Ennoshita watched Kinoshita bouncing around nonstop, utterly restless, and grabbed him by the collar with a splitting headache, forcing him to calm down. He then bowed apologetically to the staff.
They all looked at him with gratitude, thankful that he had stopped this classmate who, for some reason, resembled an overexcited monkey.
Kuiya noticed the commotion and quickly formed an impression. Kinoshita was the same type as Nishinoya. Overflowing with energy.
"Are you Ennoshita and Kinoshita?"
Kuiya stepped forward with a smile.
"What a coincidence. Even your names sound alike."
Ennoshita nodded with a faint smile.
"I think so too. Let's begin. We shouldn't keep everyone waiting."
Kuiya studied him for a moment. Surprisingly considerate.
"Alright, Ennoshita, please go first."
Ennoshita nodded, then shot Kinoshita a sharp look before dragging him over to Ukai.
"Coach Ukai, I'll leave him to you."
Ukai waved him off casually.
"Go on."
Only then did Ennoshita sit down. The staff had already finished preparing, and the interview officially began.
Kuiya glanced at his phone. He had just looked it up.
In the match against Aobajosai, when Daichi was injured, Ennoshita stepped in. His performance hadn't been flashy, but he had stabilized the team. The shaken morale had recovered, as if a second Daichi had taken the court.
Earlier, Kuiya had asked Ukai about him.
Ukai's expression had been complicated. A mix of helplessness and acknowledgment.
"Ennoshita… he's the kind of guy who can handle difficult seniors, troublesome peers, and chaotic juniors all at once."
Kuiya had been impressed.
Now, sitting across from him, Ennoshita showed no impatience at all, quietly waiting.
"Ennoshita, I heard from Coach Ukai that you may become Karasuno's next captain. Do you think you can take on that responsibility?"
Before Ennoshita could respond, Kinoshita's head snapped toward Ukai in shock.
Captain? Since when?
Ukai looked exhausted. Same year, completely different people.
Ennoshita already knew.
Between Ukai's blunt words and Daichi's subtle hints, it was obvious. He wasn't oblivious.
He had simply been pretending not to notice.
But now, in the middle of an interview, it had been brought out into the open without warning.
If this were the old Karasuno, Ennoshita wouldn't have hesitated. Being like Daichi, taking care of the underclassmen, that would have been enough.
But now Karasuno had changed.
After their performance in the prefectural tournament, they had risen into the spotlight.
And Ennoshita hesitated.
"I… Karasuno is gradually improving. I don't think I'm suited to lead them. And Daichi-senpai is still here. It's too early."
He sidestepped the question.
To him, whether he became captain or not didn't matter. As long as he could keep playing volleyball with everyone, that was enough.
But Kuiya did not let it go.
"Do you think you're just an ordinary person?"
The same question he had asked Yamaguchi.
Ennoshita lowered his gaze to his hands, still wrapped in bandages from training.
Bruises. Scratches. Marks of effort.
"I'm ordinary… I've always known that. I don't have talent. I'm slow, and things that others can grasp once, I have to practice several times. The only thing I have is patience."
He paused briefly.
"But I can take care of everyone at Karasuno. Seniors, juniors, and my peers. I'm a bit more mature than them."
"As an ordinary person, I won't achieve anything remarkable. I just need to do my part."
That belief had taken root deep within him, so deeply that even he no longer knew when it had begun.
Kuiya didn't press further.
Like Yamaguchi, this wasn't something that could be resolved by a few words.
Kinoshita, however, looked unconvinced.
Ordinary?
If Ennoshita was ordinary, then what was he supposed to be?
Someone who could keep seniors in check, rein in reckless peers, and steady the chaos of the juniors.
Ordinary?
More like something else entirely.
"So, what do you think about Karasuno?"
Only then did Ennoshita relax slightly.
"Karasuno is a very harmonious team. Players and coaches get along well. As for what I think…"
He almost started venting, then stopped himself.
This was still an interview.
"Hinata should be a bit more rational. Being too energetic isn't always a good thing."
"Kageyama and Tsukishima should loosen up a bit. They're at a great age, but they're too restrained."
"Nishinoya and Tanaka are fine… but please don't drag the juniors into trouble."
"And the seniors too. Sugawara-senpai, please stop stirring things up. You're a senior."
That last sentence carried obvious frustration.
He had said it countless times before, but Sugawara always pretended not to hear.
Maybe this time it would stick.
