Haikyuu - Chapter 351 (Patreon)

Ryosuke walked back toward the court, where everyone was waiting for him.

The moment Goshiki saw him approaching, the emotions he'd only just managed to get under control nearly broke loose again.

Once Ryosuke took his place in the lineup, the referee called out loudly, "Players from both teams, please shake hands!"

The two teams reached their hands beneath the net.

Sakusa extended his hand with an expression that practically said everyone could go die. Ushijima didn't say anything, but if you looked closely, there was the faintest smile on his face.

Standing opposite Ryosuke was Doichiro.

"You played really well," Doichiro said seriously. "I hope we meet again next year."

Faced with such an earnest declaration from an opponent, Ryosuke became serious too. For once, a rare surge of competitive fire rose inside him.

"Don't worry. Next year, we're definitely going to win."

The instant those words left his mouth, several Shiratorizawa players turned toward him in unison, seemingly shocked that something so bold had come from Ryosuke.

Even Goshiki forgot to be upset.

Sakusa heard him too.

He tilted his head toward Ryosuke, his eyes seeing no one else. At last, an actual expression appeared on his usually blank face.

"Tsk."

Keigo Atobe was already waiting in the stands for Ryosuke.

He swore there was something wrong with the way Sakusa was looking at him.

There was always some bastard trying to steal his little brother away!

Only after speaking did Ryosuke realize what he'd just said.

His face turned red almost instantly.

Even Goshiki was amazed by how fast it happened.

"Um... that's how it is! Next year! Next year, we're definitely going to win!"

With his face red as an apple, Ryosuke squeezed his eyes shut and doubled down in embarrassment.

Without his headband holding it in place, his curls had become a fluffy mess, making him look like an angry cat that would start scratching if anyone teased him another second.

Everyone laughed good-naturedly.

Tendo, standing beside him, immediately wrapped an arm around him.

"Little Ryosuke's right. Next time, we're definitely the ones winning!"

Ryosuke pressed his lips together and nodded.

Tendo was right.

What none of them noticed was that Sakusa's stare was practically burning holes through Tendo.

Up in the stands, Keigo Atobe was furious enough to start stomping.

If Matsukawa hadn't been holding him back, Keigo Atobe might have stormed onto the court himself.

"What is he doing?! What is he doing with those filthy hands?! I #¥%#¥...!"

Their normally elegant young master had been driven into outright swearing.

Matsukawa could barely restrain him.

An angry Keigo Atobe was somehow even harder to hold down than a newly delivered calf back at the estate.

And the center of this entire chain reaction, Ryosuke the oblivious little cat, had absolutely no idea what was happening.

He was still happily smiling.

The two teams changed formation and turned toward the coaches' benches.

"Players from both teams, please bow!"

Both sides bowed in unison.

Coach Washijō still wore his usual sour expression.

Only Hibarida was smiling brightly, looking so proud that he might genuinely have mistaken himself for Shiratorizawa's coach.

"Thank you for your support! Great work!"

With the post-match ceremony completed, the match officially came to an end.

"Ryosuke, want to have lunch together?"

Sakusa had somehow slipped over to Ryosuke's side without anyone noticing, startling Goshiki so badly that he flinched.

Ryosuke was just about to agree when he suddenly felt an intense stare boring into him.

Following it, he found his wonderful older brother glaring at him with the expression of a husband who had just caught his wife cheating.

Keigo Atobe hadn't said a single word.

Somehow, he'd still said everything.

"N-no... My brother already said yesterday that he was taking me out for lunch."

Sakusa followed Ryosuke's gaze and, unsurprisingly, saw Keigo Atobe.

He wasn't pleased, but Sakusa had never been the type to give up easily.

If you were too thin-skinned, you'd never get the person you wanted.

"Then tonight..."

Before Sakusa could finish, Tendo charged in and physically shoved him away from Ryosuke.

Sakusa was left clutching his waist, unable to straighten up for quite a while.

"Sorry Shiratorizawa's having a team dinner tonight. Someone from Itachiyama probably shouldn't come interfere, right?"

"Tendo-senpai!"

Ryosuke looked at him accusingly.

Tendo had almost sent Sakusa flying. Did he think Ryosuke hadn't seen that?

Tendo-senpai certainly didn't look exhausted anymore.

Reon stood beside Coach Washijō with a gentle expression.

Watching the chaos unfold, he felt oddly satisfied.

Everyone he'd looked after had grown up well.

It was nice seeing them this lively.

Somehow, Reon seemed to have adopted a very strange parental perspective.

