His tone was very serious as he recounted his thought process to Miya Atsumu as clearly as possible: "I had also considered Kenma's setting, but I couldn't quite figure out what Kenma was thinking. Natsume-senpai is much taller than me, I can't replicate his technique either."
If I had to say.. I chose to take Iizuna-senpai's advice?
After saying that, he looked at Miya Atsumu with a confident expression, his eyes full of a desire for recognition and praise.
Miya Atsumu silently wiped his face.
Although it was a bit of a mess, he had somehow managed to learn something from it, but.. there were just too many people mentioned in those words!
What is the point of listing every single Setter they know like a roll call! And they're all people they hate!
Miya Atsumu tried to protest, "Shoyo, you've forgotten everything we talked about before!"
Hinata froze for a moment, unable to realize which incident Miya Atsumu was referring to.
He didn't hug anyone else recklessly; during this time, he had only hugged Miya Atsumu, he hadn't engaged in any other intimate gestures with others, limiting himself strictly to things like high-fives..
Miya Atsumu cried out in anguish, "All the setters outside are bad people—"
Hinata reached out to catch the lunging Miya Atsumu, looking utterly helpless. "Atsumu-ge, don't be unreasonable. You're the one who said you wanted me to study other setters."
Miya Atsumu wailed, "I don't care!"
Hearing the lively commotion inside, Hayami ultimately suppressed her curiosity and left the area with her bag in her arms.
Even though Hinata's knee pads are still with him.. I'll return them when we eat in a bit.
Miya Atsumu was still wailing, "Our token of love! You gave it to someone else!"
Hinata was almost crushed to the ground by Miya Atsumu's weight: "I'll give it back in a bit! And our token of love is the arm sleeve, isn't it right here?"
The moment Suna arrived upon hearing the news and stepped into the washroom, Miya Atsumu separated from Hinata with the fastest speed of his life, returning to his usual serious demeanor.
He slightly lifted his chin, using his gaze to ask Suna what he was doing there.
Suna let out a slightly regretful click of his tongue, washed his hands, turned to walk away.
Flicking a middle finger at Suna's retreating back, Miya Atsumu cleared his throat under Hinata's reproachful gaze, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Chapter 394: The 394th Fox
Prevent fire, prevent theft.
Defend against Suna.
This has already become one of Miya Atsumu's life mottos, after all, one moment of carelessness could make him a short-term sensation in the volleyball world.
Watching Miya Atsumu's series of movements, Hinata pursed his lips. "Atsumu-ge, how about you say a few less words to Suna-senpai and pressure him a few less times on the court?"
This couldn't go on forever. To maintain Miya Atsumu's precarious reputation, they needed positive measures to improve their relationship!
Miya Atsumu didn't even blink: "Shoyo, what are you talking about? How could there possibly be a lack of things?"
Besides, pushing him to perform his best on the court is part of my responsibility as Captain. If he can't handle it, it just means he really has been slacking off.
Hinata felt that Miya Atsumu made a valid point, but he also felt that something was a bit strange.
But the thing between Miya Atsumu and Suna had existed since before he joined Inarizaki, perhaps this strange relationship between a star and a photographer would continue for a long, long time, potentially even lasting through both of their professional careers.
Forget it, since Atsumu thinks everything is fine as it is, then it must be fine.. probably.
Walking out from the washroom behind Miya Atsumu, Hinata decided to continue the previous topic: "By the way, Atsumu-ge, Hikari-kun told me about the need to coordinate with the Libero regarding defense."
I've been thinking, I feel like I also need to work on coordinating with the Libero during offense.
After all, my height isn't quite sufficient. If I want to use a Quick Attack, it's best to run early, so the height of the set will also need to be adjusted. Oikawa-senpai's Quick Attack coordination is definitely something worth referencing..
Listening to Hinata's rambling analysis, Miya Atsumu's expression remained blank.
He decided to add one more rule to his life's creed.
Guarding against fire, theft, Suna are all secondary.
The most, most important thing is..
Defend against the setter!!
Meanwhile, Hayami, who had gone out ahead, had already untied her high ponytail. She held her hair tie in her hand, preparing to look for Chongtian. She had just put her bag back in the dormitory, so she felt quite unburdened.
His hair was naturally quite soft, after being tied up all day, it had almost held its shape, forming a bird's nest on the top of his head.
When Hayami arrived at the cafeteria, Chongtian had not yet arrived.
He scanned the cafeteria, which was still mostly empty, contemplating where to sit.
Just then, someone at a table against the wall not far away reached out and waved vigorously at him, "Over here, over here!"
Hayami stuffed that hair tie into her jacket pocket and gave an OK sign in response.
Turning to get her food, Hayami sat down next to Aoba Haruka with her tray: "Long time no see. No chance to collaborate today, then."
Aoba Haruka chuckled, "There will definitely be an opportunity tomorrow, don't worry."
Sitting inside, Hanae stuffed a large mouthful of rice into his mouth. "That guy used to mumble about you every single day before."
No, rather than complaining, it was more like he was "wailing," which gave him quite a headache.
Hayami guessed who Hanae was talking about in just a second: "Kanzaki?"
He wiped his face. "Tell him for me, I'm not dead yet.."
