He looked up at the lights hanging from the center of the ceiling of the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium: "It's a good thing Agatsuma isn't here, otherwise he'd be crying right now."
He wasn't good at comforting people at all.
Shiro, sitting in the Inarizaki stands, looked down and said to Xiaoxia, "It's true that Itachiyama's lineup currently has issues. Even though Sakusa and Komori are strong enough, the other teammates are a bit out of sync."
Natsume asked, "Is it the Setter?"
Shiratori shook his head. "Perhaps a bit."
He fell silent for two seconds before saying, "If I had to say, my personal opinion is that the coordination between blocking and receiving failed to reach the required level within a high-pressure offensive environment."
Shiratori shrugged at Natsume: "While there was indeed a certain subjective breakdown on Inarizaki's part, if it were Agatsuma.. I mean, he was a Middle Blocker from their previous season, he could at least manage to restrict half of Inarizaki's offensive flexibility."
Ogihara Ayato's level is much lower, there are countless instances where his blocks are ineffective.
Bokuto suddenly stood up and cheered loudly, "Sakusa and Komori are graduating soon, after that, it will be the era of Fukurodani's dominance!"
Sweeping his gaze over the Itachiyama members as they walked toward the spectator stands to show their support, Shiratori paused before changing his tone: "No, I'm still rooting for Itachiyama."
Shiratori looked up at Bokuto, his eyes narrowing slightly as he said, "I'm saying, Bokuto, you didn't.. fail to watch the previous match closely, did you?"
Huh?" Bokuto froze for a moment. "Natsume, what are you talking about! How could I not have watched the match just now! Shoyo is incredibly amazing!
Shiratori laughed, "I meant Itachiyama; number 10 is excellent."
Bokuto sat back down and said with a serious expression, "Yeah, he's incredible."
Even though Itachiyama has Sakusa as a super Ace, number 10's stable performance was still impressive enough; he was able to coordinate Itachiyama's offense and defense as much as possible even after Sakusa had fully committed to his offense, it could be said that he had done everything within his power.
It's just that..
"Ishikawa is still not mature enough," Coach Utsunomiya said, still remaining on the court.
Coach Himegomiya stretched his slightly stiff neck. "But Inamoto's coordination with him is quite good. There will be significant changes in the starting lineup after this year ends, so it will take some time to re-coordinate. It's a huge workload."
Coach Utsunomiya laughed, "Let's do our best, everyone."
Thank you all for your continued support!!
The Inarizaki supporters burst into applause, while Hayami was already leaning over the railing to greet Hinata below.
Arashiyama clapped while letting out a soft sigh. "Sakusa is strong, but not everyone can wield that blade effectively."
He isn't a good match for Inamoto. Relatively speaking, Inamoto and that someone.. the one from Fukurodani, their playing styles are quite similar. Sakusa is indeed a bit too extreme; without a setter like Iizuna-senpai, he can't fully reach his maximum potential.
There aren't that many good setters, if you really want to put it that way.." Sasaki paused, "Fine, professional setters are indeed strong enough.
Fine, he admitted that a player like Sakusa certainly didn't lack setters; it was just that the high school level wasn't a great platform to fully utilize them.
Watching the Inarizaki members, who had finished thanking them, return to the court, Arashiyama stood up and stretched his shoulders. "It's finally the last day."
He walked up to Hayami, who was still lingering at the front row, grabbed him by the back of his collar.
Let's go, Hayami.
The next match is between Fukurodani and Karasuno, so we need to change seats.
Hayami did not resist; the match he wanted to see had already ended, after that..
Hayami, who had originally intended to go to the hotel to take a look, ultimately gave up on that idea. Inarizaki would definitely need to stay at the venue to watch the next match and then prepare for tomorrow's Finals.
After the two matches this morning concluded, there was a small awards ceremony to present third-place medals to the two losing teams.
He'd better not go disturb him; once the results of tomorrow's matches are out, he can go and offer Hinata his congratulations on the victory.
"Yeah." Hayami stood up behind Arashiyama, preparing to head to the back row.
Following behind Miya Atsumu, Hinata raised his hands and stretched his body: "Today's match was so much fun; Sakusa-senpai must be even happier, right?"
They had promised last time that they would play more matches against Sakusa that would make him happy.
Recalling Sakusa's incredibly sour expression just now, Miya Atsumu laughed, "He must be very happy."
In a little while, he was going to give Sakusa a proper congratulations on achieving three consecutive high school championships!
Hinata breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great—"
To ensure they maintained their peak condition this time, they played somewhat conservatively in all aspects, he was very worried that he hadn't given the opponents a satisfying match.
However, for him, this match was truly exhilarating, the tactic he, Miya Osamu, Kumagai used to switch setters in the second set was also a huge success.
As it turned out, even without Miya Atsumu on the court, they could still execute brilliant offense through other means.
Miya Atsumu clicked his tongue lightly. "Don't get too cocky; a few of your sets just now were too ugly."
“Really?” Hinata thought back for a moment, but since he didn't feel like he had made any mistakes, he simply gave Miya Atsumu a smile. “Even if they were ugly, you were the one who taught me, Atsumu-ge.”
Atsumu raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.
The cold-faced Master Atsumu made his judgment: "Then it might be because I didn't teach you well. Go back and practice diligently."
