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


Naoi swore that his ribs were bruised from all the mad cackles that he had been withholding the last few days. After observing the dreaded 'stair master,' he had to admit that he was thrilled that Coach Nekomata never dreamt up that misery for the team back in his day. And he was thrilled that as a coach he was exempt from participating in it now. Kagome had been having the team run this exercise daily, and he watched as she observed their progress closely while making notes in a notebook that she kept close. He was sure that the boys had no idea that in those pages she kept track of their progress and ideas for other training ideas that she was considering.

The fact that they weren't looking at her in fear, proved that they had no inkling that she jotted down a timeline for when it would be a good time to increase the stair master from three repetitions to four. The hilarious part was that occasionally some of the boys would come down with what looked like a ofuda attached to them. He was a little confused at first until he heard Kagome giggle and look up at him with a shrug, "Grandpa gets bored at times." Watching them try to peel off the paper or get one of the others to pull it off for them if they couldn't reach it was entertaining to say the least.

As much fun as it was to watch the boys suffer with the stair master and the occasional blitz attack from the famed Higurashi elder, it had nothing on the sand pit. It was a comedy of errors that he wished that he had videotaped, because it would be great to re-watch on a gloomy day. The sheer number of times that the team either faceplanted, toppled over, or tripped was hysterical. Then with the younger players creating a game out of their tumbles within the volleyball game, it was a blast to watch. Yes, he knows that he should try to rein them in and make them be more serious about their workout, but they were working plenty hard. Allowing them the levity that they had embraced just seemed to give them more energy to work with.

Of course, on the other side of all of this was the third years and their somewhat lack of participation. He was well aware that there was tension between Kagome and the captain—she disclosed that at the very beginning. And she has been doing her best to keep her interactions with Watanabe at a minimum so that additional problems don't flare up. Beyond that, the underlying tension and disconnect between the upperclassmen and the second and first years was a surprise.

Well there wasn't a whole lot he could really do about that now besides making sure that the team doesn't implode. With the Inter-High Prelims in just a few short weeks, it was a bit too late to get the third years to blend into the rest of the team. And to be honest, he gets the feeling that the underclassmen would be hard pressed to trust their seniors and were merely counting down the days until the third years retired. It was sad to see, he remembered looking up to his senpai and being sad on the day that they retired from the club. Regardless, he would do what he could to pull the ranks together into a cohesive team.

The training trip to Ubugawa High tomorrow would be a good place to start. He would have the members switch out often to give everyone a chance to work together and change the team dynamics. It would be a good way to see where their weaknesses currently are when facing another team, and make sure everyone gets some practice of course.

After observing the morning practice, he was aware of how well the underclassmen are shaping up together as a team—he also informed them that they would need to start thinking about who should be the next captain and vice-captain. The third years not showing up is a bit problematic. It is difficult to really work with the team and get everyone to work together when several of the members only participate in half of the practices. That would have to be another issue that he will need to address.

The other issue is getting Kagome to relax a bit, the poor girl had been fretting over the forms, schedules, and other plans for the weekend relentlessly. This being her first overnight training trip, and not having another manager to learn from is more than likely adding to her anxiety. He'll have to let her know that it's ok if things don't go smoothly at first, and that she'll make herself sick if she stresses herself out too much.


Once again, the team was gathered outside by the tree for lunch. Soaking in the warm sun and the cool breeze. This was probably one of the last few weeks that would be comfortable enough for everyone to sit outside lunch. As summer drew closer, the humidity and heat would increase to the point that it would be too unbearable to be out.

The boys were sprawled out and talking over whom of the second years should take on the leadership role. Kagome left them to their debate, listening with only half an ear while she poured over her lists for the weekend. She already checked the list over about ten times at this point, but she just couldn't shake the worry that she was forgetting something.

Kuroo would occasionally check on her as she obsessed over her notes. Watching her as she chewed on her bottom lip and one hand tugged and fiddled with the end of her braid. He frowned as he decided that it was time to step in and save her from herself. So being the super awesome boyfriend that he was, he reached out and snatched the notebook from her hands and quickly sat on top of it. Normally he would have tossed it to one of the others, but she would have seen that and they've all gained a healthy dose of fear for their miniature manager. One glare from her would have them caving and passing the stolen item back almost immediately. No, this would be an act that he would have to brave on his own. As terrifying as she could be, he was the only one with enough courage to stand up to her—though the others claim that it's stupidity, even Kenma says that which is just rude if you asked him!

