When Udai arrived, he saw Ryosuke sitting with a short guy with orange hair. The two of them were chatting and laughing happily.
Udai raised an eyebrow in surprise. This is Ryosuke. Why is he smiling like that, so carefree? Tsk tsk. That is rare.
Then his gaze shifted to Hinata. So this is the Karasuno No. 10 Ryosuke mentioned on the phone, the one who really admires him?
He looks a bit familiar… where have I seen him?
Udai frowned, puzzled. Then, the moment Hinata looked up, it suddenly clicked.
Ah! This is that kid who jumped so high at the prefectural tournament!
After that match, during the award ceremony, Udai had stood by the entrance and taken a distant look. Orange hair, a dazzling smile. Completely different from the dejected look he had now.
Back when Hinata stood on the podium, Udai had a faint feeling that Karasuno's era would rise again. This small boy represented Karasuno's endless potential.
"Ahem." Udai cleared his throat softly, trying to get their attention.
Ryosuke and Hinata did not hear him at all. They kept chatting as if nothing had happened.
Feeling a bit awkward, Udai had no choice but to call out louder.
"Ryosuke!"
Ryosuke's eyes lit up instantly. He shot to his feet and waved toward the door.
"Udai-senpai!"
Hinata froze. Then he slowly turned his head, joints creaking as if stiff. Who did Ryosuke say? Udai-senpai? The Small Giant?
No way. No way. My idol is right at the door?!
My hair!
Hinata's first reaction was his hair. Ryosuke had messed it up earlier.
He hurriedly tried to fix it, ruffling it a few times. But since he could not see what he was doing, it only got worse, turning into a complete mess like a bird's nest. When he turned back, he saw Udai standing at the entrance.
As if under an idol filter, Hinata felt like Udai was glowing all over.
Udai wore a simple black short-sleeve shirt. Having spent years in the gym, his originally tan skin had lightened. His hair was still damp. He had even washed it specially just to meet his little fan.
Hinata stood up and froze in place, staring at Udai. Even his breathing became careful, as if afraid of shattering this dream.
"Hinata…" Ryosuke said helplessly, trying to snap him out of it.
"Hello! Small Giant-senpai! I'm your fan, Shoyo Hinata! I really, really like you!"
Hinata's eyes shone with a dazzling, sun-like brightness that made Udai feel uncomfortable.
"I know you. I watched your match last time. You did well," Udai said stiffly.
What is with this kid's gaze. Why is he so excited? I am not good at praising people either. Ryosuke seriously should have warned me before bringing someone over. This is way too awkward.
The more Udai thought about it, the more irritated he felt, his brows knitting together.
Ryosuke watched from the side and chuckled. He knew it. Even though Udai-senpai liked to brag, he was actually very reserved when facing people.
"These are little cakes my mom made. Small Giant-senpai, please accept them."
Hinata took out the bag he had carefully protected the whole way and handed it over, his face flushed red.
Both Ryosuke and Udai caught the sweet aroma. It must be cake. Udai stared straight at the bag. Very few people knew he liked sweets. Hinata had gotten lucky without even trying.
Udai accepted the bag. "Thank you, Hinata. I like this gift very much."
Then he looked the two of them over. Both were in training clothes. It seemed they were not planning to go out.
Hinata kept sneaking glances at Udai, unable to stop. Udai felt both amused and helpless. He and this kid really did have a strange connection. Both called the Small Giant, both wearing number 10.
With both of them constantly looking at him, Udai could not pretend anymore. He handed the bag back to Hinata.
"I will go change. Let's practice together for a bit."
"Yay!" Ryosuke flashed a peace sign behind him and winked at Hinata.
Hinata was equally excited. He could watch the Small Giant play volleyball in person. That alone made everything worth it.
The two of them exchanged excited looks, then leaned in and started chattering.
