Chapter 64: Training Camp 27

Shirabu dug a finger into his ear. “What did you say?”

He seriously suspected something was wrong with his hearing. Otherwise, how could he have heard such an outrageous demand?

Reon’s expression turned solemn. “Wash the entire dorm’s socks.”

It hit Shirabu like a bolt from the blue. His whole world felt like it cracked open. Literally. Cracked.

Ushijima was just about to open his mouth and argue—washing socks was impossible, absolutely—

“Nope,” Reon said cheerfully, looking straight at Ushijima. “Even though you didn’t say anything, I already know what you were going to say. Better not say it.”

Ushijima’s face went pale.

Tendo drooped his hair and started whining as he clung to Reon, grabbing one of his arms. He shot a look at Goshiki Tsutomu, who immediately got the message and grabbed Reon’s other arm.

“Reon~”

“Reon-senpai…”

“Nope,” Reon said gently, in a tone that somehow felt especially cruel. “Coach Washijō said so before the training camp.”

Ryosuke lowered his head miserably. Coach Washijō really did seem like the kind of person who’d do this… but I don’t want to wash socks…

Seeing that there was no way to beg their way out, Tendo sighed and asked, “So… we’re washing all the socks in the dorm at once?”

Reon pulled his arm back. “Of course not. You’ll just wash them until the training camp ends.”

“Ah—no way!” Tendo grabbed his hair and wailed.

The rest of them didn’t dare say a word, standing there like silent statues.

Watching their completely deflated expressions, Reon was already laughing to himself.

“Alright, alright. Just wash today’s socks.”

Compared to washing socks all the way until the end of camp, this was at least a little better.

Like a bunch of wilted chicks, they trudged after Reon back toward the court.

Ushijima’s huge frame lagged at the very back. His lips were pressed tight, clearly unhappy, and if you looked closely, he even seemed a little wronged.

Seeing them come back looking utterly dejected, Semi curiously asked Reon what had happened.

After hearing the whole story, Semi immediately started trailing Shirabu and laughing at him mercilessly, laughing like he’d lost his mind.

Shirabu exploded almost instantly, and the two of them started bickering.

“Hah! You’re washing my socks today, hahaha! Mine stink like hell—poor Kenjirō~”

Shirabu’s face fell, his anger obvious.

The gym was noisy inside, and it was just as loud outside.

Goshiki Tsutomu and Ryosuke were standing by the window, silently contemplating life, when they saw a car pull up at the entrance of the gym.

Curious, Goshiki Tsutomu leaned out the window to take a look. After staring for a few seconds, he suddenly shouted,

“The students from Kamomedai are here!”

Ryosuke jumped at the shout and shuddered, turning a murderous glare on Goshiki Tsutomu.

“Heh heh…” Goshiki Tsutomu laughed awkwardly.

As soon as the words spread, everyone else sobered up. In that instant, the previously relaxed atmosphere turned tense.

It was the kind of tension born from respect between longtime rivals.

Everyone at Shiratorizawa put down what they were doing.

A group walked in slowly. Leading them was a female coach—short hair, sharp eyes, an air of authority. One look and you could tell she was the strict type.

Ryosuke tilted his head, studying her. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with a female coach, but to lead a group of grown men all the way to being regulars at IH, and even make Kamomedai famous for it—she was seriously impressive.

Ushijima stepped forward first. Yunohama waved at Goshiki Tsutomu and Ryosuke, and the two quickly rejoined the team.

“Coach Michiko, long time no see,” Ushijima said, shaking her hand.

“Long time no see, little Ushiwaka~” Michiko teased with a smile. Mm, not bad. The players Coach Washijō trains all look so obedient.

Reon: You might have some serious misunderstandings about Shiratorizawa. Let me tell you a joke—Shiratorizawa’s members are “obedient and well-behaved.”

Suddenly, someone darted in between them. He was tall, with a catfish-like hairstyle that made him look like a delinquent.

“Hey! Let go of our coach’s hand!”

Ushijima glanced at him calmly and ignored him outright.

Semi burst out laughing at the sight. “Subaru, what’s with that hairstyle? Hahahaha!”

The moment his name was called, Subaru turned around angrily. He knew these damn Shiratorizawa guys would make fun of his hair.

