At the end of November, the air on the twelfth floor of Travis Tower was dry. The heating made the cold outside feel distant. But Kageyama Tobio's skin sensed something else entirely—a different kind of chill. Kirishima Yamato's words lingered somewhere still. ——You realize Rin didn't approach you by chance, right? He'd heard that four days ago. At Café Half Time, in that afternoon when he'd left without finishing his coffee. After that, he hadn't asked Rin anything. Since the day she'd said "I want to be alone today," the distance between them had quietly returned to what it was before—or rather, it hadn't returned to the same place. It had landed somewhere else entirely. Tobio opened his laptop at his desk, watching the hallway from the corner of his eye. Rin's desk was three seats ahead. Her dark purple hair caught the light beneath the fluorescent panels. The star-shaped earring on her right ear trembled faintly at the edge of his vision. He'd tried to say something. Tried to call out to her. But before the words could come, "[serious] Kageyama, do you have a moment? I need to confirm something about the measurement data." Tsukishima Kei stood at the entrance to the hallway. --- Tsukishima had started appearing at Vanguards headquarters from late November onward. Additional confirmation of the Kitazora High School shoe measurement data, fitting consultations for each team member, re-verification of size distribution. The reasons changed each time. But the frequency of his visits increased—twice a week, three times a week. Tsukishima always appeared during Tobio's lunch break. When Tobio tried to stand, Tsukishima was in the hallway. When Tobio headed to the break room for coffee, Tsukishima stepped out of the elevator. Each time, it became "perfect timing, can we talk for a moment?" Tsukishima himself probably didn't think there was any intention behind it. He simply wanted to be near Tobio, wanted to talk to him—moving on that sensation alone. Tobio understood that. The way Tsukishima's eyes followed him, the way he moved, resembled slightly the Tsukishima he'd watched on the court. The problem was that this movement was erasing Rin. One day, Rin sent him a consultation email about a design competition. Before Tobio noticed it, Tsukishima called. By the time the call ended and he opened the email, forty-seven minutes had passed since she'd sent it. Rin had already moved on to other work. Tobio replied only: "Sorry I'm late." Rin answered: "It's fine." The weight of that "It's fine" was something Tobio couldn't quite measure. --- One Tuesday afternoon. Tsukishima was leaving the twelfth floor after finishing a meeting. Tobio stepped into the hallway in front of the elevator, holding documents. Footsteps came from behind. Dark purple hair entered his field of vision. It was Rin. She held her notebook, approaching with a slightly quickened pace. "[gentle] Kageyama, about the final adjustments for the design competition——" Tsukishima turned around. He remained standing beside Tobio, unmoving. Rin's words stopped. Her gaze shifted to Tsukishima. Tsukishima looked at her quietly. His eyes held no emotional fluctuation. The habit of touching his wristwatch with his fingertips had stopped. There was a beat of silence. "[cold] Tachibana, what do you actually know about Kageyama? You don't know the Kageyama on the court, so please stop acting like you understand him." His voice was low. He wasn't shouting. That's what made the edge so sharp. The cold air of the hallway seemed to freeze in that instant. Rin didn't move. Her amber eyes wavered for just a moment. Trying to suppress it, she pressed her lips into a thin line. Tobio could see the tears rising. But Rin didn't let them show. She took one deep breath, and then, "[cold] ……Excuse me." That was all. She walked away down the hallway. The sound of her heels faded. She disappeared around the corner. Tobio looked at Tsukishima. Tsukishima didn't avert his gaze. Beneath his short gray hair, his heterochromatic eyes looked directly at Tobio. "[angry] ……Why would you say something like that?" His voice was low. Not a shout. But quiet anger lay beneath the words. Tsukishima's brow furrowed slightly. "[cold] I was just stating facts." That was all. He turned on his heel and pressed the elevator button. The doors opened. Tsukishima stepped inside. The doors closed. Tobio was left alone in the hallway. He looked in the direction Rin had disappeared. He should have chased after her. Should have called out to her. But his body wouldn't move. He should have said something to Tsukishima, but he couldn't do that either. His own powerlessness was laid bare in the white fluorescent light of the hallway. --- The next day, lunch break. Tobio started toward Rin's desk. Rin was organizing documents. When Tobio approached, she looked up. Her eyes were slightly swollen. Tobio knew she'd cried yesterday. "[gentle] ……I'd like to be alone today." Her voice was quiet. Not a rejection. But there was a wall. Tobio lost his words. Without saying anything, he nodded once and turned away. He took the elevator down and stepped out into the back streets of Minami-Aoyama. The cold November air entered his lungs. The scent of house-roasted coffee drifted from the corner of an alley. His feet stopped. White exterior wall, green awning. The "HALF TIME" sign. He pushed the door open. --- At lunch hour on a weekday, Café Half Time was about half full. Tobio sat at the counter. On the large monitor, a V-League volleyball digest was playing. Tobio didn't watch it. "[serious] Drip." He said it shortly, and Kirishima Yamato emerged from the back of the counter. Blonde hair, almost golden, framing his face. Calm olive-green eyes looked at Tobio's face. There was a moment that seemed to measure something, and then he began brewing the coffee. Tobio waited for the cup to be placed, trying not to look