By the time Sakusa and Keigo Atobe received Ryosuke's message, he and Ushijima were already in the car heading back to Miyagi. Even if Keigo Atobe wanted to say something, it was too late. All he could do was stare at Sakusa, who was also staring at his phone.
The atmosphere between them was practically freezing. These two were like people born to be incompatible.
After Ryosuke left, Keigo Atobe could not be bothered to keep pretending. He sat openly in his chair, propping his head up with one hand as he looked at Sakusa at leisure.
"See yourself out."
The meaning behind those words could not have been clearer. Sakusa rolled his eyes, went upstairs to grab his bag, and left, completely ignoring Keigo Atobe's meaningful smile.
Ryosuke's family estate could practically be considered the suburbs. It was remote and sparsely populated. Even with a car, unless someone drove around this area all year long, they definitely would not know the roads.
Let that brat wander around there by himself.
Keigo Atobe thought this with great malice.
By the time Sakusa finally managed to make his way out of the estate after great effort, he saw the empty mountain road with not a single person around. His face went pale with anger. How could he not know? This was definitely Keigo Atobe's doing. He had deliberately not told him.
... Ryosuke never found out what happened after that. While Sakusa was still facing the winding mountain road in helpless fury, Ryosuke and Ushijima had already gotten out of the car at Shiratorizawa's front gate.
Matsukawa nervously saw the two of them off. To him, as long as Ryosuke was there, Ryosuke was his protective charm. At times like this, the eldest young master's temper would be a little better. Once he went back later, who knew how long that eldest young master would sulk?
He would definitely start muttering about how Ryosuke had left without even saying goodbye to him, whether Ryosuke no longer liked him, whether Ryosuke would miss him, and how Ryosuke was doing over there.
This kind of scene happened almost every day. Matsukawa's ears were nearly calloused from hearing it.
"Be careful on the road!"
Ryosuke stood at Shiratorizawa's gate, smiling as he waved goodbye to Matsukawa.
After Matsukawa's car drove away, Ryosuke walked toward the gym with a smile on his face. At this time, everyone was in class, so the volleyball club members were definitely training in the gym.
With everyone from the Golden Training Camp gone, Shiratorizawa felt a little deserted. The last time he left, the school had been so lively.
Ushijima looked at the familiar scenery around them and also let out a breath of relief. He had finally brought Ryosuke back safely. This training camp had truly been noisy and chaotic. It was Ushijima's first time looking after a child, and being able to bring Ryosuke back in one piece meant he had not failed Coach Washijō's expectations.
Ryosuke walked faster and faster, and the smile on his face grew wider and wider. When he was in Tokyo, he had not missed everyone at Shiratorizawa at all. But as he drew closer to the gym entrance, Ryosuke suddenly realized just how much he had missed them.
"Ryosuke and Ushijima should be coming back today, right?"
Reon looked at Tendo and asked with some uncertainty.
It was not that Reon did not care about them. He had simply been so busy lately that he was completely overwhelmed. After the last Golden Training Camp ended, the feedback from many schools had been very positive. Now, schools from other prefectures that had still been watching from the sidelines were getting restless. One after another, they called Shiratorizawa, trying to secure spots for next year's training camp.
Coach Washijō did not want to deal with these matters, so he simply threw all of them to Reon. This was Reon's first time handling something like this, and he had been working blindly for several days straight without a break.
It was already impressive that he still remembered the day Ryosuke and Ushijima were coming back.
Tendo was sprawled lazily over a chair. He had just finished running ten laps and still had not recovered.
"Yeah, it's today."
Hearing that, Yamagata put down the volleyball in his hands and walked over.
"That heartless little Ryosuke. He went away for so many days and didn't even call once. Ushijima too. They went to training camp, and the two of them practically disappeared."
"Maybe the pace at the training camp was too intense."
Tsutomu Goshiki appeared from who knew where. Although he had not received a call from Ryosuke, Ryosuke had sent messages to him and Yunohama. Had the senpai not received any?
Tsutomu Goshiki still had some brains. He did not say it out loud. His instincts told him that if he said this, he might receive the senpai's "loving education."
As everyone chatted over there, Coach Washijō was drinking tea in the office beside the gym. He glanced at the time and figured Ryosuke should be almost back, so he slowly made his way toward the gym.
"I'm back!"
Everyone who had been talking heard the familiar voice. Before Tsutomu Goshiki even had time to turn around, Ryosuke tackled him in a bear hug.
The people who had still been training put down what they were doing and gathered around one after another.
Tsutomu Goshiki still had not come back to himself. He was still wondering why Ryosuke had become so enthusiastic after a single trip to training camp. It was honestly shocking.
