Chapter 68: Training Camp 31

The matches continued with each team taking turns on the court. By the time night fell, everyone was starving, and the whole group streamed off to the cafeteria for dinner.

Ryosuke was so hungry his stomach felt like it was stuck to his spine. Picky eating? Complaints about this tasting bad or that being unappetizing? All of it was meaningless in the face of hunger.

He shoveled food into his mouth like a whirlwind, leaving Tsutomu Goshiki staring at him in shock. Goshiki hurriedly brought over a bowl of miso soup.

“Y-you… slow down a bit… don’t choke.”

Reon lightly tapped the back of Ryosuke’s hand with his chopsticks. “Don’t eat like that. You’ll get indigestion.”

“#¥@*%”

Reon blinked. “Huh? What did you say?”

Tsutomu Goshiki translated calmly. “He says he’s hungry.”

After finishing his meal, Ryosuke let out a deeply satisfied burp. Ah, bliss. He rubbed his stomach, so comfortable he almost wanted to close his eyes.

Since there was night training planned, Ryosuke kept urging Tsutomu Goshiki to eat faster. Being rushed like that, Goshiki nearly choked and rolled his eyes.

After Ushijima finished eating, he neatly set his bowl and chopsticks in place and sat there staring straight at Tsutomu Goshiki. Not long after, Yunohama finished as well. The three of them all fixed their gazes on Goshiki, who was still eating.

Under that pressure, Tsutomu Goshiki’s scalp started to tingle.

“What are you all doing?”

Ryosuke slumped back in his chair. “Waiting for you to finish so we can go train together.”

Hearing that, Tsutomu Goshiki immediately started shoveling food into his mouth, his chopsticks moving at lightning speed.

Seeing this, Reon didn’t bring up indigestion again. Joking aside, Tsutomu Goshiki clearly looked sturdy enough. If only Ryosuke weren’t so picky—honestly, it was exhausting to worry about him.

“So who’s going tonight?” Ryosuke asked lazily.

“Not sure, but there’ll be a lot of people. Tendo went to shower first and will come later. Kuroo and Kenma from Nekoma should be there. Bokuto’s definitely joining in. If you go, Sakusa will for sure show up too. Tsutomu Goshiki said Kōrai Hoshiumi will come later as well. Anyway, it’ll be pretty crowded.”

Reon rattled everything off in one breath.

“Voluntary training is this lively today?” Neko asked in confusion.

“Probably because the training camp’s about to end,” Ushijima said casually, still staring at Tsutomu Goshiki’s tray. When was he finally going to finish eating? And why didn’t Goshiki eat the daikon? It was clearly delicious… His thoughts drifted off.

At long last, everyone finished. Eita Semi and Yunohama went off together to “bond.” Shirabu complained that there were too many people and it was too noisy. Kawanishi and Yamagata had disappeared somewhere unknown.

That left just this group heading to train.

They walked toward the gym, taking their time and letting their food settle.

From far away, they spotted Kuroo and Bokuto standing at the entrance, enjoying the breeze. Kuroo’s already-messy hair was blown into even more chaos.

“Oh, you’re here.”

“Hey hey hey! Ryosuke, come help block!”

Bokuto excitedly lunged forward, only to be grabbed by the hair in an instant by the quick-reacting Kuroo.

“Ow, ow, ow! Kuroo, what are you doing?!”

“Hey, with that small frame of yours, Ryosuke would break a bone if you jumped on him like that.”

Ryosuke’s sharp ears caught the comment. He muttered quietly, “Is he looking down on my build?”

Tsutomu Goshiki held it in for a moment before saying, “Be more confident.” Then he paused. “Actually, take that back. He is looking down on you.”

Ryosuke bristled so hard his hair practically stood on end, all fluffy and puffed up.

He snorted and walked past Kuroo.

Kuroo rubbed his head in confusion. What was that about?

“Kuroo, that was pretty lame.”

Kenma slid over next to Ryosuke with a grin, teasing Kuroo, who still had no idea why Ryosuke was upset.

Recently, Ryosuke had been chugging protein shakes to bulk up, but they hadn’t done a thing. He still looked like a scrawny boiled chicken, and it was driving him crazy. Kuroo’s comment hit him right where it hurt.

