“Rintaro, are you going to form a super college team with Shoyo and the others?”
Miya Atsumu looked at Suna, who had just finished getting dressed.
He remembered very clearly that Suna wanted to go to university.
Suna replied without a second thought, "I'm not going."
Hinata, who had just been looking over with a face full of anticipation, let his mouth droop, looking quite pitiful.
He thought Suna-senpai was great! Absolutely great!
Suna reached out and pushed open the door to the sub-gymnasium, tilting his head slightly to look at the two of them. "You're about to go to university; why do you still want to go to a sports college?"
Miya Atsumu poured cold water on Suna: "Waseda isn't going to want you anyway; they've already reserved Sakusa, so you might as well give up on that dream."
Coach Kurosu paused while reviewing the footage of their own match, a flash of guilt crossing his face.
The next second, accompanied by the sound of Suna pushing the door open, his words reached Miya Atsumu's ears: "Waseda isn't the only strong comprehensive university. Use that pathetic brain of yours."
Suna's figure disappeared from the sight of the Inarizaki members, only then did Miya Atsumu realize that the Coach and Suna seemed to have something they hadn't told him.
Atsumu looked at the coach with a wounded expression.
Coach Kurosu gave a light cough and shrugged his hand toward Atsumu: "In fact, Rintaro received an invitation from Tokai University."
The opposing coach likes Rintaro very much, besides, this matter was suggested by their current starting Setter.
Miya Atsumu heard a heart-breaking sound, but it was his own.
If it were anyone else's, he might have said, "With Rintaro being the way he is, which setter could possibly back him up?" but as for Tokai University..
Their current starting Setter graduated from Itachiyama, was the former High School's Best Setter.
His surname is Iizuna.
Miya Atsumu felt like he was at his wits' end.
If Hirugami were to give up on volleyball, there was no need to even think about Hakuma; Koldorf was reportedly preparing to go abroad, the rest were nothing but a bunch of misfits.
Forget it, Hinata has worked hard enough to conquer Bai Ze; let Coach Utsunomiya and Coach Raphael deal with the rest of the headaches themselves.
What if opening a blind box yields something super invincible, like an SSR!
After all, Coach Kurosu didn't expect to pull Hinata and Nishizawa two years in a row!
Moreover, as major sports like volleyball involve many people being transferred from other specialties every year, there might just be some hidden gems.
Miya Atsumu pressed his hands together.
He decided to sacrifice Miya Osamu's hair for the coming year, praying that Hinata would have a reliable and complete team in the future.
Miya Osamu scratched his inexplicably itchy head and snapped his head around to look at Miya Atsumu.
This bastard, was he just talking smack about him!
Chapter 515: The Five Hundred and Fifteenth Fox
Looking at the sports jacket in his hands, Hinata felt a bit conflicted.
He actually brought a thick down jacket, but it would be a bit too hot to wear it over there in the cheering area, wearing just the tracksuit jacket would be a bit too cold.
Seeing Hinata making no move, Miya Atsumu, who was putting on long johns, turned his head to look at him. "Shoyo? What's wrong?"
Glancing at Miya Atsumu's eye-watering green long johns, Hinata obediently put his thin down jacket on over his sports jacket.
Let it be hot, then. They were all covered in sweat right now; even though they had wiped it off, it was still best not to catch a cold from the wind.
Taking the mask handed over by Miya Atsumu, Hinata put it on and stood up: "Then, shall we go watch the match now?"
It is currently the peak season for influenza. Although there hasn't been a large-scale outbreak here, it is heard that many players in the Winter Cup being held at the same time have fallen ill.
Thinking about the situation with the Inarizaki members last year, they had better take some precautions.
Miya Atsumu nodded: "Yeah, let's go."
Thinking back to the mixed crowd in the Inarizaki cheering area, he instead suggested, "Do you want to get something to eat? We can go to the rooftop restaurant."
Hinata, having consumed a massive amount of energy, pressed his stomach and nodded seriously, "It really is time for afternoon tea; I'm a bit hungry."
Atsumu couldn't help but chuckle, then he picked up his bag and gave a slight nod toward the door. "Let's go."
The two of them came out of the sub-gymnasium where Inarizaki was located and headed toward the stairwell through the passage leading to the main gymnasium.
And just as they walked into the main gymnasium hall, a pair of dark figures appeared in their field of vision.
Hinata stopped in his tracks, blinking his eyes as he said, "It's everyone from Karasuno."
Although the home team uniforms looked very similar, the Inarizaki and Karasuno uniforms were worlds apart.
Inarizaki's uniforms are a vibrant red paired with white pants, making them an instant focal point in a crowd. On the court, however, it is quite the opposite, with a dark, somber black used as the primary color for the team's kit.
If it weren't for Miya Atsumu's fame, the Inarizaki members wouldn't look nearly as much like a group of villains when they were together, unlike Karasuno.
Hinata originally wanted to say hello to Kageyama and the others, but Miya Atsumu, who was walking beside him, reached out and pulled him, preventing him from taking that step forward.
The figures of the Karasuno members disappeared around the corner, heading toward the side gate. The sound of the iron gate being opened rang out, then it was closed again.
