At the same time, Hinata, who had already left Inarizaki and was on his way home, let out a sudden sneeze.
Rishia was startled: "Did you catch a chill? You're not coming down with a cold, are you?"
Hinata hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "No, no, it was just a hair that passed in front of my nose."
Hearing Hinata's words, Rishia breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to ask about something else: "By the way, do you not particularly like Miya Atsumu?"
“Not at all, Miya Atsumu-senpai is very handsome too!” Hinata Shoyo said, blinking.
It wasn't just his physical handsomeness; his composure and presence on the court also inspired a sense of longing in others.
That state of being.. he really is enjoying volleyball.
"But you seem quite cold toward Miya Atsumu-senpai?" Rishia was very puzzled.
Last time we met, he was even asking for a toss, so why has he become so cold this time?
Hinata's footsteps faltered for a moment. He looked up at Rishia and said with extreme bluntness, "Because I didn't understand it at all."
Rishia stood frozen in place, as if he had turned to stone.
So it was.. because of a reason like that!
Hinata couldn't understand a single one of Miya Atsumu's flashy, showy tosses.
Plus, since he has been practicing the two-sword style lately, his probability of service errors has been extremely ridiculous, he hasn't served any good balls.
Meanwhile, Miya Atsumu, who had just come out of the gymnasium, was walking at the very front, looking furious.
That little brat! He has no taste at all!
Author's Note:
Coach Kurosu: It looks like there's a golden egg? I'm not sure, let me take another look.
Chapter 4: The Fourth Fox
Shoyo, is it printed yet?
"Done, done!" Hinata emerged from the print shop, holding an Inarizaki club application form, leaned over the table by the door to start filling it out.
Name, class, height, finally, a personal profile.
Normally, the last large box should be filled in with one's volleyball history or match experience, but Hinata Shoyo didn't write any of that down; after all, if he really looked into it, he truly didn't have any.
So, Hinata used a pen to write a few words on it.
[I love volleyball most of all!!]
After finishing, Hinata turned back to look at Rishia Heisuke behind him, the two shared a smile.
In the Inarizaki staff office, Omimi turned his head and asked Kita Shinsuke, who had come to deliver assignments to other teachers, "Shinsuke, have the club application forms for this year arrived yet?"
Kita, who had already been selected as captain, nodded. "They have all been collected. I will organize them and bring them to you later."
Club recruitment during the day was still very lively. Atsumu and the others were already working hard on their promotions, because of their great achievements over the years, Inarizaki received even more club application forms this year than in previous years.
Relieved of much of the pressure, Omimi laughed, "You're a lifesaver, so reliable."
Kita gave a light laugh. "No, it is my duty."
He politely closed the door and left the office to go to the classroom to get the already sorted application forms.
As for the volleyball club's recruitment, there were only two points that needed attention.
One is height, the other is past performance.
Those who possess one or both of these qualities will be singled out and grouped together, while those without experience will be placed on the other side.
Kita knew that after Coach Kurosu reviewed everyone's applications, he would arrange intra-club practice matches on the first day of club activities.
Including positions and skill levels, everything will be shuffled and reorganized; after three rounds of matches, the truly noteworthy individuals will be identified.
In the evening, after supervising everyone's training, the two coaches returned to the office and officially began reviewing that thick stack of applications.
This year's special recruitment slots for the volleyball club were given to Rishia Heisuke and another quite capable libero, Unabara Uta. Aside from these two, there were a total of 43 applications submitted this time.
Thirteen applications were specifically selected by Kita, as someone who visits every junior high school in the prefecture every year, Coach Kurosu had a general impression of the "experienced individuals" Kita had chosen.
After a quick glance, Coach Kurosu performed a second round of grading.
There wasn't much to see here, after all, he had already conducted a preliminary selection.
As the strongest school in the prefecture, the vast majority of excellent students would flow here. He had already brought the most promising player under his command, so for the rest, it would depend on their future development.
What is truly worth noting.. is another batch of "undiscovered seedlings."
This one, a former junior high soccer player, made it to the top sixteen in the prefecture; his endurance and coordination should be quite good.
This one, from the track and field club, threw a 700g javelin 49 meters; his strength is decent.
There's also someone who plays Go and used to be a student at the academy; his brain must be sharp..
Watching Coach Kurosu rummage through the application forms like a fox that had spotted a paradise of fried tofu, Coach Omimi silently took a step back.
No matter how you look at it, this state is a bit terrifying.
When he flipped to the very last page, Coach Kurosu's hand paused slightly.
Omimi leaned in to take a look and saw the large text in the personal profile section.
He couldn't help but laugh. "This kid must be Rishia's friend; he's just as I imagined."
