- Chapter 13 -

The morning started off as usual as a camp could be, Suzuki observed. Everyone had morning clean-up duty; make beds, yesterday's laundry, and then crowding for breakfast. Though, it wasn't until around eight that they started going down to the outdoors for the morning jog. And for Suzuki and the other girls, they began their warm-up with small stretches, followed by setting up chairs and nets for the training.

All of this was never part of her plan.

Suzuki Taomi felt she was being tricked, from the beginning of dinner. She was meant to go home after the afternoon's last match. But then the evening practice caught her attention. She didn't regret that, of course. Though she felt defeated when the girls had to physically pull her into one of the bigger classes where the tables and chairs had been arranged to a supposedly eating area. She mentally had to maintain cursing on Hinata when he just loudly announced her schedule home to everyone in the cafeteria. Then some of the seniors invited her to stay. Daichi-san, especially, had the nerve to call Tomoru and bargained her one-night stay in. Being Tomoru, he of course approved.

She had sworn she would punch that ridiculous face of her brother when she returned home.

That being said… she was secretly thankful that she could see the training camp day one more time. Her basketball team didn't have the same privilege to go around and visit other school clubs, due to loss of connection between the teachers and, well, budget cuts to even facilitate this sort of arrangement. They were even lucky enough to have booked a practice match against Coach Hiruzen's college alumni, only for half a day.

At least now, she could participate in the camp from the beginning.

The order of the matches had been determined and Karasuno would face Fukurodani first, which she thought was intentional, considering the session they had during the practice last night. Suzuki could still feel the adrenaline rush when she jumped along to block but the thoughts of Tsukishima's obedience in following Kuroo and Bokuto's practice stuck with her like glue. She had seen the determination of his practices; she couldn't help but wonder how much he had changed in a real match.

Suzuki found a chair next to Yachi, just in time for the Crow to have a time break huddle.

"That number 4 is fiery today, huh." She heard Ukai snickered. "There's a reason his spikes are hard to block, the same reason he's a top five… but that doesn't mean you won't do anything." He said. "Now boys, keep your mind straight and find your judgment. If you don't think you can block, well, touch 'em. You'll be surprised at how small decisions like that can impact a team's momentum. Hear?"

"Hear!" The boys all reaffirmed.

One in particular, one that rarely ever says a thing during a huddle, suddenly spoke up. "Are you sure we shouldn't block him?" Almost all of the Karasuno Team were too baffled to react to Tsukishima's outburst, even Ukai looked stunned.

Ukai smirked before Suzuki could even process what had just happened. "Ie. If you can really block him, the better." He casually said it, like an open challenge. And from the looks of it, Tsukishima accepted it.

Suzuki took the opportunity of the ongoing break to question Tsukishima's plan. "So, do you really think you can stop Bokuto's spike?" She said, pushing a drink to his arm. "Can you stop him?" She nodded her head towards the said person on the other side of the net.

He momentarily stared at her, before grabbing the bottle and took a small chug of it. He swallowed, shrugging. "Doesn't hurt to try."

"Do you have a plan? You have a plan, don't you?" Instead of a direct answer, she received a lousy smirk and a water bottle. Before she could demand more response, the coach had already blown the whistle to continue the match.

Replacing him was Yamaguchi, standing beside her. "That was new." He remarked. "He was never the one to contest but he just questioned Ukai's order."

"Well, it wasn't really an order, but either way… he meant to do otherwise."

Suzuki offered him a drink, which he gladly took. "How was last night's training?" He said after taking a gulp.

"Fun!" The corner of her lips twitched. "I-I mean it was fun. I joined them to block Bokuto's serve too, you know. With Tsukishima and Kuroo of course. Like a three-man block. That part was fun."

"How did that go? Did you block any?"

"Of course nuh. l didn't touch anything at all, Yamaguchi. Kuroo was definitely able to block him a couple of times and Tsukishima managed to touch some. Hm, maybe Bokuto intended not to touch my hands, or maybe I served as an obstacle and that only proves he has great aim. That said, he does have a really powerful spike." At the same time, Yamaguchi and Suzuki paused to see Bokuto went on for a spike that Daichi and Kageyama failed to block. "See?"

"Scary, I know." Yamaguchi grimaced at how the ball made contact with the floor with such a loud thud. "It'd be nice to be able to block that." He clicked his tongue. "Tell me, what about Tsukki? What changed?"

