Kuroo finally led the Nekoma team all the way around from the back entrance to the preparation hall. The first thing they saw when they arrived was Ryosuke looking around, along with the Shiratorizawa players, whose faces all seemed to say, "Do not approach."
When the Shiratorizawa players turned around, they spotted Kuroo's flashy grin. His hair was as uniquely styled as ever.
Ryosuke immediately spotted the nearly two-meter-tall Lev in the crowd. He was simply too tall to ignore.
Reon also looked Lev over with interest.
"Is this your new first year? I didn't see him at the last training camp."
Kuroo pulled Lev over and showed him off to Reon.
"This is our new first year. He's half Russian, you know. Tall, right? Lev's pretty good at volleyball too."
Lev lowered his head gloomily and hesitantly added,
"But Kenma-senpai said my blocks look like tree branches..."
Lev felt that he needed to be an honest child. He did not really understand why Kuroo-senpai would say that. Was he bragging?
The corner of Kuroo's mouth twitched, and his expression slowly collapsed. He could not quite smile anymore.
Reon had a very hard time holding back his laughter, his shoulders shaking. Someone being exposed by the very person they were bragging about was truly too funny. Sure enough, smiles never disappeared. They only moved somewhere else.
Kuroo forced a smile at Reon.
"Sorry about this. I've got some private business to deal with."
After saying that, Kuroo tugged Lev away by the ear. Lev's eyes were filled with a clear, foolish innocence that did not quite match his age.
Reon moved the muscles in his face, then sighed. Holding back laughter really was hard work.
"Good morning, Reon."
Wakatsu Kiryū's voice came from behind him. The Mujinazaka players had arrived too. In the entire venue, only Shiratorizawa and Nekoma had presences so strong they were impossible to ignore.
Wakatsu Kiryū cheerfully exchanged greetings with Reon, then stood with him and watched the players talking everywhere.
Before long, the other teams arrived as well, and the huge venue slowly began to feel a little crowded.
"Omi-Omi!"
Ryosuke's eyes could always lock onto Sakusa in the corner at a single glance, even among so many people.
Tendo pursed his lips, feeling a little unhappy. Every time Sakusa appeared, Ryosuke's eyes had no room for anyone else.
Watching how eagerly Ryosuke looked at Sakusa, Tendo wavered for the first time over something he had always insisted on.
When Sakusa saw Ryosuke, his eyes lit up. It was a light that the Itachiyama players had never seen before. Usually, Sakusa only looked at everyone with that "you're filthy" gaze.
Only when Ryosuke saw Sakusa did the feeling of excitement finally hit him. He suddenly realized that he was truly about to stand on the same court as Sakusa.
A large part of the reason Ryosuke had made it this far was because of the promise he had made with Sakusa back then.
"I'll wait for you to stand with me on the same orange court. In Tokyo, on the highest stage in the nation."
Because of that sentence, Ryosuke had walked all the way here without hesitation. And today, he had finally fulfilled that promise.
Sakusa did not say much. With just one look, the two of them already knew what the other was thinking. He gently rubbed Ryosuke's little head, his voice full of fondness.
"Good luck in your matches. I'll be waiting for you in the final."
"Mm!"
Ryosuke nodded firmly. At that moment, everything he wanted to say turned into one simple encouragement.
"Bokuto!"
Hoshiumi saw Bokuto and let out a shout. He still remembered how this guy had run off last time.
Bokuto had only just arrived. He looked toward the source of the voice in confusion, and when he finally saw Hoshiumi and was about to wave hello, Hoshiumi took a few running steps and leaped straight onto Bokuto's back.
"Huh??"
Bokuto did not understand what Hoshiumi was trying to do. The next second, Hoshiumi was already on his back, reaching both hands around to the front and pulling at Bokuto's mouth, still huffing angrily.
"You jerk! Last time, you actually ran off without even saying anything!"
"Ow! No, I didn't! I sent you guys a message afterward!"
"Nonsense! I never got it!"
"Ugh... Kōrai, you're going to pull all my hair out."
When Hirugami and Keiji Akaashi rushed over, this was the scene they saw. Hoshiumi was almost climbing onto Bokuto's neck, and there were even a few strands of Bokuto's silver-white hair in his hands.
Hirugami sucked in a breath, nearly angered to death by Hoshiumi. He had only taken his eyes off him for a moment, and Hoshiumi had already caused such a huge mess.
"Hakuba! Drag Hoshiumi back here!"
Hakuba nodded, rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, and forcibly pulled Hoshiumi down.
Bokuto covered his hair, his eyes turning watery like beaten egg. Looking terribly wronged, he ran behind Keiji Akaashi, his hair drooping as if he were pitiful beyond words.
