in Unabara Uta's hands; he remembered that the cup was a birthday gift Imai had given Unabara Uta when he was ten years old, he would feel terribly guilty if it were broken.
Actually, Unabara Uta, who had just stood up and was preparing to go get some water, hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, it was just that I appeared too suddenly."
Watching the two flustered individuals calm down, while Unabara Uta took her cup to the water dispenser at the door, Coach Kurosu turned his gaze back to Hinata, whose eyes were sparkling as he looked at him.
Recalling Hinata's description, Coach Kurosu nodded. "Yeah, that's the one."