Keigo Atobe had been incredibly busy lately. He hadn't planned on coming at first, but the moment he thought of his precious little brother competing, he felt that no matter how busy he was, he still had to come.
He would take lots of photos of Ryosuke, print them out, and hang them in the hallway at home. Every room would have a photo of Ryosuke.
That was the power of a devoted older brother.
Keigo Atobe had no intention of going to see Ryosuke just yet. His most important task right now was to figure out what Ryosuke had been doing these past three days, who he had been spending time with, and whether anyone had led him astray. He really was far too busy.
Ryosuke had no idea that Keigo Atobe had already arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Right now, his entire mind was on the upcoming match. Thinking about it, even his steps grew faster.
When he reached the venue, Ryosuke discovered that Bokuto and Hoshiumi had already arrived.
They were currently gathered with Shiratorizawa's players, talking. In the nearby stands, some spectators kept leaning down, trying to hear what they were saying.
It wasn't often that so many star players gathered in one place. Every chance to see it was one less for the future.
So quite a few people were secretly taking photos.
The staff nearby were frantic. Did these kids have no awareness of their own status? As well-known volleyball players, their popularity was almost catching up to celebrities. And now they were all gathered together chatting so openly. Were they trying to cause chaos?
Fortunately, the spectators were still fairly rational. They didn't madly chase the players for photos or autographs. Instead, they had the attitude of, I'm really curious, but I shouldn't bother them.
Because of that attitude, the staff didn't step in to drive anyone away.
They also wanted to see what these kids looked like gathered together.
"Hey, hey, hey! Long time no see, little Ryosuke!"
Bokuto spotted Ryosuke carrying things not far away and rushed over in one breath. He took the plastic bags from Ryosuke's hands, then used his other arm to pull Ryosuke close.
His strength was enormous. Bokuto couldn't wait to cuddle Ryosuke.
This was a greeting method unique to birds of prey.
Ryosuke was caught off guard and squeezed so hard his eyes nearly rolled back. He almost left this beautiful world on the spot.
Keiji Akaashi saw this and shouted in horror,
"Bokuto-senpai! Hurry up and let Ryosuke go!"
"Huh? Oh, okay."
Bokuto had no idea why Keiji Akaashi wanted him to let go, but he obediently released Ryosuke anyway.
Keiji Akaashi hurried over to support Ryosuke. Ryosuke's face was flushed bright red. He cleared his throat, then spoke awkwardly.
"Thank you, Keiji Akaashi-senpai."
Thank you, Keiji Akaashi-senpai, for saving my life.
Ryosuke decided that after the match ended, he absolutely had to make a banner for Keiji Akaashi. Ryosuke would remember this day forever.
Only after seeing that Ryosuke was fine did Keiji Akaashi let out a breath of relief. Bokuto-senpai really had no sense of control over his strength. He could only manage it when playing volleyball. At every other time, he was completely unreliable.
"Yo, Ryosuke's back."
Hoshiumi also noticed Ryosuke and greeted him happily.
Ryosuke greeted everyone first. By the time he finished greeting them all, quite a while had passed. Ryosuke let out a tired sigh. Sometimes, knowing too many people wasn't a good thing.
After he finished greeting everyone, Ryosuke started handing out the things one by one. When it was Yamagata and Kawanishi's turn, Ryosuke looked left and right, confirmed that Reon wasn't watching, then pulled two bags of potato chips out of the black plastic bag like a thief and shoved them into Yamagata's backpack.
Yamagata's eyes lit up when he saw the snacks. He was overjoyed, and he even stuffed Kawanishi's share into his bag before running off.
Kawanishi's eyes widened, then he happily chased after Yamagata.
Ryosuke stood there and sighed again. He had lost count of how many times he had sighed today. An accomplice. He really was an accomplice.
Reon was busy exchanging greetings with everyone, so he had no chance to notice what was happening here. By the time he turned back in confusion, wondering why the noisiest ones had suddenly gone quiet, Yamagata and Kawanishi had already disappeared.
"Then your opponent this afternoon is definitely those rotten foxes from Inarizaki. They're pretty much guaranteed to make the quarterfinals."
Hirugami said this with a curled lip, his tone full of schadenfreude.
Inarizaki. They really were difficult to deal with. If Hirugami had to name the teams he hated meeting most in matches, Inarizaki would definitely be on the list.
