He released Hinata's chin and reached his hand under the hem of Hinata's shirt.
Even though he had been working hard on muscle building and strength training, Hinata's frame was still small; Atsumu's hands were large, his fingers were long enough to easily cover his stomach.
His thumb circled near Hinata's navel, Miya Atsumu looked down into Hinata's eyes: "If you're really going, you won't have to worry about Xiaoxia's life at Itachiyama."
Hinata wanted to curl his body up into a crunch to resist that ticklish sensation, but under Miya Atsumu's restraint, he was completely unable to move.
Tilting his head to avoid Miya Atsumu's hot breath, Hinata's brain worked frantically.
Um, it's not a lie about going to Central Physical Education University, but.. mmm..
When the hand reached inside his shirt and touched his chest, Hinata's breath hitched.
Miya Atsumu looked at Hinata's pained expression, narrowing his eyes as he used his finger to press against him. "But what?"
Hinata struggled, turning his head to rub against the arm of the hand Miya Atsumu had pressing down on him.
Atsumu's attitude was firm, but he didn't actually use much force with his hands, after all, he had to avoid leaving marks where they could be seen.
Looking at Miya Atsumu's mock-serious face, Hinata spoke up with a bit of a guilty conscience, "But Coach Kurosu and.. Coach Utsunomiya agreed that I, I would study beach volleyball as a secondary discipline.."
Miya Atsumu shifted to the other side. "Go on."
Beach Volleyball.. that, Beach Volleyball.." Hinata carefully scanned Miya Atsumu's face, before finally closing his eyes and saying as if facing certain death, "The coaches will send me abroad to study, most likely to Brazil————!
Pain surged from his chest, nearly making Hinata jump out of his skin.
His body's instinctive self-defense reaction allowed him to break free from Miya Atsumu's grip, he grabbed Miya Atsumu's arm with his hand.
Realizing he had lost a bit of control, Miya Atsumu pulled his hand away and, after two seconds of silence, hurriedly said, "Sorry, I didn't control my strength."
"No, I mean, I have no objection to you preparing to study abroad.. The coaches must have definitely made that decision after careful consideration; it's a precious experience.." Miya Atsumu's words gradually became jumbled.
It's just..
Finally, he shut his mouth and raised a hand to cover his face in embarrassment.
Hinata had also sat up, his eyes downcast and his mood very low: "I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner."
He hadn't said anything because he was worried that Miya Atsumu would be sad and heartbroken if he found out, so he had been waiting for a suitable time to tell him slowly, rather than being so sudden like this.
Atsumu lowered his hands. "It's not too late.."
He had noticed before that Hinata sometimes read books in foreign languages, but he wasn't very interested and simply thought Hinata just liked studying English.
But thinking about it now.. it should be the language they use in Brazil.
—What was it again?
Miya Atsumu, whose mind had momentarily gone blank, shook his head, shaking those thoughts out of his head, then asked directly, "So Shoyo, do you plan to join a foreign volleyball club immediately after graduation?"
No way," Hinata shook his head. "I talked about this with Coach Himegomiya before, she said that if you go abroad without any achievements, the treatment might not be very good.
Miya Atsumu nodded in affirmation, "Ah.. That is indeed something that must be considered."
In Europe and America, one truly needs to use actual strength to open the doors to those teams, especially regarding aspects like salary and benefits; the results of signing directly versus signing after achieving success are completely different.
It sounds like Hinata's main purpose for going to Brazil is to play beach volleyball, but training for indoor volleyball is also something that cannot be ignored.
It would be best if he could go to a high-level team to act as a practice partner, such as a professional club or something like that.
Brazil.. Brazil.. Who was in Brazil?
Miya Atsumu thought long and hard, eventually digging a Half-ripe Banana out from a corner of his memory.
Of course, it wasn't on his body, but on his head.
Ichibayashi's coach is Brazilian and is currently teaching in Rio de Janeiro.
Although he had never met the other person, according to Ouji Son, the two had already joined the Minas Club located in Rio de Janeiro.
If possible, it would indeed be a good idea to establish some contact with them.
Being in a foreign country where he is unfamiliar with the surroundings, it would be very troublesome if any accidents happened, like losing his wallet or phone, he wouldn't be able to look after him.
It would be just perfect if someone could travel with Hinata..
As he lowered his eyes in thought, Hinata's voice reached his ears once again: "Will you be lonely without me, Atsumu-ge?"
Atsumu spoke without a second thought, "He will."
As Hinata lowered his head and began to hesitate, Miya Atsumu took the opportunity to make a request: "But as long as Shoyo gives me three phone calls every day, I won't be sad anymore."
Hinata nodded vigorously. "That's fine! Even thirty wouldn't be a problem!"
Miya Atsumu looked up at Hinata, his expression so serious that it didn't seem like he was joking: "If you don't call me, I'll come straight to find you."
"Then Atsumu-ge better work hard. Plane tickets and international phone bills are very expensive, I'll be working hard to play matches and make money over there too." Hinata chuckled, then patted his own chest.
"Who do you think I am? All the royalties from my merchandise sales in the future will be yours.." Atsumu's words were cut halfway as he saw Hinata suddenly lift his shirt.
He spoke up with some confusion, "What's wrong?"
Hinata's expression was very serious: "It's swollen."
Miya Atsumu's brain short-circuited for a moment, he asked instinctively, "What's swollen?"
Hinata turned around, puffed out his chest toward Miya Atsumu, presented the evidence of Atsumu-ge's crime: "It's Atsumu-ge's fault."
