Half a minute ago, on Centre Court.

When the spinning tricolor ball appeared in his eyes, the hairs on Ryo Hoshino's body stood up. It was too late to dodge, and the reflexes he had trained over the years allowed him to make the best response in this moment - turning his face sideways, allowing the ball to avoid the most dangerous eyes and the bridge of his nose and smash into the side of his face.

Immediately afterward, due to the uneven contact surface, the ball flew diagonally out and over the billboard. And he also fell to the ground because of his distorted posture, and his center of gravity was unstable.

The referee blew the whistle, the commentator shouted "OUT", the crowd cheered, and the teammates shouted anxiously...... Ryo Hoshino can't hear it.

The pain was accompanied by a strong humming sound that directly drowned out all sounds from the outside world. Fortunately, there were only a few physiological tears oozing into the eyes, and the vision was still clear. He looked up, and in front of him stood a pale-faced eagle craftsman, his mouth open and closed, and judging from the faint voice coming from the other ear, he should be asking about his situation.

Ryo Hoshino pointed to his right ear, then waved his hand.

"He had ringing in his ears." The experienced eagle craftsman forge understood what he meant immediately. Hearing this, the expressions of the others became even more ugly.

Don't blame them for being in a hurry. It happened so suddenly, and in the blink of an eye, the silver-haired boy fell to his knees. Even the players on the field reacted for a while, let alone the players standing in the front row. The fastest reaction turned out to be the eagle craftsman forging, the old man stood up and walked quickly onto the field for the first time, seeing this, the others reacted and hurriedly rushed up.

What caught their eyes was the silver-haired boy's smashed red face and ears, as well as the other party's pained expression on his frown.

You know, even in an amateur game, the speed of this powerful smash is enough to hurt someone, let alone a national competition now. And the ball that Sakuzao deducted just now, just by looking at it, the ball speed will not be lower than 100KM/h! How can this keep them from worrying?

After a short period of thought, Washmaster Forji decisively commanded, "Saito, take him to the infirmary. ”

"Coach, I'm-"

"Everyone, gather and discuss tactics for the next game!" Eagle Craftsman Forging glanced fiercely at the Hanhejiang brave general who raised his hand, "It's only been two rounds now, and the game is not over yet!" Your first priority now is to finish this game! ”

Everyone was immediately silenced.

*

On the other side, Ryo Hoshino, who felt that the tinnitus was gradually improving, was carried out of the court by Akira Saito before he could speak.

Ryo Hoshino: "? ”

"Coach Saito, I'm fine, I'm really fine!" He hurriedly spoke, "No need to go to the infirmary!" ”

"Uh-huh, I know." Saito nodded good-naturedly, but he didn't let go of his grip at all.

Ryo Hoshino: "...... your perfunctory can't be so obvious?"

But the strong little silver hair still did not give up resistance, until he was pressed on the bed in the infirmary, he was still shouting: "I avoided the key parts!" Really didn't hurt!! ”

Saito Ming bowed to the doctor while pressing him: "Excuse me, this kid was just smashed on the head during the game and has tinnitus, you can help see if there is any problem elsewhere, and it will not affect the continuation of the game." ”

Hoshino was in a hurry, and grabbed Saito Akira's clothes: "Qi."

Rattan Coach! He softened his tone: "Coach, the next game is about to start, and I won't be able to catch up if I don't go back." Now the situation is already very bad for us, and if I am not there, then we will really lose!! Speaking later, his tone became eager again.

"Hoshino, calm down." Saito reassured, "When the doctor finishes the examination and confirms that there is no problem, we will go back immediately." ”

"It's too late!" Hoshino Ryo interrupted him in a loud voice, and then seemed to feel that this attitude was not good, and his voice lowered again, "It's too late...... We've lost two games and we can't lose any more, we can't lose a single point...... If I had just gotten away a little faster—"

"How about hiding faster?" A deep voice came from the doorway, and the familiar sound made Ryo Hoshino shake.

