Warmups went quickly, and everyone was feeling energized with the cameras on them when they lined up. Seijoh would be serving first, with their setter Oikawa up. The extra players gathered on the side, all eyes on the tense first moments. All eyes except one set of dull gray, which made notes of the additions to Kitsuna's attire for the day. She had longer leggings, cut off at the ankle. No knee brace was present, but an ankle and wrist wrap were. She also kept more of her hair down, obscuring the right side of her face again. Every once in a while she would shoot a glance at the cameras around the gym, and fidgeted anxiously.

"Well shit," the Karasuno team members cursed under their breath as Seijoh took the first set. Nerves were running high, and it was affecting everyone's performance in a major way. Worst of all was Kageyama, facing off against previous teammates after his middle school debacle, obviously getting to him. Suga was swapped for him after a few sets into the second round, and Kageyama fumed for a moment before a reminder from the coach to watch. Kitsuna watched as Suga cheered up the team, while maintaining a consistent and smart playstyle that worked well enough. Seijoh was still leading, though just barely. His blocks were just too low, and he couldn't maintain the switcheroo with Tsukishima too often as they rotated around the court. After Seijoh called a timeout, Kageyama was subbed back in. There was another addition, though. Hinata was subbed with Yamaguchi, a pinch server for the ginger. Suga tried to focus on keeping Hinata focused on observation, but Kitsuna was watching Yamaguchi like a hawk.

"That's gotta be rough," Ennoshita commented from behind them. Everyone agreed, and felt varying degrees of nervousness themselves for the poor boy.

"You two are sorta competing for the same spot, right?," Hinata asked. He was both sharp and incredibly airheaded at times, this being one of them.

"I guess," Kitsuna answered. She was only half listening, surveying the full situation on the court right now.

"So, if he doesn't do good that means you get more time. That has to be weird for you right now, too?," Hinata continued, and Suga slammed a hand over his mouth a little too late.

"Hm."

"You probably understand what he's feeling the most, out of all of us. That pressure, it's gotta be intense. How do you manage it?," Kinoshita asked. Kitsuna's face suddenly went blank, as though that hadn't occurred to her at all. The other boys gave her incredulous looks, and the whistle blew for Yamaguchi to serve.

"I don't really get it, no. Like, I guess it's stressful? But I just have to do what I do in practice every day. Um," Kitsuna struggled to find the words to express her thoughts. Everyone held their breath as Yamaguchi wound up to serve, and the ball hit the net. It fell into Karasuno's side, setting Seijoh further in the lead. That was a negative outcome, but somehow it managed to reset everyone else's stress levels anyway.

"I am the type who does better under stress. Tadashi, not so much. And that just killed him, I think," Kitsuna explained as the boy walked back to swap with Hinata. His face was held almost parallel with the floor, and he kept apologizing over and over. He made it back to the others, with some offering some kind words. Kitsuna patted his shoulder, and he looked up for just a second before she ruffled his hair and gently pushed him away a little.

"You'll get it next time," she said softly. It might have been cruel, even if it was meant to tell him that it wasn't the end of his game time, and it sent him finally past his limit. Tears fell to the floor, without a sound from him. Just the squeak of shoes on wood, and the heavy ram of the ball against flesh and polished wood.

"Kitsuna, you're up," Ennoshita got her attention, pointing to Keishin who was motioning her over. Hinata was about to be up to serve, so he wanted her to pinch serve this time. There was one camera fixed firmly on her as she held up the number ten card, and the announcers called out her arrival on the court. It had been tracking her pretty hard all day, and was grating her nerves hard. The whistle blew, and she reared up to serve. With her right hand. Her teammates noticed and quickly covered the backs of their heads with their arms.

"Guess she's got bad aim, too," Kindaichi, who Kageyama and Hinata dubbed "Onion Head", taunted. The Karasuno boys didn't give any indication, letting them believe that was the only reason they were suddenly filled with fear.

BOOM!

Kitsuna slammed the ball hard, sending it out with force rivaling the strongest serves they'd seen so far. Kunimi, also one of Kageyama's former teammates, dug in to get the ball. He flung backwards from the sheer force of it though, and it flew out to the side where it blew some equipment off a nearby table and nearly took out a certain cameraman.

"Oops."

Everyone's face went stark white, staring at where the ball's last ricochet echoed out. It rolled under the tables, now covered with spare camera pieces. The point was good, but Kitsuna was filled with a whole new level of stress as she was called back off the court. She apologized heavily to the camera crew, and to Keishin who would have to run damage control later. She walked stiffly and swiftly back to join the other benchwarmers, dripping with cold sweat.

"We say 'nice kill', but the goal isn't to actually kill anyone," Kinoshita reminded her.

"Guess you do get stressed by it, even if you don't notice," Suga commented. Yamaguchi was drowning beside her, with a mix of fear, nerves and strangling depression at his own failure earlier.

They watched as the rallies grew longer with each pass, and the points racked up well into the thirties. Finally, anticipation boiling high, it was the final set from Kageyama to Hinata. Their crazy quick attack. But it was blocked in the end, and Oikawa sent a final set to Kunimi who had more energy in reserve than anyone else on the court. He rammed the ball down, scoring the point that sent Seijoh into the winners' circle. Karasuno's boys were devastated, and Kitsuna too even if she was occupied with other things. They lined up, receiving a round of applause from far more people than expected. People who had come in support of the opposing team, now cheering for Karasuno even if they lost in the end. It nearly set the tears spilling over, everyone biting their lips or fighting it back in their own way as they shook hands and retreated from the gym.