♚ CHAPTER FORTY FIVE ♚
THE ATMOSPHERE FELT EVEN MORE tense and painful when they heard Hinata's desperate scream while tightly gripping the sleeve of Coach Ukai's jacket. Some of them lowered their heads, not daring to look at Hinata and unsure what actions or words they needed to do for him.
After steeling himself, Takeda-sensei finally walked over to Hinata in Ukai's place. Gently sat the teenager down and kneeled in front of him. "It's the same as what happened with Sawamura. You need to get checked to be sure you are okay. Okay, Hinata?" his breath hitched when he saw the frustrated and angry expression Hinata gave him. And Takeda frowned, determined not to be frightened by his gaze. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but you need to hear this. Right now, I can't let you play in this match any longer."
He gripped Hinata's palms gently and then continued. "You get twice as much joy out of being able to play in a match than most people. Because you didn't get to play in middle school. And I'm sure that makes it all the more frustrating. That's why... Remember this feeling. There will surely be times in your life when you will feel this way again. There will come a time when there won't be anything you can do. Whenever that happens, pay attention and etch it into your mind."
"You said you were going to win the gold medal someday, and not just one. And now, you know that there are walls that you can't just overcome with reckless effort. When that time comes, what you need is knowledge logic, and thought," he continued. "Hinata, this moment, right now, this is also volleyball. Think about how to win. Your body will surely grow, but in a sport where you compete across a tall net, in the volleyball world where 190cm is considered small, you will surely always be little."
"You need to understand that you will get fewer chances than others. And you need to grasp those chances while making sure that you don't let any of them slip away from you. You... You of all people should always be in peak condition. So that you can always be on the front line when you do get a chance."
Takeda-sensei took a few steps back, allowing Yanagi to take his place. "Shoyo," he called. Hinata kept his head down, not daring to look at Yanagi's face. "If you keep playing, you'll end up bothering everyone."
Suga deadpanned. "Naoto-kun so harsh."
"We can still survive even without your help," he continued. "don't underestimate your teammate."
Hinata broke down in tears. Daichi almost panicked when he realized Yanagi had made people cry again. But it came to a halt when Hinata cried out and said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!!"
Yamaguchi walked towards him, giving him a side hug while patting his back gently. And the atmosphere was broken by Tanaka's laughter. "Getting so excited you caught a fever?! What are you, a baby?!"
Tsukishima smirked. "He's always been a toddler, Tanaka-san. And I'm sure the endurance monster will heal up with just a night's sleep."
"Don't worry! Just leave it to me and Naoto-san!!" Noya exclaimed.
Daichi held Hinata's shoulders gently. "Hinata, we need you, so just eat some food and rest up!"
"Guess, you get the first dibs on the fried ginger pork!" said Suga.
"Umm, maybe something a bit lighter, like porridge," Tanaka commented.
"Keep yourself warm," said Asahi.
"Are you a granny?!!"
"'I'll be the one to stand on the court longest'," said Kageyama, drawing Hinata's attention to him. "I win this time too."
Hinata was taken by Takeda-sensei off the court. And they must immediately prepare to resume the match.
"Let's go, we don't want what happened one year ago to happen again," said Yanagi, holding Hinata's number plate as he headed towards the referee.
"Yanagi-san, don't open up the old wound!"
The game resumed. Kageyama thought the match was a little shaky, possibly due to what had happened earlier. But, at the very least, Yanagi had entered the court and joined him. Maybe Yanagi is not like Hinata; he is taller, stronger, and smarter; all of his movements are calculated, and Kageyama is grateful because, with him, they can still catch up to Komomedai points.
Kageyama looked unconcerned, stoic. As if Hinata's earlier incident didn't shake him. But it was a good thing for Yanagi. That means he is still capable of thinking clearly and rationally about everything.
It's already at the setpoint, and Kageyama didn't hesitate to provide accurate passes for his teammates. He had analyzed this very carefully. Dodging and tricking Komomedai players even with his dump sets. Something that Kageyama liked, because he could see their irritated expressions.
"Yanagi-san!" Kageyama tosses a high toss for him and―
ｔｗｅｅｔ！！
The ball went in. The ball hit the floor. Karasuno's score increased.
"ꜰɪɴᴀʟʟʏ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴇʀᴄᴇ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ɪɴᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪɴᴀᴛᴀ ꜱʜᴏʏᴏ, ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴛᴏᴘ ᴋᴀʀᴀꜱᴜɴᴏ ᴛᴏ ᴡɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜ!"
Kageyama lowered his gaze to his palms. Then he turned to face his teammates, who drew him in for a triumphant hug.
"How is it? Not traumatized anymore, right?" Yanagi asked them with a little smirk. Except for the first year, everyone flinched at the words. To be honest, Hinata's incident reminded them of a year ago, when Yanagi was injured and they became very depressed. They are concerned that it will happen again. (Even though Yanagi is now healthy and able to play again, it still feels different)
"Naoto-kun!" Suga slapped Yanagi's back hard before rubbing it, not wanting to receive threatening letters from Yanagi's men.
"Well, at least we have some good news for Hinata, right?" asked Asahi which was answered by Tanaka and Noya's enthusiastic nod.
"Let's eat!! I'm so hungry!!"
○ ♚ ○
"You won!!" it was one of Hinata's many babbles since they arrived at the hotel. He was already wearing a thick jacket with a mask to keep his fever from spreading. Beside him was Yachi who was crying in tears.
"Don't underestimate us, Shoyo!" exclaimed Noya.
"Why are you shouting when you have a fever? Rest. Have you eaten anything?" Daichi scolds him as if he were a mother.
"Hinata doesn't want to eat because he's been watching the game on the tablet that Kozume-san lent him," Yachi explained.
Takeda-sensei sweatdropped. He wanted to scold him, but this was Hinata. "Alright, take a shower then go downstairs, we'll eat together. After that make sure you guys get a good rest. We don't want two Hinata."
"Yes, sir!"
A knock on the door immediately brought everyone to a halt. When the door opened, two familiar faces walked in. Albert, who was carrying a plastic bag, was one of them, and the other was Yanagi's bodyguard, who had red hair and wearing an eye patch.
"The eye patch guy!!" Tanaka, Noya, and Hinata shouted at the same time before Hinata then coughed because he screamed so loudly. Asahi was already getting goosebumps, and Yachi flinched at her wild imagination again.
The bodyguard blinked once. "Yes?" he asked confused.
On the other hand, Albert had already advanced toward Takeda and took out some medicine. "I've asked the chef to make a bowl of porridge."
"Ah, thank you, Albert-san."
Tanaka and Noya were already in front of the bodyguard in an instant, and Hinata wanted to go but was restrained by Yamaguchi. "Is it true that you gave your eye to Yanagi-san?"
"Pardon?"
The man's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Albert, who had the same expression as him and then at his master, who was sitting on the single sofa, engrossed in his cell phone.
"Yanagi-san said, you took out your eye and gave it to Yanagi-san because his eye was pierced," Noya demonstrated Yanagi's movements this morning.
"That's why Yanagi-san has two different-colored eyes," added Tanaka.
"Naoto-sama..."
"Naoto-sama, you've scared other people with your dark jokes again?" asked Albert with a deadpan expression. He looked at Yanagi, who looked at him as if he hadn't done anything wrong as if he was completely innocent. "As for his different eyes, he inherited the heterochromia gene from his grandfather. Black from his father and gold from his mother."
．．．
"What?!!!"
"This is not funny!!"
"Not funny at all. How could you?!"
"It's a gore! A gore!!"