at the monitor. As Yamato set down the cup, he leaned his elbows on the counter. "[serious] Can I talk to you for a moment?" His tone was calm. But Tobio sensed something beneath that calmness. He nodded silently. Yamato looked at the wood grain of the counter for a while, counter cloth in hand. Then he looked up. "[serious] Kageyama, I can't entrust Rin to you. A guy like you, who can't even express his emotions, can't possibly make that girl happy." He wasn't shouting. He wasn't emotional. But each word carried weight. Tobio reached for the cup and stopped. Yamato continued. He folded the counter cloth and set it aside. "[cold] In the first place——you realize Rin didn't approach you by chance, right?" Tobio's fingers stopped at the rim of the cup. Yamato didn't change his expression. He offered no further explanation. He simply posed the question, turned his back, and returned to the dishes. The sound of running water began to flow quietly. Tobio looked at the coffee. Steam rose thinly from it. Rin didn't approach you by chance. He knew it. Or rather, he'd suspected it. Even before Yamato said it, it had bothered him somewhere. But he'd always avoided confirming it. If he confirmed it——something would end. Tobio couldn't finish the coffee. He placed coins on the counter and stood up. Yamato didn't turn around. --- After leaving the café, Tobio walked a little way down the Minami-Aoyama alley before stopping. He took out his smartphone. He found Rin's name and called. After three rings, Rin answered. "[gentle] ……Yes?" "[serious] I want to talk. Can you meet me this evening?" There was a brief silence. "[gentle] ……Understood." --- Five o'clock in the evening. The alley one street over from Travis Tower had little foot traffic. The November sky hung low, and streetlights had already begun to glow. Rin came. All the buttons of her white coat were fastened, her dark purple hair tucked behind her ear. The star-shaped earring on her right ear caught the streetlight and glimmered faintly. Her eyes weren't swollen. But the color deep in her eyes was different from usual. Tobio faced her. "[serious] Yamato told me. That you didn't approach me by chance." Rin moved slightly. He could see her body tense. "[serious] Is it true?" Rin lowered her eyes. Her hands clasped together in front of her coat. A long silence stretched. The sound of a distant car reached the alley. Something fell from Rin's eyes. "[crying] ……I'm sorry. At first, it wasn't by chance. There was a reason I approached you." Tobio's jaw tightened. Rin tried to continue. Steadying her trembling breath, "[crying] But now it's different. Now I truly——" "[cold] That's enough. Don't come near me." His voice was quiet. He wasn't shouting. Wasn't screaming. But Rin's words cut off mid-sentence and fell into the alley. Rin reached out. She tried to touch Tobio's sleeve. "[crying] Please listen. Let me explain the reason——" Tobio took a step back. Rin's fingers grasped at empty air. Tobio turned his back. He began walking down the alley. He didn't look back. Behind him, the sound of Rin stifling her voice. She was crying. He knew that. But his feet didn't stop. It was the same sensation as when he'd lost volleyball. The feeling of crumbling from deep within his knees. The sensation of the ground receding. That time it had been an injury. This time——it was a person. The person he'd first begun to trust outside the court, who had approached him with a reason from the very beginning. That fact was lodged in his chest like a rusted nail. --- Deep into the night, in room 305 of Corpo Minase. Tobio sat on the floor without turning on the lights. The room was pitch black. Only the glow of Tokyo Skytree filtered through the gap in the balcony curtains. Tonight it was white. An unchanging light. Glowing the same way every night. His smartphone rang. He looked at the screen. Tsukishima, it displayed. He didn't answer. The screen went dark. After a while, it rang again. Tsukishima. He didn't answer again. A third time it rang. Tobio placed the smartphone face-down. A message notification arrived. It was from Rin. He didn't open it. He was remembering those days in high school. Being in the team while unable to tell anyone his true feelings. There had been no one who could put Tobio's sensations into words——until Rin came. Only Rin had searched for the words he couldn't say. And that Rin had approached him with a reason from the start. On the court and off it. Tobio had always been alone. That certainty, tonight at least, offered no way out. --- At the same time, the gymnasium at Kitazora High School was dark. Only a small light in the equipment room was on. Tsukishima sat with his back against the door. On his smartphone screen, "Call in progress" changed to "Missed call." Tsukishima stared at the screen. The words he'd thrown at Rin in the hallway repeated in his head. You don't know the Kageyama on the court, so please stop acting like you understand him——. Was that wrong, or right? No answer came. He didn't know. Only the fact that Tobio wasn't answering his calls accumulated in the narrow equipment room. Tsukishima touched his wristwatch with a finger that had stopped moving. --- In front of Rin's apartment building entrance. Kirishima Yamato stood beneath a streetlight. He'd been there for an hour. White breath dissolved into the November night air. His right hand's ring finger bore a scar, which his left thumb unconsciously caressed. Late at night, Rin came home. Footsteps echoed from a distance. White coat. Dark purple hair. Eyes red. "[gentle] ……Let me stay with you." Rin looked at Yamato. With wet eyes, she looked at him steadily. And then she shook her head. Silently. Without words. She simply shook her head, opened the entrance door, and disappeared inside. Yamato couldn't move. Standing beneath the streetlight, he couldn't go anywhere for a long time. ---