In summary, rent first, then save up to buy a house!
Without knowing how far the fantasies in Miya Atsumu's head had progressed, Hinata's attention was still stuck on what they had just said.
Swallowing what was in his mouth, Hinata followed up with a question, "By the way, once Atsumu-ge becomes a regular, will he be traveling with the team to compete?"
Miya Atsumu nodded. "There hasn't been an official notice yet, but I guess so. There will likely be arrangements next month, this training camp might also be used to help me build chemistry with the team members."
It wouldn't take too much time to go out for matches; even for international competitions, if there's no need to adjust to time zone differences, we could probably be back in about a week.
Inarizaki doesn't need to participate in the first round of Haruko, while the specific schedules for the Haruko Finals and the National Sports Festival are not yet clear, the Volleyball Association would not make any conflicting arrangements.
With Miya Osamu acting as the acting Captain and Kumagai playing as a substitute Setter, with Reo Mizuta available in Team Two to step up, his absence won't affect the team's overall training and coordination.
Moreover.. no matter how the team evolves while he is away, he will be able to synchronize with them immediately and execute perfect tactical coordination.
“Speaking of which..” Miya Atsumu tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Kageyama, who was sitting by the window, head down and eating seriously.
Sitting next to him was a player with cauliflower hair who was talking incessantly; it was the player from Morinji that he had seen before.
“I feel like Coach Unabara and the others will arrange for you to work with Kageyama tomorrow.”
Atsumu propped his chin up with his hand, observing Hinata's reaction out of the corner of his eye: "Looking forward to it?"
Hinata's answer was also very decisive: "Of course I'm looking forward to it. Kageyama is also an excellent Setter."
Noticing Miya Atsumu's small movement of lowering his eyes, Hinata suddenly burst into laughter: "I will prove to everyone that no matter what kind of setter it is, I will be the sharpest and most suitable blade in their hands."
“And then.. in the future, we'll be standing on the same court as Atsumu-ge.”
Miya Atsumu lowered his eyelids, his long eyelashes obscuring his eyes and making it impossible for Hinata to read his thoughts.
As Hinata used his chopsticks to pick up a boiled egg and prepare to pop it into his mouth, Miya Atsumu suddenly laughed.
I'm telling you, Shoyo-kun.." Atsumu looked Hinata straight in the eye, his expression carrying a hint of helplessness, "I think you're even better at saying sweet, seductive things than I am.
Hinata held up a boiled egg and said seriously, "I'm serious."
Immediately after, his tone shifted again: "Besides, even if I use sweet words, I learned that from Atsumu-ge."
Recalling everything from the past, Miya Atsumu raised his hand and covered his forehead.
After a long time, he spoke softly, "His learning ability is very strong."
—But some things are better left unlearned.
After the meal, the two of them took a short walk inside the Volleyball Association building to help digest their food.
Most people didn't enjoy this meal at all.
Although the food was delicious and the atmosphere was great, because of that equipment issue, most people had some degree of sores or injuries in their mouths.
With wounds in one's mouth, tasting delicious food becomes a rather difficult task.
Equipment designed for complete mouth breathing must be bitten onto, hard equipment can easily injure the delicate oral cavity; not to mention that most players are using it for the first time and won't know how to control the pressure like Hinata Shoyo and Miya Atsumu's group do.
However, those who get injured that badly on their first use, like Hinata, are still in the minority. Given the body's natural healing ability, it will probably be mostly recovered in a day or so.
After taking several photos with Miya Atsumu, who was wearing the National Team uniform, a satisfied Hinata finally let go of him.
Considering that internal matches were scheduled to begin tomorrow, everyone's self-directed training in the evening consisted only of simple drills to maintain their touch.
Early the next morning, everyone gathered in the gym to undergo physical training.
And Hinata almost immediately noticed that everyone's training volume and training metrics were completely different.
Because..
“Huh? Is the Coach trying to kill you? Wants you to die of exhaustion in the gym?!”
Miya Atsumu looked at Hinata's training schedule in his hands, his face filled with incomprehensible shock.
Turning his head to check with Hoshiumi Hikari, Hinata said, "I'm the same as Hikari-kun."
Hoshiumi Hikari, having instantly guessed the reason, let out a scoff. "Miya Atsumu, you're no good."
This training volume was set one hundred percent based on previous test results; although he didn't know the exact numerical breakdown, he knew Miya Atsumu was in the next tier.
Veins bulged on Miya Atsumu's forehead, but the result was unchangeable, he had no interest in arguing with these physical monsters. He could only try to save face in other ways: "Just you wait. I'm definitely going to beat you so hard in the scrimmage that you'll be picking your teeth off the floor."
Hoshiumi Hikari's words were practically venomous: "Good luck, loser."
Miya Atsumu's face was incredibly dark, but what Hoshiumi said was all true, so he could only use his eyes to radiate his silent accusation.
And Hinata, who was also a defeated opponent, blinked and said, "Don't worry, I'm going to win!"
Hoshiumi let out a happy laugh: "Then let's give it a try."
Although normally Coach Unabara would shuffle everyone's positions, considering that Coach Unabara likely wants to try something out, the first intra-squad match will probably involve some purposeful adjustments and arrangements.
For example.. making him face Hinata across the net, or something like that.
But no matter what, the winner will definitely, definitely be him.
“Team One, Hoshiumi Hikari, Miya Atsumu, Chikatani, Komori Motoya, Hyakuwa Takehiro, Aoba Haruka.”
