“Understood—!” Hinata raised his hands.
The Inarizaki members dispersed, Hinata immediately rushed toward Hoshiumi Hikari by the sidelines with both hands raised high.
Watching Hinata's back, Tokura slowly exhaled, "Shoyo is truly amazing."
Looking at his profile, Unabara Uta was stunned for a moment. "What's with the sudden sentimentality?"
But in many respects, he is indeed very impressive, especially when it comes to dealing with difficult people.
Tokura waved his hand. "It's not that."
With neatly trimmed hair hanging by his ears, Tokura gave Unabara Uta a faint smile. "It's just.. he has some things that I have never been able to reach."
For some reason, Unabara Uta caught a hint of bitterness on Tokura's face.
He subconsciously spoke, "You.."
A loud shout rang out from the stands: "Unabara! That was so cool!!"
Unabara Uta quickly looked up to see Imai frantically waving his small horn above, while the people beside him reached out their hands, terrified that Imai's small horn might fall.
His attention was instantly drawn away, he waved at Imai, giving him a thumbs up.
Tokura had no interest in disturbing the couple, so he turned and followed Rishia toward the Players' Tunnel.
The drumming behind him continued without end, he stepped on every heavy beat.
Accompanied by his heartbeat.
The moment they entered the Players' Tunnel, the Rakusan players brushed past everyone.
Rishia Heisuke looked back, locking eyes with the approaching Aoba brothers, before continuing to walk forward without looking away.
Walking out of the Players' Tunnel with a serious expression, Aoba Haruka waited until he confirmed that no one from Inarizaki was left, then suddenly reached out to grab her younger brother, making him bend down to speak to her.
Is Atsumu-senpai still holding a grudge against me?
Hinata probably hasn't told anyone, right..
“Atsumu-ge, you can't sell me out! This has nothing to do with me!”
“What are you talking about! You're the one who started it!”
Chapter 422: The 422th Fox
Just as the Aoba brothers were discussing whether Miya Atsumu actually knew about a certain matter, a voice suddenly drifted over from the side.
What? Haruka, what are you guys talking about?
Hinata approached the two of them and asked seriously.
The moment they caught sight of that cluster of yellow hair, Aoba Haruka and Aoba Kureha displayed the strongest chemistry of their lives, both shutting their mouths at the same time.
Aoba Haruka secretly pinched her younger brother, then proactively said, "It's nothing, it's absolutely nothing."
What about you, Hinata? Aren't you going to stretch?
Hinata chuckled. "We're just about to go. We'll come back in a bit to watch your match, Haruka."
Hoshiumi, who was still standing by the court but had been stopped by reporters for an interview, glanced over this way, but said nothing.
Miya Atsumu didn't want to waste any more words on the people from Rakusan; he'd rather use that time to finish his stretching and then go find the Kita Team and Aran and the others.
So he "stared" at the Aoba brothers without reservation, causing Haruka Arai's voice to grow smaller and smaller.
A light chuckle drifted from not far away, Aoba Haruka, who had been wanting to run away for a long time, hurriedly said to Hinata, "Hey! We're going to start our pre-match warm-ups! Gotta go!"
After saying that, Aoba Haruka fled like he was escaping, Aoba Kureha followed closely behind him.
Harukawa shrugged at Miya Atsumu, then led the team to continue walking inside.
Although Atsumu's momentum wasn't as terrifying as Atsumu's demon, it didn't mean he wanted to provoke the other party, especially regarding matters involving emotions.
Yes, being a big mouth, Aoba Haruka told him about this matter after returning from the youth training camp.
But he had no interest in spreading it himself. As for who Haruka Arai would spread the news to.. that was something he could no longer control.
As the Captain of Rakusan, he could only manage his own teammates as best he could, ensuring they didn't spread rumors outside.
Since Hinata and Miya Atsumu seemed to be maintaining a certain distance, Inarizaki had no intention of making the two of them's business public for the time being.
But then again, this kind of thing was a private matter between the two of them, they had no right to say anything; they should just interact normally.
The focus now is.. how to find a way to save Aoba Haruka's life.
Watching the Rakusan members leave, Hinata turned his head and looked at Miya Atsumu with a somewhat accusing gaze.
Miya Atsumu acted as if he hadn't seen it, pulling Hinata toward the Players' Tunnel. "They're about to enter the court, let's talk after the match is over."
Hinata froze for a moment, then hurriedly pulled Miya Atsumu in the opposite direction, trying to stop him. "Aren't we waiting for Hikari-kun?"
However, his strength ultimately could not contend with Miya Atsumu; even using all his strength, he only managed to slow Miya Atsumu down a tiny bit, but he was still being dragged forward.
Miya Atsumu said decisively, "What are we waiting for him for? Let's go."
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hoshiumi Hikari watched the two people's backs disappear into the Players' Tunnel, couldn't help but frown and let out a soft click of his tongue.
Noticing Hoshiumi was spacing out, the reporter asked in confusion, "Hoshiumi-san?"
He followed Hoshiumi's gaze, but could only see the pitch-black Players' Tunnel.
Hoshiumi Hikari withdrew his gaze, placing it back on the reporters and cameras opposite him.