This, this voice is—

"Ushijima?!" Akira Saito exclaimed in a little surprise.

"Coach Saito." Ushijima sharpened his jaw, stuffed the mobile phone he was holding tightly into his pocket, and then walked towards the hospital bed.

Everything he wanted to say just now was forgotten the moment he saw the other party, and Hoshino Ryoshi watched him walk in front of him in a daze.

"Huh?" Ushijima lowered his eyes, "Why don't you answer?" ”

"I, I'm ......" Ryo Hoshino opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"If you hide a little faster, you don't get hurt." Ushijima paused for a moment, "So, you mean, are you going to play with the mentality you have now?" Do you think that in this mentality, you can still play to your full strength? ”

Under the deep eyes of the other party, Hoshino was speechless.

Ushijima knew that he understood, so he turned to the doctor and said, "I'm sorry for you." ”

Just as I wanted to step aside, there was a tugging sensation from the corner of my clothes. He paused, didn't move again, just let the boy grab the corner of his clothes, and didn't say anything. Next to him, Akira Saito was relieved to see that he had finally calmed down.

The only thing left in the infirmary was the sound of the doctor's examination and his occasional inquiries about his condition. Due to the high degree of cooperation of the boys, the examination was over in a few minutes.

"It's not a big deal, but luckily I avoided the face, and if it was a frontal hit, it wouldn't be so easy. If you hit this place, you may have symptoms of upper and lower jaw disorders, so you should pay more attention to it and seek medical attention if it is more serious. ”

"Okay, okay, thank you, doctor." Saito Akira hurriedly bowed.

Ryo Hoshino obediently thanked, "Thank you, doctor." Ushijima Wakari also bowed silently on the side.

The three of them walked out of the infirmary together, and were about to rush to the stadium when Ushijima Ruoli suddenly asked, "Coach Saito, who played in this game?" ”

Although Saito Akira was surprised, he still replied, "Yura." ”

"Sure enough." Ryo Hoshino's eyelashes moved slightly, and he asked, "What round is it now?" ”

Akira Saito directly handed him the tablet in his hand. He glanced at it and understood.

"Coach Saito, you wait here, I have something to talk to Hoshino

Say. Ushijima stopped.

"Huh??"

"When Ohara-senpai moves to the No. 5 position, please call me." Ryo Hoshino calmly answered, and then followed Ushijima Wakari to a place where Akira Saito could see but not hear their conversation

An open space.

The two stopped,

Ushijima Wakari just turned around,

The silver-haired boy in front of him said in a muffled voice: "Captain, I don't." There was a hint of grievance in his tone.

Ushijima was silent: "I haven't said anything yet. ”

"Anyway, it's the phrase 'Are you afraid of losing'......" Ryo Hoshino muttered quietly, and before Ushijima Wakari could hear clearly, he raised his head and looked directly at the other party and said word by word, "Captain, I'm not afraid of losing." ”

"yes, I know."

"I know you don't believe it—gah? You know?? Ryo Hoshino looked stunned.

Ushijima Ruoli looked at him with a calm look in his eyes: "I know, you just don't want to lose." ”

Ryo Hoshino was speechless all of a sudden, and he held back a sentence for a while: "Then, what are you trying to do when you call me to ......?"

"Don't worry."

Hoshino was stunned.

"Don't be in a hurry, even if you don't want to lose, don't rush. Inoyama's strength is very strong, and Sakuhaya's level has indeed surpassed the level of high school students. But it's not like you haven't played against college students, and it's not like you haven't scored points from them. If you have this strength, you also have a chance to win, and even the winning rate is not low. ”

"Now that Shiratorizawa has lost two games, you have no way back. You can only move forward, and you can only keep moving forward. I know you can do it because you've always done it. ”

"That's what I wanted to tell you."

If this series of words only surprised Ryo Hoshino that the other party suddenly changed from taciturn mode to eloquent mode, then Ushijima Wakari's next action made him freeze directly in place.

