From an emotional standpoint, Coach Washijo naturally wanted to see Shiratorizawa make it all the way to the end. But by any rational judgment, the probability of them defeating Inarizaki was minuscule.
Inarizaki's strength is evident to all.
Although they narrowly lost to Karasuno at the IH, it was due to a combination of various unfavorable factors, as well as the fact that Inarizaki's overall coordination was still lacking.
More importantly.. the ones who defeated Inarizaki were Karasuno.
Whether it was the players' individual abilities or their tactical arrangements, it was clear that Karasuno had already reached the very pinnacle of high school volleyball; their victory was beyond doubt.
And Shiratorizawa clearly didn't have that kind of extremely powerful lineup as Karasuno did, let alone the ability to defeat Inarizaki.
But.. we have to win at least one set out of the three.
When the oath-taking ended and he returned to his line, Hinata suddenly saw Kita Shinsuke sitting behind the Inarizaki banner.
Aran was also by his side, watching him and applauding for him.
Hinata held his head high, exchanging a glance with Miya Atsumu as he walked back.
He had successfully completed the task of leading the oath, without mispronouncing any words or stumbling once!
Atsumu gave him a thumbs up from behind.
Seeing his gesture, Hinata became even more smug, the way he slightly lifted his chin made Miya Atsumu unable to hold back a laugh.
Hoshiumi, who had been watching the whole scene, silently rolled his eyes.
He decided that as soon as he got back, he would clip this segment from the livestream, titling it "High School's Best Setter Laughing at the Opening Ceremony."
Miya Atsumu and Hinata made an account to promote Miya Atsumu's handsome performance, he knew about it; after all, every time the other party posted a new video, someone with a fox avatar would @ him in the comments section.
He would also use his own alt account, which had already had its cover blown, to go to the scene and watch, offer some commentary.
Although he acknowledged how cool Miya Atsumu's technique was, it didn't stop him from making even more outrageous demands.
And Miya Atsumu welcomed this, even starting a discussion about setter techniques with him in the comments section.
Is this right? Is this really right!
As the leaders delivered their lengthy speeches, Hoshiumi's mind had already wandered off to who-knows-where.
Until the opening ceremony ended, he still couldn't figure out what Miya Atsumu's purpose was with that behavior.
In truth, there was no particular purpose.
On the way back to the hotel, Miya Atsumu raised his arms and took a lazy stretch.
Miya Atsumu, who had already come to terms with the fact that Hoshiumi was making videos of him, truly just wanted to discuss volleyball with Hoshiumi.
After all, Hoshiumi and the members of Shwaiden Adler were very close, Coach Aran, who had previously worked in professional leagues in other countries, would inevitably have more foresight; he simply wanted to hear what the other person thought.
The opening ceremony started very late, by the time they stepped out of the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium, it was already dusk.
Miya Atsumu looked at Miya Osamu, who was in charge of ordering dinner: "What are we having for dinner tonight?"
Miya Osamu replied, "Beef bowl for tonight, curry pork cutlet rice for tomorrow night."
Breakfast was ordered by the coach, lunch would be eaten at the gymnasium; both were bento boxes, with only dinner allowing for free ordering.
Unable to easily decide what to eat, Miya Atsumu decided to leave the decision to Miya Osamu, who would shamelessly order several different varieties just so he could snag a few bites from Miya Atsumu and Hinata.
Hinata raised his hand: "Add an onsen egg!"
Miya Osamu nodded in agreement and sent a message to the shopkeeper: "Okay."
The first round of matches began on the second day.
As a seeded team in the top thirty-two, Inarizaki had no matches on the first day, so Hinata and Miya Atsumu were able to wander around and watch matches at various courts.
Hinata rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Alright, whose match should we go see first?"
There were three Men's Volleyball matches being held at the same time, the only one he was relatively familiar with was Shiratorizawa.
Hinata decided on the spot, "Let's go watch Akari!"
Miya Atsumu agreed readily, "Alright."
It just so happened that he wasn't very familiar with Shiratorizawa's current lineup, so he could observe them from a close distance for the time being.
By the time the two of them reached the sidelines, the Shiratorizawa players had only just entered the court and were still warming up.
There weren't that many teams participating in the National Sports Festival, the venue was quite large, so the players in the first round could warm up directly on the court.
Seeing Hinata approach, before Goshiki Tsutomu could even say hello, Yura Shota, who was closer to the sidelines, spoke up: "Hinata-senpai, Miya-senpai."
Hinata raised both hands to greet them. "Long time no see!"
Yura looked back toward Goshiki Tsutomu's direction and raised his voice slightly: "Goshiki-senpai, Hinata-senpai is here to cheer for you."
Goshiki Tsutomu, who was still arranging everyone to warm up, turned his head, his eyes lit up the moment he saw Hinata.
