Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to these characters.

Kuroo would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about Kagome. Now if he was to say that she worried him or he was worried for her, he would have to say that it was a little bit of both. He was well aware that there was no way that Watanabe had given up on targeting her after their first clash. And sadly he was proven correct. The elder boy kept trying to make passes at her even though Kuroo made it pretty blatant that Kagome was his girlfriend— Yamamoto was still pouting over that little fact.

However, beyond trying to coerce her into agreeing on a date, he was also trying to be slick in terms of getting back at her for rejecting him and for taking away his authority. Which was ironic because Watanabe would be losing some of that authority tomorrow with the arrival of their new coach. The whole dating aspect he really wasn't worried about. After seeing the captain's attempts, he had to agree with Kagome's assessment that any date he got in the past was out of pity or the girl was blinded by the guy's looks. He was more worried that he would have to wrangle some of the other players into helping him hide a body at this rate. That tick forming on her brow was not a good sign, and he should know. He had been on the receiving end of that warning sign a few times when they were kids.

What he wasn't liking one bit was the 'subtle' attempts of hitting her with a stray ball. Just yesterday, Watanabe had about three balls go 'out of control' and they all went right in Kagome's direction. The first time it happened, Kagome was standing off to the side of the court looking over all the information for their trip to Ubugawa High. As he and the other members yelled out to her as the ball flew towards her head, Kuroo swore he could feel his heart freeze in his chest as he reached out in her direction as if he could somehow will the ball to stop.

Luckily, just as soon as he and the others shouted their warning, she stepped off to the side while still looking down at her clipboard. Instead of hitting her full on, the ball merely grazed her ear as it hit the wall behind her with a loud thwack. She turned her head to look at the ball and reached up to touch her ear with a small frown. "Hmmm…. Should have stepped aside a bit more."

Kuroo and the others darted over to her to make sure she was all right, and she waved them off. "I'm fine, I just need to remember how big a volleyball is. Now go on, back to it." After she was nearly hit a few more times, even the other third years began to look at Watanabe sideways. Kagome managed to break some of the tension that was growing between the team and the captain, though it probably didn't help the situation between her and the petulant teen. "Oi, Watanabe-san. You really should work some more on your aim."

The low growl that escaped the captain was hilarious and disconcerting. Kuroo talked with her as they and Kenma walked home that evening. Telling her that while he could appreciate the desire to needle the arrogant jerk, that maybe she should be a little more careful. Or at least make sure that she stayed close to him and the others when she did decide poke at the bear. However, there was a distant look in her eyes when she absently nodded at his suggestion.

He will admit he got frustrated when it seemed like she didn't take his concern seriously, so he stopped her, placed both hands on her shoulders and forced her to look him in the eye. When he told her that he wasn't kidding and that she needed to be careful, there was something almost dark in her gaze as she looked at him. It was like she wasn't completely there with him mentally, but as she focused on him and the tone of his voice there was that deadly inferno that started to build. Somewhat like the look she gave Hojo at the restaurant. It was then he realized that he was not handling this the best.

After taking a deep breath and centering himself, he was able to address the situation calmly and managed to diffuse the potential ticking time-bomb before him. Telling her that it would make him feel better if she used more caution in the future since he was uneasy with Watanabe's sudden attempts to cause her harm. She sighed and agreed to his request.

Now it was a new day and that element of his worries was settled for the time being, while making a mental note to inquire about the shadows in her eyes later on when things weren't so tense. He was somewhat terrified of what mayhem their petite manager was surely cooking up. There next to her on the floor as a duffle bag and she was standing in the middle of the gym looking somewhat smug—and if one could look far too innocent with a hint of smugness at the same time, Kagome was proving to be the poster child for it. As the team filtered inside, she told everyone to do their stretches and then they would head out for their run.

The team suffered through the 'stair master' and then Kagome led them in a different direction than before. She came to a stop before a large sports center that some of them had gone to before. Greeting the owner at the door, the group was led to a large gym with a giant sand pit with volleyball nets set up. He just knew that he was going to feel this tomorrow.

"All right everyone, you will be practicing here today. Break into two teams, and we'll begin."

The team shuffled about after removing their shoes and entered the pit. Kagome quickly got their water ready and positioned herself by the score board. Now all she had to do was sit back and enjoy the show—she really should have packed popcorn. As the boys gingerly walked across the sand and got into position, she was unsurprised that all five of the third years grouped to one side and pulled two of the second years along with them. On the opposing side there was Kuroo, Kai, Yaku, Kenma, Yamamoto, Fukunaga, and the remaining underclassmen.

Pulling a few over to help with the score board and to facilitate the match so that the teams had seven members each. The few that were temporarily 'saved' were grateful to not be placed in the game right away. Though Kagome hadn't been in charge of their training for long, everyone was quickly learning that nothing she planned was painless. As the players got into position, the match was signaled to begin. It was then the difficulties that they had to combat became apparent, every team member quickly realized that jumping and receiving could equal them either on their rear-end or face first in the sand.