"Also, Kinoshita, be a bit steadier. Your serve will definitely improve."
Kinoshita had been happily munching on sunflower seeds he'd gotten from the staff, enjoying the commentary, when he suddenly heard his name.
He immediately straightened up.
But instead of criticism, it was encouragement.
He lifted his chin proudly, as if an invisible tail behind him were wagging high in the air.
Kuiya watched, momentarily stunned.
For a brief second, it felt like watching a mother lecturing her children.
Terrifying.
At that moment, Takeda quietly slipped back in and placed a stack of papers beside Kuiya before leaving again.
Kuiya naturally noticed. He raised an eyebrow and picked them up.
So fast.
The pages were filled with different handwriting. Some messy, some neat, some with only a few words.
These were prepared earlier.
Kuiya looked up at Ennoshita, smiling like a fox.
"Ennoshita, I think there's something here you'll want to hear. These are messages from your teammates."
Ennoshita froze.
Messages?
When did this happen?
What if they pointed out his flaws?
He glanced toward Kinoshita, who looked smug, clearly pleased with himself and completely unaware of Ennoshita's gaze.
Kuiya cleared his throat.
"Let's start with the first-years."
He glanced at the handwriting and almost laughed.
Kageyama looked like someone who would get perfect scores… yet his handwriting was terrible.
"Kageyama wrote. Ennoshita-senpai is amazing. Just like Daichi-senpai."
"Hinata wrote. Ennoshita-senpai is awesome. You notice everything right away. I hope you're happy every day."
"Tsukishima wrote… just one word. Captain."
Tsukishima respected Ennoshita deeply.
Reliable. Calm. Direct.
Someone who could keep that group of idiots in line and handle anything patiently, no matter how troublesome.
That single word carried weight.
Ennoshita's eyes reddened. His fingers tightened against his knees, the knuckles paling.
He hadn't expected this.
...
Yamaguchi hesitated before writing, only doing so after Tsukishima urged him.
"I've always admired Ennoshita-senpai. Anything entrusted to you gets done perfectly. You've always been our anchor. I hope you'll keep leading Karasuno forward."
"Ah! My turn, my turn!"
Nishinoya bounced impatiently at the side, while Tanaka stared intently at the pen.
Seizing the moment, Nishinoya snatched it and began scribbling rapidly, laughing as he wrote, even flipping the pages to peek at what others had written.
"Nishinoya-senpai!"
Hinata flushed red and tried to cover the paper.
Nishinoya chuckled awkwardly and stopped.
He scratched his head, thinking as he wrote.
"Ennoshita! It's Nishinoya! Your save in the last set was amazing. You were shining. Keep shining like that. Don't call yourself ordinary anymore. The courage to go against the current is incredible."
"Done? My turn!"
Tanaka immediately grabbed the pen.
He had never tried something like this before. Writing down what he couldn't say out loud.
"Ennoshita, this is Tanaka. As someone in the same year, I know how hard you work. Harder than all of us. You take care of everything. Our lives, our training, even the data…"
"I'm jealous. You're too perfect."
"But I won't lose. I'll become a senior like you. Just wait."
He even tried to draw a smiley face at the end, but it came out crooked. Nishinoya caught a glimpse and burst out laughing, and the two quickly started bickering again.
Azumane watched them, sighed, and took the pen.
As a third-year, he often felt that Ennoshita was more like a third-year than he was. Almost on par with Daichi. Always worrying about everything.
"Ennoshita, you may not be the ace, but here, you're more important than one. If I get injured, someone can replace me. But if you're not there, everyone feels uneasy."
"Don't think of yourself as ordinary. You can handle everything perfectly."
"You're remarkable."
Ennoshita covered his face.
His shoulders trembled slightly.
He kept telling himself not to cry.
This was too embarrassing.
How could he cry in front of everyone?
Azumane passed the paper to Sugawara.
Sugawara sighed, looking slightly guilty.
"Honestly, compared to me, Ennoshita feels more like a senior. He's always keeping an eye on me so I don't get dragged into trouble with Hinata and the others."
"You actually know that?" Daichi muttered weakly.
Sugawara just laughed.
He picked up the pen.
"Ennoshita, I'm your senior, Sugawara, but honestly, you act more like one than I do."
"Don't always look so serious. As a second-year, you should act like one."
"Laugh more. Like Nishinoya and Tanaka."
"I hope you'll be happier."
Ennoshita lowered his head.
For the first time, he couldn't deny it.
These words.
They reached him.
...
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