Sitting with a proud smirk on his face and his arms folded across his chest, he watched as Kagome blinked at her now empty hands in shock. She slowly raised her head and stared at him as a twitch began to form under her left eye. Opening and closing her hands as she began to growl at the arrogant rooster.

"Tetsu-kun…. Give it back."

There was a silence amongst the crew as he sat there and pretended to consider her demand. "Hmm. No."

"Give me my notebook!"

"Nope. You've looked over the plans and lists for the trip enough. If you missed something then it isn't that important. So, you are taking the rest of the day off."

"You can't do that!"

"Can and did."

The team watched as the duo squabbled. Kagome tried several times to get Kuroo to release her coveted notebook as Kuroo laughed at her attempts. "I think Kuroo should be the team captain." The boys looked at Yaku and asked for his reasoning. "Beyond everything that he's done to help the team. He's currently the only one who can challenge Kagome and live to tell the tale." Nodding in agreement, they turned their attention back to see Kuroo had somehow pinned a pouting Kagome in his lap with his arms around her and his head resting on top of hers.

"…I hate you."

"Love you too, Kago-chan!"

"…Stupid Rooster Head…" Quietly the boys snickered and hoped that she wouldn't hear—her eyes cutting in their direction proved otherwise and they knew that they would all pay later.


It was early on Saturday and the team all gathered on campus for the short bus ride to Ubugawa High. Kagome was feeling anxious. She was still worried about missing something in the preparation for the trip, but she was also wanting to see how the other teams played. It would be a great opportunity to see how the boys were improving, and how the training should be adjusted in the future. The team was already showing very slight signs of growth which made her happy. They probably couldn't tell the difference at this point, and that's not surprising given that it's only been a little over a week.

The drive was mostly quiet as a majority of the team decided to rest as much as they could. Kagome looked over the schedule for that day and saw that they should arrive by about nine o'clock and after everyone unloaded their bags, they should be warming up by ten. The practice games would proceed throughout the day, pausing for a light lunch and breaks, and then they were free for personal practice and dinner.

'I'll have to keep an eye on Tetsu-kun and the others with the personal practice. They may forget to eat dinner otherwise.'

Upon arrival, they were greeted by Ubugawa's Coach, Captain, and Manager. Splitting off everyone carried their bags to their designated rooms and Kagome was introduced to Miyanoshita Eri and Ootaki Mako, the managers from Ubugawa and Shinzen. Mako was a year older than herself and Eri, and seemed like she possessed a very sweet and gentle personality. Eri was a bubbly girl that was thrilled to finally meet the other managers of the Fukurodani Group. The girls began to trade contact information and talk about their challenges in managing a group of rowdy boys that were volleyball addicts.

They wandered back down from the room in just in time to hear that the bus for Fukurodani Academy had just arrived. Eri told Mako and Kagome that she would see them later as she darted off to help welcome the new arrivals. Kagome was very interested in the team that Kuroo grudgingly spoke highly of, especially Bokuto, the one he referred to as an 'annoying horned owl.' Anyone that Kuroo would call irritating is someone that she wanted to meet. Maybe she could trade tips with Bokuto on how to annoy her Rooster Headed boyfriend? Giggling softly to herself, she followed Mako to the gym where they began to prepare for the long day of practice matches.

The boys were loud and rowdy as they all piled into the large gym. Their voices echoed while bouncing off of the high walls and ceiling as they greeted each other and shouted promises of victory. The loudest was probably the teen that strolled in with grey-white hair with black streaks that seemed to defy gravity. Actually, the more she looked the more the style reminded her of an owl—maybe he was the infamous Bokuto that Kuroo griped about?

"Kuroo! I'm going to bust through all of your blocks this weekend! Hey, hey, hey!"

"Eh? We'll see about that, you obnoxious owl!"

Kagome smiled as she watched the interaction. 'Yup, that definitely has to be Bokuto.'


Author's note: I went back and forth about the chapter. Do I skip ahead a bit and gloss over the training weekend? Do I dive into this or that? No, I can't start another story until I get this one done…

So I think the next chapter will cover the weekend training and then there will be a time skip to the right after the Inter-High Prelims. Until next time!