Kumagai was also helping Miya Atsumu stretch, but it was obvious that Kumagai had not mastered the art of holding back; strictly following the post-match stretching standard procedure, he pressed down, causing Miya Atsumu to wail in pain.
Coach Kurosu, having confirmed the final evaluation results, entered the court, looking at his team's starting players on the floor with a smile.
He stood to one side with his hands on his hips, saying with a hint of playfulness, "Today's performance was quite good; you've shaved Karasuno's heads."
Hearing these words, Hinata lifted his eyes and seriously contemplated what Hoshiumi Hikari would look like with a shaved head.
Having not understood the meaning behind Coach Kurosu's words, he asked in confusion, "Even though I don't think Hikari-kun would look very ugly with a shaved head, but.. we didn't just use scissors, did we?"
Kumagai, standing nearby, burst into laughter. "That's not what I meant."
Seeing Kumagai about to speak up to explain to Hinata, Miya Atsumu quickly raised his hands in surrender toward Kumagai: "Never mind that, I think my stretching is finished."
Realizing that everyone else seemed to have finished, Kumagai straightened up and let go of Miya Atsumu: "Alright, Atsumu-senpai."
Where Miya Atsumu couldn't see, Unabara gave Kumagai a thumbs-up. Rishia silently turned around and also cast an admiring look toward Kumagai.
Kumagai looked at his own hands, then looked at Miya Atsumu, who had already gone to complain to Hinata about him, silently raised a hand to scratch the back of his head.
Well, he admitted that he had done it on purpose to some extent. However, it wasn't the first time he had done this, Miya Atsumu basically assumed it was because he had too much strength and couldn't control it.
Before Miya Atsumu could turn his attention back to him, Kumagai silently retreated into the crowd of First and Second Years.
The court had been cleared, the certificates for the individual awards had been filled out with names and placed on the table on the other side of the court. Staff members also quickly approached to instruct the Inarizaki members to line up.
The Inarizaki members and Karasuno lined up on both sides of the net, the award presenters from the Organizing Committee walked over one after another to hang medals on everyone.
Hinata stood with his chest out and head held high, looking at Coach Unabara as he approached, carrying the gold medal.
Coach Unabara laughed heartily and placed the gold medal around Hinata's neck: "You performed quite well in today's match, Hinata."
That last set was worthy of being called a Super Ace.
Hinata's eyes were bright. Feeling the heavy weight on his chest, he stood at attention and replied, "I will keep working hard!"
Coach Unabara patted his shoulder: "Good luck, I look forward to your performance this summer."
Hinata nodded solemnly: "Yes!"
As the new semester begins.. the seniors will all be gone, when that time comes, all those tedious and difficult tasks for him will have to be handled by them.
But whether it was Kita Shinsuke or Miya Atsumu, they had both taught him so much, and.. there were also Akuma and Tomoya!
He will fulfill his responsibility as the Ace, he will also carry the future of the team on his shoulders.
Miya Atsumu tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling upon the young man's determined face.
He curled his lips into a slight smile, but was nudged in the ribs by Miya Osamu's elbow, causing him to quickly straighten up and look straight ahead.
But the camera flashes were already going off, as the media surrounding the court faithfully captured everything happening on the court, permanently etching the faces of the Inarizaki members into the history of Haruko.
Coach Kurosu's comment about shaving Karasuno's heads bald was certainly not meant literally; rather, it meant that Inarizaki had achieved a clean sweep of the individual awards this time.
During the National Sports Festival, the Best Spiker award went to Hoshiumi Hikari, but this time, the person who received the award was Miya Osamu, who made a massive contribution in every single match.
Walking on the way back to the lounge, Hinata held his MVP certificate high above his head.
Staring at the shiny certificate for a moment, he turned his head toward Miya Atsumu at his side and flashed a slightly provocative smile. "Atsumu-senpai, you've already lost."
Atsumu-senpai won two MVP awards, he has two now as well.
But Atsumu is about to graduate; he still has one more year left, which means he could win three more!
Atsumu lost big time!!
Miya Atsumu reached out, grabbing the upper edge of the certificate and pulling it straight into his own arms the moment Hinata let go.
