Hinata was the first to stand up. "Let's go, let's go, let's go! Let's head out!"
The place Imai pointed to was located between two shopping malls not far away; it was a dedicated entertainment center, with many claw machines on the first floor and a specialized area for card games.
Watching a crowd of people wearing strange masks and shouting things like "My turn, draw a card," Hinata felt it was quite novel.
Seeing Imai and Unabara Uta come in dressed in obvious Egyptian-style costumes, some people even approached them, carrying decorations shaped like the Eye of Horus, asking for photos.
However, their goal was the second floor, where all the various shooting ranges were located.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Miya Atsumu noticed the poster on the wall—the Omnipotent Peak Challenge.
For today's event only, the registration fee is five hundred yuan per person. It combines three disciplines: darts, archery, air rifle. Each discipline has a corresponding target score, reaching the highest tier in all three will qualify you for the ultimate Finals. The top prize for the Finals is a newly released i Phone 6.
On the other side, there was a scrolling LED screen displaying the names of the eight contestants who had currently made it to the Finals, along with their scores for each category; remarkably, all of them were close to a perfect score. The venue for the Finals would be different from that of the Inarizaki Regional Qualifiers, the target distance and difficulty would also differ, so there might not be as many near-perfect scores at that time.
Miya Atsumu's eyes lit up the moment he saw the prizes.
The registration fee was only the price of two cans of soda; they had come here to have fun anyway, so participating in a match along the way wasn't out of the question.
Because the prizes are extremely generous, people are still signing up for the competition, which has been running since this morning.
The deadline for the First Match is 8:00 PM, the final winner will be decided before 9:00 PM.
Atsumu pulled Hinata, who was still watching the nearby darts competition, over to register. "Hello, we'd like to sign up, the two of us."
Unabara Uta steeled herself and signed up as well: "Hello, we'd like to sign up too."
Aran didn't sign up, instead preparing to watch the excitement unfold throughout the entire process.
After a quick registration, the group followed the crowd toward the venue for the first event.
The first event was darts, using a five-meter target.
Watching the contestants throwing darts ahead, Hinata looked up and asked Miya Atsumu, "Where am I supposed to throw this?"
That target was all colorful and didn't seem as easy to understand as the Kyudo Club's targets.
Miya Atsumu, who had already used his phone to quickly search for the rules and throwing key points, replied, "The red area in the ring outside the center point is the Score area."
Hinata clenched his fists. "I completely understand!"
He is very good at snowball fights! Throwing darts should be no problem either.. right!
Miya Atsumu, who was ranked first among them to throw, rolled up his long sleeves and took three darts from a nearby staff member.
The rules of this test stipulated that they only had three throwing opportunities, they could not score repeatedly in the same area by sticking a subsequent dart into the tail of a previous one.
This last one was clearly added later; some formidable guy must have pulled a stunt during the morning session.
Miya Atsumu raised his hand to aim at the target in the distance.
Five meters might not seem far, but because the target itself was so small, it was already difficult to clearly see the highest scoring area from this distance.
In short.. I'll just go with my gut. As High School's Best Setter, he has a lot of trust in his own intuition!
Atsumu threw the first dart without hesitation.
In the next second, a massive 0 appeared on the scoreboard on this side of the table.
Missed the target.
Aran laughed quite bluntly, "Pfft."
He held up his phone and took a photo of that giant egg, then sent it to Oikawa Tooru and Suna.
Miya Atsumu rolled up his sleeves even higher: "Again! Two more!"
That was just a mistake; he already knows where he should set it, there definitely won't be any problems this time!
Hinata cheered for Miya Atsumu: "Go Atsumu-ge! Atsumu-ge is the best!"
Atsumu's hands were very steady; he knew that he definitely had an advantage in this kind of event. That was just a mistake just now! Hinata believed in Atsumu!
The second dart was also thrown by Miya Atsumu; this time it didn't miss the target, but..
It struck the very edge of the target with precision, but it didn't stay lodged there and fell straight to the ground immediately after.
Aran laughed so hard he couldn't close his mouth: "Hahahaha—Atsumu, can you even do this!"
Miya Atsumu's competitive drive flared up: "Again!"
He refused to believe it! A mere target! He wouldn't miss it!
The staff member beside him glanced at Miya Atsumu, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Their scoring is cumulative, meaning the sum of the three darts counts as the total score, Miya Atsumu had already scored two zeros.
But he had grown accustomed to such scenes by today. There were so many people here in Shibuya today, the event was being held with great enthusiasm; of course, many people who had never even touched this kind of sport, like Miya Atsumu, had come to sign up and participate.
You have to understand that the Finals feature a ten-meter target; in that situation, you can't actually rely on aiming alone; it relies much more on the player's own trained muscle memory to simply throw the dart.
Miya Atsumu took a deep breath, preparing for his final throw.
