Chapter 2

The day of Golden Week training camp, I took my volleyball bag with me to school. I put it in my locker and walked to my classroom to only to be greeted by Nishinoya. "Kaneko-chan!" he greeted loudly. "Good morning!"

I sighed as everyone turned to stare at us. "Good morning Nishinoya."

I made my way to my seat and Nishinoya bounced after me in excitement. He even sat in his seat backwards when I sat down. "So, what do we have going on for practice today?"

"And I would tell you why?" I shot back. "You'll find out like everyone else."

Nishinoya groaned. "Oh, come on, Kaneko-chan! At least give me something to go on."

I shook my head. "Not gonna happen Nishinoya. I'm not about to tell you so you can tell Tanaka at lunch. Or so you can go let Asahi know what we are doing."

The teacher came in before Nishinoya could push more and he had to turn around. I got out my notebook and book to follow along with the lesson. I glanced at the back of Nishinoya's head. There was a lot that the whole team had to work on, and to be ready for Nekoma, it all depended on how hard they worked.

*Cat Among Crows*

After school, I changed with Kyoko in the girl's locker room and although I thought that the girl was quiet, she was nice. She walked me through what they would do during normal practice. I even asked her to keep an eye on certain things that I wanted the boys to work on, and she agreed to take notes for me.

"All here?" my cousin called. When they all replied, he got down to what he wanted to get done. "The practice match against Nekoma is in four days. Inter-High preliminaries will be soon thereafter. We've got no time, but you guys are full of holes. Since that's the case, there's only one way for you to win. Practice. Practice. And practice. Save the ball, even if you have to barf."

Hinata was the only one that replied to that which made me chortle.

We started with receives. Each player had to have five successful receives in order to have a break. Keishin would spike the ball and Kiyoko would pass the ball to him while I would keep an eye on the players. I would occasionally give a little advice to some of them. Keishin has to yell at each of them when they mess up.

When it was Hinata's turn, he kept missing them. I made Keishin stop for a moment while I went up to Hinata. "Hinata, get back in position for me." He looked confused but still ben his knees and put his hands in position. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him down a little. "Now, push back on my hand with your knees." He did and I made him bounce. "Feel that. Bounce down when the ball comes to you and bounce up to send the ball back."

Hinata nodded and I walked back towards the side. Nodding at Keishin, he sent the ball towards Hinata, and he received it properly. He sent me a thumbs up with a wide smile and I only smiled at him. The next one though, he missed, but with some reminders he got the others.

I noticed that other that Nishinoya, Daichi and Kageyama had the strongest receives. Ashai was decent, but still needed some help. Tanaka and Suga both need quiet a lot of help. I didn't blame Suga, being a setter, they're never really good a receiving. Tanaka, though, had no excuse.

My own training that I had them do. Everyone was regretting having me. But they learned not to mess with me though. We had done more receiving with Kiyoko tossing the ball, Keishin setting the ball, and me spiking it. Most of them couldn't pick them up and I kept it up until they did.

Next was spike drills. Suga and Kageyama were the setters while the others got into two lines. There was quiet a lot of good spikes. Ashai, obviously, had the most powerful with Tanaka having the next while the fastest was Hinata. Although, I knew that Hinata needed a lot more training. He couldn't always keep his eyes closed when he wanted to spike.

*Cat Among Crows*

After practice, we all went to the lodge that we would be staying at for the training camp. Hinata was so excited that he was running around the whole place, marveling at everything. When Suga told Nishinoya and Tanaka that Kiyoko wasn't staying, they both fell on their faces in shock. I sweat dropped at their reactions. They then spun around to look at me.

"Wait! Kaneko-chan, you'll be staying here with us, right?!" they both begged.

I scratched the back of my head. It was kind of strange to have two boys like this instead of just one. "I will be staying for only a few nights. I have something goin on the day before the Nekoma match though."

They both started to cry in relief which made me sweat drop again. They then followed me towards the kitchen where the door opened to reveal Takeda and Kiyoko. Nishinoya and Tanaka both began to cry in earnest now, falling to their knees. I turned to Kiyoko. "Are they always like this?"

