Chapter 71: The Young Heir

A group of half-grown boys were just as enthusiastic about barbecue as they were about volleyball. Ever since lunch, each of them had been eyeing it like a pack of wolves.

With no training scheduled for the afternoon, everyone finally had some rare free time after eating.

Tsutomu Goshiki lay sprawled in the dorm, wailing, “Aaah, I’m so bored! I can’t take this anymore! I need to go train!” With a sudden kip-up, he sprang off the bed.

“Hah, I knew Goshiki wouldn’t last,” Eita Semi laughed so hard his eyes disappeared as he held out his hand to Kawanishi. “Pay up, pay up.”

Tsutomu Goshiki looked at the two of them in confusion. Kawanishi, frustrated beyond belief, stepped forward and smacked Goshiki on the head.

“Can’t you be a little more calm? I just bet with Semi on whether you could lie still and rest properly—and I lost!”

Tsutomu Goshiki angrily brushed Kawanishi’s hand away. “You didn’t even tell me you were betting on me!”

The argument was about to erupt when Reon stepped in and flicked both of them on the forehead, instantly restoring peace.

Tsutomu Goshiki flopped back onto the bed, listless. “When are we finally having barbecue…”

Ryosuke looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then said, “How about we go out for a bit?”

Yunohama turned around. “You’ll be the tour guide?”

Ryosuke grinned. “Sure.”

Just as the three of them were about to sneak out, Reon added, “If we’re going out, let’s all go together. We came all the way to Tokyo and haven’t really looked around.”

Then he called out to the ones lying around on the beds. “Hey, you guys coming too?”

Ushijima got up, nodded, and went to change. Tendo followed Ryosuke immediately. Yamagata and Kawanishi were obviously going to tag along too… Counting it up, it looked like everyone was going.

Ryosuke scratched his head. “Should I ask the other schools if they want to come?”

Tendo quickly cut in. “Nah, forget it. They’ve probably got their own things to do. Let’s not bother them.”

Joking aside—his own teammates were one thing, but what if Sakusa decided to join in?

Seeing Ryosuke drop the idea, Tendo silently praised his own quick thinking.

Everyone changed clothes and poured out the door in a crowd. Ryosuke even brought two bottles of mineral water—it was obvious he’d end up explaining things along the way.

“So, where do you guys want to go?” Ryosuke asked seriously.

Ushijima answered without hesitation. “A sporting goods store.”

“That’s exactly what I expected from Ushijima,” Kawanishi whispered to Yamagata.

Eita Semi said excitedly, “Then we’ve got to go to Kabukichō in Shinjuku!”

Ryosuke slowly shook his head. “No. That place only gets lively at night—we’d have to wait until after the barbecue. And it gets really chaotic after dark, so it’s better not to go.”

After some persuasion, Eita Semi wilted.

Reon put a hand over Semi’s head. “Whether we go or not, I’m definitely not letting you go to a place like that.”

Eita Semi struggled dramatically.

Tsutomu Goshiki looked around in confusion. “So what do people even do there?”

Yunohama covered Goshiki’s mouth. “Kids shouldn’t go to places like that.”

Tsutomu Goshiki: “?”

Tendo squatted on the ground, drawing circles out of boredom. “So where are we going, exactly?”

Ryosuke sighed. “There are options—Disneyland, Sensoji Temple, Shibuya, or Ginza.”

“Ginza doesn’t sound like somewhere people like us belong. Pass,” Reon said immediately.

Ushijima fell silent for a moment. “We can go.”

Reon: “?” Since when was Ushijima this rebellious?

“Sensoji isn’t that fun in the evening. Ginza is fine. Disneyland, Shibuya, or Ginza—where first?” Ryosuke asked bluntly.

Seeing how eager Ryosuke looked, everyone went quiet. This guy clearly just really wanted to go out himself.

(Ryosuke: hehe.)

Tsutomu Goshiki spoke up softly. “Don’t you guys want to see Tokyo Tower?”

“It’s kind of far…”

Ushijima insisted. “Ginza.”

Reon sighed. He’d have to keep a close eye on them today—what if someone got lost? “Alright, where first?”

After a brief discussion, Kawanishi and Yamagata said, “Ginza.”

No one objected, so they set off.