Hinata knew that the Karasuno members were leaving.
They had come from afar, as a school from a remote area, they did not have nearly enough funds to support them staying here any longer.
Tonight, or at the latest tomorrow, the Karasuno members will leave Tokyo; perhaps they are currently preparing for a post-match meal.
Hinata turned his head to look at Miya Atsumu, who had just stopped him.
Atsumu was also looking in the direction where the Karasuno members had disappeared; although he was wearing a mask, Hinata could still catch a glimpse of some unpleasant emotions from the way Miya Atsumu's eyes slightly narrowed.
Hinata was a bit dazed, tilting his head in confusion.
They should have all enjoyed this match; Tsukishima and the others also gave it their all, which was completely different from their last encounter. He felt very satisfied to have received such obvious recognition and one hundred percent of the opponent's attention.
Could it be.. that Atsumu is still unsatisfied with Karasuno's performance?
Miya Atsumu withdrew his gaze and looked down at Hinata: "The match is already over; that guy is the loser."
So..
Stop looking at him.
He was the one who won.
Leaving the court, he hoped Hinata's gaze and attention would linger on him.
Hearing this, Hinata's eyes widened slightly.
After a brief moment of daze, he stood on his tiptoes to get closer to Miya Atsumu, but he felt uncomfortable no matter what he did.
Just as Miya Atsumu raised his eyebrows in confusion, Hinata reached out, grabbed Miya Atsumu's collar, pulled him close.
Through the mask, Hinata gave Miya Atsumu's lips a quick kiss before letting go and creating some distance between them.
“This is..”
A reward for the winner.
Before he could finish speaking, Miya Atsumu suddenly raised his hand and took off his mask.
Sensing Miya Atsumu's intention to approach, Hinata, who had just taken the initiative to provoke him, felt a bit flustered: "Is it not a good place for this.."
Although the two were by the side of the hall, matches were still being played inside at this time, it couldn't be ruled out that someone might come over.
Miya Atsumu's movement didn't stop; he wrapped one arm around Hinata's chest and pulled him into the corridor leading to the Sub-gymnasium that they had used to arrive.
The heavy curtain fell, cutting off the path to the Main gymnasium. Although the corridor was disconnected from the outside world, this area, which lacked insulation and only featured emergency exits, was still significantly colder than the Main gymnasium.
Atsumu lifted Hinata's mask upward, covering his eyes.
His vision was covered by light blue, his lips, which had been in a warm environment under the protection of the mask, trembled for a moment upon contact with the cold air.
Hinata's back of his head pressed against the somewhat cool wall, Miya Atsumu reached out, wrapping his hand around the back of Hinata's head to cushion it between his head and the wall.
Warm breath brushed against Hinata's face, Atsumu stared at his lips for a moment.
Just as Hinata hesitated and opened his mouth to ask a question, Miya Atsumu leaned down and captured his lower lip.
Atsumu was not satisfied with just this; taking advantage of the moment Hinata opened his mouth, he invaded even deeper.
Deprived of his vision, Hinata was in a very passive position. As someone determined never to lose to Miya Atsumu in anything, he was actually working hard to learn "how to date."
Moreover, he also tried to imitate Miya Atsumu to learn how to kiss and how to have physical contact with another person.
But now, he felt like things were getting a bit out of control.
Unable to see Miya Atsumu's face, his attention was forced to focus on the sensation of being licked inside his mouth, while the sound of wetness echoed incessantly in his ears.
Under the protection of the thick clothing, Hinata felt his body temperature rising rapidly—it had almost reached his face.
Hinata reached out, wanting to take the mask off his eyes, but Miya Atsumu was pressed right up against him, leaving him no room to move.
“Atsumu.. Atsumu..”
In the moment Miya Atsumu slightly pulled back the distance between them, Hinata hurriedly spoke up, his voice passing through almost mouth-to-mouth.
Miya Atsumu had no intention of listening to him and simply blocked Hinata's mouth.
The mask slipped during their movements; through the gap, Hinata could faintly see the top of Miya Atsumu's yellow hair, but he could not see those beautiful eyes.
And the slipping mask covered Hinata's nose, completely cutting off the already precarious supply of air at that moment.
Hinata panicked a little because he felt the distance between himself and Miya Atsumu had grown even closer.
His breathing became rapid as he tried to draw the already thin air through the gaps, while struggling intensely.
“Mmm, Atsumu—"
The vibration from his chest traveled through their pressed bodies. As Hinata's vision blurred for a moment, Miya Atsumu finally stopped his movements and withdrew from Hinata's mouth.
Silver threads pulled from their mouths fell onto Hinata's lips, Miya Atsumu reached out his hand, pulling down the mask that had covered the upper half of Hinata's face.
Hinata's face was flushed red, while his eyes were somewhat dazed, his slightly parted lips were still struggling to catch his breath.
Miya Atsumu, feeling that he had gone a little too far, did not reflect on his actions; instead, he carefully scrutinized Hinata's dazed expression.
Atsumu, who was very satisfied with the results, couldn't help but burst into laughter.