"Tsukki?" Suzuki thought about what she saw back in Gym 3. He hadn't much of a success to block Bokuto, unfortunately, but instead of just passively ignoring it like he used to, he went on to make sure his blocks were going to succeed. She recalled, particularly at how he carried himself, catching up with the Seniors, every time listening and following their steps and tricks.

Tsukishima Kei was once aloof and cynical team member without much else to give, now had become more engaged with the sport and starts to take volleyball more seriously.

Tsukishima Kei, now proven, and just like anyone else, didn't want to lose.

Yamaguchi only stared at her, waiting for an answer. Instead, he found her eyes and for a moment he saw a twinkle of relief in her eyes, a glimpse of hope. She smiled at him, hopeful. "You'll see."

…

The morning matches had ended and they still had some time before lunch was served. Free time meant more break time, or so Tsukishima thought initially. Yamaguchi had left him to have a little bit of float serve together with Kageyama who also wanted to practice his dead toss—whatever it was called. He ignored both of them and found comfort, sprawling under the shade of a tree with a Pocari on hand. That was until Kageyama walked up to him, or rather to the girl sitting beside him and asked if she could help covering up for Yachi. Tsukishima knew Suzuki would definitely say yes to the question. Her reasoning; she just wanted to help.

Though her reserved nature makes her appear apathetic and distant, he understood that she could show attributes of care and, to the extreme, compassion.

He remembered one day in school where Enma seemingly had a rough day after being called to the principal's office for foul conduct that the teacher couldn't ignore anymore. He got back with red swollen eyes and the class quickly caught on that the Great Enma was weeping like a baby. This only led to his already terrible antics worsen and the only way he could lash out the anger was by ruining everyone else's day. He kicked some chairs and tables out of position, he stole some food and threw it into the bin, he cursed at people and pushed them away, even his own group of friends. He remembered, in the middle of recess time, Suzuki yelled the shit out of him for being so disturbing to the class. That was the first time ever he saw her so angry.

That afternoon after school, walking to the club room, Tsukishima spotted Suzuki and Enma talking alone by the park. Her back was turned but Tsukishima could see Enma, his annoying scowl was replaced with a hint of acknowledgement; and regret.

Morning came and Suzuki informed the class that Enma was taking absence for a day and she wished everyone would always show support to him. She even went as far as talking to his so-called bullying friends and asked for their understanding. Reluctantly they nodded, unsure.

The next day and onwards the Class 1-4 went on as normal as it never ever happened. Enma and his friends were still a bunch of idiots and Suzuki had to bear the burden of the job to keep their nose clean, but that was already everyday life for everyone.

Whatever Enma was dealing with that day, nobody knew for certain. Maybe Suzuki, but Tsukishima didn't ask, nor did he ever care to ask. He simply wondered why all the trouble just to save this poor boy. Why she would consider to help the ragged rude boy who just called her a nosey bitch in the whole class. Perhaps it was her bound duty as a Head Class, to keep the balance and dynamic of the class. Perhaps her reasoning; she wouldn't have any, she just wanted to help.

Does everything need to have a reason?

Tsukishima concluded it as 'pity' – or a much friendlier word, 'compassion'.

Suzuki's caring and compassionate quality didn't usually appear until there was a certain problem or issue that she knew could cause a significant change. And he knew by know she considered Kageyama's inability to provide the best toss for Hinata a major breakdown for both of them, and the team, judging by their own frustration. So again, it wasn't much of a surprise when Suzuki had already left him to catch up back into the gym.

The surprise came when Tsukishima got up and followed.

"The fuck you doing here?" Kageyama's outburst was instant.

The blonde boy sneered. "What? Am I not allowed? Is this the royal ground where pheasants are not permitted to enter? You Grace?"

"I told you to not call me that, you idiot."

"Of course, My Liege."

"One more word and I'll have that mouth of yours clipped shut. You heard me, Tsukishima."

"Isn't that empty threat I hear from the King himself? Oh do spare me, King—please, do I look like I give a shit? Your words are always empty, like your brain."

"You little sh—"

"Quiet, both of you!" Suzuki bellowed, returning to the bickering pair after helping Yamaguchi with the cart of balls. Her voice wasn't as loud as the one she yelled in class, but it had the same demanding tone that made the back of Tsukishima's (and perhaps Kageyama as well) neck cold and tingly. She only let out a sigh. "I don't understand the issue with you two. But quit it, it's boring already—Kageyama, come here. Where do you want to place the bottles?"

