Oikawa Tooru stood with one hand on his hip, quietly watching the two of them.
Before the star players could draw the entire crowd's attention, Miya Atsumu and Hinata silently withdrew their hands and sat properly to meet Oikawa Tooru's gaze.
Extremely dissatisfied, Miya Atsumu said, "How pitiful, Oikawa-senpai, you're starting to sit on the bench."
The spotlights in the arena were focused only on the court, leaving the surrounding spectator stands and the waiting area in shadow, making it difficult to attract the attention of the media.
Behind them, some fans of Tachibana Red Falcons did spot Oikawa Tooru, but their attention was quickly drawn back to the match itself. They didn't care what Oikawa Tooru was specifically doing there and merely offered a small-scale cheer. After all, the first row was filled with chairs for the waiting area, there were other substitutes present. Besides.. any formal cheering and applause should belong to the match itself.
Oikawa Tooru glanced at the billboards around him and gave a slight tilt of his chin toward Miya Atsumu. "Do I need to remind you? The bag you're carrying is a product I'm currently endorsing."
The implication was that, as a favorite of the Tachibana Red Falcons' sponsors, he had a minimum required appearance frequency for this season. Kito was merely practicing through rehabilitation, while the core starting setter for the Tachibana Red Falcons was him.
Miya Atsumu froze for a moment. He had been carrying this sports backpack for over three years, when did it become Oikawa's—
In a daze, he remembered the news he had seen while scrolling through the news earlier: the brand ambassador for all of Mizuno's product lines in Japan this year was none other than Oikawa Tooru.
And his old bag, with its logo already half-worn away, was a Mizuno product from back then.
As an international brand, Mizuno wouldn't change anything just because Oikawa Tooru left Tachibana Red Falcons for CA San Juan; this contract was signed with Oikawa personally, it seems it will continue until the summer two years from now.
Miya Atsumu instantly felt that his bag was becoming uncomfortable to carry; he had used this bag for a long time, it was time to get a new one.
Moreover, he felt that Hinata's knee pads weren't stylish enough right now. He had been looking at Asics' new products for a long time; perhaps he should get a pair of knee pads for Hinata as well..
"Oikawa-senpai is too amazing!" Hinata exclaimed in shock. He didn't know much about other things, but he did know the brands of the protective gear he used every day, the arm sleeves Atsumu had given him before were also from that brand.
Oikawa Tooru smiled at Hinata. "Of course. Is there anything you're lacking, Shoyo-kun? I can ask the brand to let you try out some new products; all you have to do is provide a review later."
Hinata's eyes widened. "Eh? You can do that?"
He rubbed his chin, thinking seriously for a moment, before turning to say, "But I don't think I need much. Atsumu-ge and Coach have already provided me with all the protective gear I need, I have more volleyballs than I can use. As for shoes, I mostly wear Asics, there's still a pair that Atsumu-ge gave me that I haven't even had a chance to wear yet.."
Miya Atsumu stood with his chest out and head held high, constantly asserting his presence.
That's right, even the gear the coach bought was actually chosen by him! Even the white sweatshirt set Hinata is wearing right now was personally selected by him! It's from the same series as the black one he's wearing!
Oikawa Tooru completely ignored Miya Atsumu and said with a laugh, "Then I'll send you a badminton racket later."
Now it was Hinata's turn to be confused: "Huh?"
Oikawa shrugged. "It was a graduation gift from Coach Kosano, but I have no use for it and can't take it abroad. Since you are her star pupil, I'll give it to you instead."
Ever since he found out that he was planning to go abroad, Coach Kosano had been coming by every few days to drop hints about him changing his specialty, gilding his own reputation and that of 羽球 (badminton) while simultaneously taking a jab at Coach Unabara.
Miya Atsumu spoke up softly, "Are you sure Shoyo won't receive one when he graduates too?"
Oikawa Tooru fell silent.
Well, he felt the probability of this was almost one hundred percent, there was even a possibility that an extra bucket of shuttlecocks would be added.
He refused to think about it and instead said, "Never mind, I'll send it to you, you can handle it yourself."
