Chapter 20 Closing Ceremony 1 Summer Camp is Over!

"Watch this, a ground-sliding slash!"

Hinata lunged forward, rolled once on the ground, and the ball, following the force of his lunge, grazed the net and barely cleared it before landing.

Sawada Tsunayoshi paused slightly as he prepared to finish off Hinata, and he and Matsukawa Saki, who had also rushed out, gave each other an awkward smile. He turned around and helped Hinata up, while Matsukawa Saki patted Hinata's shoulder loudly, "Good catch!"

Hinata held his head high and hummed smugly.

Sitting on the sidelines, Coach Nakajima gave the other coaches a defiant look, "Am I a good coach?"

You didn't have this look on your face when the ball almost went over the net. The others were speechless, but they still admired the kid and cheered for his leap from the sidelines.

Suzuki glared at Hinata, his expression fierce. "Hinata, when did you take your knee pads off again?"

He lifted the child off the field and put knee braces on him, muttering, "Your knees are seriously damaged like this. You'll behave once you get injured."

Hinata tucked his legs into the knee pads, the tight constriction making him uncomfortable. "But with the knee pads on, I feel like I can't run as fast as before."

It feels like my legs are tied up; I'm not as agile as before when running or jumping.

Hearing this, Sawada Tsunayoshi looked at the knee pads that were tightly wrapped around his knees. The black ones made his white thighs stand out against them. He didn't dare to take off the knee pads, because it would hurt terribly if he fell to the ground!

"That won't do either. If I see you not wearing knee pads again, you're going to get out of the game and retrieve the ball!" Even though the coach is usually easygoing, he is always strict when it comes to his students' physical health.

Kujou Hayate and Nakajima mocked the guy for acting like a mother hen, then turned around and saw Kujou Ikeya lifting Matsukawa Saki above his head and swaggering and mocking him across the street.

His heart skipped a beat. "Kujo Ikeya, don't do that!"

Before he could finish speaking, Kujo Ike, due to the excessive swaying, caused Matsukawa Saki to lose his balance and fall backward.

Kujou Hayate was surrounded by darkness. He instinctively stood up to see what was going on.

Despite falling quite a few times, neither of them was seriously injured. Amidst the laughter from the other side, they slunk up and ran to the backstage area.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was holding a water glass when Akaashi Kyoji stood beside him and said that he might be given some balls to handle next.

"Chi Ye is getting carried away again." His tone was so familiar it was heartbreaking.

After spending time together, Tsuna was no longer surprised by this. He had water in his mouth and gave an OK sign.

Middle blocker Aoyama Kaede is a shy, tall guy. He scratched his head, feeling awkward even though he had been with his teammates for more than two weeks.

Because he was standing alone on the sidelines during the first half of summer camp and couldn't find any teammates, he was spotted by Sawada Tsunayoshi who happened to pass by. In the end, his weakness was defeated by a smile from a fellow student, and he stayed in this team where he didn't know anyone.

They were assigned to the same group before. He didn't have many friends here and didn't have any hope for the reshuffled setter. He just wanted to get through these few days and get back to his original position.

But Tsunayoshi is different!

He can pass the ball!

After lowering the baseline, Aoyama Kaede realized that all he needed from the setter was for the ball to be passed to him. It's also possible that the coach intended for them to realize the difficulty of passing the ball so that they could be more understanding of each other when they returned to their positions.

Of course, whether Tsuna passed the ball that day had nothing to do with him; he was drawn as the libero, haha.

Catching the ball is something everyone has practiced: run to where the ball is about to land, squat down, extend your arms, and then—

"Oops, I'm so sorry! It's my fault!"

Having lost count of how many times he'd caught the ball haphazardly, Aoyama Kaede felt deeply apologetic towards his teammates, whom he'd ruined. Apologizing was the word he uttered most frequently throughout the day. He reflected with sorrow, realizing that catching the ball was indeed an art.

However, Sawada Tsunayoshi wasn't angry at all!

