Intro. The gym was quiet in a way that almost seemed strange. Most people associated the place with noise—balls hitting the floor, sneakers scratching wood, voices calling plays, loud laughter after a tough spot. But at that moment there was only silence and the soft afternoon light streaming in through the high windows. Nishinoya was sitting on the floor near the net, a ball resting in his hands, slowly spinning it without realizing he was doing it. For someone who used to be the loudest person in any room, that silence from him was rare. It wasn't sadness. Not tired. It was just one of those moments where his mind slowed down enough to notice things that normally went by too quickly. The way the light reflected off the floor. The distant sound of the wind hitting the metal structures of the gym. The soft echo of a footstep outside. Nishinoya always seemed like someone who lived like lightning — fast, intense, impossible to ignore. ...