Miya Atsumu used Hinata's email to create a new You Tube account and re-edited some of the match footage that had been passed to him from the previous cheering squad. After cutting some parts out, he uploaded it as a highlight reel containing only one or two extremely spectacular plays.
They only brought a tablet with them, so they used a website to edit it on the fly; although it was crude, it was still a decent finished product.
Although the newly created alt account didn't have many viewers, it was their first step in Suna and Hoshiumi's rebellion!
Miya Atsumu fell into a deep sleep, holding Hinata contentedly in his arms.
Meanwhile, someone spent the entire night wide awake, eyes staring, unable to sleep.
When the warm-ups were about to begin for morning practice, Hinata noticed Sakusa's unsteady gait almost immediately.
He had just taken off his mask, but his hair was a bit messy, his complexion looked somewhat pale, there were even dark circles under his eyes; he seemed completely listless.
Hinata walked over clutching a volleyball and asked Sakusa, who was clearly not in a good state, "What's wrong, Kami-senpai?"
Sakusa raised a hand to cover his forehead. "It's nothing.. I just didn't sleep well."
Because he had been forced to stay up all night, his forehead was throbbing, his overall condition could be described as being at an all-time low.
Hinata blanked for a moment. "Didn't sleep well? Was the bed uncomfortable, or was the temperature not right?"
Sakusa was the person who paid the most attention to health management; he could hardly imagine any reason that could affect Sakusa's rest.
Sakusa spoke up to reassure Hinata, "It's fine, I'll adjust as soon as possible."
Komori threw up his hands and shrugged, having no idea what was causing Sakusa to be in this state.
Since yesterday evening, Sakusa had been on high alert, even wearing a mask while sleeping. When he woke up this morning, Sakusa was sitting on the bottom bunk; hearing his movement, he suddenly turned his head, giving him a fright.
No.. it seemed like he had seen Sakusa in this state before.
Itachiyama is a boarding school, because they were admitted through recommendation just like Sakusa, they have lived in the same dormitory since their first year of high school.
Sakusa actually wanted to apply for a single room, but at that time, the single dormitories were at full capacity, they were mostly occupied by seniors who wanted peace and quiet during their third year of high school, so he ultimately was unsuccessful.
And the building they moved into back then had been vacated after the previous year's students graduated; although it had been emptied, some "neighbors" had remained.
Yes, there were cockroaches in their dormitory building.
Sakusa had been unable to fall asleep for several days because of this matter; every time he closed his eyes, he saw cockroaches crawling on the upper bunk. For several days straight, he had been frantically searching on his phone for how to deal with cockroaches, had even ordered a large amount of insecticide and poison.
In the end, it was because his training performance was affected that Coach Utsunomiya discovered it.
While everyone was in class, Coach Utsunomiya hired a professional pest control team to conduct a thorough extermination in their building.
Although I don't know if there are any cockroaches left, at least they haven't seen any in the building for the past two years.
Could it be.. there are cockroaches in the Volleyball Association building too?
No, no, no, if the medical room downstairs is a professional one, then the hygiene standards must at least be up to par.
Komori's hand paused slightly as he rubbed his chin, suddenly recalling the lie Aoba had told last night just to brush off the Coach.
When he went back, he did indeed see Sakusa at the door. It couldn't be.. he overheard their conversation, could he!
Having figured out the truth, Komori was momentarily at a loss, caught between laughter and tears.
He had been exhausted from yesterday's training, after all the commotion with Miya Atsumu and the others that night, his brain wasn't functioning well enough to notice that point.
Looking at Aoba, who was still saying something to Hanae beside him, he pointed at him toward Sakusa: "Um, about the cockroach thing.."
Having caught a certain word, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Sakusa as he turned his head stiffly toward Komori.
Komori had a smile on his face, not at all intimidated by Sakusa's terrifying aura: "Um, Aoba made that up to trick the coach."
Sakusa's breath hitched, his originally sinister expression looked somewhat foolish in his stunned state.
He stared with wide eyes, the dark circles under his eyes speaking volumes about those absurd emotions to Komori.
Komori nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly it."
Sakusa withdrew his gaze from Komori and instinctively looked toward Aoba Haruka, but in the end.. his eyes landed on Miya Atsumu and Hoshiumi, who was not far away.
A faint sense of resentment drifted out, making Komori unable to help but take a step back.
Turning his head, Hinata seemed to hear Sakusa's light chuckle.
But the other person's expression remained serious, so he thought he must have been hallucinating.
Miya Atsumu felt a chill run down his spine and suddenly whipped his head around to scan the area, but he didn't discover who it was.
He raised a hand to scratch his head, deciding to stop thinking about it, turned back to continue discussing technical issues regarding Hoshiumi and Hakuma with Hinata.
The morning's individual training proceeded as usual, but this time the coaches made a concerted effort to add a significant amount of training focused on blocking for Suna.