"Small Giant-senpai is seriously so cool!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"I want to become someone like him."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Ryosuke, you are so perfunctory…"
"…"
Caught, Ryosuke awkwardly rubbed his nose, put his phone back in his pocket, and started listening properly.
"Hinata, please do not call me Small Giant-senpai anymore. You can call me Udai-senpai or Tenma Udai."
Udai's voice suddenly sounded right next to Hinata's ear, startling him so much he shivered. The little tuft of hair on his head trembled, and his face turned red again.
"Okay, Small Giant-senpai!"
Udai: ...
Ryosuke covered his face in silence. This was way too embarrassing.
Udai let out a couple of laughs, and the last bit of awkwardness disappeared. Forget it. Just treat him as Ryosuke's friend. After all, he was no longer some star player.
"Come on. Didn't someone say they wanted to see me spike? Then you two block me together."
Udai grinned as he lightly tossed the volleyball in his hands.
Ryosuke and Hinata exchanged a look. The eagerness in their eyes was exactly the same.
"Coming!" x2
While things were going smoothly for Ryosuke and Hinata, the atmosphere at their respective schools had changed because both of them were absent from training.
Yamagata hugged his water bottle and gulped down water. Reon finished handling his matters and came to the gym to check on training. He looked around and noticed someone was missing.
Reon asked, "Where is Ryosuke?"
Yamagata put down his bottle, looked around, then said,
"No idea."
Reon then spotted Goshiki's bizarre bangs and almost had his blood pressure spike. What kind of haircut is that. This would ruin Shiratorizawa's image during the training camp.
He angrily asked again,
"What is going on with Goshiki's hair?"
Yamagata set his bottle down again, looked over, and let out a long sigh.
"No idea."
"What do you know then?" Reon turned and glared at him, slightly annoyed.
Yamagata, now fully hydrated, let out a satisfied burp and looked at Reon innocently.
"No idea."
Reon: ...
Reon was about to lose it. Every single one of them was here just to test his patience.
Fuming, he turned to find Coach Washijō to report Ryosuke's absence.
Ushijima passed by and looked at Reon's furious back with confusion. What happened. Why is he so angry? Did Kawanishi's secretly hidden sock chocolate get discovered?
Ushijima blinked and quietly walked past.
…
Honestly, if Ryosuke knew the chocolate he had eaten came from Kawanishi's sock, he would collapse on the spot.
Over at Karasuno, without Hinata's constant chatter, the gym felt unusually quiet. Only the sounds of spikes and receives echoed. The atmosphere felt subdued.
"Ah, I am really not used to not having Hinata chattering beside me!"
Sugawara shouted toward the ceiling. His voice startled a crow outside the window, sending it flapping away.
That one sentence voiced everyone's feelings. Without Hinata, it felt like everyone had less energy.
Even Tsukishima's sarcasm had decreased. Nishinoya seemed distracted. Kageyama kept glancing toward the entrance. Daichi, with no one to worry about today, felt out of place too, so he grabbed Tanaka and drilled him hard.
Tanaka looked like his soul was about to leave his body.
"Bang!"
Another spike from Daichi slammed down, knocking Tanaka over just as he tried to stand.
Lying on the ground, Tanaka shakily reached out a hand.
"Hinata… come back soon. I cannot hold on anymore. Damn it. Daichi-senpai is too scary. Waaah…"
He was practically being trained to tears.
Takeda-sensei stood at the door, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Sigh. Without Hinata, everyone seems to have lost a bit of motivation."
As for all this, the people at Sendai Gymnasium knew nothing.
Right now, Ryosuke and Hinata looked completely spent. One lay flat on the floor, the other draped over the net post. Udai was not doing much better. He braced his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
He had truly seen something today. How could someone have this kind of stamina? It had already been three hours. Why was that kid still going? Udai was genuinely shocked by Hinata's endurance.
To push him this far, the kid was seriously impressive.
