Chapter 51 Why Does the Little Giant Play Volleyball?
"Wow, it smells like Seronbas."
Hinata Shoyo opened his arms wide, and, fully revitalized after getting off the bus, he was the first to rush into the audience, his heart filled with excitement.
After getting off the bus, Sawada Tsunayoshi returned to his original owner's place with Shoichi Irie's backpack. Irie Shoichi held Tsunayoshi's hand, and the two of them slowly followed behind Hyuga.
Hinata sat in the chair, his legs swinging back and forth. They had gotten up really early this morning, and it wasn't too late for them to get here. The match hadn't started yet, and there were no teams on the field.
However, many people were already seated in the audience. They had specifically inquired beforehand and found that everyone supported Karasuno High School for their seats.
"The little giant is really handsome..." came the voices of conversation beside me.
When Tsunayoshi and Irie heard this, they nudged Hyuga. They both knew that Hyuga had come for the Little Giant today.
Hyuga, of course, didn't need their reminders. After greeting Tsuna and the others, she appeared in the blink of an eye next to the other spectators who had been discussing the Little Giant.
"I think so too! I never get tired of watching the Little Giant's spikes!"
The group quickly started chatting. Tsuna and Shoichi exchanged a helpless smile, but they weren't too surprised. After all, most people in this area supported Karasuno, so it was perfectly normal for them to like the Little Giant.
Irie glanced at the time, stood up,
"It's still early. I'll go outside the venue to buy some snacks. Xiao Gang must be hungry after sitting in the car for so long."
“Then I’ll go with you.” Tsuna was indeed a little hungry, and he was about to stand up when he said this, but Irie Shoichi refused him.
"I'll go by myself. Xiao Gang can wait for me here. Also, keep an eye on Xiao Xiang so he doesn't get lost."
“Okay.” Sawada Tsunayoshi nodded, thinking about Hyuga’s social skills. Although he didn’t think Hyuga would get lost, it would still be painful to not be able to find someone.
Thinking of all this, Tsuna sat there obediently, watching Irie Shoichi leave.
Hinata's conversation with the others ended when the players entered the arena.
They sat in the first row. Hinata and he weren't very tall, so when Karasuno and the others appeared on the bench, the two of them had to stand at the edge of the stands to see the starters.
Amidst the strange, inexplicably excited background noise of Hinata, Sawada Tsunayoshi stood to the side, deep in thought.
Why can't we sit in the back?
This way they won't have to stand to see Karasuno's players.
In his excitement, Hinata didn't forget to look after his childhood friend, replying,
"Because standing here allows you to get super close to the Little Giant!"
Some die-hard fans probably think like this: Hinata fell for him back then just because of a simple shot that Tenma Unai made on an outdoor court, so it's normal for them to be so excited now.
Sawada Tsunayoshi had heard Hinata recount that first encounter countless times, to the point that he could recite it by heart.
He peered down, having listened to others broadcast the game for so long, and finally this year he was allowed to come and watch the game live. Although a large part of the reason was that Irie Shoichi had entered junior high school, so the parents were finally relieved.
Therefore, Tsuna couldn't help but yearn for the little giant that Hyuga had mentioned.
"He's a very imposing person," Sawada Tsunayoshi muttered to himself after seeing him.
With his black hair and black team uniform, he was impossible to ignore just by standing there.
Despite his short stature, Tsuna didn't notice his height at first; instead, he was drawn to his imposing presence.
Having competed for over two years, Sawada Tsunayoshi quickly recovered from his initial daze and realized that the feeling was that of a strong person.
Hinata wore an expression of shared pride and smugness, his eyes burning with desire.
"It's been years, and Senior Yu has become even more powerful! That's fantastic!"
Hearing his childhood friend mutter to himself, he turned around and his expression said, "You think so too, right?"
"Actually, the most powerful spike by the senior Yu Nei was even more imposing than his current spike!"
Sawada Tsunayoshi opened his mouth wide, starting to look forward to the upcoming match. After all, if Sho said that, he must be very strong.
However, when the players warmed up and went on stage, Irie Shoichi still hadn't returned. Sawada Tsunayoshi looked towards the entrance several times, but his red-haired friend was nowhere to be seen.
The atmosphere at the high school volleyball stadium was far more intense than the matches they played. Not only Karasuno and his teammates, but also the cheers from the surrounding audience rose in waves, as everyone was immersed in the volleyball world brought to them by the two schools.
It took Sawada Tsunayoshi less than two minutes to go from being restless to joining the cheerleaders in shouting "Go Karasuno!"
As for Hinata, he was there to cheer them on, and he had already agreed with the others on the slogans they would shout before the match.
"It's coming!" Hinata suddenly shook Tsunayoshi's arm, urging him to look at Unai Tenma.
Tsuna quickly looked over and saw the not-so-tall main attacker push off the ground with both feet and then leap into the air. All the lights on the court fell on the high school student's black hair, as if illuminating his path forward.
"It's like it's flying."
Sawada Tsunayoshi subconsciously took a few steps forward, pressed his body against the wall, and bent his head to look down.
"Amazing!"
