Chapter 38: Training Camp 1

Sakusa had originally planned to head over to the Shiratorizawa side to greet Ushijima.

But in a moment of distraction, he caught sight of a certain clingy little pest he hadn’t seen in ages, and for an instant, he genuinely thought he was hallucinating.

At the same time, Ryosuke—who had been obediently hiding behind his seniors and watching the scene unfold—noticed a team uniform that stood out sharply in the crowd.

A glaring fluorescent yellow with a hint of green, looking exactly like an unripe mango.

Curious, Ryosuke poked his head out. Reon, standing beside him, started explaining.

“That’s Itachiyama. You know, the regulars at IH.”

Itachiyama??

Ryosuke’s cat radar immediately activated. With a sharp shuala, his gaze snapped toward Itachiyama as he scanned the crowd, searching for Sakusa.

After one sweep, his eyes locked onto a masked figure in the middle of the group.

Black, curly hair—check.
A clean freak wearing a mask—perfect match.
And most importantly, the mole on his head.

Ding! The cat radar instantly matched this person to Sakusa.

On the other side, Sakusa watched for a few seconds before realizing that the suspicious Ryosuke-cat had met his eyes.

In that instant, Sakusa recognized him. Those gem-like eyes—he had never seen them on anyone else.

Three years had passed. The short kid from back then had grown taller, straight and clean like a young poplar. Dressed in the loose Shiratorizawa uniform, he stood out immediately.

Seeing that Ryosuke hadn’t said anything, Reon turned to greet the people from Fukurōdani.

Suddenly, Ryosuke shot out from behind Reon like a gust of wind. Reon turned back in confusion—

only to see Ryosuke charging straight into the Itachiyama group without even looking back, far too fast to stop.

He grabbed Ushijima in a panic.

“Wakatoshi-kun! What is that kid doing?!”

Ushijima turned around as well, equally confused.

Ryosuke, completely unable to contain his excitement, plunged straight into Itachiyama.

Iizuna nudged Komori.

“Motoya, that kid from Shiratorizawa just ran over to our side!”

Ryosuke barreled through the crowd like a cannonball and slammed straight into Sakusa’s arms.

Sakusa instinctively spread his arms and caught the rushing cat, steadying him in place.

Iizuna’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Everyone knew Sakusa was a clean freak—he didn’t even like people standing too close. And now there was full-on physical contact?!

Ryosuke caught the familiar scent of disinfectant on Sakusa, his eyes stinging slightly. He lifted his head and called out clearly,

“Sakusa! It’s really you.~”

The Shiratorizawa side was completely unprepared for how this was unfolding.

“Huh?!”

They all froze in shock before rushing over to watch.

A cluster of white-and-purple uniforms barged into the mango-colored formation, sticking out painfully.

Reon stepped forward, trying to peel Ryosuke off the person he was clinging to, but before he could act, Sakusa shot him a cold glance.

The look was icy.

Tendo’s teasing voice rang out, his gaze practically burning holes into Sakusa.

“Does Ryosuke-kun know Sakusa?”

Ryosuke didn’t answer. Sakusa, meeting Tendo’s stare without hesitation, tightened his arm around Ryosuke.

Only then did he speak calmly, despite the countless questioning looks.

“Ryosuke and I are childhood friends.”

That single sentence sent both Itachiyama and Shiratorizawa reeling.

The Shiratorizawa side was utterly stunned. Their kid being childhood friends with a rival school player already felt unlucky enough—and now this bunch of rotten mangoes even looked like they wanted to steal him away.

Goshiki glared furiously at the Itachiyama group.

Itachiyama wasn’t doing much better.

Watching from elsewhere, Itachiyama’s middle blocker Daishio Kazuki stared wide-eyed at Sakusa, right at the center of the storm.

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

He hooked an arm around Komori’s neck.

“Hey, Komori—since when did Saku get this close to someone?!”

Only then did Komori take a proper look at the person stuck to his cousin.

Curly hair. Gemstone eyes.

He rubbed his chin and replied seriously, “Ah, right. He’s Saku’s childhood friend. Back in elementary school, he used to stay over at Saku’s place all the time.”

Iizuna stared in disbelief.

“No way, no way. Even a clean freak like him has a childhood friend?
Why is his germophobia so double-standard?!”

Komori just smiled noncommittally.

Only then did Sakusa peel Ryosuke—who was clinging like mochi—off himself.

Reach out.
Pull down.
Steady.
Stare—

“You went to Shiratorizawa?”

Ryosuke nodded vigorously.

A smile spread through Sakusa’s eyes, his usually cold expression softening as he remembered the words Ryosuke had cried out back then.

“Someday! I’ll definitely play volleyball again. I’ll beat you on the court!”

Back then, Ryosuke had cried so hard he could barely breathe, dark green eyes wet like rain-soaked leaves. Sakusa had engraved those words into his memory.

Until they met again at this training camp.

“Saku, I’ve made it to the court. Next, wait for me to beat you.”

Ryosuke declared it plainly, without hesitation.

Yunohama, who knew Ryosuke wasn’t usually this reckless, covered his face. This guy—why was he declaring war so bluntly? And in front of everyone?!

Sakusa paused, then reached out and ruffled Ryosuke’s fluffy hair.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

Tendo was practically dying of jealousy. Ryosuke had never once acted affectionate toward him.

Yet in front of Sakusa, he was ready to cling like a cat asking for belly rubs.

So jealous his face nearly twisted, Tendo clenched Kawanishi’s arm tightly. Envy stripped away all restraint. He decided that in the upcoming practice matches,

he was going to crush Sakusa.

Thanks to Kawanishi’s impressive self-control, his expression didn’t change, even as five red fingerprints bloomed on his arm.

He looked at Ryosuke, then at Tendo, sighed, rubbed his arm, and said nothing.

Only now did everyone from Shiratorizawa and Itachiyama finally understand—these two were childhood friends.

Iizuna’s face twisted with jealousy too. That guy’s childhood friend was ridiculously good-looking—like some insanely expensive cat. He wanted to pet him too, but he valued his hands and suspected Sakusa would break them.

Only then did Sakusa nod toward Ushijima.

“Long time no see, Wakatoshi-kun.”

Ushijima nodded back, and the two naturally began discussing the training camp.

Meanwhile, Goshiki and Yunohama dragged Ryosuke aside for interrogation.

“You’re really his childhood friend?!”

Goshiki asked eagerly.

“Yep! One of the top five aces in the country,” Ryosuke replied proudly, his tone practically floating. “Pretty amazing, right~”

Yunohama adjusted his glasses.

“What are you proud for? It’s not like that’s you.”

Goshiki shot to his feet, fired up.

“I’ve decided! I’m going to challenge Ryosuke’s childhood friend!”

Yunohama rolled his eyes and walked off. Ryosuke glanced around before running back to cling to Sakusa again.

Leaving behind an awkwardly abandoned Goshiki.

“Hey, hey, hey! What’s that supposed to mean?! You don’t believe in me?!”

The only response drifted back from afar, casual and perfunctory.

“Oh dear, dear, of course we believe you.”