"You two… not bad," Udai forced out between breaths. His throat felt like it had been cut by a blade after the intense exercise, his voice hoarse.
Hinata lay on the ground, too exhausted to speak, completely still.
Ryosuke's brow twitched when he saw that. Hey. Wait. He is not even moving. Hinata, do not scare me.
Ryosuke dragged his sore legs over with great difficulty and moved to Hinata's side. He meant to squat down, but his legs gave out, and he fell straight onto Hinata's chest.
"Ugh!"
Caught off guard, Hinata's face went pale. His eyes slowly turned peaceful. A faint halo seemed to appear above his head, and a tiny transparent Hinata floated upward.
Hinata, out.
Ryosuke scrambled up in panic. Seeing Hinata on the verge of collapse, his pupils shook. Ignoring his own discomfort, he grabbed Hinata's shoulders.
"Hinata! Are you okay? Hey!"
Hinata weakly raised a hand and waved it. He was too tired to speak. Udai-senpai… truly worthy of the name Small Giant. Even Ryosuke had been spiked past multiple times…
Seeing that Hinata was fine, Ryosuke simply lay down as well. He ran a hand through his damp hair, revealing his clean forehead.
Udai looked at the two of them flattened on the ground and laughed helplessly.
"You two brats. Not even a bit of concern for me. I am exhausted too."
He slowly moved over and sat beside them, leaning back on his hands, tilting his head up as he let out a long breath.
"Ah. That feels great."
It had been a long time since Udai had played this freely. With Ryosuke's fully developed blocking and Hinata's insane stamina, even something like Godzilla would be taken down.
"So fun," Hinata said, sitting up at some point, grinning at Udai.
The initial awkwardness had completely faded during that practice. For these kids who loved volleyball, nothing could not be solved with a match. If one was not enough, then play another.
Udai could not help but marvel at Hinata's stamina. Such a small body, yet filled with so much energy.
As he thought this, he did not reflect on himself. Back in high school, he had also been one of a kind. His stamina had been just as overwhelming.
"Hinata, your stamina is really impressive," Udai said with a smile.
Seeing it in person was completely different. When watching Karasuno's matches, he could already tell Hinata had great stamina. But only after facing him directly did he realize how troublesome that was for an opponent. He could wear someone down completely.
Hinata laughed awkwardly and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His big eyes blinked.
"All I really have is stamina. Honestly, I feel like I have no defining strengths."
After a series of setbacks, even someone like Hinata, who always stuck to his beliefs, felt a bit discouraged. He began to wonder what he was lacking, why he had not improved.
Udai asked, "What is wrong? Did something happen?"
Hinata did not feel embarrassed about saying it. He had been worrying that no one would understand him.
"I did not make the national youth team. I did not get into the Golden Camp. And in the match against Aobajosai, the final point was lost because of me…"
Udai's ears perked up. He turned to look at Ryosuke.
"Golden Camp?" His tone rose slightly.
It was only after teaching Ryosuke for quite some time that Udai learned about his relationship with Coach Washijō. Back then, he had been completely shocked. He had been coaching Coach Washijō's grandson.
Because of that, Udai had felt awkward for a while, though Ryosuke never noticed.
Under Udai's questioning gaze, Ryosuke guiltily looked away.
He knew about the past conflict between Udai-senpai and Coach Washijō, but he could not say anything. One was a respected senior, the other his grandfather. He could not take sides.
Back then, Coach Washijō had very rigid thinking, and with his sharp tongue, he had offended quite a few talented players and coaches. But his status spoke for itself. Even those who were criticized could only swallow their anger.
Someone as stubborn as Udai back then was truly rare. The two of them were bound to clash.
Udai understood Washijō's temperament. He had always disapproved of shorter players' style.
But this time, Washijō was actually misunderstood. It was not that he thought Hinata was too short. He simply believed that Hinata did not yet meet the standard for the Golden Camp in all aspects. He still needed more time to develop.
...
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