30 Treats

"Thank you for the game!"

The players bowed before each other to show gratitude for the match that just ended. As they began to get on cleaning duty, the two friends, Hiro and Shinya had a little chat.

"Not bad, getting that last pipe, Hiro."

"You're not so bad either, Shinya. But that win would've felt better if Sakusa-san was playing."

"Hahaha, you still haven't changed, I see. But you know, Hiro, those who don't see the opponents playing right before him will never win against the foe that lies ahead of him. If you only see one person as a rival, that never will be a true competition."

Hiro wondered why Shinya got philophical all of a sudden, so he shot him a puzzled look. "Huh?"

"Nevermind. What I'm saying is, we'll beat you for sure next time. Dammit, that shrimpy from your team was an unpleasant surprise."

"Thought you'd say that."

"OI, HIRO! HURRY AND FINISH UP!" Kouha's voice sounded from near the exit.

"I'm hungry already." His brother faintly murmured in the background.

After the gym was cleaned, all the players from the Golden Week Camp were gathered in the center for a short farewell message from the organizers and the JVA representative, Hijikata Juichiro.

"You boys, have shown the most commendable of plays and enthusiasm from the sport, and I congratulate you all for having successfully completed this camp! You should'nt discount yourself for all the effort you've put through in this training. Whatever the result of the games, and regardless of what happens, keep moving forward without hesitation. Best of luck to you in the coming Inter-High!" He proudly huffed with his hands placed on his waist.

The boys looked anything but excited from the promoter's short speech. So the man awkwardly laughed for his slight embarrassment, then he said another thing. "Well, before we go, my friend here, Assistant Coach of the U-19 Team, Coach Hibaraki would like to share a few words too."

The man with the goatee stepped in to take the limelight, and scanned the players of all the teams. "Well, as what Hijikata-san said, you must all give yourselves a pat on your backs for all your hardwork to make this camp a success. And as a token of appreciation, we are treating you some food from a local diner we reserved just for the conclusion of this event!"

Several players cheered after hearing that. Even Kouen, who wasn't really interested in a lot of things, practically had a shiny gleam in his visible eye. Kouha and Gai loudly said, "YEAAAAH!!!" along with Genji and the Kakuzo. Maki tried to make them shut up, while Hiro maintained his deadpan face, not really looking excited but is actually really looking forward to eating some good grub too right after that game.

"What are you waiting for? Hop on to your buses!" The assistant coach told them.

After all was said and done, soon enough, the players queued to their buses, and they travelled altogether to their destination. After a while, the bus then started to slow down and they parked near a neat-looking diner called Yukihira's. Hiro knows the coach won't bring them to a fastfood restaurant since he mentioned in before in the NYTC that athletes should always eat healthy. He looked around the bus and everyone seems to be pretty exhausted but awake at least. They also looked hungry.

"Haha! This place is my favorite!" Coach Hibaraki said when everyone already gathered inside the restaurant.

"Yukihira!" The coach greeted the man who had the appearance of Jesus, who apparently is the owner of the restaurant. "Bring these boys some goodies!"

"On it!" The man replied.

They settled themselves in the long tables of the diner and they were greeted by a redhead who looked about their age. "Welcome!" They looked through their sumptuous menu and placed their orders. The redhead occasionally apologized when some of the food from their menu are unavailable at this time of day, and offered them some alternatives instead.

"How about you try our special Yukihira Transforming Furikake Gohan, sir? Or this Revamped Mackarel Onigiri Chazuke? It's in our secret menu." The redhead suggested instead.

'Mackarel?' Hiro thought. 'Fish!'

Most of his teammates tease him for this, but the meat he actually prefers is fish, since it's good for the brain because of DHA. And among all fishes, mackerel is his favorite. He got curious and told the waiter that he'll take that mackerel dish. Gai copied him (he always does), while Kouen remained to be indecisive about his order. He can't seem to make up his mind.

One by one their orders have arrived and boy, they look so mouth-watering. Kouha's Apple Risotto caught everyone's attention when it was placed in front of them because of its heavenly smell. Kouha admired the presentation first so without warning, his brother, Kouen, attacked and beat him to the first bite.

The setter's eyes widened after the first taste. "Looks like he's in love." Their manager commented towards Kouen's flustered expression.

"It tastes just as heavenly as it looked." He said. Kouha took one bite himself and made a face similar to his brother's. The redhead snickered at their reactions.

Asuma's order arrived and it was a humongous serving of a Katsudon. Kakuzo's was the total opposite since the tall rookie only asked for the dish called "Roast Pork, Just Kidding". The serving was small, and Hiro wondered if the order isn't mistaken for the two freshmen.

Maki got himself a Curry Risotto Omurice, which Kouen again attacked without permission. The captain didn't mind it, though. Finally, Hiro and Gai's order arrived – they wondered why it's called the Revamped Mackarel Onigiri Chazuke. Both of them took a bite at the same time, and an explosion of flavors occurred inside their mouths.

"WOAH, WOAH!!" Gai was so noisy. "THE FISH!"

He continued to spew out gibberish but he was just essentially describing the unbelievable umami coming from the fish, which was so tender on the inside but fried to a crisp on the outside, as if it was coated in oil (deep-fried) The more impressive part is how this mackarel was incorporated into an onigiri. This is a novel experience for them. Hiro actually finished first before Gai and he asked for seconds.

"I want one of that too!" Shinya went away from his team to steal one onigiri from Hiro.

"Order for yourself, Shinya!" the blocker tried to block his plate from being robbed, but he was too late, as Shinya already hopped back to their table happily with one stolen onigiri in his hand. "You bokeeee." Hiro grunted in an annoyed, low tone but Shinya only irked him some more by taking a huge bite from the onigiri.

"Pleased to serve you all!" The redhead gave them a thumbs up as they continued their meals.

Everyone else was having the same reaction all over the diner. The girl managers they have looked so flustered over some tempura meals – their cheeks were so flushed they looked like they were drunk. Toshiro, who was a sucker for spicy food, was also so red from eating his super spicy mapo tofu. Kouen was all over the place, stealing everyone else's food even though he got his hands full already with his order.

"This is delicious." Ushijima told Coach Hibaraki while chewing on his Hayashi Rice.

"Right?! Right?! Yukihira, more oysters here please!" The coach replied.

"Ah, I've always loved the food in this place." Juichiro said as he patted his full belly.

Their satisfied teams made their way back to the bus that will return them back to their home prefectures. The players thanked the gentlemen who treated them this meal, and they went off to in separate ways.

"See ya at the Nationals, Shinya."

"We'll kick your assess there, Hiro."

As the players bid goodbye, another promise of a future battle was sealed. Towards a new tournament, the men's volleyball team of Shiroshikata could only think of one thing – get that coveted championship.