"Yeah, goin' to Tokyo!," Noya buzzed with excitement in his seat. Hinata sat in front of him, and Tanaka behind. They got the solo seats, for various reasons. Yachi wasn't present, so Suga was seated with Kiyoko. Kitsuna sat with Tadashi, who was a tired wreck in the early morning hours. It was a pretty long drive, with minimal planned stops along the way, so everyone was encouraged to bring snacks and breakfast with them. Kitsuna had glasses today instead of contacts, and her hair was very clearly unbrushed as she took her seat by the window.
"Can't wait to go explorin'!," Tanaka burst out. Hinata and Noya, easily excitable, joined his chanting about various landmarks. Daichi peeked around from his seat, beside Tsukishima, and gave the three bouncing boys one of his signature looks.
"You'll be on your best behavior while we're there," he warned, silencing the three.
The bus pulled out, with a slight lurch, and the sun rose up into the morning sky. Kitsuna had brought a handheld game with her, and pulled it out after a few light snacks and some medicine. She pushed her hair back with her hand, slicking it back. It fell in curtains around her face, displaying a powerful resistance to being tamed. Tadashi ended up leaning over her shoulder, interested in what was on the screen.
"Hey, is that Monster Rise?," Tadashi asked.
"Yeah. I haven't had much time to play it, so I'm behind a few updates," she answered, flicking through menus and gearing up for a second hunt so far. Tadashi was impressed by her build, though Tsukishima was always more versed in that part of games.
"Oh, I haven't seen that boss before," he remarked. Kitsuna's fingers flew over the buttons, landing a slew of hard hits before the beast scurried off.
"It's from an event," she answered quickly. She was focused hard on the game, tracking the enemy and wailing on it til it collapsed finally after twenty straight minutes. A few other boys had taken an interest in her game, leaning over the seat behind the pair and across the aisle for a better look. Suddenly Kitsuna's face got a few shades paler, in a sickly greenish way, and her lips tightened.
"Shit," she mumbled. Tadashi and the others started to worry, forgetting briefly about her condition related to cars.
"I messed up," she leaned back, pushing her glasses up to rest in her hair and closing her eyes. Her brow furrowed, a clammy sweat collecting there. Her stomach churned, but she wasn't in extreme danger yet.
"You good?," Yamaguchi asked. Partly with concern for her, and partly for himself as he was seated closest to her. He thanked his past self for relenting the window seat just then.
"Yeah. Gotta rest a bit," she answered weakly. Everyone sighed with relief, that was still awake anyway.
"Can I see that?," Noya asked, pointing at the handheld. Kitsuna handed it over, warning him against progressing at all if he could manage it. The three there were entertained by that in an instant, taking turns trying to beat the boss she just did. Kitsuna dozed off, until her head hit the window hard as the bus rolled into a parking lot.
"Mother fucker!," she cursed, earning a few dirty looks from teachers and Daichi in the rearview mirror. They unloaded, packing their stuff into one large room. All except Kiyoko's, since she would be staying with family while they were in Sendai proper. Kitsuna had to pry her game from the boys' hands, and interrupted a heated fight between them over who's turn it was to try.
"Yo, is that Tokyo tower?," Tanaka and Hinata beamed up at a radio tower. A curdled laugh rang out from nearby, and all eyes followed it to a group of red track suits. Nekoma, with the captain Kuro laughing at the Tokyo Tower comment.
"That's just a radio tower. What, do you guys really not have those?," he teased.
"Sorry if we're a little too obviously from the sticks," Daichi challenged him. Keishin broke up that discussion, ordering everyone to load up their stuff and get ready for some afternoon practice, after lunch of course. Kiyoko disappeared into a large building, a section of the school with empty classrooms as lodgings. There were showers and some baths downstairs, and a cafeteria-slash-kitchen taking up most of that space. The managers for each of the six teams present were hard at work preparing a light lunch. Kitsuna followed the boys upstairs, dumping her stuff into the corner. She was already dressed in baggy shorts and a loose shirt, but pulled her jacket over her shoulders. The air conditioning was cold now, but she was bound to heat up later.
