He narrowed his eyes. "How does Shoyo plan to make it up to me with chicken wings today?"
Hinata patted the bed beside him, urging Miya Atsumu to come sleep: "I'll treat you to ten sets of chicken wings later, Atsumu-ge!"
Miya Atsumu let out a light laugh, turned off the light, walked toward him: "That won't do."
“I'm very greedy; this isn't enough.”
Shoyo, you need to compensate me even more, okay?
Hinata nodded: "Sure, you can have whatever you want, Atsumu-ge!"
Chapter 446: The 446th Fox
On the morning of the final day of the National Sports Festival, the third-place matches for both Men's Volleyball and Women's Volleyball concluded one after another. Kinranin won the Women's Volleyball third-place match, while Itachiyama took third place in Men's Volleyball.
Although Rakusan's players were in better condition individually, their starting Middle Blocker, Aoba Kureha, was unable to play due to illness, they ultimately failed to take a single set from Itachiyama.
Glancing at the time on his watch, Oikawa Tooru, clutching his script, followed Kito Yokan out of the Players' Tunnel and sat down at the newly constructed commentary desk on the side of the court.
In addition to the two special guests, there was also a veteran commentator, Yamamoto, at the commentary desk.
They had seen each other both yesterday and the day before, had engaged in simple conversation; the draft of the commentary they prepared for today had also been handed over to the other party for confirmation.
The finals received even more attention than the morning's third-place match. In addition to the official cameras set up around the court, various media outlets had their long lenses and heavy equipment stationed in the officially designated areas.
Among them, one or two cameras were filming the commentary booth directly, there were even Tachibana Red Falcons fans in the stands.
While the reporters were taking their positions and adjusting their equipment, Oikawa Tooru once again straightened his dark blue suit and pale yellow tie, raised his hand to check his hairstyle.
Great, today's look is almost perfect.
Kito, wearing a black suit and even a small vest, sat beside him, silently stuffing a cushion behind his chair.
To be honest.. he felt a little cold.
They were not there to play a match, so they naturally hadn't warmed up; however, the spectator stands were quite crowded, so the temperature was relatively comfortable.
But it was different by the court; it was truly cold here.
Kito rubbed his hands together under the table, Yamamoto, sitting next to him, handed him a hand warmer.
The moment Kito took the hand warmer, his eyes lit up.
As expected of a professional commentator, his equipment is truly comprehensive.
Kito glanced over at Oikawa Tooru, who was still checking the wrinkles in his clothes, did not share his hand warmer with him.
Young people are so full of energy; they don't seem to feel the cold at all..
The large side screen lit up, the camera panning across the stands, at that moment, the Karasuno cheerleaders and the Inarizaki cheerleaders, having received the signal, began their performance.
The Karasuno cheerleaders, who had traveled from afar yesterday, began their performance in the central aisle, the Inarizaki Brass Band Club also began to play.
The sound of wheels rolling across the floor echoed, Oikawa Tooru tilted his head slightly, seeing the Inarizaki members entering the arena while pushing a cart filled with volleyballs.
Before the microphone was even turned on, Oikawa Tooru pushed the headphones on the table a little further away and whispered to Kito, "This guy is still wearing a jacket over his uniform; he's trying way too hard.."
No matter how many times he saw it, he wanted to complain about Miya Atsumu.
Last year, that captain from Inarizaki was indeed very handsome while putting on his jacket, but Miya Atsumu gives off a completely different feeling.
It felt like.. he was doing it purely to look cool.
As if sensing something, Miya Atsumu, who had just pushed past the railing to enter the court, glanced at Oikawa Tooru, before turning his head to stick his tongue out disgustedly in a spot where the cameras couldn't see him.
Miya Osamu rolled his eyes and silently took a step, leaving him exposed to the side camera's range.
Miya Atsumu instantly became serious, coolly shaking off his jacket, received a burst of cheers from the Inarizaki members in the stands.
