Feeling the sadness and distress beside him, Miya Atsumu quickly tried to make amends: "You're not an adult yet; it's far too early to reach a conclusion now."
Minka Shugo fell into silence after scanning through Hinata's test data.
Well, he knew why Dr. Laura looked down on them so much.
Hinata Shoyo, born in 1996, only turned 18 this June. For a male, this is a time when the body is still growing rapidly and nothing has fully settled yet.
Despite his low muscle density and low body weight, his VO2 Max was an astonishing 79.2.
This data wasn't as high as Hinata's. Minka Shugo fell silent, then changed the subject by raising another question: "Why are there two VO2 Max readings?"
Dr. Laura replied, "Ah, that 78.9 was the result of the first test. The second one was taken five hours later; I adjusted his breathing and the pace of his acceleration during that interval."
“I asked him for his earliest data as a reference. Comparing it to his current muscle density, his peak in adulthood shouldn't be lower than 86.”
Minka Shugo's eyes widened, his voice cracked with shock: "86?!"
Oda also spoke in shock, "Is that for real?"
Dr. Laura put the forms away. "I'll send them to Coach Sansou tomorrow so he can consider whether to recruit him early."
Generally, it is impossible for most people to deduce a player's limit state from this set of data, but she conducted research in this field while pursuing her doctorate in the United States, so she is able to perform a certain degree of estimation.
Single data points certainly don't prove anything, nor do they play a decisive role.
But putting aside Hinata's disadvantageous physical build in terms of height, the rest of his profile actually has no obvious weaknesses; his overall ability is strong, his learning ability is nothing short of terrifying.
From her personal perspective.. even if they could recruit him, she didn't believe the Black Jackals could keep him.
—But that was not something she should be considering.
In the very back, Inunari blinked, suddenly realizing what Unai had meant when he spoke a long time ago.
Hinata and the other wasn't quite sure what everyone in the Testing Center was talking about. The next day, Miya Atsumu and the others spent the entire morning undergoing testing, in the afternoon, Minka Shugo took Hinata along to the Training Base for training to maintain his touch.
Hinata felt both the pain and the joy of successfully becoming a sparring partner and gaining the opportunity to interact with Minka Shugo and the others.
Oda's sets didn't pursue extreme perfection like Miya Atsumu's, but as a V1-level starting second setter, his sets were beyond reproach.
But a top-tier V1 Middle Blocker is not someone a high school level player can compare to; without an ultimate Quick Attack to rely on, it is difficult for Hinata to score against Minka Shugo.
Repeatedly facing setbacks, Hinata's competitive spirit was fully ignited.
After Miya Atsumu graduates, Kumagai certainly won't be able to organize such extreme quick attacks with him, so he must also adapt to this state and find more effective offensive strategies.
When Coach Kurosu called for the end of practice in the afternoon, Hinata still looked like he hadn't had enough.
Unfortunately, Miya Atsumu's stay with the Black Jackals this time lasted only four days; on the morning of the fifth day, he and the others boarded a vehicle to return to Hyogo.
Coach Sansou did not show much reaction to the report sent by Dr. Laura.
But his tacit approval of Hinata acting as a sparring partner for the Black Jackals expressed his personal thoughts to some extent.
On a certain Saturday in mid-January, Coach Kurosu was already waiting early inside the Second Gymnasium.
The holidays had ended, this was their first day of resuming training.
But although they said it was resuming training, there were actually things more important to do than training.
Suna returned to school on the third day of the holidays, while Rishia and the others had been there the whole time.
Unabara Uta only returned from his trip yesterday, while Hinata Shoyo and Miya Atsumu only arrived in Hyogo this morning.
During this vacation, Miya Atsumu's Twitter was flooded every day. For the past few days, it was all the various photos he and Hinata took during their trip; the skiing photos alone were posted in batches for three days, showing how satisfied he was with the photos the photographer took.
For the next few days, the two of them weren't playing; instead, they went to the Black Jackals to observe and learn, while also resolving the issue of Miya Atsumu's post-graduation plans.
Coach Kurosu decided that the two of them had actually done something productive.
Unlike a certain Libero, he had spent over a week actually working hard.
Unabara Uta received a stare from the coach when he entered the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium to greet everyone.
He shrugged his shoulders and walked over to stand beside Tokura.
The Second Gymnasium was crowded; it wasn't just the members of the First String, the Second String members were all there as well.
Coach Kurosu withdrew his gaze.
The inspections and such would have to wait until after the holidays were over; after all, holidays were meant for resting and relaxing, so Hinata and the others, who had rushed off to play volleyball, were the ones "neglecting their proper duties."
Hinata arrived with Rishia, while the Third Year students had not yet appeared.
After greeting each other, everyone sat on the floor on Coach Kurosu's signal, waiting for him to speak.
Fukami and Nishizawa and the others were discussing what they would be doing today, their faces filled with excitement and anticipation.
Hinata's gaze swept over several people, for a moment, he was transported back to that day a year ago.
He knew what was going to happen today, because of that, his emotions were very complex.
—What was Miya Atsumu thinking about at this time last year?
The Third Years walked in, each carrying a box, placed them on the floor behind the Coach in order.
