Chapter 9 Summer Camp: A Busy Summer
In the end, Tsuna was defeated by Akaashika. What, you're asking why it wasn't Hyuga?
Red Reed: Laughs.
Hinata took a step back, whimpering as she ran to Irie Shoichi for comfort.
Sweat seeped from his pores, and Sawada Tsunayoshi's fluffy hair was completely soaked, sticking to his head as if he had just rolled around in water.
Even his eyelashes were soaked with sweat. Tsuna felt the pain he had just experienced from the day he played volleyball with Hyuga. His neck was overloaded, and his brain, lacking oxygen, was struggling to even think.
But my heart was pounding hard, the adrenaline coursing through my brain, ignoring the soreness in my muscles, leaving only one thought:
Playing volleyball is so much fun!
He was happy to catch the ball, happy to spike it, happy to receive praise from his teammates, and even wanted to cheer and hug Xiao Xiang together after scoring a point, to make him feel the satisfaction of being teammates.
Akaashi-senpai was also covered in sweat, but his opponent seemed much more at ease. After the match, he and his partner helped each other off the field, laughing and discussing their mistakes or highlights.
Sawada Tsunayoshi thought he was beginning to understand why Sho loved volleyball so much.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Hyuga instinctively stopped talking to his backup and turned to face Tsuna, who looked puzzled.
For the first time, those clear eyes were filled with genuine joy. Hinata thought, Tsuna probably doesn't know the expression on his face right now.
His still-chubby face was flushed from exercise, sweat dripped down his cheeks, and he looked exhausted, clinging to Akaashi-senpai.
But he was smiling.
An involuntary smile appeared on Tsunayoshi's face, even as they discussed the embarrassing situation they had just been in.
For the first time, he wasn't happy because he could help Hinata; he was genuinely excited about participating in the competition.
The opposite hitter, unsure why the guy next to him had suddenly become so arrogant, assumed it was just because the opponent was happy after spiked the ball and continued to ask him questions.
"...How can I successfully spike the ball and score?" the opponent sighed in a wise and experienced tone.
Hinata tilted his head in thought, and after a long while, under the expectant gazes of the opposite hitter and the middle blocker who had somehow come over, he slowly gave his answer.
"It's roughly a feeling,"
The opposite hitter and the middle blocker nodded. "How do you feel?"
"I just think to myself that I really, really want to spike the ball, and then Akaashi-senpai will pass the ball to me."
"Eh? Is that what Hyuga thinks?" Akaashi asked, walking over with Sawada Tsunayoshi, who had caught his breath.
Hinata answered in a tone that suggested she knew Kyoji Akaashi better than Kyoji Akaashi himself.
"Because I discovered that as long as I do that, Akaashi-senpai will indeed pass the ball to me."
Kyoji Akaashi remained silent for a while. "Well, I don't pass the ball to you every time." He believed he had treated everyone fairly.
"That means my desire to spike the ball wasn't intense enough."
Such a matter-of-fact tone.
This deeply shocked those around them, and even Akaashi herself began to doubt whether she had truly received the other person's sincere and passionate feelings.
Irie Shoichi walked over, wiping the sweat that Hyuga had brushed against his body, and told him...
"In the match just now, Akaashi-kun passed half of the ball to Hyuga."
"Eh—?" Hinata was the first to exclaim in surprise.
"Did I play that many balls?!"
Shoichi Irie pushed up his glasses. "Not only that, the others also consciously handed over the balls they had set up to you to handle."
"So happy..." Hinata melted like ice cream.
But after melting for a short while, he pounced on Akaashi and Sawada Tsunayoshi, raised his head between their heads, and said excitedly, "Everyone, let's play another round!"
"?"
Upon hearing this, Sawada Tsunayoshi, who was struggling to support his best friend with his aching legs, felt his legs buckle again, causing him to kneel on the floor along with Hyuga on top of him and Akaashi, who was being pulled by Hyuga.
The group exchanged bewildered glances. Sawada Tsunayoshi crossed his arms over his chest. "We absolutely cannot have another round!"
He really had no strength left!
Akaashi agreed, "We've been playing volleyball for a long time today."
He pulled Hinata up with one hand and Tsuna with the other, despite Hinata's sorrowful expression.
The coaches need to discover things even earlier by listening to the children's conversations.
Hinata Shoyo's burning desire to spike the ball influenced all his teammates. Knowing that the opponent would spike every single ball, they instinctively passed the ball to Hinata.
Even Akaashi, who is usually very rational when playing basketball, was not immune to being affected. This was not what his teammates thought, that they should pass the ball to Hyuga. It was Hyuga himself who asked for all the passes.
"He is indeed a qualified ace."
The old coach thought that there are many people who can play volleyball, and Hyuga and Sawada, who are currently unfamiliar with the sport, will eventually become good at it. However, this spirit of leading their teammates is the most precious thing.
He suddenly wanted to call these children over and take a closer look, to see how they could be such geniuses.
Persistent, perceptive, and composed.
That's why the old coach loves running clubs so much. Watching the kids gradually discover their talents and fall in love with volleyball on this journey, he thinks that the love for volleyball will be passed down.