Kumagai, who was following behind, stopped in his tracks instantly, while Reo Mizuta, who was at the very back helping carry things, felt his legs go weak upon hearing those words, his vision went black, he was on the verge of collapsing.
As everyone knows, Coach Kurosu has always been very concerned about wasting teaching resources.
So whether it was Miya Atsumu or Suna and the others starting their training, it was absolutely impossible for it to be one-on-one private lessons; everyone associated with that position had to act as practice partners.
This also means that if Hinata is forced to do extra training, they won't be able to escape it either.
Kumagai racked his brain and silently raised a finger: "I have a math competition final to attend after Haruko, so I probably won't be going back with everyone.."
Reo Mizuta's face turned even paler.
Trying to be an inconspicuous nobody at Inarizaki was no way to escape the persecution of his terrifying senior, because there would always be some inexplicable incident that would drag him into it!
Fukami turned and said to Reo Mizuta, "Take care."
Masaru Haseda stepped a distance away from him.
Nishizawa looked at the group and gave Reo Mizuta a thumbs-up. "Good luck! Out of everyone in our group this time, you're the only one who hasn't played on the court yet!"
Reo Mizuta tried his best to smile. "I think.. being part of the support staff is actually quite good.."
A clear look of disapproval flashed across Nishizawa's face, while Fukami had already raised his hand and shouted, "Yu Team! Reo Mizuta says he wants to do some thrilling extra training too!"
It was too late for the victim, Reo Mizuta, to try and cover Fukami's mouth.
Atsumu's voice drifted from afar: "He has indeed been too lazy lately; he shouldn't have any competitions coming up. Since the break is canceled, he should come to school for extra practice."
For the one hundred and eighth time, Reo Mizuta felt the urge to run away from the Volleyball Club.
Fukami gave Reo Mizuta a thumbs-up. "Hang in there, Yu Team is rooting for you!"
"I'll worry about surviving until that day first.." Reo Mizuta replied weakly.
In the second match of the morning, Karasuno defeated Fukurodani 2-0, advancing to the Finals.
The simple award ceremony concluded, the Inarizaki members returned to the hotel together to rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle.
As soon as they returned to the hotel, Hinata called out to Masaru Haseda, who was about to head off with Fukami: "Wait, Haseda-kun! Wait for me a second!"
Haseda stood there stunned, while Hinata had already jogged all the way back to his room to grab a bag.
Hinata stuffed the bag into Haseda Katsuya's hands: "This is a gift for Katsuya."
"Congratulations on.. um.." Hinata paused, subconsciously turning his head to look at Miya Atsumu.
Following Miya Atsumu's lip movements, Hinata quickly finished the sentence: "Congratulations on your first victory, Haseda Katsuya!"
You played incredibly well today. You're just like I was back in the day—it's actually quite touching to watch, senpai—
Inside the white shopping bag was a transparent garment bag, Masaru Haseda could see that specific shade of blue.
Without even opening it, he knew exactly what was inside.
Hinata has a short-sleeved shirt in this color, the one with "Ace's Insights" written on it, which he saw in a Haruko merchandise shop.
But he wasn't a regular for this year's Interhigh and National Sports Festival; although he appeared on the court a few times, his overall playing time wasn't sufficient, so in the end, he only received the team's basic rewards.
He had originally wanted to buy one, but after buying souvenirs for his grandmother, his pocket money was a bit insufficient, so he ultimately had to give up.
Now.. he was holding this very piece of clothing that had once been out of his reach.
His vision was somewhat blurred, Masaru Haseda pursed his lips, but the emotions that rushed up so suddenly were not easy to suppress.
He choked up, unable to say a single word.
Hinata reached out and patted Haseda Katsuya's chest. "Anyway.. keep working hard in the future, Katsuya."
Haseda took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ye—Yes!! I'll do my best!!"
The sound of the elevator echoed from the end of the hallway.
The elevator doors opened, a dazzling gold appeared in everyone's field of vision.
Tokura shivered and immediately retreated to his room.
And in the next second, Hoshiumi walked out of the elevator, clutching a golden snake-skin seagull pillow.
Yukihito, where did your sister get something so abstract?
Hinata was stunned for a moment: "Hikari-kun?"
A flash of gold passed before his eyes, by the time Hinata came to his senses, that golden seagull had already been tossed into his arms by Hoshiumi: "It's for Xiaoxia."
Miya Atsumu commented expressionlessly, "So ugly."
Hoshiumi let out a scoff, not wanting to dwell on whether Miya Atsumu meant the color was ugly, the seagull was ugly, or both.
He looked at Hinata from afar: "Shoyo, tomorrow is the last day."
Hinata stood tall and said, "Don't worry, Hikari-kun, I'll give you a graduation gift that will never be forgotten."
“For example.. a deeply unforgettable defeat,” Miya Atsumu added softly.
Hoshiumi let out a short, incredulous laugh and slightly lifted his chin. "I'll say the same to you, Miya Atsumu."
—We'll see about that.
[Next is the Spring High School Volleyball Tournament, the Men's Finals, a match between Hyogo Prefecture's representative, Inarizaki High School, Nagano Prefecture's representative, Karasuno High School.]
【The match is about to begin.】
Chapter 529: The 529th Fox