“It’s a good thing I went outside despite everything, instead of just crumbling in my room, because else I wouldn’t have met with Oikawa. I should really go outside whenever it just gets too much!”
go outside more often guys, maybe you’ll also stumble into oikawa lmao

“The difference is, Hinata was alone. Back then he was surrounded by people who supported him — now there was just him. To think that it was Oikawa who saved him from this almost suffocating loneliness. Why? Life is weird.”
I CAAAAAAAAAANT

“When Hinata first saw his face, he thought it was a helpless hallucination. But in moments like this you’re supposed to see faces of your family, mentors, friends, right? Probably not Oikawa-san. Then again, Hinata has never had hallucinations, so he wasn’t sure.” IM DYINGGGGG

“Oikawa saw Hinata battling with pasta, and his hand stopped. He raised his eyebrow.
‘Hey, chibi-chan.’
‘Yes?’
‘Just because it’s Oikawa-san’s treat, you don’t have to hold back and try to eat cheaper than usual. Eat like you normally do.’
Hinata became teary-eyed.”

“He lost his wallet today, and yet he came here thanks to Oikawa-san who offered to treat him.
‘...T-Thank you!!’
Hinata gratefully plopped the pasta on his plate.”
I am crying in my sushi and my soul is apparating into another realm right now.

“This is nice. Unfamiliar taste, but I feel nostalgic for some reason.”
“I get it.”
“What kind of vegetable is it, the red one?”
“I wonder.”
“You don’t know?!”
“I only came here 2 months ago!”
They were talking across the table, looking like they’ve been friends from way back.

“They both left Japan and were self-reliant, so maybe both really valued a chance to share this loneliness and stinging sense of fulfillment. Oikawa was probably starved of Japanese language, too. Hinata had coach Lucio from Shiratorizawa, but Oikawa probably didn’t have anyone.”

“Huh, you live in a shared house, chibi-chan. So you cook for yourself?”
“Yes! I fry meat and simmer vegetables!”
Oikawa laugher at such a simple answer.
“So you provide for yourself now. Like a human who discovered fire.”
“What a harsh thing to say!”
-> notes to follow

1. Oikawa uses words 料理 (cooking) and 調理, which is a bit fancier, like “food preparation”, more systematic
2. The word used for cooking veggies can mean boil/simmer/stew, I’m not familiar with nuance
3. Hinata uses a quite polite prefix “go” for his last reply XD
>>>

My Japanese isn’t that great so I’m not familiar with various nuances, if I screw up somewhere please feel free to correct me and I apologize in advance if I do mess up

Apparently Oikawa wasn’t as scary as he seemed. Hinata caught a glimpse of unexpected sides to a person he only ever saw on the other side of the net, and he couldn’t really think of him as just about a frightening Great King anymore. Ntm that he treated him. Hinata was grateful.

Actually, if you think about it, rivals aren’t that different from teammates* (nakama) if you change your point of view. Oikawa used to be Kageyama Tobio’s senpai. Hinata and Oikawa met as players of Karasuno and Aobajousai, becoming opponents, but in the end they were just

people who happened to choose volleyball, and they weren’t enemies or allies outside of the court. They were just both desperately trying to fight, doing their best.”
*I feel like this stresses their connection as athletes who chose the same sport and share the same goals bscl

gdi not taking a day off today was a HUGE mistake but I gotta run to work now so. Maybe I’ll translate some more once I’m free in a few hours, their interaction about Kageyama is hilarious

okays it's midnight i'm back from work and this isn't what i was planning to do but hey screw it might as well finish translating some other bits from this chapter
on this note, PLEASE buy the novels if you like the content!! the illustrations alone are so worth it!

i accidentally opened the novel on the chapter where tenma's manga gets canceled, he drags himself to akaashi who "can't leave him alone like this" and gets him out for coffee and starts thinking about what else they can do and it's so sweet i got distracted......

