Some people in the crowd had already noticed the commotion.
Futakuchi tilted his head toward that direction.
"Isn't that the glasses guy from Karasuno? And the one next to him is…?"
"Hm?"
Oikawa leaned over to take a look as well. Tsukishima had his head lowered, clearly scolding someone. The person being scolded didn't say a word, only a bit of orange hair visible.
Orange hair? Wait… the shorty?
Oikawa's eyes slowly widened.
There was no way he'd mistake it. That bright, vivid color. He had never seen it anywhere else except on Hinata.
Just as he was about to head over, Ryosuke suddenly dashed past him. He'd seen Tsukishima scolding Hinata. Seriously…
Ryosuke rushed over at full speed, spread his arms like a protective mother hen, and glared at Tsukishima.
Tsukishima didn't have time to react and was startled by Ryosuke's sudden appearance.
Ryosuke stared at him.
"Don't yell at Hinata. He just wants to get stronger."
"Hah?" Tsukishima let out a mocking laugh. So these two were in this together. Could it be that this was the one who encouraged that shorty to sneak in?
"Whatever. This is your Shiratorizawa. When he gets kicked out later, the ones losing face will still be us from Karasuno," Tsukishima said coldly, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"You…!" Ryosuke got angry, but couldn't find a way to refute him. After all, every word Tsukishima said was true.
Seeing the two about to argue, Hinata panicked and stepped between them.
"Ahhh, stop arguing! I'm not even worried, so why are you?! I'm staying here today. I'll apologize to Daichi-senpai later!"
"Ha…" Tsukishima took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down so he wouldn't get driven crazy by this idiot. Especially that last sentence. What he meant was for Hinata not to mess around here. This was Shiratorizawa's territory. If Coach Washijō got upset, Hinata would be thrown out immediately…
Right now, Hinata and Ryosuke were both staring at Tsukishima like alert little animals, full of vigilance. Tsukishima was so irritated he didn't even want to talk anymore.
Just then, Coach Washijō arrived.
Ryosuke could only shoot Tsukishima one last glare before running back to the lineup, leaving Hinata standing there, head lowered in guilt.
Tsukishima gave a fake smile.
"Let's see what you do now. Coach Washijō is famously strict."
By the time Coach Washijō arrived, everyone was already lined up neatly. He nodded in satisfaction, looking at the well-organized group of students.
These were the next generation of Miyagi volleyball. They had to be trained well.
Hinata stood beside Tsukishima, trying his best to make himself less noticeable. But Coach Washijō still spotted him.
There was no helping it. That orange hair was just too eye-catching.
Coach Washijō frowned slightly. He didn't remember inviting this short kid. Why was he here?
"The one at the end of the second row with orange hair. Step forward."
Hinata trembled slightly. He knew there was no escaping it. He stepped forward.
All eyes turned toward him.
Tsukishima kept a stiff face, not wanting to admit this idiot belonged to Karasuno.
Cold sweat trickled down Hinata's forehead. Being stared at by so many people made his back feel prickly.
Ryosuke grew anxious, glancing back at him again and again.
Coach Washijō narrowed his eyes, sizing Hinata up. He had some impression of him. During that interview Shiratorizawa watched before, this was the one who said Udai was his idol. Hinata, right…
Snuck in on his own? Annoying.
Coach Washijō frowned inwardly. Why were all the Karasuno kids so bold? Udai was like that, and now this Hinata too.
He didn't speak, and no one else dared to either. The gym fell completely silent, filled only with the sound of breathing.
Finally, Coach Washijō spoke.
"I don't recall inviting you to the Golden Training Camp. What are you here for?"
His tone carried clear displeasure. These Karasuno players really had no sense of rules.
Whispers immediately spread through the gym. People glanced at Hinata, murmuring among themselves.
Even though the voices were quiet, they still reached him.
"Showing up uninvited? That's hilarious. People can really be this shameless?"
"Isn't that the short guy from Karasuno? Coach Washijō only favors strong players. Why would he let someone like that in?"
"He's definitely getting thrown out in a second."