Other teams' Setters and Middle Blockers either communicated with hand signs or eye contact, but those damned twins seemed to use telepathy. No matter what, it was impossible to figure out how their minds worked. Even worse, the Setter could be used like a Spiker,
and the Spiker could act as a Setter. Add in those two highly similar faces, and they were truly confusing. Other teams only had a few patterns of attack, but in their hands, they could turn it into endless tricks.
Slippery and impossible to pin down. They were practically fox spirits.
Every time Hirugami played against them, he felt the urge to skin those foxes.
Reon sighed. Shiratorizawa had played Inarizaki once during last year's Spring High, and their level of trouble was enough to make someone physically uncomfortable. Back then, the twins had still been first-years, and they had already been incredibly difficult to handle.
Reon didn't even want to imagine how troublesome they would be as second-years.
And Rintaro Suna, who had been in the same year as them, was no easy opponent either. In terms of blocking talent, he might not have caught up to Ryosuke, but he was still not someone to underestimate.
Inarizaki was a truly strange team. They weren't ridiculously strong in a straightforward way, but they were just impossible to deal with.
"Tsk."
Reon clicked his tongue irritably. It really was enough to make someone lose hair.
"Heh, heh, heh. Relax, relax."
Hirugami now had his arms folded, putting on the look of an easygoing person. But who knew how much he was secretly enjoying this?
Reon really didn't want to look at Hirugami's smug face right now. He gave a "hmph," then turned back to Hirugami and said,
"Have a good match. Don't lose to that noisy owl."
From that line alone, it was clear that Reon was a little more familiar with Kamomedai. Of course, that didn't mean he disliked Fukurodani. It was just that compared to Bokuto's lively personality, Reon felt that Hirugami's steady nature matched his own much better.
In short, this counted as mutual appreciation between two team parents.
Kōrai Hoshiumi, Bokuto, and Ryosuke gathered together, chattering nonstop.
Keiji Akaashi covered his face, no longer willing to look. Why did Bokuto-senpai look like such a huge lump crouching there? He looked completely out of place.
Ushijima, Reon, and the others also naturally gathered together, like children brought along by their parents to visit someone else's house, listening seriously as Reon and Hirugami talked.
The coaches from both sides also stood together cheerfully. Although it looked harmonious, anyone sharp enough could still see the sparks crackling in the air.
"Coach Takurō, I look forward to your guidance again this year."
Coach Aaron wore a professional fake smile. As he held Coach Takurō's hand, he secretly put strength into his grip.
Coach Takurō felt the force in his hand, and the kind expression on his face almost failed to hold.
Old bastard. He's this old, but he still has plenty of strength.
Then he gripped Coach Aaron's hand back and said through gritted teeth,
"Not at all. Coach Aaron, you're as impressive as ever. We Fukurodani welcome your challenge."
Without seeming to mean it, he had shifted Fukurodani into the leading position. What he actually wanted to say was,
Tch. Haven't seen you in so long, and you're still the same sorry sight as ever. You still won't beat Fukurodani this time, so go home and sleep.
Coach Aaron's fake smile was about to crack too.
"Hahaha, Coach Takurō, you really do know how to talk. Oh my, you've been looking rather worn out lately. What's wrong? Something troubling you?"
Say it. Let me have a laugh too.
After Coach Aaron said that, Coach Takurō did not respond either. The two of them simply stared at each other in silence.
As the saying went, when two men stood this close, they were either about to kiss or start fighting.
Just as the atmosphere between them grew worse and worse, to the point where they seemed ready to start cursing each other out, Bokuto came trotting over.
"Coach, if we win the match, can we go eat barbecue?"
Coach Aaron's mood instantly soured. He glared at Bokuto. This kid was already thinking about barbecue before the match had even started.
Coach Takurō, on the other hand, smiled so happily that the wrinkles on his face bloomed like a flower.
Then he patted Bokuto's shoulder with great satisfaction. Good kid. He had helped him win back a round.
"Sure, sure, barbecue. If you win, we'll go eat barbecue," Coach Takurō said, wrapping an arm around Bokuto as he walked away.
He had completely forgotten that he had just been arguing with Coach Aaron, leaving Coach Aaron alone where he stood, so angry he nearly jumped in place.
Hakuba walked past Coach Aaron with his protective gear in hand. Seeing his coach acting strangely, he tilted his head and asked,
"Coach? What are you doing?"
The moment Coach Aaron heard his own player's voice, he instantly became serious. His face changed in a second, and he put on a gentle smile.
"Hehe, nothing. Go on and do what you need to do."
No matter what, he could not lose face in front of his players. After all, in front of the kids, his image was that of a gentle, understanding elder. He absolutely could not let that image collapse.
