Hinata said earnestly, "Because I want to hear the seniors praise me."
Although there were mistakes, he felt that his overall performance was quite good, he should receive some praise.
Miya Atsumu fell silent.
Even though he felt an inexplicable sense of irritation at the sound of Oikawa's voice, but.. since Shoyo wanted to listen, he could endure it.
Oikawa's introduction of Hinata was much more normal, his attitude was even more enthusiastic.
Feeling this extremely obvious preferential treatment, Miya Atsumu's expression became even more distorted.
Fortunately, Yamamoto and Kito's professional abilities were very strong; their analysis of the match situation was extremely precise, they pointed out many angles he had not considered.
From a third-party perspective, there were indeed many aspects of their playstyle that could be improved.
If.. it would have been even better without Oikawa.
“What do you mean my serve is no good! Isn't a Jump Float Serve a perfectly valid way to disrupt the opponent's rhythm! Why don't you consider the subsequent matches!" Miya Atsumu went crazy.
“Who else is a muscle-bound gorilla like him? His serve isn't delicate at all! Wasn't it Oikawa-senpai who completely prioritized power over precision before? He actually has the nerve to talk about me!”
Hinata chose to stand on Miya Atsumu's side, acting as his hype man: "Atsumu-senpai's serve is amazing, Oikawa-senpai is amazing too, but this time Oikawa-senpai really was being subjective!"
By the time the two of them finished watching the four-set match, it was already past eight o'clock.
Miya Atsumu, who hadn't been feeling particularly energetic before, was now completely sobered up by rage. He gripped the bottle in his hand resentfully, staring at the projected image without saying a word.
Watching Miya Atsumu's back, which looked as angry as a pufferfish, Hinata, who had been praised throughout the entire set, silently retracted his bared teeth.
He hugged Miya Atsumu from behind, peeking over his shoulder to comfort him. "Don't be mad, Atsumu-ge, it's Oikawa-senpai's fault! Everyone else was praising you!"
“And.. Atsumu-ge is the best Setter in the nation, while no one else is.”
“Atsumu-ge is the best!”
Miya Atsumu was satisfied. He turned around and hugged Hinata, beginning to play the victim: "They're all bullying me, Shoyo—"
Hinata slapped his chest with a loud thud. "Don't worry, Atsumu-ge, I'll always be by your side no matter what!"
Atsumu said with certainty, "Shoyo, you're the best."
After noting down the problems that appeared during this match and the new ideas they could lead to in his notebook, Miya Atsumu crawled into bed, still fuming.
It was decided; he was going to cheer for the Azure Rockets this weekend. As for Tachibana Red Falcons.. they were already his most hated team.
Aran will understand his decision!
Early the next morning, the Inarizaki members stood in a line in the hallway of the Itachiyama rooms, preparing to face Coach Mikail's judgment.
Listening to the wailing coming from inside the door, Miya Atsumu's mind went blank.
It wasn't for any other reason, but because he had already fainted from the pain.
The schedule for this match was not very well-planned, as it even took up three days of class time.
Considering that Kumagai still needed to go back for extra lessons, Coach Kurosu and the others had a very tight schedule. They tried to finish everything here as quickly as possible to send Kumagai back to find his teacher for tutoring.
After hurrying to finish up the interview matters, the Inarizaki members departed in a rush, leaving only Miya Atsumu Hinata, Unabara Uta, Imai.
Glancing at Imai's profile, Unabara Uta asked a very, very serious question: "Didn't you say you weren't going to Shibuya? Aren't you going back with the Coach and the others?"
Imai shook his phone. "I was originally planning to go to Osaka, but after thinking about it.. this is a rare opportunity, so we should stay in Tokyo. I want to go see Tokyo Tower."
Unabara Uta nodded. "That works too. We have these few days off anyway."
Imai's grades have always been good, but in the advanced classes, she is only in the upper-middle tier, unlike Kumagai, who aims to challenge Todai.
Her deviation score was very high. Although her temporary goal was set for Kyoto University, since her deviation score was consistently above the requirements from previous years, missing these few days of classes wouldn't make much of a difference, given that she was capable of handling both East and West.
"Then, are you going back to participate in the School Festival the day after tomorrow?" Unabara Uta asked.
“I heard there's a traditional bonfire party tonight, we can go dancing.”
Imai froze for a moment, then turned her head to look at Unabara Uta, saying with a serious expression, "Don't you think that over the last few years, there's basically no one left dancing at the bonfire parties?"
"Huh?" Unabara Uta didn't understand.
She asked earnestly, "I remember that during last year's School Festival, only a few pairs of Third Years went up to dance. Think about that one time a long, long time ago when we watched that anime together and critiqued it—"
Unabara Uta finally remembered the thing he had discussed with Imai before.
[—Dancing at the School Festival bonfire seems to have become a mandatory staple for defying-the-heavens romance anime.]
After recalling a series of protagonists that he would never forget for the rest of his life, Unabara Uta shook his head repeatedly. "Forget it, forget it, we're not going."
He quickly began to make new plans: "I think Osaka would be good, or maybe Kyoto?"
Imai chuckled, revealing his true purpose: "How about we just go to Shibuya instead?"