Watching Suna collapsed on the floor after training ended, Atsumu poked him with a beaming smile: "Hang in there, Rintaro! The Junior National Team training camp is just that brutal~"
It had to be said, the Junior National Team coaches had incredibly sharp eyes and were decisive in their arrangements.
It looks like they're planning to strengthen Suna's blocking skills, they've gone all out; it might even affect the practice match this afternoon..
Squatting on the ground, Miya Atsumu rubbed his chin, something in his mind that had never been connected suddenly clicked into place.
Ah, is it because a Libero doesn't need to jump that Suna is being played as a Libero?
When it comes to blocking awareness, as well as pure psychological warfare, judgment, tactical command, Suna is already among the very best among current high schoolers.
But because his physical capabilities—such as stamina, jumping ability, speed—are only average, Suna's actual blocking intensity is completely insufficient.
In past matches, besides the few instances where Suna had complete confidence to face his opponents head-on through anticipation, he would mostly choose to limit the opponent's options through touches or by cutting off specific paths to conserve energy and maintain the team's overall balance.
When Unabara was present, they could barely hold their own through cooperation, but once the back row defense fell slightly behind, the block, which was already weaker than Karasuno's, would become even more apparent.
Coach Unabara certainly wouldn't like a Suna like this.
Suna's strength lies in his sufficient and powerful offensive coverage, but within an opposite-centered system, a Middle Blocker's blocking level is more important.
Considering the future development direction of the Junior National Team, it is indeed necessary to thoroughly address the issues in this area.
Of course, the same applies to Inarizaki.
"I'm rooting for you, Rintaro." Miya Atsumu gave Suna a thumbs-up, his snide voice making Suna feel quite irritated.
He had already come to terms with the threat of Suna's unflattering photos.
According to his estimation, he had at least several hundred, if not a thousand, photos of himself circulating out in the world.
In reality, the only one that was actually circulated was the one where he was being hit on the head, the photographer was even from Shiratorizawa.
Suna took photos of him to control him and satisfy his own fetish at the same time.
As long as he can build a perfect image for himself first—one that won't crumble no matter what he does—then Suna's threat will be useless!
Even if he didn't have a public profile, he could have more funds to invest in Hinata or for dating!
Looking at Miya Atsumu's disgusting smile, Suna, who was lying on the ground, silently rolled over, refusing to make eye contact with him.
Miya Atsumu laughed with full confidence. "Just you wait, Rintaro, our offense and defense are going to swap!"
He stood up and left the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium to go eat, once he had his phone, he opened that account's You Tube homepage.
The video had 3 views, the account had 1 follower.
Miya Atsumu fell silent.
Even though he expected that no one might watch.. isn't this view count a bit too ridiculously low?
He looked up, casting a skeptical glance at Hinata, who was eating a large bowl of rice opposite him.
After finishing the video editing yesterday, he asked Kenma, who had been consulting Hinata, to handle the posting and some of the backend operations. Kenma gave them an incredibly clickbaity title and provided a simple, clear cover image.
Out of trust for Hinata, or perhaps for the Nekoma Setter, he didn't check it again.
But..
Miya Atsumu tapped on his phone, the next second, his vision went black.
The video was set to private mode, viewable only by the uploader.
That means.. he was the one who clicked on those three plays himself.
Miya Atsumu was silent for a full half-minute, noticing that he hadn't moved, Hinata looked up from his food and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"
Atsumu waved his hand, quickly deleting the video and re-sending it: "It's nothing, just a small mistake, no big deal."
Hinata lowered his head and continued working hard on his meal. "Oh."
During the previous physical examination, the coach also said that his weight was insufficient, since he had focused on fat loss for previous matches, he needs to use the time before the National Sports Festival to eat more to gain weight, then convert that weight into muscle through training.
The doctor said that for an athlete of his current height, he needs to become a bit more robust.
If he can grow to about 175 centimeters in the future, he will need to maintain a weight of around 70 kilograms.
This was an indicator given with the consideration that he is an agile type, after all, having to balance muscle strength with a lightweight physique.
So.. eating well is also an important part of training!
Miya Atsumu, who had already finished eating, put down his chopsticks, a notification sound came from his phone at that moment.
The video he had just posted received a comment.
Miya Atsumu opened his notifications and found a comment that wasn't in Japanese; after translating it, the result made his breath catch in his throat.
—Isn't this the one that was smashed before? Looking at him like this, he's actually quite handsome.
Atsumu's hands were trembling.
Has that video already been spread abroad!!
He pressed his hand against his chest, trying his best to calm his emotions.
Well, looking on the bright side, the other person said he was handsome.
This is a great start to turning his image around!
In the next second, he received another comment, it was in another country's language.
—The play was incredible, but was he injured? A part of his mouth looks broken.
The local's reply came just as quickly, followed by a giggling emoji.
—I remember the commentator said it was from falling in the bathroom [giggles].
Miya Atsumu placed his phone face down on the table and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to escape reality.
After a long time, he opened his eyes and looked at Hinata, who was stuffing a boiled egg into his mouth.
“Shoyo, I'm serious.."