As a leader, he only needed to step in and stop them when they were about to make a truly irreversible mistake.
For example.. right now.
Staring at Miya Atsumu, who was about to reach out and hug Hinata from behind, Coach Kurosu spoke up softly, "Atsumu."
Miya Atsumu instantly withdrew his hand, his gaze clearing up significantly.
Damn it, when will this deathly post-match routine finally end?
At this moment, for the first time, Miya Atsumu hated the omnipresent cameras on the sidelines so much.
The Itachiyama group at the sidelines had stopped paying attention to Inarizaki and were now focusing all their attention on the Karasuno match.
Watching Saru being completely suppressed, Inamura also felt uncomfortable watching: "That's so cruel, I feel like that little Ace is going to shut himself off."
Fukurodani's Ace is only a first year, his body hasn't fully developed yet; there is a massive difference when compared to the muscular builds of Hirugami and Hakuma.
You have to realize that Saru Nagi's family is born with those natural smiling lips, but right now, Saru Nagi isn't even smiling!
Sakusa said, "Fukurodani's coordination is too poor."
The Fukurodani coach tends to favor using a large number of players from the same year, so Fukurodani's performance at the IH after each annual change of classes is never very good.
Last year, Akaashi and Bokuto were very well-coordinated, but the year before, when Bokuto was in his second year, his lack of connection with the starting setter at the time was quite severe, they were taken down by Shiratorizawa in the early stages.
However, Fukurodani's Coach Anromi is quite capable; such issues and gaps would be rapidly closed by the time the Spring High arrives.
Moreover, because the representative team for the Tokyo National Sports Festival is Itachiyama, Fukurodani will have a full six months of training time, making their appearance at Haruko quite terrifying.
Inamoto, following behind, whispered to the person beside him, "He's really sharp, Sakusa-senpai.."
And Ishikawa, standing beside him in the number 10 jersey, nodded: "Yeah, Sakusa-senpai's gaze has always been incredibly sharp."
Seeing the junior's expressionless face, Inamoto went crazy: "At least complain a bit with me! Now it's turned into my solo performance!"
This junior.. is so disappointing!
As the only First Year in the starting lineup, Ishikawa raised his hand to scratch his head. "Huh?"
Noticing the movement behind him, Komori, who had been peeking out to check on the match, stepped back and said with a smile, "Iizuna-senpai and the others will arrive tomorrow morning to watch our match."
So, we have to work hard in today's match, don't let the seniors down tomorrow either.
Upon hearing that Iizuna-senpai was coming back, Inamoto, whose expression had been fluctuating, instantly snapped to attention, his face filled with excitement and uncontrollable exhilaration: "Yes! I will definitely set the most beautiful balls!"
——Iizuna-senpai is coming to watch them play!
Seeing his mentor suddenly act as if he had been injected with chicken blood, Ishikawa was even more bewildered.
Ogihara Ayato, the starting Middle Blocker who joined the club along with Inamoto, gave a small smile, but his expression suddenly turned serious when he saw the person in black uniforms walking toward them on the court.
The mistakes Senpai once made.. he would never make them a second time.
A choice that would cause such heart-wrenching pain, one that would lead to a lifetime of regret.. he would never make that choice either.
Never.
After the thank-you session ended, Hinata grabbed Miya Atsumu and the two of them rushed across the entire gymnasium to the sidelines of the Karasuno and Fukurodani match.
Looking at the scoreboard showing Karasuno 23:19 Fukurodani by the sidelines, Hinata cheered, "It's not over yet! That's awesome!"
Hearing his voice, Hoshiumi turned his head to take a look.
But upon seeing Miya Atsumu's stinky face, his wonderful mood instantly plummeted to rock bottom.
Tsk, it's all the fault of this damn old floor; otherwise, they could have finished much faster than Inarizaki.
Hinata worked hard to cheer for Hoshiumi Hikari: "Hikari-kun! Good luck!"
Aoba Kureha, passing by behind them, paused for a moment.
He looked at the Little Giant of Inarizaki, then at the Little Giant of Karasuno, at that moment, something clicked.
Could it be.. that both Hoshiumi Hikari and Miya Atsumu should have the surname Hinata?
Aoba Haruka, who hadn't expected such an abstract question, clicked his tongue: "How many good brothers does he actually have?"
He tilted his head slightly and saw his younger brother's shocked expression.
Aoba Haruka raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you now? Are you going to express some more of your shocking, idiotic opinions?"
Aoba Kureha pointed at Hinata: "No, no, no, I just suddenly thought.. could it be that Hinata and Hoshiumi-senpai are actually family, after a divorce, Hinata's guardian and Miya Atsumu's guardian formed a blended family?"
After running through the logic of this theory, Aoba Haruka felt his brain itching.
After a long time, he nodded. "It does make sense."
While the Aoba brothers were arranging things for Hinata and the others, Miya Atsumu had already secretly reached out to hook Hinata's hand that was hanging by his side.
Hinata naturally noticed it as well; after shrinking back slightly, he reached back and hooked his fingers into them.