All kinds of malicious speculation quietly cut into Hinata.
But Hinata stood straight.
He had already come this far. There was no way he would be defeated by gossip.
"I'm here to get stronger! I wasn't invited to the Golden Training Camp, but I want to ask Coach Washijō to give me this chance!"
His voice rang loud and clear through the gym.
Ryosuke smiled slightly, satisfied, watching Hinata stand there in the crowd. Even if he felt embarrassed, he still held his head high.
For Hinata, nothing mattered more than volleyball.
The gym fell silent for a moment after he finished speaking. Then it erupted.
"Did I hear that right?" Futakuchi scratched his ear in disbelief.
Koganegawa added with a silly grin,
"He said he came to get stronger, but wasn't invited."
What kind of idiot had Karasuno produced this time?
Coach Washijō was just about to get angry and send him off to the other court. It wasn't a big deal, but Hinata insisted on staying here to observe…
He didn't reject him outright.
For a brief moment, he thought of Udai.
Even though he didn't favor short players, more than anyone else, he cared whether these small aces could truly rise.
"Do as you like. If people from your school come looking for you later, it has nothing to do with Shiratorizawa.
As for staying here to learn…"
He paused, unsure how to arrange it. Someone like Hinata, who started late, wouldn't be able to keep up with their training anyway.
Fine. He'd just say something casually. Whether he learned anything or could endure it depended on himself.
"We're short a ball boy. If you really want to stay, then pick up balls.
Shiratorizawa won't provide lodging or meals. Figure that out yourself."
"No way, he actually agreed?"
"Pfft, didn't you hear him? Coach just told him to pick up balls for us. What kind of agreement is that? Tsk, tsk. Karasuno really is embarrassing."
A few first-years from some unknown schools snickered as they whispered. Hinata heard every word clearly. He lowered his head, his expression hidden. From where Ryosuke stood, he could only see Hinata's tightly clenched fists.
"Yes! Thank you, Coach!"
Hinata suddenly raised his head and shouted, then returned to the line. His face was still unreadable.
After speaking, Coach Washijō dismissed everyone. The assistant coaches would lead the warm-up shortly before training began. He didn't pay much attention to Hinata, who looked a little downcast.
Hinata kept his head lowered, his face burning. It felt like Coach Washijō's tone had been almost like charity… maybe it was just his imagination, but the mocking voices in his ears wouldn't fade.
"Pfft hahaha, a shrimp like that wants to play volleyball?"
A buzz-cut boy laughed loudly.
"Exactly," a stocky boy beside him chimed in.
Hinata stared at the floor, humiliated.
"You got a lot to say, huh?"
Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki stepped up on either side of Hinata, glaring at the two who had been talking.
"Hah? What's it to you?"
The buzz-cut boy raised his head arrogantly, but the moment he saw their Shiratorizawa uniforms, the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.
"Uh…"
His expression stiffened with embarrassment, then he snapped angrily.
"Don't act all high and mighty just because you're from Shiratorizawa. You're just first-year brats. Who do you think you are?"
"Hey!"
Tsutomu Goshiki flared up and was about to grab him by the collar.
The stocky boy immediately stepped in front, shouting,
"What, you want to hit someone?"
"I…!"
"I what?!"
"You…!"
"You what?!"
"You don't look very smart anyway. You probably just got lucky getting into Shiratorizawa. Why don't you take off that uniform and let me try it on?"
As he spoke, he even reached out to tug at Tsutomu Goshiki's shirt.
Startled, Tsutomu Goshiki quickly backed away, clutching his uniform. All the insults he had been about to throw out got stuck in his throat.
Behind him, Ryosuke let out a laugh at the worst possible timing. How could he be this timid?
"Tsutomu Goshiki, you're so dumb. For something like this, you should leave it to me."
Ryosuke smiled slightly, his cat-like eyes narrowing as he sized the two up. The cat was about to play tricks.
The two suddenly felt a chill under his gaze but still tried to act tough.
"What are you doing? This is Shiratorizawa. Don't mess around!"
