And we're back with another chapter. Wow, I can't believe that it's been a month already. Once again, none of the anime's characters belong to me, all rights to their respectful owners except the OCs. Special thanks to the Banshee for editing this for me. Hope you like the chapter. Enjoy and review.

ooo

Kagome didn't know what to say. This just had to be karma. She didn't know what she did wrong, but this must be the backlash from having to deal with Sango's trouble-making all the time. It didn't help that her ears were ringing from the ear-piercing scream that was let out, or the fact that there were a pair of emerald green eyes staring her down. These past few days weren't really in her favor, were they?

ooo

"Is everyone done?" Kagome asked Sango as she finished changing out of her practice wear. Sango nodded, and the two headed out of the changing rooms with her bags to see their coach waiting for them with the rest of their team.

"We've been invited to a training camp with Itachiyama." Kagome's eyes widened. Itachiyama… inviting them for a training camp? The idea was unheard of, especially since they hadn't beaten Itachiyama at Nationals during Inter-High.

"Um, Coach, what… what did you say?" Sango couldn't form the words, and none of the other girls were able to voice their shock.

"Itachiyama sent over a formal request to invite the girls' volleyball team for their training camp this weekend. It's a little close to the Inter-High than I would like, but nonetheless, we have accepted it. I expect all of you to get your permission slips signed by your family and brought this Friday."

"Wait, why did they invite us? They've never done that before." One of the non-starting third years asked.

"Like I have any idea. They might have been interested in this year's team and want to check out the competition." The Coach said, waving her hand towards their starting members. She wrapped up their meeting and sent the girls off to their first classes, each with a permission slip in hand.

"Itachiyama sent us a request to join their training camp? Seriously?" Sango asked once the starting members had met up for lunch in the school's gardens.

"We're still talking about the Itachiyama right? Reigning champs?"

"I'm surprised as well. I didn't think we would be invited by them of all people. Why do you think they did?" Mirai, their third-year libero asked.

"Not sure. But whatever the reason is, we'll be able to practice with the reigning champions. Best not waste that experience." Kagome replied, picking out an octopus-cut sausage from her lunch and popping it in to her mouth.

"We're going to beat Itachiyama at this year's Inter-High. They'd best be ready." Sango cheered, pumping her fist into the air.

"That is, unless we get crushed." Rin, their second-year wing spiker cut in. The other girls sweat-dropped as Sango began to whine about her negative attitude.

"At the very least, we'll be able to learn and experience their new tricks. It shouldn't take me too long to put something together." Kagome cut the two girls' petty argument.

"Ya know, sometimes you scare me when you get like this." Sango mumbled before pulling Kagome into a hug. "But this is why I love having you on my side of the court." Kagome's lips turned up into a small smile, before looking at the rest of her friends.

"We're going to dominate Nationals. This time."

ooo

It wasn't long before Friday afternoon came. Once practice had ended for the day, all the girls went to the changing room to shower and change into more comfortable wear for their trip south to Itachiyama.

Once Kagome had finished showering, she toweled herself off before slipping on a pair of comfortable shorts and a Shiratorizawa sweater. She put her uniform back into her carry-on bag and waited till the last couple girls were done changing before walking with them to the bus.

"Okay, the ride is going to be about five hours long. Please keep in mind that some people will be sleeping and too keep the volume at an appropriate level." The Coach said, giving Sango a death stare, to which said girl laughed.

The bus began to pull away from Shiratorizawa. As their school faded away in the distance, Kagome leaned back in her seat, ignoring Sango's ongoing conversation with Mirai and Rin, and pulled out her phone. Unlocking her phone, she opened the group chat that Tendo had added her to and let them know that she was leaving.

Immediately, her phone began to ring with Tendo's contact flashing on the screen. Apologizing to Sango, Kagome slipped out of her seat and headed back to an empty row and sat down before answering the phone.

"What do you need?" Kagome said into the phone.

"Why do you always think I need or want something?" Tendo's voice whined to Kagome.

"Because you either end up doing something stupid or need something." Kagome replied bluntly, hearing the faint laughing of whoever was with Tendo.

"Not true. Anyways, you're on your way to Itachiyama aren't ya?" Tendo asked. Kagome replied with a yes.

"Take care. Have fun. Don't go flirting with the boys' team or I'll give them a – ouch. You don't have to hit me Kenjiro." Tendo's voice screeched out as the sound of a slap came echoing through the phone.

"Ignore him. Actually, no. Don't go doing whatever he said. Be safe. Don't go looking for trouble." Shirabu told his sister.

"Trouble finds me. I happen to like my life as it is." Kagome replied with a smile. The two spent a few minutes talking, with Tendo's frequent interruptions, before she let her brother off to hang with his boyfriend. As she was saying goodbye, she could hear her brother telling Tendo off about it being his job as her brother in warding off boys. Shaking her head, she pocketed her phone and headed back to her seat.

Sango had fallen asleep in the short amount of time that she was gone, and her head was leaning dangerously to the side, almost as if it had been snapped. Slipping into her seat, as if it was telepathic, Sango reached out blindly and grabbed Kagome's hand in hers and her head fell on the ravenette's shoulder.

"Why is she so tired now?" Kagome asked Mirai, who was texting away on her phone.

"She said something along the lines of staying awake at night and having fun. To be honest, I lost her after some point." Mirai shrugged. Sango grumbled before turning her head into Kagome's shoulder and moved around, trying to get comfortable.

"She's like a cat. A very annoying one." Rin commented from the seat diagonal to them. Kagome nodded, agreeing with Rin.

"One with sharp claws too. And bites. Why don't we ship her off to Nekoma?" Mirai laughed out, causing the girls around her to laugh aloud.

"Itachiyama isn't far from Nekoma. Shall we take a detour and drop her off?" Kagome nodded along with the idea, hoping for some peace and quiet for the weekend instead of the trouble that Sango would end up dragging her into.