It's mine now, Shoyo won't be stingy about giving it to me, will he?
Hinata took two quick steps toward Miya Atsumu, then turned and continued walking backward. "That won't happen, but Xiaoxia hasn't touched it yet, so it can't be given to Atsumu-senpai."
He raised a finger and said seriously, "Besides, I'm planning to save this one for Coach Kurosu. Didn't Atsumu-senpai's second MVP also serve to decorate the gymnasium's wall of honor for Coach Kurosu?"
Miya Atsumu said with a hint of regret, "Let the coach stick them together for us."
After saying that, he had originally intended to catch up to Hinata so the two of them could head back to the hotel together, but as he looked up, he found himself meeting Hinata's eyes, which were shining with anticipation.
He stopped in his tracks and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Hinata stepped up to Miya Atsumu and said, "I want that—"
The Inarizaki members passed by the two of them without looking back, having no desire to participate in the little flirtation between them.
Masaru Haseda and Reo Mizuta, trailing at the very back, struggled to pick up their pace, disappearing from the Players' Tunnel in a flash.
Atsumu was having a bit of trouble keeping up with Hinata's pace. Seeing him coming, after a brief moment of confusion, he reached out and directly wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist.
Um.. was that an attempt at a hug or a kiss?
Hinata stood on tiptoe, reaching out to cup Miya Atsumu's face.
Just as Miya Atsumu slightly narrowed his eyes, preparing to wait for a kiss from his lover, an extremely serious voice drifted over.
I want Atsumu-senpai's Best Newcomer Award.
Miya Atsumu instantly pulled back his wandering thoughts, his brain, which had been groggy after the match, cleared up in an instant.
He gave a helpless smile. "Fine, I'll give it to you."
As it stands, the only strong competitor who entered V1 in the same year as him is Hoshiumi Hikari. Whether Hoshiumi Hikari can make the starting lineup this year remains to be seen, so he is determined to win this award.
Moreover, since he was going to challenge Shwaiden Adler, his goal should not just be Best Newcomer, but Best Setter.
Having agreed to a few trivial matters, Atsumu-senpai lowered his gaze toward Hinata in front of him: "So, is the Ace satisfied with my toss today?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, from his downward gaze, the corners of his eyes seemed to droop. Although he had wiped them dry, sweat continued to seep from his skin in his exhausted state, an unnoticed droplet gathered at the corner of his face, like a falling tear.
Hinata stared at Miya Atsumu's face, his mind a bit dazed.
Ever since he told Miya Atsumu before that he sometimes gets dazed by how handsome Atsumu's face is, Atsumu has frequently launched what could be described as "seductive" attacks against him.
The problem was.. he really fell for that.
Atsumu and Kazuharu are identical twins; their appearances can be said to be exactly the same, to the point where he might not even recognize him if he were to change his clothes or hair color.
But compared to Osamu, Atsumu's personality is much more flamboyant, he is also much better at utilizing his physical advantages, always appearing as radiant as a celebrity at every moment.
Hinata knew Miya Atsumu was acting, but he didn't want to care.
Being stared at like that by him, his mind was now filled with Atsumu's claim that he would never go west if told to go east.
Besides, Atsumu-senpai's set today was truly superb; there wasn't a single flaw to be found!
Hinata nodded vigorously like a little chick pecking at rice: "Satisfied! Atsumu-senpai's set is the best!"
Atsumu pressed further, "Then what about the reward?"
He stared at Hinata, who was still staring blankly at his face, without waiting for Hinata to answer, he leaned down, taking advantage of their current positions.
“I brought this on myself.”
Hinata closed his eyes, but Atsumu only gave his lips a light kiss, not going any deeper.
Atsumu grabbed his shoulders and spun him halfway around, pushing him forward: "Let's leave it at that for now; first, we need to go take photos, Hinata's mother and Xiaoxia are already waiting for you. After that, we'll head back to the hotel and take a good shower. Coach has scheduled a physiotherapy session with Teacher Mikail for this afternoon."
