Kitsuna filtered into the store, after another round of doctor's appointments. She slid behind the counter and tossed one of the aprons at Keishin. The man had been giving her some intense stink eye since the last appointment, and it was starting to grate on her nerves.

"Y'know, there's been a pattern in the lack of smokes here for a while now," the girl's face tightened, and his eyes narrowed.

"There hasn't been any shortage in the drawer, though," she retorted weakly.

"No, there hasn't. That's buggin' me, too," he locked eyes with her and they stood there in an intense staredown while the doors opened and closed. The boys' volleyball team entered, short the previous third years. It was still cold outside, at the start of the new school year, so they all were suited up with jackets on and everything. Kitsuna didn't greet them, and neither did her boss, as they were still locked in a glaring contest. The boys filtered awkwardly down the shelves waiting for them to finish.

"You started up again, didn't you?," Keishin spoke with a low rumble.

"Oh shut it. You smoke, too," she growled back.

"Yeah, 'cause you stress me the hell out!," he shouted, the customers inside the store all flinching and trying to feign being busy.

"Oh stuff it, ya old bastard! That ain't a new habit and you know it! You got no room to lecture me on this one," she clapped back, raising her voice. Suga glanced at Daichi, whose face was downright menacing. Thankfully Asahi was floundering hard and that provided a distraction, for now.

"Listen here you little street rat! You don't wanna get in hot water with the school again, do ya?," his tone softened toward the end.

"Tch! Whatever, Dad," she grumbled back and left it at that. They finally noticed the uncomfortable customers and dropped their argument. Kitsuna scanned the aisles and spotted the three now-third years, visibly shaken by the sight of Daichi in plain hearing range. Suga waved at her, trying a reassuring smile, and she sighed. Tanaka and two first years she didn't recognize headed up to the group in the corner, pulling them all out of their stunned states.

"What?," Kitsuna asked flatly when Daichi approached her. His brow lowered, but he let that go for now.

"Got any pork buns left?," he asked with a groan.

"Hm? A few, yeah. Buyin' for the team again?," she asked, switching into business mode.

"Yeah. Speaking of, you comin' back to practice soon?," he asked her while fishing his wallet out of his pocket.

"Uh, next week should be good. Got more appointments the rest of this week," she called back from the kitchen area. She scooped up enough buns for everyone, including one of her secret spicy ones. She was humming a little when she rang them up, and earned another remark from Keishin when they headed out of the store with their prize.

"Favoritism ain't good for business," he chided while she waved at them from the doorway.

"I don't know what you're talking about, grump ass," she let out a snide comeback before remembering something as the smallest of the boys pulled out a bun and moved to eat first.

"Oh, one of those is spicy so be carefu-"

"Wah! Hot! Hot!," the boy squealed after he took a bite. Tanaka snapped at him for eating first, then Suga burst out laughing at him. Kitsuna smirked, too, before she was called back inside with another rude remark.

"Why's one spicy?," the redhead whined. Suga took that one from him, still laughing but with a slight pout.

"Oh, right. You like spicy food," Daichi commented. He knew it was bad to rely on it, but he appreciated that Kitsuna tried to work with their orders when she could. She sometimes would buy stuff up ahead of the dinner rush, and hold them to the side until they went through. Daichi was racking up a hell of a tab that way, though.

She finished her shift and got changed, helping Keishin's mother for a bit afterward while she waited for the next day's food to be finished cooking. She stretched her back, groaning, and pulled the buns out of the oven to seal them up. Keishin walked in, yawning loudly.

"I got it. Go home, got an early start tomorrow," he patted her on the shoulder, trying not to grin at her expression.

"Right. Okay, see you tomorrow," she slid off the apron and headed out. There were two more days of doctor and hospital visits, then she had practice starting the next week. She heard from Yui that the new team members had started off with an even more explosive start than her first term entrance, and she laughed a little. She peeled off her uniform and showered quickly, passing out on the couch until her alarm rang out in the morning.

…

"God dammit," she complained. It was the next week, and she woke up late for school. She stood outside during lunch, tucked around the corner of one of the buildings. A smoke break, of course. After avoiding the principal all day and questions from her classmates, she was stressed the hell out. Keishin thankfully hadn't bothered her about the habit again, other than insisting that she at least stop doing it at school.

WHAM!

A loud thud, something against metal, startled her out of her thoughts. She peeked around the corner, just in time to see a volleyball roll off the roofed passage between the buildings. She caught it and looked around for who to toss it back to, then froze when she spotted Suga and the redhead from before. She spat out her cigarette and stamped it out under her shoe, jumping nearly out of her skin and going white as a sheet when a voice called out from the passageway.

"Hey, what's up with that hair? You miss a week and come back with it dyed? You know that's against the rules," the principal ripped into her.

"Shit," she cursed, adjusting her position while sliding the crushed cig under her shoe to keep it hidden.

"Tch, language young lady-"

"Huh? Oh come on, my hair was dyed all last year and you didn't say jack. Ya damn-"

"Kitsuna!," Suga warned from where he was, and she shut up before fully digging her grave.

"At least he has sense. Anyway, quit sneakin' around campus. And turn in a club form already! You're in your second year now," the principal left with that final jab.

"Eh?," Kitsuna and the other ginger were both confused at the last bit. Suga ran over to get the ball, and the other boy followed.

"Well, you have put in a lot of time," Suga pushed. He was the first one to push her to join, a fact she had forgotten over the previous term.

"Hm? You have a manager already, though," she turned back around, still trying to weasel out of it.

"Hm? You don't really do manager stuff," Suga hinted at something, but their discussion was interrupted by the first year.

"Hey, Suga-san. Who's this?," he asked, pointing at the girl while hiding behind his senior somewhat.

"Eh? Why're you actin' like that," Kitsuna looked down at him with a dead expression.

"Oh, sorry. You do give a certain vibe," Suga teased, earning a nasty glare.

"Right, this is Hinata. He's one of the prospective new members. Hinata, this is Sato-uh, Kitsuna. She helps us out a bunch with practices," Suga made introductions, successfully avoiding a jab to the ribs. The other boy, Hinata, finally got over his fears and jumped out from behind the other.

"Wait, but she's a girl?," his cheeks flushed a little.

"And? I'm still taller than you," she leaned down, taunting him, while also making a strike at one of Suga's weak points. Both of them growled back at her, and she laughed loudly.