But as soon as they reached the school gate, they saw an extremely luxurious van parked outside. Eita Semi rushed over first. “Whoa, how much do you think this costs…?”

Reon grabbed him by the collar. “Don’t be so rude!”

Ryosuke laughed and walked over. “It’s my family’s car. It’s fine. Ginza’s a bit far, so let the driver take us.”

“Huh?!”

“Huh?!”

The chorus of shock nearly blew the top off Ryosuke’s head. He covered his ears in pain.

A short-haired woman in a suit stepped out of the car and silently opened the door.

Ryosuke rubbed his ears and tried to calm everyone down. “Alright, let’s get in first and talk.”

What guy hadn’t dreamed of riding in a luxury car? Even the usually steady Reon looked eager.

Once inside, everyone was stunned by the leather seats, mini fridge, and folding table.

They immediately started interrogating Ryosuke.

Tsutomu Goshiki grabbed his shoulders and shook him wildly. “So you’re a rich kid?!”

Yunohama stopped the overly excited Goshiki and waited for Ryosuke to speak.

Before Ryosuke could say anything, Ushijima spoke up. “Your surname… is it the same Hanyu as the Hanyu Group?”

Ryosuke rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. “I thought you all knew.”

“How would we know if you never said anything?!” Yamagata exclaimed.

Shirabu pulled out his phone to look up the Hanyu Group and nearly scared himself to death.

Eita Semi leaned over to take a look. “So half of Ginza’s property belongs to your family?”

Ryosuke nodded calmly.

“Wow… so Ryosuke really is from a wealthy family,” Reon said, rubbing his head with a sigh.

Then he turned to Ushijima. “You knew this the whole time?”

Ushijima tilted his head. “Didn’t you notice the logo on the bus when we left for the training camp?”

“What logo? What logo?” Tsutomu Goshiki scooted over to Reon.

“That logo was Ryosuke’s family name.”

“Huh?” Now it was Ryosuke’s turn to be confused. He leaned over the driver’s seat. “When did you arrange that?”

The short-haired woman in the suit, Matsukawa Bones, answered seriously. Her sharp features marked her as a capable professional. “It was arranged by your family. Didn’t anyone tell you?”

Ryosuke ruffled his hair and started typing on his phone.

Reon kept pestering Ushijima. “Just from a logo? I saw it too.”

Ushijima sighed and casually took a bottle of water from the mini fridge. “You’d know if you paid more attention to Tokyo.”

“The Sakusa family is a major household in Tokyo. Ryosuke and Sakusa are childhood friends. Come to think of it… I think I met Ryosuke when I was little.”

Ushijima stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Ryosuke looked at him in confusion. “I didn’t really interact with outsiders when I was young. Aside from school, I barely socialized.”

Ushijima thought for a moment, then took out his phone. “Ah, found it.”

Everyone crowded over. On the screen was a photo: a little girl tugging at her skirt, tears at the corners of her eyes, while a slightly older boy frantically wiped her tears with a handkerchief. Behind them were crowds of people in suits, like some kind of large formal event.

“Ryosuke wore girls’ clothes as a kid? That’s adorable!” Reon’s fatherly instincts exploded. That little face, those tears—he could already picture his future daughter.

Ryosuke took one look and covered his face. “Ushijima-senpai, where did you even get that photo? And you kept it all this time? Delete it! Please!”

He looked like a cat with its fur standing on end, having been hit right in a sore spot.

Mortified, Ryosuke refused to look at anyone, burying his head in denial—though his bright red ears gave him away.

Even Shirabu’s perpetually deadpan face showed a reaction, just proving how powerful that photo was.

“It was at a charity gala in Tokyo years ago,” Ushijima explained calmly. “I mistook you for a girl.”

“So the captain’s from a rich family too?” Tsutomu Goshiki asked, oddly focused on the wrong thing.

“I used to be. I don’t socialize anymore,” Ushijima replied seriously.

Tsutomu Goshiki clutched his chest in relief. “Thank goodness. I thought I was the only normal person here.”

Everyone burst into laughter. Tsutomu Goshiki turned bright red and huddled close to Ryosuke, the two of them pressing their heads together in shared embarrassment.

“So… Ryosuke is actually an heir?” Tsutomu Goshiki finally said, a beat too late.

Ryosuke covered his face again.
An heir… that was way too embarrassing.