After staring at that paper for a long time, Coach Kurosu finally pulled Hinata aside, then took a setter from the top four of Miyagi Prefecture from the very beginning of the stack and placed the two of them together.
His tone carried a clear sense of anticipation: "Let's try it tomorrow."
On Saturday morning, all the freshmen had gathered at Hall 2. Only a portion of the upperclassmen from the second and third teams had arrived, while the rest were conducting their daily training in Hall 3.
After confirming with Kazu that everyone had arrived, Coach Kurosu nodded with great satisfaction.
"Hello, everyone. I am Kurosu Masamune, the head coach of the Inarizaki boys' volleyball club." Kurosu stood at the very front, his eyes full of smiles as he looked at the freshmen.
Behind him, Omimi had inexplicable beads of sweat on his forehead, his smile was extremely forced.
Kurosu opened the folder in his hands. "I believe I don't need to introduce the club itself too much, so for now, we will skip some of the procedural steps.."
Whoever I call out will step forward.
Realizing something was wrong, Aran snapped his gaze toward the back of the coach's head.
No, don't omit this part!
But in the next second, Coach Kurosu's cold and ruthless voice had already rang out.
Rishia Heisuke, opposite hitter. Xun Yidou, setter. Taoyuan Qing, wing spiker. Teruya Masato, wing spiker. Kurai Isamu, opposite hitter. Tomo Yojiro, opposite hitter.
Rishia Heisuke, the first one to have his name called, tensed up completely and stood at the front of the lineup, moving almost as if his arms and legs were moving in unison, while the next few people called stood beside him in succession.
Xun Yidou, standing next to Rishia Heisuke, frowned.
When he filled out the application form, he wrote that he played as an ace in junior high, so why did his position here turn out to be setter?
What is.. this for?
Unabara Uta, wing spiker. Kumagai Kuniharu, setter. Koarai Tsuneyuki, wing spiker. Hayakawa Takumi, opposite hitter. Tokura Yukihito, opposite hitter. Hinata Shoyo, wing spiker.
Unabara, who had been called out, was also full of questions.
He was a free agent recruited alongside Rishia Heisuke; how did he become the ace on his very first day in the club?
While everyone else was in a state of confusion, only Hinata Shoyo, at the very end of the line, was full of excitement.
So this is the club recruitment ceremony? This is the first time he has experienced—
Watching the selected group stand in two separate lines, the players behind the coaches had already roughly guessed what was about to happen.
A look of pity couldn't help but cross Aran's face, he mourned for everyone in his heart.
Kurosu looked at the twelve people who had been called out with a face full of smiles: "All of the above will be led by Akagi, Miya Atsumu, Suna for warm-ups, then will hold an intra-squad match on Court 1."
If anyone has any questions regarding the rules, they can ask them as well; they will also serve as the referees for the scrimmage.
The entire gymnasium suddenly fell into a deathly silence, everyone stood there, not even daring to breathe.
Rishia Heisuke's mind went blank, while beside him, Xun Yidou's expression was one of pure shock.
No way!
Are they going to go this big right from the start?!
On their first day in the club, they didn't even know the surnames of the two coaches yet, they were already about to play a match?!
Hinata clenched his fists, looking at Coach Kurosu with eyes full of excitement.
A match! We can play volleyball now!
On the other side, Miya Atsumu, who had also stepped forward, immediately noticed Hinata Shoyo, who was standing out far too much. His eager, ready-to-go state was completely different from the others around him, who looked as if the sky were falling.
—That is a state only someone who is already prepared would have when facing an "opportunity."
This little brat, is he really this confident?
After a simple warm-up, the more experienced players on both sides had already spontaneously begun making their subsequent tactical arrangements.
Neither side had a libero, both were carrying several rookies..
On Hinata's side, Unabara Uta was facing a much tougher challenge.
Luckily, he wasn't the only one in the team with experience; the setter Kumagai, who had been called out, was also a starter for a top-four team.
Barely.. he can still hold his own.
Kumagai was also having a headache.
To be honest, they truly had the feeling of a disastrous start; although it wasn't that they were all novices, they were all of average skill.
They were all quite tall, but their strength was lacking. Although he didn't know that Rishia Heisuke on the opposing side, the fact that he was a special recruit spoke volumes, not to mention that in a match of this level, attackers naturally play a more significant role.
Just at that moment, Hinata walked up to Kumagai's side. "Excuse me! Kumagai-kun!"
Kumagai froze for a moment. "Ah.. Hinata-kun? Is something the matter?"
Hinata was the only one among these two teams who was not even 1.75 meters tall, so he remembered him very clearly.