Keiji Akaashi was trembling with anger. Feeling a little distressed, he rubbed Bokuto's hair. It had taken so much effort to raise this big owl into this state, and now so much of his hair had been yanked out. Konoha, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, also felt terribly sorry when he saw Bokuto's miserable appearance.
That little seagull from Kamomedai had quite the temper.
Keiji Akaashi looked toward Kamomedai with an expression so serious that no one had ever seen it on him before.
"When it's time for the match, I won't let you off."
When Haruki Komi heard that, his jaw nearly dropped. He dug at his ear with a disbelieving expression. Was this really their gentle, beautiful setter who never got angry?
Hirugami held down the struggling Hoshiumi, his face apologetic.
"I'm truly sorry. After the match, we'll bring Hoshiumi over to apologize. But as for the match itself, no one can say for sure. Who will win is still unknown."
Keiji Akaashi lifted his chin and gave a slight nod. He said nothing more and dragged Bokuto away.
Only a few members of Kamomedai were left looking at one another.
Hoshiumi had now realized that he had gone a little too far earlier. He lowered his head dejectedly. Seeing him like that, Hirugami could not bring himself to scold him, so he could only sigh and rub his hair.
"Bokuto won't be angry. He might even think he was the one who did something wrong. If you really feel bad about it, then go apologize to him after the match...
But Bokuto's setter isn't easy to deal with. You'd better be prepared for him to target you during the match."
Hirugami was truly exhausted. Not a single person on this team gave him any peace of mind. Acting like both a father and a mother, Hirugami felt like he was going to lose years off his life.
The Inarizaki team had arrived too. Kita Shinsuke led a group of troublesome boys over to Shiratorizawa.
"Wakatoshi, thank you very much for looking after that brat Atsumu during the last training camp. These are rice balls my grandmother made. I brought them especially."
Hearing that, Atsumu Miya's eyes nearly popped out. What? Looked after him? Had Ushijima looked after him during the training camp? Had they even gone to the same training camp? Why could he not understand what Captain Kita was saying? Had that guy looked after him? It was already good enough that he had not stared him down every day.
Damn it! And those were rice balls made by Captain Kita's grandmother. He had thought Captain Kita had brought so many for everyone to eat... Damn it!
Atsumu Miya opened his mouth, about to tell Captain Kita not to give him the rice balls, but Kita Shinsuke seemed to have eyes on the back of his head and sent a sharp glare his way.
Atsumu Miya... Atsumu Miya went silent as a chicken.
Osamu Miya was still snickering at the side. He had told Atsumu ages ago to fix that explosive temper. Served him right for getting scared by Captain Kita.
Kita Shinsuke did not know what Atsumu Miya was thinking, but during training camp, Ushijima had been extremely serious. Every day, he had reported to Kita what Atsumu Miya had done, so dutifully that he was practically like a bodyguard.
The contents of those daily reports included, but were not limited to, tattling on Atsumu Miya. For example, if Ushijima noticed that Atsumu Miya had been pestering Ryosuke all day, he would message Kita Shinsuke that night and report what bad things Atsumu Miya had done, adding in a few private grievances along the way.
Looking at the huge bag full of rice balls, Ushijima lifted it to test the weight, then raised an eyebrow. He could not help thinking that Kita was still as sincere as ever after all these years. Even the bag was insulated. It had taken more than two hours to get from Hyogo to Tokyo, but the rice balls were still warm.
Ushijima nodded to Kita.
"Thank you."
Then he called Ryosuke. His voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for everyone from Inarizaki and Ryosuke, who was not far away, to hear.
Hearing Ushijima call him, Ryosuke waved goodbye to Kenma and trotted over happily.
Before he even reached Ushijima, Atsumu Miya suddenly appeared and intercepted him. Atsumu Miya rushed out so abruptly that he collided right into Ryosuke, catching him in a full hug.
At that moment, Atsumu Miya's inner thoughts were: Hehe, I hugged him... He smells so good...
What is this?! Kitty! Sniff sniff! What is this?! Kitty! Sniff sniff!
Atsumu Miya rubbed against Ryosuke like a total pervert, completely unaware of the murderous gazes coming from every direction.
With a dark expression, Ushijima walked straight over and pulled the two of them apart. When Atsumu Miya saw Ushijima's face, even he felt frightened.
That murderous gaze fixed on Atsumu Miya, making cold sweat break out all over him. Some people were still alive, but they were already dead inside...
Ushijima turned and handed the rice balls to Ryosuke.
"These are rice balls Captain Kita brought. You didn't eat much this morning, so try some. They're very good.
Don't run around here. We'll be entering soon. Kita, please help keep an eye on him. Atsumu Miya and I have something to discuss."
After giving his instructions, Ushijima forcibly dragged Atsumu Miya away under Atsumu's despairing gaze.
Everyone from Inarizaki looked at Ryosuke with friendly expressions. Kita Shinsuke, meanwhile, was a little curious. Someone like Ushijima, who usually ignored everything unrelated to him, had actually become this talkative one day. It was truly rare.
