"Kitsuna?"

Takeda and Keishin were outside, discussing some of the business end of things while the blonde man smoked. Keishin jumped nearly out of his skin when a figure lumbered around the corner suddenly. Takeda flinched at the other man's shout, but quickly recovered.

"Oh, sorry. Um," Kitsuna rubbed her neck at the reaction she had gotten from them both. Sure it was dark, but that felt a bit extreme even for her jumpy guardian.

"Geez. What's up," Keishin flicked his cigarette and settled back against the stone wall. Kitsuna joined the two adults there, shaking a little bit when the breeze made its way around the building.

"Forgot to give you this earlier, but," she produced a small crumpled paper from her pocket and held it out to the teacher. He took it and examined it, then looked between the paper and his student a few times with his eyes wide.

"What's that, Specs?," Keishin was confused by the reaction so took a peek at the paper. He was shocked just then too.

"For real? Inarizaki's coach contact? When did you even-?"

"Thanks! I'll see if we can use this in the future. Good work," Takeda bowed at her, expressing his gratitude a little too strongly. Kitsuna held up her hands in front of her and stuttered out something. Takeda thanked her again, then rushed inside to handle some paperwork and get things sorted out so he didn't lose that phone number. Kitsuna sighed and leaned against the wall, a little bit away from Keishin.

"You're not tryin' to bum one, are you?," he asked her suspiciously. He couldn't see well in the dimmed light where they were, but he could tell she made a face at that.

"No. You're supposed to be telling me not to smoke, so why would I ask you for one," she said flatly. That logic was hard to argue, after all.

"Avoiding someone, then?," he jumped to his second assumption. She physically recoiled at that one.

"Wh-no! Is it that weird to just want some fresh air?"

Keishin raised a brow at her knowing full well she wouldn't be able to see it. He let the silence hang for just long enough to be awkward. She huffed and started to leave, but he tapped her shoulder and handed over a cigarette anyway. It was her turn to raise a brow, but he just handed her the lighter and got a second one for himself. They stood there for several minutes, watching the puffs of smoke swirl up and out of the little alleyway they were tucked into.

"I signed some paperwork, but I'm not really a parent. Dunno how to be one, but," Keishin started rambling beside her. Kitsuna wasn't sure where this was going at all, so she just listened. The older man sighed and scratched at his headband, trying to put his words together.

"I guess I can understand some of the pride that comes with it. Seein' you out there on the court, or things like just now. You're really givin' your all, on top of all your other stuff," he flicked the cherry onto the ground and watched as the burning orange faded away. There was something off about talking like this while sharing a smoke with the kid he had taken in off the streets, ten years his junior. He wasn't even thirty yet, either. What a strange set of circumstances.

"Don't get all sappy on me now. 'Sides, I can only do this because you and Take are also workin' hard. For the team, and so I can have a shot at something," she started with sass but shifted in an unexpected direction.

"I get you guys are all close with the volleyball stuff, but you should still address him properly," Keishin threw out a weak complaint to deflect from his own surge of feelings. He wasn't sure what possessed him to take on the responsibility of the beaten and bloody kid he found behind his family's store. He wasn't really looking for gratification or anything from it. Certainly wasn't really considering her whole future, at the time. He thought about it about as much as any other twenty-something would have, probably. But hearing her acknowledge it just then, a rush of both pride and joy washed over him.

"Really?," she gave him a deadpan stare at that comment. They both laughed at the absurdity of it, given they were having a moment over smokes behind a small inn. Things got quiet again, as she took a long drag and he did the same.

"I guess. You're not completely wrong, though," she muttered. It was almost inaudible, but he caught it just the same.

"Hm?," he heard her, but wasn't sure of her meaning. She took one final drag before her cigarette was out, then carefully stomped out any remaining little cinders.

"You said I'm giving my all for everyone else. But really, I'm just doing whatever I want in the moment without thinking ahead."

This time, Keishin could only listen along until she got to the point. He could have teased her, or made a guess or two. In fact, he was almost certain he knew what this was about given the timing and some of what he had observed in the past couple of weeks. She stretched her arms over her head, then stuffed her hands into her pockets with a sigh.

"I guess I got tired of people buggin' me, or got impatient? Whatever. I think I put some extra pressure on 'im though, when we should all be focused on the games and our next matchup. We've got Nekoma tomorrow, but I can't even think about them right now. Head's all…weird," Kitsuna really was rambling. She was getting at something important, but kept skirting around the actual subject. Either because she didn't want to admit something, or because acknowledging it would send her over an edge she didn't want to cross right now.

"You went for it, huh?," Keishin offered her another smoke but she shook her head. She knelt down to pick up the butt she had stamped out, and stayed there for a minute.

"Yeah," she finally answered his question. He didn't need her to, but he still waited for it. He shifted on his feet, and flicked the lighter a few times. She might have been looking for advice, but he definitely didn't have the experience on this subject to be much help.

