Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to these characters.
The days flew by and summer break was officially over. Classes in Nekoma High were back in full swing, much to the misery of some of its students—especially for those who didn't complete their summer coursework. So, while some scrambled to finish various assignments, and projects, the volleyball team began to prepare for the tournament that was rapidly approaching. Coaches Nekomata and Naoi were pleased with the team's progress and growth. All of their determination and strength were thrown into every practice with gusto—well, not as much on Kenma's part, but at least he completed the workouts with a groan.
Kuroo grinned as he thought about everything that had happened since the beginning of the school year. Especially the past week. Kagome was in full mother hen mode and she watched the team like a hawk to make sure none of the members pushed themselves too far. Yamamoto nearly drove himself to illness at one point and the terror that Kagome inflicted upon him made Kuroo both sweat in fear and cackle in gleeful hysteria.
The resident Tiny Tyrant saw the signs of Yamamoto stressing his system, and when he didn't listen to her warnings—kept going on about 'guts' or whatever—she came the next day fully prepared. When Kagome entered the gym, she took one look at Yamamoto's wane appearance and walked over to him with a thermos.
"Yamamoto, sit down before you fall down."
"Wha—?"
Staring him down until he complied, she poured out some tea and handed it to the Ace. "Drink all of that, then you can join the others."
"What is it?"
"Something to help boost your immune system."
He gave her a look and a shrug before tossing the liquid in his mouth. As the taste of the concoction hit his tongue, he froze and his eyes began to water. Before he could attempt to spit out the vile fluid a small hand slapped over his lips preventing the action.
"Sorry, but you're going to have to swallow that Yamamoto-kun."
Managing to make a strangled pathetic sound without choking, he reluctantly complied with the order. Once she was sure that all of the tea was ingested, Kagome removed her hand with a nod. Yamamoto immediately began coughing and hacking at the horrendous taste in his mouth and looked as if he wanted to either rip out his own tongue or eat dirt to escape it as the rest of the team watched in horror.
"What was that?! Poison?!"
Kagome snorted in amusement as she twisted the lid of the thermos back on and glanced at the clock. "Of course not. It's just a few herbs mixed in the proper proportions. You'll have to have another cup in about an hour."
"ANOTHER?!"
"Yes. Maybe next time when you're told not to overdo it, you'll actually listen."
When the time came for the Ace's next dose, he ran for Kuroo and managed to trip over his own feet in his desperation. Scrambling on his hands and knees, he dove across the remaining distance and grabbed onto Kuroo's legs.
"Kuroo-san! Save me!"
Kuroo looked down at the panicky first year and shook his head. "Why? So, she can shove that shit down my throat in retaliation? No thanks, I choose life. You're on your own with this one, Yamamoto."
Suddenly there was a hand that wrapped around Yamamoto's ankle and dragged him away from Kuroo and across the gym.
"Noooooooo!"
Snickering at the poor soul's misfortune, the team resumed their practice to the sounds of their Ace gagging and sputtering. They made sure to make a mental note that if Kagome ever tells them that they are pushing too hard, then they should listen. The last thing that they wanted was to have to drink whatever she was force feeding Yamamoto.
It was the night before the tournament, and the boys were anxious. They were fully confident that they would surpass the third years in terms of performance, but Tokyo had a lot of really strong teams. So, there was that little concern. And more than anything, they really wanted to make it to Nationals—all right, they were nervous and confident. A bizarre combination that Kagome could fully empathize with. She had gone through the same rollercoaster of feelings herself when the time for the final battle arrived. Shaking her head briefly, she straightened her shoulders and approached the herd of twitchy cats. Distracting them was part of her duties as manager, and she was going to do her absolute best to take their minds off of the looming event.
"You know, if you all have this much extra energy… we could put it to use with a few extra rounds of the stair master."
All the boys froze and paled as they slowly turned their heads to look at her. It took everything she had to hold in her laughter at the shear panic and horror that their eyes held before she was bombarded with a cacophony of voices.
"We're fine!"
"No need for that!"
"We're actually really, really tired!"
"Yeah, and look at the time! Practice is over!"
"Clean up and go home everyone!"
Giving them all a placating smile and nod, Kagome gathered up the water bottles and left to get them cleaned. As soon as she was out of the gym, she wrapped her arms around her waist and allowed the snickers that she withholding to escape. As she began to calm down, she gathered up her cargo once more and continued on with her chore. "Ah, that never gets old."
This was it. Today was the day. The tournament had finally arrived and Nekoma was ready to rise from the ashes of what they once were, and reclaim their place as a strong team to be wary of. As they won their first match in consecutive sets, they could feel the nervous jitters begin to slide away. Then came the second round, with similar results—allowing them to surpass their predecessors and move on to the second day of the tournament. The boys nearly leapt for joy, and their small yet vocal cheering section was over the moon for them.
"Hey, Yamamoto. Is that Akane-chan with a megaphone?"
The slightly embarrassed Ace sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not sure where she got that from."