Quickly as drawing a breath, Suzuki's hard glare shifted into softer, familiar droopy eyes, and quickly she helped Kageyama with the bottle placement. She turned to Tsukishima. "You. You better behave." The smirk of the corner of her mouth usually meant she was joking. But a threat still.

And so Tsukishima watched them. He glanced to the other side of the net, Yamaguchi and those damned floats, but his eyes kept retreating to the pair, going back and forth the throws and tosses. Suzuki watched intensively, as if looking for a crack on a surface. She didn't even see the ball at all, she only watched the Osama boy.

Only four throws in, and she paused the next throw.

"Kageyama let's stop." She said, "Forget the bottles for a second. Come over and bring me a ball." Kageyama was confused, and slightly irritated. but he did as told—like a dog following his owner. "Now, stand here." Or better yet, a maid serving his queen; Tsukishima snorted, how ironic.

"Do you remember when you and Hinata wanted to try to shoot a ball into the hoops in the school gym?" She asked. Kageyama nodded. "Let's do that for a couple of rounds."

He frowned. "Why?"

"It'll help, I promise. Just do it – we don't have hoops around so let's use the i on the wall as your target." Tsukishima looked up to a big graffiti on the wall that said Shinzen, with the dot on the letter i colored red. "Do you remember what Aoki said about the stances and…"

"Yeah, I remember." He said. "Are you sure I should be doing this instead of the toss—"

"Yes! Now, do it."

Kageyama huffed uncomfortably, a kind reminder that this was not Yachi he was practicing with. Reluctantly, he shifted his position. Suzuki corrected his stance and now Tsukishima thought he looked more like a basketball player than a setter, an awkward one. He then began shooting, his arm didn't look comfortable and Suzuki often scolded him for not keeping the right angle. But after getting used to it, some of his shots hit the dot. After a couple of good shots, she asked him to stop, and he thought he would go back to tossing next to a net, but instead she ordered him to change aim into different marks—below the s, in the middle of the n, inside the hole of the e.

"I don't understand the point of this." He muttered as he threw another perfect shot in e. "How is this helping me?" He huffed when Suzuki was ignoring him. At the corner of his eyes, he saw the blonde smirking like a pompous bastard. He held the urged to just throw the ball on his damned face. Knowing that Suzuki was watching him closely, he let out a sigh and threw again to the target, but this time Suzuki had jumped and spiked it just as the ball came to a halt. "H-how did you do that?" She just killed the ball.

Finally, she explained her thoughts.

"You need to remember that dead toss is different from your usual quick toss, not because of where the ball should be but more because of how the ball should go." Judging the blank look on his dark eyes, Suzuki sighed. "You told me with your quick toss, you need to know where Hinata's hand is and that's where you're aiming, directly at the front of the hand, right? So it goes straight, to catch up." She made a hand movement from a lower point diagonally to a higher point, resembling a slope.

She went on. "Well, you can't really do that with this dead toss. You will never have control once the ball hits the air. You can't just aim where the ball would exactly stop in mid-air, especially with such speed." She raised her hand again and simulated a parabolic line. "Instead, you might want to have the ball linger in the air," her hands slightly wavered along the invisible line. "So that the others can calculate their own spike." Her other arm swung up, pretending to spike the ball where her hand was.

"Oh. So, a toss that stops, doesn't really mean it needs to stop." Kageyama slowly nodded. "So, the one killing the ball is not—"

"—not you. It's the spikers." She completed it for him. "You just give them the opportunity to do so." Can you give the toss the Squirt needs, Tobio-chan?

"Okay. Okay I get it now!—but what does it have to do with the basketball stuff we just did? I mean, understand the parabolic movement now. But… why?"

"Well, true, I want you to get used to the parabolic throws, the angles and stuff. It's crucial." She craned her neck against the wall. "Do you spot any difference when shooting at the targets?"

"Other than all of them are different? I mean, I throw it the same way you told me to. Nothing's changed with the direction of the ball. It's still parabolic…" He trailed off. "I mean I guess they are different locations and I need to guess how much power I need to make in order to make it to the mark—oh!"

Suzuki smirked. "You're saying?"

"I get it. I need to know how much force I need for different placement of the spikers. A-and keeping the ball flying in the air."

