Under Miya Atsumu's gaze, Kageyama's nerves were so incredibly strained that a layer of cold sweat even broke out on his forehead.
But at that moment, the pressure that had been constantly projected from across the net suddenly eased, causing Kageyama's entire state to feel lighter.
Atsumu lowered his hands and held his palms up to show he was harmless. "I might not be a saint myself, but I have my own selfish motives in this expectation, so I'm different from Oikawa-senpai."
Hearing the familiar name, Kageyama's ears twitched.
Different from Oikawa-senpai? In what sense?
Miya Atsumu curled the corner of his mouth into a smirk, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I mean, I can provide you with some help—with things like technical theory and such."
“Of course, it won't be free.”
Kageyama's eyes widened; he had been completely lost during the previous remarks, but he had certainly understood these last two sentences.
The greatest enemy of his goals—a senior who, at this stage, has no direct competitive relationship with him—said he was willing to provide him with coaching.
—Even if it's for a fee.
Kageyama said seriously, "Um, is it pay per question, or.. hmm.. something else?"
The Karasuno coach didn't have much coaching experience, the entire team was still in the exploratory stage. His connections were quite limited, there were many things he didn't know how to handle.
The captain of a team that has already won two championships, who is even the strongest Setter senior in high school, being willing to teach him—it was a stroke of luck so wonderful it could only happen in a dream.
Miya Atsumu, who had originally intended to act like a pushover, was stunned by his words. He had actually just wanted to deal with Kageyama with a rather unpleasant attitude, but since Kageyama put it that way..
He withdrew his hand, rubbed his chin thoughtfully, said, "I charge by the hour; I'll discuss the specific pricing when the time comes."
Kageyama held up his phone. "Can we exchange contact information?"
Miya Atsumu readily agreed, "Sure."
He took Kageyama's phone, added his own contact information, took the opportunity to delete Hinata's contact information from Kageyama's phone.
Miya Atsumu handed the phone back to Kageyama and stood up. "Anyway.. don't let Shoyo down."
Miya Atsumu left the hall with his hands in his pockets, walking away with a back he considered quite cool.
As he passed the entrance to the breakroom on his way back to the dormitory, a voice suddenly rang out in his ear.
Don't you want the kettle anymore?
Miya Atsumu was startled, as he whipped his head around, he saw Hinata watching him from inside the breakroom.
Hinata held their two water bottles in his hands, looking at him with an incredibly innocent gaze.
Atsumu raised a hand to press down on his thumping heart. "You scared the life out of me.."
“Hehe, I did it on purpose.” Hinata walked out of the breakroom, carrying a water bottle.
I heard that, Atsumu-ge. Are you planning to become a profiteer like Suna-senpai too?
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm just.." Miya Atsumu struggled to find the right words for this moment.
After a long silence, he said with righteous indignation, "It's legitimate extra income!"
Miya Atsumu's face was full of righteousness: "This is dating funds! Dating funds! We'll be able to go on dates thanks to this!"
Hinata had already seen through it all: "It's clearly to make up for the deficit you incurred with Suna-senpai."
Miya Atsumu quickly changed the subject: "Aren't you looking forward to the match against Karasuno, Shoyo?"
Hinata nodded heavily: "Of course I'm looking forward to it!"
Defeating Kageyama on an official court had always been his long-held aspiration.
But looking at Karasuno's current situation, he felt that this dream might have to wait until the professional stage.
Atsumu gave a thumbs-up. "Then that's it; I'm helping you achieve your wish, Shoyo."
Besides, I'm not going to teach anything private. After all, for the current Karasuno, much of the standard knowledge is a scarce resource. We can really hammer them—no, help them become stronger for the Nationals.
Hinata decided to ignore the part where Miya Atsumu let it slip and cheered for him with enthusiasm: "Yeah! Long live Atsumu-ge! Atsumu-ge is the best!"
Miya Atsumu held his head high and puffed out his chest, enjoying the all-encompassing support coming from Hinata.