"Sometimes it's worse," she answered me. "Go ahead and sit down. We are almost done."

"I could have helped."

Kiyoko shook her head at me and gave me a small smile. "You worked just as hard as the boys today. Try to relax a little."

I smiled back at her. "I'll try."

*Cat Among Crows*

I ended up with my own room and connected bath. After changing for bed, my phone started to ring. Still tired from the work I put in today, I didn't look at who was calling. "Hello?"

"Is that really all I get? Just a hello?" Tetsuro's voice came through the speaker.

Hearing his voice made me sit up straighter. "Oh, Tetsu hi. Sorry, I'm more tired than I thought that I would be. I was trying a new routine today."

"Don't overwork yourself Kit Kat," Tetsuro scolded. "It won't help your recovery if you collapse."

"I promise that I'm not going to overwork myself," I chuckled at him. "It was just the first day of upping my training, so of course I'm more tired."

"If you're sure," he grumbled. "Well, regardless, we reached Miyagi a little bit ago and everyone just settled down."

"And you snuck away to call me," I finished. "You know, if you don't get sleep, you won't be able to play properly. And you have the nerve to lecture me."

"Wouldn't be the first time I'd have to play on little sleep," he proclaimed cockily, and I laughed a little. There were many nights that we would spend all night talking, neither of us getting much sleep. He suddenly turned serious. "I really miss you Kaneko."

A soft smile made its way to my lips. "I miss you too Tetsuro. Only a few more years, I promise."

"I know, but without you here, it just feels like forever," he grumbled. "It was much easier when I could still see you every day."

"I know, it feels longer to me too," I replied in a soft voice. We both sighed, but before either of us could say anything there was yelling from the hallway.

"Kit Kat, what's that?" Tetsu asked in confusion.

"Hold on Tetsu and I'll explain in a minute," I told him. Standing, I still had my phone in my hand as I went back out to the hallway. I found Daichi, Asahi, Nishinoya, Tanaka and Hinata gathered in the middle of the hallway, all of them yelling. I raised my other hand to my mouth and let out a loud whistle. They all stopped and slowly turned to me.

Glaring at them, they all flinched. "Go to bed, all of you and keep it down or you all will be running suicides tomorrow," I growled.

"Yes ma'am!" they all squeaked.

I nodded and began to walk back to my room, bring my phone back to my ear. "Sorry about that Tetsu."

"Who was that?" Tetsu asked seriously.

"Members of Karasuno's Boys Volleyball Club," I answered honestly as I closed my door, and continued before he could question more. "I got to Karasuno High School now and my cousin, Keishin, has been asked to be their coach. Keishin asked me to help him with this training camp leading up to your match. I agreed mainly to help with my own training."

"So, you already knew that we were coming?" Tetsuro asked after a second of silence.

"I did but I didn't know that you would be here before that though."

"Do they know that you used to go and play at Nekoma?"

"No," I answered immediately. "And it's the same reason that I didn't tell you right away. I won't have anyone ask me for insight on how to beat either side."

There was another moment of silence. "They earned you respect." It wasn't a question. He then sighed. "I won't tell the other because I trust your judgement. But how did they do it?"

"By being themselves."

"Huh?"

I giggled. "Just from talking and watching them, they reminded me of the antics of you goofballs. It was nice to be around that again."

I could hear the fond smile in Tetsuro's voice. "I'm glad that you're having fun over there. But I'll let you go to get some sleep. I'll try to call again so we can meet up with the team, okay?"

"Sounds good Tetsu," I smiled. "I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Goodnight Tetsu."

"Goodnight Kit Kat," he replied. "Sweet dreams."

*Cat Among Crows*

The next morning, I went on a run around the lodge a few times. I would run every morning, especially before school. It always served to relax my mind as well as my body. After grabbing a shower, I braided my golden blonde hair in to two braids and then wrapped them around each other in a bun. I got dressed in a pair of black running leggings and a red t-shirt. I ate breakfast with the others and then we all headed to the gym.

We did the same routine as the day before. Stretching followed by receives. We had Keishin up on a block this time. Afterwards, he had the boys run. I decided to go running with them as I put on my running shoes.