Unabara Uta's expression turned horrified: "No, no, no, that absolutely won't do—if I disturb Atsumu-senpai, I'll be dead!!"
And besides.. haven't the spots for the Sky Observation Deck already been given out?
Halloween events aren't just held in Shibuya; they could go to events in Kyoto or Osaka!
Imai held up a finger: "Don't worry, the two of us will wear such exaggerated makeup that I guarantee even Atsumu-senpai won't recognize the two of us even when we're face-to-face."
Besides, there are so many people, we won't necessarily run into them. It's not like we have to go to the Sky Observation Deck; there are so many shopping malls and stores over there, even just joining the crowds would be fun.
Seeing Unabara Uta begin to waver, Imai brought out her practically unused coquetry: "I haven't even had a chance to properly enjoy Tokyo yet—"
Unabara Uta surrendered in a second: "Go, go, go!"
Imai cheered, "Yay!"
Just at that moment, the reporters, who had already completed all their interview tasks, emerged from the corridor on Karasuno's side, passing right by them.
The photographer expressed doubt: "It feels like.. the Inarizaki players aren't in very good spirits, whereas the Karasuno side is full of energy."
The reporter also expressed confusion: "I find it strange too. Shouldn't the champions, Inarizaki, be a bit happier? Their Little Giant hadn't even finished wiping away his tears when he walked in."
It's as if.. they've just been tormented by something terrifying.
The photographer agreed, "Fortunately, there's no need for photos this time; there's enough footage from the match.."
Unabara Uta shrugged her shoulders, not daring to speak.
Oh no, the pain that I had just managed to ignore was surging back once again.
Coach Mikail was way too ruthless—
Hinata was lying on the bed like a corpse.
Miya Atsumu expressed that he felt the same.
The entire room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the two of them felt none of the joy that usually comes with the start of a vacation.
Miya Atsumu stared at the ceiling, his soul having already left his body.
As the two people who had suffered the most physical exhaustion, they became the targets of Coach Mikail's special attention; whether it was muscle rolling or gua sha.. neither of them escaped.
He wanted to praise himself for being so incredible for managing to finish the entire interview.
At that moment, Hinata sitting beside him suddenly sat up, raised his hands, shouted, "Resurrection—"
Miya Atsumu grabbed him and pulled him back: "No, die for a little while longer."
There were still forty minutes until the check-out time this morning, since the two of them didn't have many belongings, they could lie down for a little while longer.
After receiving physical therapy, Hinata felt much lighter and didn't listen to Miya Atsumu, instead jumping off the bed to start packing his things.
“Atsumu-ge, are you going to wear casual clothes or our sports uniform in a bit?”
Casual clothes.
Atsumu-ge, where did you put your toothbrush?
Inside the cabinet behind the mirror.
Atsumu-ge, you rolled halfway around and stepped on my jacket.
..
Miya Atsumu felt that his status as a caring boyfriend was being challenged.
Miya Atsumu decided to resurrect.
Miya Atsumu's resurrection failed.
"Mission accomplished!" Looking at the two packed backpacks, Hinata clapped his hands with a sense of achievement and stood by the bed with his hands on his hips.
He looked at the lying-flat Miya Atsumu and said, "Atsumu-ge, there are still ten minutes until check-out time."
Miya Atsumu was forced back to life.
You have to know that the reimbursement for Inarizaki's accommodation is only valid until today.
If they checked out late, they would have to pay for an extra day's accommodation, the price wouldn't be the same as before; they would have to pay the difference out of their own pockets.
Rushing down the stairs in a hurry to check out, the two of them completed the procedures in the very last minute of the deadline.
Miya Atsumu pulled out his phone and started the navigation: "Let's go, to the hotel near Shwaiden Adler."
Hinata stated his request: "Can we go to the shop that sells tablets first? I want to take a look."
Atsumu decisively changed the itinerary: "Sure, let me see where around here.."
The certificates and medals had already been entrusted to Coach Kurosu to take back. The two of them only had volleyball shoes and a change of clothes in their bags, so they weren't heavy and weren't a hindrance to carry.
Hinata pulled out his coin purse and took a look.
Because he needed to receive the prize money from the competition, he had his own bank card.
Moreover, Kenma helped him register an online account, the returns from his financial investments are deposited there regularly, with Kenma withdrawing the new funds to start the next round of investment plans only after consulting him.
But his money definitely wasn't enough right now, so this trip was just to check out the styles and colors offline, taking some photos so Xiaoxia could choose for herself. Compared to the shops in Amagasaki, Tokyo would definitely have a wider variety of offline styles.
Atsumu had previously said that some new models with limited colors would need to be purchased online and delivered to his home via mail.
Miya Atsumu had already mapped out the route: "Alright, it's not that far. We'll take the subway now; Shoyo, just follow me."
Hinata nodded. "Okay!"
The two of them didn't spend much time shopping, with the clerk's thoughtful guidance, Hinata had basically decided which style he wanted to buy.
Looking at the keypad phone in Hinata's hands, Miya Atsumu rubbed his chin.
Actually, he really wanted to get Hinata a smartphone, but considering they were both still students, he figured Hinata wouldn't accept it.