"Why do I have the feeling that she is going to rope us into her trouble-making?" A simultaneous groan echoed from the second and third years, making the freshmen wonder what was wrong. Kagome sighed, dreading getting to Itachiyama already. Being friends with Sango since Kitagawa Daichi, she learned the hard way that her friend was stubborn like no other, almost too much for her own good.

"If we get in trouble from Coach, we can serve Sango to her on a silver platter." Rin suggested the idea, and it seemed like the other third years around them agreed.

"Shall we open the betting pool again?" Mirai began to take bets on how long it would take before the Coach found out about Sango's nightly excursions.

"Put me down for tomorrow night."

"Ooo, I call Sunday morning."

"Shall we all pray and hope we don't die?"

"God, I don't know what I did in the past, but I want you to know. Whatever happens this weekend, it was all Sango's fault. Please don't blame me." Mirai pressed her hands together and looked up, causing the girls to let out a bout of soft laughter, keeping their voices down so that the others sleeping wouldn't wake up.

"You know, it's a wonder she doesn't wake up from all this noise. She's literally knocked out, practically a rock." Rin said, poking at Sango's arm.

"She's always been like this." Kagome replied, letting go of Sango's hand and turning the light above her head off. Around her, the younger girls were chatting amongst themselves about their classes and about the upcoming weekend excursion. Kagome felt Sango move on her shoulder as the girl moved into a more comfortable position, while she was talking with Mirai about the upcoming volleyball season.

Most of the girls had fallen asleep sometime during the ride, some were reading and others quietly talking with their seat neighbors. Sango was still passed on Kagome's shoulder, with said girl listening to music as she looked out the window. The earlier evening sky was now pitch black. As her eyes began to droop, she saw the clouds give way to scattered stars in the sky. The twinkling lights in the sky was the last thing she saw before she fell asleep. It didn't feel like a long time had passed before the bus had finally reached Itachiyama.

"Ladies. Wake up, we've arrived. Let's get inside and you can sleep all you want." Kagome heard grumbles come from her teammates as she began to wake up. Looking around blearily, she noticed that they were parked right outside the entrance of Itachiyama. Sango was awake and chatting with Mirai, both girls looking somewhat refreshed from the couple hours of sleep they got just now. Kagome grabbed her earbuds that had fallen on to her lap and coiled them around her phone. Once she had stretched a bit, she slid out of her seat area and walked down the aisle, getting off the bus. When the rest of the girls had gotten off the bus and unloaded their bags, the bus drove off to park in the parking lot. The girls headed up the steps to their room.

"Why are we sleeping in the school again? We could have easily stayed at a nearby hotel." Rin grumbled as they began to walk through the academy grounds, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"It was a last-minute thing so they might not have had enough room for all of us. Besides, this way is more fun." Sango chirped out. Some of the other girls who looked half asleep gave her annoyed looks due to her peppiness.

"Sango, calm down." Kagome said and Sango immediately quieted down. The younger girls sent Kagome thankful glances as they finally arrived at the room that they would be sleeping in.

"Unpack and get changed here. The showers and bathrooms are just down the hall if you need them. I will be with the other coaches, so I expect you all to be on your best behavior." The Coach told them before heading down the hall to the other side of the building where the coaches were staying. One by one the girls crowded into the room and began to settle down for the night. Futons had already been laid out with a blanket folded on each one. Sango grabbed the futon closest the window, promptly dragging Kagome along with her. Kagome sat down on the futon next to Sango, followed by Mirai and Rin who had taken the futons on the other side of Kagome.

"Let's do something. I'm bored." Sango whined to Kagome, who had changed into a pair of night clothes before slipping under her blanket.

"You do realize that they're going to wake us in the morning for a day of grueling practice, right?" One of the other girls asked, not surprised that Sango had energy to spare.

"She doesn't. Her brain must have left her head during her nap on the bus." Rin told Mirai as the girl set an alarm on her phone and fell asleep.

"It did not." Sango stuck her tongue out at Rin. "Training camps are meant for night time fun, don't you know that?"

"Kagome…." Sango whined as she rolled on to her side and stared at Kagome with puppy eyes. Kagome sighed, wondering whether she would be getting a break from this or not during their training camp.

"We can do something tomorrow night. For now, let everyone get some rest. It's been a tiring day." Kagome said, to the relief of the rest of the room who was trying to sleep. She gave Sango a good stare, who took Kagome's words in and nodded, before rolling over to sleep. One of the third years near the light switch turned the lights off and the room went dark as the girls fell asleep.

ooo

"25-22 Itachiyama." The referee called the game. Kagome huffed, blowing her hair out of her eyes, before going to shake the other captain's hand. Once the two teams had bowed to each other, Kagome lead her team outside where they would be doing their punishment of 5 suicide runs.

"This is torture. When are we gonna win one damn set?" Sango gritted her teeth as she pushed her muscles through the last suicide. Beside her, the rest of the team stood in an array as some of the girls collapsed after the suicides.

"This was our fifth game. Don't worry. We're almost there." One of the other second-years told Sango, helping her stretch her aching muscles. Kagome bent down to retie her shoes before lightly stretching her arms and legs.

"Do we have any videos on Itachiyama's games?" Kagome asked Rin, who nodded her head.

"I managed to get some before coming here." Rin replied. Once the girls were done cooling down, they headed back into the gym to see the other games finishing up. The college team had decimated Itachiyama's team 25-17, while Shiratorizawa's other team had managed to pull a win from Inarizaki.

"You have an hour lunch break before we convene for training again. Dismissed." With the Itachiyama coach's words, the group of girls split up as they headed for the cafeteria. Once they got there, they got in lines as the managers of the teams brought out the food. Kagome and Sango sat down at a table close to the windows once they had gotten their food and began to eat, while the other girls had gone off with other groups and teams to chat.