"Basically yeah. That's how we basketball players aim our shots. We hope that the ball stayed afloat long enough to make it into the hoops." She beamed. "But then again, basketball only has one goal. You, on the other hand, will have five other players to target from. As I said before, you still need to visualize where they would stand and how far you need to throw." Suzuki grabbed the nearest ball and threw it to Kageyama. "Just as much as you visualize where the bottles are."

For a moment, the smile on Kageyama's face widened as his usually darkened eyes lit up.

Thirty minutes passed and they decided to end the practice. Kageyama and Yamaguchi finished their last of sets by collecting some stray balls around the court, while Suzuki walked up to Tsukishima.

He remarked. "You know, I'm not gonna lie. You teach better than Ukai already."

Instead of responding, she flopped right next to him, stole his Pocari, took a gulp and sighed. "If Kageyama ever asks me for help again, please remind me to say no."

Hearing this, Tsukishima snickered loudly.

Another of Suzuki's profound qualities: she made Tsukishima laugh.

- Chapter 13 -

The Karasuno Team celebrated yet another losing streak by running up and down the hill all over again. "I have to admit, Shimizu-san. I don't know how your team operates, but… something's wrong with them." Suzuki grimaced. "I know mine would never survive God-knows-how-much number of lost matches they had."

"Fourteen," Shimizu grinned. "We lost fourteen matches so far."

"Fourteen? That's mental!" She gawked. "I know Mirai would have cried her eyes out and I would find myself trying to hold Aoki down from running away from the gym court. Though I'm sure the second-years happily agreed to bail the camp completely – you guys are mental."

"Why, thank you." Shimizu let out a chuckle. "But hey, these boys are trying everything they can to do better. Another loss means more reason to stand up and train. And I know they will continue to do that until the qualifiers, the semi, and Nationals. They will never give up, always strong and high-spirited. For that I'm thankful."

Just then the girls stared at Nishinoya and Tanaka who suddenly found themselves in a quick race. Though the former tripped on his own foot, causing Tanaka to laugh, which evidently caused him to stumble. They both went on, rolling. Suzuki snorted. "Mental."

Now that Karasuno was temporarily out of play, Suzuki decided to wander along the other court. Taking an empty chair just behind the bench players, she watched the on-going match between Ubugawa and Nekoma, now on in their second set.

Suzuki would never recall the faces and the names of these players, yet the tallest of them would be the Nekoma blocker, Lev, the mixed-race. She met him during Tsukishima's evening practice; she remembered she had to look up just to find his unusually green irises. Considering how tall she already was, this boy was towering above her. At some point, she felt small standing next to him—for the first time in almost forever. Though she had heard that he was still a beginner in volleyball, his flexibility and reflexes were unbelievable. His long limbs were definitely an advantage and she'd like to admit he used it well. Although, his receiving skill was, for better or worse, hopeless.

She watched the other blocker in the Red, a brown-haired who Hinata was already friends with from the previous Nekoma visit back in May. He mentioned that he was the team's regular, until The Russian came. But in court, he was just as strong and agile. If not, better at the ball-read. Sad to know that even a better player, in her opinion, was still replaced by someone bigger and taller.

But both of the blockers didn't come close to their senior, the spikey-black haired Captain. Suzuki acknowledged Kuroo as the best blocker in Nekoma–perhaps in the whole gym. After watching him in action for some rounds, as well as teaching Tsukishima the other day, she had learned his mimicry-style play was something very resourceful. Mind, he didn't necessarily imitate other people's style. He read them; read their movement and then imagined how a blocker should block them, like a back-up plan. This of course needed a tremendous amount of visualization and accurate prediction. She found that pretty impressive to watch.

Suzuki didn't realize she was staring at Kuroo, not until their eyes met and now, he had caught her practically gawking. She was even more embarrassed when the guy in question had gotten up and standing next to her chair. "Hello, Zuki-chan."

"H-hello, Kuroo-san."

"Please, Kuroo is fine." He said and sat down. When did he even grab a chair, she didn't know. "I didn't see you after the matches this morning. And I didn't see you during lunch. I mean, you're a bit hard to miss."

Suzuki held herself from rolling her eyes. "Uh, yes, I stayed with Kageyama for a bit, to see his practice. And then I had lunch in the other classroom with the girls."

"Hm, that's why. I thought you'd gone home already, without saying goodbye that is."

"Yes, right. Umm…" She cleared her throat. "So, why don't you play for this round?"

