A/N: I don't know if I mentioned this in a previous chapter or not, but - Yoshi is #13 on Natsu's team! I have the jersey numbers for the rest of her team too, if anyone wants me to post that. Natsu is #21.
After practice, Natsu's captain pulls aside the five first-year players and finally gives them the news about Golden Week.
Natsu stares, uncomprehendingly, at the captain and vice captain. Utsugi remains eerily stone-faced, but Aone stares back worriedly.
"So… we're not going to the camp?" Natsu repeats.
Aone sighs. "Well, not exactly."
"I'm not going to the camp?" Hirao pipes up, eyebrows knitted together.
"Thirteen. Only thirteen of us are going. The other players will train here with Dateko, Shirayuri and Ohgiminami for the week," Aone explains reluctantly to the five first-year players.
The five of them are lined up before her in the club room, and Aone sits with her legs folded neatly and her fingers laced together in her lap. Captain Utsugi hovers in the corner of the room, arms crossed.
"It was out of our hands," the captain grumbles. "Something about the civic center going over its capacity. All teams are attending with their first-string players and two subs. When we get there I'm going to make sure whoever's in charge of this shit knows they should be fired for overbooking the place. I thought it was fishy that the basketball teams were invited too, that's over fifty students just from our school…"
"Alright, so tell us," Yoshi picks at the dirt under her nail, studiously avoiding their gazes. "Coach Sameshima keeps experimenting with the starting roster, but you must know by now. Did any of us make the cut?"
"Hirao will benefit a lot more from the goalie program in the city," Aone admits. Hirao lets out a squeak, and then she blushes deeply as she whisper-rants a variety of thankful words.
So that's one substitution spot taken.
Natsu thinks she might vomit up her heart if she opens her mouth. She'd grown complacent on this team, content with being on the field only some of the time. They've had two more games since the Dateko one, and Natsu hasn't scored since then. Sameshima rotated her into defensive and attacking positions in most games, but she wasn't a starter every time like Aimi or Erina or Ikejiri or Sakaguchi or, or—
Head lowered, Natsu begins to count.
Eleven players on the field. One substitute position open.
There were six third-years with secure positions on the field. Who did that leave? The second-year, Erina, was their highest scorer, so that was spot seven taken for sure. Aimi too, as a defender, was definitely first-string.
The captain groans loudly, interrupting her thoughts. "I know this sucks, so I won't drag it out. Yoshi and Kitamura are going. Hinata, Yokoyama, I want you to know this isn't a reflection on your abilities. I'll have your training schedule worked out for the Miyagi camp by Monday…"
Natsu kind of loses track of what Rumi says after that, too shocked to listen. She looks up, looking between her teammates to gauge their reactions.
"Well hang on," Yoshi interrupts the captain crankily, a frown tugging at her mouth. "Why'd you pick me and Kitamura?"
"I'll reiterate," Rumi sighs. "It's not a reflection of your abilities. We just needed defenders more than strikers to round out the team, and most of our second-years are attacking players."
"Hinata's a defender too," Yoshi replies.
"She's kind of not," Rumi raises an eyebrow. "I just place her there on the field for certain attacking formations."
"You put her in the defensive third , that makes her a defender," Yoshi argues, gesturing with her hands sharply. Natsu stares at her stubborn teammate, baffled. Was she fighting for Natsu to take someone's place?
Yoshi and Natsu were sort of friendly at this point, but they weren't friends. They would partner together for warm-ups, put their bags side-by-side along the fence, and even sit at the same lunch table sometimes, but—Yoshi rarely talked except to verbalize her exhaustion or disgust with Hirao's growing pile of dirty laundry.
Natsu talked at Yoshi a lot, but that was about it. She would never expect Yoshi to complain on her behalf.
"Why are you arguing?" Aone voices the question on Natsu's mind. "We can't swap someone out for Hinata at this point, everyone else has already been told where they'd be training over the break."
Yoshi folds her arms, resolute. "Because Hinata's a commuter student," she answers, like that explains everything. When the rest of them are silent, expecting her to say more, Yoshi rolls her eyes. "The rest of us live in the dorms," she says, as if she's elaborating to toddlers. "If Hinata stays in Miyagi she's gonna be biking over a mountain every day to train, because the bus doesn't run the same route over the holidays. The only other commuters on the team are first-strings going to the fancy civic-center camp, so the commute isn't a problem for them."
