Chapter 4 Physical Examination - Full Body Checkup

Since it was the weekend, Irie Shoichi had agreed last night to accompany Hinata and Tsuna to their physical exams. One reason was that he was worried the two unreliable guys would get lost, and the other was that Tsuna had never had a physical exam at a hospital except for the annual school-required one, so having someone with him would prevent him from being scared.

But when the three of them met at the hospital entrance, Tsuna discovered that Irie's older sister had also come along. They had run into Irie's older sister on the first night they met, so Sawada Tsuna and Hinata knew her.

"I heard you're having a physical exam, so Mom told me to bring my little brother Zhengyi along for one too." Girls always develop earlier than boys, she patted her brother's head, looking quite reluctant.

Shoichi Irie adjusted his glasses, which had been knocked askew, and said, "If you don't want to come, then don't come. I won't get lost."

Eri Irie was naturally unhappy that her precious weekend rest was interrupted, but since it was her younger brother and his best friend's medical check-up, she reluctantly came along.

She waved her hand, "Then forget it. I don't want to end up at the police station looking for a lost child because I can't find you at night."

Shoichi Irie, enraged and embarrassed, yelled, "Big sister!"

"They have such a good relationship," Hinata and Tsuna remarked.

The siblings, who were arguing, turned around at the same time, "Where did you see that!"

Irie Masahiro initially thought that such a formal medical examination might not be possible in Namimori and that he would have to go to a major hospital in Tokyo. However, after inquiring, he discovered that Namimori Hospital could perform the examination. It was strange, considering that Namimori is just a small rural town.

It was several days later when they received all the medical examination reports. Irie Shoichi, who had found a mentor online, carefully reviewed their information and couldn't help but sigh.

“Irie, the two subjects you chose for the investigation are really in great shape, like they’re made of steel. This kid named Sawada is the best I’ve seen in years, and I bet he has an amazing ability to recover.”

"Hyuga, his height might not be outstanding in the future, but his legs, I really suspect that everything below his knees is Achilles tendon. With that physique, he would excel in sports like track and field or soccer."

Finally, the professor from the sports university was very satisfied with this humble and eager-to-learn student, saying, "Keep up the good work, I'm really looking forward to your paper, Irie."

After reviewing numerous reference books, Irie Shoichi finally decided to consult a specialist. He sent emails to professors with remarkable efficiency, since university students are well aware of these professors' email addresses.

He pretended to be a student about to graduate and sought guidance from his advisor. The professor, who had the best reputation, did indeed help him and even suggested that if he wanted to apply for graduate school, he could use this paper to get into his tutelage.

Irie Shoichi neither agreed nor disagreed with the professor's invitation. Thinking back to his conversation with Hinata when he first received the height prediction, he drafted a new email. Pretending to be a college student was something he was quite used to; at least the old professor hadn't suspected that the person on the other end of the screen was an elementary school student after all these days of interaction.

[Teacher, if we were to let Hinata play volleyball, what do you think would be the best training method? My personal opinion is to develop his running and jumping abilities, since everyone says you should play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.]

"Shoyo, are you sure you want to play volleyball?" Although he didn't want to say it, Shoichi knew very well that being short was a disastrous start to a volleyball career. Even Tsuna, who was currently about the same height as Hyuga, was projected to be over 1.8 meters tall when he grew up, which would be a bit better than Hyuga's height, especially since...

"Xiao Xiang wants to play as the main attacker, right?" The boy, only a year older than him, was surprisingly perceptive.

[This is quite a challenging topic. Since Irie-kun has already asked this, the position this kid wants to play is definitely not libero, right? Your idea is correct; Hinata-kun's strong jumping ability and speed can indeed make him stand out. With a good team, he has a very high chance of reaching the national level. After all, judging from past middle school competitions, while short players are few, they are not nonexistent. However, to go global, advantages alone are not enough… I've said quite a bit, but ultimately it depends on the child. He's only nine years old, and there's a high chance his enthusiasm will wane due to practical reasons. Irie-kun, don't have too high hopes.]

After a long wait, the good-natured professor finally gave his answer. Irie Shoichi read it carefully, and finally typed out a long message of thanks to the professor.

His ambitions did not lie in sports and health. He vaguely realized that this might be a very impressive professor, and the invitation was very rare, but Irie still insisted on his ideals.

"Because of the legendary Yu Nei, who leaped high on the volleyball court and then spiked the ball!"

"Really, he's very, very handsome."

Hinata never felt there was anything wrong with his height. In fact, it was that the spike from the not-so-tall Tenma Uuchi that made him fall deeply in love with volleyball.

[...I'm truly grateful, but I think that although height and physique are disadvantages, Hinata's passion for volleyball is the most undeniable factor. Compared to talent, I definitely value interest more.]

When talking about volleyball, Hinata's eyes seem to sparkle with stars, and Irie Shoichi himself is most familiar with that kind of gaze.

"I may not have wings, but Senior Yu Nei was able to take a running start and fly in the sky with those tall athletes. I'm sure I can do it too!"

[Interested? Well, I'll look forward to seeing an excellent volleyball player named Hinata in a few years.]