Walking behind him, Hinata closed the dormitory door and shut his mouth at the same time.
Cheers echoed incessantly all along the way, the sudden silence of the environment made Miya Atsumu feel somewhat out of place.
A second later, Hinata placed his water bottle on the table and looked up at Miya Atsumu. "So, Atsumu-ge.. were you planning on throwing your water bottle away just now?"
Miya Atsumu fell silent.
Yeah, he admitted, he had indeed forgotten.
Chapter 382: The Three Hundred and Eighty-Second Fox
Pushing the thermos to the corner furthest from the bed, Miya Atsumu hugged Hinata from behind and pushed him back toward the bed. "What did Xiaoxia say when she called?"
Hinata flailed for a moment, making it so he could face Miya Atsumu head-on.
He spoke with some excitement, "Xia said there's a youth tournament in Osaka in two days, Coach Inubata is planning to take her to participate, letting her play as the Opposite Ace."
Miya Atsumu froze upon hearing this. "Is she going to compete so soon?"
He also started playing volleyball around the same age as Xiaoxia, but the first time he participated in an official competition was when he was in fifth grade, back when Miya Osamu was playing setter as arranged.
Hinata trusted his own sister's ability and talent a hundred percent: "Xiaoxia is really amazing!"
"That's true." Miya Atsumu also let out a small laugh.
Just a Youth Olympic Games match? Is Coach Inubata planning to let her play in that age group?
Hinata looked up and recalled, "Xiaoxia said it was U12."
“U12?” Miya Atsumu was truly surprised this time; U12 could be said to cover almost the entire elementary school range, even including some first-year junior high students.
Xiaoxia was still young, so Miya Atsumu originally thought Coach Inubata would place her in the children's group.
You have to keep in mind that girls' bodies develop a bit earlier; during the stage from elementary school to junior high, physical growth is very rapid, there might be a height difference of several heads between a fourth grader and a seventh grader.
In this situation, the fact that Coach Inubata still chose to let Xiaoxia enter the U12 group showed that he highly recognized Xiaoxia's current ability level, which even far exceeded that of her peers.
Thinking of this, Miya Atsumu sat cross-legged on the bed with a serious and earnest expression, reaching out to poke Hinata's curled-up legs. "Shoyo."
Hinata straightened his legs, placing his restless limbs directly onto Miya Atsumu's lap. "Hmm? What is it?"
Miya Atsumu got straight to the point: "I'm wondering if we can have Xiaoxia follow the same training system as the National Team, just like Iizuna-senpai."
"Ah.." Hinata, who was lying on the bed, paused for a moment, then reached out his hand toward Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu pulled him up, Hinata, clutching a pillow, huddled close to his side. "As for that, I feel like Coach Inubata really does have those intentions."
Xia said that since the Volleyball Association is hosting this Osaka tournament, there should be coaches coming to scout the scene.
Miya Atsumu nodded upon hearing this. "Iizuna-senpai told me before that he was scouted while playing in the junior division in Tokyo, then he entered the National Team's training system and went abroad to compete, eventually becoming the best Setter at the Youth Olympic Games."
At this, Miya Atsumu gave a light click of his tongue. "It's a pity the Volleyball Association didn't hold many competitions here in Kansai before. So, as long as Xiaoxia can seize this opportunity, her future prospects are incredibly bright."
However, it's not a major issue overall. Even if she doesn't get the chance this time, as long as Xiaoxia goes to Itachiyama for junior high, she will eventually catch the eye of the National Team coaches sooner or later.
In Women's Volleyball, the Junior High schools Itachiyama and Fukurodani, as well as the high school Shinzan Girls, are all part of the talent pool cultivated by the National Team.
As for Men's Volleyball.. besides Inarizaki, who can send players to the V1 every single season, the rest are still Itachiyama, along with the Aces that Shirabu and Shiratorizawa put all their effort into cultivating every season, though various prefectures also frequently produce several extremely stunning prospects.
