Sakusa ignored the shocked gaze Miya Atsumu directed at him and nodded to Hinata: "Okay."
As Hinata and Sakusa split up and walked toward Komori, he suddenly heard Sakusa's voice.
I'm very happy too.
Hinata looked back at Sakusa, his eyes filled with a hint of surprise and a touch of pleasant surprise.
That senior, who was usually so stoic, actually curled his lips into a slight smile toward him at this very moment.
Does this mean.. his growth has met Kami-senpai's expectations?
Sakusa turned his head and left the court, no longer looking at the Inarizaki members.
Setting aside the frustration and annoyance caused by the match results, this was indeed the most satisfying match he had played in the past year. Of course, it was also the match he looked forward to playing again most.
But the outcome at that time.. he will surely rewrite it with his own hands.
“Thank you all for your support!”
After having a final briefing with the coaches, the players left the court, the staff began inspecting and cleaning the court, while the commentary booth was updated with materials for the next match.
The Inarizaki members returned to the locker room to change clothes. After giving instructions, Coach Kurosu and Coach Omimi took Miya Osamu to the hospital to check on Unabara Uta's condition.
Hinata originally wanted to go too, but unfortunately, Coach Kurosu did not agree.
Seeing Hinata's drowsy appearance, Miya Atsumu took the jacket from his hands and quickly helped him put it on.
Kumagai spoke up and asked Miya Atsumu, "Do you need me to carry you? Shoyo or Atsumu-senpai?"
These two had the highest workload across these last few matches, both of them looked like they were in pretty bad shape right now.
Miya Atsumu raised a hand in refusal. "The hotel isn't far, we can just walk back."
He instructed, "Kuniharu, you stay behind and watch the Karasuno match with Tomoya. I'll take Shoyo back, take a nap, come back for the meeting in the afternoon."
Kumagai nodded. "Understood."
Being led by Miya Atsumu, Hinata turned his head and waved goodbye to Kumagai, saying, "Bye-bye, Akuma—"
He didn't need to worry about the tactics; with Atsumu-senpai and Kumagai Ogata there, he could rest easy.
As for this afternoon's match.. he must perform even better than he did in this match.
Looking at the road ahead, Hinata couldn't help but smile.
A match against Hikari-kun..
I'm so looking forward to it.
After Miya Atsumu finished a quick shower, Shoyo, who had showered first, was already asleep on his bed.
The tablet he was holding in his arms was still playing an IH livestream; the match between Karasuno and Fukuda General had not yet begun, the commentators were still introducing both sides.
Atsumu reached out to pull his tablet away, turned it off, tossed it onto Shoyo's bed on the other side, before reaching out to pull the blanket over himself and Shoyo, wrapping them both inside.
Leaning down to kiss Hinata's fluffy hair, Miya Atsumu closed his eyes against him, his consciousness also quickly drifting away.
Before losing consciousness, the last thought in Miya Atsumu's mind struggled to linger for two seconds.
Lunch.. I don't think I've eaten yet..
But it's not even ten o'clock yet..
Forget it, the coach or Osamu will come call them.
Author's Note:
Inarizaki High School, Unabara Uta (August 2013)
Position: Li Number: 9
Height: 183.4cm Weight: 74.0kg
Recent troubles: The water bottle Maho gave me doesn't seem to have any insulating effect anymore.
Ability Stats [Inarizaki High School Second Year Summer]
Strength: 4 Serve: 3
Vertical Jump: 2 Receiving: 8
Explosive Power: 4 Dig: 7
Intelligence: 3 Setting: 6
Technique: 3 Spike: 3
Speed: 3 Block: 2
Chapter 350: The 350th Fox
Wake up, Atsumu-senpai, Shoyo.
Lunch is here. Eat before you sleep.
Coach Omimi reached out to push the two of them, standing beside Ginjima, who had already been called upon but was not woken up at all.
Miya Osamu walked in from the next room upon hearing the noise, exchanged a look with Ginjima, then walked toward Miya Atsumu's bed.
He reached out to brush Hinata's head aside and directly pinched Miya Atsumu's nose with his hand.
Under Coach Omimi's exceptionally helpless gaze, Miya Atsumu was forcibly woken up by his difficulty breathing.
The moment Miya Atsumu opened his eyes, he was met with three pairs of eyes, as the figures of Coach Omimi and the other two blocked the sunlight streaming in through the window behind them.
In a daze, Miya Atsumu felt as if he had entered some deep dream, where three aliens who looked like his teammates and coach wanted to kill him..
Miya Osamu, having already let go, stood with his hands on his hips, scrutinizing the completely half-asleep Miya Atsumu: "Get up and eat; you need to replenish your sugar levels."
Upon hearing this, Miya Atsumu woke up.
With matches still scheduled for the afternoon, they really should use this time to replenish their sugar levels, otherwise they might not have the energy for the afternoon matches.
Moreover, if he ate too late, the food wouldn't have enough time to digest, which would actually be even more detrimental to physical activity..
