Chapter 53: Training Camp 16

The air was thick with tension, ready to explode, as the two teams eyed each other across the net.

Kamomedai served first. Standing at the service line, Aikichi Suwa bounced the ball lightly in his hand, recalling what Hirugami had just said.

“It’s fine. They’ve got overhand serves, but we’ve got jump floats. Let Suwa go first and shave off two or three points.”

Suwa tightened his expression, lifted the ball with steady focus, took four steps back, and sent it off with a jump float serve.

The ball drifted unpredictably into Itachiyama’s court. Komori kept a calm face as he dug it cleanly.

“Nice receive!” Araki roared, his whole body instantly fired up.

Stationed near the net, he waited with minimal movement. The first pass came to him perfectly.

Araki jumped, arching his back to send a back set. Sakusa burst out from the back row, his overwhelming presence immediately drawing every eye in the gym.

Sakusa snapped his wrist and hammered the ball down.

Kamomedai’s block formed in an instant, but the sheer force of the spike blew straight through it.

Kōrai Hoshiumi reacted in a flash, instinctively kicking the ball up.

Kamihayashi Keiichiro rushed in to cover, stabilizing the first touch and sending the ball cleanly to the setter.

Hoshiumi took a few quick steps back, then dashed forward.

“I’ve got it!”

His feet hit the floor with a dull thud. Kōrai Hoshiumi seemed to take flight, soaring high as he crushed the ball over the net.

“Whoa!” Tsutomu Goshiki stared at Hoshiumi like he was looking at a miniature giant, admiration nearly spilling out of his eyes.

Ryosuke let out a quiet laugh and tugged on Goshiki’s sleeve, whispering, “Don’t be jealous. I’ll teach you how to jump higher tonight.”

At that, Goshiki’s eyes lit up like light bulbs.

Ryosuke covered his face. “Whoa—almost blinded me.”

On the court, the two teams traded point after point.

As the match went on, it stopped being about tactics. Itachiyama and Kamomedai were just slugging it out with raw power, spike after spike.

Each hit was more ferocious than the last.

Yunohama clicked his tongue. “Are these really balls high schoolers can hit? Someone’s arm is gonna snap at this rate.”

It sounded like idle commentary, but there was no denying it was praise.

The match climbed steadily toward its boiling point, and Itachiyama was clearly running out of steam.

Sakusa panted heavily, attacking again and again. Only now did the others truly realize that on this team, the only one who could reliably score was Sakusa.

As Itachiyama’s ace, Sakusa had always carried an overwhelming burden—much like Ushijima at Shiratorizawa.

Watching Sakusa wipe the sweat from his face, the unnatural flush standing out against his skin, Ryosuke felt his chest tighten.

In the end, they still lost.

The loss came abruptly. On the final point, Sakusa made a mistake.

His wrist gave out. The ball brushed the net and flew out of bounds.

Silence fell over Itachiyama’s side of the court. Some people were wracked with guilt, others with frustration.

It was just a practice match, Sakusa told himself, lips pressed together, eyes dark and unreadable.

From the stands, Ryosuke spotted Sakusa sitting silently on a chair. Teammates nearby were joking and roughhousing, but Sakusa sat alone in the corner, so still it felt like he might start gathering dust.

Ryosuke hopped down from the stands and ran over.

“Sakusa!”

Sakusa lifted his head in a daze, just in time to see a curly-haired kitten charging toward him, the little tuft of hair on his head bouncing with each step.

Ryosuke wasn’t sure if Sakusa was upset, but he felt this was the moment to stay by his side.

Sakusa leaned against him, clearly exhausted, and didn’t bother to move away.

Fresh off the court, Sakusa was drenched in sweat and felt awful all over. I’ll just rest for a bit… just a little… then I’ll go shower. His brows knit together as he thought it through.

“Huh? Is Sakusa tired?” Ryosuke asked.

He reached out and poked at Sakusa’s furrowed brow a few times. Annoyed, Sakusa brushed his hand away, then caught it briefly, holding it in place before letting go.

Komori drank his water, shooting frantic looks at the others to get them to look toward that little corner.

The two were standing close together, Sakusa still loosely holding Ryosuke’s hand while they talked quietly.

Iizuna clutched his chest and sucked in a sharp breath.

“I feel like a stray dog on the roadside,” he said. “Just walking along and suddenly getting kicked for no reason.”

His face twisted with jealousy. He wanted to cling to a pretty person too, not be stuck with a bunch of guys who could flip their shirts up after a match and smear sweat all over his face while talking trash.

With a long sigh, Iizuna asked Araki in a weathered voice, “Why don’t we have a female manager? Not even a childhood friend?”

His face was full of grief.

Araki choked for a moment. “We… actually did have one.”

Iizuna snapped his head around so fast he nearly twisted his neck.

“Ow!” He grabbed his neck.
“Why didn’t I know?!”

Araki took a step back, scratching his head with an awkward smile. “You weren’t around then. Remember? You were injured and stuck in the hospital.”

Only then did Iizuna remember—before last year’s Spring High, he’d pulled a muscle in his leg and spent several days hospitalized.

“That still doesn’t make sense!” he protested. “How did she disappear after just a few days?!”

Komori popped out from behind Araki with a grin. “Because she sprayed way too much perfume and touched Sakusa’s locker. If Kunihiko and I hadn’t stopped him, Sakusa might’ve drowned himself in disinfectant. His face was terrifying—she was scared into tears on the spot.”

Araki went blank. Ah. He really said it. This is bad.

Sure enough, Iizuna exploded.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?! Even if I was injured, shouldn’t I have been informed about something like that?! I’d have come back to training even with an injury!”

And just like that, Itachiyama’s only female manager had been scared off by Sakusa.

Iizuna absolutely could not accept this and started yelling that Sakusa had to compensate them with a new female manager.

Sakusa, meanwhile, was busy being glued to Ryosuke and couldn’t hear the commotion at all.

Ryosuke helped Sakusa to his feet. Suddenly remembering something, Sakusa’s face darkened instantly.

Catching the change in expression, Ryosuke pulled a mask from his pocket, stood on tiptoe, and carefully put it on Sakusa.

Only then did Sakusa’s expression ease a little.

Sakusa glanced down at the top of Ryosuke’s head and relaxed a little. Somehow, with Ryosuke around, things didn’t feel quite as heavy.

He glanced at his teammates, who were all waiting for him to leave together, and let out a quiet sigh.

“Ryosuke, I’m going back to shower first.”

He reached out and gave Ryosuke’s hair a brief pat before quickly pulling his hand back, his expression tightening again.

Bacteria…

Ryosuke held back a laugh. “Alright, go on.”

Sakusa jogged off at once, looking like he wished he could fly straight into the showers.

Humming to himself in a good mood, Ryosuke headed back toward the stands.

A whole group was waiting to leave together. Ryosuke checked his phone—it was already seven o’clock.

Shion stood up and draped an arm over Ryosuke’s shoulder.

“Alright, Little Ryosuke,” he said. “Let’s go take a stroll by the team doctor’s.”

Yunohama’s expression was grave, his tone heavy.
“I’m counting on you, Ryosuke.”

Ryosuke took a deep breath, putting on the air of someone heading bravely to their doom, and marched at the very front.

Yamagata and Kawanishi exchanged a glance, shrugged, and followed behind him.

Ushijima said nothing, walking along silently.

The whole group moved down the corridor like a gang straight out of a crime movie, drawing curious looks from passing students.

Whoa—
And the one leading them was a pretty little cat.