As he passed by the open door of Dormitory No. 7, Hinata caught a glimpse of a treadmill in the living room, along with enough game cartridges and manga novels on the shelves to open a shop.
The nameplate hanging on the wall bore Leonard's name.
It was very obvious whose cassette was in the common living room.
In room number 8, which is right next to it, Inunari is staying, but the door is closed. As for Captain Minka's room, the assistant said it was located at the end of the hallway, near the emergency exit stairs on the other side.
The assistant led the two of them toward the empty rooms while introducing the layout: "The cafeteria is on the east side of the first floor, the Testing Center is on the west side. The other side of the second floor also contains dormitories, but most of them are members of Team Two. The gym is on the third floor, it is also equipped with showers."
There are meeting rooms and private offices for the leadership on the fourth floor, which are generally not used to meet external guests. Since meetings with outsiders require an appointment in advance, they will be arranged over at the Training Base.
When they arrived at Room 9, the assistant stopped. "There are two types of vacant rooms: one has an open layout connecting the living room and the bedroom, the other is partitioned. Since they only have basic renovations, there isn't much difference in the interior decor."
The even-numbered rooms are separated, while the odd-numbered ones are open-plan. These few rooms here are currently vacant and can be used as you wish.
Miya Atsumu didn't bother choosing and simply made the final decision: "Then let's take these two."
It didn't matter which specific room he stayed in. Since volleyball players all had exaggerated heights, the rooms were all equipped with double beds anyway. Staying with Hinata wasn't out of the question; they could even swap rooms entirely.
The assistant nodded and handed over two room cards: "Alright, here are your room cards. If you need cleaning, you can call the number on them, we will arrange for someone to come by."
These two days are holidays, but the Training Base is still open, Coach Sansou has been there lately as well.
Mr. Oda will arrive this afternoon; the Coach will provide further notice regarding the specific details later.
You can use the gym freely, but we will arrange a test of your basic physical data for you tomorrow, so please make sure to rest today. If there is anything you don't understand or anything you need, you can message me at any time, or you can also look for Captain Minka Shugo.
Miya Atsumu thanked him, "I understand, thank you."
Watching the assistant leave, Miya Atsumu opened the door to Dormitory Room 10 and walked inside with Hinata.
The windows in the room were large, the sunlight streaming in was enough to illuminate the entire space.
Hinata rubbed his chin and said seriously, "It's not quite what I imagined."
After peeling off the dust cover on the sofa, Miya Atsumu curled up inside the sofa.
He turned his head slightly toward Hinata, who was observing the room intently, asked softly, "What's wrong? Feeling a bit disillusioned with Leonard-senpai?"
During the previous matches, Hinata had really liked Leonard because.. Leonard was so tall, standing at a full 199.8 centimeters.
Who would have thought that Leonard, the second highest scorer on the court with such a strong presence—one could even say second only to Oliver—was actually a guy obsessed with video games and manga in private?
Hinata froze for a moment upon hearing that. "Huh? Not really."
He raised a finger, his thoughts wandering. "I just feel like a professional club's training base should be in a mysterious, cool, gritty style—like a superhero's base?"
But right now, it feels like there's no difference from the Volleyball Association's base.. No, the dorms are a bit more luxurious?
Hinata's mind was a bit muddled: "Wait, that's not right. Doesn't the Volleyball Association also handle the National Team's training camps? Why are the living conditions worse than the professional team's?"
The Volleyball Association's dormitories are twin rooms. While it's possible this only applies to the National Youth Team, the Black Jackals' dormitories are indeed luxurious, feeling more like a five-star hotel.
Miya Atsumu stated a cruel fact: "Because the professional teams have money."
After saying that, the two fell into silence together.
Oda also arrived at twelve noon, upon receiving the message, Minka Shugo was ordered to come and call the two of them.
He knocked on the door of Room 9, but it was the occupant of Room 10 who opened it.
Looking at Miya Atsumu poking his head out, Minka Shugo said to him, "We need to go to the Training Base now to meet with the members who are currently still in Japan."
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Alright, I'll put on my jacket."
Hinata poked his head out and asked, "Then can I go?"
The Black Jackals' training base.. he hasn't even been inside yet.
Minka Shugo gave him a small smile and said soothingly, "I'm sorry, but we might be discussing some internal tactics and confidential information today, so I won't be able to take you along."
He softened his voice: "If you get bored, you can go downstairs to the Testing Center to find our strength and conditioning coach and our data group coach. You can test whatever you want or use the gym upstairs to work out."
We'll probably be back around eight tonight. If you're hungry, you can order takeout or go to the cafeteria; you can eat for free using your room card. I'll send the address for the takeout to Miya in a bit.
Hinata felt a slight sense of regret, but he still answered honestly, "Okay."
After thinking for less than a second, he handed over his own phone. "Perhaps Captain Minka Shugo can send it directly to me."
Actually, he already had Inunari's contact information, so he could have just asked them for it.
But.. I still really want Captain Minka Shugo's contact information.
After that, he and Miya Atsumu wouldn't be able to be together for a long time, so if the other person ran into any trouble, he might not be able to notice it immediately.
After all, given Miya Atsumu's personality, there was a chance he would try to shoulder everything himself, so he felt it was necessary to establish a stable connection with his future captain.
"That works too." Minka Shugo took Hinata's phone, entered his own phone number, placed the call.
Watching Miya Atsumu and the rest of the Black Jackals leave, Hinata, standing at the doorway, glanced at the time on his phone and happily decided to go explore the first floor first.
According to what the assistant and Captain Minka Shugo had said, he could move about freely as long as he didn't go up to the fourth floor.
He had only been to the Volleyball Association and Itachiyama's Testing Center, so he was incredibly curious about the testing center that came with a professional team.