This anger doesn't refer to throwing a tantrum. After all, everyone has switched positions and anticipated each other's slightly inferior skills. At most, we'll make a few sarcastic remarks, and everyone will laugh it off as we're all about the same.

But Tsuna, the setter who was the one he messed up the most, never complained about him. He would even praise him with bright eyes when Tsuna received the ball well.

"That was a fantastic catch, Aoyama-kun!"

Sawada Tsunayoshi passed the ball out, then turned and smiled as he spoke to Aoyama Kaede.

Damn it, aren't we all socially awkward? Why, why can Sawada Tsunayoshi talk to him so naturally?

He had secretly observed Sawada Tsunayoshi a few days ago. Although the other party was always at the center of the conversations with his friends, he himself mostly listened, and it was always Hyuga who did the talking.

When you're together, you can tell that the other person is very shy. After being praised by the attacker for passing the ball, they will feel embarrassed and purse their lips, revealing a slight smile.

Then he heard Tsuna say, "Aoyama-kun can already catch the ball very steadily in just one game, that's so cool."

"Ah," Aoyama Kaede's mouth opened slightly, and the air vibrated in his chest cavity, producing a few meaningless sounds. Although he was often praised for playing volleyball very well, this was the first time he had been praised for receiving the ball.

Moreover, Aoyama could sense the seriousness in the other person's youthful voice; he genuinely thought my haphazard catching of the ball was cool.

It felt as if someone had stuffed a handful of cotton candy into his mouth. Before Aoyama Kaede even realized it, the cotton candy had already melted in his mouth. His tongue touched the sweet taste, and as he chewed, the sweetness traveled down his esophagus into his stomach.

So sweet! Aoyama Kaede loves sweets.

"Tsunayoshi is handsome too." Seeing Sawada Tsunayoshi's somewhat surprised expression, he mimicked Tsunayoshi's slight pursing of his lips and a smile.

Having assumed that since Tsuna was so gentle, the atmosphere in their team must be good, Aoyama Kaede was relieved that she had finally found a suitable partner.

Unexpectedly, the atmosphere was great, but clearly too great! It could even be described as abstract!

With his boundless enthusiasm seemingly hitting a nerve, Kujo Ike also grabbed Kojima Shiro and headed straight for Aoyama, who was on the sidelines questioning his existence. Kujo Ike waved his hand, and Aoyama felt as if he had been pressed down by the arm.

"Next, the three of us will be in the front row to stop them!" Kujo Ike, who had just been humiliated, was not discouraged at all.

He positioned one on each side of the team's three tallest players in front of the net, and Kojima cooperated fully.

"Don't let them get a single ball past us!"

Standing here, Qingshan felt like he was about to catch fire. If someone could actually do something like not being able to beat even one ball, that would be incredible.

He looked at Tsunayoshi for help, while Tsunayoshi was chatting with Kyoji Akaashi, but he always managed to catch everyone's gaze.

Sawada Tsunayoshi looked at the three strangely dressed people with a puzzled expression, feeling that Ike was trying to get the other side of the net to focus their attacks on him alone, and that he never learned his lesson.

Tsuna mouthed "Good luck!" and received an even more mournful look from Aoyama Kaede, which made him laugh.

Kyoji Akaashi nodded. "So you see, it seems like the concept of 'fear' doesn't even exist in Ikeya's brain."

Hinata stood up and jumped around a few times to make sure everything was alright, then ran back onto the field. "I'm ready! Let's get started!"

He bumped fists with Sawada Tsunayoshi, who was standing next to him. Tsunayoshi noticed his emotions, then turned around and nodded to Akaashi, indicating that Shoyo was in a good position to use back passes.

The final competition of the Owl Valley Children's Club Summer Camp has officially begun.

Sawada Tsunayoshi raised his neck, his eyes following the orange-yellow ball flying in the air. After long-term training, he no longer felt dizzy from looking up, and his focus and posture were light and agile.

"Jump-!"