Why were they laughing? This hairstyle was cute. Subaru couldn’t understand it at all.

Ushijima and Reon noticed Wakatsu Kiryuu standing at the back of the group and went over to greet him.

“Long time no see, Baldy.”

Ushijima nodded.

Wakatsu Kiryuu smiled and scratched his buzz cut.

“Don’t call me that, Reon. The next match is definitely going to be Kamomedai’s win.”

He declared war on Shiratorizawa with a perfectly gentle smile.

The second- and third-years of both teams had been rivals for a year or two now, so everyone was quite familiar with each other.

Ushijima thought for a moment, then placed his hands on Reon’s head and shifted his gaze toward the first-year trio.

Reon got the message immediately. He didn’t move, just shouted from where he stood,

“Ryosuke, Goshiki Tsutomu, Yunohama—get over here.”

The gym was convenient like that. If you had something to say, you just yelled.

The three exchanged looks. In the end, Yunohama led the other two forward.

Reon patted Yunohama on the shoulder.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to our sworn rivals. Just reading the data isn’t enough. What kind of player someone is, and how to beat them—you need to see it with your own eyes.”

He pointed at the guy with the catfish hair. “This catfish head is Subaru, a third-year middle blocker.”

Subaru bristled instantly and glared at Reon. “Hey! I’m not a catfish head!”

Reon pretended not to hear him and pointed at a few people standing together.

“That one with the haircut that looks like Goshiki Tsutomu’s little sister style is Keisuke Unnan, also a third-year middle blocker.”

Keisuke Unnan’s emotionless eyes shifted over and fixed on Goshiki Tsutomu for a full two or three seconds. Goshiki Tsutomu felt his skin crawl before Unnan finally looked away and calmly praised him.

“Nice haircut. Good taste.”

“Huh? Really? I think so too!” Goshiki Tsutomu’s single-cell brain kicked in, and he looked so happy he might as well have started wagging a tail.

Keisuke Unnan nodded with satisfaction. This guy wasn’t bad. Anyone who liked that haircut couldn’t be a bad person.

“Hey, Keisuke, what nonsense are you thinking about now?”

Another buzz-cut guy beside him slapped Keisuke on the shoulder and laughed loudly.

Reon pointed them out one by one.

“This is Haruma Bishin, the libero. And that center-part guy over there with the dirty mind is their setter, Nozomu Mami.”

“Hey, I heard that, Reon.”

Reon raised an eyebrow, clearly saying, So what if you did?

Then he dragged the three behind him forward.

“These are our first-year underclassmen: Ryosuke Hanyu, opposite hitter and middle blocker; Goshiki Tsutomu, middle blocker; and Yunohama, setter.

Man, our rookies this year are amazing. Ryosuke can even solo block Bokuto’s spikes, and Yunohama’s solid too, hahaha! Goshiki Tsutomu’s spikes are pretty good as well. In today’s match, you’ll have to give them some pointers, hahaha!”

Reon slapped Yunohama’s shoulder twice as he laughed loudly. Yunohama’s face twisted, but he didn’t say a word. It hurt.

“Oh? What about your freshmen this year? Don’t tell me you don’t have any? Tsk, tsk. It’s fine, it’s fine—don’t be sad. You can borrow ours.”

Goshiki Tsutomu and Ryosuke were completely stunned listening to Reon’s long speech.

This was bragging, right? This had to be bragging. The expressions of the three Kamomedai players darkened.

Ushijima felt a twitch between his brows. Every time they ran into Kamomedai, Reon was like he’d flipped some strange switch. With a sigh, he reached out and covered Reon’s mouth.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “Reon probably didn’t sleep well last night. Please don’t take it to heart.”

“Mmph mph mph!”

“He says he’s really sorry. We’ll see you on the court.”

“Mmph mph mph mph mph!”

“He also says… Subaru’s hairstyle is actually pretty nice…”

Ushijima wracked his brain, pushing past his own limits to politely reinterpret Reon’s muffled protests.

With another sigh, Ushijima suddenly understood how hard things were for Reon, and dragged him away.

The three first-years were left staring at each other.

“Then, seniors, we’ll go back to training.”

Yunohama spoke up for the group, politely bidding farewell to Kamomedai’s members.