Ryosuke looked at the orange-haired puppy crouched on the ground with mixed feelings, the little cowlick on his head twitching nonstop.
If he introduced him to Goshiki, those two would probably never run out of things to talk about.
"Ah! You're from Shiratorizawa!" Hinata exclaimed in surprise.
Ryosuke glanced down at his clothes and realized he was still wearing his training uniform.
"Yeah." He stood up and pulled Hinata to his feet.
Hinata kept chattering away. "I play volleyball too! I'm from Karasuno! Wow, Shiratorizawa is amazing! Ushijima-senpai's left-handed jump serve is seriously incredible! Can we play volleyball together sometime?"
Somehow the conversation had veered into this direction. Ryosuke slowly rummaged through his backpack and nodded when he heard that.
"Sure."
He didn't feel any dislike toward this unfamiliar but overly enthusiastic classmate. The warmth he gave off was like standing in sunlight.
"Ah, found it." Ryosuke pulled a jacket out of his bag. Seeing Hinata still in short sleeves in this slightly chilly weather, his whole body smeared with mud, he said, "Put this on."
He handed the jacket to Hinata.
Hinata froze for a moment.
Ryosuke urged him again. "You'll catch a cold. You're covered in mud. Do you remember the way back? Did you bring your phone?"
Hinata shook his head honestly. "I don't remember… and I didn't bring my phone."
Ryosuke sighed. "Alright. Then come back to school with me first and wash up."
Hinata looked at the clean jacket in his hands, feeling a little awkward. "I'll get your clothes dirty."
Ryosuke smiled, eyes curving gently. "It's fine. If it gets dirty, we'll just wash it. Hurry up and put it on."
Hinata finally put the jacket on obediently. Compared to Ryosuke, who was close to 180 centimeters tall, Hinata wearing his clothes looked like a kid sneaking into an adult's outfit.
Just like that, Ryosuke brought a little mud-covered person back to school, the muddy kid padding along behind him.
Hinata chatted excitedly the whole way. "Does that mean I get to see Shiratorizawa? Wow, that's awesome! I play middle blocker on my team—what about you?"
Ryosuke marveled at how Hinata's thoughts jumped around as he answered, "You can take a look around. I'm an opposite hitter."
Listening to Hinata talk nonstop, Ryosuke slowly made his way back to school.
"Wow, your gym is huge! And the facilities are amazing! The school building's huge too, and the field!"
Hinata bounced around excitedly, exploring everywhere. Ryosuke didn't stop him and just followed along.
Eventually, he brought Hinata to the gym's changing room.
"There's a shower in there. Change your clothes and wear mine."
Hinata's eyes practically sparkled with tears. "Waaah, Ryosuke-kun, you're such a good person!"
He rushed forward, clearly aiming for a bear hug.
Maybe it was because he'd spent too much time around Sakusa, but Ryosuke absolutely could not accept a muddy hug.
He pressed a hand against Hinata's forehead to keep him at bay. "No. Go shower."
Hinata grinned and ran into the changing room. Wow, today he really met an unbelievably nice person!
Outside, Ryosuke fiddled with his phone and called the captain.
"What's wrong?" Ushijima asked after picking up.
Ryosuke rubbed his nose. "Do you have Karasuno's captain's contact information?"
"Yes. I'll send it to you. What happened?"
After getting to know Ushijima better, Ryosuke had discovered his unusual fondness for gossip—his curiosity rivaled Tendō's.
"I picked up a lost Karasuno player on the road. I don't know where Karasuno is."
"…Alright."
Perhaps Ushijima was processing how someone could actually pick up a person off the street.
After getting the number, Ryosuke immediately contacted Karasuno's captain.
"Hello, may I ask who's speaking?"
A gentle, steady voice came from the other end.
Ryosuke organized his words carefully.
"I'm Ryosuke Hanyu from Shiratorizawa. I found Shoyo Hinata on the road today—he got lost. He's currently at Shiratorizawa. I don't know where Karasuno is, and Hinata doesn't recognize the way either. Could I trouble you to come get him?
We're at Shiratorizawa's gym."
He said everything in one breath, afraid the conversation might derail.
"Huh? What? Hinata got lost?!"
The shock on the other end was unmistakable.
"Kageyama! Where's Hinata?!"
"Oh dear, Kageyama hasn't come back either. Looks like he got lost too—same as the short one."
The Karasuno side immediately erupted into chaos.
Hearing the noise through the phone, Ryosuke fell silent. Why were Karasuno's people all so strange?
"May I ask… have you seen someone with a really grumpy face and a terrible temper?"
"Uh… no."
"Alright. Then could you keep an eye on Hinata for us? We'll be there right away."
"No problem."
What a good captain—so concerned about his teammate, Ryosuke thought quietly.
On the other end, Daichi put down his phone, dark energy practically radiating off him. Sugawara, who had just finished practice, walked in and saw the scene.
Curious, he went over to Tsukishima. "What's wrong with Daichi?"
Tsukishima let out a short laugh.
