"Didn't you say you got the okay?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are we peeking around the door like we aren't supposed to be here?," Sugawara was looking in through a set of gym doors, standing over Kitsuna who was crouched down doing the same.

"Well. It feels weird to just walk in on another team's practice," Kitsuna answered as if that was just common knowledge. Sugawara sighed, pulling back to stand up properly outside the door. Kitsuna briefly leaned back to glance up at him, jumping when a voice called out to the pair.

"Hey! What're you lurkin' in the door for! Go get warmed up," the younger of Seijoh's two coaches yelled out from the sidelines of the court. Kitsuna and Sugawara sheepishly entered the gym and exchanged greetings with the coaches. Then Kitsuna warmed up on the side after brief introductions, while Sugawara watched the other team's members and helped her with taping up.

"Ew, what're you doing here?," a painfully familiar voice assaulted their ears from the left. Kitsuna knew who it was in an instant, but still put in the effort to shoot a very unwelcome Oikawa a look.

"Keep popping up like that and I'll start to think you actually want to see me. Gross," Kitsuna spat back with the same level of disgust. Iwaizumi exchanged a much more pleasant greeting with Sugawara and stepped to the side of the little spat.

"Yikes. Like I'd be caught dead going out with some gorilla of a girl," Oikawa stuck his tongue out with his taunt.

"Good. Because you're annoying as shit. I've got someone way better anyway," Kitsuna turned her face away pointedly, returning to her warmups.

"Huh? And just what does Mr. Sunshine have over me? He's shorter, and hardly stands out at all in a crowd," Oikawa got oddly defensive on that point. Both boys trying to sidestep the argument gave the same deadpan stare at that commentary.

"What? He's got plenty of good points! Like here," Kitsuna dragged Suga by the arm to stand in front of her, and pointed at the mole just under his left eye. Then she pointed slightly upward, "Here, too. Besides looks, he's smart too. And he's funny, without having to be a tryhard like you. I bet you can't keep a girl because you're so clingy and self-centered."

"What?! Did you just say?," Oikawa shoved Suga aside to stand over Kitsuna. They were dead-locked in an intense staredown, so much so that they didn't even notice when one of the others came to retrieve them.

"Hey. Gonna stand here in the cheer squad or did you actually want to practice?," Iwaizumi finally intervened to pull them back to their current position.

"Huh?," they both turned to him, then followed his pointed finger toward a very displeased Kunimi.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. What's up," Kitsuna switched gears first, brushing off Oikawa nonchalantly.

"We're doing a mock game. We've got people, but Coach said you could join either side," Kunimi corrected his facial expression to the usual blank look as he delivered the message.

"Really? I can join your practice for that?," Kitsuna was surprised by that, enough to completely forget her confrontation from a whole two minutes ago. Kunimi let out an exasperated sigh, trying his best to ignore Oikawa.

"That's what I just said," Kunimi was clearly done with this conversation already. Kitsuna quickly removed one of her layers, the Karasuno jacket, and handed it off to Suga. She also took off her glasses, and earrings, and bracelet. Those were handed off as well, and Sugawara grabbed her hand to pull off the ring there. She followed Kunimi to the gathered up players, holding the now empty spot on her finger with her other hand and fidgeting with it.

"Right. We have one of Karasuno's little crows today. She'll be joining one of the sides for the match," the older coach started her off and gave her a look to continue with her introduction.

"Uh. Kitsuna, second year. Um," she panicked now that she was put on the spot.

"What position do you play?," the younger coach asked.

"Uh. I don't know that I actually have a set position?," Kitsuna wasn't sure how to answer, earning some tired glances from several people.

"What do you play most often," the older coach tried.

"I guess..middle blocker?," Kitsuna gave the best answer she could, and was sent over to the same side as Kindaichi and Kunimi.

Sugawara was called over to sit on the bench, in an attempt to better understand how Kitsuna played. He offered what observations he could, but arrived at the same non-answer for her position. They settled on just watching for now, and giving clearer instructions later with hopes that the Seijoh boys could adapt around her. She ended up working to fit them instead, though, even covering for Kunimi's lazy receives. At the midpoint, a short break was called before switching sides.

"So you really are just an all-rounder," Kindaichi commented. Kunimi offered her a drink, and the others all flailed suddenly as she accepted it.

"What's your guys' deal?," Kitsuna raised a brow at them all. She glanced at her partner but he just shrugged, sharing her confusion.

"Hm?," Oikawa joined in the group conversation then. He and Iwaizumi reached the same conclusion with the general vibe of the group.

"Seriously? You guys are all worried about something like that? Pfft!," Oikawa teased them all with a barely contained laugh. Kitsuna just looked around the room bewildered, then took a drink of the sports drink.

"..!"

"Okay, what's the deal?," she was getting agitated at the quiet fuss over a drink.

"Ah! Hey," Suga motioned for her to move closer so he could whisper to her. "I think they're worried about something like an indirect kiss. I guess I never thought about it like that before."

"Eh?," Kitsuna was not quiet with her response at all. She gave a dead stare to the boys, delivering the final blow swiftly and effectively. "Don't you guys all share drinks at practice? That means you've all indirectly kissed each other by that logic. Isn't' that weirder to think about?"

Sugawara, Iwaizumi, and Oikawa all laughed hysterically at the reactions that statement received.

"C'mon, children. Get back to practice," the younger of the coaches urged them back onto the court with that. They went on for another set, with Kitsuna's side taking the win. Suga slipped away to get a drink from the vending machine, partially for himself and because of his new considerations with sharing drinks.

"Does she really take all those out for every practice or game? Seems annoying, so why bother keeping them on in the first place," Oikawa aimed a question at Sugawara while they all sat on the sides, watching the practice.

"Well, for some of it she's had injuries because they got hit or broken. So I guess it's better to avoid that?," Suga pulled two of the items out of his pocket and looked at them. There were some clear bumps and dings to the beads on the bracelet. The ring was still spotless, but that was sure to get a few scratches as time went on.

"You guys are allowed to wear stuff like that at school? I guess rules are different if you're out in the sticks," Iwaizumi shared his two cents. He was surprised by her recently dyed hair, too. She definitely gave the roughest feel of the Karasuno team's members, and that was really saying something.

"Ah, no. She got chewed out pretty hard for dying her hair again after summer break," Sugawara laughed that off, despite his understanding of the tenuous line she walked with her appearance and the school rules.

"Really? Why then?," Oikawa asked without expecting an answer. They turned their attention back to the court, where Kitsuna was discussing something in a brief huddle with her group.