It's nothing. Let's continue.
He smiled at Hirugami, who was standing beside him, answered the reporter's previous question, "Although we haven't had a direct match against Itachiyama in the past, we have watched many of their match recordings."
Based on our overall tactical styles and the aspects we can currently observe and compare, my personal judgment is that our Karasuno has a higher winning probability.
Hoshiumi nodded in agreement. "That's right. Even if it sounds like I'm bragging, I still have to say that the one who makes it to the end will definitely be Karasuno!"
After finishing stretching with the others, Miya Atsumu and Hinata headed straight to the second-floor stands.
Suna, Rishia, the others had already returned to the hotel one after another. Unabara went to find Imai, Tokura had also left, seemingly because someone was looking for him. Kumagai and Ogata refused to travel with them, although Nishizawa wanted to come along, he was pulled away by Ogata.
While Coach Kurosu was reviewing the data from the previous match, the only ones preparing to head to the Inarizaki cheering area to observe the next match were Miya Atsumu and Hinata.
Today, Aran and the others also saved a spot for Hinata and the others, right next to them.
“Giant-senpai!” Hinata broke free from Miya Atsumu's grip and jumped toward Unai and the others, cheering with excitement.
Did you see my awesome performance in the last set!
Before Unai could even speak, the row of middle-aged men behind him leaned their heads forward and gave Hinata a thumbs up: "We saw it, we saw it! Super cool!"
The people nearby chimed in, "Exactly, he's just like a super Ace!"
The match inside the court had not yet begun, it was not Inarizaki's home court.
There weren't that many teams in the Quarterfinals, so they didn't need to change positions after the matches ended; therefore, everyone from the cheering squad who still had time was still there.
Tickets for the National Sports Festival were just as hard to come by as those for Haruko, even though this National Sports Festival was not held during a holiday due to the delay, they were still incredibly difficult to obtain.
The members of the cheering squad took turns praising Hinata, the key was that they were all being incredibly sincere.
The incredibly happy and enthusiastic adults even came up with titles for Hinata like "The Nation's Number One Super Invincible Ace," "Inari God's First Blade," and "Inarizaki's Orange Flash War God," practically lifting Hinata to the heavens.
Hinata, who had been smiling triumphantly at first, was also made to feel a bit embarrassed, his face gradually turned red. "No, no, I still have a long way to go.."
Watching Hinata's embarrassed and indignant expression, Kita Shinsuke smiled.
Aran crossed his arms in front of him: "Just like a star. Why don't I get that kind of treatment?"
Miya Atsumu held up a single finger: "It's because you're hard to notice; once you leave the court, you and the color of your clothes blend together perfectly."
Aran refused to back down and retorted directly, "You're talking about me? Ever since Shoyo arrived, you haven't been the cheering squad's favorite player anymore, Atsumu!"
It was unclear who reached out to pat Hinata's head first, but soon, the two rows behind him who could reach him all stretched out their hands, rubbing Hinata's head one by one.
By the time Hinata escaped from the crowd's demonic claws, his hair, which Miya Atsumu had managed to style quite neatly this morning, had completely turned into a bird's nest.
Miya Atsumu rested one hand on the back of his chair. "You're quite popular, Shoyo."
Hinata, who was just about to complain to Miya Atsumu, quickly puffed out his chest and held his head high. "Of course! I'm the Ace!"
Unai couldn't help but chuckle. "Ace Hinata, you're truly super cool."
He turned to the side and handed his sketchbook to Hinata. "Pick one yourself, I'll give you an autograph."
The notebook was a mess, filled with sketches he had drawn—not just of Hinata, but also Miya Atsumu, Suna, others, even Goshiki Tsutomu from the opposing team.
“This one is so cool!!”
This one is also so cool!!
This one of Atsumu-ge is also way too handsome!
Akari is so cool too—Giant-senpai, your drawing skills are incredible!
Hinata's cheers were continuous, Unai felt a bit embarrassed by the praise.
Under Unai-senpai's gaze, Hinata, who had been struggling for a long time, looked up at him with a rather pitiful expression: "Really.. can I only pick one?"
He couldn't choose between them, as he felt every single one was incredibly handsome, especially the one of Miya Atsumu's serve.
"Then.. two for those?" Unai-senpai held up two fingers.
Hinata searched for his own coin purse: "I can pay the fee!"
He understood why Atsumu-ge always went to Suna-senpai to buy those photos of the two of them taken at those locations; such wonderful things.. they were certainly worth collecting.
Unai held up another finger. "No compensation needed, three photos—three at most."
The two stared at each other in a standoff for a while before Unai finally gave in: "I really can't, these are all the vacation assignments my teacher left for me.. I have to take some of them back to show him."
Hinata slumped dejectedly.
Kita Shinsuke found it amusing and took the initiative to say, "If Shoyo wants to go back and collect them for appreciation, he can take photos with a phone, or go with Unai-senpai to make copies in a little while."
Hinata's eyes lit up: "Kita Team! You are simply too smart!"
Long live Kita Team! Kita Team is the best!
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes, poking Hinata, who hadn't looked at him for ten minutes: "Shoyo, why aren't you asking me?"