After struggling to make sense of his surroundings in the first-floor lobby, he poked his head toward a side corridor, only to be met with the aroma of food.
Feeling a bit guilty for a couple of seconds, Hinata walked toward the other side.
Walking around the corridor from the lobby, the Testing Center with its frosted glass doors appeared in Hinata's field of vision.
The door was not closed, an adult wearing a white lab coat and glasses was sitting at a desk near the door, appearing to be organizing some materials.
As the orange color caught his peripheral vision, the other person slightly turned their head, quickly glanced at Hinata's face, then stood up while clutching a folder containing blank forms.
Hinata stood up straight to greet the other person. "Hello?"
The orange-haired team doctor curled his lips into a quite pleasant smile, reached out to open the double doors fully, pointed behind him. "Hinata Shoyo, right? Minka told me all about you."
It just so happens that I've been interested in you for a long time. Let's run some tests.
Hinata blinked and replied with some uncertainty, "Okay?"
A test? It shouldn't be anything too scary, right..
By the time Minka Shugo and the others returned from the Training Base, it was nearly nine o'clock. Oda was also with the group; he would be staying at the club for the next few days.
Miya Atsumu was exhausted. Although he hadn't performed any heavy physical training, simply keeping up with Oda to memorize every player's habits, the Black Jackals' tactics and hand signals, completing the tests and simulated matches given by the coaches had already made his head buzz.
He followed behind the group with a blank mind, trying his best to process the overwhelming influx of information he had taken in today.
As Minka Shugo walked into the first-floor lobby, he felt it was a bit noisy.
Although Oda was talking to Inunari behind him and Leonard was chiming in beside them, it was obvious that the source of the noise was not coming from this direction.
Minka Shugo frowned, finally locking his gaze toward the direction of the Testing Center.
The Testing Center should have closed by this time, Dr. Laura, who is always there, should have finished work long ago..
No, thinking back on it now, it did seem like I saw the lights were still on at the Testing Center through the glass just now.
Noticing Minka Shugo's gaze, Oda also raised a question: "Has Dr. Laura not finished work yet?"
Minka Shugo frowned and walked over that way. "I'll go take a look."
Is it that Captain Minka doesn't seem to be as tall as him?
He's a Middle Blocker, so there's no comparison. Thomas isn't up to it either, but Inunari is still capable of training.
And this, too.. this is just too terrifying..
Those track and field people would go crazy if they saw this.
Dr. Laura looked at the results of this afternoon's testing in high spirits, patting Hinata's shoulder with loud thuds. "As I suspected, I wasn't wrong at all; this little guy really is a little monster."
Surrounded by a group of adults, Hinata didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
For some reason, he felt the danger level here was second only to the restrooms.
From the moment he stepped through the gates of the Testing Center, he had felt a bit intimidated, Dr. Laura didn't treat him like a stranger at all.. she didn't even seem to treat him like a human being.
Every test he had ever done, every test he hadn't done, was arranged one after another. Just as his physical strength was completely drained and he was about to collapse, the other person drove him to a nearby private hospital to arrange a full suite of medical examinations.
And now, what Dr. Laura was sighing about was the X-ray he had taken at the hospital—the one regarding his Achilles tendon.
A knock sounded on the door, as Hinata tried to peek over, Minka Shugo had already walked in.
Seeing Dr. Laura with her back to him, along with several coaches from the data team, he looked completely puzzled. "Dr. Laura, aren't you off work yet?"
Laura turned her head to look at Minka Shugo and the others who were peeking over, a visible look of disdain appearing on her face.
She stared at the group for a while before speaking coldly and ruthlessly, "The rookies are coming to the Testing Center for tests tomorrow, so you all can do them together. I feel like you've put on weight, Leonard."
Leonard felt as if his world was collapsing: "Oh no!"
Why didn't he stop him when Minka Shugo decided to come over just now! This wasn't part of their original plan!
Having just heard several data analysts, Coach Kosano glanced at Hinata, who was casting him a pleading look, asked curiously, "What kind of stimulation did he just receive?"
Dr. Laura beckoned Minka Shugo over with a wave of her hand. "Come here, come here, see for yourself."
Minka Shugo walked over and grabbed Hinata's arm, tossing him to Miya Atsumu, who was following behind.
Miya Atsumu, who hadn't yet realized what had happened, was pulled away from the Testing Center's gate by Hinata, who wore an expression of "finally rescued."
Oda pushed the two of them out, one in each hand: "It's getting late, you two head back first. I'll check on the situation here."
Escaping those predatory stares from the coaches, Hinata raised a hand to pat his chest. "That was terrifying—"
Miya Atsumu snapped back to reality. "What happened? What did they do to you?"
Hinata recalled the events of the afternoon: "That Dr. Laura seems to be the person in charge of the entire athletic prevention system for the Black Jackals; the therapists, team doctors, so on are all under her. She said she wanted to conduct some tests and made me undergo two VO2 Max tests."
After the testing was finished, she insisted on having someone give me physical therapy, she also wanted to check my muscle development and even took me to the hospital to get X-rays..
He was wrong; he would never say Teacher Mikail was harsh again. The therapist here at the Black Jackals was the one who was truly brutal!!
"And Dr. Laura kept commenting while she was examining me," Hinata complained.
“She said, she said.. that my upper body strength is weak, my lower body core isn't much better, that my abdominal strength is only barely passable, then she said.. she said I'm like a soccer player!”
—She has such a sharp tongue.
Miya Atsumu couldn't help but let out a laugh, earning an even deeper resentment from Hinata.
Hinata's BMI is still a bit low for an athlete, but strength training for muscle gain is a long-term project; it's not something that can be achieved overnight.
Over the past two years, the training provided by Coach Kurosu and Coach Kosano has improved significantly, but for professional team coaches, it might still not be enough.