Everyone lowered their eyes and silently chose to say nothing. They all knew there was no getting past this today. Bokuto, who had been dragged away, looked utterly dead inside. Keiji Akaashi turned his face away, unable to bear watching the poor man.
"Ow!! That hurts!"
Bokuto's howl rang out from the locker room. Ryosuke trembled as he covered his ears, his mind filled with the terror of being at the mercy of the fascia knife. Everyone's silence was deafening.
Nakagaichi smiled warmly at them, but his words sent a chill through their hearts.
"Come on. Every last one of you. No running."
"No..."
"Ugh..."
Wails filled the place. It looked unbearably cruel.
Ran Takahashi and the others could hardly bring themselves to look. The kids from the training squad were staring at them as if they were executioners, their eyes full of resentment and fear.
Atsumu Miya came out leaning against the wall, limping with every step. As he passed Asano, he sniffled loudly and scared him badly. Atsumu Miya snorted heavily in his heart. Just keep standing there like a block of wood. Don't worry. Your turn's coming soon.
Ryosuke's eyes were filled with tears as he sniffled and followed Yaku and Komori out. Yaku and Komori did not look good either. Everyone said Liberos were real men, but the pain of a fascia knife and bone adjustment was more than life could bear.
Every kid who came out of the locker room looked like they had been thoroughly wrung out. Once they were all out, everyone's gazes turned in unison toward the national team standing together on the other side. The national team members felt a chill run over them under all those stares.
Ushijima and Sakusa did not care much. It hurt, yes, but after being scraped, their bodies would feel comfortable the next day. The others were different. They had all been hauled over by Ran Takahashi and the others.
"It's your turn."
Nakagaichi turned back to look at the national team, smiling kindly. Karma had arrived. Hahahaha.
Asano shook his head wildly and tried to sneak away. He and Shoma Tomita quietly backed up together, but Bokuto and Wakatsu Kiryū exchanged a glance and blocked them from behind.
Bokuto whispered like a demon beside Asano.
"Where are you going...? It's your turn."
Asano trembled. It felt like the whole scene was repeating itself. Wakatsu Kiryū and Bokuto grabbed Asano and started dragging him away. Asano no longer cared about saving face.
"Stop it! I'm your senior! What are you doing?!"
Bokuto ignored him completely. Right now, he very much wanted to see Asano howling while being scraped by the fascia knife. Who cared whether he was a senior or not?
Seeing Asano dragged inside, the others closed their eyes, unable to keep watching.
Holding firm to the idea that "dying sooner or dying later is still dying," Tomohiro Yamamoto resolutely walked into the locker room under everyone's heroic gaze.
The remaining people all looked gloomy and miserable. Ran Takahashi lowered his head and wiped the volleyball, sighing helplessly. If it was a blessing, it was not a disaster. If it was a disaster, there was no escaping it.
By the time everyone had been scraped one by one, the sky was already dark. They exchanged bleak looks, then climbed up one after another and went back to their rooms to sleep. Bokuto and Ushijima still had to take Ryosuke to eat. For the first time in so many days, there were this few people in the cafeteria at night.
Ryosuke was so sleepy that his head kept bobbing, nearly falling into his bowl. He truly did not understand why breakfast, lunch, and dinner could not be eaten all together. That would save so much time.
Bokuto could not stop yawning either. He was sleepy and exhausted. Ushijima helplessly shoveled down a few bites of food, then grabbed Bokuto with his left hand and Ryosuke with his right, dragging them back to the dorm.
This exhausting day finally came to an end. Everyone lying in bed fell asleep almost the moment their heads touched the pillow. That day's training had truly worn them out...
The next morning, everyone crawled up at five or six, then gathered at the door and stared at one another.
"Keiji Akaashi, I'm so hungry!" Bokuto looked at Keiji Akaashi like he was about to starve to death. Keiji Akaashi rubbed his stomach.
"I'm hungry too."
"Then let's go together."
Ushijima stood at the door and looked at everyone, already understanding. Yesterday, they had all run back to sleep without eating dinner. Now they had woken up from hunger first thing in the morning. They deserved it...
Ryosuke had been dragged out of bed by Ushijima and forcefully powered on. He was still dazed, with a small tuft of hair sticking up and a blank look in his eyes. He looked completely different from his impressive presence on the court yesterday. It was like watching a little leopard turn into a tiny milk cat.
Ushijima reached out and pressed down the tuft of hair on Ryosuke's head, then led the whole group grandly toward the cafeteria. Along the way, they knocked open everyone else's doors too, sweeping through like bandits and leaving no peace behind.