"Are you sure you want to go running with us?" Daichi double checked as we waited for the others.

I gave him an unamused look at which he flinched a little. "I need to be running more Daichi. I promise to keep up with you boys. You don't need to treat me differently just because I'm a girl. It's insulting."

Daichi nodded nervously. "I got it."

I nodded once before starting a light jog. As the boys caught up, I increased my speed little by little in order to keep up. I had always been jealous of the longer legs of the taller boys. I was tall for a woman, especially in Japan, but I was only average height compared to the boys. Back in the day, I was like Hinata. I made up for it with speed and jumps.

Hinata and Kageyama went running past us and Hinata was yelling as he ran. "Hinata!" I called. "Stop yelling! You'll sap your strength!"

He apparently didn't hear me and just kept going, yelling the whole time. He then turned off on another road and went out of our sight. Daichi sighed and Suga volunteered to find him as he broke away. "We'll go a little bit further then head back!" Daichi called out to Suga.

We got back to the gym with everyone breathing a little heavily. My stamina had always been rather high, so I was barely winded. Looking around at the boys who were sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. "Take a five-minute break then we'll do some blocking practice!"

They all groaned in response and that caused me to chuckle. I grabbed my water bottle to take a drink while wondering how much longer Suga and Hinata were gonna be. A few minutes before lunch, both of them showed up. I immediately went up to Hinata with a glare in place. "Don't ever go running off like that again Hinata," I scolded him. "What if Suga couldn't find you? You didn't even have your phone!"

"I know! I'm sorry!" he apologized while bowing. "I promise I won't do it again!"

I huffed while placing my hands on my hips. "Why do I get the feeling that you won't keep that promise?" I grumbled. "As long as you listen, I'll let this pass just this once. But no more, you hear me?"

He bowed again. "Yes ma'am!"

"Go get some lunch then," I shooed, and he ran to get it. I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. I heard chuckling behind me and turned to see Keishin laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Two days and they all get worried about upsetting you. That's gotta be a new record."

I just huffed before walking off to get my own lunch.

*Cat Among Crows*

NO ONES POV

The three third year players and the second-year players also heard the comment. They all approached Keishin in curiosity. "Has she always been like this?" Daichi asked carefully as soon as Kaneko was out of earshot.

"Like what?" Keishin countered, not knowing what he was talking about.

"So fierce and determined," Suga clarified. "And scary."

"Oh, well, yeah," Keishin agreed with a small laugh. "She gets that from our grandfather. He taught her the love of volleyball early on. But her determination has doubled with her wanting to get back on the court. Not to mention, you all should enjoy it."

"And why should we enjoy all the drills she puts us through?" Tanaka whined.

Keishin full on laughed this time, and the players looked even more confused. "She's like this because she cares about you all," he explained, putting his direct his hips. "She wants you all to be at your best and to reach your full potential, so she pushes hard with what she thinks would help each of you the most. She's highly observant, so she knows exactly what each of you need to work on and she's putting that into the drills. You should enjoy that she cares enough to be so hard on you. Believe me, if she didn't care, she wouldn't be so hard."

The players looked towards Kaneko as she spoke with Hinata and Kageyama with newfound respect. It was then that one of the team members remembered something that Keishin had said. "What did you mean about her determination to get back on the court?"

Keishin stiffened at that before sighing heavily. "That's something that you'll have to ask her about. I can't say anything, or she will get mad at me for betraying her trust."

"Her trust?" Asahi echoed.

Keishin nodded. "Trust is a massive thing with Kaneko. Once she trusts you, she's loyal to that and will do everything to protect that. But, if you break it, it's almost impossible to get it back."

They all looked back towards Kaneko, only to see her missing. Hinata and Kageyama were looking towards one of the buildings in confusion. They all walked over to where the two first year players were standing. "Where did Kaneko-chan go?" Nishinoya inquired when they got close.

The two first years pointed to around the corner. "Someone from your class came to ask her something in private," Hinata told them.