Natsu's eyes widen. She hadn't even thought of the bus schedule changes, but Yoshi was right. If she was only going to the academy for soccer practice every day, she'd rather bike than spend money on the bus fare.
"Hang on, how far away do you live anyway, Hinata?" Yokohama wonders aloud.
All eyes turn to Natsu, and well, her brain is still stalling over the split training camp, so. "...Uh? I don't know..."
Yoshi kicks her in the knee. "Just take Hinata instead of me. It's not a big deal," she adds before Natsu can get a word out. "I don't need to go, I'd rather see Tokyo in September," she says, reminding them all of their end goal of making it to Nationals.
"I…" the captain looks between Yoshi, Natsu and Aone, baffled. "No one's asking you to give up your spot, Yoshi. And if they did, I wouldn't allow it."
"I'm volunteering," Yoshi replies frankly.
"Why?" Aone asks.
"I already told you it's not a big deal," Yoshi shrugs. "There's nothing more to it."
Natsu looks at Yoshi for a long moment. "Are you just trying to slack off?" she asks at last.
"What?" Yoshi's head snaps towards her. "What did you just say to me?"
Natsu swallows dryly, intimidated by the dark expression Yoshi wears. Still, she keeps talking. "I can't figure it out. Suddenly you're a martyr, volunteering to stay back? There has to be a reason. I didn't ask to be picked for this."
"But you did ask to be first-string," she replies cuttingly. "Or has that changed, Hinata?"
Something about Yoshi's taunting tone makes Natsu even more frustrated. "I'm not taking your spot," she declares, even though every atom of her being wants to seize the opportunity to keep playing on the starting roster. "It's not right."
Her teammate stares, incredulous at first, and then annoyed. "Now who's the martyr?" Yoshi scoffs.
"I'm going to train just as hard in Miyagi as I would at any other camp," Natsu snaps. "And like you said, it's no big deal , 'cause we'll all be in Tokyo anyway this fall!"
"That's not a guarantee! We're not even halfway through the regulation season!" Yoshi explodes, gesticulating furiously. "What if we don't make it?"
"Guys, cut it out," Yokoyama says halfheartedly, leaning away so Yoshi doesn't elbow her.
"Then why'd you bring it up as a reason to stay back in Miyagi?!" Natsu demands, pointing a finger in the defender's face. "What's wrong with you?"
"Get that outta my face!" Yoshi draws back her hand and tries to whack Natsu's finger out of the way as hard as she can. Natsu pulls back with a squeak, echoed by a terrified Hirao. "Nothing's wrong with me! Stop being an idiot and take my spot!"
"No!" Natsu yells, planting herself like a tree. "You don't get to decide that! You've been in practically every game, why would you want to train away from the first-string players?"
"I could say the same about you! Stop being noble, you just sound pretentious and it makes me sick!"
The captain and vice captain slowly inch backwards as the first years begin to raise their voices.
"So… this isn't going well," Yui states the obvious.
"Why are they mad at each other instead of me?" Rumi asks, looking rather helpless. "Maybe—maybe I should leave both of them in Miyagi for the break, they're being childish."
"No," Kitamura interrupts, quietly appearing next to the captain. The other first years haven't noticed yet. Kitamura looks exceptionally calm when contrasted with the likes of Yoshi, Hirao and Hinata. She inclines her head deferentially. "Captain… If you only picked me to even out our defenders and attackers, that's not worth what you're losing by not taking Hinata."
"Kitamura," Yui frowns at her. "You shouldn't—"
"I'm not trying to put myself down by saying that," Kitamura adds softly. "I swear I'm not. I know I'm a good player. But Hinata's got way more raw stamina than me. Anything we lose without another defender, Hinata's got the energy to make up for it."
Yui's gut reaction is to admonish Kitamura for giving in so easily. As much as Yui enjoyed the competitive streak pushing her team towards Nationals every year, she couldn't let individual players think they were somehow lacking in skill when each and every one of them had already done so much to prove they belonged on the team. Kitamura earned her place, and Yui wasn't the type of team leader to let her think otherwise.
