Chapter 12 Summer Camp Begins!
Akaashi Kyoji and the others arrived relatively early, and the room was almost ready. Hyuga and Tsuna didn't leave either, and the four of them sat on two beds in one room, chatting about this and that.
Hinata asked curiously about Kujo Pond.
"Kujou-senpai, why didn't you come to the club's open day last time?"
Kujo Ike also lay down on the bed, her whole demeanor inexplicably melancholic, "Because I went to a concert."
"concert?"
Kujo collapsed into a large clump. "You don't know, I'm not very good at volleyball. I can play, but I'm just okay. But my dad is a coach, and he's unhappy if I don't play volleyball, so I just keep training."
As he spoke, he sprang up again, the bed creaking. "But a few months ago, I suddenly discovered my true love!"
Kujo Ike also raised his voice, and Hinata and Tsuna unconsciously repeated it.
"True love?"
Kujo nodded. "Yes, I've discovered that music is what suits me best. It's melodious and pleasant to the ear, and I want to write music like that too."
Tsuna and Hinata looked at each other with starry eyes, "That sounds amazing."
"Right, right!" Kujo excitedly sought their approval, then noticed their gym clothes were limp again as they collapsed onto the bed.
"But my dad didn't seem to agree. He always thought I would continue down his path and keep playing volleyball."
“Playing volleyball is fun, but,” he said, rubbing his hair in frustration, “I don’t really have the motivation to keep playing.”
Hinata was also troubled by what he said. Of course, he knew that not everyone regarded volleyball as everything as he did, so he asked,
"How does Kujo-senpai plan to talk to Coach Kujo? I have a feeling that Coach Kujo won't agree easily."
After all, Kujo Ike has been playing volleyball for several years, and Coach Kujo might find it hard to accept that the other player suddenly doesn't want to play anymore.
Kujo Ike also answered enthusiastically, "I actually have some ideas. You see, my dad definitely wants me, as his son, to inherit his mantle. So we can think about it differently. For example, we could have him and my mom have another brother or sister. That way, my dad will have a new heir and won't care that I don't like playing volleyball!"
This makes a lot of sense at first glance, Hinata thought.
Sawada Tsunayoshi shattered his unreliable senior's fantasy, "But Kujo-senpai, have you ever thought about what if your unborn younger brother or sister doesn't like volleyball either?"
"No way!" Kujo Ike said confidently, "I will start training him from when he was still in his mother's womb, and I will definitely make my younger brother or sister fall in love with volleyball!"
"This is so unreliable," Sawada Tsunayoshi thought to himself. "Even after being influenced by Coach Kujo for so long, Kujo-senpai still quit the game, didn't he?"
The reliable senior said calmly, "That's why I said he should just talk to the coach directly. He's been inattentive in training lately. Even if he doesn't say anything now, the coach will come knocking on his door sooner or later."
"I won't dare!" Kujo Ike also covered his head, like a drowning dog. "Kyoji, you know my dad. If I tell anyone, he'll beat me up. I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Seriously, Kyōji, why don't you recognize my dad as your godfather? You're so good at volleyball, and he likes you so much, he'd definitely be happy!"
"Ha." Akaashi Kyoji had no hope for the brains of his generation.
Having probably been rejected by Akaashi many times before, Kujoike didn't seem discouraged at all, and instead turned her attention to the two little ones.
"Sawada and Hinata, why don't you two recognize my dad as your godfather? I heard from Akaashi that you two are pretty good at volleyball. My dad would probably be happy if he took you guys to play volleyball."
Caught off guard, Hyuga and Tsuna took a step back, bewildered and at a loss.
"ah?"
Another punch landed, and Kujo Ike froze, falling back onto the bed. Akaashi Kyoji withdrew his hand.
"He doesn't say anything serious, so ignore him."
Then he turned to Kujo Ikeya and said...
"Hyuga and Sawada are still young, don't lead them astray."
But is it possible that Hinata and Sawada are only a year younger than you? The three of them inexplicably reached a consensus on this point.
Tsuna and Hinata didn't dare to speak, but Kujo Ikeya, who was good at keeping his mouth shut, opened it, but the places where he had been beaten were still painful, so he simply kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything.
Kujo Ike also played as an attacker, and it was difficult for the three people present to harbor any rebellious thoughts towards this setter. Therefore, Akaashi easily changed the subject.
"How's Sawada's passing practice going lately?"
Here comes the ability test from the senior!
Although Akaashi-senpai was very kind, Sawada Tsunayoshi still stood up straight and answered seriously.
"The tips the seniors mentioned before were very useful, and the coach has been leading us in practice recently, so we should be a little better than before?"
Sawada Tsunayoshi scratched his cheek with his finger bones, somewhat unsure of what to do.
On the other hand, Hinata gave high praise, "Tsuna is really serious, and it's getting more and more comfortable to hit his toss ball lately."
For some unknown reason, he happily covered his face, his whole body bubbling with joy.
"What's wrong?"
"I just feel so happy that not only does Tsuna provide me with a ball at summer camp, but I also have Akaashi-senpai!"
Sawada Tsunayoshi explained to the other two, "Yeah, that's how volleyball idiots are."
“He’s been nagging about spiking the ball every day lately, which has really annoyed the coach. At first, the coach made Xiao Xiang go and receive the ball, but in the end, the coach simply put a net on the volleyball and hung it from the ceiling so that he could jump up and spike it.”