Everyone began to sneak around the corner in order to see what was going on. Kaneko stood across from a boy with messy black hair and light brown eyes. He wore the Karasuno boys uniform, and he was fidgeting with his fingers. "Who it that?" Tanaka whispered. "I've never seen him before."

"That's Hideyori Hamada," Nishinoya replied, also whispering. "He's in my class with Kaneko-chan."

Kaneko's voice brought them all back to the pair in front of them. "So, what did you want to ask me Hamada?"

Hamada stuttered for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and talking loudly. "I-I f-find you very pretty! Will you please go out with me?!"

Kaneko sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Listen, Hamada, I think that you're a good guy and you're one of the few that didn't believe the rumors. But I'm sorry. I already have a boyfriend."

Hamada looked crushed for a moment. "So, you're already dating someone from school. I'm too late."

"I'm not dating anyone from this school," she corrected him, and he looked up confused. "I'm still dating my boyfriend from Tokyo. I can guarantee that you don't know him."

As she began to walk away, Hamada tried one more time. "How can you be sure that he's staying faithful to you?! Why would you still be faithful to him?!"

Kaneko turned to him with narrowed eyes, and he flinched. "Believe me, he wouldn't cheat on me. That's because I trust him. I know that he wouldn't betray that trust. Don't insult something that you know nothing about."

With that, Kaneko walked away, and the guys quickly ran a safe distance away. They acted busy so she wouldn't think that they were watching. Kaneko looked at them in suspicion but placed her hands on her hips. "If you have time to laze around, then you have time to do some blocking drills," she declared.

Everyone groaned at that but complied and walked back to the gym.

*Cat Among Crows*

Kaneko's POV

The next day, Keishin showed the starting order to the rest of the team. We had Daichi, Hinata and Tanka in the first row. Then Asahi, Nishinoya, Tsukishima, and Kageyama in the next row.

Keishin had told me what Suga had come and told him. About being fine with being a substitute for Kageyama. I thought it was very selfless of him, but that it showed he wanted his team to do well. If that meant he wouldn't play as a starter, then so be it. It was very mature of him.

"This is a configuration you're barley used to, so I'm not expecting you to synchronize right away," Keishin explained to the players. "We now have an amazing libero, and the ace has returned, but don't rely on those facts or think victory is assured. Victory goes to the team that connects. Let's see how this configuration works in the battle against Karasuno's long-standing rival, Nekoma."

As everyone got the gym ready, Nishinoya was talking to Asahi about others taking his spot as a regular. It was funny to watch, since Nishinoya was trying to get Asahi to feel better about it. When Tanaka got brought in, I decided that was enough. Letting out a loud whistle, everyone flinched and turned to me. "If you have all that energy, you should put it towards practice. We'll start with serves."

They all groaned but again complied, knowing better than to argue with me.

*Cat Among Crows*

Later, around lunch, Keishin approached me after getting off the phone. "My mom said that she'll pick you up from the hotel and bring you to the gymnasium just in time for the match."

I smiled at him. "Thank you for that. I really appreciate this."

Keishin patted my head. "That's what family is for girlie."

Daichi approached after he left with the other third year players and sat down next to me. "Are you not going to be here tomorrow?"

I nodded as I chewed my mouthful, and then took a drink from my water bottle. "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and it's kind of far so I have to stay in a hotel tomorrow night."

"Is everything alright?" Suga asked me in concern.

"It's not anything too serious, is it?" Asahi chimed in looking worried.

I smiled lightly at their concern, and figured I could give them a little bit of what happened. "It's nothing too serious. I was in an accident in the middle of the fall last year. I have appointments with my doctor at least once a month to see how I'm doing."

"Is that why you want to get back to playing?" Suga asked after a moment.

I smiled at him before looking down at my food. "I was told that I might not get to play again, so I found a doctor that told me that it was still possible. So far, my progress has been a little slow, but by doing this kind of coaching, I'm hoping that I get farther in my recovery. This appointment is to see how it can help me progress."

"Well, we're glad that we could help you," Daichi smiled at me. "It makes sense now why you wanted to run and practice with us."

"Well, I did tell you not to take it easy on me," I chuckled. "I'm used to being pushed far more than I have been."