Team Two: Sakusa Kiyoomi, Hinata Shoyo, Hanae Akari, Hakuma Mebuki, Kageyama Tobio, Suna Rintaro.
Coach Unabara looked at the group of people who had been called out: "There will be no Libero for this match. Assign yourselves to positions and head to Court One for an intra-squad scrimmage."
Yes!
Hinata looked at Sakusa, who had already walked up to his side, then glanced back at Kageyama.
As expected, Atsumu-ge's guess was correct; Coach Unabara had indeed arranged for him to play on the same team as Kageyama.
Sweeping his gaze across everyone on the court, Sakusa asked softly, "Who will lead?"
There must be a core in the team, otherwise coordination issues might arise.
Realizing Sakusa had unintentionally looked at Hinata, he eventually shifted his gaze to Kageyama.
He remembered that Hakuma-senpai's skills were mediocre enough that even Coach Kurosu had pointed them out, Suna-senpai was even more so; having him act as the playmaker was almost impossible.
Actually, the most suitable person would be Sakusa, but Sakusa is not good at communicating with others, so in the end, it turns out only us second years are left.
Hanae usually plays as a Libero in the team, so it's unclear how skilled she is when it comes to coordination.
He didn't feel that he himself had the ability to manage the players in the current team, let alone go toe-to-toe with Miya Atsumu.
So..
Hinata stared at Kageyama Tobio and said very seriously, "As expected, a Setter would be more suitable, wouldn't he?"
"Yeah." Sakusa agreed with Hinata's judgment.
Although he wasn't close with Kageyama and had never seen Kageyama's play, he felt that a setter capable of being selected for the Junior National Team definitely had no issues with his skill level.
Setting ability is an important part of evaluating a setter's skill; as long as they pass that test, Sakusa felt that letting the opponent direct the play would definitely not cause any major issues.
Kageyama did not refuse either.
Since no one came forward to oppose Hinata's proposal, the seniors had no issues with it, it was only natural that the Setter should lead the command, as he was the most suitable for it from a strategic standpoint.
He nodded to everyone. "Understood. In that case, I will use standard tactical hand signals to direct the play. I'll be counting on everyone's cooperation."
Hinata patted his chest. "Don't worry, don't worry! Leave it to me!"
Having gained command, Kageyama did not hold back and spoke directly to arrange everyone: "Suna-senpai and Hakuma-senpai will play Middle Blocker, Sakusa-senpai will be the Right Wing Spiker, Hanae will be the Left Wing Spiker to cover the Opposite, Hinata. We'll use the standard Stronger Opposite tactic."
Although Karasuno lacks practical experience with this kind of tactic, he himself had already developed certain ideas about it after conducting an in-depth study of Shiratorizawa and Inarizaki's playstyles.
And now.. it was time to put that idea into practice.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the net, Miya Atsumu and Hoshiumi Hikari were staring each other down.
Komori wore a smile, trying to enjoy the spectacle between the two of them.
The strongest setter, Miya Atsumu, naturally took command: "In short, just follow my lead. Even though you're quite annoying to me, Hoshiumi, our cooperation must aim for victory."
—Even if the opponent were his dearest Hinata.
Hoshiumi crossed his arms over his chest. "I have no problems."
He always kept his personal feelings separate from the game; while he denied Miya Atsumu's character, he also affirmed his skills.
At least on the court.. Miya Atsumu wouldn't let his teammate down.
The positional arrangement on their side didn't have any major issues either, especially since Coach Unabara had already provided both sides with two usable Middle Blockers and one Setter.
Like Hakuma on the opposing side, Hyakuwa is clearly not being trained as a Wing Spiker by Coach Unabara, will most likely eventually transition to Middle Blocker.
However, compared to Suna Rintaro.. Chikatani on this side is certainly a bit more inexperienced.
Furthermore, if we were to discuss the actual strength of the players on both sides, they are slightly inferior, as the majority of them are second-year students.
But their advantage was also very obvious: they had the strongest setter in the high school as their tactical core.
In this regard, the opponent's setter, whom we hadn't heard much about before, is simply no match, with him acting as the team's safety net.. overall, they won't play too badly.
Glancing at Hoshiumi's profile, Miya Atsumu suddenly laughed. "Hoshiumi, don't underestimate the opponent's setter."
Hoshiumi turned his head to look at him. "What? Is he someone important? Is he better than you?"
Miya Atsumu denied it immediately, "Not really, his skill level is just average, not as good as mine."
Regardless of his intentions, what he said was the truth.
Hoshiumi raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you worried about?"
Atsumu laughed. "With my Shoyo around, even a mediocre Setter can produce a hundred and two percent effect."
Hoshiumi remained silent.
After a brief moment of reasoning, he concluded, "I see. The opposing setter's control seems to have some pedigree; even if his skill isn't quite on your level, it's not far off, his style is highly compatible with Hinata's own playstyle."
Miya Atsumu's movement froze.
He turned his head slightly toward Hoshiumi and said expressionlessly, "Some things really don't need to be said."
Hoshiumi let out a scoff. "You're no good either, Miya Atsumu."
Chapter 379: The Three Hundred and Seventy-Ninth Fox
Miya Atsumu's expression was fierce, but Coach Arakune, who was in charge of their match, had already walked over: "Come on, come on, send someone over to draw lots."