"You realize we'll be doing new formations without you," Rumi says quietly, staring down the first year intently. "And we will be unbalanced if I bring Hinata, you're right. If anything, I'll be making her work even harder to fulfill my expectations for the team. We have an extra game at the end of Golden Week, too. You're not doing her any favors by swapping spots."
"I think I'm doing the team a favor," Kitamura counters, before looking away timidly. "I've been thinking a lot about our playing style, and I think we can rely more on Hinata than we're doing. And, like those two have been saying, training in Miyagi isn't a downgrade. We still have scheduled games against Dateko, Shirayuri, and Ohgiminami after Golden Week. If I can learn more about those teams, that'll help us too."
Rumi is silent for a while, weighing the pros and cons. "Alright," she says loudly, catching the attention of Yoshi and Hinata before they can start pulling each other's hair. "Hinata, Ariyoshi, and Hirao. You three are going with us."
"Huh?!" Natsu cries. "But—Kitamura?!"
"Shut up," Rumi snaps. "No more questions. As the only first-years at the camp, you three are going to be responsible for a lot more of the prep work than the rest of us, got it?" The three of them nod furiously. "Listen closely. If you don't follow our itinerary, you'll get less playing time. Get up and follow me, I'll make copies of our schedule…"
The three first-years scramble to their feet and trot after Rumi like little ducklings. That leaves Yui to deal with Kitamura and Yokoyama.
"It's alright," Kitamura says earnestly. "Really, Aone-san. I'm fine."
Yui's attention shifts to Yokoyama, who just flops over on the ground. "Man, I just wanted to get out of Miyagi for a week," she admits with a sheepish smile. "But I don't mind staying back."
The goalie sighs. "I'm sorry we have to split up the team like this. Thank you for understanding." She bows deeply to the two of them.
"Aone-san! Don't bow, you're making it weird!" Yokoyama yelps, pushing her shoulder up. "Don't worry about us, worry about Yoshi and Hirao trying to share a room!"
"What do you mean?" Yui blinks at them.
"Yeah," Kitamura adds. "Seriously, those three are gonna give you so much trouble. Are you guys going to be okay?"
"Hirao is a slob," Yokoyama warns her. "It makes Yoshi cranky when she sees it in the dorms."
"And Yoshi gets into fights. Did you know she almost got suspended?"
"Hinata will probably get lost. Like, I don't have any proof, but I get that kind of vibe from her."
"Hirao leaves the flat-iron on…" Yokoyama and Kitamura continue to exchange anecdotes, cheerfully discussing the many flaws of the three other first-years.
Yui smiles, relieved. Wherever her teammates end up, she knows they'll be okay.
Lunch the next day is awkward, or at least Natsu feels awkward, because two seconds after she greets Ideguchi and Goshiki, her teammate Yoshi plops herself down in the open seat next to Natsu. Even before the whole debate yesterday about who's going to the Golden Week camp, this would be a strange occurrence. Ariyoshi and Goshiki are a rare combination that has Natsu feeling nervous. Out of all her classmates, she likes Yoshi and Goshiki the best—if she doesn't count Shouyou—but their personalities are so different.
Not to mention Ideguchi, from the boys' soccer team. He's a lot like Tendou: he's energetic and talkative, but he likes to tease a little too much.
"Hello," Natsu greets her tentatively, watching Yoshi rip off her uniform jacket like it's on fire, and then, incongruously, lay it on the bench delicately and precisely so it doesn't brush against the ground. Yoshi is full of contradictions like this, and Natsu never really knows what to expect from her.
"H-Hi Yoshi-san," Goshiki tacks on, leaning over from Natsu's other side.
Yoshi replies with a nod and a simple "Yo" to both of them while she takes out some homework and puts them next to her lunch tray.
Ideguchi and Goshiki glance at Natsu for direction, but she reacts with a hapless shrug. Natsu hasn't had the chance to explain the whole Golden Week camp complications yet—Ideguchi might already have an idea about it, since his team was also in the midst of splitting up its players, but the volleyball team would be in Miyagi for the break, playing practice matches against a few local colleges.
"Are those your notes for molecular biology?" Yoshi asks suddenly, brow furrowed.
Natsu doesn't have any notebooks out, but—Yoshi is speaking to Goshiki, who is surrounded by a sad pile of loose papers.
