The next morning was an early start, with Hinata getting dragged into lecture after lecture. Keishin was informed by Daichi of Kitsuna's involvement and subsequent punishment, the older one making arrangements for her to accompany Hinata to Shiratorizawa for his ball boy activities. Somehow the ridiculous request was approved by Shiratorizawa's coach, the one who organized the whole event.
"Why are you here, too?," Tsukishima glared at the pair of redheads joining him for the long trek to the other highschool's training camp. Only the last two days before the weekend were approved for excused absences, and only for those who were invited. That meant for each day that week Kitsuna and Hinata would have to make the trip there and back, and make it to school on time the next morning for practice.
"Shut up, I'd rather go home," Kitsuna snapped back in equal fashion. Hinata, a large part of the reason for their sour moods, just hung there quietly between the pair. They were in for a long bus and train ride, with Kitsuna noting down the stops and changes for the route they took.
"Hinata Shoyo, ball boy!," Hinata announced his role loudly once everyone was gathered for the start of practice.
"Kitsuna. Um," Kitsuna glanced at the adult staff, unsure what her role was actually supposed to be while there.
"Ball boy, unless you can convince me to change my mind," Coach Washijo gave his orders. Kitsuna sighed and got to work. Halfway through practice, she was called to help with the small games they ran. She changed out of her uniform before joining them, getting put on the teams opposite Tsukishima and having to adjust quite a bit to the varied playstyles.
"Girl! Give it your full strength. Everyone else, quit gawkin' because there's a girl!," Washijo barked out more orders, making most everyone flinch as they tried to heed his commands. Practice went fairly well after that, wrapping up well after dark. Kitsuna retreated to a nearby restroom to change, then joined her two teammates by the gym doors as they got ready to leave.
The trip home felt longer than the trip there, with Kitsuna drifting off part way through the train ride and barely conscious when Suga picked her up from the bus stop. He got her home, asking once more if she was really fine staying in the heatless house and getting only a half groan in reply before the door shut in his face. Kitsuna opted for an even quicker shower before darting into her bedroom and crawling under the covers.
The next morning was an even earlier start, with Kitsuna stopping at the store for the morning prep before Karasuno's morning practice. Kitsuna kept dozing off or zoning out in class, earning some harsh comments from Daichi in the halls between classes. Then the day wrapped up and the trio bound for Shiratorizawa took off again. They left a few minutes later, with Kitsuna opting to get changed before the journey to save her legs from freezing.
The practice dragged on again, well into the nighttime hours. Tsukishima, surprisingly, asked Hinata to join him for the personal practice time. Kitsuna shot them both a look, both shocked that he had asked and well ready to go home. She took over the ball boy job for a bit, then sat down on the sidelines and started to drifted off.
"Kitsuna. Kitsuna!"
"Wake up. I'm not waiting for both of you."
"Mrrh?," Kitsuna's eyes fluttered open at that final remark, and she squinted up at her schoolmates that were standing over her. She yawned, pulled up by Hinata and handed her bags by the other boy. She trudged along behind them to the train station, where they were mere minutes from missing the last train of the night. They had an hour on the train before changing modes of transport, and the steady lull over the rails lulled Kitsuna into a deep slumber on Tsukishima's shoulder. He was visibly irritated but let it go for now, instead focusing on ignoring her and Hinata's noisy stomachs.
"Come on," Tsukishima took over handling Kitsuna in her exhausted state, using the skills he developed from dealing with Yamaguchi's similar states after away games. He guided her to the bus stop while Hinata ran off to grab a quick bite from a nearby McDonald's. He scarfed the food down, offering an extra burger to Kitsuna. She ate it quickly, but didn't seem to wake up at all even after the snack. The bus ride was shorter, but upon arriving at their stop a certain regular handler was nowhere to be seen.
Tsukishima parted ways with the group and walked down the darkened and icy streets to his house. He felt a tug at his sleeve that he didn't consciously register, another thing he was used to from Yamaguchi's random bouts of clinginess. Then he was stepping into his house, greeted by a very noisy older boy and woman.