In the end, the old coach didn't stop Hinata and the others. He asked the coaches to take the junior players who had played volleyball all morning to lunch, and to leave everything else for the afternoon. He then went to make a phone call to an old friend.
Seeing the coaches scatter, the two girls who had been watching the game dared to go over and talk to Tsuna and the others.
"You played really well! Although I don't understand your tactics, hahaha!" The girl who had just called Hinata "little orange hair" praised cheerfully.
Looking at the girl who was more than a head taller than him, Sawada Tsunayoshi thought to himself, "No wonder people call us 'little orange hair' and 'little brown hair'. With this height, we definitely have the right to call us that."
Kyoji Akaashi didn't respond; he wasn't keen to explain that they hadn't used any tactics at all.
They quickly agreed to play volleyball together sometime, and then the girl was invited to dinner by the female coach who had come to visit.
Before leaving, the female coach took one last good look at the three of them; Irie Shoichi was very familiar with that expression.
"It's probably the regret that good talents aren't their own students, and the pain of not being able to snatch other people's disciples."
When he went to the competition, the other teachers also had the same expression on his face, so Irie explained it to Tsuna and the others with certainty.
Everyone was quiet at lunchtime. They had used up some of their energy in the morning, and besides, the coach was right there, so the group of kids didn't dare to make a fuss.
Akaashi sat down next to Hyuga and the others with a plate in hand. Hyuga was focused on shoveling food into his bowl, while Irie Shoichi was earnestly advising Tsuna not to be a picky eater and to eat a variety of foods for a balanced diet. He also reminded Hyuga not to eat too fast or he would choke. Meanwhile, Sawada Tsuna's face scrunched up, vividly expressing his rejection of the dish.
Although he had already realized while playing volleyball together that he couldn't treat this pair of partners with the same mindset as ordinary people, at this moment, Akaashi suddenly realized that these three could be even more abstract.
Suzuki rarely interfered in the children's interactions, but Kujou Hayate had no such reservations; he openly mocked them.
"Irie, are you their mother?"
Akaashi thought she should retort, but Irie gave a sad laugh and answered in despair.
"Probably."
Suzuki was amused by the conversation and, unusually, he added fuel to the fire, saying...
"You know what, every day when the club ends, Irie comes to pick up Hyuga and Sawada. She's more like a mother to them than a mother to her."
Irie then loudly defended herself, saying, "We were just going home together!"
Akaashi Kyoji sat down amidst the noise, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sawada Tsunayoshi quickly putting the dishes he didn't like into Hyuga's bowl while Irie Shoichi wasn't paying attention to him.
Akagi scooped a spoonful of soup into her mouth, not quite understanding you good friends.
After the meal, the coach did not let the trainees continue exercising. Instead, he led everyone to a large classroom where they sat in a row, and everyone was given fruit after the meal.
The free agent I played basketball with this morning sat down next to me. "According to the procedure, the next step is a meeting." It wasn't his first time here.
Kyoji Akaashi nodded; in previous years, it had indeed always been a meeting.
Hinata shook his head and sighed with regret, which amused the others.
But the meeting wasn't as boring as Hinata had imagined. The old coach first talked about safety issues, interspersed with interesting stories about his former students.
"I've heard the old coach tell some embarrassing stories about our coach before." The free agent seemed very much looking forward to today's story session.
Considering that many participants came from other cities, the event ended quickly in the afternoon, and everyone dispersed around 3 p.m.
The amount of competition this morning was already at its maximum for the children's bodies. In the afternoon, we only practiced some basic skills to let everyone see the differences between them and others.
Suzuki was taking the three children back to Namimori, one of the early departing groups. Before leaving, the old coach finally came to see them one last time, kindly asking Hinata and Tsuna if they enjoyed playing volleyball.
Hinata glanced at his coach curiously, but still answered loudly, "Volleyball is the most fun!"
Tsuna nodded naturally in agreement with Hinata's words.
"As long as it's fun, that's good! Summer vacation is almost here, right? They'll be holding a volleyball summer camp here!"
"Huh?" This successfully piqued the curiosity of the two children.
"Kyoji was one of the outstanding campers last year. Shoyo and Tsuna, do you want to come and play together? Food and accommodation are included."
"I'll get Mom to agree!" Hinata immediately promised.
Suzuki thought the coach was some kind of weird old man who kidnapped children, so he thanked the two children for the invitation on their behalf and said he would explain the situation to the parents of the two students when he got back.
The old coach glared at him and said coldly, "You come and help me out too."
Who are you trying to impress by acting so timid and hesitant every day?
Suzuki bitterly expressed that he also had clubs to watch, but the old coach glared at him and told Suzuki to find an agent himself, since it wasn't like he wasn't going to pay him.
Akaashi, who had followed them out, also bid them farewell, saying, "See you in the summer."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Gokudera is alert: Do your attackers and setters also have telepathy?
Little Sun: Don't underestimate the bond between us volleyball players!
Gokudera Hayato climbed out of bed overnight to learn volleyball.
(The author is starting to reveal that he's actually trying to be funny.)
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