Hakuba nodded. He did not ask any more questions and simply walked away.
As he walked, he thought to himself that Coach was really acting strange today.
The coaches on both sides found each other unpleasant to look at. The more Coach Aaron thought about it, the angrier he became, and he wanted his players to crush the other side's momentum on the court. But when he thought about how they had lost more than they had won over the years, Coach Aaron didn't feel confident either.
Over there, everyone was still gathered together talking. Finally, the staff could not take it anymore and came over to clear the area.
"All participating players, warm-ups are about to begin. Please do not remain here."
Keiji Akaashi checked the time. It really was almost time to start. He took hold of Bokuto and said,
"Bokuto-senpai, we should go."
The playful expression Bokuto had worn a second earlier instantly turned serious. Then he shouted in a strong, full voice,
"Line up!"
At that moment, Bokuto truly looked like a captain worthy of the title.
Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke, standing nearby, were completely stunned. So Bokuto-senpai had this side to him too. None of them had ever seen it before.
The others from Shiratorizawa, however, were used to it. Bokuto usually looked a little unreliable, but he really was Fukurodani's captain.
Maybe only someone as energetic and driven as Bokuto could lead Fukurodani. Or maybe everyone was simply willing to follow Bokuto's orders. Either way, what they saw today gave everyone a new impression of Bokuto.
Over at Kamomedai, seeing that Fukurodani had already started lining up, they refused to fall behind and formed their line as well.
Then the referee led both teams onto the court to warm up.
The moment the two teams faced each other across the court, the pressure between them was no joke. Both sides wanted to beat the other, especially Kamomedai.
Everyone went onto the court to warm up, and Shiratorizawa's players prepared to find seats in the stands to watch the match.
But when they looked up, they realized there were no seats left. The stands were packed full.
Kaichi Academy's players had already run to the stands and found seats while everyone else had still been exchanging greetings. Now they sat there watching Shiratorizawa's group crane their necks below, feeling wonderfully refreshed, as if they had somehow won one round without anyone noticing.
Reon looked at the stands, then at the large group trailing behind him, and fell silent for a moment.
As expected, taking children out these days really wasn't convenient.
After thinking for a moment, Reon walked over to Coach Takurō and Coach Aaron.
"Coaches, there are no seats left in the stands. Would it be all right if we sat on your benches to watch the match?"
At some point, Ushijima had also followed him over. His eyes looked at the two coaches with complete sincerity.
Of course, Coach Aaron and Coach Takurō had no objections. The two of them had some minor conflicts with each other, but they would never let that affect the children. Besides, they all knew Shiratorizawa's kids well enough. They could just let Coach Washijō know afterward.
After getting the two coaches' permission, Reon turned back and called everyone over to sit on the benches on both sides. Everyone politely thanked the two coaches before sitting down.
Then the Fukurodani and Kamomedai players, still warming up, kept turning their heads toward their own benches.
"Keiji Akaashi, why are they sitting on our bench?"
By now, Bokuto had completely lost the dignity of a captain. His clear eyes were filled with pure foolishness.
Keiji Akaashi pressed a hand to his forehead, then pushed Bokuto's head around so he would stop looking toward the coaching bench.
"They're probably waiting to go eat with Bokuto-senpai after this match. Bokuto-senpai, please warm up first."
Warm-up time was precious. Keiji Akaashi really didn't want Bokuto's attention going somewhere else, so he casually made up an excuse to deal with him.
"Oh! If that's the case, then I definitely have to finish this match quickly!"
Bokuto shouted excitedly.
By sheer coincidence, Hoshiumi on the other side heard that line.
With Hoshiumi's temper, he nearly tried to crawl straight through the net and fight Bokuto.
Then Hirugami grabbed him by the back of the neck. His voice was light as he warned Hoshiumi,
"We're at a match right now. You'd better not mess around, or you'll be finished once the match is over."
Hoshiumi heard the threat in those words. He shrank his neck and said nothing, quietly clenching his fist.
Hmph! A gentleman can wait ten years for revenge. Damn you, Bokuto, just you wait. Watch how I spike right through you during the match!
Fuming, Hoshiumi hugged the volleyball and went to warm up, sending the ball out with loud bangs. For the moment, he didn't notice everyone sitting over by the benches.
Hakuba watched that scene and clicked his tongue in amazement. Why was that? He and Hirugami were both second-years, and they were both Middle Blockers, so why did Hoshiumi never listen to him like that?
It really was strange.
...
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