Ennoshita exhaled, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as he mounted the steps at the entrance to the Karasuno High School gymnasium. It was the first day back after break and his first time returning to the gym since the third-years had left.
It was his first time entering the gym as captain.
Upon opening the door, the two adults and nine teenage occupants inside startled him. His four fellow third-years, and the veteran second-year players, and the new head manager Yachi all came to attention. Ennoshita was shocked they were here already, but that made things easier. Chikara cleared his throat and marched into the space.
"All right, everyone, gather round!"
Coach Ukai as well as Takeda quietly observed as Ennoshita convoked his first session as captain. The teenage boys knelt around their erect leader staunchly. There were lots of things to be sorted out for the first day back from break, including who would man the club table for new applicants and scheduling who would be in charge of opening the gym every morning. Yachi stood aside with a clipboard containing a list of the items on the agenda as they'd discussed in between classes.
Ennoshita smirked, ready to get down to business.
"All right, so for the club table: We need two people manning it at all times, and we'll work in shifts." Instantly Hinata raised his hand but was pointedly ignored.
"Narita, Kinoshita, you can take the first shift."
Shouyou's hand swayed more eagerly, Noya shot up his hand. "Me and Ryuu will take second shift!" he eagerly volunteered.
"All right then. It's settled," Chikara grinned. "And we need a backup if someone's sick."
Hinata's arm waved wildly, while Yamaguchi smiled and shyly raised his hand. "I can do that," he offered.
"Good. It's settled," Chikara concluded. A disgruntled Hinata dropped his arm.
"Oh, wait," Noya suddenly chimed. "I think Shouyou wanted to volunteer."
Hinata's face lit up like a Christmas tree. Ennoshita flinched. He was hoping someone less…bouncy would sit at the table. However, Chikara had planned ahead for this eventuality. He beheld Kageyama and Hinata seated beside each other. Tobio was sweating heavily too, equally wanting the privilege of booth-manning but refused to make his enthusiasm so obvious.
"You two will be in charge of bringing the completed applications here and going over them with Yachi." He smirked. "Which means you'll get first look at all the new meat."
That got the pair's attention and smoothed over any hard feelings in an instant. Yachi discreetly gave the captain a thumbs-up; their previously discussed strategy had worked.
"Moving on. We need someone to open the gym. They have to be trustworthy, able to get here early, and dependable. Do I have any volunteers?"
No one raised their hands.
"Thanks for volunteering, Ryuu. I knew I could count on you."
Tanaka jolted.
"I hate wakin' up early! It interrupts my dreams of Ki—" he coughed emphatically to eliminate his mention of Kiyoko. "—kiwi," he suddenly saved, it being the only thing he could come up with on the spot. Kageyama and Tsukishima spat, both knowing exactly what he meant to say.
"I heard you were doing it for two of the troublesome first-years back when we started this year," Chikara continued. "And if you're able to corral those two, then you can do anything."
Ryuu's self-esteem burst like a thermometer, and he saluted.
"Yes, sir!"
"Tsukishima," Ennoshita called, "can you be the backup if Ryuu's sick?"
"Sure. Why not?" Kei shrugged.
One-by-one, Ennoshita went through his to-do list, and the time ticked away until there was one item left. Ennoshita glanced at the clock as sweat formed on his brow. This last matter could wait, he decided. He clapped his hands together to presage the close of the meeting.
"OK-then-that's-everything," he hastily declared. "Dismissed!" He spun and prepared to march out of the gym.
"Wait," Yachi chimed. Ennoshita flinched fearfully. "You didn't mark on the form who the vice-captain would be."
Ryuu, Noya, Shouyou, and Tobio's ears collectively perked. Ennoshita giggled nervously.
"Oh, my. How silly of me!" he feigned. "Thank you for reminding me, Yachi." The flattered smile on the girl's face made it impossible to dislike her for ruining hos evasion tactics.
"Well, then," he sighed. "For my vice-captain—"
He jolted backward when Noya and Ryuu simultaneously scooted forward.
"Um, I must pick someone with plenty of experience…." He spotted out the corner of his eye Narita and Kinoshita reacting.
"…W-who can represent the team well in everything…." At this, Hinata and Kageyama slid forward. Ennoshita's eyebrow twitched. You two aren't even in the running, he thought. Tsukishima found the whole ordeal amusing, while Yamaguchi just eagerly wanted to know who would get the honor.
Ennoshita let out a frazzled scream.
"Gah! Fine! I haven't decided yet!"
"Then a fight to the death it is!" Noya proclaimed.
"No!" Ennoshita interceded. "We will do this properly." He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. But after a few moments of silence, Ennoshita was surprised everyone was still here.
"I mean, I'll think about it. I'll make my decision tomorrow. Now, go."