We all laughed, and it felt good to bond with them. It was nice to let them know about my injury. Maybe not the full extent of it, but what happened after the accident. Maybe, someday, I could tell them everything. But that required a bit more thrust on my part.

*Cat Among Crows*

The next morning, I packed my stuff and put away my bed. My aunt was going to give me a ride to the doctors right after breakfast, so I needed all of my stuff packed and ready. Making my way to the dining room, I noticed that the doors were closed. Normally, everyone was already awake and eating, so it was rather strange.

Upon opening the door, I saw everyone standing there with smiles on their faces. "Thank you for teaching us!" they all chorused and bowed to me. I smiled at them as they straightened up from the bow. Daichi then stepped forward. "We hope that you'll continue to coach us in the future, even after the Nekoma match."

I placed my hands on my hips. "When you all need so much more work? Of course, I'll still be here."

They all cheered, and we sat down to eat. After that, they all walked me out to my aunt's car. After packing up, they all waved me off as my aunt drove off.

"They seem to really care about you," my aunt commented. "Those are good friends to have."

"Yeah, they are," I replied, staring out the window.

"Still missing your old team?" she inquired. "Still missing your brother?"

"Every day," I murmured with a nod.

*Cat Among Crows*

Later that night, I tiredly checked into the hotel. The doctor had put me threw my paces. From weights to running and jumping to flexibility, along with many volleyball moves. The good part was that I was able to keep up with all of it. Even if I was tired and mostly sore, I felt better than I ever had after a doctor's appointment.

After getting my room number and key, I trudged sleepily towards the elevators. I didn't even realize who was next to me in the elevator.

"Kaneko-chan?" a familiar voice asked. I jumped a little in my tired state and rubbed my eyes a moment before looking next to me to see Yasufumi Nekomata, the head coach for Nekoma. "It's been quite a while Kaneko-chan."

I bowed quickly with a smile. "It's good to see you Coach Nekomata. It has been a while. I do hope that you've been well, and that the boys haven't been too bad."

He laughed a little. "Well, no more than normal, but they have been working hard. It's been hard to fill in the spots that you and your brother left, but we've made it work." He must have seen my long face because he quickly retracted. "I'm not saying that I blame you. I could never do that. It seems that you are doing better though."

I knew that he was changing the subject on purpose, to which I was incredibly grateful. I smiled softly. "Yeah, I just came from a doctor's appointment and I'm glad to say that I think it went fairly well."

"You think that you might be able to play?" he asked in a certain tone of voice.

I looked at him in suspicion. In the past, that tone of voice meant that he was up to something. But I obliged him anyway. "As long as it's not an official match and I don't push myself, my doctor has given me permission."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you are doing well," he praised, then smirked at me. "Would you like to see the team? Or are you too tired?"

I smirked back at the tease. "I would love to see them, but won't they all be in bed?"

By this time, we had walked out of the elevator and into the hallway. It was then that I heard a loud voice yell out. I could recognize that voice anywhere, Taketora. I followed a chuckling Nekomata down the hall and stood in the doorway as he opened the door. Yaku, Kai and Fukunaga all looked like they just came back from taking showers. Kenma was sitting and playing something on his phone, as usual. There were two that I didn't recognize that sat across from Taketora, who stood at the window. Tetsu was saying something to Taketora, who then apologized.

I bowed to Coach Nekomata, and he bowed back as he walked away. I turned to the boys in the room and at Taketora's deflated expression. Giggling, I covered my mouth with my hand, and they all turned to me. "I'm glad that you all are still the same," I giggled.

"Kaneko!" they all shouted. Kenma had dropped his phone and ran to me, practically tackling me in a hug.

Thankfully, I was able to keep my footing and laughed a little as I hugged him back. "I missed you too Kenma." We pulled back and my smile widened as I touched his hair. "I love what you've done with your hair Kenma!"

"I sent you a picture Kane," he countered awkwardly.

I just laughed. "Yeah, but it's different seeing it in person though." The others reached us and Tetsu was the next to reach out and hugged me. He was squeezing a little too hard, so I tapped him on the arm. "Tetsu," I breathed. "That's a little hard. Can't breathe."

