Takako gave Kai a short tour of the indoor training facilities, and she left with a promise that she'll show the first-year around the outdoor grounds when it's not dark. And with that, the short girl was left outside the storming cafeteria.

Due to her somehow unlucky date of birth Kai was used to being the youngest in the grade. If she'd been born even just one day later, she'd still be at middle school now. And combined with the fact that, even though she was already 15 years old, she had yet to hit the 150 cm (about 4' 11'') mark, she was regularly looked down upon. And so she learned not to feel intimidated by others, particularly tall people.

But the cafeteria was a whole another level. The room was crowded with boys. Tall guys, athletes, one right next to the other, wolfing up their rice. She didn't enter the room yet, but their chatter was deafening.

Kai was not a scaredy-cat. She'd seen a lot. But in her place, who would not feel threatened?

She wasn't dependent. But she knew she'd feel much better, if there was someone by her side. Her brother was the first person that came to her mind. Up until now, Shujin had always been there for her. Either him or...

She suddenly realized. She had to find Miyuki and apologize. She was kind of mean to him. Though, he didn't let that go unnoticed.

And so, with a deep breath, Kai strode into the cafeteria. But, unfortunately, she didn't make it too far. After just a few steps, the black-haired girl was pushed back. The boy, most likely a third-year, was huge. She realized in a second that she was, most likely, way below his field of vision, but it was too late. Just like that, she was being shoved towards the doorframe.

"Oh, sorry, little one, didn't see you. Be more careful about where you're going the next time."
The boy gave her a quick look, not really caring.

Kai tried to regain her balance to prevent herself from falling, but as her back collided with the wooden surface, her legs gave up on her. Unable to keep her body up any longer, she slowly slid alongside the wall down to the ground. The short girl wasn't hurt. At least, she didn't feel any pain at the time. But what she felt was that ticking sensation in her toes, slowly spreading through her legs. The feeling was terrifyingly familiar. To her, it was worse than pain. It was the uncertainty.

"Come one, get a grip of yourself. It will go away. Just breathe."
She was mumbling to herself, breathing heavily. Everything was happening so fast.

Then a loud clang of a porcelain dish echoed. A food tray was released just a few centimeters above the table. People started to notice that something wasn't right about the girl sitting next to the doorway.

"Kai!"
The owner of the dropped tray was already ducking next to her.
"Are you okay? Does it hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
He was talking fast.

The back-haired girl knew it wasn't an overreaction. But as the weird sensation was slowly fading and she could somehow move her toes again, she decided not to proceed with any examination.

"It's okay, Kazuya. I-I'm fine. It was just for a few seconds, and now everything's back in place."
Kai was talking about her vertebra. The one she dislocated some time ago during a competition. It was a horrible experience for such a young girl.

"By the way, why aren't you wearing your brace?"
The concerned boy asked one more question.

"I don't have to wear it anymore. And why do you even care?"
She pouted doggedly.

The boy's face turned distinctly serious.
"How comes you don't have to? It hasn't been even two months yet. Do you really want to give up on your legs altogether?"

For the first day of school, the first day of Kai's presence, and also her birthday, this was something she didn't want to happen. She just wanted everything to go smoothly and pleasantly.

One of the cafeteria ladies came rushing toward the scene. She seemed really worried. She asked about what was going on, if Kai was alright, and if they should get someone or call the coach. The boys' attention mostly turned back to their meals as the girl seemed to be taken good care of.

The first-year girl insisted that she was alright.

"There's just one thing."
She turned back to the boy.
"It would be really great if someone could get me the brace from my room."

"Aint it a bit too late for that?"
Miyuki frowned, somewhat angrily, and run his fingers through his hair.

The older lady, who was just about to go back to the kitchen, sent him a bitter glance.

The girl just sighed.
"I'll just go get it myself, don't bother..."

"I never said I wouldn't go. Just promise you're not just going to ditch it tomorrow morning again."
His concern about her health somehow moved her.

"I promise I will."
She mumbled.

The girl with curly hair would do it even if he didn't ask her to. Now that the numbness almost faded, she started to feel the not so profound yet sharp pain in her back.

"What's your room number then?"
Miyuki asked, this time just casually.

She handed him her keys and gave him quick directions. Her room was in the part of the dorms furthest from the place where the boys were staying. But on the other hand, it was really close to the cafeteria. All the boys passing by the door were flagrantly eyeing them.

"I'll be back in a minute. Wait here."
The boy got up and left the building.

'Wait here.' The girl giggled sarcastically in her mind. Where would she go? Even though she could already feel and somehow move her legs, she couldn't get up just yet. She could tell that she would end up falling back on the ground immediately.

After buckling up the brace, the girl sat there for a few more minutes until the pain faded, thanks to the compression. Kai didn't want to be seen wearing the brace as it wasn't really possible to hide it under her clothes. But she realized just how stupid she was to exchange the treatment and comfort for visage. The short girl decided to skip the dinner and head straight back to her room to curl up in bed and get out all the disappointment piled up through the long day. Well, more like lie straight on her back in her bed, as she couldn't really curl up.

The next day, Kai was still feeling down. What happened the other day was incredibly embarrassing, and so she thought she couldn't really show her face in front of all the boys. She knew they wouldn't understand.

But the girl was still a part of the team now. She couldn't just ditch her responsibilities. And therefore, she was slowly walking toward the grounds. It was still relatively early morning, so the air didn't have time to heat up. She was only outside for a couple of minutes, but her cheeks already started turning red because of the chilly wind. She tucked her hands deep in the sleeves of her blue knitted sweater her back brace was covered by. Kai found her way to the main field simply. She could hear the loud voices of the boys from far away, which didn't make her feel any more at ease. Also, it was just there where the gathering took place the other day. As she approached the field, she entered the high fence.

The practice had obviously already started some time ago, but Kai was told she didn't really have to be there at all the times. She only needed to be in reach if something happened. She scanned the area for the senior manager, who promised to show her the facilities. The girl was sort of expecting disdainful looks from, or maybe a bunch of mean words. That was what she was used to seeing around. But to her surprise, none of that came. Mostly, the boys seemed unfazed by her presence. And the only, very fade, emoting Kai could feel coming toward her was a concern.

Team sports are way different from individual ones.