Chapter 53 Unexpected Parting
Karasuno lived up to expectations and won the game. The stadium erupted in cheers the moment the whistle blew.
When the atmosphere calmed down a bit, Hyuga showered the Little Giant with compliments across the crowd. He seemed to never be shy. Sawada Tsunayoshi had always admired Shoyo's straightforward personality in expressing his love.
Although he himself would feel very uneasy doing so.
Tsukishima Akimitsu rushed over and left with Tsukishima Hotaru and Yamaguchi Tadashi. Just as Tsunayoshi and Irie were saying goodbye, Hinata had already successfully struck up a conversation with Unai Tenma, and the two started chatting across a wall.
"I will definitely enter Karasuno in the future and become a little giant like my senior!"
Under the lights of the volleyball court, the boy made a solemn promise.
Tenma Uuchi stood at the foot of the wall, arms outstretched, beads of sweat glistening in the sunlight. He looked radiant, as if all fatigue had vanished after just winning a match. Karasuno's current ace replied with a smile.
"Then I'll start looking forward to it now!"
His teammates jostled and pushed, seemingly envious that he had such a cute little fan, and then listened to the little fan continue answering.
"I'll be watching Tenma-senpai's match in Tokyo!"
The others exchanged glances. The setter put his hand on his ace's shoulder, his tone heavy.
"Tenman, you're going to have a fan who follows your matches!"
"Ah," Yuna Tenma crumpled his black hair into a mess, suddenly at a loss for words. Under the watchful eyes of his teammates, he slapped the setter's hand away.
"I understand!"
He didn't leave the stands; instead, he looked up, his dark pupils reflecting a warm orange light. Such genuine affection was something Yuu-nai Tenma truly sensed.
"Safety is the most important thing; you don't need to go that far."
He smiled again, and Sawada Tsunayoshi noticed that his aura was similar to that on the field.
"And I will bring back victory!"
Hinata tilted her head, not quite understanding, and said, "Okay."
"But it's not far, we'll be careful!"
He spoke cheerfully, without giving any thought to the journey from here to Tokyo.
The Karasuno members, unaware that these guys had come all the way from Tokyo to watch the match, looked them over.
First, let's rule out Sawada Tsunayoshi; he's probably a first or second-year student too. The red-haired boy next to him? He looks reliable, but he doesn't look very old either.
Yunai was disappointed to find that the big guy Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were gone, and finally realized that the reliable "parents" they thought they had were not with the little fans.
Finally, I saw Toru Oikawa.
Hmm, she looks older than the other three, but she doesn't seem very mature mentally.
While they were observing, Oikawa Tetsu was secretly trying to poach students, suggesting that Qingcheng was also a good school and that they shouldn't be fixated on just one.
In other words, he spoke softly, so the people below couldn't hear him very clearly, but his furtive expression clearly indicated something was wrong.
When they parted ways, Hinata was still very happy. He skipped and hopped along the roadside, tap dancing. The joy around him was palpable, and anyone who stepped near Hinata Shoyo couldn't help but smile.
Oikawa Tetsu had been boasting about his ball-handling skills, so he had to let Hyuga try it out.
Hinata was already itching to get there after watching the match, and now that Oikawa had invited him, he was even more eager to go to the venue immediately. He looked at Kosei, who nodded helplessly.
"We have to go back to Tokyo later, so we can only play for a short while."
Hinata cheered, "A little while will be enough!"
"Oikawa-senpai, let's go!"
Oikawa Tetsuya couldn't help but widen his mouth, stammering as he asked Hinata, "You guys came all the way from Tokyo!?"
Why does everyone like to ask such strange questions? Hinata wondered, “Yeah.”
Oikawa Tetsu gradually calmed down, "Little one, you really like that senior, don't you?"
They even traveled all the way from Tokyo to watch the game. No wonder they said the distance wasn't far; it turns out their home is right there.
"Alright then, let's finish this quickly."
He led the way, determined to make Hyuga submit to his ball-holding technique.
Half an hour later, Sawada Tsunayoshi, barely breathing, retreated from the sidelines of the court and lay on Shoichi's body, whimpering softly.
"I'm so tired."
He went up and played a few balls, intending only to try it out, but the two volleyball novices got carried away and kept hitting one ball after another. Sawada Tsunayoshi, who was somehow caught up in this silent battle, looked completely bewildered and had no choice but to play with them.
Then, exhausted, he quickly slipped away.
Irie Shoichi opened the bottle cap and held the water to his lips.
"Doesn't this scene look similar?"
Sawada Tsunayoshi hesitated for a moment, ultimately not wanting to lift his arm, so he simply drank water while Irie Shoichi was holding him, answering as he gulped it down.
"Well, Xiao Xiang and Senior Gong You play volleyball like that too, it never ends."
"They're all a bunch of volleyball idiots."
Hinata spiked the ball, then turned to ask Oikawa Tetsuya for it, and even turned back to say something in return.
"I heard what you said, Xiaogang!"
