In his dazed state, Hinata's voice drifted into his ears.
“Atsumu-ge! That setter from Star First, he doesn't even jump much when he sets.”
Noticing that Miya Atsumu hadn't responded for a long time, Hinata turned back to look at him with a look of confusion.
Miya Atsumu was looking at him, no, rather..
Looking at his lips?
Hinata looked left and right, realizing there were people all around.
He leaned slightly closer to Miya Atsumu, looked up at him, asked, "It doesn't feel very convenient right now. Can we wait until we get back to kiss?"
Miya Atsumu raised a hand and wiped his face. "It's not that.."
Hinata was a little disappointed: "No kiss?"
Although there was a regular goodnight kiss, it was relatively plain..
Miya Atsumu reached out and pushed Hinata's head away. "Honey, we'll kiss when we get back. I mean.."
Having finally composed himself, Miya Atsumu swallowed the accusations he had prepared for Hinata, instead turning his wrath upon himself for not being decisive enough. "Forget it."
Perhaps he could have let Hinata come to him first; he could have just made up some excuse like "the coach needs you" and then strolled over leisurely..
It was his fault.
Mm.
Hinata's attention had already been drawn back to the match on the court. Hayami received a beautifully played tip from Kazama and sent the ball up toward the Setter.
He cheered loudly for Hayami in the court, "Nice play!!"
Kazama's expression contorted when he failed to receive the counter-attack spike from Star First, he snapped his head toward Hinata outside the court, his expression incredibly fierce.
Hinata shrank his neck and ducked behind Miya Atsumu under Kazama's glare.
Hayami, who had been waving to Hinata with a smile on her face in the middle of the court, turned her head and saw Kazama acting aggressively.
His expression instantly turned serious as he looked at Kazama quite unfriendlily, "What are you doing?"
Kazama replied, "That bastard caused our senior to receive a yellow card last year, this year he specifically came here just to jeer at us!"
After speaking, Kazama bared his teeth and glared at Hinata once more.
Hayami's smile remained forced on her face: ".. Is there a possibility that Hinata is simply here to cheer for me?"
Kazama refused to believe it: "That's impossible."
Is that Little One's popularity really that exaggerated? At this rate, it feels like every school across the country will have someone that Hinata knows.
Hayami let out a soft snort through her nose, then turned to head toward the sidelines to switch positions with the Middle Blocker and leave the court.
Last year's match against Fukuda General was unforgettable, this time, he would certainly have his revenge.
Hearing the whistle blow in his ears, Hinata cheered, "Oh! We won! Hayami and the others won!"
“Then we'll be opponents against Star First tomorrow.”
Hearing this voice, Hinata turned his head to look and found it was Goshiki Tsutomu walking over with the Shiratorizawa Team.
Coach Washijo and Coach Saito had not arrived yet; they were likely still coordinating the warm-up schedule with the opposing coaches after finishing their warm-up exercises in the Sub-gymnasium.
Hinata raised his hand toward Goshiki Tsutomu: "Akari!"
After greeting Goshiki, he looked toward the other two seniors walking over: "Shirabu-senpai! Kawanishi-senpai!"
Shirabu nodded to him: "Long time no see, you've grown taller."
Hearing this, Hinata's eyes lit up.
When Hoshiumi saw him before, he hadn't asked about his height, but now someone had finally asked him!
He rushed to Shirabu's side in excitement, holding up his fingers to show the number: "I'm already 1.69 meters tall! Rounded up, that's 1.7 meters!!"
Miya Atsumu couldn't help but laugh.
Right now, Hinata's diet was custom-made for him by Coach Unabara, Coach Kurosu even diverted a significant amount of Hinata's personal expenses to improve his meals and nutrition. Compared to two months ago, Hinata has grown a full 1.5 centimeters.
At this rate of growth, by next year's Haruko, Hinata will likely be one hundred and seventy centimeters tall.
One meter seventy is a very important watershed. With Hinata's physical and technical foundation, as long as he grows past one meter seventy, he will definitely have much broader horizons.
Of course, he felt that Hinata would grow to at least 1.75 meters.
“Tsutomu has grown quite a bit too. He was even watching recordings of your matches to learn technical skills. You should find some time to exchange ideas with him.”
Shirabu-senpai's expression remained unchanged, but his overall attitude had softened considerably; at the very least, he no longer looked so resentful when mentioning Goshiki Tsutomu.
Goshiki Tsutomu's face turned bright red, for a moment, he didn't know where to put his hands or feet: "Senpai!"
Shirabu glared over, "Have you forgotten what Ushijima-senpai said? If you've forgotten, repeat it."