Shoichi Irie closed his phone and slowly revealed a smile. Hyuga and Tsuna were practicing receiving serves in the open space, and he himself was also looking forward to it.

While busy studying physical education and health, Irie Shoichi also brought home a championship trophy from the National Elementary School Robotics Competition. Just like Hinata can run very fast and jump very high, Irie Shoichi's talent in engineering is also obvious.

But he didn't like these things.

He participated in the competition because his mother said it would make his resume look good when applying to schools next year. He believed that since he was participating, he should do his best to make sure he had no regrets, and he was willing to learn programming and software development for it.

He could also study sports and physical health that are completely out of his league for his friends, living a life busier than a dog every day.

Tsuna praised his learning ability more than once, but as for himself, he was still stubbornly determined to continue down the path of music.

Doesn't he resemble Hinata a bit? As an outsider, Sawada Tsunayoshi can see this more clearly.

Before them lay a bright and sunny road, or did they choose the path destined for bloodshed? Tsuna, who hadn't even figured out how to live in the present, found it hard to empathize. He had no goals of his own, so he couldn't grasp the profound emotion that even if suffering was inevitable, love for something steadfast could heal all pain.

In the days that followed, Irie Shoichi became certain that Hyuga wanted to become a volleyball player, and his study plan became more and more comprehensive. After consulting with the professor, he was almost selected by the professor as an outstanding case to be displayed.

Hinata and Tsuna's training is also on track.

Aside from developing some basic ball feel, they are more like growing their feathers and honing their still tender claws.

Meanwhile, Zheng Yi was practicing his musical instruments right next to the two of them.

It's worth mentioning that they both enrolled in clubs in Namimori Town; the two little puddings went to the volleyball club for training, while the big pudding went to study music theory.

After all, although he is very strong on paper, Irie Shoichi himself is only so-so in sports. It's fine for him to do some nutritional analysis, but to actually ask him to demonstrate how to play for the two of them would be like killing him.

So I started practicing the basics.

"Hyuga, lower your center of gravity! Crouch down, or the ball will fly out of your hand!"

"Sawada, don't get distracted! Watch the game!"

Finally, they caught the ball together, and Tsuna pushed aside his wet bangs and collapsed on the floor. Hinata stumbled over and lay down next to him with a splat.

Coach Suzuki looked at the two "corpses" with amusement and went to check if the others had messed around.

Most of the children's clubs these days are attended by parents who want them to exercise and develop their interests. Very few people actually come for training. Kids are playful and it's impossible for them to really settle down and practice in a boring way.

Suzuki usually starts by leading the children in basic training, then they do volleyball games in groups, and occasionally they can put together a simple match.

Kids are just kids, as long as they have fun.

Until the two new kids arrived, they immediately started chattering about how to become super awesome volleyball players, and they even brought a training plan specifically for themselves.

Coach Suzuki suspected that the two might be the children of some athletes. Their training schedules were very professional, although there was no clear direction for their development. But looking at Hyuga, who had been lying on the court for a while, he wondered where the other guy got so much energy. Just now, he felt like he had drained the little guy of his stamina, but now he was jumping around again, begging Sawada next to him to pass the ball. This guy obviously wanted to be an attacker.

But Sawada spoiled him and basically granted his every request. When he first arrived, he had absolutely no concept of passing the ball and would just reach out and pass it to him.

Now, during free time, he always tries to toss the ball upwards. Although he's still quite clumsy, he's slowly getting a ball to Hinata that Hinata can dunk.

"Great!"

Seeing the ball successfully spiked, Hyuga and Tsuna jumped up and high-fived, then began to take turns, with Hyuga setting the ball and Tsuna jumping to hit it. Compared to Tsuna, who was already familiar with where Hyuga could jump, Hyuga was much more clumsy, setting the ball haphazardly. Tsuna couldn't jump as high or run as fast as Hyuga, and often ended up flustered and unable to spike the ball.

The red-haired boy, carrying an electric guitar, walked in from outside the venue. He didn't disturb the two guys who were having a great time; he just watched from the side.

A short while later, Suzuki stood next to him, and the other man greeted him naturally. This scene happened almost every day.

“It must be tough taking care of these two troublemakers,” Suzuki said to the other person.

The introverted child was completely taken aback when someone spoke to him. Realizing what the other person was saying, he slowly shook his head. He looked intently at Tsuna in the arena. Even though he seemed to be the most reliable of the three, he knew very well...

"Actually, no, the ones who really caused trouble were Xiao Xiang and me."

He and Hinata Shoyo are like little madmen, obsessively and blindly pursuing what they believe in. Tsuna probably knows that the two of them are very unreasonable, but he still silently approves of them. He always silently tolerates those plans and crazy medical examinations.

Shoichi Irie even wondered if Sawada Tsunayoshi had joined him in making music if he had met him first.

A note from the author:

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I suddenly realized that I'm quite verbose and tend to type very long paragraphs in my writing.

I won't write much about Nana's mother; my feelings towards her are complicated. I mentioned her briefly in the last chapter, but she probably won't appear much afterward.