Hinata's bright orange hair only made his face look paler, a little worn down.
He had barely slept the whole night. Watching everyone else move forward while he stayed in place weighed heavily on him. No matter how naturally cheerful he was, even he was starting to feel restless.
The moment he closed his eyes last night, he kept asking himself what advantage he even had. He could not compete in height. He could not compete in technique. The only thing he had going for him was slightly better physical ability.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and ended up catching a cold.
Right now, Hinata felt completely lost. The road ahead was like a fog he could not clear. He could not see a way forward.
How was he supposed to break this deadlock?
"Hinata, why don't you take a day off today? I'll take you to meet the Small Giant, Udai-senpai!"
"What?!"
Hinata shot up so fast that his vision went black, and he nearly fell over.
All the gloom from before vanished instantly. His emotions came fast and went just as fast.
This kind of news made him so excited he did not know what to do. He bounced in place, almost screaming with joy.
Ryosuke lay on his bed, smiling as he listened to the commotion. Hinata had gone completely silent for a moment. He was probably overwhelmed.
After a while, Hinata's unsteady voice came through the phone.
"Okay… I'll get ready. But Ryosuke, if you bring me like this, won't Udai-senpai be upset?"
He felt a little embarrassed. Ever since meeting Ryosuke, he had always been the one being helped. He had not done anything in return.
"It's fine. Don't worry. Udai-senpai is a really nice person. He also wants to meet you."
"Really?!"
Hinata's voice rose again, completely overwhelmed by the surprises.
Ryosuke rubbed his ear, smiling helplessly.
"Alright, go ask for a day off. If you don't, we can only wait until after school. But Karasuno is far, and it'll be late by then. By the time you head home after meeting Udai-senpai, it'll be dark and unsafe."
He spoke with genuine concern, wishing he could handle everything for Hinata himself.
"Then I'll take the day off. Ryosuke, I'll come find you at noon!"
Hinata's voice was full of energy again, and Ryosuke quietly relaxed.
From the moment he answered the call, he had noticed something off. The only thing that could bring Hinata down like that was volleyball.
Hopefully, meeting Udai-senpai would help.
...
Ryosuke ran downstairs again.
Washijō was still sitting at the table with a sour expression. Ryosuke slowed down immediately, carefully walking over and barely daring to breathe.
He did not know what was wrong. Maybe old people just had days like this.
"Grandpa, I want to take the day off."
Washijō glanced at him.
"What's wrong?"
Ryosuke absentmindedly rubbed his leg.
"My leg's been hurting a lot at night lately. I asked the team doctor, and he said it's normal, but it hurts too much. I want to go to the hospital and check."
Washijō's expression turned serious.
Looking at how much Ryosuke had grown recently, with no signs of stopping, he felt worried.
"Do you want someone to go with you?"
"It's fine. I already made plans with Hinata to go see the Small Giant."
Washijō narrowed his eyes.
"The Small Giant? Tenma Udai?"
For a moment, Ryosuke's serve overlapped in his mind with Udai's figure from a past match.
"Your serve… did you learn it from…"
"I learned it from Udai-senpai."
Ryosuke answered without hesitation.
Washijō clutched his chest in frustration.
This troublesome kid.
Did I ever stop you from learning anything?
And you had to go learn from that guy?
The one who beat Shiratorizawa?
Thinking about how he had once rejected him, only for that same person to defeat Shiratorizawa and now teach Ryosuke, made his chest tighten.
"Go, go."
He waved him off.
Out of sight, out of mind.
...
Ryosuke packed happily and headed to school.
Even though he was taking the day off, he never said he would skip practice. He just wanted to skip class.
It had become unbearable.
After the prefectural tournament, Ryosuke had become famous overnight.
Every morning, his desk was stuffed with love letters. During breaks, both boys and girls crowded around him. His seat was completely surrounded every time class ended.
At first, Goshiki had been jealous.
But seeing Ryosuke's lifeless expression in the middle of that crowd, he quickly changed his mind.
Ryosuke would rather Goshiki be the popular one.
All this attention was too much for him.
The love letters were not new, but this was the first time since entering high school.
Before, Washijō had pressured the teachers to keep things under control.
Now that he had been too busy to care, the letters piled up everywhere.
Desk. Locker. Shoe box. On the way to school. On the way home. Even outside the bathroom and cafeteria.
There was no end to them.
Even Goshiki got dragged into it, constantly being asked to pass along letters.
Fame really was troublesome.
In just a few days, Ryosuke had noticeably lost weight. Washijō thought it was from training.
A perfect misunderstanding.
Out of curiosity, Ryosuke had secretly kept a few letters and read them at night.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Then he realized.
Some were from boys.
That completely confused him.
Then he accidentally opened one with explicit content.
Inside was a small comic.
He instantly jerked his hand back like he had been burned.
But curiosity won.
He slowly picked it up again, hiding under the blanket, face flushed, and read it all.
Afterward, he sat frozen for a long time.
Then he let out a muffled sound and curled up in his blanket.
So that is how it works between guys.
My eyes are ruined.
That one letter completely opened a new world for him.
Since then, Ryosuke had been acting strange.
He would stare at his teammates during practice, lost in thought, making everyone uneasy.
Today, using his leg as an excuse, he finally escaped the chaos.
...
Hinata, on the other hand, had completely recovered.
The moment he heard he could meet his idol, all his worries disappeared.
He ran in circles in his room, stomping and shouting.
Bang.
"Keep it down!"
Natsu Hinata slammed the door open, glaring at him.
"Ah, sorry!"
Hinata immediately turned around and mimed zipping his mouth shut.
Natsu snorted and ran off barefoot.
"Hey, you're not wearing shoes! You'll catch a cold. Are you getting up? There's food in the kitchen…"
Hinata followed her, talking nonstop, even giving her his slippers.
"You're so annoying. You're becoming like a housewife."
"Hehe."
Hinata helped her get ready and prepared breakfast.
After that, he called to ask for leave.
The teacher agreed immediately.
Hinata was surprised but relieved.
Then he called Ukai.
Ukai, half asleep, answered.
"Hinata? What is it?"
"Coach, I want to take a day off."
Ukai froze.
Hinata. Taking a day off?
That was suspicious.
"Hinata… it's fine, but don't dwell on yesterday."
Hinata sighed.
"I'm not. I just caught a cold. And Ryosuke is taking me to meet the Small Giant."
Hearing his normal tone, Ukai relaxed.
"Alright. Take care of yourself."
After hanging up, Hinata jumped up again.
He started searching for clothes.
Meeting his idol meant he had to look good.
Maybe he should bring cake.
Maybe a volleyball for an autograph.
His brain was working overtime.
With a groan, he flopped onto the bed, wriggling like a caterpillar.
...
At Karasuno, everyone was shocked when they heard Hinata would not come.
Sugawara looked like the sky had fallen.
Kageyama gripped a volleyball tightly.
He wanted to give Hinata the opportunity.
But he could not.
If he did, Hinata would hate him for it.
His lashes lowered, and he looked strangely pitiful.
...
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