Kujoike, along with Kojima and Aoyama, formed a three-man block. The attack launched from the right wing grazed Kojima's fingertips, losing power and spin. Tsuna stepped forward and crouched down, easily passing the ball to Akaashi.

This is a ball that can be passed around as soon as it's in hand, Kyoji Akaashi thought.

So, after!

With the three players in the front row jumping at different times, the setter quickly passes the ball out, launching a fast attack from the back row.

Hinata was overjoyed to be able to attack from the back row, and in fact, he did indeed fly.

With a heavy screech of his shoe against the ground, the fledgling bird leaped high onto the solid floor of the Xiaogu Club. Before the opposing team could react, his pupils had already locked onto the open space, and he slammed down the ball that his teammates had passed to him!

"Damn it!" The opposing libero failed to receive the ball and stared in frustration at the short attacker who landed with the ball.

"No matter how many times I watch it, I still think Hinata is really good at jumping around." Nakajima crossed his arms.

Kujou Hayate chimed in with a sarcastic remark, "If you don't say something now, he should go play as a free agent."

Nakajima looked at him with a "you don't understand" expression. "What does his high jump have to do with me wanting him to play libero? Look at his running speed, his height and agility. He looks very promising as a libero."

"Not just Hyuga, let Tsunayoshi come too. Wasn't that catch just now perfect?"

"Yeah, everyone come and play as a free agent," Nakajima thought.

Suzuki complained, "If he hadn't caught that ball well, he would have been really doomed. You might as well praise him for his quick reaction and good awareness."

The referee blew his whistle, signaling that Tsuna had scored. The group gathered together to cheer, patted the little dog's head as he scored, and then scattered back to their original positions.

Even though he didn't know when this celebration gesture came about, Aoyama stared blankly at his hands, but he was already used to rubbing them together after scoring. Could it be that the abstract has an infectious power?

As two teams that made it to the finals, the match was back and forth, and at least it was clear that they were playing with their brains.

After losing a point, the opposing team muttered a few words and prepared to deal with Kujo Ikeya's serve.

There was no way around it; Kujo Ike was also tall, and he had developed a muscular physique from training with his father since childhood. Everyone knew that he had a powerful serve, so a few people stepped forward and handed the ball to the libero.

Seeing how wary the other side was of him, Kujo Ike became even more smug, and as soon as he became smug, Akaashi Kyoji began to feel afraid.

Countless dark memories flashed through his mind, and Akagi's hands trembled slightly.

He silently covered the back of his head, while Sawada Tsunayoshi, standing in the back row, saw the whole thing clearly. He thought to himself that he couldn't possibly get hit while he was in the back row, but he still raised his arm without hesitation.

"Oh right, right, it's obstructing the view." Hinata noticed his friend's action and suddenly realized.

Everyone was ready, and Kujo Ike barely managed to get to sixth place, throwing the ball at the seven-second mark.

He was about to hit the ball at an angle, and everyone probably thought he was going to serve with a powerful shot.

Hehe, he wouldn't do that. Kujo Ike also aimed at the corner line and jumped to spike the ball.

Playing ball is all about keeping things fresh and exciting on the court!

Teeth white —

The moment his hand touched the ball, he knew something was wrong; the ball seemed to have tilted too far to the side!

He watched helplessly as the ball didn't go towards the opposite corner, but instead flew straight towards the edge of the net.

Please, please clean the net!

Oh no! With a "Duang," the ball hit the marker pole.

Kujo Ikeya's shot was quite powerful; the ball bounced off the marker and Matsukawa Saki's pupils constricted as he immediately stepped forward to catch it.

Then I saw the ball land, well, land on top of Kyoji Akaashi's head?

The ball bounced off Kyoji Akaashi's head.

"Duang"

It hit Hyuga on the head.

"Duang"

Then it bounced off Tsuna's head.

Sawada Tsunayoshi, caught off guard, watched helplessly as the ball landed in front of him.