Once the gym was empty of the other teenage boys, Ennoshita sprawled his fingers on the wall and sighed in lament.
"Is it really that hard?" Yachi inquired.
"Ryuu and Noya both have problems, but they're also the most visible and charismatic third-years on the team. And Narita and Kinoshita are chill and don't have the personality problems the other two have, but I can't possibly pick between them, and if I did choose one, I know the other is going to be hurt."
Yachi, the coach, and the faculty advisor all peered at him, not envying his predicament. Ennoshita sighed. "Man, Daichi had it easy."
He did not notice the frown that suddenly formed on Takeda's face.
"What makes you think it was easy?" the teacher snapped to the surprise of everyone present. He was the only person who'd been around when Sawamura made Sugawara his vice-captain, bypassing Asahi. "Because he only had to pick between two people, you think his choice was simple? Sawamura had just as much trouble deciding his vice-captain. Both Azumane and Sugawara had their pros and cons, and he knew that whoever he picked, the other would be disappointed."
Ennoshita drooped guiltily.
"Eventually," Takeda concluded, "he had to make the choice that was best for the team. And he trusted his teammates to understand that." Ennoshita gave the teacher full attention at that remark.
He continued steadfastly: "You have to decide that yourself now: of all their pros and cons, which vice-captain would be best for the team? And then trust the rest to accept your choice."
After the gym was locked, Ennoshita found himself instantly locked in thought.
It would be a long night of deciding.
The following day, the club gathered in the gym again. Some applications had already come in. After Ennoshita finished speaking to the group and everyone began to stand up to leave, the captain cleared his throat to refocus everyone once more.
"There's one more matter to deal with, and that's who will be the new vice-captain." Everyone's attention immediately spun to the leader, and all—with the other four third-years taking the initiative—resumed kneeling. Ukai and Takeda shifted closer together, surprised Ennoshita had made a decision so quickly. Yachi stood by tightly hugging her clipboard to her chest; on it was provisionally written the name of the new vice-captain, which Ennoshita had confided in her.
"It's been a hard process, but I've made a choice."
He turned to his right where Narita and Kinoshita were kneeling side-by-side.
"Narita," he began. The third-year settled deeper in his squat. Saying his name was ostensibly not an announcement of his choice but the prelude to a longer sentence, and Kazuhito nervously awaited what would come next. "You and I have similar experiences, and you've seen the game from the sidelines but also had opportunities to work on the court.
"Kinoshita," he continued, addressing the adjacent boy, "the same is true of you. What we've also seen especially in the last tournament was your drive to improve." Kinoshita perked up at that statement.
"I would get along with either of you just fine if you were my vice-captain. But, as much as you understand the perspective from the sidelines, I need someone coming from a different experience than me to inform my leadership."
He turned his attention to the two energetic third-years seated front and center. His gaze narrowed on Tanaka.
"Tanaka, you're our ace now." Hinata cringed slightly, as Ennoshita expected, but it had to be said—though the younger player was catching up scarily fast. "You know the demands and pressures of being a regular. You also don't overthink things, which I could use some improvement at." Tanaka smiled, while Tsukishima wryly felt that Ryuu could benefit from "overthinking" more often.
"However," Ennoshita suddenly turned, "being the ace of this team is going to require your full and undivided attention. This year, we have a lot to live up to, with every team in the prefecture, let alone the country, having their eyes on us. You need to be focused on keeping this squad and yourself the best they can be."
"Yes, sir!" Ryuu chirped. Now Ennoshita's glance fell on Noya.
"Nishinoya." There was a long pause before Chikara continued. "Of all the people on this team, you are the one who's the complete opposite of me. You see the game from the sidelines and from the court every single day. You know the importance of keeping the team unified and on track. You know how to keep everyone's spirits up. You understand the value of defense and never stop bettering yourself. You're one of our most versatile and valuable players. Right now, in my opinion, you are the most indispensable person on this squad.
"I can't live up to any of that, but that's not the point. I was chosen to lead this team, to give it focus, to give it unity. But you—you can give us the charisma to keep fighting.
"Will you be our vice-captain?"
There was a stark silence in the gym as Noya sternly stared down his teammate. After a few moments, he lankily rose before their leader.
"Yes, sir!" he roared. Ukai smirked. Yachi led the rest of the group in clapping for the new vice-captain. As the rest of the group applauded Nishinoya, Chikara peered at each of the other three boys he'd passed over. All of them wore heartfelt smiles of congratulations. They weren't hurt. They concurred with Ennoshita's assessment.
Chikara smiled.
Who knew this captain thing, for being so hard, could be so rewarding?
All this talk about next-generation captains, but who would be Karasuno's second? Do you agree with my assessment? I'm sure legitimate arguments could be made in favor of various people. Let me know what you think!