He spoke with a hint of helplessness, but with a smile on his face.
Kujo Ike and Akaashi Kyoji also found it funny.
"However, catching the ball is still very important, and Hyuga cannot slack off on catching practice," Akaashi said.
Hinata wailed, "I know, but I really love spiking!"
A short while later, the dormitory supervisor knocked on the door and saw four children. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hyuga Shoyo and Sawada Tsunayoshi are also here in Akaashi. That saves trouble. The camp opening ceremony is about to begin. You guys go to the hall first, and I'll go inform the others."
While talking, he made phone calls to others and hurriedly knocked on the door of the dormitory next door.
When they went to the lobby, Tsuna asked Akaashi Kyoji how many students were at the summer camp.
Kyoji Akaashi pondered for a moment, “The summer camp only recruits students in their fourth year and above each year. Last year, there were forty boys and about the same number of girls.”
"Wow, there are so many people!" Hinata exclaimed, his mouth agape. "Does that mean everyone is incredibly powerful?"
Sawada Tsunayoshi began to feel anxious about this again.
"A lot?" Kyoji Akaashi thought there were very few people.
It's worth noting that Akaashi Kyoji alone knows more than twenty coaches here, and Coaches Kujo and Suzuki each brought two students, but there are many more coaches who don't have any students participating in this summer camp.
Therefore, Akaashi couldn't quite understand why Tsuna was worried about his own strength. Being able to get an invitation from the old coach already showed that they were very talented compared to their peers.
"It'll be fine after a few more matches," Kyoji Akaashi thought. He didn't try to comfort the other person; he figured it was better if he discovered it himself.
However, after they got to know each other better, Kyoji Akaashi realized that it was faster to just praise Sawada Tsunayoshi than to wait for him to realize his advantage.
But there's nothing he can do about it; after all, he has Kujo Ikeya by his side, who gets carried away with any praise.
He went on and on about safety precautions, camp rules, discipline, and so on. Hinata seemed restless, as if there were thorns in his chair. He muttered to the three people beside him.
"When can we play volleyball again?"
"No ball today." The reply came from behind, startling Hyuga and Tsuna.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you?"
Hinata and Tsuna turned around, and the other person smiled at them apologetically.
"It's you!" Hinata exclaimed softly.
Sawada Tsunayoshi also recognized him as the free agent who had played a match with him here before.
"Yes, this afternoon is for a physical examination and some tests. Formal training will begin tomorrow."
"How could this happen—" Hinata slowly slid off the chair.
They didn't get to chat for long because the coach sitting in the front row was already glaring at them.
"Although I didn't receive the ball much in the last game, my libero skills are still very strong!" Matsukawa Saki shook his arm.
On the way to the physical examination, Matsukawa was not much taller than Hinata and Tsunayoshi, but he was indeed a fifth-year student.
Kyoji Akaashi thought back to that chaotic match. He hadn't seen any real free agent skills, but his adaptability was quite strong.
The fact that Akaashi can coordinate with Hyuga and Tsuna shows that he is also very flexible.
"Come on—let's measure your height first."
The doctor pressed the scale down, instantly revealing Tsuna and Hinata's messy hair.
"The doctor is awful!" Hinata said indignantly.
Sawada Tsunayoshi stood to the side, feeling a pang of sympathy for his own short stature.
In addition to basic checks, vertical jump is also essential.
Kujo Ike probably knew he'd get scolded for slacking off, so he didn't hold back when he jumped high, and when he turned around he saw Hinata jumping about the same height as him.
"My goodness, this kid can really jump."
Hinata, who had just run back and heard this, scratched his head and said, "But I can't jump as high as Kujo-senpai."
"Then why don't you see that I'm a head taller than you?" Kujo Ike said irritably.
Seeing that Tsunayoshi had also finished his jump and returned, he put his arm around one of them, looking like a boss parading his underlings through the streets, and turned around with a flourish and walked towards the back of the venue to test his running.
"You two should just call me Ikeya. You keep calling me Kujo-senpai, I thought my dad had come." He shuddered.
Physical examinations can be exhausting, that was Sawada Tsunayoshi's first thought.
Anyway, a lot of random things were tested. I'm grateful that Hinata kept dragging me to go for morning runs during this time. He did okay in the 1000-meter test and was able to keep up with Akaashi-senpai and the others.
Hinata always takes the lead in every running test. He is impressive in sprints, but his coaches start to worry about whether he can keep up in long-distance running.
Suzuki would have to think twice before praising Hinata in other ways, but when it comes to physical strength, there's really nothing to be modest about.
He remained calm and collected, saying, "Hyuga's physical abilities are the best I've ever seen among students."
So the other coaches, who knew nothing about Hyuga's stamina, just watched helplessly as the guy who was in first place started to accelerate in the last hundred meters.
He still has the stamina to sprint!?
Hinata easily completed the entire run, and even went to get a few bottles of water to share with her friends.
At that moment, Hinata's short stature was deeply imprinted in everyone else's minds, leaving behind one word—powerful.
A note from the author:
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The number of characters keeps increasing; I really want to get to the part where we all played games together in high school!
The version I'm currently speculating about is that the long hair is because the Vongola has been working too much and hasn't had a haircut in a while!
It's probably shoulder-length hair, tied up in a bun. I saw a drawing of 27 with this design by a teacher before, and it was absolutely stunning.
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