"Hey, you're a setter, right?" Kagome set her chopsticks down and looked to the side to see a spiker from Itachiyama staring her down.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Kagome asked.

"A couple of us are getting together after training to practice some. Come set some volleyballs for us?" Sango wanted to cut in, but Kagome's sharp look in her direction cut her off.

"Why not ask your own setter?"

"Our setter doesn't like excess training, so she tends to dip out early. So, what do ya say?" Kagome pondered on the question.

"I don't mind, but what's in it for me?" Kagome stretched her lips into a dangerous smirk. Itachiyama's spiker managed to flinch slightly at the look on Kagome's face before regaining her posture. A stifled laugh came from Sango as she excused herself from the table. As she looked back, she couldn't help but think that the situation was like a predator waiting for the prey to move before pouncing.

"Hmm, well practice with the reigning champs of Nationals for one? That, and I'm pretty sure practice with various spikers will help improve your skill? You did end up taking your senpai's position after all." The girl told Kagome.

"Sure. Sounds like fun. Let me know where you end up practicing." Kagome smoothly replied, holding out her hand. The older girl took Kagome's hand and shook it, the two measuring the others' strength before letting go. Once she had left, Sango came back to the table with Mirai and Rin, who had seen the confrontation and wanted to hear about it.

"Rin. Make sure to send me those videos later on today. I'll be watching them tonight." Kagome told Rin before biting into her chicken salad.

"What happened once I left?" Sango mumbled as she began to finish up the rest of her lunch.

"She told me that I should improve my skill because I took my senpai's position." Kagome replied.

"Did Itachiyama sign a death wish?" Mirai whispered to Rin and Sango, who both shrugged their shoulders. Once Kagome had finished her lunch, she grabbed Sango's empty tray and headed over to where the managers were standing.

"They do know who she is right?" Sango asked, almost worried for the Itachiyama team.

"No, I don't think they do. Which is a good thing." Rin told them.

"I agree with Rin." Sango and Mirai jumped when they heard Kagome's voice echo from behind them. The girl came around the table and sat next to Rin on the other side, facing Sango and Mirai.

"The less they know, the more I have to work with."

ooo

"Good work today ladies. Don't forget to stretch and get a good night's sleep. We'll be starting early morning tomorrow." Once all the coaches had their word with their teams, they left, leaving the girls to stretch and cool down.

"My stomach hurts." One of the freshmen complained, having been subjected to doing diving falls.

"My everything hurts." Sango said, collapsing on to the floor, panting hard. No one bothered to even complain about her, seeing as they were all in states of disarray. Kagome was sitting on the floor, legs and arms stretched out and her head resting on her thighs. Mirai was guzzling down water from her bottle, dehydrated from the intense workout.

"Practice is never like this." Rin gasped in and out, massaging the stich in her side that pained her to move.

"Can I just die right here?" Sango asked, having finally stopped panting and was staring up at the ceiling.

"No. We have our individual and group training now with others. We'll be able to take a break later on." Kagome finally said, getting off the ground and rolling her neck, relieving some of the tension that seemed to have accumulated.

"Mirai and I have practice with some of the Inarizaki girls. We'll see you guys later." Rin said, still in pain from the stich, as she and Mirai left to catch up with a few girls from Inarizaki.

"Ah, I should probably find that giant blocker." Sango said, dragging her body off the floor.

"Which one?" Kagome asked, gesturing to the numerous tall players around them.

"The one from the college team. That one." Sango gestured to a girl with cropped brown hair, donning a dark blue shirt and grey shorts.

"Have fun. Try to get at least one spike through." Kagome said, waving her friend off as she went off to find the Itachiyama player who had come up to her earlier.

"Ah, over here Shiratorizawa setter." Kagome felt her fingers twitch as she turned to see the girl from earlier with three others, one girl from Itachiyama, one from Inarizaki and the third from the college team.

"We'll be heading to our substitute gym, so follow along." Kagome nodded before falling into line behind the girls, walking next to the college student.

"Ah, I don't think I played you today." Kagome looked up to the college girl before nodding, not recognizing her. The college student quickly introduced herself and Kagome did the same. The two continued to talk, more so on the college student's half whilst they walked to the gym.

Once they got there, the girls set the volleyball net up and dragged out a basket of volleyballs before splitting into two teams for a couple matches of 3 vs 3.

"Left!" Kagome saw the girl from Inarizaki running down the side of the court, getting ready to jump. As the ball arched in the air, Kagome analyzed the girl's style: the way she favored her right leg over her left, her tendency to swing her arms in a more whip-like movement and her speed.

"Here." Kagome set the ball towards the girl, watching the ball fly towards the left side of the court. The Inarizaki spiker jumped from the ground from her right left, as Kagome foresaw and slammed the ball across the net with her left hand.

"That was a good toss, maybe a little higher next time." The girl said, patting Kagome on the back as the other team got ready to serve the ball.

"You're good at time-difference attacks, aren't you?" Kagome asked the Inarizaki spiker once they had paused for a break.

"Hai. I'm surprised you could tell." The girl replied as she wiped the sweat off her neck with a towel. Kagome nodded before asking her a few tips about setting a ball for a time difference attack if the receive is off.

"You have to be willing to risk points to get it right at first. Time-difference attacks are hard to do from an off receive because of the need to get the correct timing." The girl replied.

"Wouldn't it just hinder the power of the spike then? While you can avoid the block, the timing is sometimes hard to get right, so in that case, wouldn't it be best to go with a strong attack?" Kagome questioned, and the girl nodded.