Behind him, Hinata cheered for Miya Atsumu while clapping, "So cool—"
Unabara Uta glanced at Hinata several times before turning to Rishia and saying, "He's definitely thinking that when he becomes captain, he'll do the exact same thing."
Rishia replied, "But when that time comes, we still have to support him."
Unabara Uta fell silent.
That was right; they could pretend not to notice Miya Atsumu acting cool, but if Hinata started acting cool, he would probably turn his head immediately to look at them and beg for praise..
The Karasuno members on the opposite side had also entered the court. Across the net, Hoshiumi Hikari gave a slight nod toward Hinata.
Hinata had a serious expression, looking back at the opponents with total concentration.
Today's match.. he definitely, definitely won't lose; the victors will surely be them.
For today's match, they have already made a perfect arrangement; next.. let it unfold step by step.
Go, go! Go! Inarizaki High School, win!!
Kita Shinsuke and Aran took their seats in the stands one after another, while at the commentary desk, Oikawa Tooru put on his headset with a microphone and sat upright in front of the panning camera.
【Next up is the Men's High School Finals for the Volleyball event of the 67th National Sports Festival.】
[The competing teams are Karasuno High School, representing Nagano Prefecture, Inarizaki High School, representing Hyogo Prefecture. Both teams are currently on the court warming up.]
Kito glanced down at his notes and said in a relaxed tone, "The two teams have one encounter this year, which was during the finals of this year's summer IH Tournament, where Karasuno defeated Inarizaki 3:2 to take the championship."
Yamamoto nodded: "That match was spectacular. I was also serving as a commentator on-site at the time, I still remember many of the details very clearly."
Glancing at Hoshiumi Hikari, who was warming up with serves on the court, Oikawa Tooru read the script emotionlessly: [Karasuno's tactical style is a type that suppresses opponents from all directions through the coordination of serves and blocking. Under the leadership of the current head coach, Coach Aran, this playstyle has been further developed and flourished in recent years.]
[With the continuous reinforcement of excellent players over these past few years, Karasuno's Iron Wall has already become the strongest level in high school volleyball at this stage.]
In yesterday's match, Itachiyama High School, featuring the now-widely-recognized strongest spiker Sakusa Kiyoomi, also suffered a crushing defeat under Karasuno's block, which speaks volumes about their terrifying strength.
Kito stole a glance at the emotionless reading machine before turning to say, "The core players of Karasuno right now are the Captain and blocking core, Number 1 Hirugami Yukio, the 2m giant Number 3 Hakuma Mebuki, the Number 4 Ace, the Little Giant Hoshiumi Hikari."
Among them, Hakuma and Hoshiumi are both excellent players who have already entered the selection process for the National Team's U20 youth team.
Yamamoto tossed aside his notes and chose to chat casually with these two professional players: "Speaking of the Little Giant, one of Karasuno's opponents in this tournament, Inarizaki, also has a Little Giant."
Oikawa Tooru also tossed aside his notes: "It's Shoyo.. no, it's Hinata Shoyo."
[In the registration records for this tournament, Hinata is arguably the shortest player besides the Libero. Yet, despite his height, he has left everyone else in the dust on the scoring rate leaderboard so far.]
Yamamoto nodded, using his gaze to encourage the slightly nervous Oikawa Tooru: [That's right. In yesterday's match against the Kyoto representative Rakusan High School, Hinata scored 22 points from 36 spikes, placing him at the top of the official tournament's excellent player selection.]
Actually, Oikawa Tooru, who wasn't nervous but was merely worried that he might accidentally let a verbal tic slip or start talking nonsense, gave a small smile: "Actually, on the day of the opening ceremony for this tournament, a reporter interviewed many of the players."
Kito was very curious: 【What kind of interview?】
Oikawa Tooru raised a finger and said in a light tone, "In the 'Spiker who wants to receive a set from him' poll, Hinata is also ranked at the very top."
