The day ended with a dinner at a local restaurant, one Keishin was well familiar with and that he paid for. The team ate through their tears, the delicious food soothing their bodies but not their hearts or minds. Not enough at least. The rest of the day was a blur, between watching matches and heading home for a meeting. There was an announcement that there was no practice the next day, likely another attempt at comforting from the coach.
During class, none of the volleyball team members were paying attention. They were still fuming, burning with passionate feelings from the day before. There was whispering in the halls, and Kitsuna felt more eyes on her than usual. She had seen the news last night, and how more attention was pulled to her. Especially after her killer serve, calling back to an event from years ago that the sleepy town had mostly forgotten. She shook off those worries as class ended and she took a break behind the gym to smoke. She heard screaming from inside, through her headphones and blaring music. Finally, she decided to head in. Several first and second-years had shown up and were sluggishly warming up, despite there being no planned practice. They were filled with a lot of emotion, and motivation to keep working forward.
"Hey, the third years aren't gonna quit right?," Hinata finally voiced a very real concern. The third years were all still absent, twenty minutes after all the other members had meandered in.
"There's definitely a strong push against staying, from the teachers," Ennoshita answered softly. Some other members started to worry at that, including Noya and Tanaka.
"Asahi might back out, if there's a big enough push. But the other two, they've been working to bring the club up for two and a half years now. They won't want to bail, even if there's a big push. If we asked them to back down, I'm sure they'd consider it. But," Kitsuna trailed off as Kiyoko entered the gym. Hinata pressed her for an answer, but she hesitated.
"Crap! We're late," Suga's voice came from outside, with a rush of heavy footsteps that approached the door. The three third year boys entered the gym, breathless, and dressed for a good practice.
"We'll stay," Kiyoko finally stated with pride. Sighs and groans of relief echoed from around the large space, and the third years beamed back at the group gathered before them.
"So, guess we all had the same idea. Let's finish warmups and get some work put in," Daichi called out, resuming his captain duties in an instant. Keishin and Takeda arrived somewhat later, staring in shock and joy at the team already deep into practicing their weak points.
"Hey, Tadashi," Kitsuna tugged the boy's sleeve, ripping him from another round of introspection. He blushed a little, at her close proximity and earnestly straightforward approach.
"What's up?," the boy asked. Kitsuna held up a ball in response, pointing to a more open spot toward the right side of the court.
"I can't do jump floats like you, but I can help you practice. C'mon, let's see if we can get them a little more consistent," she tugged his sleeve harder, not letting go of it like normal this time. He stared at her with eyes wide, prompting her to cock her brow at him.
"Hello, earth to Tadashi," Kitsuna waved in front of his face.
"O-oh! Sorry. Sounds good," he came back from spacing out, and they got started. Kitsuna called over Nishinoya, so he could practice reading the float serves for receives. Kitsuna tried a few, but just wasn't getting it. She was better for hard serves, and focused on honing her aim with one arm and force with the other. Takeda disappeared for a while, then returned with a colossal fall in the doorway. Everyone gathered round after his squeal alerted them, and he held up piece of paper like he had before a few times.
"We got an invite, from Nekoma's coach. For a summer training camp! We got permission from the school to go, as well. Provided grades don't fall too low," he added at the end. Four boys looked away, eyes devoid of feeling. Practice was adjourned, but Keishin and Kitsuna talked for a few more minutes while she waited on the club room to free up.
"What about the store?," she asked.
"Well, I guess Ma and Gramps can handle it. I'll talk to them later," Keishin resigned himself to that fate with a heavy heart.
"Oh. That reminds me, we can't use the school bus for the trip. Soccer team's got it booked up the same week. There's not a lot of funds left, for club stuff," he added. Him and Keishin discussed that, with Kitsuna offering something of a donation as well if needed. Yachi motioned at Kitsuna from the doors, peeking around them. The redhead joined the blonde girl, and Kiyoko, who had apparently overheard the conversation.
"Um. I don't know if it'll work, but I have an idea," Yachi started nervously. Kiyoko offered some wordless encouragement, and the girl tried her hardest to press on.
"I need a computer, and some other stuff, but I want to try and promote the team around town and maybe get some donations. If that's allowed," she offered.
"Donations? You can try talking to Take about that side of things, but I'm sure Keish-I mean, Coach Ukai, wouldn't mind putting up a thing in the store. I can talk to the other neighborhood association guys about their jobs, too," Kitsuna offered.
"I have a laptop you can use, but I don't know what else you need," Kiyoko also offered her support, in her own way.
"Hm. We're about to start exams and a break before the trip. If you guys want to meet up and talk it over, we can meet at my place. It's close to the store, too, so that makes asking questions about that pretty easy," Kitsuna offered again.
The girls exchanged contact information, and soon summer break was upon them. During practices, Yachi took several videos and pictures of the team in action. They met up at Kitsuna's a couple times, most while Kitsuna was working. Then Yachi presented a printout with links to posted videos and photos on a little website for the team. Kitsuna hung one front and center in the store, despite Keishin's mutterings about favoritism again. Another she hung at the counter, with a little bucket for cash donations. Takeda took it upon himself to collect, count, and store funds that were put in. The few weeks leading up to the day of departure blew by in a flash of busywork, like little bees instead of crows, and soon everyone gathered in front of the school and a freshly rented bus.