"Tired, lazy…" he shrugged. "B'sides, I have to give a change to the other blockers, eh? I mean I know I'm the best and everything but don't want the team to rely on me too much." At the far end of the bench, she heard a Nekoma player snickering. "I'm giving the juniors to have their shinning moment as well. I wouldn't always be playing for Nekoma. I need to invest the fresh blood."

"Of course." She nodded.

He asked. "How is the camp working for you?"

"I like it. I got to know a lot of people from the teams. The girls especially are all very nice to me. It's also nice to see familiar faces as well." She said, glancing at the Karasuno players who had just walked in and dispersed around the gym.

His eyes followed, and then back to her. "Karasuno…a very interesting team you guys turns out to be."

She narrowed her eyes, suddenly self-conscious. "What do you mean by that?"

Sensing the dislike of his statement, he chuckled lightly. "I didn't mean it like that, Suzuki…well, maybe. I dunno, I only know Karasuno by its reputation and Coach Nekomata speaks so highly of 'em. I mean, they're good but I didn't expect them to be so..." He paused and Suzuki glared. That was intentional. "…all over the place—tell me, what do you think of them?"

"I… I'm not sure. I mean, I don't think I have much to say."

"You should know them better than I do. Sawamura Daichi said you are friends with the first years, especially the Glasses. And I think I saw you helping them out when you can." He trailed off. "Are you close?"

"S-sort of, yeah. My basketball team and their volleyball team shared a gym during school practices on Golden Week. I think that's how I got to know the whole team, really."

"No, I mean. You and Tsukki, are you close?"

"I—we're classmate. With Yamaguchi too."

He repeated. "Are you really friends with Tsukishima? He doesn't look like he has friends, to be honest. He doesn't mingle well with the rest of the team, I see."

"He does… sometimes." She added. "He's not the easiest to converse with but he does talk to the others when he needs to—wait, why are you asking me this?"

"Just wanna know what's going on with him, that all. He's, after all, my rookie. I need to know more about this guy I'm s'pposed teaching." Kuroo smiled. "So, I can get to know him better."

"Forgive me for asking this but… why?" She blurted.

"Why not?" Kuroo clicked his tongue. "Wouldn't it be great to have more experience teacher on a specific field? A block expert, for example?"

Suzuki almost snorted at the entitlement, but she held her tongue. "But I don't understand your purpose. At the end of the day, if you all managed the competition, you guys should be rivals and will maybe face each other. So why even bother to help?"

"Would you not have him practice anything at all? Hm, I will tell you my first impression of the guy." He said. "Compared to the other players, I noticed before he was less eager to even be in the Camp; doing some mild exercises, but only because he was already here. I don't see the same excitement as Hinata, or even their benched blocker Narita. I can see Tsukishima is gifted with a great ball-read, and I will admit he has good reaction time - but that's about it." He paused only to see if the Inouka was able to block Ubugawa's spike. He failed. "Even within the same time, you always need to showcase smallest of the best ability. Especially in team environment like this, the consequence is the same as deteriorating." He nudged her arm and she flinched slightly. "You're a fellow athlete. I'm sure you understand."

"Suzuki, you're starting the lineup tomorrow, as Center." Hiruzen words was cut short but it was enough to bring her into a relief state. But then she at the back of her head, she knew Maki-san was staring at her briefly. A look of disappointment, after being replaced.

And Tsukishima could be Maki, if he failed to prove himself to Ukai, to the team.

"I guess that's true." She spoke, softer this time. "Although I hardly find Tsukishima ever slacking. I mean, sure he looks as if he doesn't want to be here at all but he is just as ambitious as the rest of the team. And of course, he always wants to do better. He wouldn't have reached you if he didn't, Kuroo-san."

"I'm well aware. The kid's got potential, you know." He let out a sigh. "Hey how do you know he reached out first?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You said he would, and he actually did. You two talk often?"

"I, um…he told me about it." She replied with that instead, her eyes adverted from him.

Suzuki picked the wrong time to glance back at the Nekoma player, and his eyes bore into her, and that sluggish smirk on his lips. "I see." He remarked.

They continued to watch the game. Kuroo explained her more about Nekoma team members as well as the Ubugawas too. And by the time the match was over, he had gotten up to move to the next agenda.

"Oh, Tsukki! Here." Kuroo waved at him. "Is Karasuno playing next?"