Ryosuke grew a little nervous under all those gazes. He took a deep breath and looked up, preparing to greet everyone from Inarizaki. But the moment he raised his head, he saw a face exactly like Atsumu Miya's. Only the hair color was different. Although it was obvious they were not the same person, Ryosuke's little brain could not process it right away, and he stared blankly at Osamu Miya.
"? Miya... senpai?"
The moment Osamu Miya saw Ryosuke, he understood why his older brother kept talking about the little leopard every day. Because Ryosuke really was very pretty.
Osamu Miya nodded and smiled.
"I'm Osamu Miya. Atsumu Miya's younger brother."
He looks very different from Atsumu Miya-senpai... But... what an amazing face.
"Hello, Osamu Miya-senpai. My name is Ryosuke Hanyu. Hello, senpai."
Being able to greet everyone on his own was already Ryosuke's greatest improvement. Usually, Ryosuke would politely smile, then stand awkwardly in place and stare at the tips of his shoes.
Kita Shinsuke felt that the child seemed a little uneasy, so he very considerately found a topic for Ryosuke. Letting someone who had come over to greet them end up awkward and unable to step down would be very impolite. Kita Shinsuke would never let something like that happen.
"Hello. I'm Inarizaki's captain. Thank you very much for looking after Atsumu Miya during training camp. He didn't cause you any trouble, did he?"
Ryosuke quickly waved his hands.
"No, no. Atsumu Miya-senpai is actually a very enthusiastic person. He helped me a lot too."
Kita Shinsuke narrowed his eyes. Enthusiastic? That guy was terribly lazy on the team. Kita Shinsuke did not believe for a second that one training camp could fix all of Atsumu Miya's bad habits. Hearing it like this, something felt off.
Kita Shinsuke did not show it on his face, but he became even more curious about Ryosuke. Then he pointed at the bag in Ryosuke's hands.
"Aren't you going to try one? My grandmother made them. Atsumu strongly recommends the tuna rice balls."
Ryosuke had already smelled the aroma coming from the rice balls. At first, he had wanted to say that eating in front of people might be impolite, but then he thought about how he usually ate in front of everyone plenty of times. After hearing Kita Shinsuke's words, Ryosuke did not say anything else.
He swallowed. Just one small rice ball was making him salivate like crazy.
Ryosuke glanced at Kita Shinsuke, then took a big bite with an "aom." His mouth was instantly full of filling. Tuna and pickled vegetables, wrapped in teriyaki sauce. The rice was soft and fragrant. Ryosuke had truly never eaten this kind of rice ball before, and his eyes lit up.
"Mm! Sho good!"
Seeing Ryosuke's little cheeks flushed as he told him it was delicious, Kita Shinsuke strangely felt a sense of satisfaction. He seemed to understand why Ushijima had become so chatty. Facing Ryosuke really felt like raising a child. An obedient junior who reacted well and behaved properly. Ushijima was truly lucky.
Thinking of Inarizaki's problem children, Kita Shinsuke sighed inwardly. Sure enough, some things could not be compared. Once compared to Ryosuke, Atsumu Miya and the others seemed especially awful.
Aran whispered to Ōmimi,
"Ōmimi, this underclassman looks so well-behaved. Can we really not trade him for the twins?"
Ōmimi looked worried.
"Stop thinking about it. That kind of thing isn't going to happen."
Aran pouted in disappointment.
Just then, Ushijima came back, dragging a half-dead Atsumu Miya with him. No one knew what Ushijima had done, but Atsumu Miya looked completely dazed.
Kita Shinsuke did not mind in the slightest. He even thanked Ushijima.
"Thank you very much for stepping in and teaching him a lesson."
Only then did Atsumu Miya react. He looked at Kita Shinsuke with resentment in his eyes. He swore that Captain Kita was no longer his number one favorite captain!
At that moment, the hall broadcast sounded, accompanied by familiar music.
"All athletes, please follow your coaches and line up. The opening ceremony of the 34th National Boys' High School Volleyball Tournament is about to begin. Please prepare yourselves."
The announcement repeated three times, and everyone hurried back and forth to their own teams. At some point, Coach Washijō had appeared and was watching Ushijima and Ryosuke from over there.
Ushijima nodded to Coach Washijō, then turned back and looked seriously at Kita Shinsuke.
"Kita, see you on the court."
Kita Shinsuke's expression also grew serious.
"Yeah. See you on the court."
The two groups went their separate ways.
Ryosuke did not quite understand. Why was everyone good friends in private, but every time they were about to step onto the court, they all acted as if it were a fight to the death?
Ryosuke still did not understand the answer to that question yet. But when he stood on opposite sides of the court from Itachiyama, from Sakusa, he would understand.
...
...
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