Upon hearing a certain name, Goshiki Tsutomu stood straight and obediently: "Yes! Ushijima-senpai said that any technique that can score points is a good technique! Also, if you don't understand something, you must ask; learning is not a shameful thing!"
Hinata's ears perked up instantly, a hint of excitement appearing on his face: "Akari, is there anything you want to ask me?"
Wow, wow, wow! Before, it was always him asking Goshiki for advice on things like changes in ball trajectories.. now he can help the other person too!
Under Shirabu-senpai's gaze, Goshiki Tsutomu spoke to Hinata: ".. Yes."
Watching Hinata and the Shiratorizawa members fighting hard, Miya Atsumu pursed his lips.
The court had already been cleared, the players from Star First and Fukuda General had already left.
He looked at the Captain, Kawanishi Taichi: "Alright, the referee is calling you guys inside."
Kawanishi looked at Goshiki.
Goshiki, who had just finished a brief exchange with Hinata, looked up and said to the others, "Then let's head inside."
Shirabu gave a light cough.
Goshiki straightened his body and said with full vigor, "Enter!"
Watching the Shiratorizawa Team enter the court, Miya Atsumu suddenly spoke up and asked, "By the way, Shoyo, who are you going to cheer for tomorrow?"
Hayami said something to Sasaki over by the Players' Tunnel, finally turned and walked over.
The Shiratorizawa Team members had not yet finished passing through, leaving Hinata and Miya Atsumu sandwiched between two groups of people.
After his brain worked at high speed, Hinata said firmly, "I'll stand in the middle."
What?
Hayami tilted her head in confusion, having not heard clearly.
Coach Washijo, who had arrived a step ahead of Hayami, happened to catch that sentence and let out an unceremonious laugh: "Heh."
Hinata stood up straight, his face solemn.
Looking at Hinata's stiff posture, Miya Atsumu smiled, feeling in high spirits.
Coach Washijo nodded to Hinata before walking onto the court, while Coach Saito, trailing a step behind, reached out and patted Hinata's shoulder. "Remember to come cheer them on; Akari will be very happy."
Watching the Shiratorizawa Team file onto the court, a soft "Hmm?" escaped from Hayami's throat.
Hinata crouched down, clutching his head.
Miya Atsumu continued to rub salt in Hinata's wound: "And if Karasuno and Itachiyama face each other later, are you going to stand in the middle too?"
“Atsumu-ge!” Hinata snapped his head up.
His face showed a hint of embarrassment, his tone was full of accusation: "I'm going to sleep with the Coach today!"
That's so mean! To insist on poking at his sore spot in a place like this!
Miya Atsumu's hand froze mid-chin-rub, he immediately slid into a groveling apology: "I was wrong, please don't leave."
This time, the Coach specially arranged a large bed room for the two of them, so they no longer had to squeeze into the small beds of a standard room.
If I were to sleep in a large bed all by myself.. it would be so lonely!
Watching the two of them perform their routine, Hayami spoke up tentatively.
Um.. is this something I'm allowed to listen to?
Chapter 411: The 411th Fox
Miya Atsumu began to give up on himself, rejecting Hayami's approach in every way: "You're not allowed to listen, go away, Shoyo doesn't want to talk to you."
"Um.. then should I leave?" Hayami looked toward Hinata.
Hinata stood up: "Hayami, are you going to do some stretching?"
“Right,” Miya Atsumu spoke up for Hayami.
After speaking, he glared at Hayami, his eyes urging her to leave quickly.
Having originally wanted to watch the Shiratorizawa match, Hayami blinked and said to Hinata, "Then I'll come find you after I finish my stretching."
Anyway, there was no way he wouldn't watch the Shiratorizawa match, since eighty percent of the players were his opponents in tomorrow's game.
Hinata nodded: "Mm-hmm!"
Miya Atsumu's expression contorted.
He spoke bluntly, "Go watch the match with your coach, don't come here."
Hayami expressed her regret: "Well then, I won't disturb the private world of you and Hinata."
Watching Hayami leave, Hinata gave a soft "ah": "I forgot to praise her."
It's all because someone keeps causing trouble, causing him to forget his main business.
Miya Atsumu wrinkled his nose. "I've given him plenty of praise."
Hearing the hint of displeasure in Miya Atsumu's words, Hinata looked up at him.
Suddenly realizing something, Hinata spoke up, "It feels like.. Hayami isn't very afraid of Atsumu-ge?"
Whether it was his classmates, the players from Aoba, or Hanae and the others, most of them felt some degree of intimidation toward Miya Atsumu. Many times they wouldn't take the initiative to strike up a conversation, let alone dare to speak to Miya Atsumu directly with an attitude and tone that weren't even particularly pleasant, like Hayami did.
Miya Atsumu rolled his eyes. "Because he's got guts."