Amatori Toru, sitting in the stands, nearly sprayed his drink everywhere. He had only taken out his headphones to listen to the broadcast commentary because he was bored during the warm-up period, only to hear Oikawa Tooru talking nonsense.
Amatori reached out and poked Inamoto in front of him. "That interview, about the spiker who wants to receive the most tosses, what did you say?"
Inamoto froze for a moment before replying, "Hinata, I feel like he can spike just about any ball."
Actually, if Kiryu-senpai hadn't graduated, he would have been my dream spiker!
Sakusa glanced at his own setter but said nothing.
Amatori was about to say something more when Oikawa Tooru's voice rang out in his headphones.
[By the way, among the players who are least willing to cooperate, Miya Atsumu is undoubtedly number one.]
Sitting beside him, Kito felt his vision go dark.
Fortunately, Yamamoto, on the other side, picked up on Oikawa Tooru's words: "Ah, it seems that interview didn't cover this. I recall that Miya Atsumu should be the player that players most want to avoid facing, right?"
As for cooperating.. after all, Miya Player is an exceptionally excellent Setter, he is very popular on the volleyball court.
A truly great setter is hard to come by. When I was younger, I definitely would have wanted to cooperate with you, Oikawa, Kito.
Kito breathed a sigh of relief: "You flatter me, Yamamoto-sensei."
He reached out and pinched Oikawa Tooru's elbow, signaling him to behave, used his eyes to urge him to pick up the manuscript.
Oikawa Tooru acted as if he hadn't noticed and continued, 【If we're talking about players selected for the U20 youth training, Inarizaki has more than Karasuno. In addition to Miya Atsumu and Hinata mentioned earlier, there is also their current third-year Middle Blocker, Suna, the number 6 player.】
This player's blocking style is known for being bizarre. I had the honor of facing him once, even thinking back on it now, I still find him difficult to deal with.
Hearing Oikawa Tooru finally get down to business, Kito was almost moved to tears. Following Oikawa Tooru's lead, he said, "But compared to his blocking, what Suna is more widely recognized for is his offensive ability. That method of spiking with such varying ball trajectories—no matter how many times you see it, it never fails to amaze."
Yamaguchi laughed. "Speaking of offensive techniques, we really have to mention that, don't we?"
Kito followed up: 【That one?】
Yamaguchi drew out his voice and said in an incredibly exaggerated tone, "That one from Inarizaki is truly dazzling. They say it's a Double Quick, or even a Triple Quick, that creates a kaleidoscopic illusion so confusing even a Middle Blocker can't keep up."
Kito responded seriously: "Oh, that's true. After seeing it, I feel like it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life."
I'm really looking forward to the day I can face that kind of offense, to test my own ability to handle a Quick Attack.
Oikawa Tooru, the only one among the three who had faced Inarizaki head-on, remarked, "That was absolutely disgusting."
Yamamoto continued, "Aside from the three players mentioned above, the core of this kind of Quick Attack also includes Miya Osamu, the twin brother of Miya Atsumu, who is Player Number 2.."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "Oh, we can see that both teams on the court have finished their warm-ups, the captains of both sides are drawing lots."
The draw is out, Karasuno will serve first.
Oikawa Tooru muttered under his breath, "Miya Atsumu's face is incredibly dark.."
Kito coughed lightly twice, when Oikawa Tooru looked over, he pointed to his headset.
This kid, if he's going to badmouth someone, he should at least cover his mouth with his hand.
Even if the match hasn't started yet, their words will still be recorded on the video!
Chapter 447: The 447th Fox
After confirming the starting lineups, both coaches handed over two copies of their completed rotation sheets to the Head Referee for verification.
During the final moments of pre-match preparation, the staff printed three copies from the photocopier near the commentary desk and handed them to the three commentators.
Taking a glance at the uninspired starting lineups of both sides, Oikawa Tooru gave a light, disdainful click of his tongue.
Kito, beside him, quickly coughed twice, attempting to save Oikawa's image in front of the national audience.