The taller and strong young man suddenly stretched out his arms, hugged the boy in front of him in his arms, and whispered, "And this." ”

Akira Saito, who saw this scene not far away, was taken aback: "?!! "What?? I just looked down at the game, why did they hug each other??

Ryo Hoshino, who was hugged, went blank. What? Was he dreaming? The captain hugged him?? The captain took the initiative to hug him?!

Ryo Hoshino hugged back with a dreamy and demented face: "Team, captain......"

"Good thing you weren't hurt." The slightly muffled voice in his ears and the breath that swept through his ears gave him goosebumps, followed by a rapidly spreading redness.

He stammered, "I—I'm really fine, didn't the doctor say it just now......"

"Hmm."

Maybe it was because the other party's embrace was too warm, and Ryo Hoshino's chaotic thoughts just now calmed down suddenly. He rested his chin slightly on the young man's shoulder and asked in a low voice, "...... Did the captain come after the game? ”

"Hmm." The young man's voice came down the trembling bones, and Ryo Hoshino felt his heart skip a beat, and a hot heat surged up from his chest.

The hand he wrapped around the other party's back subconsciously retracted it, and the bodies of the two people were closer together.

At this moment, Akira Saito, who was keeping an eye on the situation, shouted, "Hoshino-it's time to go!" ”

Ryo Hoshino felt his hair being rubbed lightly by something, and then Ushijima Wakari let go of him: "Go ahead, I'll watch you play in the stands." ”

"Ahh

Ryo Hoshino rubbed his fingertips a little in dismay, but he also knew that now was not the time to talk more,"

Then I'll go first! See you after the game! With that, he turned around and trotted towards Akira Saito.

Ushijima Ruoli quietly looked at the boy's back, and suddenly, the silver-haired boy turned around, waved at him and shouted, "Captain! I'll win!! "I'll definitely show you the trophy!

The other party didn't say the latter sentence, but Ushijima Worri felt that he heard it.

It wasn't until the silver-haired boy ran into the stadium that he couldn't see the figure that he replied softly in his heart: [Well, I believe you. ]

*

Centre Court.

When Ryo Hoshino ran in, he attracted the attention of a large part of the audience.

"Number 1 is back!"

"Looks like he's not hurt!"

"Hoshino!"

The players in the substitute area were pleasantly surprised. Ryo Hoshino nodded at them, and then walked over to Washikor's forge. The old man had already learned about his situation from Saito Akira, so he was not surprised, but just said, "I'm back." ”

"Hmm." Ryo Hoshino glanced at the score, 6:4, and raised his eyebrows, "It seems that the effect is okay?" ”

"If it's bad, I can only say it's okay."

Hoshino Ryo, who was moving his hands and ankles, smiled: "So I'm not coming back with full blood." ”

Eagle Smith snorted.

At this moment, the ball landed on the field, and the commentator in the stands raised his voice and said: "Cross-cover attack!" Kawanishi and Goseki crossed to run and attack, and finally the ball was dunked by Gose! Shiratorizawa catches up with a point! ”

"I went." Ryo Hoshino twisted his neck one last time, and then walked to the sideline with the number plate.

Moments later, the referee blew the long whistle. The commentator's voice paused, and his tone immediately became high: "It seems that Hoshino is fine, and he can continue the next game!" Shiratorizawa applied for a substitution, replaced by No. 1 Hoshino-"

"No. 6 Ohara?!" The commentator's tone suddenly rose a little in surprise, "Hoshino replaced No. 6 Ohara, not No. 11 Yura Shota!" ”

The companion beside him was more experienced, and he muttered for a moment: "...... I see. ”

"Mr. Yamamoto means ......"

The man put down the microphone and said loudly: "Shiratorizawa is not a tactic that was temporarily changed because of an accident among the players, the tactic they originally wanted to use was a double setter!" ”！