Bokuto thought, Since I'm awake, no one else gets to sleep either. He hammered the door until it banged loudly, then received a murderous glare from Sakusa.
"You'd better have a reason."
Sakusa's voice was cold enough to freeze into ice shards. Bokuto quickly backed up, then pushed Ryosuke, who was still rubbing his eyes behind him, out in front.
Early in the morning, Sakusa received one sleepy Ryosuke-brand cat rubbing his eyes, and his mood instantly improved. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he ruffled Ryosuke's little curls, smiling happily.
"Wait for me. I'll be right there."
Bokuto clicked his tongue as he watched. What a face change.
Sakusa swiftly went back to his room to change, and while he was at it, he fished Komori out of bed too. Komori had been sleeping so deeply he had no idea what time it was. After shaking him awake, Sakusa left him to fend for himself and walked out on his own.
Komori was left behind, opening his eyes in confusion. He looked around the room, then hugged his pillow and fell asleep again.
"How did you sleep last night?" Yaku and Keiji Akaashi surrounded Ryosuke on his left and right, separating him from Sakusa. At first glance, it looked like the cat had appeared with his own bodyguards.
Sakusa was helpless too. Ever since they arrived at the National Youth Team, this group had guarded against him like he was a thief. It had been so long since he had been able to get close to Ryosuke.
It was not yet light outside, and the morning air carried a faint chill. Wakatsu Kiryū sighed.
"Ever since coming to the National Youth Team, I finally understand what it means to wake up earlier than chickens and sleep later than dogs."
"Wakatsu, that's not right. There aren't any dogs here," Bokuto said with a grin.
Wakatsu Kiryū rolled his eyes.
"I was just using a metaphor. Do you understand?"
"Sorry, Kiryu-senpai. Bokuto-senpai has always failed language arts."
Keiji Akaashi quickly covered for Bokuto.
Wakatsu Kiryū grew even more helpless. When talking to Bokuto, you could not try to sound cool or say anything too vague, because he genuinely would not understand.
By the time they reached the cafeteria, the cafeteria lady had not set breakfast out at the window yet. Seeing a large crowd come pouring in, she thought they were here to rob the place. Only after looking closely did she realize it was that group of kids.
The cafeteria lady sighed too. How frightening. A whole group of young men, and the sky was not even light yet. If she were a little more timid, she would have run off already.
One by one, they sat down and stared at the cafeteria lady by the window, their eyes practically glowing green.
The cafeteria lady's hands would not stop shaking, and she quickly set out breakfast. What a joke. If she did not put breakfast out soon, these hungry kids might eat her instead.
This morning's breakfast was dumplings and corn. Ryosuke was starving too. Once the food was brought to the table, all conversation stopped. The only sound left was everyone slurping and wolfing down their food.
When Ran Takahashi and the others arrived, they were startled too. The cafeteria was dark, and several people were gathered around the table, heads lowered as they shoveled food from their bowls in complete silence. At first glance, it was honestly pretty scary.
Asano still was not fully awake. He rubbed his eyes and found himself facing everyone seated at the dining table. Cold sweat instantly ran down his back, and he clutched his chest for a long while without reacting.
Only after realizing it was Ushijima and the others did Asano finally let out a breath of relief.
Ran Takahashi also clutched his little heart and sighed. First thing in the morning, that was way too much excitement.
"Takahashi-senpai, would you like to join us?"
Ushijima felt someone looking their way. When he turned around, he saw the few of them standing there in strange silence, so he politely greeted Ran Takahashi.
Asano forced a smile, and Ran Takahashi nodded before sitting down with them.
The atmosphere was a little awkward. They had played a match together, so they were familiar, but also not really familiar. There was a subtle unease in the air. Ryosuke and the others simply did not know what to say because these people were their seniors.
Ran Takahashi and the others stayed quiet because they were afraid that once these kids got familiar with them and saw what they were really like, they would scare them off. If that gave the kids a bad impression of the national team, who would they hold responsible?
Ryosuke looked at the little dumplings in his bowl and burped in satisfaction. Then he glanced at the small half bowl of dumplings left and started to worry. He secretly tried to throw them away while no one was paying attention.
But the moment he quietly moved, Sakusa's sharp gaze flew over. Ryosuke hummed under his breath and pretended he had not done anything, then could only sit at the table in a daze.
A hand quietly reached over from beside him and pulled Ryosuke's bowl away. Ryosuke's eyes widened, like a cat that had spotted something new and strange.
Yuji Nishida, who had been observing Ryosuke, could not help laughing. He had been watching everyone just now. Yuji Nishida had a large appetite, and back on the team, he was usually the one who finished whatever everyone else could not eat. Since coming here for the training camp, Ran Takahashi had not had time to keep an eye on him either.