At that moment, Oikawa Tooru, who had been summoned downstairs by a message from Aran, also stepped out of the elevator.
With a whoosh, the third dart flew out.
Immediately after, another round number appeared on the scoreboard next to the table.
0。
This time, it didn't miss the target or fall to the ground, but.. it hit someone else's target next door.
Oikawa, who had witnessed the whole thing, laughed so hard he was slapping his own thigh: "Hahahahaha—what on earth was that! Hahahahaha—Miya Atsumu, you're hopeless!"
Defeated, Miya Atsumu turned his head and met Oikawa Tooru's eyes.. which were covered by a pair of rainbow-colored polarized sunglasses.
Atsumu's vision went black.
Damn Aran, are they even best childhood friends anymore! How could he betray him!
Oikawa Tooru, who had styled his hair into a slicked-back look, wore sunglasses and a suit, looking like he was cosplaying The Matrix, expressing that his trip was not in vain.
He rushed over and signed himself up as well, standing in line to prepare for his own performance.
Miya Atsumu left dejectedly, giving Hinata the space to perform.
He crossed his arms over his chest, staring at Oikawa Tooru at the end of the line, cursing Oikawa Tooru viciously to score a zero as well.
With Miya Atsumu's extraordinary performance serving as a "shining example," Hinata's psychological pressure eased significantly; although he missed the target twice, at least he managed to score on his final attempt.
He even.. got incredibly lucky and hit the red Score zone.
Hinata raised his hands and cheered, "We won!"
On the other side, Unabara Uta and Imai in the queue each only had one missed shot, but their two effective scores combined were still not as high as Hinata's single successful shot.
Oikawa Tooru walked forward with a smug expression, prepared to begin his performance.
The first throw missed the target.
Miya Atsumu laughed.
The second throw hit the white zone.
Miya Atsumu stopped smiling.
On the third throw, Oikawa Tooru hit the dark green area beautifully.
Miya Atsumu left.
When Oikawa Tooru turned his head smugly to look at Miya Atsumu, he was shocked to find that Miya Atsumu and Hinata had already moved to the archery area behind them.
Oikawa Tooru walked up to Aran's side and gossiped about Miya Atsumu, "That guy is such a sore loser."
Aran said seriously, "In a sense, Atsumu actually won."
Oikawa Tooru was just one person among many, but.. Miya Atsumu's one-of-a-kind zero-score performance was so remarkable that even the shop owner came over to take a look at him.
After all, even if he was a bit clumsy at darts, Miya Atsumu's beauty today was beyond doubt.
Can't you see that the shopkeeper is already itching to find Miya Atsumu to take some promotional photos for the shop?
Oikawa Tooru, who was trying his best to keep a low profile, gave a light click of his tongue and said very indignantly, "That guy only acts tough in small places like this; I've already been featured in fashion magazines."
“And his current endorsements are zero too!”
Aran's mouth twitched upon hearing Oikawa Tooru seriously compare commercial success with a high school student.
No, he couldn't just start roasting people so casually today. He had a premonition that the opportunities to roast people today would only increase, he needed to save some energy for what was coming later.
He didn't want his excessive complaining to result in him having to drink the same herbal infusion as Coach Kurosu.
Having learned a profound lesson from what just happened, Miya Atsumu decided to go after Hinata this time, first observing Hinata's situation as a reference.
He stood to the side, while Imai had already taken out his camera.
The bows and arrows used in this archery hall are not traditional wooden ones like those in their school's Kyudo Club; instead, they are made of alloy and mechanical components.
The advantage was that the process of drawing the bowstring required less effort, but the disadvantage was that it was heavier.
With the help of the staff, Hinata put on some of his protective gear and, under the guidance of the instructor, drew his bow and aimed.
Staring at the small target ten meters away in his field of vision, Hinata's expression was very calm.
While in Sendai, he once held the bow of a senior who practiced both Kyudo and Volleyball in Junior High.
That bow was very heavy; he had tried it, he couldn't pull it back at all.
With the bow he holds in his hands now, he can draw it back with ease.
Even though the structure helped a bit, he.. he is confident that even with that original bow, he could master it now.
He wasn't very good at aiming, but the sight on the bow itself was much easier to control than the darts he had been pinching between his fingers just now.
Combined with his playing style in the Volleyball Club, which required aiming a little bit higher..
Imai looked at the Shinto Priest drawing back a black alloy bow in the camera's viewfinder and, in that instant, pressed the shutter without hesitation.
Hinata decisively let go.
The moment the arrow was released, the bowstring snapped with a pleasant sound.
Hinata tilted his head slightly, avoiding the bowstring that might have snapped against his face. The bowstring spun nearly ninety degrees to release its tension, while Hinata stared intently at the arrow that had already flown out.
The arrow struck the target firmly.
The staff member called out the score: "Eight."