Just as Miya Atsumu drew closer to Hinata, using the hem of his jacket to shield their movements, a sharp and freezing gaze landed on the two of them, accompanied by the long, drawn-out whistle of the referee.
Hinata was startled, when he looked up, he saw Hoshiumi staring at the two of them.. at their hands through the railing.
Realizing something was up, Hinata pulled his hand back immediately, pretending as if nothing had happened: "Hikari-kun is amazing! That block just crushed that tall Middle Blocker on the other side!"
He raised his hand to cheer for Hoshiumi Hikari, while Hoshiumi Hikari extended his hand to Hinata for a high-five.
Watching Miya Atsumu from the corner of his eye, Hoshiumi Hikari briefly embraced Hinata before raising his hand for a high-five.
Hoshiumi changed the subject: "We'll talk about the match the day after tomorrow. Did he bully you?"
They are enemies now, before the Interhigh ends, he will not discuss anything regarding volleyball techniques with Hinata.
Moreover, someone's level of being an eyesore has climbed to a whole new level.
If he's getting handsy right here on the court, I can only imagine what he'd be like when we're somewhere private!
If you don't want those hands so much, I might as well just chop them off.
Miya Atsumu felt a bit unnerved by Hoshiumi's stare and tugged at Hinata's shirt, wanting to leave.
Just then, the referee on the court signaled for both teams to line up, he successfully pulled Hinata away from Hoshiumi's line of sight.
Watching Miya Atsumu flee, Hirugami let out a hearty laugh.
It seemed that Miya Atsumu truly was helpless against Hoshiumi, after all, Hinata himself would take Hoshiumi's side if necessary.
And this situation might persist for a very long time, perhaps even until Hinata and Miya Atsumu enter the next stage of their lives.
How should I put this.. it feels a bit like an elder watching their junior being whisked away by a delinquent blonde?
Yeah, Miya Atsumu really is a delinquent, in the literal sense.
Having successfully broken away from the crowd, Miya Atsumu decisively slumped his weight onto Hinata, as if trying to make up for all the physical contact he had missed today.
Hinata was pressed down so much that he couldn't walk properly, so he could only shrug his shoulders to signal to Miya Atsumu, "You're heavy, Atsumu-ge."
Miya Atsumu had no intention of letting Hinata go at all: "Then I can carry you back, or you can carry me if you want."
Following Miya Atsumu's suggestion, Hinata thought about it seriously: "But that would be too eye-catching.."
Rumors like Inarizaki's starters being injured might start spreading by the time we meet tonight.
Miya Atsumu toyed with Hinata's team jacket with his hand: "Wouldn't that be even better?"
As the saying goes, all is fair in war.
Hinata held up a finger: "Oh, Natsume-senpai said that before when we were playing beach volleyball."
Miya Atsumu pressed down on Hinata's finger and protested, "No mentioning other setters; you're not allowed to mention those annoying people when it's just the two of us."
Anyway, they were already together, so even if he was feeling jealous, it was perfectly justified.
Not only does he want to be jealous, but he also wants to assert his ownership.
“Atsumu-ge, you're being unreasonable.”
Miya Atsumu pressed against Hinata's back, his hands placed in front of him, feeling the other's chest vibrate slightly twice, as if he were laughing.
Squinting his eyes, Miya Atsumu stopped walking, dragging Hinata to a halt as well.
He lay on top of Hinata and spoke in a low voice, "I wanted to say during the match just now.."
“—Shoyo, you look like you really want to ask me for a kiss.”
Hinata tilted his head and pulled away from Miya Atsumu, creating enough space so that he could see Miya Atsumu's profile.
He said earnestly, "Because the super reliable Atsumu-ge on the court is really sexy."
Miya Atsumu, stunned by the blunt compliment, leaned in decisively, prepared to satisfy Hinata's little request.
But just then, Hinata raised his hands, placing them directly between the two of them. "Not here, there will be people."
Miya Atsumu was dissatisfied, but he still suggested, "Then let's go to the Locker Room."
Hinata shook his head. "Osamu-senpai and the others are all there."
Although his teammates didn't oppose their relationship, it was still quite inappropriate to act intimately in front of them.
—Especially with the Coach there, it's even worse.
Miya Atsumu's dissatisfaction with Miya Osamu rose to a whole new level: "When they aren't even human."
Watching Miya Atsumu's thoughts become extreme, Hinata dragged out his voice, "Atsumu-ge—"
Miya Atsumu gave up: "Tsk."
But he still lowered his head slightly and gave Hinata a small kiss on the temple. "Let's leave it at that for now."
Since there was still an Itachiyama match to watch in a little while, he would have to wait until he returned to the hotel tonight to discuss it.
Whatever, it's all Stinky Osamu's fault!
Author's Note:
Hotel at night
Hinata (grabbing Miya Atsumu's hand) (solemnly): Atsumu-ge, you look like you're really looking forward to being kissed by me.
Atsumu.. Don't go picking up everything you see, hey!
Chapter 334: The Three Hundred and Thirty-Fourth Fox