Coach Himegomiya tried to struggle a little more: "Don't be so stingy—"
Coach Kurosu paused his steps and turned his head to look at Himegomiya Satsuki.
Just as Himegomiya thought Coach Kurosu was finally going to share something with her, his voice drifted over: "I remember that Mingsha kid likes Atsumu very much, so how about I arrange for him and Atsumu to meet?"
Coach Himegomiya's vision went dark, then she immediately blurted out a lie, "What are you talking about? Our Aqing likes Oikawa!"
Hmm? Who? Does she like my junior?
Several coaches turned around and saw Yamamoto, Kito, Oikawa walking up together.
Coach Himegomiya fell silent.
A look of confusion crossed Oikawa Tooru's face; he had only heard his own name and wasn't actually sure what these famous coaches were discussing.
He watched Kito chatting with several coaches, but he did not join in.
Coach Irihatsu was actually quite familiar with Coach Kusubashi, whereas he had only had a few interactions with the Inarizaki coaches, the two coaches from Itachiyama were complete strangers to him.
So.. how did the topic get shifted to him?
Coach Himegomiya felt a flicker of guilt in her heart, she laughed it off. "It's nothing, it's nothing. Kito-kun, you guys go ahead."
Watching the commentators leave, Coach Kurosu couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You're quite interested in the rising stars of the professional circuit."
Although Oikawa Tooru is very famous in the V1, high school coaches generally don't pay specific attention to him, so Coach Himegomiya's slip of the tongue was somewhat unexpected even for her.
Coach Himegomiya said without a hint of embarrassment, "What's wrong with liking a handsome young Setter? I used to be an Ace when I was that age, okay?"
I'm serious, give me some secret techniques, I'll help you trick Huijia's kid.
Hearing this, Coach Kurosu stopped playing dumb: "It's a deal."
Watching the two coaches whispering something to each other, Coach Omimi silently took a step back.
For some reason, he felt that the dark aura emanating from the two of them was about to spread over to this side..
That's terrifying, Coach.
The Women's Volleyball match ended, with Shinzan Girls' High School defeating Kinranin 3:1, successfully defending their title and achieving the feat of eight consecutive National Sports Festival championships.
Hinata marveled, "That's incredible.."
Miya Atsumu, who had achieved three consecutive IH titles, cheered for Hinata: "Go for it, Shoyo! Try to get three consecutive National Sports Festival titles."
Hinata nodded vigorously. "Yes! I'll definitely do it!"
At the signal of the staff, the refreshed Inarizaki members walked back onto the court, prepared to receive their final awards.
The championship trophy and certificates were presented to Miya Atsumu, medals for the ultimate victors were hung around everyone's necks.
The person who had once presented Hinata with his first championship medal stood before him once again. Having already become well-acquainted with Coach Unabara, Hinata looked at him with eyes full of brightness.
Hanging the medal around Hinata's neck, Coach Unabara said, "It's a shame I couldn't watch your match in person, but I'll make sure to watch the recording later."
He was invited to be a guest at the adult division today and had no time to watch the matches here, so he only had the opportunity to attend the final awards ceremony.
Coach Unabara chuckled, "Congratulations on winning the championship again; your growth is beyond expectations."
Hinata's gaze was incredibly firm: "I will become stronger."
Unabara Uta shook hands with him: "I look forward to it."
With the team awards finished, it was time for the most prestigious individual awards of the tournament.
Coach Unabara, who was in charge of the awards ceremony, announced the contents of the certificate with a face full of smiles.
[MVP, Inarizaki High School No. 10, Hinata Shoyo.]
Meanwhile, Yamamoto, who had returned to the commentary booth, used the stadium's broadcasting system to introduce Hinata at that very moment.
[In this tournament, Hinata's spike scoring rate is among the highest, providing crucial support through multiple attacks, breaking through the opponent's defense head-on, forcing the opposing players to exhaust themselves with constant movement.]
[He stepped up at critical moments to stabilize the situation, while simultaneously controlling the overall tempo of the match through his quick attacks.]
[He is a well-deserved Ace, an unquestionable MVP!]
Applause erupted at this moment, the first to raise his hands was Hoshiumi.
This applause was like a signal that ignited the entire venue, with cheers and applause following closely behind, converging from all directions to surround the boy who stepped forward from the crowd, one step at a time.
Hoshiumi Hikari gazed silently at Hinata's back, his palms slightly flushed from the force of his clapping. The tears that had refused to fall from beginning to end unexpectedly soaked his eyes at this moment.
He sniffled, forcing himself to keep his emotions in check.
Hinata took the golden certificate from Unabara's hands with a silly grin, gave a nod to the Inarizaki members, then turned back to look at him.
Hoshiumi lowered his clapping hands, a faint smile on his face.
He had said it—that one day, Hinata would be able to take this MVP award away from Miya Atsumu.
The President of the Volleyball Association also shook hands with Hinata, the kind old man's face full of admiration for Hinata: "Congratulations. I also look forward to seeing your active presence at Haruko."
Hinata nodded vigorously: "I will!"
After taking a group photo with the award ceremony guests, Hinata walked back with his certificate.
He had a silly grin plastered across his face, looking so happy he felt like he could fly to the sky.
【MVP, Shinzan Girls' High School Number 4, Amari Yuka.】
Applause erupted once again as the Women's Volleyball Ace and MVP stepped up to receive her award.