The stadium was completely silent, and Kujoike looked ashen-faced; it was all over now.

"Pfft, pfft hahahaha," Matsukawa Saki leaned forward to look at the four petrified people and couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Killing three birds with one stone, Ike's technique is really good, hahahaha!"

Actually, it's four carvings. Kujoike also wanted to say that to him, because there's also the broken Kujoike himself.

Everyone, both inside and outside the stadium, was laughing.

Kojima stared in shock at the murder weapon on the ground, seemingly trying to mentally reconstruct how the ball had been made. He wore an expression of admiration, saying, "That was an ingenious shot."

Don't try to learn everything!

As Sawada Tsunayoshi watched Kojima Castle making its move, amidst the uproarious laughter in the room, tears streamed down his face as he thought to himself.

Akaashi lowered his arms, staring at his hands in a silence that made Kujo Ike uneasy. He was simply thinking...

So, protecting only the back of the head isn't enough?

The crowd burst into laughter both on and off the court, with the opposing attackers mocking them mercilessly. Kujo Ike's pre-match arrogance was completely extinguished.

Several coaches couldn't bear to watch, and Kujou Sa wailed from the side, "When I get back, I'm definitely going to make him practice his serves."

Suzuki offered a very pertinent suggestion: "You should tighten your skin around him and make sure he doesn't cause trouble on the field."

“If his skin had been tightened, that wouldn’t have happened.” Kujou Sa seemed quite experienced.

Hinata ran over to confront Kujo Ikeya, one person mocking him, another angrily rebuking him, and then there was another who wanted to become his apprentice—it was complete chaos.

The only one with a conscience, Aoyama, came over and gently patted Tsunayoshi's head. He didn't dare to go after Akaashi Kyoji, feeling that the setter was about to go berserk. As a middle blocker, he naturally wouldn't go up to her. What if the setter held a grudge against him too?

"Does your head hurt a lot?"

No, Sawada Tsunayoshi was just stunned by the impact. He subconsciously shook his head, "No, a soft volleyball doesn't hurt when it hits you."

After realizing what had happened, he found it funny. "Maybe it's because the ball lost a lot of force when it hit Jingzhi and Xiaoxiang's heads, so I didn't feel anything when it hit me."

Tsuna said with a smile, while Aoyama Kaede, under the murderous gaze from behind, forced a smile and joke with the carefree guy in front of him.

Didn't you see everyone else running off to provoke Kujo Ikeya?! Who would dare to go up to the setter and provoke him at a time like this?! Not even Matsukawa Saki, the libero!

Aoyama gave a few miserable laughs. What should he do? He felt like he was being targeted by the setter. Would he even be able to get the ball next? Waaah.

Sawada Tsunayoshi had no idea that the person in front of him had so many inner monologues. If he had known, he would have thought that Kyoji wasn't that kind of person.

Indeed, Kyoji Akaashi is not that kind of person.

He usually settles scores on the spot if he has a grievance or a debtor.

When the referee made them stand back on the court, Kyoji Akaashi coldly said, "If you don't catch the ball I give you next, don't expect me to keep your secret."

"I understand, Kyōji, sob sob." Kūjō Ike also had tears in her eyes.

Hinata couldn't immediately recall what the secret was, so he leaned closer to Tsuna and asked, "What secret?"

Sawada Tsunayoshi vaguely remembered this one. "It's that one. Ikeya saved up money to buy a harmonica without telling Coach Kujo. When it was discovered, Ikeya said it belonged to Kyōji and then asked Kyōji to play with him."

"Focus." Akaashi's voice came from ahead.

Tsuna and Hyuga immediately stood at attention, exchanged a fearful look, and dared not speak again.

A note from the author:

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Those who serve and hit others will always be hit back.

hnt: But I've never hit anyone before!

27:?

I've finally written about almost all the characters. I guess I won't need to make up any more people now (exhausted).

These past few days have probably been the college entrance exams. Best of luck on the exams! [cat emoji]