Chapter 45: Training Camp 8

For a while, the rest area was filled with overlapping screams. Anyone who passed by would poke their head in for a look, only to be terrified by what looked like a living hell.

Even a real tough guy like Ushijima fell before the fascia knife. He forced himself not to make a sound, his face turning bright red.
Veins bulged on his hands, nearly crushing the edges of the massage chair. Sweat dripped down in heavy drops as he panted silently.

Yamagata trembled as he reached out to pat Ushijima’s calf, giving him a thumbs-up. Captain… a true tough guy.

After the scraping was over, everyone looked half-crippled. One by one, they could barely walk, several people leaning on each other as they staggered out, legs shaking.

Reon ground his teeth. “That ace from Fukurōdani—just looking at him, you can tell he’s bad news.”

Ushijima nodded in agreement.

“Just wait. I’ll smash him in the match,” Reon said, clenching his fist. This grudge had to be repaid.

Sakusa, who had heard the screams earlier, came over wearing a mask to check on Ryosuke. Seeing Ryosuke’s trembling legs, he let out a sigh.

“The fascia knife only hurts for a short while. You’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

He handed Ryosuke some blood-circulation ointment and briefly showed him how to apply it to his arms and legs.

Nearby, Goshiki watched with envy he couldn’t hide. Damn it! Why does no one ever help me with ointment?!

Goshiki grabbed the ointment and limped over to Yunohama. “Hey, help me put some on.”

Yunohama shuddered, staring at him in disbelief, then silently clenched his fists.

“Have you ever seen fists as big as sandbags…?”

Goshiki: …

Goshiki immediately backed off. Sheepishly, he helped Yunohama up, and the two of them limped away together, supporting each other as they walked, looking utterly miserable.

Sakusa briefly pointed out the worst bruises and gave Ryosuke some advice about recovery.

“Next time, don’t listen to Ushijima when he says things like ‘it’ll be fine once your arm goes numb.’”

Ryosuke laughed and nodded.

“Got it.”

He flexed his arm experimentally and looked over at Sakusa.

“Was it useful this time?”

Without much reaction, Sakusa replied, “Yes.”

Ryosuke clicked his tongue lightly.

“Always so straightforward.”

“It’s just the truth.”

The brief exchange ended there, and the two went back to resting.

...

By the next morning, Ryosuke wasn’t hurting nearly as much. The fascia knife was meant to loosen blood flow and joints—it only hurt for one night.

Ryosuke felt like he was back in form.

“Ow!” Tendō cried out from the neighboring futon, clutching his neck.

“What’s wrong, Satori?” Reon asked worriedly.

“I think I twisted my neck! It hurts!” Tendō tried to twist it back, but the pain hit the moment he touched it. Tears welled up and he quickly let go.

Even his normally flamboyant red hair seemed to lose its shine.

Kawanishi, making his bed nearby, laughed mercilessly with zero team spirit.

“Hahahahaha! So you finally have a day like this too!”

Tendō’s neck was stuck tilted to the left, completely unable to face people properly.

“Alright, stop laughing! How is Satori supposed to play like this today?”
Yamagata smacked Kawanishi, who was laughing like a madman, and asked seriously.

“Should I take Satori to see the team doctor?”

That was the worst thing he could have said. The moment “team doctor” came up, Tendō reacted violently.

He shot up from the bed in one motion and shouted, “I’m not going! I won’t play today if I have to—I’m not going!”

His fear of the team doctor had clearly reached its peak.

Ten minutes later, Tendō was dragged, clutching his neck and whimpering, to the team doctor’s office. Yamagata and Kawanishi each grabbed one of his arms and hauled him straight over.

“Not playing today isn’t an option. You’re our blocking ace. What are we supposed to do without you?”

Tendō was sent into the office in tears, still clutching his neck and shouting in protest.
“You two tied me up yesterday, and today you’re doing it again! What is this—murdering your own teammates?!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the office door slammed open with a loud bang. All three of them jumped.

Saito lifted his white coat and spoke with a beaming smile.
“You little brats. I didn’t sleep all night. I’d just laid down when you showed up.
You’d better have a good reason, or I’ll dissect all of you and stuff you into my specimen room.”

He said utterly insane things with a smiling face. Kawanishi was so scared he barely dared to breathe.

Saito continued smiling as he stared at the three of them. In the end, Yamagata silently pushed Tendō forward.

“Satori twisted his neck. He can’t turn it back.”

“Satori… sorry. Hallelujah.”

The two of them bolted the moment they finished speaking, vanishing like a gust of wind.

Only Tendō Satori was left behind, trembling.

Tendō: hugging himself, weak, innocent, pitiful.jpg

Under Tendō’s terrified gaze, Team Doctor Saito reached out, quick and precise, and snapped Tendō’s neck back into place.

“OW!!!”

A slap landed immediately. “Keep it down.”

Tendō swore he heard a click just now. He definitely did. Right? Waaaah, is this guy trying to break my neck?!

Tendō thanked the team doctor through tears and immediately fled the office.

Later on, back at Shiratorizawa, the team doctor became someone even more terrifying than Coach Washijō in the players’ hearts.
Offend Coach Washijō, and you’d get yelled at or punished.
Offend the team doctor, and you might lose your life.

This rumor, of unknown origin, gradually became a guiding principle at Shiratorizawa.
Of course, that was all for later.

After washing up, everyone headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Ryosuke looked to be in an especially good mood today. He even finished breakfast without anyone urging him. For anyone else it wouldn’t be strange, but for Ryosuke, it definitely was.

Yunohama asked curiously, “You’re in a really good mood today?”

Ryosuke swallowed his milk and let out a small burp. “You’re sharp.”

Goshiki leaned over. “So something good happened?”

Ryosuke set his cup down. “Heh heh. I heard from Chenchen that the liberos from their team, along with Nekoma and other schools, are having a small meeting tonight to discuss techniques.
I want to go check it out too. I’ll bring Senior Yamagata with me.”

Yamagata vaguely heard his name, looked up, and Ryosuke immediately ran over and whispered something in his ear.

Yamagata’s eyes lit up. He excitedly patted Ryosuke on the shoulder.

“Nice work. They organized this on their own?”

Ryosuke scratched his head. “I’m not sure. Senpai, you’re a libero—didn’t you hear about it?”

Yamagata picked up an egg and stuffed it into his mouth.
“I don’t know… I think I heard something from Nekoma’s side?
Can’t remember. We’ll talk about it tonight. I’ll introduce you to some really strong libero senpai from around here. Make sure you learn properly from them.”

“Yes!” Ryosuke straightened his back and replied crisply.

“Alright, alright. I know you’re excited, but calm down for now. I’ll go check things out first.”

The two leaned close together, whispering and plotting.

Goshiki poked Yunohama with his elbow. “Do you think Ryosuke and Senior Yamagata are talking about something shady?”

Yunohama rolled his eyes hard, then stood up and moved farther away from Goshiki.
Stupidity is contagious.