They spent their final year of elementary school like this, studying, playing volleyball, and making friends. These things intertwined to form Sawada Tsunayoshi's lively and wonderful three years.
Then, before entering junior high school, even before the admission news came, Hinata Shoyo's transfer application arrived.
"...My mother's job transfer means we're going back to Miyagi. They've been discussing my school transfer recently."
Hinata said these things with some hesitation, not having had time to inform Irie Shoichi yet. He felt that Tsunayoshi should be the first to know about these things.
He was the one who invited me to play volleyball, and he was also the one who promised to play together in junior high school. They clearly agreed to play volleyball together in the volleyball team for all three years of junior high school, but he was the one who said goodbye.
He was somewhat hesitant to meet Sawada Tsunayoshi's gaze.
But the moment he finished speaking, Sawada Tsunayoshi replied.
"Is that so? Well, there's really nothing we can do about it."
He was probably a little surprised and hadn't quite reacted yet, then he became worried.
"Has Xiao Xiang decided which junior high school to go to? Xiao Xiang will be playing volleyball in junior high school, right?"
"Huh? This...?" Hinata suddenly stammered.
Sawada Tsunayoshi sighed, "We can't just say you won't play volleyball in middle school, can we? Let's talk to Masashi first, since he should know more about it. Sho, you need to choose a school with a good volleyball atmosphere."
Hinata hadn't expected his childhood friend to react this way, and he asked cautiously,
"But didn't we agree to play volleyball together in junior high? Now I have to break my promise..."
Hyuga looked somewhat dejected, while Sawada Tsunayoshi smiled.
"This isn't Sho's fault. Besides, you already decided to go back to Miyagi for high school. It's just a little earlier now. But this way, Sho is closer to the Little Giant. I'll be happy for Sho."
Seeing Hinata's tearful expression of emotion, Sawada Tsunayoshi felt uneasy and voiced his other thoughts.
"It would be a lie to say I wasn't sad. After all, Xiaoxiang is my good friend. When I heard you were leaving, I was really reluctant to let you go. We're good friends, aren't we?"
Hinata pursed her lips, and tears streamed down her face.
"I'm so reluctant to leave too. Why can't Xiaogang leave with me? Xiaogang is already my child!"
Sawada Tsunayoshi burst out laughing,
"How could you do this?"
He pushed Hinata toward Masashi's house, saying, "There are a lot of things to do when transferring schools, so let's take advantage of this time to check out the schools as soon as possible."
Sawada Tsunayoshi couldn't express how he felt. He was reluctant to see his friend leave, but he couldn't stop it. Hinata was so sad, and Tsunayoshi's heart was also filled with sorrow, but this was something that Sho couldn't stop either.
Therefore, he should cheer up. Even if he can't continue playing volleyball with Hinata in the future, he hopes that Sho can still be happy on his own.
Of course, he wasn't worried about Hinata's social skills; his main concern was volleyball. If Shoyo couldn't master volleyball, their three years of middle school would be extremely painful.
As they were going downstairs, Hyuga's mother called them to a stop. She hadn't said anything when Tsuna came over, leaving the opportunity to talk things out to the two children themselves.
Now she is holding Tsunayoshi and embracing both children.
When she moved here three years ago, she never expected to encounter a child like this—so good-tempered, yet with such an unreliable family; her father had only appeared once in the past few years.
At first, she thought that her neighbor had become a single-parent family without her knowledge, but she realized she was completely wrong after that unreliable man appeared.
After a brief encounter, the guy disappeared again.
"Tsuna, have you received any letters from your father recently?" Mrs. Hinata asked gently.
Sawada Tsunayoshi shook his head honestly, "No, I haven't heard from him for over a year."
Mrs. Hyuga's feelings became even more complicated, her eyes filled with even more pity. She hugged the child, whom she had practically raised for three years, tightly.
"My husband and I discussed it and decided not to sell this house."
"Huh?" Hinata and Tsuna exclaimed at the same time.
Mrs. Hyuga couldn't help but rub her son's cheeks several times, hiding the tears in her eyes. She smiled and said...
"That way, we can come here for a few days during the long winter vacation every year, since we all miss Xiaogang."
Hearing this, Hinata nodded in unison, her face full of agreement.
Sawada Tsunayoshi was a little embarrassed. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Hyuga Natsu seemed to understand, but she repeated what her mother said.
"I love it, Tsuna-nii-san!"
"Ah, this, like this!" Tsuna's brain was about to turn into a teapot boiling water.
Hinata's mother continued, "When Hinata has nothing to do, she sometimes wants to come and visit you, and she also has a place to stay."
Sawada Tsunayoshi shook his head. "Sho can live with me."
"Well, it's up to you."
After finishing her important business, Lady Hyuga released their hands and let them leave.
Walking along the familiar path he had walked almost every day for the past three years, Sawada Tsunayoshi still couldn't suppress his emotions.
"Xiao Xiang, will we still be friends in the future?"
Even though Hinata hadn't left yet, he felt empty inside.
Hinata said firmly, "We will be best friends for life!"
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Author's note: A few minutes late for private Marseille (kneeling)
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