Yuji Nishida said that this little bowl of dumplings was not even enough to get stuck between his teeth, then set his sights on Ryosuke, who did not want to finish breakfast. He whispered softly.
"I'm still not full."
Ryosuke pretended not to see anything, then stretched out a paw like a cat and quietly pushed the bowl toward him.
Yuji Nishida inhaled the food like a storm, then did not forget to put the bowl back after finishing it.
When Sakusa looked up, he saw Ryosuke's empty bowl. Suspiciously, he stood up and looked at Ryosuke, then checked the trash can underneath. Did Ryosuke have an unusually good appetite today?
Sakusa nodded in satisfaction. Ryosuke had successfully fooled him.
After breakfast, the atmosphere relaxed quite a bit. On the way to the training court, everyone could even chat here and there, right up until Coach Nakagaichi said that this morning's practice match would be played in everyone's original positions.
The training squad's momentum rose instantly. One by one, they looked ready to spike the national team into the floor. Did they think eating together and saying a few nice words would make them forget how miserable they had been yesterday afternoon? After getting shaved bald all afternoon, there was no way they could swallow that anger.
"Hah? Really? Then I won't hold back today."
Hirugami was the first to speak. Yesterday afternoon's match had been suffocatingly frustrating. He could not spike properly, and he could not block properly either.
"Hey, hey, hey! Then I'm definitely scoring ten points today!"
Bokuto declared confidently at the opposite side.
Asano smiled. He had not forgotten that yesterday, this guy who looked like a long-eared owl had been the one to drag him away. He lifted his chin at Bokuto.
"I won't let you score a single ball today."
Kageyama looked at his fingers. Good. Perfect condition. Everyone on the training squad could hit his sets, so this morning's match would definitely go smoothly.
Nakagaichi was very satisfied with everyone's state. The defeat that had weighed on them all afternoon yesterday had hatched into unprecedented fighting spirit this morning. This match was destined to be a life-or-death struggle, like a fight for dominance in the jungle.
The lineup was very similar to yesterday's. The only difference was that Yaku and Komori had come down from the opposite hitter position and moved back to Libero. Kageyama and Atsumu Miya were each responsible for setting for one team, while Keiji Akaashi served as Kageyama's substitute in case Kageyama could not coordinate well with everyone.
Ryosuke also returned to the middle blocker position, on the same team as Hirugami. Ushijima was the sole Wing Spiker, so the first team attacked through a one-point attack.
When the others saw Komori, Hirugami, and Ryosuke placed together, they did not pay much attention. They thought it would be the same as yesterday. But once they stepped onto the court, they realized they had been careless.
This lineup was genuinely difficult to play against. Komori was the man known as the "Number One Libero," Hirugami was a promising blocking talent, and on top of that, there was Ryosuke, a rising star. With those three together, forget a volleyball. They could block an atomic bomb for you, steady and solid.
At this moment... everyone on the national team thought this was just an ordinary practice match...
"Bang!"
"Smack!"
How many balls had it been? Asano did not know. He lowered his head, braced his hands on his knees, and panted. Sweat dripped from his hair onto his face, then ran into his eyes. Asano looked at the two towering mountains in front of him, and his mentality started to collapse.
From the start, their coordination had been a little rough. But later, it gradually changed. Every ball the national team spiked over was blocked down by Ryosuke and Hirugami together, with Komori behind them filling in any gaps.
Ran Takahashi and Asano had no chance to make a move at all. One was Ryosuke, a talented, mobile little antenna at the net. The other was Hirugami, experienced and steady no matter what came at him. There were simply no openings. On top of that, the little tricks Eiro and Ran Takahashi tried at the net could not fool these two either.
But Ushijima's spikes had also been blocked quite a few times by Yuji Nishida and Shoma Tomita. The match kept pulling back and forth, and neither side could gain much advantage.
For a while, the court fell into a strange deadlock.
"Sure enough, once they go back to their own positions, those little flaws disappear again."
Hibarida narrowed his eyes, looking over this team with great interest. But he had no intention of turning these kids into perfect all-rounders. It was just that under those circumstances, certain fatal little problems were very easy to expose. For future matches, those issues still needed to be found and corrected.
"Bang!" Ran Takahashi launched another back-row attack. Ryosuke and Hirugami moved into position to block, but they could not kill it. Ran Takahashi's hitting point was too high.
The volleyball brushed past Hirugami's fingertips.
"One touch!"
"No problem!" Komori called from the back with ease, then broke into a run after the volleyball.
As a Libero, Komori was naturally fast. His short-distance burst was something even some sprinters might not be able to match.
...
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