"Oooh! Little Ryosuke is back! Did you miss us?"
Tendo enthusiastically ruffled Ryosuke's little curls. During the days Ryosuke had been gone, everyone had discovered that Tendo had actually talked less. That was an enormous matter. For someone like Tendo to become quiet and withdrawn, it had taken everyone several days to get used to it.
Seeing Ryosuke's eyes curve into a smile, Tendo felt his heart settle back where it belonged. During the few days Ryosuke had been away, Tendo had almost felt like he was going to get depressed. He really had no idea how he had survived the days before Ryosuke came along.
Yamagata also came over and roughly rubbed Ryosuke's hair. There was no helping it. Ryosuke just looked far too easy to bully. As for Ushijima standing off to the side, no one dared to reach out and pet him.
Reon patted Ushijima on the shoulder, his eyes full of relief, as if an old father were watching a troublemaking child finally grow into a mature and reliable adult. Who knew why Reon would think that?
"You worked hard."
Facing Ushijima's ice-like expression, Reon could not say anything moving, so all he managed was this dry little sentence. It was not exactly a polite formality either.
Who would have thought Ushijima would nod solemnly?
It had indeed been hard. This week had truly been chaos from beginning to end. Not to mention the high-intensity training, he also had to keep an eye on Ryosuke every day to stop him from getting too carried away. Ushijima felt like he had lost weight.
When Coach Washijō arrived, what he saw was everyone surrounding Ryosuke and messing with him. Ryosuke had his arm around Tsutomu Goshiki, someone's hand was on his head, his bag had been tugged off, and a fine layer of sweat covered his forehead. He looked like a puppy that had gone wild outside and was now being patted by its family.
Looking at Ryosuke's soft hair, Coach Washijō felt his hand itch a little. He wanted to reach out and touch it. Coach Washijō coughed lightly, cutting off the thought. Ryosuke was already this old. That would not be appropriate.
"Ahem. What are all of you crowding around there for?"
Seeing Ryosuke's little face flushed red, Coach Washijō stood there and admired the sight for a moment before finally speaking up to rescue him. With Ryosuke looking that pitiful, this old man really could not keep watching.
Everyone shuddered in fright, then instantly lined up. The entire process took less than a minute. It was pure conditioned reflex. The moment they heard Coach Washijō's voice, their bodies reacted very honestly.
Only then did Ryosuke finally steady himself in a daze, while Ushijima had been ignored the entire time and even reached out to support the dizzy Ryosuke.
Ryosuke looked at Coach Washijō's deliberately stern expression and broke into a grin.
"I'm back!"
Coach Washijō's stern face failed to hold. His expression softened. Only then did he have time to look Ryosuke over properly, and after taking a closer look, he kept nodding.
He had lost weight. He also seemed to have grown taller and sturdier. Standing there, he already looked like an adult. After a week at training camp, the soft feeling Ryosuke usually gave off was gone. Now, he truly looked like a kid who played volleyball.
In the past, people were often surprised when they learned Ryosuke played volleyball, because no matter how they looked at him, he did not seem like the type. If Coach Washijō had not watched Ryosuke grow up with his own eyes, he probably would not have believed it either. Ryosuke simply looked too soft.
"Welcome back."
Coach Washijō said it with a smile, then instantly changed his expression again, his face turning serious.
Everyone watched how quickly Coach Washijō switched expressions without so much as blinking. They were already used to Coach Washijō's unpredictable temperament.
"Alright. Since everyone who should be back is back, and the training camp is over, it's time to start training properly."
Coach Washijō felt that his temper really had improved a lot recently. If it had been before, how could he possibly have given these kids the chance to secretly rest during training? Absolutely impossible.
Coach Washijō's gaze swept across everyone's faces one by one before finally landing on Ushijima, who stood at the very front.
"No matter what happened before, from now on, you had better put your minds back on training. There is only a little over a week left until the IH tournament. During the time you have left, you must maintain your peak condition. At IH, I hope you bring back a championship this time. Did you hear me?"
"Yes!"
Ryosuke shouted with shining eyes. He thought Coach Washijō looked incredibly imposing when he lectured everyone.
"Alright, dismissed. Ushijima and Ryosuke, put your luggage away first, then join everyone for training."
Coach Washijō finished with his hands behind his back. Then, from who knew where, he brought over a teacup, took a sip, and sat down in the coach's chair to watch everyone train.
With Coach Washijō watching, everyone seemed full of energy. It was as if only when Coach Washijō was there could they focus on training. When Coach Washijō was not around, they actually felt a little unused to it.
