“The cynic who treated volleyball as 'just a club' — until one block changed everything.”
He reads the spiker's pattern and the setter's gaze before the ball is set — blocking with brain, not just body.
He delays his block jump to avoid fakes — a technique that sharpens as his experience grows.
His cynicism is armor. He watched his brother's volleyball dream fail up close and concluded early that trying hard only sets you up for pain. So he keeps distance. But when his blocks against Shiratorizawa actually land, the armor cracks for a moment. He doesn't shed the cynicism — but he starts, carefully, to let himself care about volleyball.