"I—yes?" Goshiki's eyes dart between his papers, Natsu, and the neat array of supplies around Yoshi. "Oh, we're—we're in the same lab class, aren't we?" he says suddenly. "I'm studying for it. The lab, I mean."
"We have a practical quiz next period," Yoshi states, eyeing the crumpled papers around him like they're live bugs. Without asking for permission, she leans over and uses the eraser end of her pencil to flip through Goshiki's notes. "You did terribly on the last one."
Ideguchi barks out a laugh, and Natsu kicks him in the shin.
"I—" Goshiki clamps his mouth shut, cheeks glowing. "How did you know about that?"
Yoshi rests her head in one hand, grimacing. "I didn't."
Natsu winces in sympathy for Goshiki. He slumps on the table, thoroughly put out by Yoshi's assessment. Then Yoshi slaps her notebook back onto the table, narrowly missing Goshiki's head, and he scrambles backwards with a screech.
"Wh-What did I do?!" he cries. Natsu dives for the water bottle he elbowed off the table, catching it before it hit the ground.
Yoshi glares at Goshiki like he's a stain on her shoe. "Those are my notes from the last practical quiz."
Goshiki's eyes go round with wonder. "I can look at them?!"
"Don't ask stupid questions," Yoshi warns, scowling at him one last time before turning her attention to her lunch tray.
After a few moments of contemplation, Goshiki ducks his head and starts looking over the notes.
Natsu is baffled. She exchanges looks with Ideguchi, who is equally stumped. "I've never seen you share your notes, Yoshi," Natsu points out tentatively.
"What of it?" Yoshi doesn't even look up from her food.
Natsu glances back at Goshiki, who doesn't meet her eye for some reason. "It's just that—you've been very nice lately for no reason," Natsu explains, and then she immediately regrets saying it.
But Yoshi, instead of jumping down her throat for insinuating she's a mean person, simply lifts her head and levels Natsu with a flat look. "I owe this bowl cut guy a favor."
"You do?" Natsu and Goshiki ask simultaneously.
"I mean—!" Goshiki's eyes go wide again. "I don't know about that, ha ha…"
It isn't surprising that Goshiki looks nervous—he's always been like that around Yoshi, during the few times they've spoken. What's weird to Natsu is the utter exhaustion that suddenly shows on Yoshi's face, like she's been asked to stand up in front of an auditorium and give a lecture.
"Oh ho ho, this should be good," Ideguchi chuckles, leaning in. Yoshi instantly throws him a nasty glare, which only makes Ideguchi laugh louder. "Spill it, Ariyoshi, or I'll just ask Goshiki."
"It's nothing!" Goshiki immediately exclaims, voice going high and squeaky. "No big deal! I didn't do anything! I don't know anything…"
Natsu winces. Goshiki isn't known for his secret-keeping abilities.
Yoshi rolls her eyes again, groaning into the crook of her arm. "Last week at the Dateko game, he helped me stay out of trouble with campus security."
Natsu's eyes go wide. "Huh?"
"Boo, that's boring!" Ideguchi cries. "Ow! Hinata, stop kicking me!"
"Why were you in trouble in the first place?" Natsu asks, ignoring him.
"None of your business—"
"Her friend showed up without a pass," Goshiki accidentally speaks over Yoshi and looks like he just signed his own death warrant. "I mean—I don't know, it's none of my business?"
"You have friends?" Natsu blurts out, and then cringes. "I mean you have friends outside of the Academy?" she speaks up before Yoshi can start scowling again.
Yoshi still glares at her, but she kind of deserves it. "He's not my friend."
"You've got a MAN?" Ideguchi hollers. "OW! Stop it!" This time both Natsu and Goshiki kicked him.
"No," Yoshi grumbles. "It was a misunderstanding," she says reluctantly. "And obviously we're not friends, he's just—an asshole I know."
Goshiki nods in agreement, which just shocks Natsu more. "Then… why did he show up to our game?" Natsu wonders. "And who is he? What's his name? Did I meet him?"
"Kyoutani," Yoshi says shortly. "He might show up again, so I might as well tell you. He's got a shitty blonde dye job, with two black stripes along the side. Don't talk to him, he's a jerk."
Goshiki is still nodding, agreeing with every word.
"Shitty blonde hair," Ideguchi muses. "Does that mean he's the one that bleached your shitty hair too?"
