Yamaguchi was up again, subbing for Hinata as a pinch server. The team went all out to try and ease his nerves, including the boys on the side doing a goofy pose and cheer. Kitsuna died laughing at how ridiculous they looked, and offered a thumbs up for her part.
The whistle blew, and just like before he flinched. This time he took his time getting going, though. Collecting himself before he attacked, with a serve fooled Seijoh's newest team member. There was a round of cheers, then it was time to go again. Yamaguchi repeated his pattern, but the ball just barely scraped the top of the net and fell just out of reach. Kitsuna gripped HInata's and Suga's shoulders tightly, barely containing her excitement. The final serve was returned with a point to Seijoh spiked by the new guy.
"Tadashi! Nice work!," Kitsuna held her hands up and he met them with his own. A light and sweet high ten, a rare shared celebratory action from the girl.
Karasuno took the first set by the skin of their teeth. Suga was up for set two, on his own. His attacks were predictable, sure, but he executed them without much error. The rest of the team easily followed his lead, too. He was swapped with Kageyama after one rotation, and rejoined the sideliners with a somewhat hard facial expression.
"It's hard to stand out against some of the others, but you sure are cool when you're out there," Kitsuna spoke her mind freely. The other boys looked at her with somewhat concerned looks on their faces. Sugawara looked surprised a little bit, but there was a tiny bit of red at the top of his cheeks and no fear or worry.
"Hey. Are you feelin' alright? Like, you didn't hit your head or anything did you?," Ennoshita asked. Suga and Yamaguchi laughed at the other second years' reactions, making them feel somewhat embarrassed for asking.
"It's not like I hate you guys or something. I'm not trying to be extra nice out of nowhere or anything either," Kitsuna stated flatly. They all knew that, and it shouldn't have been such a shock. She wasn't anywhere near as emotionally plugged up as Kageyama was, a fact that was made apparent on multiple occasions.
"Sorry," the other three apologized to deaf ears. Kitsuna was getting serious again, arm folded over her chest and a hand on her chin. She was studying, like she would do in practice matches sometimes. Watching how everyone moved. So she could fill in and match any group, or to be able to set better. She was watching for new things to add to her own attack slots. Things she could learn from the others.
Seijoh took set two, getting into a groove. The third set started tense, and dragged on and on. The ball bounced back and forth endlessly in long rallies. At the halfway point, Kitsuna was swapped out for Tsukishima.
"Eh? They really do have a girl that plays," some boys from another school showed up to the stands. One was a tall redhead, with his hair spiked upward. Two guys with slightly different straight-cut bangs were with him.
"Should we really bother watching this?," the dark-haired one asked, annoyed.
"We got time before we start, why not?," the spiked boy shrugged. They filed into some seats on the back row, two going along with the other's carefree musings.
"Wow, she's not bad. Keeping up with all those dudes like that. She's almost more intense than the others," the lighter bowl-cut boy commented. The others nodded in agreement, fascinated by the upstart team they had heard so many strange rumors about lately.
"Kageyama! Let's try an attack," Kitsuna whispered to the setter beside her. The boy flashed a signal behind his back, to let the rest of the team know.
The ball went up, an off serve from Hinata, creating a chance ball for the other team. They sent it over with a spike from Kunimi, but a rushed soft block got it into Daichi's hands for a receive. Then it was forward, and Kageyama joined the rest of the boys in a synchronized attack.
"Oh?," Oikawa watched as the setters swapped and the whole team approached. He caught it too late as the ball went up to the shorty on the far right side. A hard swing, and failed receive, and Karasuno took the third set finally.
The whole team rushed out, overloaded with excitement at the stolen victory. A win against Seijoh, finally, and advancement to the next day. Hinata and Noya leapt at the group, toppling a bunch of the boys over and laughing. Kitsuna frowned at her wrist, but was glad they were able to win. She joined the others, with several rough high fives and congratulations. Then it was time to line up and shake hands. Seijoh's boys were all dead silent as they shook hands with the players. When Oikawa met Kitsuna across the net, he was giving an intense staredown that almost made her hesitate to take his hand.
"That was a good move at the end. Like a combination of Kageyama and Mr. Sunshine over there. We'll see if that helps you when it counts again," the opposing setter offered a sort or praise that felt more ominous and foreboding than inspiring. Kitsuna returned his intense look with one of her own, and a deceptively kind smile.
"Guess that's high praise then, thanks," she felt his hand tense up at that, and then it was over. The team moved to thank the people who came to cheer them on, and Kitsuna noticed Yui in the stands. She waved down to Kitsuna, but spoke mainly to Daichi.
"Alright, let's cool down and clear out," Keishin gave his orders, and they were obeyed without question.
"Are you seriously still picking fights with Oikawa?," Ennoshita asked as they loaded the bus to get dinner.
"Huh? I didn't pick any fights. Today," she added at the end, earning a look from Daichi. She yawned as she took her seat, and was handed a canned coffee that was in the cooler by Kiyoko. Kitsuna thanked the manager and sipped it slowly until the next stop, when she chugged the remainder in one go.