Moreover, he felt that instead of having Hinata play doubles with him, Coach Kosano thought Hinata was better suited for the high jump—maybe he'd even hand Hinata a crossbar when the time came.
Oikawa waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over Miya Atsumu with a hint of disdain. "That's enough. This venue is crawling with fans and media. You two better behave; I don't want to see the front-page headline of Volleyball Weekly in a couple of days being the two of you."
He was in top form today; he wanted to see his serve become the headline, not some high schooler's gossip.
Hinata sat up straight and said, "Yes! No problem!"
The whistle blew on the court, Aran scored a point by tooling the block.
I'm so moved, Aran can even perform such a beautiful tooling the block now—
Miya Atsumu wiped away non-existent tears: "As expected of someone who studied and learned together with Shoyo-kun. After Shoyo's thoughtful guidance, Aran's progress has been immense as well. It's just a pity it's a bit late."
Hinata raised a hand and pointed to himself: "D-does this have anything to do with me?"
The technique of tooling the block was a skill he first gained from the experience he observed in Hoshiumi and the others, he gradually mastered it after communicating with Hoshiumi later on.
Although Aran did come to ask him questions about this, he only shared some experience and didn't involve himself in teaching it at all! In fact, it was clearly Aran who taught him more!
But Miya Atsumu didn't care; Miya Atsumu was still lost in thought.
The notification for a substitution followed immediately, with Oikawa Tooru replacing Kito.
Hinata's attention was instantly drawn back to the match: "Is Oikawa-senpai coming on as the server to score the crucial points?"
He remembered Miya Atsumu had told him before that Kito-senpai usually played a full set, occasionally two.
The first set hasn't even finished halfway through yet; Kito-senpai shouldn't be coming off, right?
Watching Kito-senpai leave the court after saying something to the coach, then walk toward the waiting area seats in front of them carrying a small blanket, Miya Atsumu shook his head slightly. "I'm afraid not. Kito-senpai might only play until this point today."
Hinata almost stood up, but realizing he was in the front row, he asked cautiously, "Huh? Why? Did something happen?"
Noticing the two of them, Kito specifically chose a seat in front of them, wrapped himself in a blanket, leaned over to say, "The weather has been getting quite cold lately."
My lower back doesn't hold up well in the cold, my muscles are a bit stiff today, so I can't play anymore.
Hinata looked at Kito with eyes full of worry: "I see.."
He said in a very serious tone, "Senpai, you need to take good care of your body."
Kito smiled and said in a lighthearted tone, "Of course, you two as well."
He feared that the last Olympic Games he could play as a starter would be this one, the 16th, after that, the world would belong to Miya Atsumu, Hinata, the others.
Although I don't know if he will have the chance to hold down a position in the team as a veteran by then, but.. he is looking forward even more to the day when these seedlings shine brilliantly in the future.
When he got injured before, it drove Coach Blanco half to death with anger.
He even rushed to the Volleyball Association building to argue with Masato Kishimoto, the current head coach of the Men's National Team, questioning why he continued to play him despite knowing his condition was poor, which ultimately led to the injury.
Even though he knew Coach Masato Kishimoto was at fault, he also knew that the other party actually lacked coaching ability.
But.. he also knew it was a choice without any other choice.
Under him, no excellent successor for the setter position had appeared for several years; at that time, aside from letting him continue playing, they had almost no other choice.
He was very lonely while walking this path.
He didn't know how much longer he would have to keep playing with this body. The burden on his shoulders was too heavy, he had no time to properly recover. The back-to-back high-intensity matches had completely crushed the spirit he once had as Asia's best rookie, the uncertain future even made it hard for him to breathe.
At that time, the best setter he could see in his field of vision was Iizuna, who was still in the Junior High division.
But even Iizuna didn't actually have enough capability to take on the burden he carried.
But now.. he could truly breathe a sigh of relief.
More and more excellent players have emerged over these few years; many players who were unknown and had not yet made a name for themselves in Junior High have successively demonstrated their talents in high school.
The volleyball world, which had once been as stagnant as dead water, has become lively again with the infusion of fresh blood over these past two years.