"You could do that. But there's more than one attack that you can do. That's why time difference attacks are so useful yet very hard to set properly. I've only seen a few setters manage to do them. And then there's the famed genius from the males' league, the King of the Court. These attacks would be easy for him seeing as he can immediately pinpoint where to send a player's toss. I'm jealous of whoever gets to spike his sets." Kagome bit her lip, not wanting to say any more as the girl headed back onto the court.

"Huh, Tooru's got it hard. I guess I wouldn't be no different if I was in his position." Kagome mumbled before joining the court to continue the match. By the end of their practice match, Kagome had worn herself out completely. Her arms and shoulders were aching from all the movement. Once she had finished helping the others clean the gym up, she headed off to take a shower and change. Meanwhile, Sango had finished her practice with a few of the college girls and was currently showering to rid herself of the sweat and grime from the day's training.

"Where is she?" Sango wondered as she walked out of the showers, having dried off and wearing a pair of sweatpants and loose shirt.

"Who?" A voice asked from behind her. Sango jumped, a shriek spilling from her mouth as she whipped around to see Kagome standing behind her. Looking her friend over, Sango noticed that Kagome had showered and changed into different clothing. Her hair was spilling across her shoulders, a dark blue flannel shirt and a pair of grey leggings on.

"Ah, I was looking for you. How did your practice go?" Sango asked as the two walked back to the room that their team was given.

"I've managed to figure out some of their play styles, but it's going to take some more time. I'll probably watch those videos that Rin has to get something more concrete for Inter-High. What about yourself?" Sango began to tell her all about the college girls that she was playing with. By the time Sango was done with her story, they had made their way to the room and entered it to see girls spread all over the place, some group with others chatting and some sleeping away.

"You're late." The two looked over to their futons to see Mirai and Rin sitting on their futons chatting with some of the other regulars. Mirai had taken out her contacts for the night and was wearing black framed glasses.

"Practice went a little late." Kagome told them as she and Sango joined the others. Asking how their practice went, Kagome and Sango were given a rundown of each girl's practice with the other teams here.

"Ah, Kagome, here are the videos you asked for. I've sent you both Itachiyama's and Inarizaki's games." Rin said, showing the different files on her phone before sending them to Kagome.

"Thanks Rin." Kagome told her lying down on her futon, setting her phone aside and listening in to Sango and Mirai's conversation.

"I couldn't even get one spike by her. She's a goddamn giant!"

"Aren't you supposed to be a spiker? And you can't spike against her? Pity." Sango's whines grew louder as Rin began to egg her on, leaving Mirai to mediate between the two, seeing as Kagome wasn't going to intervene.

"Kagome don't go to sleep. You promised you'd play with me." Kagome nodded from her face under her blanket, before it was ripped away from her. She looked up to see Sango's eyes gleaming down at her and immediately cursed for agreeing to play.

"Must we?" Kagome asked, still feel the ache in her muscles from all the intense training. Sango nodded, and Kagome sighed before sitting up while Sango rounded up the rest of the regulars and some of the other players. Most of the first years and non-starters were either sleeping, chatting with their futon neighbor or on their phone.

"What are we playing?" Mirai asked as they all formed a small circle on the floor. Seeing Sango's smile grow wide, Kagome's eyes widened, and she wanted to immediately back out.

"Truth or dare."

ooo

"Why am I doing this again?" Kagome asked as she changed out of her night clothes into one of Iwaizumi's Aoba Josai sweatshirts that he had given her a while ago and white shorts. Sango had finished getting changed into an old Kitagawa Daichi jacket and black shorts, and finished tying her shoe laces.

"If we let Sango go by herself, she'll end up doing more damage compared to when you go with her." Mirai told her as she patted Kagome on the shoulders.

"Did you have to give her this? Anything else would have been fine." Kagome gave Rin a dark glare promising pain.

"She asked for the worst. Besides, I'm not the one who is making you go with her." Rin told her, wilting at their captain's glare.

"All of us decided that you should go with her since you're the best at doing damage-control with her." Their third-year middle blocker said, ruffling Kagome's hair. Kagome batted at the older girl's hand before running a hand through her hair.

"Expect a full spartan training when I get back." Kagome said, staring down all the girls that had been playing last night.

"Kagome let's go. Coach let us go as long as we get back by 10." Sango cried from the entrance of Itachiyama's grounds. Kagome sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and point finger before grabbing a hair tie from her wrist and tying her hair up into a high ponytail.

"Honestly, this is ridiculous. It's not even 7 in the morning yet. And you couldn't have done the punishment?" Kagome grumbled as she waved at the rest of their team before leaving Itachiyama with Sango, both girls jogging on the pavement side by side.

"Do you think I want to die early? If I did anything to the Coach in her sleep, I'll never see the sunlight again, let alone survive. I think I'd rather do this." Sango replied, shivering at the thought of pranking their Coach. The woman was nice and strict, but if you got her mad, her training was like a regime from hell.

"What did you even tell the Coach?" Kagome asked as they came to a stop at a crossing, waiting for the light to change.

"I told the Coach that I was going to be training my endurance today with you. She questioned Mirai to make sure I wasn't going to wander off to do anything stupid." Sango replied. The light turned green and the two girls continued jogging. They passed by houses and stores, jogging down streets and train crossings, and stopping at intersections.

"What do we have to do again?" Kagome asked once they had stopped to take a break and check the map to make sure they were going the right way.

"I have to take a picture with their volleyball banner. By the way, why are you wearing a Seijou sweatshirt?" Sango asked, giving her a teasing smile.

"Don't give me that look. This is the only jersey I had to wear and was planning to wear it when we go back tonight, but thanks to someone, I needed it to go out running. You and I both know that I'm only friends with Tooru and Hajime." Kagome replied once they started jogging again.

"Sure. This is coming from the girl that used to sleep in the same bed as them and is the only girl that they get close to." Sango teased back and laughed as Kagome ran faster to avoid Sango.

