"Huh?"

"Eh?"

Kitsuna stood half-dressed in the girls' volleyball club room, staring wide-eyed at the door that just opened up and the small group of girls huddled there in the doorway. The new captain, the only third year on the team, blinked at her. Two second years, and a single first year behind her.

"Well, this is our clubroom," one of the second years gave a somewhat scornful reply and pushed past her senior. The others filed in then, with the youngest of them appearing to be extremely timid.

"Sorry. You guys haven't been in here much since Yui gave me the key, though. I just got used to changing by myself I guess," Kitsuna dug through her bag and pulled out a shirt, pulling it over her head and tugging her hair out from under the collar.

"Well, we don't really have enough members to do much. A lot gave up after last year, too," the captain groaned out. Kitsuna flinched at that remark, recalling a rather unpleasant moment from her previous year.

"Right. Sorry. You guys could get some more members though, eventually. Like, if you practiced regularly I'm sure someone would see it and get interested? Or maybe some flyers?," Kitsuna wasn't trying to be rude with that. She was thinking about the boys' team and how in her time it had come from basically nothing to a fully fledged nationals-level team.

"Easy for you to say," a second-year student snapped at her again. Kitsuna's expression soured at that, her patience running thin now.

"Don't bother arguing. Her and Yui both ended up dating the captain and vice captain from last year, so they're just gonna sing their praises," the other second year butted in.

"That's not-! You little shits-"

"Girls. Quit it. We all know we could have worked harder, just like they did. Isn't that why she joined their team instead of ours? Just let it go," the captain tried to bring order back, or at least prevent an outright fight.

"Hey. Are you really okay with your club just dying out like that? You still show up to practice sometimes, so obviously there's a reason," Kitsuna spoke flatly now. A thinly veiled attempt to hide her irritation. The girls looked at her as she stood by the door, somewhat shocked by what they just heard.

"Well-"

"Hang on. You guys wanna do a three on three today? I have an idea," Kitsuna's face lit up just then, throwing the room's vibes even further into chaos.

"Sure, I guess?," the captain nodded. Kitsuna disappeared through the door, and they heard a commotion from the room next door. Some shrieks and shouts, then the sound of a door slamming shut and a conversation just outside. The girls finished changing and stepped outside to see two more people there with Kitsuna. Two boys, on the shorter side, with wild hair and confused looks on their faces.

"Oh! Good. We're gonna help them with their practice today. Three on three. I wanna see something," Kitsuna swatted the boys' shoulders as she said that and looked over at the girls to confirm with them that it was okay. Kitsuna talked with the other captain all the way to the gym, going over her plan and how to split the teams. She would go with Noya and Hinata for the first set, then they would switch things around.

That was the plan, and that's how things went at first. The boys proved too excitable for most of the girls though, and Kitsuna dismissed them well before they finished a third set. She had seen enough by now, anyway.

"Alright. First, it's pretty obvious you guys haven't been practicing at all. You're all worn out already," she dove head first into her assessment, earning some exhausted glares.

"But! You're not bad really. Just rusty. I know you said you don't have enough members for anything official, but you can play with less than six people present. You, first year. You're good but you have zero confidence. Especially for offense," Kitsuna singled out the timid first year.

"Sorry! Um, I used to play with someone else in middle school who covered that part a lot," the girl shrank back as Kitsuna revved up again.

"Where'd they go to highschool?"

"H-here."

"They didn't join the club?"

"They wanted to, but.."

"Right. See? You guys have potential, you just gotta commit. How about we set up a three-day per week schedule? Or just afternoon practices? Getting up super early sucks ass, so I won't ask you to do that. But-"

"Hey. You're vice captain of the boys' team. Not this one," one of the girls piped up and Kitsuna stopped dead. Her cheeks flushed a little, and she laughed nervously at that.

"Right. I agree with her though. We can figure out something that works with our schedules and try a little harder," the team's actual captain stood up beside Kitsuna. She seemed to have her spirits revitalized from today, despite the brutal beating and harsh critiques Kitsuna gave earlier. The other girls looked at each other, thinking, while the first year lit up.

"I can help with recruiting and some other stuff, but I can't switch it up now. I can't convince people to stay, either. So if you guys commit, I'll try to put some work in as well. No reason both teams can't pick themselves up," Kitsuna offered some of her already limited free time and sealed the deal. The girls thanked her, and she returned to the boys' gym to finish up practice there.

