Hinata froze for a moment. "Huh?"
Who bullied him? Kageyama?
After thinking hard for a few moments, Hinata nodded seriously. "Yeah! Not only does he refuse to teach me serve techniques, but he even tries to trick me into teaching him how to do a spin serve!"
I won't even mention what happened before that; if he lost, it was simply because his skills weren't up to par, not to mention he has already fought his way back, he will even have the chance to keep winning in the future.
Unai Judge declared, "That was indeed wrong. I'll have a word with Karasuno's current Captain in a moment."
He reached out and patted Hinata's back, saying earnestly, "You are all still young, there are no conflicts that cannot be put behind you. You are all so capable that you might even have opportunities to work together in the future, so you must get along well."
Hinata said nothing, staring at Kageyama's back for a while before muttering softly, "I'm quite impressive right now, so I'll be magnanimous and forgive him."
Moreover, he had also bullied Kageyama when he was in the Junior National Team, so this could be considered a form of give-and-take.
Unai felt very gratified: "Hinata has truly become so mature."
He could not accept the fact that Hinata and the rest of Karasuno were not on good terms.
However, Hinata and Kageyama didn't seem to have such an irreconcilable relationship either; I must make sure Hinata and Kageyama shake hands and make up later!
Karasuno played this match even more smoothly than yesterday; with everyone in good form, they took the victory with a 2-0 score.
However, both matches were played at a slow pace; after all, Karasuno's scoring ability isn't particularly strong, so they mainly rely on long rallies.
After watching this match, Unai had also figured out Karasuno's current situation.
He rubbed his chin and said, "Why does it feel.. a bit like Nekoma?"
Hinata looked up at Unai Aman. "Eh? Unai-senpai, you know Nekoma too?"
Unai explained with a smile, "Of course. Karasuno and Nekoma have been very close schools for a long, long time. Coach Ukai.. our former coach back then, Coach Nekota share a relationship where they are fierce rivals, yet also close friends."
Because their mascots are crows and cats, the matches between Karasuno and Nekoma are also known as the Dumpster Showdown.
At this point, Unai, who had been smiling all along, showed a brief moment of disappointment: "But it's a shame that Karasuno and Nekoma haven't both advanced through Haruko at the same time for a very, very long time."
At the high school level, having an Ace capable of delivering a strong offense is very important.
Although Nekoma has excellent resources, their overall playstyle tends to be more steady and defensive. While they also consistently provide talent to the national team, it is often difficult for them to make it to the nationals.
After all, with the two heavyweights Itachiyama and Fukurodani looming overhead, the competition for the third spot in Haruko was incredibly fierce.
As for Karasuno, it goes without saying that when he was there, the team lacked strong support players like Kageyama and Nishinoya, he also faced immense pressure due to the lack of depth on the bench. Ultimately, they were eliminated in the top eight of the nationals because of his poor form.
Later, due to Shiratorizawa's strong dominance and Coach Ukai's departure, Karasuno also went through a period of decline, their appearances in the nationals became even rarer.
Sensing Unai's sadness, Hinata spoke up to comfort him, "There will be a chance."
No matter how slim it may be, there will always be a glimmer of opportunity.
Unai nodded seriously, "Yeah, I believe it too."
Not long after, he turned his head again and said, "Will you come to watch when the time comes, Hinata?"
Hinata slapped his chest forcefully. "As long as Giant-senpai invites me, no matter where I am, as long as I'm not in a match, I will definitely, definitely come!"
Moreover, at the end of the day, both Coach Ukai and Coach Nekota had coached him, so if he had the chance to watch matches from both of these schools, he would never refuse.
After the final meeting by the coach's bench, the Karasuno members also prepared to leave the court to stretch.
And at that very moment, Ukai Keishin spotted Unai Aman chatting and laughing with two people from Inarizaki by the sidelines.
He felt like he wasn't fully awake; otherwise, how could he see an excellent graduate of Karasuno appearing in the stadium at this very moment?
Wasn't Unai off drawing manga? Why is he here? Did he switch to something related to volleyball? Like being a reporter or something?
Full of confusion, Coach Ukai was the first to walk over toward them.
As he drew closer, he saw that Unai indeed had an ID badge hanging around his neck. But it wasn't a press pass like he had imagined; instead, it was..
Inarizaki High School, manager.
More question marks popped up above Coach Ukai's head. He looked at Unai, then at Hinata, before finally squeezing out a sentence: "Unai, you're here to repeat the year?"
Hinata asked bluntly, "Is it even possible to repeat a year?"
Coach Ukai still didn't quite get it: "Why did you go to Inarizaki?"
Unai gave an awkward laugh and pointed at the name tag, saying, "It's not that, Keishin-senpai. Hinata was supposed to bring me in, so I had to borrow it from someone else."
Of course Ukai Keishin was someone he knew; as Coach Ukai's student, he had dealt with this alumnus many times when he went back to visit the old coach.
It was just that the other party's composed manner as a coach now.. was slightly different from the person in his memory.
Hearing this, Ukai Keishin looked toward Hinata. "You brat, not only are you trying to leech off Karasuno's coaching resources, but now you're even trying to swap our excellent graduates' school registrations."
That being said, Ukai Keishin was smiling overall.