"Says from the girl who still wears a jersey from junior high." Kagome snapped as Sango continued to tease her. By the time Sango was done, Kagome had a growing tick mark on her forehead and was ready to ditch Sango in the middle of nowhere.

"Are you done? Cause if so, we need to get going." Kagome said, gesturing to the street that they had to run down. Sango nodded, having finished catching her breath before starting down the street with Kagome.

"Do you know where the banner is anyways?" Kagome asked once they had crossed the train tracks.

"It should be in the gym, so getting in and out will be our only problem. Let's hope that it's been left unlocked." Sango replied, her breath coming out shorter and shorter. Finally, as the turned the corner, the two girls had looks of relief cross their face as they saw the entrance to the school.

Once they had entered the school grounds, Kagome dropped to the ground, resting her back against the bark of the tree. Sango rested her hands on her hand, breathing in and out as she tried to regain her breath.

"You okay?" Sango asked Kagome once she had regained her breath. Kagome nodded, having finally caught her breathe and was stretching her legs from running.

"I'm going to go find the gym. I'll come and get you after, okay?" Kagome waved as Sango headed off further into the grounds of the school. She closed her eyes and listened to the world around her, tuning her hearing to the smallest sounds, from the birds chirping to the rustling leaves.

ooo

"What has she done now?" Kagome pondered as she got off the ground, dusting her shorts off. It had been some time since Sango went to find the gym. Seeing as Sango hadn't returned, Kagome set off to find the gym. After a few minutes, Kagome found the gym's entrance. Walking up to the door, she tested the handle and saw that it was unlocked. Opening the door, she stepped inside to see an empty gym with volleyball nets still in place. There was a basket of volleyballs to the side of the court that had been left untouched.

"Where did she go?" Kagome felt a tick growing on her forehead and just as she turned around to head back, she felt her body suddenly plummet to the ground. She winced as her head and back landed on the wooden floor of the gym. A sudden ear-piercing scream broke the silence and Kagome's eyes shot open to see a pair of emerald eyes staring down at her.

The two of them just stared at each other, neither saying a word. This just had to be karma, Kagome thought, her ears still ringing from the scream.

"Ah, sumimasen. I didn't see you there. Are you okay?" The boy reached out a hand for Kagome to grab. Kagome grabbed the hand and the boy pulled her up easily. Once Kagome was firmly back on her feet, she brushed her back off as she looked over the boy. He was extremely tall, towering over her by at least a foot. He was donning a black shirt and red volleyball shorts.

"It's fine." Kagome said, hoping to ease the discomfort in the taller boy's eyes. The boy smiled before rubbing the back of his head, apologizing once again as he bowed over.

"Like I said it was fine. I shouldn't be here anyway." Kagome said and the boy stood back up.

"Ah, you're from another school? Then why are you here?" The boy asked. Kagome was about to talk when she heard Sango shout from behind her.

"Kagome, you're here. I found the volleyball banner. It was in the Coach's office for some reason, so it took some time to get in –" Sango's voice died off when she noticed the tall silver-haired boy in front of her friend.

"Make a new friend already?" Sango asked as she came to stand next to Kagome. Kagome shook her head, quickly explaining that he had bumped into her on accident.

"Ah, well sorry for intruding." Sango said, bowing to the taller boy.

"Wait, you were looking for our volleyball team's banner? Do you play as well?" The boy asked. Kagome and Sango both nodded, and the boy's eyes lit up.

"I'm on the team here. I just joined this year, but I plan on being the ace. I'm Haiba Lev, first-year middle blocker on the team." Lev said, introducing himself with a smile.

"Yoroshiku. I'm a second-year wing spiker." Sango grinned back, before gesturing to Kagome, "And she's a third-year setter." Kagome nodded in confirmation and was immediately swallowed in Lev's shadow as he approached her.

"You're a setter? Really senpai?" Kagome nodded. Lev then proceeded to ask her to set a few volleyballs for her.

"Huh? Why don't you get your own setter to do that?" Sango asked curiously.

"I don't think he likes me very much. I might have scared him a little bit on the first day of practice. I just started volleyball in high school, so I'm not very good." Lev explained what had happened.

"Why don't you ask another setter then?"

"He's a freshman like me, so he's still learning. Kenma-san's a second-year and our starting setter. If only he'd toss to me though." Lev said in a sullen voice. Kagome was dead-set on not setting him a volleyball, but if he just got into the sport, did he even know how to spike, she wondered.

"What will you do if I set you a toss? There's no guarantee that you'll spike it. And isn't it best for you to match up with your own setter?" Kagome told the boy.

"I need more experience to play with my team. Please?" Lev asked, and this time even Sango nodded along.

"Why don't you set a couple? We have a little time to spare." Sango told Kagome, gesturing for Kagome to move onto the court.

'I guess I could scout the competition for Tooru and Ni-san.' Kagome thought before looking up at Lev's emerald eyes.

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked and Lev nodded before running to grab a volleyball from the basket and heading onto the court. Kagome looked at Sango, who shrugged her shoulders before motioning for her to move onto the court.

"Only a couple, okay? We have to leave soon." Lev nodded and tossed the ball towards Kagome before running towards the net. Kagome's eyes widened as she watched him run. She couldn't pick out which side he favored. As he jumped into the air, she set the ball towards his right hand, somewhat low to see if he would be able to spike the ball.

"Ah." Lev said, not hitting the volleyball as he went rushing past. His arm swung arm like a whip before hitting the empty air and dropping to the ground.

"Another please." Lev asked. Kagome nodded before grabbing a ball out of the basket and threw it to him. Lev received the ball and sent it somewhere towards the location the setter would be standing. Kagome moved to position herself under the ball and watch Lev run towards the net once again.

'So, he doesn't favor either foot till the very end. And his arms are very long, so maybe here?' Kagome pondered as she set the ball further towards the other side of the court. This time, Lev's arm swung fast and the ball ended up hitting him on the head.