Ryosuke and Ushijima went to put away their luggage. Ryosuke did not have time to go back now, so he simply placed his luggage in Ushijima's dorm. The two of them changed into their training clothes in the dorm before coming out again.
As they walked, Ryosuke sighed. Under Ushijima's puzzled gaze, he explained,
"I originally wanted to have one proper day of fun before IH, but I didn't even manage that. Now that I'm back, I have to train right away. There's no chance at all."
Ryosuke lowered his head, looking pitiful like a disappointed puppy.
Ushijima looked at Ryosuke thoughtfully. He felt that after returning from the training camp, Ryosuke had become more talkative. Before, if no one else spoke first, he would absolutely never open his mouth. Now, he even knew how to take the initiative to talk to everyone.
What exactly had happened at the training camp that made Ryosuke become like this?
As Ushijima thought about it, he raised his hand and rubbed Ryosuke's little head.
"It's fine. After IH, there shouldn't be many matches left. We might even get a break then, so there will be time to go out and play."
Ushijima's brows furrowed. How had he also become this talkative? Then he understood. Maybe it was because he and Ryosuke had grown closer. Before, he and Ryosuke did not seem to be this familiar.
When the two arrived at the gym, they saw Coach Washijō and the other coach sitting there. In perfect understanding, neither of them spoke, and they threw themselves into training.
"Ryosuke, over here!"
Tsutomu Goshiki waved happily at Ryosuke. He wanted to pair up with Ryosuke for practice. Every time he practiced with Reon-senpai, Reon-senpai's spikes were always impossible to receive, and they made his arms go numb. Thankfully, Ryosuke was back.
Ryosuke nodded, put on his wrist guards, and went over. During the training camp, Ryosuke had developed the habit of wearing wrist guards. A good pair really could reduce the strain on his wrists.
"I'm coming."
At that moment, Coach Washijō also sat up straighter. He wanted to observe what Ryosuke had learned at the training camp.
Ryosuke took his approach and tossed the volleyball up. The smoothness of the entire movement had improved a lot. This was the most basic Jump Serve, and Ryosuke felt that his recent condition was very good. As soon as he touched the volleyball, there was an extremely familiar feeling.
All kinds of serving methods seemed to be carved into his heart, coming naturally when the time was right.
At the training camp, Ryosuke had truly learned a lot. He no longer wanted to rely only on hook shots to score through clever tricks. He had begun to believe that the simplest serving methods were often the most threatening.
"Bang!"
The sound was loud and clear.
Everyone turned their heads, and Coach Washijō sat up straight too.
Tsutomu Goshiki's eyes widened as he stepped forward to receive. This ball came in fiercely. It felt almost no weaker than Reon-senpai's serve.
"Bang!"
The volleyball struck Tsutomu Goshiki's arm, and Tsutomu Goshiki once again felt that familiar pain.
"Ow!"
Tsutomu Goshiki quickly pulled his arm back and pitifully covered it. When he looked down, the inside of his left arm had already turned red over a large area.
Tsutomu Goshiki looked up, staring at Ryosuke with an accusing gaze, as if Ryosuke had committed some unforgivable crime.
Everyone also looked at Ryosuke in amazement.
Kawanishi sucked in a breath.
"Hiss... That serve can compete with Reon's, can't it?"
Yamagata scratched his hair.
"Pretty much."
Reon also nodded.
Seeing Tsutomu Goshiki like that, Ryosuke panicked. He lifted the net and ducked under it, holding Tsutomu Goshiki's arm as he asked anxiously,
"Goshiki, are you okay?"
Looking at the large red patch on his arm, Ryosuke felt a little guilty. But he had not used that much force. Tsutomu Goshiki's skin was just too delicate.
If Tsutomu Goshiki heard that, he would probably be so angry he would jump up and hit Ryosuke.
Ryosuke looked at Tsutomu Goshiki's arm for a while, then lowered his head and said guiltily,
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, come on. A real man can have a few bruises on his arm. It's no big deal!"
Tsutomu Goshiki said it carelessly. Yunohama had appeared at some point, holding an arm guard long enough to cover the arm, and rolled his eyes in irritation.
"I told you already. You need to wear your arm guards properly during training."
Tsutomu Goshiki gave an embarrassed laugh as he took the arm guard Yunohama handed over, then comforted Ryosuke a few more times before the matter was finally brushed aside.
After watching for a while longer, Coach Washijō stood and told Ushijima to come to his office later. He wanted to ask what kind of training they had done during the camp that had allowed Ryosuke to improve this much. If he asked Ryosuke himself, Ryosuke definitely would not be able to explain anything properly.
...
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