But just like his sister, he had no intention of interfering with anyone's decisions.
Kageyama said calmly, "Nishinoya-senpai is very free and has a lot of opinions; after all, he is Karasuno's strongest Libero."
“That's right, Nishinoya-senpai on the court.." Hinata's voice faltered slightly as he recalled the other's silhouette in his mind. After a long pause, he spoke, "is also very free."
He had seen so many different kinds of powerful Liberos, but every single one of them was different.
Nishinoya-senpai was not only skilled at using his hands to bump, but his feet were also excellent; it was as if every part of his body was a medium for him to contact the volleyball, his very presence was.. incredibly at ease.
Shoyo rubbed his chin, lost in deep thought.
It was known that Nishinoya-senpai loved playing volleyball, furthermore, Nishinoya-senpai wanted to travel the world, so he didn't want to be stuck playing volleyball in the same place.
As far as he knew, even the shortest contract for a Volleyball Club was for a year, even if one could transfer between clubs in different countries every year, it would still fall far short of being truly "free."
Is there any way to convince Nishinoya-senpai to continue playing volleyball while also satisfying his dream of traveling the world..
Volleyball..
An outing..
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Hinata spent a full ten minutes thinking before finally pulling a pink-haired figure from his memories.
"Ah!" Having caught onto the key point, Shoyo suddenly bolted upright, his whole being radiant.
Hinata's shout startled Kageyama, who had already taken out a file to start grooming his nails, causing him to accidentally grind down the side of his left index finger almost to the quick.
Kageyama, who had nearly jumped out of his skin, suppressed his heart rate and pressed further, "What?"
Hinata walked over, his face full of excitement: "Nishinoya-senpai, would you be interested in playing Beach Volleyball?"
Hearing Hinata's words, Kageyama's brain failed to react for a moment: "Huh? Beach volleyball? You mean Beach Volleyball?"
Why did he suddenly start talking to him about Beach Volleyball? Aren't they indoor volleyball players?
“It's, it's.." Hinata's expression looked a bit anxious, as he had a belly full of words but didn't know where to begin.
It took a full two minutes for Hinata to organize his thoughts before he could finally find the words: "Shimizu-senpai said.. Beach Volleyball matches are part of a world tour, starting from the beginning of the year, they take place in dozens of different venues across the world. In November, they'll go.. um.. to Australia to participate in the World Championships."
After muttering a bunch of things, Hinata finally summarized, "You can travel the world while playing volleyball!"
Kageyama seriously digested Shoyo's words.
He hadn't understood a single word of what was said before, nor had he truly taken it in, but he had understood Hinata's last sentence perfectly.
Being able to play volleyball while traveling the world might be the perfect fit for Nishinoya-senpai.
Meeting Hinata's sparkling eyes, Kageyama paused for a moment before saying, "I.. I'll talk to Nishinoya-senpai about it when I get back."
Hinata raised his hand and clenched it into a fist to cheer for Kageyama, his eyes full of anticipation: "I'm counting on you!"
Just then, a voice came from not far behind the two of them: "Shoyo-kun, you've been having a lot of fun while I was away, haven't you?"
Hinata turned around and saw Miya Atsumu, who was wearing a tracksuit with a national flag on the chest.
His hair was combed meticulously, his clothes were very crisp; it was obvious he had been specially groomed.
Hinata's eyes grew even brighter; he dropped Kageyama and stood up, lunging toward Miya Atsumu: "So cool—"
Hearing Hinata's praise, Miya Atsumu puffed out his chest and held his head high.
But Hinata, who had lunged forward, didn't look at his face; instead, he focused all his attention on his clothes.
“The National Team uniform—it's so cool!!” Hinata's voice was full of envy, his eyes filled with longing as he touched the national flag on Miya Atsumu's chest. Gen-senpai was right; Atsumu-ge had officially made the team!
Miya Atsumu fell silent upon realizing he wasn't as handsome as the National Team uniform. He and Komori had just gone to take official National Team ID photos, this outfit was custom-made after their data was collected. He had originally intended to share the good news with Hinata, along with the fact that he would be appearing in the newspaper, but Hinata's focus was clearly elsewhere.
Atsumu-senpai reached out and grabbed Shoyo's hand, sliding down from his seat. "Shoyo-kun, you're really being mean."
Atsumu's voice sounded pitiful; he looked down at Shoyo, his expression looking quite sorrowful.
“Not only do you hang around with other setters when I'm not around, but now you don't even have eyes for me.."
Shoyo withdrew his gaze from Miya Atsumu's jersey and looked at him with a hint of helplessness. "You're just being jealous all on your own, Atsumu-ge."
Seeing that Miya Atsumu was still planning to keep up the act, Hinata completely withdrew his hand.
After locking eyes with Atsumu-senpai for a while, Hinata was ultimately the first to concede. He reached out and tugged at the hem of Miya Atsumu's shirt. "Can we just call it even?"
He wouldn't admit to any wrongdoing; at most, he just thought the team uniform was cooler than Miya Atsumu's.
But.. that's only natural!
Anyone would think the National Team uniform looks much cooler!
Thinking of this, Shoyo became quite assertive.
Miya Atsumu blinked, eventually compromising: "Fine, then we're even."
He admitted that the National Team uniform was indeed much cooler.
Kageyama looked at the two of them, feeling for some reason that something wasn't quite right.