"Huh? Hey, Tsukki!," the older blonde stumbled over with a can of beer in his hand. He was heartily denied by Kitsuna's teammate with a hand to the face.
"What're you doin' Kei-huh? Who's this?," the older of the two pried Tsukishima's hand off their face and squinted at the second body in the entryway.
Kitsuna, still too exhausted to process very much, recognized the blonde hair and the smell of the cheap beer. Her body moved mainly on muscle memory as she slid off her shoes and headed for the kitchen cabinets. Or tried to, but muscle memory failed her as she crashed into a chair at the dining room table and fell over. The string of explicatives was impressive on its own, but there was a more pressing issue that stunned the small audience to her spectacular tumble. She sat up, and only then realized that the furniture was not her furniture. Nor was the house or its layout the same as her own home.
"Huh?! Why'd you follow me home?," Tsukishima lost his temper at the second incredulous event this week.
"Huh? Why didn't you say anything before getting all the way here?!," Kitsuna clapped back. She wasn't really in the right, but it was also true that Tsukishima had unconsciously guided her to his home out of habit.
"Tch! It's just a habit!," the blonde half-shouted at her defensively.
"What? Whatever, same for me," Kitsuna glared back at him while the other two residents looked on from the living room and tried to hold back their reactions.
"Well go home now!"
"What? I don't even know how to get here, how the hell am I supposed to find my way home right now?"
"Well I'm not walking your ass back," Tsukishima and the girl argued on and on. Finally, his mom stepped in to resolve the shouting match and get her house back to some level of peace.
"Now, I'm sure it was just an honest mistake on both parts. Let's just get some rest and take care of things after you've both warmed up and had some dinner. Iketeru, get your room cleaned up. You can stay there on the couch with your drinks after. Kei, go clean up and come sit down to eat," the woman gave precision orders to her two sons, who reluctantly obeyed without complaint.
"Sorry. Um, thanks for letting me stay over," Kitsuna bowed apologetically to the woman.
"It's fine. We're used to Tadashi tagging along anyway. Oh, I hope you don't mind borrowing some clothes for pajamas after your shower. I'll wash up the laundry. Here, have something to eat while Kei's in the shower," the woman effortlessly pulled Kitsuna to the table and sat her down at the table. In a flash there was an extra portion of dinner laid out for her, which Kitsuna happily accepted. After dinner, Tsukishima foisted over some of his clothes and pointed her to the shower. Kitsuna peeled the sweaty gym clothes off and nearly let out a moan once the warm water of the shower hit her back. She squinted at the various bottles of hair products and soaps, managing to select the right one for each area and stepping out into a warm and steamy bathroom. She slid on the oversized sweatpants and tshirt, stepping out with her dirty laundry in hand.
"Here, I'll take that. You can go ahead and get to bed, it's down the hall to the right," Mrs. Tsukishima took the half-folded laundry and pushed Kitsuna toward the bedroom she would be commandeering for the night. Kitsuna was sure she would be up all night ruminating over her situation, but the warm bed and food worked fast to knock her out for the night.
The next morning was an eventful one, with Tsukishima rudely waking her up before disappearing to get himself ready. Kitsuna slid into her uniform, freshly washed and still warm from the dryer. Without thinking, she kept the tshirt on under it for an extra layer and slid her team jacket over that. After a light breakfast, with Kitsuna finishing off Tsukishima's when he got grumpy and left, they slid on their shoes and headed to the school for morning practice. They received some questions from Yamaguchi who greeted them outside Tsukishima's house, and several looks when the trio arrived together at the gym.
"Sorry! I completely blanked last night," Sugawara apologized profusely after practice wrapped up, noting the shirt she wore for practice and its purple shade that obviously wasn't something either of them owned.
"Let's just not bring this up again," Kitsuna groaned as a way of acceptance and sighed. Tsukishima gave her another dirty look before the bell rang and dismissed them all.