Everyone ate with little incident, but there were more comments on appetites that certain team members had. Then it was on to warmups, and a few practice matches. Karasuno held out better against Nekoma, and the other teams, but ended up losing all the matches and taking hard penalties. They also endured some taunts from other team members, despite the ensuing chastising by coaches all around. By the time practice wrapped up, it was well into evening. Some of the gyms were left open, for people to practice individually or in small batches. Kitsuna headed for the showers, and shortly after a long bath it was dinner time. She ate a healthy portion again, and everyone retired to their rooms for the night.
Sugawara was up again, scribbling away at a notebook. Kitsuna, once again positioned toward the end of the line and somewhat away, peeked at him from over her own phone. Her glasses his her eyes, but it was pretty obvious she was watching him.
"Can't sleep?," Suga whispered at her. She nodded, and he motioned that she was free to join him. She shuffled over, glancing at his notebook and seeing some mixed notes on the other teams' strengths.
"It's like a lesson plan," Kitsuna yawned. Suga laughed quietly at that, not really denying the claim at all.
"I guess, yeah. Some of the guys already know what they need to work on, but I want to keep team strategy in play," Suga explained. He continued writing, Kitsuna struggling to read in the dim light.
"Isn't it usually a coach's job to do that?," she asked. She was technically right, but Suga already had an answer prepared for that question.
"Yeah. We didn't have one for a long time, though. And," he trailed off, hand stopping mid-kanji. Kitsuna glanced at his face, noting how his thick brows were pinched together.
"It's sort of like fighting in your own way, right? When you aren't on the court, I mean," she said through another yawn. The tension in Suga's face eased then, and he tapped his bottom lip with the pencil's eraser.
"I guess you're not wrong. You pay attention to a lot, huh?," he finally admitted, with a challenge of his own.
"Hm," was the only response he got. He set to work again, wanting to finish up before he fell asleep and lost his train of thought. Worried that she had fallen asleep yet again, he glanced over at Kitsuna. Her eyes followed his hand's movements, but she didn't seem to be really reading what was there. Or paying attention at all when it stopped and he got a little too engrossed in her features. A bad habit he was developing since the school year started.
Her eyes were bright, the white light from his phone screen illuminating them from behind her glasses. The glasses rested low on her nose, and she made no attempt to fix them. There were some scratches here and there, and smudges on the thick lenses that she didn't acknowledge. Her chin rested on her folded arms, fingers drumming against her elbow as she rolled through her thoughts. Whatever was on her mind, her face didn't really show unless you knew what to look for. And Suga did know, after the time spent with her like this in the later hours of the day. Her lips were drawn tight, and she was clearly chewing on the inside of the lower lip off and on. Her brows arched down toward the middle, but not enough to even crease her forehead. Those eyes, though, were a sight that was hard to describe. How could eyes with such warm color be so cold and empty at times? It was almost scary, the way they could switch over in an instant, then turn back. Just enough time to make you think you were seeing things or going crazy, but it was there from time to time.
"Do you want an explanation, or are you just gonna keep staring into space?," Suga asked finally, rapping the pencil eraser against her cheek. She was obviously startled, and made a face at the boy before smiling softly back.
"Sure," she finally answered. Suga explained some parts, and she filled in what she noticed from her vantage point during games. For the most part, they agreed on where their weaknesses lie. There were some interesting conflictions about other team members though, which were noted in the margins. After a while, Kitsuna drifted off to sleep again like before. This time, though, Suga wasn't offended by that. He wasn't completely sure, but he was starting to feel like the reason she kept falling asleep while he talked wasn't because he was boring or his explanations were too long. Instead, he noted how her face would soften and her posture relaxed while he rambled on. Until she fell asleep, always a little closer than where she started the night. He pulled the glasses gently off her face, and once again stacked the items on top of the notebook and placed it between them before settling in himself. Asahi was beside him tonight, so no pointed remarks from Ennoshita.
"Wakey, wakey!," Noya tried to wake the three nearest the window. Asahi, despite going to bed first, whined the loudest at the boy's overzealous energy. Noya ignored the cries, and flung open the curtains of the big windows just a few feet from the end of the line of futons. Asahi and Suga were blinded by the sunlight, letting out cries of surprise. Asahi rose first, and shook Yamaguchi awake too.
"You two, I don't care if you were up all night. Get up before breakfast is served or you'll go hungry," Daichi called out while he ushered everyone else out the door.