He let me go quickly as that, and I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I got a little over excited."

"It's alright Tetsu," I chuckled breathlessly. "I'm just not as steady on my feet right now."

"Don't go hurting her, dumbass!" Yaku scolded.

I saw that an argument was about to start so I stepped between them. "Now, now you two," I interjected. "How about, instead of fighting, you give me a hug Yakkun?"

Yaku quickly came over and gave me a hug, followed by Kai, Fukunaga and lastly Taketora. It was then that the two boys who I didn't know walked up. "Hello boys," I greeted. "I'm Kaneko Kitamura. I assume that you two are first years."

"I'm Yuki Shibayama," said the short first year with short black hair as he bowed.

"And I'm Sō Inuoka," said the tall one with brown spikey hair as he also bowed. His brown eyes sparkled as he straightened and looked excited. "You're the Alley Cat that they keep talking about, aren't you?!"

He and Shibayama both looked so thrilled, that all I could do was scratch the back of my head with an awkward chuckle. I looked over to Kenma and Tetsu. "You boys still talk about me like that?"

"Of course, we do!" Yaku exclaimed with a frown at me. "You may not go to Nekoma anymore, but that just means we have to watch out for you on another team."

"How's the training coming anyway?" Kai cut it.

I smiled. "I just came from a longer doctor's appointment, and I managed to keep up. I'm still a little tired and sore, but I didn't faulter."

"Why was it longer?" Taketora asked.

"My doctor had an emergency last month and we decided to just do a longer one today," I explained. "I started a new routine, which is why I was able to keep up better."

"That's great to hear," Fukunaga complimented. "You'll be playing again soon enough."

"Actually," I started, and they all turned to me in curiosity. "As long as it's not an official match and I don't push myself, I can play in a practice match."

"That's fantastic!" they all cheered.

I motioned for them to be quieter but smiled at their enthusiasm. "I still need to find a team, but hopefully I'll be playing against you boys soon."

The third and second years all groaned. The first years looked confused, and I just smiled. "That'll just be unfair," Taketora complained. "You are just way too good."

"I've got to get back to that level again, so you boys have some time," I giggled at them.

"Knowing you though," Tetsu started with one of his cocky smiles. "You'll be back to that level in no time."

I laughed but then Kenma let out a yawn and I looked at the time on my phone. "It's late boys, and I have to get up early," I commented, and they all let out more groans. "I'm sure you all have to get up early as well. So, go to bed. Kenma, no playing late on your phone."

"Yes mom," they all chorused. I laughed but made my way to the hall.

"Kane!" Tetsu called, and I turned to look at him. "Let me walk you to your door."

I smiled and nodded. "Sure."

With a wave to the others, we both walked down to the end of the hall. Tetsu waited until I opened the door to push me in and followed after me. He kicked the door closed and his lips crashed onto mine. It took me a moment, but I kissed him back. When we pulled back, Tetsu put his forehead on mine. We both were breathing slightly heavily.

"I really missed you," Tetsu breathed.

"I missed you too," I whispered with a breathy laugh. "I'm guessing that you haven't told the others, have you?"

"Not yet," he replied with a cocky smirk. "It's not really any of their business, is it?"

I laughed again. "I guess not, but they are going to get suspicious eventually."

Tetsu leaned in and placed a soft kiss to my lips while he held me closer. "I just want a little bit longer," he said when we pulled back.

He placed his chin on my head, and I snuggled into his chest. We didn't get to have a lot of moments like this in the past, always playing on the same team. It's even less now that we live hours away from each other. We both sighed before slowly letting go. He gave me a quick kiss before leaving the room.

I sighed deeply as the door closed. I missed my boyfriend. I missed my friends. I missed my old team. Unfortunately, I had to deal with the hand that I was dealt. If it meant having to play for Karasuno to see them, then that is what had to happen.

I took a shower and got dressed for bed. Getting under the sheets, I went to plug in my phone and saw I had a text message.

'I'll see you tomorrow honey,' it read from Tetsu.

I smiled as I replied with the same and plugged it in. Laying down, I fell asleep emotionally and physically exhausted.