Coach Washijō had originally planned to give the whole team another thorough scolding after the match.

But everyone seemed to be handling the loss reasonably well, so for once, he decided not to ruin the mood.

By the time everyone returned to Shiratorizawa's waiting area, however, they were all sitting nervously, waiting for Coach Washijō's lecture.

They were mentally prepared.

Whether they stretched their necks out or tried to pull them back, the blade was coming either way.

Sooner or later, they were dead.

When Coach Washijō and Hibarida walked into the room while chatting, that was exactly what they saw.

Everyone was huddled in their seats like frightened quails, completely lacking the energy they'd had immediately after the match.

Coach Washijō found it a little amusing.

His face revealed none of it.

Hibarida took one look at the scene and tactfully stepped back outside to wait.

What came next was Coach Washijō's family business.

Watching their final potential savior disappear through the doorway, Goshiki finally lost all hope.

He lowered his head mournfully and prepared for the storm.

Coach Washijō said nothing.

He simply stood there and stared at them.

The atmosphere grew heavier by the second.

Goshiki's backside was practically going numb from sitting so stiffly.

Coach, just tell us whether we're living or dying!

Why torture us like this?!

For the first time in his life, Goshiki wondered if he secretly had heart problems.

Why else was his heart beating so fast it felt ready to jump out of his throat?

Coach Washijō stood there staring at them for a full ten minutes.

Those ten minutes were agonizing.

Nobody dared make a sound.

Just as Goshiki was about to crack, stand up, and volunteer himself as the first sacrifice, Coach Washijō finally spoke.

He cleared his throat.

"We lost this match. You all know how you played, so I'm not going to waste time repeating it."

"I won't bother you about it for the next couple of days. Once we're back at school, we'll settle everything properly."

"For now, hold a meeting among yourselves and review the match."

Coach Washijō didn't feel like saying much more.

These kids were already restless.

Some wanted to watch more matches, some wanted to go eat, and others wanted to wander around with friends.

At this point, there was no keeping them all pinned down.

He'd deal with them after they returned to home territory.

Let them enjoy themselves first.

They wouldn't be laughing once they got back.

They should cherish these final peaceful moments.

With that, Coach Washijō turned and walked away without giving anyone time to respond.

One or two seconds after the door closed behind him, a tiny cheer broke out in the room.

They had escaped.

Coach Washijō's lips curved faintly upward outside.

Youth really was nice.

Then he immediately ran into Hibarida, and the smile vanished.

What was there to smile about?

Coach Washijō was simply not a man who liked smiling.

Inside the room, everyone except Ushijima suddenly looked like monkeys that had just been released from the zoo.

No matter how mature or serious they usually seemed, they were still teenage boys.

At their age, it didn't take much for their emotions to run hot.

Goshiki alone kept wearing a miserable expression.

What had been a death sentence had merely been changed into a suspended death sentence.

That was somehow worse.

The others might not have thought much of it, but Goshiki knew he'd held the team back in this match.

Coach Washijō was definitely going to train him to death when they returned.

The Sword of Damocles was still hanging above his head.

"Don't look so miserable."

Ryosuke spoke softly beside his dejected friend.

"Facing Omi-Omi at the end was already difficult. We've improved a lot compared with before, and you recovered your composure really quickly during the match. That was already impressive."

Seeing his friend looking like a drooping puppy, Ryosuke couldn't help trying to comfort him.

If nobody had said anything, Goshiki might have managed to preserve his dignity.

The moment Ryosuke comforted him, he broke.

A soft puppy-like whimper escaped him.

His eyes filled with tears as he grabbed onto Ryosuke and started crying quietly.

Goshiki's eyes gradually turned rabbit-red, and before long, the front of Ryosuke's shirt was soaked.

His hair kept brushing against Ryosuke's neck too, making it itch.

Looking at the heartbroken Goshiki, Ryosuke sighed with a maturity well beyond his age.

In the end, he resisted the urge to push him away.

Maybe he'd spent too much time around Sakusa.

These days, Ryosuke was increasingly unused to people getting this physically close to him.

His entire body felt uncomfortable.

At that moment, Goshiki looked exactly like a dog desperately cuddling a cat.

Not far away, Tendo clutched a handkerchief as he stared at them, dark energy practically pouring off him.

Damn it!

How had he never realized Goshiki was this scheming?!

Cuddling.

Tendo wanted cuddles too!

"Now that the match is over, want to go eat together tonight?"

Once Reon had settled his emotions, he brought it up.