"He doesn't have a consistent form when he swings or jumps. Then again, he did just start volleyball, so I shouldn't be too surprised." Kagome mumbled before grabbing another ball and tossing it to Lev. Each time Lev ran towards the net, Kagome would analyze his movements and the trajectory of his swing hoping to catch some sort of pattern in his irrational swings.

"One more please!" Lev yelled, his hand barely skimming the fifth Kagome had sent him.

"This is the last one." Kagome told him before tossing the ball towards him. Lev received the ball and sent it towards her before running towards the net. Kagome stared at Lev, watching as he ran down the court. As the ball came spinning down towards her, she went through all the possible movements that Lev would do or could do and the different movements of his arms. Lev jumped from the ground and Kagome smiled as she set the ball towards him.

"Huh? Why are all the lights on? Kuroo, did you forget to lock the door when we left?" A deep male voice came from the gym doors, but Kagome paid no attention. Sango noticed a group of males enter the gym, all wearing black shirts and red shorts, each of them wearing volleyball shoes on their feet. Pulling herself off the wall, she began to walk towards the court and couldn't help but stop in awe as she watched the high arch that Kagome set for the ball and the freshman jump into the air, a grin plastered all over his face. The gym stared in silence as Lev's hand swung around like a whip and slammed the ball onto the other side of the court.

"Yatta!" Lev cheered, his palm slightly red from the force of the spike. Kagome tilted her head and smiled before walking over to him.

"You'll be a good ace." Kagome told Lev, before heading over to where Sango was standing along with a group of males wearing the same outfit as Lev had been.

"Good luck at this year's Inter-High. Do try to make it to the end." Kagome said as she walked by the team, catching up with Sango as the two walked towards the exit.

"Wait, what's your name? " Lev yelled out as he ran up to Kagome and Sango, making Kagome pause in her stride.

"I'm Kagome. I'll see you at Nationals if you make it. Ja ne."

ooo

Lev stared as the two girls left the gym before rushing over to Kenma to ask for some tosses when he was kicked in the back by Yaku.

"Lev, what are you doing? You can't just let anyone into the gym!" Yaku yelled at the boy. Lev jumped back onto his feet before facing Yaku.

"But Yaku-san, they were here before me! The other girl said something about the volleyball banner." The team paused as they took in what Lev had just said.

"Lev, do you know who they are?" Lev shook his head as a negative before repeating what they had told him about their positions and years.

"One of them was wearing a Seijou jersey. Both of them may be here in Tokyo scouting for their competition this year." Kuroo told Yaku and Yamamoto.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that I just spiked my first volleyball?" Lev asked, bringing the attention back to them.

"Come to think of it, how were you able to do it?" Inuoka asked. So far, Lev was the only one that Kenma had yet to match up with, but for him to match up with someone he just met, that was ridiculous.

"I don't know. I just kept jumping and finally hit one of her tosses." Lev replied, before getting a volleyball thrown at his head by Yaku. The team began to practice their spiking, blocking and receiving, while Kuroo and Yamamoto stood on the side talking about their visitors from earlier.

"That's strange though. Kenma hasn't been able to match with Lev, yet a complete stranger was able to do so with only 6 tosses. Is she a genius setter, like that one from Karasuno?" Yamamoto said as he watched Lev fail to spike another one of Kenma's tosses.

"I don't think so. That last ball she set… she didn't look at it until moments before tossing it. She was watching Lev the whole time."

ooo

Just like Oikawa said, Inter-High had come right around the corner. The preliminaries took three or four days to get through, with Shiratorizawa being the representative for Miyagi in Nationals. The boys' team suffered a defeat 2-1 against Inarizaki in the second round, while the girls' team advanced to the finals round against Itachiyama. The stadium was filled to the brim with the two schools and many other visitors, all anticipating the end result of the game.

"Welcome everyone. We are live at the Tokyo Metropolitan Arena where we are hosting the Japanese High School National Volleyball Tournament Finals. First up, hailing from Miyagi, please welcome Shiratorizawa!" From behind the stadium entrance doors, the main players of the Shiratorizawa team all stood, decked in full uniform. Each of them was wearing the Shiratorizawa female volleyball uniform, with knee pads and volleyball shoes. Kagome was wearing their volleyball jacket on, the sleeves hanging to the side as she moved her shoulders.

"I've got your backs on the court. So, trust me and jump." Kagome told her team before pushing the doors open and entering the stadium. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers as the Shiratorizawa team entered the court. As Kagome looked around, she easily spotted Tendo yelling loudly while Ushijima and Shirabu were politely clapping. She sent a smile up at her brother before looking around for her friends from Seijou. It wasn't hard to spot them with Oikawa and Hanamaki screaming out her name, while Iwaizumi and Matsukawa were clapping.

"Next, please welcome our reigning champions, Itachiyama!" If the crowd was loud before, it was thundering as the Itachiyama team headed onto the court. Sango growled as she saw one of the girls that she had gotten into a row with during their camp come out onto the court.

"We'll pay them back." Mirai said, settling her hand on Sango's arm. Sango nodded, before the team huddled around their coach and waited for instructions. Itachiyama took to the court first, warming up their players.

"This is what you have all trained for. Make sure to loosen your arm and leg muscles." The girls nodded and lightly stretched as they waited out the three minutes. The whistle blew, and Itachiyama switched places with Shiratorizawa so their team could warm up for three minutes. One by one, Kagome set the ball to each spiker, the spiker spiking the ball across the net. Mirai was on the other side of the net, receiving each ball without letting one drop. The referee blew the whistle three minutes later, signaling for Shiratorizawa to clear the court and for both teams to line up.