Tenma is really depressed about having his manga canceled, Akaashi's trying to figure things out what they can work on next (the way gears seem to be turning in his head reminds me of how he used to handle Bokuto lol), and eventually asks where Tenma's from, which club he joined

in hs, says that he "has acquaintances" there, they realize they both went to Nationals, and the chapter ends with Tenma replying, laughing, "It's not really a powerhouse school, not sure if you'd heard of it... It's Karasuno".
awwwhhh i wish we got Akaashi's reaction xD

going back to my oihina agenda now excuse me

Kindaichi's reply to their selfie was, "I don't really understand what's going on, but please take care." Then the narration went along the lines of "these two still couldn't really understand what was going on either" lmaooo

Oikawa asks whether Tobio replied, Hinata says nope. Oikawa becomes sulky, puts elbows on the table, pulls a wry face, looking like he's gonna spit?? lol
Oikawa: ...that Japan representative bastard.
Hinata: Uhm, that doesn't have anything to do with it, though?
PFFFFFF

Then Oikawa proceeds to repeatedly stab his vegetables with a fork, grunting: "That guy... Pulling that off... Jeez... What is this even... That freaking... Ugh..."
But "tormenting cucumbers for a while can only make you feel this good" :"D (narration)

O: Do you plan on meeting with Tobio in Rio?
H: Huh?
H: *almost drops fork*
H: W-Why would I?!
O: Cause Olympics.
Yes, that's right. Olympics. Kageyama didn't have any other reason to come to Rio.
H: Right. Olympics, that's right.
O: Yeah, Olympics.
O: *stuffs mouth with salad*

H, answering: No, not really.
O: Why?
H: I mean, I have work...
O: Work, right.
Oikawa clearly spoke with some implications, laughing and eating some rice. He no longer seemed displeased, looking at Hinata, who was hanging his head down, almost with some kind of amusement.

wow can you even like be any More obvious idk

Hinata didn't see Oikawa's face — he only saw the distance [in Skill folks] between himself and Kageyama. What would he do if he met him? He hasn't grasped anything for himself yet, so what would he do if he met Kageyama, who already represented Japan? He was thinking really hard

Oikawa saw Hinata deep in thought and endlessly rolling pasta on his fork and grinned cheerfully for some reason.
O: Well, the only language you two share is volleyball, after all.
H: Huh?
O: Even if you met just to hang out, not for volleyball, it'd be pointless.

H: Huh? Just, hang ou... What?
O: Why don't you try and imagine it?
H: Me, and Kageyama, meeting in Rio..?
O: Yep.
Oikawa smirked in kind of a mean way, while Hinata tried to imagine that just as he was told xD

At first Hinata was thinking in detail about where they would even meet, then he tried to imagine Kageyama himself, and the first things to come to his mind were his sour face and strangely stiff smile xD That actually scared Hinata into having a stomachache lmfao

When he finally saw Kageyama's face clearly, he understood.
H: There's no reason to!
H: *finally notices all the pasta on his fork and is taken aback*
H: Uwah, what's up with that?!
Oikawa laughed, seeing the change of Hinata's face, and Hinata also laughed, a bit embarrassed.

Kageyama he thought of was wearing a jersey from Karasuno high school volleyball club, which he dearly missed, and said to him: "That means you're gonna stay on the same playing field as me the whole time, right? Even if that's at the top of the national stage? Or the world?"

Kageyama wasn't standing in Rio. He was down on the stairs to the club room. That was on the morning before their IH prelims in their 1st year, and did Hinata really remember even that? Either way, it changes nothing. Until they're on the same stage, there's no reason to meet.

After they part ways with Oikawa, Kageyama finally replies to their selfie with a simple "why" lol, and Hinata simply says, "coincidence". Then there's actually quite a lovely passage about coincidences which Imma try and translate so bear with me,,,

i feel like this is a beautiful callback to haikyuu as a whole, especially now that the manga is over Q_Q connections are so important in life, and i'm so happy they're given so much detailed, diverse, dedicated attention in my favorite manga, it's giving me Feelings....

Hinata comes back home after that, thinking about whether he should tell his family about the lost wallet or avoid worrying them and keep quiet, and /that's/ when he notices Pedro reading One Piece and finally succeeds at communication :")))

OKAY THREAD OVER im tired reading novels still takes too much time cause i'm shit at kanji
PLEASE support furudate and haikyuu by purchasing the manga/novels!
and consider thanking furudate for their incredible work on the series, we have a project for it! https://twitter.com/TrianaNero/status/1274773316679553024

actually thread was Almost over
1. if i screwed smth up pls lemme know ;_; i'm no pro by any means & have an attention span of a toothpick
2. support!! furudate!! and haikyuu!!
3. thanks a lot for reading~ i'm working on some other hq translations, including furudate's comments