At this moment, he was finally able to be "quiet"..
He loves volleyball even more than before.
Watching the Tachibana Red Falcons, who remained dominant on the court, Kito smiled with unusual tenderness.
The colors of the court were reflected in his eyes, the sound of soles frictionally scraping against the floor was so pleasant to his ears.
If things continue like this, he will surely be able to play volleyball until he's eighty.
After Oikawa Tooru took the court, the Tachibana Red Falcons' playstyle did not undergo any changes.
The two generations of disciples brought up by Coach Blanco—Kito and Oikawa Tooru—have highly similar playing styles. Furthermore, compared to Kito, the younger and healthier Oikawa is even better able to adapt to the high energy of Aran and the others.
Compared to the already highly mature system of the Tachibana Red Falcons, the Azure Rockets, who were still in a stage of coordination and exploring a new system with Kiryu as their core, seemed exceptionally unrefined.
The final score settled at Tachibana Red Falcons 3:1 Azure Rockets, with Tachibana securing the victory.
After the players bowed to the crowd, the match was declared over, the remaining time was dedicated to interacting with the spectators.
Hinata pulled out the autograph book he had prepared in advance and leaned against the railing by the side of the volleyball court, looking expectantly at Kiryu as he walked over.
Kiryu-senpai! That was an amazing match! That final strong attack from the back row was absolutely incredible!
Kiryu took the notebook and, as if signing for every fan, wrote his name in Unai Aman's notebook: "But unfortunately, it was blocked. I should have adjusted my spiking angle."
Similarly, Wakamura walked over and raised an eyebrow: "What are you talking about? You still want to adjust that ball? I didn't even give the setter the ball."
Try to think about something a bit more practical. Instead of wondering why that spike wasn't executed properly, you'd be better off thinking about our coordination during the first receive.
Ichimura-senpai hasn't been in great form lately, so the wing attackers need to put more work into their receiving.
Kiryu handed the notebook to Wakamura and nodded, saying, "Then I'll go back and practice my first receive more as well."
Wakamura was very gratified: "That's the spirit. The problem is caused by many factors, so don't just fixate on spiking."
After signing Hinata's autograph, Wakamura raised his pen and pointed toward the court. "Whose else do you want? I'll go help you ask for it."
Relying on the fact that he was somewhat acquainted with the two seniors, Hinata said shamelessly, "All of them!"
Kiryu took the notebook and turned away with Hinata's pen to ask for autographs.
Hinata pulled the Kobe beef plushie—a specialty from Hyogo that he had prepared earlier—out of his pocket. He was just about to hand it to Kiryu and the other, only to find that Kiryu had already walked away.
He blinked, finally handed both of them to Wakamura: "These are gifts for Wakamura-senpai and Kiryu-senpai!"
On the other side, a long line had already formed in front of Oikawa Tooru, many of the spectators in the front rows were prepared to ask him for autographs.
However, the time after the match was so short that not everyone was able to get an autograph.
After going around for signatures, Kiryu-senpai returned with the notebook and handed it to Hinata: "The ones for our Azure Rockets and the Tachibana Red Falcons are all in here."
Hearing that Kiryu-senpai had even helped get the ones for the Tachibana Red Falcons, Hinata's eyes lit up.
He raised the magazine and cheered loudly, "Thank you, Kiryu-senpai!"
Kiryu gave a shy smile. "It's my duty. Thank you all for coming to support us."
—Even though the two were in the spectator seats on the Tachibana side, they had indeed been cheering for him throughout the entire match.
Hinata puffed out his chest and said, "Heh, just doing my duty!"
Miya Atsumu, who had already taken the notebook, flipped through it, his expression turned incredibly dark.
You have to realize, he had only signed one name in this notebook, but including the one he tore out before, Oikawa Tooru had already signed three!
How could Oikawa-senpai be so shameless!
When Wakamura-senpai just cut in line, Oikawa-senpai actually signed for him! Does he have any professional ethics as a star player? There are so many fans waiting behind them!
How could he have the nerve!
Miya Atsumu expressed his disagreement; he was going to draw a rainbow.