Atsumu raised his hand to touch his nose, while still kneeling on the bed, he leaned forward to apologize to Hinata: "My fault, my fault. I'll blow on it for you.. No, I can rub it for you instead.."
Looking at the back of Miya Atsumu's head, Hinata said seriously, "No, the real problem is what to do about tomorrow's training."
Neither of them had brought any bandages; they had checked the dormitory when they arrived and found it was empty, there was no first-aid kit either—after all, the infirmary was just downstairs.
As Miya Atsumu stood up, Hinata had already put his clothes down, he said directly, "Sakusa definitely brought some, I'll go ask him for some."
This thing is a personal item of Sakusa's, just like a face mask; he can just go and snatch one..
No, I'd better snatch two.
Thinking this, Miya Atsumu stormed out of his room in his slippers, then found Sakusa's dormitory and knocked on the door.
After a long time, the door opened a crack, an eye peered out from within. "What is it?"
Miya Atsumu said directly, "Hinata needs bandages, can you give him two?"
After looking Sakusa up and down, Sakusa replied with two words: "Wait."
The door slammed shut with a bang, but not long after, it was pulled open slightly again, a small box was tossed out, landing precisely in Miya Atsumu's arms.
The door slammed shut again the very next second, Sakusa didn't say another word.
Feeling like he had been utterly rebuffed, Miya Atsumu felt as if he were some kind of oversized, non-recyclable piece of trash, especially after those few looks Sakusa had just given him—it was as if he had practically written "irresponsible" across his face.
—It was clearly Hinata's fault!
On his way back, Atsumu ran into Komori, who was coming out to get some water.
Seeing Atsumu come out of their dormitory entrance, Komori froze for a moment. "Do you have something to see Sakusa for?"
Miya Atsumu gestured with the box of band-aids in his hand, "I need band-aids."
Komori was startled. "Is Shoyo injured? Is it serious? Do you need to go to the infirmary to get it checked out?"
Atsumu hurriedly waved his hands, denying any failure in his duty as the elder in the room: "No, no, it just hit a spot where the clothing rubs against it. It's a bit swollen, but it'll be fine in a while."
"Oh, that's good then." Komori nodded.
He had just prepared to leave when he remembered something, poked his head back, asked, "Do you need erythromycin ointment?"
Miya Atsumu also stepped back in: "It would be great if there is some."
Actually, it shouldn't be a big problem even without a band-aid; since the wound isn't exposed, the swelling should subside by tomorrow morning anyway.
Tonight.. it's also fine to sleep without a shirt on.
The Volleyball Association's schedule was filled with training all day long. Because the training volume was so high, the morning training session wasn't scheduled for an exceptionally early time, with the assembly time set for eight-thirty.
This morning's physical training was not held in the gym, but in another Volleyball Hall that Hinata had never visited before, filled with many pieces of equipment that Hinata had never seen before.
Hinata pointed toward a whole row of rails placed behind the net and the human-hand-like blocking boards that rose above the net: "What is that?"
Miya Atsumu replied, "It's for practicing spikes; that should be an instrument for automatic block recognition."
It looked very new, likely a recent introduction.
Coach Arakune, whom they had seen yesterday, walked in carrying a particularly large bag. He pulled out something that looked like a belt and demonstrated how to use it to everyone: "One for each of you. Wear it around your waist, be careful not to lose it."
Coach Arakune gave a brief explanation: "This is for recording data. After the training camp ends, the corresponding data will also be sent back to your coaches."
Hearing this, Miya Atsumu couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Rintaro is finished."
Hinata put on the belt exactly as Coach Arakune had instructed, then looked up and asked, "Why?"
Miya Atsumu said in a very low voice, "As far as I know, the data recorded by this belt includes, but is not limited to, average running speed, number of jumps, number of diving saves, real-time heart rate, total running distance, so on. You'll know immediately if someone is slacking off."
As he spoke, he also turned his head to look at Suna and made a funny face at him.
His life has been perfect these past two days.
Because.. in the Junior National Team's gym and the Volleyball Hall, any place involving training strictly prohibits the use of electronic devices!
Suna fastened his belt and locked eyes with Miya Atsumu from a distance, letting out a low chuckle that caused Kageyama to freeze for a moment.
First of all, Miya Atsumu couldn't stay here for the rest of his life.
Secondly.. the accommodation area and the dining area are both open spaces.
If Miya Atsumu has any real skill, he shouldn't let her catch him in any kind of blunder.
It was actually not the videos he posted that were the most popular among the videos related to Miya Atsumu on You Tube.. He felt quite regretful about this.
The equipment introduced by the National Team is quite advanced, but as for the simulated blocking equipment, it can perfectly eliminate the problem of the attacker's and the blocker's states influencing each other during training.
Moreover, the machines were even colder and more ruthless; they wouldn't be frequently affected by feints, making them even more suitable for practicing spikes with pure changes in ball trajectory.
Hinata's spike perfectly evaded the approaching Block and smashed down through the short diagonal on the other side.
The ball slammed into the ground, making a heavy sound.
The coach in charge of recording called out in praise, "Beautiful! Another one!"
As Hinata retreated, the machine by the sidelines once again fired out a very fast set, aiming for the high point at Position 4 in front of the net.
—A quick attack at Position 4.
Hinata, having already created enough distance, charged forward at maximum speed, while at that same moment, the machine's block surged forward, a simulated three-person Block standing firmly in his way.