After he realized what had happened, he suddenly felt regretful that Xiao Zheng had missed such a brilliant shot!
The game reached a small climax after that goal. The Karasuno players surrounded the petite ace, cheering for the score, and the Karasuno supporters also gave their cheers and applause.
This atmosphere is so intense, it's like you could drown here!
As the first round was nearing its end, the two sides were engaged in a tense and exciting tug-of-war. Sawada Tsunayoshi was feeling anxious and on edge. Just as he was about to catch his breath, he realized that Sho had not returned.
He told Hinata, then jogged out of the entrance while bending over, took out his smartphone, and called Xiaozheng.
"Beep—beep—"
Huh, no one's answering?
Sawada Tsunayoshi suddenly tensed up. Instead of waiting, he went outside, looking around and searching for his childhood friend.
In the end, they found each other's location through a small plugin that Irie Shoichi installed on their phones. Because Tsuna is usually absent-minded and Hyuga is prone to getting lost, Irie Shoichi was a little worried when they went on a study tour before, so he made a small plugin and put it on the smartphones of the three of them. When they opened it, they could see each other's current location.
Of course, this location permission can be turned off, but today when they came to another city, they turned it back on while they were in the car.
Following the information provided, Sawada Tsunayoshi turned left and right until he arrived at a shop.
It's a pharmacy! Could Xiao Zheng be injured?
He cleverly slipped inside, and sure enough, he saw his childhood friend there.
He rushed over and thoroughly checked Irie Shoichi from head to toe, only relaxing after confirming there were no major problems, and then observed the surrounding environment.
Shoichi Irie knew Tsunayoshi well; he opened his arms to let Tsunayoshi look him over, and then explained.
"I'm fine. Why did you come out? Where's Xiao Xiang?"
Sawada Tsunayoshi noticed that besides the shop assistants, there was also a very tall boy in the shop.
The main thing is that the boy was really big; even sitting in a chair, he looked almost the same size as Sawada Tsunayoshi.
The other person's eyes were red-rimmed, and his expression seemed to be filled with anger and incomprehension after being deceived. Tsuna remembered this tall guy; he had come in halfway through the match they were watching earlier, but left in a hurry after watching for a short while.
Since his height is quite distinctive, Sawada Tsunayoshi paid extra attention to it.
"You haven't come in for a long time, I was a little worried. Xiao Xiang is watching the game alone. It's okay, Xiao Zheng, are you really alright?"
Despite the childish complaint in his voice, Tsunayoshi was not at ease, after all, Masashi was already at the pharmacy.
Shoichi Irie patted Tsunayoshi's hair to comfort him, and then explained that he was doing so to put Tsunayoshi's mind at ease.
It turned out that Irie Shoichi was waiting for the oden from the convenience store. Since it was made to order, it would take a while. After finally getting the food, Irie carefully carried their breakfast inside when the big guy suddenly rushed out from inside. The two bumped into each other, and the soup was spilled.
Tsuna's heart clenched again.
"...After all, the soup was quite hot. I was lucky that the soup didn't spill on me, but this student was more unlucky. He burned his hand with the soup, so I brought him to the pharmacy to get it treated."
After hearing what had happened, Sawada Tsunayoshi saw the auntie at the pharmacy applying burn ointment to the tall boy's hand, and finally understood everything.
Anyway, it's really great that Xiao Zheng is alright.
Hotaru Tsukishima noticed Sawada Tsunayoshi's gaze. Ignoring the pain in the back of his hand, and perhaps because he was in a bad mood, his tone inevitably carried some emotion.
"Ah, you're the guy who was shouting and jumping around while watching Karasuno's match earlier."
It was a perfectly normal sentence, but this person said it in a very irritating tone. Tsukishima looked rather pathetic, and although Sawada Tsunayoshi felt that the other person was describing him as someone with a bad brain, he didn't pay much attention to it.
"Ah, it's me, I remember you too," referring to your height.
Sawada Tsunayoshi stared at Tsukishima's flushed hand and asked the doctor with concern,
"Does this hurt a lot? Will it leave a scar?"
The doctor carefully put away the ointment and first gave instructions to Tsukishima.
"Sit here for a while and wait for the ointment to dry before you leave."
Then he gently explained to Sawada Tsunayoshi, "It will hurt a lot, so you must be careful not to get burned. His didn't blister and won't leave a scar, but you still have to be very careful."
Sawada Tsunayoshi nodded. "I will definitely remember this!"
He and Irie Shoichi simply stayed there with Tsukishima to wait, even though the guy kept saying he could do it all by himself and didn't need anyone to keep him company.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade the two of them, Tsukishima Hotaru decisively gave up. The scene from earlier was still vivid in his mind, and the image of his brother standing on the sidelines lingered in his mind.
Wasn't it supposed to be an ace?
His eyes became blank again, and he involuntarily asked the two men who were practically strangers a question.
"Why do you play volleyball?"
"Eh?" Irie Masakazu knew immediately that this was not a question he could answer, so he handed the battle over to Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Tsukishima, however, remained silent, sitting quietly by himself, lost in thought.
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