paradox | ushijima wakatoshi

four | good luck, you'll need it

Washijō-sensei could tell instantly that something was wrong with the regulars when he walked into the gym on Monday.

For one thing, they were quiet. 

Even Tendō, the one that always cracked jokes during practice no matter how many times he was told to be quiet, was silent.

Normally, Washijō-sensei would be glad for this sudden change, however, their playing was affected as well. (And, well, maybe he had grown accustomed to the laughter of his team as they played.)

Their play was lackluster, and there was no passion while they hit. No matter what he did, no matter how much he yelled, no matter what the other members tried to do, there was no emotion in their faces. 

The problem grew to the point that Washijō-sensei couldn't take it anymore. 

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Everyone paused what they were doing, and looked up at their 160 cm tall coach.

"Wakatoshi, Eita, Reon, Satori, Kenjirō, Tsutomu!"

Said players stood up a little straighter after being pointed at. 

"Come over here!"

Everyone else stayed quiet as the six players followed the coach like ducklings with their mother. 

Once outside, Washijō-sensei looked closely at the members before speaking. He let out a sigh, before asking what had happened over the weekend. 

The six players had the audacity to look surprised that their coach could tell that something was wrong. 

Washijō-sensei snorted, "You really think that I couldn't tell when something was wrong? I've known most of you for two years now. I know how you act when something is troubling you."

Surprisingly, it was Ushijima that spoke up.

"The other day, a new transfer student came to ask us if she could be our manager." The coach raised an eyebrow. While it wasn't extremely often that a girl would beg to be manager, the occurrence wasn't that rare either. The impact of the event shouldn't have been this big on his team. Washijō-sensei paused his thoughts momentarily when he noticed Ushijima starting to speak again. "We asked her to play with us since she claimed to have been a setter before. She agreed, but after a while, I noticed that her knee was injured. I waited for her to say something because the injury looked quite painful, but even after half an hour passed, she had said nothing."

The other 5 members looked at their captain in surprise. This was news to them. They had assumed that Ushijima brought attention to her injury as soon as he noticed. But, if that wasn't the case, then how long had Shiori been suffering from her knee like that?

"When I finally did point out the injury, she tried to hide it, but ultimately, we managed to give her an ice pack." At this point, Ushijima seemed to be lost on what to say, letting Semi take over. 

"She ended up leaving, claiming that she didn't want to be the manager simply because of pity. She wanted to be recognized for her skill, and ability to help on the court." He explained.

The coach only nodded, not giving the members a hint on what he was thinking. After a moment of silence, he spoke up. 

"And, I'm guessing now that you want me to offer her the spot?" One by one, the players bowed down their head.

"Yes..."

Washijō-sensei sighed. He'd admit that he was quite intrigued; a girl that had given up on the position by her own will was very new. And if she had the potential to be a setter for the team, then they would be able to squeeze in even more spike practice.