"We will now begin the Japanese High School Volleyball National Tournament Girls' Finals, Itachiyama Academy vs Shiratorizawa Academy" The arena was quiet as the commentator spoke. Once she had finished, Kagome stepped out of line and walked towards the net, matching the stride of Itachiyama's captain. The two met in the middle as they shook hands under the net.

"Let's have a good game." Kagome nodded, repeating the words back before heading back to where the rest of her teammates were standing.

"We will now introduce the starting lineup of the two schools." The girls ran and clapped their coaches' hands as their name was called before the starting 7 players on each team lined up to face the judging panel and audience.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please cheer on both teams and with them the best." Clapping echoed throughout the area as the players huddled up.

"Let's win this!" Nods of approval and shouts of agreement echoed in the small circle as they took their positions on the court. Kagome smoothed the medical tape around her wrist and rolled it a few times, making sure that her wrist was loose. Around her, Sango was lightly stretching her arms while Mirai was checking on her knees. The whistle blew and all the girls on the court fell into their stances. And with that, Itachiyama's side served the ball and the game began.

ooo

"Get changed and head back to the bus. We'll have a meeting when we get back." The girls nodded and the coach left the locker room. Sango slammed her fist onto the lockers as she gritted her teeth. Mirai was sitting on the bench with her head hung low. The rest of the starting members weren't in any better shape, two of them whimpering as tears leaked out of their eyes. Even Rin, who was usually the stoic one, looked like she was about to burst into tears. Kagome smiled faintly, not sure where to start, and cleared her throat. All the girls in the room looked at her, tears dripping down their only first year starter's face.

"Today, we played one of the best games that we have ever played." Kagome said, looking at the girls one by one. Mirai looked back at Kagome guiltily, remembering all the receives that she could have gotten, but didn't.

"I put my trust in you, and you all came through." Rin looked away, unable to look her captain and friend in the eye after the game she had just played.

"I will not regret this match, so I don't want you guys to regret it either." Kagome said, starting at her best friend and vice-captain. Sango nodded back before pulling herself off the lockers.

"We played good today guys. They were just better this time. But we have five months. Five months to get stronger and beat them in the Spring Tournament." Sango said, making Kagome slightly freeze at the last couple words. The girls nodded, Mirai wiping the tears out of her eyes, as they stood up. They began to change out of their uniform back into their jersey and shorts, and one by one they left the locker room.

"Let's go." Kagome nodded and followed Sango out of the locker room, the two of them being the last ones to leave. Along the way, they were recognized by the crowd that had come to watch them and were sent congrats for playing well and words of encouragement, but it went right past their ears. Once they stepped outside, Kagome saw the bus waiting to take them back to Miyagi. Just as she was about to head towards it, Sango cleared her throat. Turning her head, Kagome's eyes widened as she saw Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Matsukawa standing somewhat next to her brother, Tendo and Ushijima. Oikawa had a tick growing on his forehead and was being held back by Matsukawa while Tendo was telling Ushijima off. Iwaizumi had a hand to his forehead and Hanamaki was laughing while her brother looked like he had given up on her friends.

"Go ahead. Tell Coach I'll be there in a few minutes." Sango nodded and headed to the bus while Kagome walked up to her friends and brother.

"Good job out there today Tsuki-chan." Oikawa said, ruffling Kagome's hair once he noticed Kagome walk up to them.

"But I lost." Kagome replied in a soft voice. Shirabu sighed before pulling his sister into a small hug, causing her to slowly smile.

"You did well out there." Ushijima told her and was then subjected to Oikawa's annoyed glare.

"You just have to train and beat them next time." Kagome's smile fell immediately, remembering that the team's last chance was at the Spring Tournament in five months' time.

"I don't think I can play then. I haven't been to one since Kitagawa Daichi" The mood was heavy in the area as the males remembered the severity of the situation.

"We can talk more about it at home, okay?" Shirabu told his sister, and Kagome nodded, before thanking them for coming and waving goodbye as she went to board their bus.

"Is she going to be okay?" Iwaizumi asked as he watched the bus roll out of sight and on its way back to Miyagi.

"I hope so." Oikawa replied, his voice portraying the seriousness of the topic, before whipping around to face Ushijima.

"Don't think this means that I will be friends with you. I will beat you this fall." Oikawa gave Ushijima one more glare before stalking off toward the train station. Iwaizumi sighed, nodding to Shirabu before running after Oikawa. Hanamaki and Matsukawa bowed to the three of them before following after their captain and vice. Ushijima, Tendo and Shirabu ended up following them to the train station as they were getting on the same train back to Miyagi but sat in a different compartment.

"Will she be okay?" Ushijima asked once they had settled down in the train and were on their way back.

"I don't know. We don't really talk about the Spring Tournament that much." Shirabu replied, staring out the window.

"Do you think she'll retire?" Tendo asked in a shocked voice. Shirabu shrugged his shoulders, before explaining her condition to them.

"I think its psychological fear." Shirabu and Tendo turned to face Ushijima, who was staring back at them with an impassive look.

"The doctor said that she's completely healed. Seeing as she's completely healed and not in any pain when she plays, it's not anything physical that's keeping her from playing. I think it's more psychological. I don't think she's over what happened yet." Ushijima told them.

"So, what are we going to do then? She has to play in the Spring Tournament. It's her last tournament of high school." Tendo asked, his mood dampened from the severity of the conversation.

"The club will probably take a week off before starting to train again. She'll probably train along with them. Whether she'll play this fall is another thing though." Ushijima replied.

"We have our final exams in a few weeks, don't we?" Ushijima nodded, and Shirabu continued, "I think I'll take her to visit our parents." Tendo choked on the lollipop he was sucking on, causing Ushijima to thump him on the back. Coughing it out, he thanked Ushijima before turning to Shirabu.

"Is that a good idea Kenjiro?"