The overall situation is quite different from the dominance of the Shinzan Girls in Women's Volleyball, where Kinranin, Itachiyama, Fukurodani form a three-way deadlock.
Miya Atsumu sighed, "Anyway.. the overall strength of Women's Volleyball in Kansai is still lacking. If Xiaoxia wants to develop, she can only go north. Having her follow Coach Himegomiya during Junior High is for the best. Once she's in high school, Shinzan Girls, like Shiratorizawa, is a closed boarding school, so she'll be able to adapt better."
Hinata nodded. "Yeah, I think so too. I might not have the time to be there to look after her, so if she goes to Itachiyama for Junior High, having Coach Himegomiya there would be just perfect."
Although he also wanted to protect Xiaoxia's life from a close distance, that was her life after all, he had no way to accompany her throughout the entire journey.
Miya Atsumu paused upon hearing that. Looking at Hinata's serious expression, he couldn't help but laugh. "Shoyo, have you forgotten? When Xiaoxia was in Junior High, you should still have been in university. I remember Itachiyama's Junior High Club is closer to Central Physical Education University than high school is, so you should be able to go see her in your spare time."
Hearing Miya Atsumu's words, Hinata fell into an awkward silence.
Miya Atsumu, who had originally thought Hinata would have a sudden realization and cheer with bright eyes, slightly clenched his fists.
For some reason, that vague sense of unease he had felt all along suddenly became incredibly clear at this moment. Atsumu felt that Hinata was hiding something very important from him, just like Miya Osamu used to..
“Atsumu-ge!”
A warm sensation spread through his hands, the moment Miya Atsumu snapped back to his senses, he found himself staring directly into Hinata's eyes, which were now inches away.
Hinata nervously patted Miya Atsumu up and down, his eyes filled with worry: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Did you catch a chill when you took your clothes off just now and are going to get diarrhea!"
Atsumu's dark and terrifying expression, caused by his wild imagination, was completely dispelled by Hinata's words, the frustration he had been holding inside also vanished in that instant.
He pressed down on Hinata's hand, pinning him down, "I don't have diarrhea. Shoyo, think about it—I could keep stripping."
Hinata looked at Miya Atsumu's collarbone peeking out from under his short sleeves and replied seriously, "The way you say that.. Atsumu-ge, you seem like some kind of exhibitionist pervert who loves stripping."
Miya Atsumu lowered his head and kissed Hinata's hair, which had been washed and dried not long ago, thoroughly messing up his strands: "What are you talking about? I'm only showing this to Shoyo."
Inhaling the familiar scent at the tip of his nose, Miya Atsumu's originally chaotic heart suddenly settled down.
He could confirm that Hinata would play volleyball for the rest of his life, just as he had promised, that was enough; as for the rest, they were nothing more than minor setbacks on their life's journey.
After all.. he had enough confidence in his own charm, Hinata's feelings for them were loyal enough; nothing else mattered!
"Then I want to see it." Hinata reached out and tugged at Miya Atsumu's clothes.
But Miya Atsumu grabbed both of his hands and pinned them behind Hinata's head.
Hinata was lifted up, leaving a small section of his waist exposed.
Miya Atsumu held an absolute advantage in terms of strength. Hinata struggled for a moment, but after realizing that Miya Atsumu had no intention of letting him go, he curled his legs and used his knees to affectionately rub against Miya Atsumu's legs.
Miya Atsumu remained unmoved, slightly adjusting his posture, with one leg wedged between Hinata's legs, making it impossible for him to move freely.
Atsumu used his free hand to stroke the side of Hinata's jaw and neck, his voice soft yet carrying an inexplicable hint of danger.
“We'll see about that later. Right now, it's my interrogation time.”
He gently lifted Hinata's chin and asked, "Shoyo, do you really plan to go to Central Physical Education University?"
Hinata nodded. "Yeah, it's already been decided. After the National Sports Festival, Coach Raphael will come to find me to sign the recommendation agreement."
This was the truth, without a single shred of falsehood in it.
Miya Atsumu directly denied it: "Liar."