As a former teammate who had once been his partner on the junior high team, he knew exactly what kind of person that guy was.
Aoba rested his chin on his hand, squinting as he looked at Hayami. "It makes sense, really. After all, some people just disappear for a whole year, completely vanishing without a trace."
Considering how serious those injuries were, it wouldn't be surprising if he were thought to have given up on volleyball entirely.
Moreover, although Kanzaki had also contacted Hayami, the answer he received was very ambiguous, considering certain issues, he didn't dare to ask any further.
Hayami didn't seem prepared to say anything more; instead, she took the initiative to ask, "So, have I missed anything fun?"
At the mention of this, Aoba's eyes lit up.
Just at that moment, Chikatani and Kageyama walked in together, he raised his hand to greet the two of them.
Chikatani also gave an OK and prepared to get his food before coming back.
Just as he was handing the empty tray to Kageyama, he suddenly realized that the space beside him was empty.
He looked over toward Aoba Haruka's side, Kageyama had already moved a chair to sit there, even turning his head to look at him, his eyes questioning why he wasn't coming over.
After two seconds of silence, Chikatani waved the tray in his hands.
Kageyama, having had an epiphany, stood up, waved to Aoba and the others, then followed Chikatani to serve rice.
"Pfft, it's even more interesting than I imagined." Aoba Haruka couldn't help but laugh.
Watching Kageyama leave, Hayami rubbed her chin. "He's very impressive, but I don't seem to have much of an impression of him?"
He played a set against Kageyama across the net today, from the opponent's perspective, Kageyama's skill level was quite impressive.
However.. he wasn't quite sure what position his opponent played, since he was quite good at setting, receiving, spiking.
Unlike Hinata, he could easily see that Hinata was not a Setter, because Hinata's mindset regarding directing the whole team from the Setter position was still quite unseasoned.
Aoba Haruka explained simply, "The King of Kitagawa Daiichi was quite famous back in junior high. However, with Shiratorizawa looming over them, he never had the chance to advance, so his reputation was mostly just something people had heard about. But for some reason, Hinata is quite close with him."
As he spoke, Aoba Haruka sat up straight and said to the others in a serious, hushed tone, "Hey, speaking of Hinata, I was just about to mention that.."
Kageyama and Chikatani took their seats one after another, Aoba Haruka began to vividly recount the melodramatic family drama he had imagined to the group.
Hanae's expression shifted from confusion to shock as he listened to Aoba's version of the melodramatic plot for the first time, Hayami's expression also stiffened.
He said he felt something was strange back in the water room.. So it was the relationship between Hinata and Miya Atsumu-senpai?
Having been unexpectedly invited to sit in on this grand drama, Chikatani momentarily didn't know where to put his hands or feet.
He knew this secret about Inarizaki.. he wouldn't be silenced by Miya Atsumu-senpai after this, would he!
Aoba Haruka rested his chin in both hands, his face full of seriousness and earnestness: "Anyway, that's how it is. Although it might not be entirely accurate, I think it's eighty percent correct; Komori-senpai and the others have officially confirmed it."
Kageyama stuffed a bite of boiled egg into his mouth, after maintaining a calm expression for a while, he suddenly spoke, "But Hinata is from Sendai, right? He shouldn't have any familial relationship with Miya Atsumu-senpai?"
He thought for a while longer before turning to say, "But if you get married in the future, then it's uncertain."
Once you get married, you become family; that's what Grandpa and my sister always say.
Aoba Haruka couldn't keep up with the pace: "Is Hinata from Sendai? Isn't Inarizaki in Amagasaki?"
Kageyama replied, "No, he moved there for high school. I played against him during the National Tournament preliminaries back in junior high."
Chikatani hadn't believed Aoba Haruka's words anyway, so he followed up on Kageyama's words with another question: "Is that so? Then how was the battle?"
Faced with this question, Kageyama didn't hesitate for a second: "I won."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "But I haven't won since I entered high school."
Hanae agreed, "That makes sense, after all, it's Inarizaki."
He hadn't won even a single set.
Seeing the conversation move past the recent melodramatic story, Hayami hurriedly interrupted, "Wait, so which parts of this story are true and which are false?"
Hanae, who had basically guessed correctly, replied, "Except for the familial relationship between Hinata and Hoshiumi-senpai, the rest should all be true?"
Hayami's brain had already short-circuited: "So, the part about Miya Atsumu-senpai falling in love with Hinata at first sight, his family and coach opposing it, the two of them ultimately defying fate to be together.. those are all true?!"
Th-this can't be right!
No objections here.
Just then, a voice came from behind, it was none other than Hinata, one of the protagonists of the story just now.
After glancing around, Hinata also pulled up a stool and sat down next to Kageyama. "The Coach just doesn't support us doing this on a large scale in public, but Mom and the others have all agreed."
Chikatani Eikichi's eyes widened.
—He just sat down like that!
They were just gossiping about him, but how did the protagonist end up joining in on their discussion!
Hinata counted on his fingers and said solemnly, "It wasn't love at first sight either. The first time we met, Atsumu-ge even called me a volleyball trash."
If I had to say, it was my ulterior motives toward Atsumu-ge, then Atsumu-ge agreed to be with me.