As they struggled to keep their balance while they played, they could hear snickers from the sidelines. Granted there were a lot of laughs from everyone directed at whomever toppled over at any given time, so it didn't seem too terrible at first. Kuroo attempted to once more dive to receive the ball before it could hit the lumpy ground and found that he misjudged his foot placement and nearly buried his head in the sand. "Nice receive!" Getting up quickly and shaking the sand out of his hair for the hundredth time, he reclaimed his position on the court once more while hearing a delicate snort from the side.

"Start thinking about your feet placement and weight distribution! You need to find your balance, then you'll stop falling over as much! Eventually you will be able to move across the sand just as you do a wooden floor."

"There's no way anyone can do that!"

"Well you certainly won't with that attitude."

Watanabe growled in frustration as he nearly got another mouthful of sand. "What is the point of this anyway? We are not beach volleyball players!"

Kagome looked at him and sighed. Remembering her promise to Kuroo to try not to antagonize the volatile captain. While she shared his concern about the captain's sudden desire to potentially hurt her, she knew that she could defend herself against the majority of anything he attempted. Now she was no master at fighting, and she was well aware of her limits, such as her saving grace was that Watanabe wasn't trained in any form of fighting. So why does she needle the boy? Well he's a jerk-and-a-half, and he kind of reminded her of Inuyasha in a way with regards to wanting to desperately hold on to his 'power' over the group.

Shaking her head slightly, she looked at the rest of the team to see that some of them had a similar questioning look on their faces. "What are some of the main movements that you perform in volleyball?"

One of the rookies looked around nervously, "Receiving."

Smiling in his direction, she nodded, "Yes that is one of them, and there is one other."

"Jumping!"

"Yes, and those require the use of your legs. You all are good a receiving, there's no denying that, but your balance could use improvement. Think of this as extreme resistance training. You are working on your balance, awareness, and endurance all at the same time." Seeing the glow of understanding in everyone's eyes made her grin. "Of course, having fun while working on those is always a plus. Now let's get back to the game. If your legs aren't burning yet, then you are not working hard enough."

Kuroo stood tall and directed a sly grin towards her. "Ne, Kago-chan. Why don't you show us how it's done?"

Raising an eyebrow in response, she smirked, "Well I guess a small demonstration couldn't hurt. Kenma? Could you give me a toss, but slightly lower than usual?"

Kenma gave a small nod in agreement, and waited for Kuroo to throw the ball to him. As he reached up and set the ball where it was needed, all eyes watched as Kagome darted towards the net, jumped up and spiked the ball down to the other side. The boys' eyes widened as she didn't wobble or falter in her approach. "See? With some practice you will get there. So, hop to it."

"Kagome! How long did it take you to be able to do that?"

Turning towards Tora, "Hmm, almost a month, I think. If it wasn't for how my sensei was training me in the sand, I would have figured out my balance a lot sooner. But who's to say? I was pretty klutzy at the time. Anyway, don't feel discouraged if you don't figure this out right away. If it was easy it wouldn't be a challenge."

With a renewed sense of purpose, the boys focused on the task at hand. It soon turned into a competition with some of the boys to see who could wind up in the sand less. At the moment, Kenma was the clear winner in that regards and Tora was trailing in last place. She was sure that Kuroo had about half a pound of sand hiding in his hair thanks to his dives and Tora's flailing.

'All in all, this has been a good day I think.'

As the team returned to school to change and head home for the night, they began to feel the burn of their muscles. Collectively they all released a loud groan as they knew that it was going to be another night of soaking tired muscles and maybe a few extra stretches before collapsing into dreamland. In their dreams they were safe from the tiny tyrant that was their manager, and who were they to deny their beds sweet siren call?

Kagome waited at the gate for Kuroo and Kenma to arrive, giving farewells to some of the boys as they shuffled off. Once the duo met up with her, they all began their journey home. Kagome teased Kuroo, telling him that now he was going to have to find a brush and use it to get the rest of the sand out. She even offered to stop at one of the stores that they were passing to help him buy one since he probably didn't know what a hairbrush even looked like.

Releasing a tired groan mixed with a chuckle, he took a playful swipe at the pixie. Looking over at Kenma and seeing that while he was obviously tired, he didn't seem as tired as Kuroo felt. "Well, Kenma. I think it's safe to say that you were the best at today's practice compared to the rest of us."

Kagome allowed herself to be caught by one of Kuroo's lazy swipes and he tucked her into her now usual spot against his side. "He even seemed to enjoy the little competition that you guys started towards the end."

"True, he even looked a little excited once he was declared the winner."

Kenma kept his head down while looking at the game he was playing. "I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did—"

Kagome laughed at the two old friends before leaning forward to look around Kuroo to talk to Kenma. "But you can't deny that you were the grand champion today, Kenma."

Kenma didn't respond right away, but she did catch a tiny smirk and satisfied spark in his eye. "Ah."

"Oh, I see how it is! You will agree with her, but argue against my claim?"

"She was correct, you were not."

"I was too."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

"You two are hopeless."

Simultaneously the two let go of their banter to cry foul. "Are not!"

Author's Note: Once again, thank you to everyone that has reviewed, followed, and favored this story. I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying it so far.

Just wanted to address another question that I've seen pop up here and there. I have no idea if anyone from the Feudal Era will make an appearance in any way shape or form. I've thought about it since the question first emerged and I'm just not sure. I guess we'll all have to see what happens as this story progresses.