Kenma smirked a bit as he focused on his bag while he finished packing his belongings. "Kagome gave it to her before she headed to the bleachers after wishing us good-luck. Something about now we would be able to hear her cheers."
The boys grinned at each other as they headed home, day two was going to be a challenge and they could use all the motivation that they could get. Though some of the boys teasingly griped that if they had a cute girlfriend like a certain scheming captain, then they would have all the motivation one could need. Oh well, too late to worry about that tidbit now.
When the second day began, they team was feeling confident. Their next opponents weren't a weak school by any means, but they weren't particularly powerful either. As long as they did as Coach Nekomata taught them—just keep that ball in the air—then they would win this match like they did the others. And as their match progressed, it went very much like how they predicted. By refusing to allow the ball to hit the ground, they wore down and discouraged their opponents to the point that they became desperate to score. That desperation then led to critical errors, and allowed them to claim another victory to their name.
Kagome couldn't have been prouder of the team. They were calm and focused on the match which gave them all the time in the world to strategize and attack. Kenma was living up to his new title as the 'brain' of the team beautifully—though the boy was mortified when he learned of the new pre-game ritual that Kuroo came up with. Kagome giggled as she remembered when Kuroo told her about it.
"Hey Kago-chan!"
"Hmm?"
"I was thinking that we need a team motto, or phrase. You know, to get the team pumped before a game."
"That would be good. What did you have in mind?"
"I came up with, 'We are blood. Never stop flowing. Keep moving. Keep bringing oxygen, so that our brain can keep thinking.'"
Kagome blinked at him rapidly before laughing. "You are such a science nerd, Tetsu-kun. Kenma will hate that, and you know it."
Kuroo gave her a smug grin, "I don't know what you are talking about."
She was fairly certain that the only reason Kenma didn't set Kuroo up with a flop of a spike in retaliation was because as much as he tried to hide it, he could be far more competitive than most on the team. He may not care overall about the outcome, but he didn't care for allowing his opponents to have an easy win either.
Which was good, because their next opponents would not be easy for them to face. This team while not top school, it was in the top four in the prefecture. And within the first ten minutes, it became apparent that this game would be a struggle for Nekoma. The boys were able to consistently receive the ball and keep it from hitting the floor for the most part, but unlike previous teams, their current opponent did not allow frustration to cloud their judgement. The rallies became longer and more arduous as the game progressed into the second set, making Nekoma forever grateful for the intense training that their Tiny Tyrant had put them through.
Soon the game reached the third set with their opponents starting to pull away from them. Kagome felt like she was on the verge of chewing off her nails as she watched the game. Frantically she scribbled notes on how the team was performing and where their weaknesses were, while trying to not get too lost in just watching them play. Just as it seemed that Nekoma was beginning to claw their way closer to the top, it was match point for the opposing team. Feeling practically sick to her stomach, Kagome chewed on her lip and tried to will her boys to stave off the potentially killer blow that was about to be sent their way. Then, just like that, the game was over—Nekoma would go no further in this tournament.
Heartbroken for her boys, she watched as they held their heads high and struggled to hold in their disappointment as they thanked everyone for cheering for them. Kagome quickly began to gather up the water bottles and towels, and the others grabbed their bags and gear to clear the way for the next matches. As they moved into the hallway to collect themselves before they needed to head back to school, Kagome noticed that Kuroo wandered off by himself. Slowly she approached him from behind and rested her hand on his back.
"Tetsu-kun?" She watched his shoulders moved as he sighed. "Hey—are you ok?"
"I really wanted us to make it to Nationals…"
With a sad smile she ducked under his arm to stand between him and the wall to look up into his eyes as she cupped his face. "I know you did. But just because it didn't happen this time, doesn't mean you'll never make it there. The fact that you all worked so hard and made it to the top eight in this tournament is great. You made that team earn that victory. And in doing so, you put all the other teams on notice that Nekoma isn't a team to take lightly."
"I know. I know. It's still disappointing."
"If you weren't disappointed, then I would be very concerned about you. We'll take this as a learning opportunity, and work on the areas that we need to. That way we'll be better prepared in time for the Spring Tournament."
Kuroo groaned and dropped his head on her shoulder. "What misery are you cooking up for us now you menace?"
Kagome laughed gently and stroked his hair. "Nothing right now. You all deserve a small break to recover. The new conditioning will be added in a few days. And Uncle Yasu and Coach Naoi are thinking up additional drills."
"Well if it helps us get to Nationals, I guess we can't whine too much, can we?"
"Hey. There is no 'if' in this, Tetsu-kun. You'll get to play in the Nationals, I know it. Now come on, we need to load up." Tugging him down the hallway towards the rest of the team, she was brought to a halt when he suddenly stopped.
"Kago-chan? Thanks."
"For what?"
"For being here, and being you."
Kagome squeezed his hand and smiled before continuing to guide him towards their destination. "You may want to save the thanks until after you learn what changes to the training you'll have."
Kuroo dropped his head back and released a loud groan of despair.