But the work at hand had to continue; he only gave Hinata a distant nod before immersing himself back into battle preparations.
Hinata pressed a hand to his chest. "Akari is so cool, he really looks like a Captain."
Miya Atsumu reached out and pointed at Goshiki Tsutomu. "Do you know what this represents?"
Hinata looked at him, his eyes filled with curiosity: "What?"
Atsumu pointed out the brutal truth: "It means Kawanishi isn't working hard enough."
Hearing this, Hinata's mind went blank, he automatically began to draw his own conclusions.
So, the reason why Osamu-senpai sometimes acts so much like a Captain is because..
Is Atsumu-ge not doing his job properly?
Miya Atsumu reached out and pinched Hinata's cheek. "You seem to be thinking about something very rude."
He didn't even need to look to know what Hinata was thinking; eighty percent of the time, he was probably making up stories about him in his head.
Hinata shook his head repeatedly. "No, definitely not."
Ahem.
A light cough drifted from not far away.
Hinata and Miya Atsumu both looked up at the same time and saw Coach Saito and Coach Washijo standing not far away.
Atsumu silently withdrew his hand, Hinata stood straight as well.
Hinata greeted Coach Washijo loudly, "Hello, Coach Washijo!"
Coach Washijo kept his hands behind his back and said expressionlessly, "Do not interfere with the match."
Hinata replied honestly, "Yes! I definitely won't interfere!"
Watching the two of them slink away from the court, Coach Saito sighed with a hint of emotion, "They really do have a great relationship—"
He had often heard rumors that Miya Atsumu had a bad temper, but now it seemed that Miya Atsumu had a very good relationship with his teammates.
Coach Washijo's expression was sour. "Hmph."
Coach Saito didn't understand what was bothering Coach Washijo. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Coach Washijo should value Hinata, his good relationship with his teammates should be a good thing, right?
"That Kurosu fellow.." Coach Washijo's voice sounded like he was gritting his teeth.
If it were me, I'd definitely chop that brat's hands off first.
Coach Saito didn't understand at all: "Huh?"
Coach Washijo's expression returned to normal. "It's nothing."
Watching Goshiki Tsutomu organize everyone's warm-up in such an orderly manner, his expression softened slightly.
At his age, he actually still needs to learn a few things.
After going through those matches last year, he has now decided to appropriately delegate power to the players, he is also looking forward to seeing what kind of matches Goshiki and the others can bring.
Even if it doesn't work.. he's there to back them up.
Hinata said in a low voice, "Coach Washijo is glaring at you, Atsumu-ge."
Miya Atsumu said seriously, "I saw him."
He reflected deeply, but he couldn't figure out exactly where he had offended the other person, so in the end, he could only shake the chaotic thoughts out of his mind.
It shouldn't be a fatal mistake.. right?
Hinata pursed his lips and gave up thinking as well.
Now, their task was to observe the Shiratorizawa match to prepare for their subsequent battles.
In another court not far away, Hayami watched Hinata narrowing his eyes.
The Captain spoke up, "What's wrong, Subaru?"
Hayami muttered, "Why didn't you come to watch my match.."
Author's Note:
[Bathroom Side Story is here!!]
Although Hinata really wanted to go straight to sleep, the intensity of today's internal match was very high, combined with the exhaustion accumulated from the past few days of training, he had sweated a lot; he simply couldn't skip washing up.
Hinata yawned while being dragged to the bathhouse by Miya Atsumu.
It was already very late. Most people, having finished their meals and showers, had long since returned to rest, leaving only the two of them to arrive late as they wanted to head back to the dormitory first to organize their autographs and other things.
When they walked into the Locker Room, Sakusa was the only one there, having just stepped out of the shower wrapped in a bath towel.
Seeing the two of them enter, he quickly raised a hand to signal them to stop, then finished changing at the furthest point from the door in record time. Without even drying his hair, he grabbed his bag and rushed away as if he were avoiding a giant piece of trash.
Hinata and Miya Atsumu exchanged a glance by the shoe lockers at the entrance, seeing the confusion and bewilderment in each other's eyes.
After a short while, Komori and Hakuma Mebuki came out one after another.
Seeing the two people standing at the entrance as punishment, Hakuma was a bit dazed: "What.. are you guys doing? Is there some kind of activity going on?"
Komori glanced at the half-open, empty locker in the corner of the Locker Room, having probably guessed what was going on.
He looked at Miya Atsumu. "I thought there wouldn't be anyone left at this time. How did you two just arrive?"
Sakusa, who had gone to say a few words to Ushijima Wakatoshi and ended up causing the bathhouse to be occupied on a massive scale, stubbornly waited until there were hardly any people left before arriving, only to run into Hoshiumi and Hakuma Mebuki.
Now that even Miya Atsumu has appeared, no wonder Sakusa ran away faster than anyone else.