"Hinata and Kageyama went running and got separated. Hinata was picked up by someone from Shiratorizawa and brought back there. As for Kageyama—no idea where he went."
"Huh?!" Sugawara's eyes widened.
"Sugawara, let's go. We're heading to Shiratorizawa to pick him up. Maybe we'll run into Kageyama on the way."
"You look like you're about to kill someone," Ennoshita muttered quietly from somewhere nearby, drawing a cross over his chest. "Hinata, Kageyama… may you rest in peace."
"What? We're going to Shiratorizawa?! I'm coming too!"
Nishinoya burst out, brimming with excitement.
Looking at the room full of people, Daichi sighed. This really was the unbearable weight of life.
…
"Ryosuke, I'm done!"
Ryosuke, who'd been sitting on a bench spacing out, looked up at Hinata's voice.
He saw Hinata dragging around pants that were way too long, trying to roll up the cuffs.
"Hinata, you're way too skinny. You need to eat more," Ryosuke said with a frown.
"Huh? Really? I kinda think so too."
Clueless about Hinata's actual appetite, Ryosuke would later regret these words at every single group meal…
"Oh, right. I already called your captain. He'll be here to pick you up soon."
Hinata's face drained of color. He rushed over and shook Ryosuke. "No way! You're kidding, right?!"
Ryosuke scratched his head in confusion. "I'm not joking. None of us know the way."
Hinata let out a dramatic cry and covered his face as he squatted down, nearly giving Ryosuke a heart attack.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
"I'm done for! If the captain finds out, I'm dead! It's all that boke Kageyama's fault!"
Hinata muttered nonstop.
Ryosuke sat down as well, propping his chin on his hand. "Your captain should be a pretty good person, right?"
Hinata looked up and spoke emphatically. "That's just on the surface, Ryosuke! Our captain is terrifying! On our first day joining the volleyball club, Kageyama and I got locked out!"
Ryosuke hesitated. "No way…"
"It's all true! Daichi-senpai is a good person, but he's super scary! And that boke Kageyama—he's a total mega-boke!
He even said I don't need teammates, that I could receive, set, and spike all by myself!"
Hinata pulled a scowling face as he imitated him, so vivid it made Ryosuke laugh.
"Huh? Hinata, you're the real boke! Who was it that suggested racing and then disappeared?!"
Ryosuke's cat-like eyes widened as a group of people rushed over.
How did they get here so fast? Did they fly?!
Seeing Daichi radiating black energy and Kageyama charging forward with a terrifying expression, Hinata shuddered and hid behind Ryosuke, refusing to come out.
"Ahhh! I'm sorry, Daichi-senpai! I really didn't mean it!"
Sugawara quickly grabbed Daichi's twitching arm and tried to calm him down.
"Daichi! Don't get mad. They're our kids. We can take them back and deal with it—doing it here would be rude."
"Yeah, yeah," Nishinoya chimed in.
Suppressing the throbbing in his temples, Daichi walked up to Ryosuke and smiled.
"Hello. I'm Sawamura Daichi, Karasuno's captain. Thank you for your help, Ryosuke-kun."
Ryosuke waved his hands hurriedly. "No trouble at all. It was nothing."
As he spoke, he fished Hinata out from behind him and pushed him toward Daichi.
Hinata stared at Ryosuke in disbelief.
Wow. Ryosuke, you actually sold me out.
Closing his eyes, Hinata stood in front of Daichi with a resolute expression and bowed at ninety degrees.
"I'm sorry, senpai! But I really didn't know the way!"
Daichi was so angry he laughed. He clamped a large hand over Hinata's head, grinding his teeth.
"Next time, I'm tying a leash to you two. Now—immediately—come back with me."
Hinata trembled. Ryosuke, watching Hinata get grabbed by the scruff of fate, trembled too.
Karasuno's captain… terrifying.
Hinata struggled free just enough to look back.
"Ryosuke-kun, what's your LINE? Write it down for me, okay?"
Ryosuke nodded dazedly.
Only after Daichi led everyone away did he snap back to his senses.
Ah… Hinata wasn't lying. Their captain really was scary.
He could still hear Daichi scolding Hinata from afar.
"If you run off again, you're banned from practice!"
"What?! No—please, senpai!"
Ryosuke shook his head with a laugh, locked up the gym, and strolled home at an unhurried pace.
Halfway there, he tilted his head again. It felt like he'd forgotten something.
Walking along, he thought hard. What was it?
The homework left on the table screamed silently: YOU FORGOT YOUR HOMEWORK!
Ryosuke sneezed for no apparent reason and quickened his steps home.
…
Author's Note / Disclaimer:
When I first started working on this fic, there was no clear indication that it might include light romantic undertones between two male characters. As the story progresses, there may be subtle moments that can be interpreted that way.
That said, this is not the main focus of the story. It primarily centers on character dynamics, volleyball, and everyday interactions. Any romantic elements, if present, are mild, innocent, and not explicit.
I just wanted to give readers a heads-up in advance.
...
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