Coach Kurosu opened the folder in his hands and announced in a steady voice, "During this time while the First String was on break, our evaluation of the members of the Second String and Third String has also come to an end. I called you all here today to arrange the starting lineup for the 2014-2015 season."
“The future team roles will also be announced at the same time, new uniforms will be distributed to everyone.”
Hinata watched Miya Atsumu, who was standing one step behind Coach Kurosu, Miya Atsumu, who was making eye contact with him, nodded to him.
It seemed like affirmation, yet also like encouragement.
The Second String members, who had been whispering, instantly fell silent, the atmosphere in the gymnasium grew much more serious.
Once the environment quieted down, Miya Atsumu leaned over and took out four sets of volleyball uniforms, folded neatly inside the box.
Coach Kurosu's gaze swept across everyone sitting on the floor before finally landing on Hinata.
“Captain, Number 4, Hinata Shoyo.”
Even though he had known for a long time that he would be chosen as Captain, Hinata's brain still went blank for a moment the instant he heard it.
He took a deep breath and quickly stood up, walking toward Coach Kurosu's side.
Miya Atsumu took a step forward and placed the uniform into his hands.
The home team jersey was black with the number 4 and the Captain's mark on it; for some reason, Hinata felt as if this stack of jerseys weighed a thousand pounds.
He remembered how he had once remarked to others that the number 4 Captain's uniform worn by Bokuto and his teammates was exceptionally cool.
And now, he has received it too.
".." Miya Atsumu slightly opened his mouth.
Miya Atsumu had originally intended to say something to Hinata Shoyo, following the example of the Kita Team, but he found himself unable to continue, because..
He suddenly felt that this serious demeanor didn't suit him very well.
At this time last year, he hadn't thought anything of it, because he didn't believe at all back then that the person taking over as Captain would be him.
His first reaction at the time wasn't regret over the seniors' departure, but rather a feeling that he had finally won against Miya Osamu in this regard.
But when he took the uniform from the Kita Team and heard their simple yet heavy words, he felt a strange sense of being entrusted with a solemn mission.
But.. he feels that this mission doesn't suit Hinata right now.
Volleyball is a sport that brings joy, when he discussed with Coach Kurosu the idea of letting Hinata become the Captain, it was absolutely not because he thought Hinata would become a great leader.
He just simply felt that everyone would be very happy, that this matter was quite interesting.
Atsumu gave a sudden, inexplicable smile, practically "shoving" his clothes toward Hinata before quickly letting go.
Play as freely as you want according to your own ideas; there's no need to be constrained by any fixed form.
I'll leave the five consecutive championships to you.
The things he couldn't achieve could only be left to Hinata.
A surge of uncontrollable stinging rose to the tip of Hinata's nose, Miya Atsumu's figure blurred in his vision.
He hugged the jersey in his arms tightly, sniffled, responded with a firm voice, "I will, Atsumu-ge, don't you worry."
When the Kita Team graduated, Hinata also cried very hard, but he didn't find it as difficult to suppress the emotions of sadness and grief as he did now.
This feeling was very strange.
More than just simple reluctance to part, there was a strange, inexplicable hint of an emotion that felt like "emptiness."
Looking back now, from the very first day he stepped into the Inarizaki Volleyball Club, Atsumu had been by his side.
From the initial moments of hesitation and unease to the final state where every single second was spent in almost complete, wholehearted trust in one another, looking back now, it all feels so incredibly real.
Whether it was Miya Atsumu, Rishia Heisuke, Coach Kurosu, or Hoshiumi, these people had believed firmly for a very long time that he would definitely be able to become stronger.
And now.. has he lived up to that expectation?
Biting his lower lip, Hinata could not control the tears streaming down his cheeks.
He just repeated "I will" over and over again, as if making a promise time after time.
Atsumu reached out and patted Hinata's shoulder, soothing his emotions: "Alright, time to head back, Captain Hinata."
Hinata nodded and turned around, sitting on the ground while clutching his team uniform.
Rishia watched him out of the corner of his eye, his eyes filled with deep concern. He had originally wanted to pat him on the shoulder and say something, but the coach's voice had already reached his ears.
“Position 1, Vice-Captain, Rishia Heisuke.”
Miya Osamu, who was also a Vice-Captain, handed his jersey to Rishia Heisuke: "Good luck."
Rather than saying "Good luck," he actually wanted to say, "Thank you for your hard work."
But when he thought about how he served as Vice-Captain for Miya Atsumu, he felt that Rishia being the Vice-Captain for Hinata was already quite good.
At least.. Hinata isn't the type of person who would shift an excessive amount of work onto the Vice-Captain with absolute confidence.
Rishia Heisuke was very nervous; although he believed that with Hinata around, there would be absolutely no problems regarding the social aspect, that didn't mean he could breathe normally while standing by.
Hinata's social bulldozer mode.. wouldn't necessarily work in every situation.
Well, Rishia admitted that there were indeed quite a few coaches who fell for that kind of thing.
“Number 2, Kumagai Kuniharu.”
Just as Kumagai had anticipated, number 2 was given to him; otherwise, he would have been able to achieve the feat of using the same jersey number throughout his entire three years of high school.
Number 3, Ogata Tomoya.