He grabbed the quilt, trying to sit up, but failed.
Hinata scrambled over him with both hands and feet, his attempt to sit up almost pulled Hinata up with him.
In fact, Hinata, who had not been disturbed by Coach Omimi and the others, only just started moving; unfortunately, being completely half-asleep, he only murmured, "Atsumu-ge.. don't move me, I'm sleeping for ten more minutes.."
As he spoke, Hinata hugged him even tighter.
Now Miya Atsumu was completely awake.
He wiped his face with his hand, let out a breath, reached out to pry Hinata's hand away before sitting up himself. "What time is it?"
Miya Osamu replied, "It's not twelve o'clock yet."
Got it," Miya Atsumu said, grabbing a pillow and stuffing it into Hinata's arms for him to hold, before scratching his own hair and getting out of bed to put on his slippers. "Is the Karasuno match over?
Coach Omimi replied, "It's over, 2-0."
Ginjima and Miya Osamu had also just woken up. Ginjima had watched the match together with several members of the Second String, while Kumagai, who had been watching the match live, had already returned, Ogata remained at the venue to continue organizing the cheers for the Second and Third Strings.
This news is truly terrible.." With a sigh, Miya Atsumu tucked Shoyo's blanket in, then pushed Miya Osamu and Coach Omimi outward one in each hand, "I'll wake Shoyo up in an hour and let him sleep a bit longer.
Two hours of digestion time was just right, since Hinata didn't need to worry about watching match footage to organize tactics, getting some good rest was the best option.
Ginjima, who had gone out to get everyone's bento, had just reached the door when he ran into Coach Kurosu and Miya Osamu, who were being asked to step out by Miya Atsumu. Miya Atsumu did not follow them out; instead, he reached back and closed the door.
A question mark appeared above his head as Ginjima looked a bit bewildered. "Aren't those two eating?"
Coach Omimi shook his head and said softly, "Atsumu-senpai needs to change his clothes. Also, give me Shoyo's bento; I'll take it to keep it warm."
Ginjima nodded, "Okay."
Coach Omimi continued to instruct, "Osamu, go to the first floor and pick up the materials I just asked to be printed. Coach Kurosu, Unabara Uta, the others will be back shortly."
Suna said he wants to keep sleeping after lunch, so don't bother him.
Miya Osamu complied, "Yeah, I'm going now."
Having closed the door, Miya Atsumu raised his hands to tidy his clothes. He was wearing his usual short-sleeved shirt and shorts; the temperature here in Oita was still quite high, since he had already washed off the sweat, he didn't actually need to wear a jacket.
As for his reason for closing the door.. it was simply because he didn't want a few people to see something else.
Returning to the bedside, Miya Atsumu found Hinata staring blankly at the pillow in his arms, looking dazed.
Realizing that something felt wrong in his arms, Hinata drifted slightly out of his slumber, though he still hadn't fully woken up and was struggling to figure out what it was.
The color was wrong; it should have been yellow.. The temperature wasn't high enough, the size was off too..
It doesn't seem to be Atsumu-ge; it's a white pillow.
Hinata's face showed obvious disappointment, causing Miya Atsumu to laugh.
Hearing his laughter, Hinata looked back toward the source of the sound and caught sight of that familiar flash of yellow.
He quickly pushed that pillow away and instead reached out his hand toward Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu knelt on the bed on one knee, leaning down toward Hinata so that he could wrap his arms around his neck.
While Hinata still wanted to pull Miya Atsumu back into bed to continue sleeping, Miya Atsumu suddenly leaned down toward him and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.
"I'm going to a meeting. You sleep for a little longer; I'll come and wake you up when it's time." Miya Atsumu pressed his forehead against Hinata's, whispering softly in his ear.
Hinata nodded, being very submissive to Miya Atsumu's words in his semi-conscious state: "Mm, I'll sleep well."
Atsumu reached out to pull back the pillow that Shoyo had pushed away, stuffing it back into Shoyo's arms. "Just pretend this one is mine."
Seeing Shoyo hugging the pillow, Miya Atsumu patted his head. "Alright, Shoyo, goodnight."
After confirming that Hinata had quickly fallen back asleep, Atsumu left the room wearing the hotel slippers.
When he arrived at the meeting room, Miya Osamu was already eating lunch, Coach Kurosu was looking through printed materials in the head seat of the meeting room. Unabara Uta was also sitting next to the coach with a bento, appearing to be in very good condition.
Miya Atsumu pulled out a chair and sat down, asking Unabara Uta beside him, "How's your leg?"
Unabara Uta raised a hand and made an OK gesture. "It's not a big deal. Coach Kurosu has approved me to play two sets."
Coach Kurosu glanced up at him. "You know yourself that Osamu will handle the heavy spikes for you; you just need to focus on your counterattacks."
If possible, of course he also hoped Unabara Uta could get some good rest, but Arima Shuji's performance in counterattacks was mediocre, Karasuno's blocking was extremely powerful, completely beyond what Arima Shuji could handle.