Shiratorizawa had a very simple tradition.

Lose a match, eat together.

Win a match, eat together.

Finish practice, eat together.

No practice?

Eat together anyway.

"Agreed."

"+1."

The instant Reon proposed it, everyone piled on.

Yamagata especially.

At this point, his brain contained nothing but carbs, carbs, grilled meat, grilled meat.

This match hadn't only drained his body.

It had exhausted his brain and spirit too.

Ryosuke caught the conversation and nodded before finally pushing Goshiki away.

"Tonight works. I'm having lunch with my brother later, and I want to go see Hinata and the others too."

The moment Ryosuke pushed Goshiki aside, Tendo naturally inserted himself into the newly opened space and squeezed Goshiki away.

Then he spoke in a strange, sarcastic tone.

"Oh? What's so great about that little shorty from Karasuno that you have to specifically go look after him?"

"Tendo-senpai————"

Ryosuke dragged out the title to express his displeasure.

"He came all this way just to watch our match."

Tendo snorted through his nose but didn't argue.

That counted as accepting Ryosuke's plan.

Once everyone had mostly finished discussing their plans, they dispersed from the waiting room.

They would handle their own business first and meet again that evening.

Goshiki silently followed Ryosuke like a tail.

As Ryosuke walked ahead, he occasionally glanced back.

For some reason, Goshiki seemed especially quiet today.

After the match, Karasuno had spent quite a while wandering around outside the gym.

Whenever there were matches here, plenty of stalls appeared around the venue, selling food, souvenirs, clothes, and all kinds of other things.

It looked almost like a small street fair.

Everything was new to Hinata.

So when he said after the match that he wanted to explore, everyone went along with him.

Before leaving, Hinata had sent Ryosuke a message so Ryosuke would know where to find them.

Ryosuke first took Goshiki to see Keigo Atobe, properly soothing a certain older brother's wounded heart.

After confirming their lunch plans, Ryosuke prepared to find Hinata.

Then he checked his phone.

Ryosuke went numb.

Hinata wasn't the only person who had messaged him.

The moment the match ended, messages had started pouring in.

Some people were comforting him.

Others were inviting him out to eat.

Sakusa had messaged him as soon as Itachiyama finished its team meeting.

He had originally hoped to spend some time alone with Ryosuke.

Who would've expected Ryosuke to be this busy?

Looking at the dense wall of messages on his screen, Ryosuke completely lost the desire to reply.

His pretty face filled with helplessness.

What was he supposed to do about being this popular?

Still, he'd promised Hinata first.

He couldn't go back on his word.

Ryosuke was a good kid who kept his promises.

He and Goshiki leisurely made their way outside the gym.

Only after stepping out did they realize how lively everything was.

Goshiki's eyes widened.

After spending several days almost entirely inside the gym for matches, he'd nearly forgotten the outside could be this crowded.

A smile finally returned to his face.

"I'm going to find Hinata and the others. Are you coming with me, or do you want to go around by yourself?"

Goshiki chose to follow Ryosuke without even hesitating.

He couldn't explain why.

He simply felt safer staying beside Ryosuke.

The two wandered around for quite a while before finally finding Hinata's group.

"Hinata!"

Hinata was just about to try scooping a little goldfish when he heard Ryosuke's voice.

Excited, he tossed the paper scoop into the water.

It splashed Tsukishima from head to toe.

Tsukishima's face darkened instantly, and he was already preparing a vicious remark when he turned around and saw Ryosuke.

The words disappeared back down his throat.

"Ryosuke!"

Hinata was so happy that his hair practically puffed up.

His fluffy orange hair looked almost like cake.

Ryosuke stared for a moment.

What kind of shampoo did Hinata use?

Every single time Ryosuke saw him, that hair managed to capture his attention.

The groups quickly gathered together.

Then Hinata opened his mouth and started talking like a machine gun.

"Ryosuke, you played so well today! That serve was amazing! You just swung your arm and the ball went flying! And you scored so many points!"

"Whoa, Goshiki was amazing too! You actually stood against Sakusa without freezing! If it were me, I would've been scared stiff!"

The little orange puppy launched a full-force barrage of praise.

Ryosuke and Goshiki had never really experienced people praising them this openly and enthusiastically.

Naturally, neither of them had any defense against it.

Goshiki's face turned bright red from embarrassment.

If anyone looked closely, they'd notice that Ryosuke's ears had gone red too.

Daichi finally caught up from behind.

He grabbed Hinata by the collar and pulled him backward like someone tugging on a dog's leash.