Right at that moment, he suddenly recalled what Shoyo had said to him before.
It seems like Hinata and Atsumu-senpai are.. dating?
Is this the kind of dating he understands? That kind of..
Dating?
Chapter 378: The Three Hundred and Seventy-Eighth Fox
Recalling the reaction of Tsukishima and the others when they heard about it, Kageyama stopped thinking.
Wait, so when they said "dating," they actually meant dating?
Hinata and.. Miya Atsumu-senpai?!
Feeling the intense gaze from behind, Hinata turned his head and met Kageyama's eyes, which were filled with a mix of shock and confusion.
He tilted his head. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face? Or is there something on Atsumu-ge's face?"
Kageyama's words were a bit stuttered, for a moment, he didn't know where to even begin: "No, well.. you and Miya Atsumu-senpai.. that.."
He felt as if his brain had rusted; despite his best efforts to think, he simply couldn't get it to function smoothly.
Understanding what Kageyama was thinking, this time it was Hinata's turn to be shocked: "I remember I told you that a long time ago!"
“No.. I..”
Kageyama tried to think, Kageyama was unable to think, Kageyama gave up on thinking.
Miya Atsumu stood with one hand on his hip, looking from behind Hinata toward Kageyama, but he said nothing.
He didn't have any intention of asserting his dominance here; although his business with Shoyo wasn't a secret, at the very least, Coach Unabara and the others weren't meant to know about it.
Atsumu withdrew his gaze from Kageyama and turned his eyes toward Shoyo. "Do you want to keep playing?"
Shoyo looked Miya Atsumu up and down: "Will Atsumu-ge play with me?"
Atsumu-ge nodded. "If it's just setting, that's fine."
This outfit isn't very suitable for intense activity; things like the first receive won't be very convenient.
Taking a glance at the time, Shoyo gave up: "True, let's just come back after dinner!"
He also really wanted to watch Miya Atsumu in his National Team uniform for a little while longer.
Patting his stomach, which felt somewhat empty after the physical exam, Hinata proactively suggested, "I'm hungry. Shall we go eat now?"
Miya Atsumu turned and led the way out of the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium: "Let's go, I'll lead the way. The food at the Volleyball Association canteen tastes pretty good, it's all very nutritious.."
Kageyama looked up and thought for a moment, deciding to go eat as well.
After all, he didn't know the way, so following Miya Atsumu and the others was the safest option.
And Miya Atsumu quickly discovered this "tail."
But there was more than one person who shared the same thoughts as Kageyama, there was more than one follower. Bai Ze was following behind Kageyama, behind Bai Ze were several people that Miya Atsumu did not know.
For some reason, Miya Atsumu suddenly felt like a tour guide.
No.. actually, is most of them only coming along because they think Shoyo is easy to get along with?
The Volleyball Association's nutritional meals were light, but they were quite tasty.
Compared to the feeling of being forced by the coach to eat boiled vegetables for all three meals a day while controlling body fat.. he would be willing to eat this nutritious meal for an entire week.
Savoring the delicious food in his mouth, Miya Atsumu looked at Shoyo across from him, trying to find a similar reaction from him.
But Shoyo, who was still stuffing pan-fried chicken into his mouth, merely blinked, having no idea what Miya Atsumu's look meant.
After thinking about it for a moment, Hinata gave Miya Atsumu a big thumbs-up, signaling to him that the food was delicious.
Miya Atsumu fell silent.
Well, Hinata, who had been constantly being pulled along by the Coach to gain weight and build muscle, didn't seem to have the kind of monastic dietary treatment they had.
Hinata asked with a face full of curiosity, "So, what was Atsumu-ge just doing?"
Miya Atsumu pointed to the uniform he was wearing. "The official transfer was finalized, the custom uniform is ready. I took some ID photos, as well as full-body and half-body shots for newspapers and magazines, I also did an interview for Monthly Volleyball."
Ohhh! An interview!" Hinata's eyes instantly lit up. "Doesn't that mean in a little while we'll be able to see Atsumu-ge and Gen-senpai from the National Team in newspapers and magazines!
"Of course." Miya Atsumu puffed out his chest, a look of pride on his face.
I'm going to buy two copies, one for my collection and one to cut up and hang on the wall," Hinata said, counting on his fingers. "And, um, I'll leave a little space next to it to hang my photo from when I make the National Team.
He looked at Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-ge needs to leave a spot for me too."
Miya Atsumu fell silent for two seconds before admitting defeat. "We'll talk about that once I have my own place.. I don't even have space in my own place to hang anything."
You have to understand, he lived with Miya Osamu, in bunk beds even. It was impossible for Miya Osamu to agree to him hanging his posters on the wall, let alone letting him shove couplet-style "dog food" in his face.
Since the two of them confirmed their relationship until now.. Shoyo hasn't even stayed overnight at his place!
But it will be fine once he graduates. The Black Jackals' manager told him that the Black Jackals have their own dormitories, which are mostly laid out as two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartments. The environment is excellent, they are free.
And if he wanted to rent a place on his own, they would also provide a rental subsidy, so that would be a good option.
To avoid interfering with any future teammates who might live next door, he personally prefers to rent his own place.
Moreover, Hinata might not necessarily be in the Black Jackals; most other strong teams are located in Tokyo or Kanagawa, outsiders from other teams would certainly not be allowed into the Black Jackals' dormitories..