Ryosuke chuckled and ignored them. Then he raised his voice, letting it trail slightly, sounding almost aggrieved.
"Reon-senpai!"
Reon turned at the call. Normally, Ryosuke wouldn't call him for no reason.
But when he looked over, he saw two big guys blocking Ryosuke, Tsutomu Goshiki, and Hinata. Instinctively, since they were his own teammates, he felt like Ryosuke and the others looked small and helpless.
They're being bullied?
He hurried over, dragging Ushijima along.
"What's going on?!"
Just as Tsutomu Goshiki was about to speak, Ryosuke pinched his arm hard. So hard it felt like he was cracking walnuts. It hurt.
Tsutomu Goshiki's eyes instantly reddened.
Seeing that, Reon panicked. This kid might get scolded all the time, but he had never cried before.
Ryosuke also forced his eyes red and spoke in a wronged tone.
"Reon-senpai, I don't know how we offended these senpais. They won't let Goshiki and me pass, and they called us first-year brats. He even tried to take Goshiki's clothes off!"
Ryosuke pointed at the stocky guy, his voice full of grievance, then dropped the final blow at the end.
Tsutomu Goshiki's eyes almost popped out.
…Wait, what?!
Hinata was also stunned. He had been firmly shielded behind Ryosuke. Before he could even feel touched, he heard that accusation… Somehow, he felt like he didn't fully understand Ryosuke after all.
The two accused boys immediately backed off, denying everything.
"I didn't! I never did that! Don't make things up!"
The stocky boy regretted it to death. Why did he have to provoke them?
Ushijima's expression darkened when he heard "take Goshiki's clothes off." In his mind, Goshiki and Ryosuke were still kids. Saying something like that in front of them, and inside Shiratorizawa's gym no less… were they asking for trouble?
Reon's expression turned cold. He didn't know or care whether it was true. Seeing Ryosuke's pitiful, wronged look was enough to stir his protective instincts.
They must have been the ones bullying.
Reon glanced at Ryosuke, then snapped his gaze back sharply at the two.
He and Ushijima exchanged a look, nodded, and stepped forward. Each grabbed one of them under the arms and dragged them out.
The surrounding crowd gathered to watch.
The buzz-cut boy, being watched by so many, shouted unwillingly,
"I'm telling you! Don't think you can bully people just because you're from Shiratorizawa! I'm not someone you can mess with! I'll expose you tomorrow! Expose you!"
He kept yelling, but the stocky boy had already gone quiet.
He still had some sense. They were in the wrong. This opportunity had been given to them by third-years… and now it was ruined over a few words.
He had thought he was stepping into the world of the strong.
Instead, he had just thrown it all away.
Most people only glanced over before looking away. Better not get involved in this kind of mess.
Since it was a training camp, their coach wasn't present. If they were simply thrown out, it might cause trouble. So Reon and Ushijima brought them to Coach Washijō.
After hearing the explanation, Coach Washijō felt his temples throb.
On one hand, he was angry at their behavior. On the other, it was just a headache.
One Tsutomu Goshiki was already troublesome enough. Now Ryosuke was joining in too. And apparently there was also a Hinata involved…
Those three together. It was obvious at a glance they weren't the quiet type.
Coach Washijō narrowed his eyes and looked at the two standing stiffly by the door. Deal with them first.
"Pack your things and leave. I'll contact your coach and explain the situation. Shiratorizawa does not need people of this character."
Their faces went pale.
The bit of hope they had just now was completely crushed. Only then did they realize how big a mistake they had made.
They wanted to explain, but under Coach Washijō's gaze, they didn't dare. And besides, it was their fault.
They could only quietly pack up and leave.
Reon and Ushijima looked satisfied. Coach Washijō nodded to himself.
It seemed that from now on, when selecting people, character and conduct also needed to be considered.
Otherwise, incidents like this would only damage their reputation.
And just like that, on the very first day of the training camp, those two were sent packing for their foul language and insulting behavior.
The others couldn't help but sigh.
It seemed that besides training hard, they also had to be careful not to get into conflicts with others.
...
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