"Timing probably wasn't great, but everyone's playing more or less like usual. I'm sure it's fine," he offered. Her face tensed up a little bit as she stood up, and he felt like he might've missed the mark a bit there.

"You're worried about his answer?," he asked, and she turned her face away. No answer, but that was an answer in and of itself.

"He's a pretty serious kid. Give him some time to think stuff over and I'm sure he'll be good about it," Keishin ruffled her hair a little bit. She glared at him but didn't try to move his hand away.

"Well, it's late. And cold. 'Night," she shivered when the wind blew past them again and took her leave. She caught a small gathering in the entry area, and tried to go unnoticed. Kageyama and Hinata were gearing up for a night run, and Ennoshita was trying to enlist Tsukishima as a guide for the two.

"Oh. Kitsuna, um, Daichi said to tell you he's on the balcony," the captain-in-training called out to her just as she was about to make her escape. She held up a thumbs up and stiffly climbed the stairs. Her thoughts overwhelmed her as she took each step, until she rammed face-first into something cool and soft.

"What?," she stepped back, stumbling a little bit, and was caught by the shoulders.

"Sorry," Suga apologized. They were both startled by the collision, and felt suddenly too hot.

"Sorry. Uh," Kitsuna's mind completely blanked. Suga chuckled then stepped past her and down the steps.

"Sorry again. Daichi's out there, he's got your stuff. 'Night."

And he was gone, leaving her with a bunch of questions that she shoved aside for now. She braced herself at the door, not too eager to step back out into the cold. She found Daichi leaning over the railing as she stepped out, joining him in looking down over the street.

"You stink," was the first thing out of his mouth. A comment about the cigarette smoke, most likely. It was a good ice breaker though, as she glared over at him.

"Rude as hell. Really?," she grumbled out. He laughed, and she felt more and more confused by the minute.

"You're being weird," she finally called him out.

"Heh? Not as weird as you've been lately," he fired back. She wanted to deny that but didn't have a strong defense.

"I'm all tapped out on theoretical relationship advice for the night," Kitsuna said with a hefty sigh. She leaned back, hands gripping the icy rail, and stretched out her tired back.

"Guess you saw through me," Diachi grinned somewhat awkwardly. He pulled something out from under his coat, holding it out in front of him. Kitsuna recognized it, and considered making a swipe at it, but decided against it.

"Sorry, but I saw some of what's in this. Suga said you guys found it in your old house, over the break. What're you doing stomping around that old place?," Daichi handed it over and shot a question at her. She pulled it against her chest and frowned, thinking.

"You're not in trouble," he reassured her. She clicked her tongue but didn't deny that's what she was worried about.

"Just got curious, is all. It was pretty shit, but I did grow up there," she answered him with what seemed like a valid answer. He had a few more questions, though.

"Okay. What about Suga?," he asked. She reeled back, but then realized her misunderstanding and sighed.

"He brought it up, and it would've been weird to just leave in the middle of talking," she puffed out her cheeks as she answered. He let that hang in the air for a moment before getting to the real subject matter.

"You've read it all, haven't you?"

No response, audibly anyway. She leaned over the railing and her facial muscles went almost slack as she watched silhouettes moving down the sidewalks. He observed her for a little longer before turning his gaze downward as well. He wanted to know something, almost desperately, but didn't want to push it.

"I think, I get it. I understand what went wrong, at least. I can't forgive what happened, but…I can understand," Kitsuna broke the silence with a strained sort of declaration. Daichi looked at her with a level of astonishment, expecting a much harsher response than that given her typical disposition.

"I…couldn't read the last few pages. I've tried to, but I get stuck after the first part and don't really want to finish it. There's a lot of super cringey stuff in there, too. Almost feel embarrassed that I'm reading it, or if anyone else were to," she shot a glance his way on that last part and he tensed up momentarily. She let out a yawn, choosing not to go after that bone for now.

"It's late, and we've got a tough game tomorrow. Don't stay out here and get sick," she bumped his shoulder with her own and went back inside.

Daichi lingered there for a while longer, processing. If he was honest with himself, the last letter pissed him off immensely. That, and the gall that it took to leave the notebook there like someone knew she would go looking for it at some point. Even if she wasn't holding any resentment toward her parents, her dad especially, he did. Just imagining what he would have felt or done in her situation, or if any of his siblings went through that. It made his blood boil, and his eyes watered up every time it crossed his mind. He couldn't let her know that, though. Or maybe she did, with her uncanny ability to see right past people's walls sometimes. That was something her and Sugawara shared, though to different degrees. That thought made him smile, then his face soured again when he remembered the talk he had just had with his classmate and friend. About Kitsuna, of course. Maybe he was being overprotective, or butting in where he shouldn't, but he wanted to measure up the subject of her interest regardless. Not just as a friend, to both of them, but almost as an older brother to her as well.

"Weird."