Another Manager (Akashi Seijuro x OC)

(((Last Summer - Ennoshita's Past)))

The elder Ukai did a mock spike-receive practice, standing on top of a table. He yelled and shouted at the students with strict coaching when they were slowing down.

The day after, the club lost two first-years. A few days afterward, Ennoshita ditched practice for the first time since starting volleyball in middle school. He pretended to be sick.

Ennoshita felt guilty about it, especially when Ai texted him to check in on how he was feeling. But if he didn't go to club, he wouldn't get scolded during strenuous practice.

And the next day, and the day after that...

.

Ai, Ennoshita, and Narita were in the same class. It meant that there was no escaping her presence; the three students from volleyball would sit at their desks in the same classroom for the majority of the school day.

It was almost summer vacation, and it had only been four months since Ai had graduated from Teikō. She acted similarly to as she did in Tokyo: detached from most and cold-blooded. Just recently, she had smiled at Nishinoya for the first time.

Neither of them could meet her eyes, let alone speak to her. Her magenta irises seemed calculating and judgmental. Guilt-ridden as they may have felt, Ennoshita and Narita thought it was better and safer to avoid her altogether.

Ennoshita would catch Narita's eye once in a while, but they didn't chat very much about club, and Ai didn't say anything to them either.

One day, Ai was on Math Duty, helping the teacher with clerical tasks. She walked down the aisles of students' desks, returning workbooks that the teacher had collected last week.

"Chikara," she said his name when she got to his desk.

"A-Ai." Ennoshita remained seated and averted his eyes. "Yeah, w-what's up?"

A short moment of silence ensued.

"You'll meet my gaze when we speak," she commanded. With her shoulders rolled back and a confident posture, her aura was as regal as an imperial empress. She looked down at her classmate who sat in his chair.

Reluctantly, he looked up at her uncomfortably.

She held his gaze for a second, then placed his math workbook on his desk. "Here. Your workbook," she said sharply. Just before she moved on to the next student's desk, she mumbled under her breath, "Don't be afraid." But of course, nobody could dictate anyone how to feel.

Her voice was so quiet that Ennoshita almost missed what she'd said.

.

"Hey, um... Ai? You're in the same class as some of the first-years, right?" Sugawara asked her at club. He was also still getting used to talking casually with the newest manager.

"Chikara and Kazuhito, yes."

"Do you, uh... ever talk to them? About coming back to club together?"

"I don't."

"Oh. ...Okay."

She exhaled a sigh. "There's no point in persuading them if they don't want to."
She knew from experience with Aomine and Kuroko. If they don't want to practice, they shouldn't. If they came with a negative vibe, it could affect the morale of the members who are here as well.

The setter was a bit startled at the cold, analytical response. However, he also sensed that there may be more to her than what meets the eye.
"So, uh, do you feel like you're getting the hang of volleyball yet?"

"Yes, thank you for asking." Noticing one of the third-years finishing his water bottle, she bowed to the second-year setter and excused herself. "Please tell me if I can do anything else for you, Sugawara-senpai."

Her actions and words left Sugawara thinking. Her kindness feels sort of... dry, he thought. She's really polite and considerate. I wonder why that doesn't extend to compassion...

.

Daichi went out of his way to talk to Ennoshita. He tried talking to him at lunch break, trying to ease the younger wing spiker's mind and persuade him to come back.

Tanaka even pulled on his backpack, while Nishinoya grabbed one of his legs to forcefully drag him back to practice.

They were lucky that Ai came by to put a stop to their childish stubbornness. If a teacher had walked down that hallway and saw, they'd get detention for sure.

"Enough. Let him go."

The boys froze and returned their hands to themselves.

She shot all three of them an icy glare. "Ryu, Yū, get to practice before you're late."

The two reluctantly complied.

Ennoshita looked conflicted on whether to just leave while he still could. However, Ai stood in front of him while he hesitated.

She stared into his eyes, searching for something. Then, she touched the side of his arm and walked away without saying anything.

.

He didn't have to run in the heat. He didn't have to be scolded. Narita and Kinoshita also stopped going to practice, most likely for the same reasons. To be fair, Ai had to admit that the summer temperatures in Japan were brutal.

The teenager could relax inside his house with the air conditioner on, eat ice cream, and fall asleep at the table.

But, that moment when he'd gotten the ball up from one of Asahi's spikes, that moment where he felt proud and amazed with himself, that he could excel at volleyball. He missed it.

.

Ennoshita finally chose to return to the after-school practices.

When he opened the door, the club members were on a short break before the next training activity.

"S-sorry for ditching! Please let me practice!"

Daichi was relieved. "Ennoshita, I'm glad that you came bac-"

"Then don't show up in your school uniform!" Captain Kurokawa rebutted.

"I-I'm sorry! I'll change right away!"

While her classmate ran off towards the clubrooms, Ai frowned. Japanese culture valued seniority, almost to a fault. The hierarchy was more strict than in America. People hadn't been very picky about it when she lived in Vermont.
However, in the Asian country, it was how students learned respect for older people, even if they were just a year older, and they became role models for the younger students, taking care of them in turn.

"Dealing with other people is hard, but you can't just be nice, either," the captain wearing green tracks reprimanded.

"R-right."

And so, Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita came back. They joined the others in running around the indoor perimeter of the gymnasium.

There were five first-years who boycotted practice at the time. Two of them quit the volleyball team, and seemed much livelier than before. Which was better probably depended on the person.

Ai spoke to them on occasion, but it was rare unless necessary. The guys weren't too keen on talking to her either, so it saved them all the awkwardness of having to make polite conversation.

Of course, Tanaka and Nishinoya were thrilled to have more friends of the same grade at practice. Two people — three if they counted Ai — could be a little lonely. It was definitely fewer than the number of people who joined some of the other clubs, too; baseball and soccer were the more popular sports clubs at school.

The time when he wasn't playing volleyball was more painful for him, so he went back. However, Ennoshita thought that the inferiority complex from fleeing would probably never go away.