Karasuno could not have made it to the nationals without the help from these other powerhouse schools; even from a school like Inarizaki, which had been their opponent from the very beginning, the mere experience of facing them was enough to provide them with significant benefits.
Not to mention that Miya Atsumu and Hinata had also given Kageyama a lot of help.
It was also because of this that he didn't hold a grudge against Hinata for what Enoshita Chikara had said about him bullying Kageyama.
After all, that person's hands are short, with Miya Atsumu's twisted personality, it would be a real problem if he actually taught him anything.
Hinata raised his hands in terror, surrendering immediately. "It wasn't me!"
Tanaka, who had finished cheering in the stands, placed her hand over her eyes and looked toward the group of people chatting by the sidelines, squinting to confirm.
She reached out and grabbed Tsukishima, pointing at Unai on the court and saying, "Is that person the Little Giant?"
Tsukishima also looked over upon hearing that.
Having also come from Karasuno Volleyball Club, he was very familiar with Unai; furthermore, because the two of them had both attended school in Tokyo previously, since he had been in the Volleyball Club at the time and would be participating in university tournaments, Unai had even approached him many times to ask questions, seemingly for research purposes.
Even though Unai's appearance had changed a lot, he still recognized him at a single glance.
Tsukishima looked completely bewildered. "Is it really him? How is he with Inarizaki?"
Karasuno's Little Giant ran off with Inarizaki's Little Giant?!
He had originally intended to turn back and tell Sawamura, but Sawamura, Sugawara, a few others had already followed Karasuno's previous two captains downstairs to welcome the players.
On the court, Unai had already given Ukai Keishin a general overview of the situation: "In short, it's like this—I just wanted to ask about Kageyama's condition."
Hearing Unai's words, Hinata felt a strange sense of guilt, as if something was not quite right.
Ukai Keishin looked at Hinata several times before finally laughing out of sheer exasperation.
He looked at Unai. "Unai, you probably don't know this, but someone has already come to me to complain about how a certain little guy has been bullying our players in the Junior National Team."
Unai let out a soft, questioning sound: "Hmm?"
Ukai reached out and pulled Unai aside, signaling that he wanted to speak with him in private.
After hearing about the entanglement between Kageyama and Hinata, Unai's face was filled with shock, the look he gave Hinata was one of disbelief.
He had thought Hinata was being bullied unilaterally, but it turned out Hinata was also a troublemaker behind the scenes.
What do you mean Hinata was bullying Kageyama right alongside Miya Atsumu in front of everyone?!
He knew that hanging around Miya Atsumu for too long would definitely cause trouble!
Don't worry about that; those two are constantly trading blows, so neither of them will lose out.
At this, Coach Ukai added another remark: "You could say it's a kind of bond."
As Unai turned his head, he saw Hinata making a face at Kageyama, who was entering the Players' Tunnel from a distance.
Well, he now felt that not a single word from anyone present was the truth; they were all purely subjective evaluations.
But Coach Ukai's conclusion was likely correct.
With Inarizaki as his backbone, there was truly no one who could bully Hinata.
Ukai Keishin said to Unai, "It just so happens that you can come with me to meet our players."
Unai happily agreed, "Okay."
Hinata was eager to try, he also wanted to go along and see.
Miya Atsumu, who loved to stir up trouble, expressed his support.
Fortunately, Coach Ukai's mind was still very clear at this moment, he decisively rejected the request of a certain troublemaker.
You've got to be kidding me; if Hinata were allowed to go with them, before long, all the players from Haruko would be holding meetings over at Karasuno!
Chapter 490: The Four Hundred and Ninetieth Fox
Damn it, they didn't take me.
Watching the Karasuno members leave, Hinata's face was full of grievance.
He felt that he had a pretty good relationship with everyone from Karasuno. Unai liked him very much, he had also met Coach Ukai, he was also very familiar with Nishinoya-senpai and Tsukishima.
He also wanted to see those seniors from Karasuno! He had even faced off against Karasuno's previous Captain before!
Miya Atsumu subtly fanned the flames: "The people from Karasuno are too petty. We'll crush them later."
Hinata turned his head to glance at Miya Atsumu, not joining in to agree.
Because.. he has something more important to do right now!
Hinata said with total seriousness, "I need to go to the restroom."
Miya Atsumu nodded and said, "The restroom isn't far from here. Just go out through the Players' Tunnel and turn right. The Karasuno match is about to start, so I'll grab a good spot for you here."
Many people came to watch the Karasuno match, at this moment, the area around the court was already so crowded it was nearly impassable. Hinata's height wasn't sufficient; if he wanted to watch, he would have to be right at the very front.
—Actually, Miya Atsumu was more worried about whether Hinata would be able to squeeze back in.
Hinata, who had already been prepared to focus all his attention on the Karasuno match, had already dashed out, sprinting with all his might toward the restroom.
After taking care of his business, Hinata washed his hands and stepped quickly out of the restroom.
Catching sight of that flash of orange, Hayami turned her head and looked at him with surprise. "Hinata? What a coincidence."
Hinata was rushing to go watch the match, before leaving, he extended an invitation to Hayami: "Hayami! I'm about to go watch the Karasuno match, do you want to come with me?"
For some reason, he had a feeling that if he didn't leave right now, he wouldn't be able to leave at all.
Hayami waved her hand. "I'll go watch from the stands in a bit; there are too many people, so I won't go inside."