"Where the hell were you?," Keishin barked at her as soon as she entered the gym.

"Sorry! Was doing stuff with the girls' team and lost track of time," Kitsuna bowed her head but wasn't yelled at any further. She joined the spiking drills and worked well into the evening with the boys. She was wrapping up and changing when her phone dinged on the shelf. The girls' stuff was already cleared out well before she entered the club room, and she had a sinking feeling about that. She checked the message and smiled weakly, opting to just slide her uniform shirt over the tshirt and locking up the room. She hopped down the steps and to the school gate, where a certain somebody with long hair was waiting awkwardly.

"You'll scare everyone if you keep making that face," she instantly taunted the man and he whined loudly.

"If I was meaner I'd leave you here," Asahi threw out a rare clapback. They laughed about that and started the walk down the darkening streets to her home. They talked all the way back, catching up on different things. It had been a while since Asahi was her travel buddy, since he had been out of town with relatives for a few weeks. He kept stealing looks at her face, her expression growing worse and worse as they walked. He stopped at her doorstep and was more and more unsure of their evening plans. Kitsuna was struggling hard with the keys and froze up.

"H-hey," he reached out with extreme hesitation. Her shoulders were trembling a little bit, and he swore he heard a sniffle.

"Are you sure this's alright? I mean, I can come back on the weekend or something instead," Asahi suddenly lost his budding confidence. Kitsuna finally got the door open, and peered over her shoulder at him. If she was previously upset at something it sure wasn't showing on her face now. Asahi shook off his nerves and followed her inside.

"Do you want a drink or something?," she dropped her bag and headed for the kitchen. She returned with two drinks and pointed at the sketchbook in her guest's hands.

Part of Asahi's time in Tokyo was spent working to study fashion. It was sort of a surprising direction to go in but Kitsuna and the others were far more supportive than he could have hoped for. They spent several hours running over ideas and brainstorming designs. Kitsuna pulled out a notebook with sketches from Yachi as well, who she had been running through rough ideas with. Kitsuna was struggling to stay awake as the sun set lower and lower outside. Her phone rang on the table suddenly, startling her awake.

"Sorry," she apologized as she scooped up the phone and moved to decline the call. Asahi recognized the name that came up and suddenly felt like a third wheel, but stopped her and swiped up to answer it instead.

"Wh-eh? Ah! Sorry!," Kitsuna first reacted to Asahi, then to the confused voice calling out from her phone's speakers.

He could hear Suga get excited and ask to be put on speaker phone, with Kitsuna reluctantly complying so he could talk to Asahi. She busied herself in the kitchen while they talked, until the phone was handed back to her and Asahi took over what she was working on there.

"People are gonna think weird stuff if he keeps staying over so late," Suga teased.

"Oh shut up. It's fine, everyone already knows I'm with you," Kitsuna spat back, but she did find it a little bit funny. She slid back onto the sofa and curled into herself there. Flipping through the notebook with the phone propped up to her ear on her shoulder. Suga laughed again on the other end, knowing that she wasn't actually irritated by the remark. Then he got quiet, and Kitsuna felt her overwhelming feelings from earlier creeping back up.

"I miss you."

"Yeah. But you'll have a break soon, right? Oh, wait. Training camp."

"Oh, that's right. Daichi was talking it over, and we might try to pop in and see how things are going during that."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone. It's supposed to be a surprise."

"Dude," Kitsuna laughed at his old habit of clueing her in on things when he was supposed to be keeping secrets. The two went back and forth for a while longer, shifting to a more one-sided conversation over time. Kitsuna had flopped over onto her side, fully taking up all the space. These phone calls were sweet, and she appreciated them a ton. She was seriously worn out right now though. Sugawara must've picked up on it from his end, and ended the call with a chirpy good night wish.

"Kitsuna, oh," Asahi was about to bring her food to her but as he walked around the sofa he saw her completely knocked out there. Her phone was beside her face on the couch cushion, screen dark and silent. He smiled at the sight, and headed back for the kitchen. He wolfed down the portion she had prepared for him and searched for some plastic wrap to cover hers. He put it on the table in front of her, for when she inevitably woke up. The final touch was pulling her jacket over her shoulders and gently prying the notebook free from under her.