Kitsuna went to some more practices, filling in and learning more about the rules from Sugawara and the boys. Daichi would still give her a hard time sometimes, but she made sure to remove her earrings before practices so he couldn't say too much. He would make her show her ears sometimes though. Nishinoya and Tanaka sometimes bothered her on her smoke breaks, but she bought them off pretty easily with food or porn magazines set to be discarded so they didn't mention it around Daichi. They were in the middle of another practice, short two more players after some sort of fight. The rest of the guys were pretty dispirited after that, so things were pretty rough for them.
"You could probably see better if you tied your hair up or kept it outta your face," one of the third years commented after Kitsuna flubbed another receive.
"It's…fine," Kitsuna tugged at her bangs, in a rare show of her self-conscious side. The third-year apologized, with a smack from one of the others. Tanaka came up behind her and thwacked her shoulder.
"Worried about that scar? Why? It looks sick. Super manly, y'know," he patted her back again, somewhat gentler than before.
"Ah, Tanaka! I don't think that's the sort of thing a girl wants to hear!," Suga whispered. Daichi started to intervene, but decided to see how she reacted.
"Whatever. I don't play by sight anyway, really," Kitsuna shrugged it off. She was pretty good at brushing things aside, dealing with them later.
"Huh? What do you mean?," Suga asked, curious.
"Hm? Oh, I listen more than I look for stuff. Guess that works better for basketball, though," she said that with such an unserious tone that it was hard for anyone to follow up on it. They finished up practice and cleaned up the gym, Kitsuna taking some time to rest before the walk home. She went to pick up her bag when Daichi called, ready to lock up, but it slipped out of her grip and crashed to the floor.
"You good?," Suga asked, watching her flex her fingers and glaring at the hand. There was always some sort of wrapping over it, too. And she avoided taking very many blocks on that side. She shook her head, picking up the bag with the other arm and ran over so they could close up.
She walked with some of the boys, who stopped by the store for a snack. She waited outside, avoiding an overdue lecture from Ukai and some questioning.
"Oh, wait," she ran inside, then ran back out before Ukai could even say anything. She handed a piece of paper over to Daichi.
"There, before I forget."
"Right, thanks," he took the paper, scanning over it. They started walking, sharing some filled buns that Daichi bought for everyone.
"Hey, can you help with some morning practices?," Daichi asked.
"Hm, I guess a few. Third term I gotta help out with the farm stuff, though, so I can't," Kitsuna answered through a mouthful of food. Some of the others split off, leaving her with Suga and Daichi as they turned a corner.
"Wait, you don't stay there?," Daichi glanced up from the paper. Kitsuna finished off her food before answering again.
"Hm? Nah. Keishin and his mom live above the store, but I live by myself. I gotta work to pay the rent and stuff," she answered nonchalantly.
"You live alone?," Suga chimed in. Daichi's brow twitched, so he changed the subject. "Wow, though. You've been putting in quite a bit of time with the club. Why don't you join the girls' team? With that height and skill, you'd be great for them."
"Huh? Oh. Um," she thought about it for a few minutes, deciding to answer with her actual feelings. "A lot of them are super flaky about showing up to practice, and they don't take it as seriously as the guys. I don't think I'd be able to put up with that like Yui does, or have much fun that way."
"Oh. I guess you do take it pretty seriously. Shame you can't join the boys' team and fill it out. You could be the manager, though," Suga kept going on the subject, while Daichi ruminated over something beside them.
"I don't think I'm around consistently enough for that, either. 'Sides, there's no way it'd get approved since I already have a pretty full schedule with school and work," she successfully deflected his recruitment attempt just as they came to an intersection. It was time to split off in different directions, since they didn't all live on the same street.
"Wait. Have you been walkin' home after practice, by yourself?," Daichi finally spoke up. Kitsuna started to sweat, and looked away when he turned toward her.
"I mean, sometimes Takeda drives me to the store," she tried to get off with that, but Daichi wasn't having it.
"You don't live there, though. So what about after work? Or when he doesn't drive you?," Daichi pressed onward, and Kitsuna was clearly uncomfortable.
"It's fiiiine! God, you're so overbearing sometimes," Kitsuna suddenly snapped. The two started bickering there in the street, getting pretty heated.
"Hey, it's fine! What direction do you go from here?," Suga stepped in after a few minutes.
"Huh? It's that way," she pointed to the right. Suga nodded, and Daichi started into her again.
"Hey, that's the same way I go. I can walk with her, okay? So let it go, dude," Suga put himself in front of Daichi, getting his attention.
"Fine," Daichi relented reluctantly, and the other two let out relieved sighs. They said good night and parted ways. An awkward silence hung over them, before Sugawara broke it. He had some burning questions, spurred by Daichi's comments and actions toward her. Kitsuna groaned, hoping to avoid too many questions for as long as she could. Daichi's motherly nagging ruined that hope for her pretty quickly, though.