"Ideguchi!" Natsu warns him. "Stop it!"
The soccer player cackles. "What, Hinata? I'm just speaking the truth..."
Yoshi checks her watch. Then she casually reaches over and pushes Ideguchi's open bottle of orange juice into his lap, making him squeal in shock. "NO! AHH—" Ideguchi quickly stands, almost tripping over his chair as he picks up the carton. "SHIT! YOSHI, THIS IS WHY WE'RE NOT FRIENDS—"
Natsu pushes the napkin holder over to him hastily, shaking her head. "I tried to warn you, Ide!"
"She did warn you," Goshiki echoes, not even looking surprised. Natsu thinks he's just relieved that Yoshi isn't mad at him for anything.
"That doesn't mean you can just pour juice on my pants!" Ideguchi hisses at Yoshi. "Who does that?!"
"No need to cry over spilled juice," Yoshi deadpans. "There's twenty minutes left for lunch. It takes me about eight minutes to get from here to the dorms, plus a few minutes to change, and another eight to get to class, so… run, Ideguchi," she advises.
"I—!" Ideguchi looks flabbergasted. "Ooh, I'm gonna get you back for this," he wails. Then he shovels the rest of his lunch into his mouth and takes off in a dead sprint for the dorms.
Yoshi, being oddly considerate again, wipes down the mess left on the table as if nothing had ever happened. She doesn't even look annoyed anymore.
Goshiki and Natsu exchange mildly terrified looks, not knowing how to continue the conversation after that.
"Oh," Yoshi says after a few moments, glancing up at them. "About Kyoutani. He's my cousin, not a boyfriend. That'd be gross."
"Ah," Goshiki nods thoughtfully, sweating bullets. "That makes sense. Thanks for the notes, Yoshi."
"Don't mention it."
The thing is, Natsu didn't put a lot of thought into what going to a training camp would actually mean for her. Shouyou's camp was in Miyagi, not far from his school at all. Natsu's teammates that were staying in Miyagi would stay on-campus in the dorms. But up until now, Natsu's captain had only referred to the other training camp as the 'city camp'.
She assumed they meant a city other than Sendai, the capital of their prefecture, but beyond that, Natsu hadn't paid attention to the details.
What Natsu does know is that Shiratorizawa is renowned for its athletic programs, and part of that is their extensive list of alumni and connections to other programs. In the case of their soccer clubs, the Academy actually has contacts all over the country.
She also knows that since Shiratorizawa is a private school with a dorm system, their school breaks are different; Natsu has ten days off, while Shouyou only has five.
When Rumi was picked to be captain at the end of her second year, she began her plans to bully the administration into giving them more funding for camps and training weekends. She wrote up several open-letters to the principal, Coach Sameshima called up every coach she knew, and now, months later, Natsu and the rest of her team were packing for a nine-day trip to…
Kobe.
"That's awesome, Nacchan!" Shouyou cheers when she breaks the news. "But, where the heck is Kobe?"
Natsu's smile is strained. She'd been hoping to avoid that question until she could look it up on her laptop. "It's a city, but… uh..." To be honest, Natsu can only be certain that it's part of Honshu, like Miyagi is. And it's also famous for… beef? For some reason, she's drawing a blank on the issue. "I… don't remember where it is."
Her twin almost does a spit take. "Whaddya mean?!" Shouyou roars with mean-spirited delight. "So you don't know everything after all, eh? It's basic geography—of our country!"
"I know it, I just don't remember! I just need to look it up!" Natsu snaps, blushing. "Everyone was super excited about it, Rumi was so proud of herself, so I didn't want to ruin the mood and ask. And you don't know either! I think it's… near the ocean? The third years were talking about it being really hot and muggy there. And there's a beach. So it's south of here, probably."
"Probably," Shouyou repeats, staring in disbelief. "Natsu, Japan is an archipelago . Everything is surrounded by the ocean!"
"Shut up," Natsu whines, scooting over to her laptop and waiting for it to boot up. They were lucky enough to each have their own computers, but man was the internet slow. "I'm looking it up now, ugh."
"Yeah, yeah." As the clunky laptop powers on, Shouyou rolls onto his back, staring up at his math worksheet. "Natsu, which of these formulas do I use here? And what is r anyway?"
