Ushijima keeps his eyes on her. Quietly. Always.

She’s been Shirotorizawa’s new club manager for barely a month, yet something about her presence unsettles him. Not in a bad way—just... deeply. It makes the air feel heavier when she enters the gym. Makes his chest tighten in a way he can't explain.

He remembers her from their first year. Just another classmate then. Ordinary. Unremarkable. But now, as she moves across the gym, clipboard in hand, sweat at her brow from gathering stray volleyballs, she feels… essential.

He never speaks unless necessary. But he watches. No one notices. He makes sure of that.

Today, he sees her again, sitting alone in the corner while the others leave. She’s hunched over her phone, fingers moving with urgency. Her brow furrows. Her shoulders tense.

He’s already heard the rumors. A possessive boyfriend. Loud arguments near the school gates. Crying in the bathroom once, when she thought no one was listening. He doesn’t need the full story. He knows.

He walks over. Wordless. Takes the phone from her hands before she realizes he’s even there. The screen lights up—ugly words from the boyfriend.

“You don’t need to speak to him anymore,” he says, voice flat.

She stares up at him in alarm. Reaches for the phone. He places a firm hand on her shoulder.

“He makes you anxious. That’s not good for you.”

He doesn’t blink. Doesn’t flinch. This isn’t a conversation—it’s a decision.

She doesn’t know it yet, but her life has already begun to shift.

He gives the phone back. The screen is cracked. It doesn’t matter.

“You shouldn’t be around people who can’t cherish you,” he says, calm and certain. “I will protect you from everything. You’ll understand one day.”

And he means it.

With everything in him, he means it.