"Ryosuke, are you playing in tomorrow's practice match?" Iwaizumi popped open his can of cola with a crisp snap and handed it over.
Ryosuke shook his head—then nodded.
Iwaizumi: "?"
"I'm not sure," Ryosuke said honestly. "Coach said he'll try to get us all on the court."
Oikawa suddenly popped up from nowhere and slung an arm around Ryosuke's neck. "You'd better not play, heh heh. Otherwise I'll have Iwa-chan smash you into the ground."
"What are you saying, Trash-kawa?" Iwaizumi knocked him on the head without hesitation.
Oikawa clutched his forehead, looking aggrieved, while Ryosuke snickered beside them.
Udai, who happened to be passing by after work, saw the scene and smiled, eyes curving warmly. Youth really was a wonderful thing.
Seeing it was getting late, Oikawa and Iwaizumi packed up and headed home.
Oikawa waved vigorously at Ryosuke. "See you tomorrow!"
Ryosuke felt like his good mood might overflow at any second. He couldn't quite explain why he was so happy—it was a quiet kind of satisfaction, a fullness in his chest. Maybe it was simply because he had so many good friends now.
"See you tomorrow, Senpai."
The next morning, Ryosuke woke up early, brimming with anticipation. Ever since returning from training camp, they'd only played the occasional 3v3 among themselves. They hadn't faced any outside teams in a while.
He wanted to know how much he'd improved.
They had already been informed that Aobajosai would be coming today. Before Seijoh arrived, Coach Washijō gathered everyone to announce the lineup.
With his hands behind his back, Coach Washijō swept his gaze over the team. Anyone caught in his line of sight instinctively lowered their head. His presence was simply too overwhelming—one more second of eye contact and you felt like you'd get scolded.
Only Goshiki, that simple-minded kid, held his chin high, eyes blazing.
Coach Washijō let out a faint chuckle.
"Alright. Today's lineup: Ushijima, Goshiki, Semi, Kawanishi, Tendo, and Ryosuke. Goshiki, you're at position three. Kawanishi and Tendo, keep an eye on him. Semi, don't pull anything fancy. Moments of inspiration are fine—but don't take unnecessary risks during a match."
"Yes!"
The moment Goshiki heard he was starting, he looked like flowers were blooming over his head.
Ryosuke was still stunned. "Coach… I'm playing libero?"
Coach Washijō nodded. "Mm."
"Oh… okay!"
Strangely, Ryosuke wasn't as ecstatic as he once would have been. In the past, being able to play libero in a match would've made him so happy he might have done a somersault on the spot.
But after spending so long as a middle blocker, he'd come to appreciate that role too. Aside from the wing spikers, it was one of the few positions with offensive opportunities. In its own way, it was a pillar of the team.
Deep in thought, he drifted away.
Goshiki, still buzzing, ran up to Ushijima.
"Ushijima-senpai! I'll prove to you that I'm the strongest ace!"
Ushijima was drinking water. Hearing that, he gave a calm nod. "Do your best."
That simple sentence was enough to satisfy Goshiki completely.
"Oh! I will!"
Ushijima watched the starting lineup, faintly puzzled. The arrangement and positions were very different from before. Coach Washijō had always embodied strength and steadiness. At some point, though, he had begun to adapt.
It was like watching an elderly man slowly learn how to use a smartphone.
Before Ryosuke came, Coach Washijō had been rigid, immovable. After Ryosuke's arrival, he had gradually begun to change.
No matter how formidable he was, Coach Washijō was still human. He had his own preferences. He didn't want Ryosuke stuck in a team full of glaring weaknesses, charging blindly forward, only to have his brilliance buried in the shadow of his seniors.
So he began to change.
No one anticipated Ryosuke's growth more than he did. The prodigy he had personally nurtured carried both his ambition and his affection—two completely opposite emotions that somehow coexisted naturally within him.
…
Meanwhile, Ryosuke was still lost in thought, seriously weighing the pros and cons of libero versus middle blocker.
Yamagata nudged his shoulder with an elbow. "What are you spacing out about? So happy you've gone stupid?"
Ryosuke snapped back and turned solemn.
"Yamagata-senpai, you're a real man."
Yamagata blinked. "Huh? Really? Heh heh…"
He didn't know what to say, so he just laughed awkwardly.
Ryosuke went back to practicing, and for some reason, the spikes he sent down grew fiercer and fiercer.
Goshiki walked over looking confused—and came back looking even more confused.
Yunohama asked, "What happened? What did he say to you?"
Goshiki looked dazed. "I don't know. He just said my spikes look like puppy poop. Yunohama… was he insulting me?"
Yunohama had no answer. He walked away with a complicated expression.
Trying to guess what Ryosuke was thinking was pointless. You'd never figure it out.
After a while, a chorus of voices rose from outside the gym.
Reon set down his volleyball and went to check. "Guys, Seijoh's here."
Ushijima, who had been training beside Ryosuke just seconds ago, was suddenly already at the entrance.
Ryosuke blinked. Where did my captain go?
He hurried over to join the crowd.
The Seijoh players approached in their green uniforms, Oikawa strutting at the very front.
"Iwa-chan, how's my hairstyle today?"
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes without responding, but when he spotted Ryosuke, he walked over to greet him.
"You playing today?"
Ryosuke beamed. "Of course."
Hearing that, Oikawa stopped fussing with his hair. "Ha! Little Ryosuke, today you'll witness how the dashing Oikawa-sama defeats you."
Ryosuke just smiled and accepted the challenge.
"You know him?" Ushijima's steady voice sounded beside him.
Ryosuke nodded.
Ushijima turned to Oikawa. "Long time no see, Toru Oikawa. You should—"
"Captain!" Ryosuke quickly interrupted.
Ushijima looked at him in confusion. Ryosuke covered his face, unwilling to watch his naturally blunt captain in action.
Pulling him aside, he whispered, "Captain, if you talk like that, Oikawa-senpai will get mad."
Ushijima tilted his head. "Why?"
Ryosuke felt exhausted. "You need to be more tactful. If someone told you to your face that your playing wasn't good enough, wouldn't you get angry?"
"My playing isn't bad."
"…That's not the point!"
They continued whispering, but ultimately reached no conclusion.
Oikawa spotted Ushijima. "Ha! Annoying Ushiwaka, just wait until Oikawa-sama beats you to tears!"
Ryosuke immediately felt another headache coming on. Were his captain and Oikawa-senpai really captains? Why were they both so childish?
"Enough. Stop fooling around and line up," Seijoh's Coach Irihata barked, glaring at Oikawa. Oikawa instantly quieted down.
After exchanging greetings, both teams returned to their respective courts.
"You know Oikawa?" Kawanishi hooked an arm around Ryosuke's neck.
"Yeah. I go to Sendai Gymnasium sometimes, and I run into them."
"Oh? So you've been sneaking off for extra practice?"
Ryosuke stiffened.
The moment those words were spoken, five or six people nearby turned in unison to stare at him. For volleyball players, the phrase "extra practice" was extremely sensitive.
Ryosuke lowered his head guiltily, stammering, his catlike eyes darting around.
Goshiki reacted first. "So when you leave early every day, you're going to train?"
Yunohama adjusted his glasses. "Ryosuke, sneaking ahead like that isn't very ethical."
Reon snorted. "Secretly training without telling us, huh?"
One sentence after another made Ryosuke feel like shrinking into the floor.
Finally, Yamagata stepped in. "Alright, that's enough. Stop teasing him. What if you make him cry?"
Ryosuke's face flushed red as he silently shuffled behind Yamagata, hiding there without a word.
...
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