Hinata looked down at his certificate, feeling as if he were dreaming in a daze.
[Best Setter/Opposite, Inarizaki High School #10, Hinata Shoyo.]
Unabara raised his hands to clap, but felt as if something was wrong.
He turned to look at Hinata, who was still smiling foolishly, nudged him with an elbow. "Go on, go on, it's you."
“Huh? Ah!” Hinata finally reacted, walking forward with his arms and legs moving in sync.
After taking two steps, he turned back and looked toward Miya Atsumu.
Understanding his meaning, Miya Atsumu decisively handed the championship trophy and certificate to Miya Osamu, while he himself took the previous MVP certificate from Hinata.
Just like.. when Hinata had helped him get it before.
Hinata stepped forward once again and received the most enthusiastic applause from the crowd. Unlike the tension and excitement from just moments ago, he had regained his composure, his expression turning somewhat serious as he solemnly completed the photo session.
Hinata returned holding his second certificate and stood by Unabara's side once again.
As expected, the Best Setter award went to Miya Atsumu, while the Best Bian Gong went to Hoshiumi Hikari. In the competition for Best Middle Blocker, Suna won by a narrow margin, snatching the award from Hirugami.
And as Coach Kurosu had predicted, the final Best Libero award went to Unabara Uta.
Although Unabara Uta's strength might not be as great as the others, his direct stats in the Finals were very impressive.
Komori of the third-place team was heavily suppressed by Karasuno in yesterday's match; the high frequency of his diving saves led to his subsequent performance being unsatisfactory, causing him to lose many points.
Unabara Uta was full of pride after winning this award, repeatedly showing it off to Kumagai, Rishia, the others.
On the other side, Miya Atsumu tossed his Best Setter award to Miya Osamu instead, freeing his hands to embrace the Best Player, Hinata.
Miya Osamu's mouth twitched, but in the end, he said nothing.
There are so many Best Setters now that it's not even worth looking at anymore, right?
Chapter 459: The 459th Fox
In the stands, Bokuto wiped his face with tears and snot streaming down: "Waaaaah—I'm so moved!"
Considering Shimizu's headband, Shiratori suppressed the urge to cry and instead rummaged through a snack bag for a long time before stuffing a pack of tissues into Bokuto's hands: "Wipe it quickly, your snot is going to get on Kanata's headband.."
He stopped looking at Bokuto and instead focused all his attention on the Inarizaki members, who were currently taking a group photo with the Organizing Committee on the court.
To be honest, as someone who once witnessed Hinata win his first championship, I feel something truly special at this moment.
Inarizaki's progress is visible to the naked eye; whether it is the players' quality or the overall tactical coordination, they are much more mature than in the past.
Right now.. he is looking forward to the day Miya Atsumu enters the professional ranks more than anything, he is equally looking forward to the day Hinata arrives at Central Physical Education University.
He would definitely.. be very happy.
The phone in his pocket vibrated. Shirabu took a look and found it was Shimizu, who had already arrived at S~ao Paulo International Airport.
Shimizu and the others have to travel through S~ao Paulo to get to Rio de Janeiro, since there are still one or two days before the summer training in the Southern Hemisphere begins, they also need to adjust to the time difference.
Seeing Shiratori typing, Bokuto leaned over: "Shimizu?"
Shiratori relayed, "Yeah, Kanata said he's planning to visit the Brazilian section of Iguazu Falls tomorrow. Once the training cycle and match schedule here in Brazil are all finished, he'll head to Buenos Aires. When the time comes, he'll also go see the Argentine section of Iguazu Falls.."
Bokuto, still with a runny nose, didn't react for a moment, answering blankly, "Huh? What melon? What Buenos.."
Shiratori automatically ignored Bokuto's words, picked up his bag, stood up first: "Let's go, let's go see Shoyo and the others."
Bokuto stood up after him, saying, "Yeah!"
After putting his sports jacket back on, Hinata held his MVP certificate high, his face covered in a silly grin. "Hehehe—MVP! It's mine now!"
He turned to look at Miya Atsumu, a smug expression on his face: "Atsumu-ge, you won't have the chance to win this award again before you graduate, because Haruko will be mine too!"
Miya Atsumu held his hands in front of him, his back carrying a pack bulging with other certificates and medals belonging to him and Hinata.
He raised his chin slightly, a hint of a smile in his eyes as he looked at Hinata. "That remains to be seen."
Hinata let out a small chuckle and took two quick steps forward toward Coach Kurosu, who seemed to be messaging someone.
He poked his head forward and asked, "Coach, Coach, will there be interviews after the commentary for this tournament? Can I have a solo front-page cover?"
Coach Kurosu replied with a smile, "The interview for this time will take place tomorrow morning. If you want a solo feature, you can discuss it with the reporters, but since you're the MVP this time, you'll likely have one."
Hinata cheered, "Alright!"
Turning to look at the group following behind, Coach Kurosu stopped in his tracks: "I'm taking Shoyo to sign some recommendation papers, you all head back with Omimi."
Miya Atsumu's ears perked up instantly: "Recommended admission? What recommended admission?"
Coach Kurosu explained, "It's a recommendation agreement from Central Physical Education University. It won't be long, if you want to go, Atsumu, you can come with us."
Atsumu replied without a second thought, "Then I'm going."
Then let's go.