Inside the gym, plenty of people had already arrived. From Fukurōdani, Konoha and Keiji Akaashi were there too. Kōrai Hoshiumi had come with Hirugami Sachirō in tow, clearly worried that if Hoshiumi and Bokuto got together, something ridiculous would happen again.

Sakusa sat alone in a corner, radiating an aura of deep world-weariness. Only when he saw Ryosuke did his eyes finally light up.

Just as Ryosuke was about to head over, Tendo appeared out of nowhere and intercepted him, even throwing Sakusa a provocative look over his shoulder.

Sakusa’s expression immediately collapsed.

Seeing this, Reon clicked his tongue softly. Everyone was so scheming. Poor little Ryosuke.

He reached out and pulled Ryosuke over.

“Come on, Ryosuke. Kuroo said he has some blocking issues he wants to ask you about. Let’s go take a look.”

“O… okay.” Ryosuke answered blankly.

That left only Tendo and the newly arrived Sakusa staring each other down, the tension practically spilling into the air.

Kōrai Hoshiumi watched curiously from the side, stretching his neck. “Why are those two together?”

Hirugami glanced over, frowned, and covered Kōrai Hoshiumi’s eyes. “Kids shouldn’t look at stuff like that.”

“Huh?” Kōrai Hoshiumi struggled hard, trying to pry Hirugami’s hand away.

Hirugami sighed. “Come on. Tsutomu Goshiki’s still waiting for you to teach him.”

Sakusa stared at Tendo with an unfriendly expression and spoke slowly. “You’d better not scare Ryosuke.”

Tendo scoffed. “What’s it to you?”

Sakusa shrugged. “Just giving you some advice.”

Tendo’s expression darkened instantly. He could tell Sakusa was being serious—but what exactly did that mean?

Sakusa didn’t linger after that. He turned and went straight to find Ryosuke. I’m not an idiot. Letting Tendo confess could work too. After all, they’d grown up together—I know Ryosuke’s personality well enough.

If that last layer were pierced, Ryosuke would just retreat into his shell like a turtle. Letting Tendo test the waters wasn’t a bad idea. Still, after thinking it over, I didn’t push him.

Scaring the kitty wouldn’t be good.

Humming to himself, he walked off cheerfully, leaving Tendo alone where he stood, questioning his life.

Watching the entire exchange, Keiji Akaashi couldn’t help feeling a bit emotional. So even the child of a monster could experience feelings like liking someone.

Ryosuke, completely unaware of what had happened over there, was brimming with excitement as he eagerly sought Kuroo’s guidance.

Over the past few days, Ryosuke had been closely watching Nekoma’s matches. Nekoma’s defense really did live up to its reputation—no matter what, they simply wouldn’t let the ball hit the floor. The sight of them stringing along a whole crowd of players was honestly hilarious.

Even though he was a naturally gifted blocker, Ryosuke still deeply envied Nekoma’s hellish defense. This was the perfect chance to ask for advice.

After Ryosuke explained what he wanted, Kuroo burst out laughing. He slung an arm around Ryosuke and vigorously ruffled his hair. “Kid, that kind of play needs serious team coordination, and it really wears out the libero. Shiratorizawa doesn’t exactly need that kind of technique.”

“But!” Ryosuke said, eyes sparkling. “Intercepting every single ball perfectly in an empty backcourt—how is that not cool?!”

Reon laughed. “Just teach him, Kuroo. Otherwise, he’s going to keep pestering you.”

Kuroo snorted with a grin. “Alright, alright. I’ll teach you. But you have to help me block too. The two of us against Bokuto alone.”

“Huh?!” Bokuto turned around, completely stunned, his face full of despair. “If you want me dead, you could just say it.”

“We can’t win. There’s no way,” Bokuto whined. “Kuroo alone is already bad enough. Adding Ryosuke just makes it impossible.”

Seeing Bokuto about to refuse, Kuroo went over first to do some mental preparation with him.

In the end, Bokuto still agreed.

Ryosuke got the guidance he wanted, and Kuroo successfully mooched off Ryosuke’s blocking, experiencing for the first time what it felt like to be carried by a teammate.

Both sides were very satisfied—except for Bokuto and Reon, who were once again thoroughly shut down by Ryosuke’s blocks.