Hearing that last sentence, Hinata, who had been looking dissatisfied, turned pale instantly and leaned back, prepared to play dead right in Miya Atsumu's arms.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Miya Osamu, who had headed to the Sub-gymnasium ahead of the others to prepare for the group photo and meet-and-greet with the fans, stopped in his tracks at the entrance.
He turned his head toward Coach Kurosu and asked seriously, "Coach, can I skip the physical therapy in a little while?"
Coach Kurosu asked in return, "Why? Is something bothering you?"
"No, it's just.. um.." Miya Osamu stammered for a while.
Coach Kurosu, who had already seen through Miya Osamu, replied mercilessly, "I've already paid the deposit, so just accept it honestly. Otherwise, you'll be stuck lying in bed for several days once you get back."
Miya Osamu closed his eyes.
When Hinata and Miya Atsumu entered the Sub-gymnasium, the Tournament Championship Flag had already been brought over by the staff, the assigned photographer also waved to them, gesturing for them to come over.
Shiro and Bokuto, who had already made their way down from the stands, were intercepted halfway by Hinata's mother and Coach Himegomiya, forced to become attendants carrying bags.
With one arm clutching Coach Himegomiya's blanket and the other carrying Xiaoxia's bag, Shiratori's attempt to take out his phone for a commemorative photo was doomed to fail before it even began.
Bokuto peeked from the sidelines, as soon as the Inarizaki members finished their group photo, he was the first to call out to Hinata: "Shoyo! Atsu-kun! Over here!!"
Coach Himegomiya had just gone to find Coach Raphael, who had also said he was coming over, so only the four of them were here.
Upon seeing his sister, Hinata immediately rushed over, clutching his medal and certificate.
He greeted two seniors: "Bokuto-senpai and Natsume-senpai, hello!"
Hinata Shoyo shoved all his honors into his mother's arms, Hinata managed to spare a gold medal for Xiaoxia: "Mom! Xiaoxia! Did you see my cool performance today!"
Hinata's mother had intended to clap, but with two certificates stuffed into her arms, she really couldn't free her hands: "Shoyo was very cool."
"I saw it! Big brother is the most handsome in the world!" Hinata Natsu jumped up and threw herself onto her brother, Shoyo also crouched down following her movement to embrace her.
Miya Atsumu leaned in and asked, "What about Atsumu-senpai?"
Hinata Natsu replied without hesitation, "He's very handsome, too!"
She felt that her brother was right; although Atsumu-senpai was a bad person, there was truly nothing wrong with Atsumu-senpai on the court. As expected of Coach Inubata's star pupil, even Coach Himegomiya spoke highly of Atsumu in daily life.
Atsumu was satisfied.
Many people wanted to take photos with Atsumu, many players from other schools also came to ask him for autographs; after all, as a genius Setter who had already officially joined the National Team, he had quite a large number of fans.
Hinata is relatively more popular with children, while the MVP star player is equally in the media spotlight.
However, Atsumu helped him politely decline interviews from several print media outlets, only allowing the official television station, the largest few volleyball-related media outlets, one sports blogger with a massive fan base to proceed.
Once the crowd gradually dispersed, Shiratori took a photo with Hinata and his sister, while Bokuto, who insisted on being in the shot, leaned in to make a peace sign.
In a bright mood, Shiratori looked up at Miya Atsumu, who was standing nearby with his hands on his hips. "Atsu-kun, you're also about to say goodbye to your student life."
He said with a smile playing on his lips, "But it's true, you don't look like the type who would sit through classes and study properly."
Miya Atsumu raised an eyebrow slightly.
Shiratori waved his phone at Miya Atsumu. "If you don't mind, could we take a photo together? I'm really looking forward to seeing you show your skills on the professional stage."
Atsumu did not refuse, he took a photo with Shiratori in a very standard manner, as if Shiratori were his fan.
Shiratori repeatedly flipped through the two photos just taken, feeling satisfied as he began to chat with Miya Atsumu, "After you graduate, what does the Inarizaki Volleyball Club plan to do?"
Watching Hinata Shoyo greet Xiaoxia and every member of the Inarizaki members, Miya Atsumu replied, "Everything is arranged. Kuniharu is still usable at the Setter position."