"It's time for her to see them again."

ooo

Once the team had gotten back from Tokyo, they had their meeting before going home for the rest of the weekend. They all took a week off of practice, Coach's orders, to properly study for their exams the following week.

"No, it's supposed to be 3.6π." Kagome told Sango after going through her work. Sango, Mirai and Rin had come over to Kagome's place to study for their finals, while her brother was off studying with some of his teammates.

"Huh? Where did you get that from?" Kagome sighed as Rin let out another jab at Sango's inability to do math correctly.

"Rin, instead of bugging her, help her. Sango, she's right. You have to pay attention to the formulas that you are using." Kagome said, effectively cutting off the argument before it blew up.

"Why does the difference in bases matter for these?" Mirai asked, pointing at two definitions in her notes from their biology class, pushing her glasses onto the top of her head. Kagome slid over a little bit to where Mirai was leaning away from her tatami and on the wall and looked at her notebook.

"So, you're looking at DNA and RNA, right?" Mirai nodded, and Kagome continued, "That's because DNA's sugar is deoxyribose while RNA's sugar is ribose. This causes them to have different functions, hence the importance of the bases." Mirai's face lit up with understanding as she thanked Kagome before going back to her notebook.

"Ah, I'm jealous of you, Kagome." Sango moaned as slumped down on Kagome's tatami, covering her notes and textbook.

"Why?" Kagome asked, lifting her head from her literature book, giving Sango a confused look.

"You're so smart. You don't even have to study." Sango told her.

"Huh? Everyone has to study for their exams. I just happen to remember and test well, that's all. I'm nothing special." Kagome replied.

"They even let you skip a year because you did so well on the entry exam and the other proficiency tests that they had you do. Nothing special, my ass." Sango grumbled as she flipped a page in her textbook.

"What are you planning on doing in college?" Rin asked, having set her calculus textbook down and was looking across the table at Kagome. Kagome shrugged her shoulders, having not thought about that question yet.

"We're supposed to be thinking about what we want to do over the summer. Us third-years are scheduled to meet with our counselors when we get back to discuss future careers and universities." Kagome told Rin.

"You two, go back to studying! Kagome, help me with this concept." Mirai snapped at Rin and Sango before beckoning Kagome to look at the notes from their class a couple days ago and asked for an explanation.

"Wrong. Why are you using an unnecessary equation, baka!" Run yelled, slapping Sango's head with a paper fan, as she pointed out Sango's mistake.

"Why can't you?" Rin let out a screech similar to a dying animal before pulling out their equation sheet from class and explaining why it wasn't allowed in that situation.

"Okay, Mirai. Explain the process of photosynthesis and then compare it to cellular respiration." Mirai nodded, before explaining both processes and the main functions, before comparing the two to each other.

"Baka, were are your units? Suzuki-sensei takes points off like crazy if you forget them!" Rin yelled at Sango, drawing a huge circle next to her answer where the units were supposed to four of them studied late into the night, and by the time they were getting ready to leave, Shirabu had returned from his own study session.

"See you tomorrow." Kagome nodded as she waved her friends off. Once they were gone, she locked the door behind her before going to the tatami table in the living room where her brother was waiting with their dinner.

"How did your studying go?" Kagome asked, kneeling onto the floor and digging into the dinner.

"It was good, except that Satori wouldn't stay quiet and kept getting yelled at by Ohira-san and Semi-san." Shirabu told her before asking how hers went.

"It went well." Kagome replied, pausing her bite before putting her chopsticks down and looking across as her brother.

"The topic of what I want to do in university came up. What do you want to do in the future?"

"I guess something in business. Maybe take over the company once I get the experience, unless you plan on taking over?" Shirabu replied in all honesty.

"Do you think Okaa-sama would be mad if I didn't take my birthright? I haven't told her yet." Kagome mumbled sullenly, setting her elbows onto the table and resting her chin on her hands.

"Even though you're the older twin, I don't think they would mind either of us taking the position. Why don't you tell them?" Kagome's mood wasn't deterred by Shirabu's excuse. It was hard on Shirabu to see his sister in such a state.

"Do you have anything next weekend, after our exams have ended?" Shirabu asked.

"I don't think so. Coach said something about a practice match with Fukurodani, but that's a week after exams have ended."

"Keep that weekend open. We're going to go see them."

ooo

"Welcome. What can I get for you two today?" The lady at the counter asked Shirabu and Kagome as the two walked up to the counter of the store.

"Can I get a bouquet of white roses and pink carnations?" Kagome asked the lady. The lady nodded, ringing up their purchase to which Shirabu handed the money. Once the transaction was complete, the lady signaled for them to wait on the couches while they got their bouquet.

Moments later, a woman walked up to them holding a delicately bundled bouquet of flowers. Saying their thanks, the two headed out the doors and headed down the streets of Tokyo.

"They're beautiful." Kagome said as she looked at the bouquet in her arms.

"I'm sure they'll like them." Shirabu told his sister as they passed by other stores and buildings, making their way to where there parents were waiting for their arrival. It didn't seem to be long before the two finally made their way up to a building. Heading inside, walked through the building towards the gardens in the back. Shirabu opened the gate to the garden and gestured for Kagome to go.

"Go ahead. I'll give you some time with them alone. Just call me when you're done." Shirabu tightened his hand around Kagome's before letting her go through into the garden. Around her, Kagome only saw a few other people chatting with their family members, and sighed, remembering exactly why she was here today. She continued to walk through the garden, holding the bouquet with both hands to avoid wrinkling her black skirt out of nervousness. The breeze gently blew by, making Kagome's hair flow to the side and her satin blouse to move against her skin as she came to stop. It was quiet as Kagome stared as she gathered her thoughts.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

There was no response, as Kagome crouched down at set the bouquet on the ground, staring at the two names engraved on stone in front of her.

"Okaa-sama, Otou-sama."

ooo