She skims the homework sheet absently. "The second one," Natsu answers. "The r means radius . The other formula is for finding the circumference."
"Ok, that's what I thought. Ugh, why did we need to learn both?" Shouyou whines. "Having two similar formulas is confusing!"
Natsu types into the search bar to look for the city of Kobe. "Is there a question about cylinders on the worksheet?" She prompts him.
"Yes!" Shouyou gripes. "Hey! Where's the formula for cylinders? I know we solved one in class,…"
Natsu smiles to herself smugly. She may not know where Kobe is, but she does know geometry. "A cylinder has two circles and a rectangle in it, so combine those formulas," she advises him.
"...I see the circles, but there's no rectangle, it's a tube… oh, I get it." Shouyou mutters to himself. "But there's no...? OH. That's why I need the… ah, I got it now."
Natsu reads the search engine results, scrolling down to the map images. "Okay, here it is." Shouyou pauses in his scribbling and awaits her answer. "Kobe is the sixth-largest city in Japan—shut up Shouyou, I know I should know this—and capital city of… Hyogo Prefecture in… the Kansai region," she says out loud.
Natsu blinks, looking up and making eye contact with Shouyou.
"HYOGO?" The twins holler simultaneously.
"THAT'S SO FAR FOR A TRAINING CAMP!" Shouyou screams, math problems abandoned, fluttering to the floor around them.
"I THOUGHT I'D BE IN SAITAMA," Natsu grabs at her hair, tugging harshly.
"NATSU I'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN TO TOKYO, FORGET ABOUT HYOGO PREFECTURE."
"AND YOU THINK I HAVE?!"
"THEY DON'T EVEN SPEAK OUR DIALECT IN HYOGO."
"I'M GONNA COME BACK WITH TWELVE THOUSAND MOSQUITO BITES."
"YOU'RE GONNA COME BACK SPEAKING KANSAI-BEN."
"WHAT IF I GET LOST? I CAN'T BIKE HOME FROM THERE!"
Shouyou clutches her shoulders and shakes her vigorously. Her heart is racing. "I can't believe this, Nacchan! You're LEAVING. You're moving on without me!"
"Nine—days!" Natsu wails, getting dizzy as she shakes Shouyou back. "It's only nine days but it's like a billion kilometers away—"
"Oh my GOD, Nacchan!"
"I knooooow!"
In Osaka, the Inarizaki High School athletic clubs were getting similar news about their training camp in the capital's largest civic center. There would be a tournament set up for the basketball teams, a new training program for soccer clubs, and open practice gyms for volleyball teams. Also… something-something-baseball-team-stuff, but at that point, Miya Atsumu had stopped listening.
"We're gettin' some clubs from all over the country for this year's camp," an advisor explains, "And some o' the matches will be open to the public ta help boost the civic center's popularity."
"Why not boost fundin' too, and charge for tickets?" Atsumu mutters to Suna. "People would pay ta see me practice, wouldn't they?"
"This is a club, Atsumu," Aran admonishes, overhearing the two of them. "We don't get paid to play."
"Not yet , we don't," Atsumu looks smug as he imagines getting scouted in Kobe.
"I would pay to never see you," Suna counters, not even looking his way.
"I'd pay double for that," Osamu adds.
"Y'all are so jealous, I swear ta God—"
"Not jealous, just tired." Suna interrupts.
"Tired of yer shit." Osama continues. They fist-bump without looking.
"Fuck off."
Kita Shinsuke clears his throat. Atsumu, Osamu, Suna, and Aran all straighten up, backs ramrod straight as they fall silent. Kita was only named captain in March, just before the third years graduated, but he acclimized himself to his new role in no time. The second-year players can feel his gaze on their backs, burning holes into them.
For once, it isn't just the Miya twins that are in-sync, but Aran and Suna as well. Kita's gonna kill us as soon as the meeting's over, ain't he? they all think miserably.
"This is the biggest Golden Week training camp we've ever participated in," the coach continues sternly. "There'll be teams an' scouts at this camp from all over the country. Please, try ta take this seriously, and be professional. This ain't ain't no spa retreat, and this ain't the time ta slack off. No funny business, boys."
A/N:Listen... don't come for Natsu because her poor geography skills. We all have our moments. My brother still can't name all the months of the year.