Suzuki lifted her head to the side where Tsukshima, Yamauchi and the rest of the players had indeed appeared by the bench. "Yes. Against Ubugawa." Tsukishima retorted. "Means your team just lost."

"Ouch, Tsukki. That's foul." Kuroo made an audible gasp, before he snatched him by the shoulder. "You're lucky we don't have to face each other this afternoon, because I will beat the shit out of you, you insolent pup."

Tsukishima wriggled from his grasp. "Get off me, Kuroo-san."

Yamaguchi laughed while Kuroo continued to make a jab towards the glasses guy, and Suzuki took this cue to stand up. Perhaps she could find Shimizu and Yachi and helped with the water bottles and towelettes. But before she could even find the two girls, she was abruptly stopped with an arm around her shoulder.

"Suzuki, where are you going? Don't go just yet!" Kuroo smiled. "It's not every day I can do this comfortably with a girl. Even in our volleyball or basketball team none of the girls are on the same level as you, in terms of height I mean."

"Oh, um, hai." She stammered, unsure of this sudden contact.

"You haven't told me. Are you going to join our night practice again? Maybe you and I could teach his dumbass a lesson." Kuroo said while tightening the arm around Tsukishima. The latter visibly grunted in annoyance.

"No, I don't think. I have to be back at my uncle's."

"Oh that's ashamed."

"A-ano, excuse me, Kuroo-san. I'm going to help Yachi over there."

"Oh of course. See ya' around, Zuki-chan." Kuro gave her one last squeeze on the shoulder and let go, and watched as the girl bowed slightly and left.

"What are you looking at, Tsukishima?" Kuroo, who had never left, noticed the hard stare from his tutelage. "Jealous much?"

Tsukishima snorted a 'no' and shrugged his arm off, and was the first to walk away.

…

Tsukishima tried to ignore Kuroo. But it was proven difficult when Kuroo returned after their run and now standing by his team to watch the match. During the libero switch, Kuroo walked up to him and patted his back. "Remember what I taught you and you're less likely to mess up. Not when she's watching. Ganbatte ne, Tsukki!" That condescending grin sneered at him.

Playing against Ubugawa was slowly, easier, at least for Tsukishima. One too many matched against them and Tsukishima had already familiarized with their playbook. From their introduction, Ubugawa was well-known for their strong yet consistent serve; even more powerful than Kageyama—even more so than Kageyama's senior setter. Which meant, they would have an identical spiking technique. Tsukishima was at their receiving end, painfully so. However, there would always one drop of water that spilled out of the bottle; one spike that didn't deliver well.

That one Ubugawa right spiker, with such massive speed and power, had tendency to always go for a straight spike, as it was commonly known to produce the strongest of spike movement. But, after a while, his method and pattern were easy to read. Tsukishima ignored the presence of Kageyama who was tailing on his cue. The ball touched the palm of his hand and lunged forward, down to Ubugawa's side. That block felt nice.

At the same time, Tsukishima stole glances at Suzuki who sat down next to Yachi, appeared to be helping her with written notes. Wonder if she saw that.

(Suzuki, in fact, did, and was too overjoy that she almost made a shriek at how amazing his block was. As a way to compose herself, she went on to Yachi and told her about the example of a kill block.)

Karasuno Team lost, but only by three points, the most point they've had over the span of four days. The sign of improvement was good to hear, but it was not enough to gain Ukai's generosity to see the result as a win and therefore they went on taking another run on the hill. The players had finished the run and took shelter by the sides of the canopy walls, avoiding the heat of the sun. All of them were exhausted, even Hinata looked he couldn't stand anymore and flopped by the pavement instead of the bench. He looked terrible, all of them; including Tsukishima himself, panting and drenched with sweats and dirt.

Tsukishima saw someone was approaching. He found himself cleaning his face with towel.

"You guys are dreadful." Suzuki said, shaking her head. "I didn't come here just to see you guys doing punishments. You need to win, you know. This is starting to get embarrassing."

"Well, I'm sorry but we're trying!" Hinata cried. "I swear we're getting better at this."

"I mean, we're slowly catching up to them. The score gap isn't as much as before." Yamaguchi reasoned. "Maybe?"

"Still lost, though." When she was met with defeated looks, Suzuki grinned. "I'm joking, I'm joking. You guys did alright. Cheer up." She said, sitting down at the bench next to Yachi. "I mean it's called a training camp for a reason. And you still have a one more day to prove that you're indeed getting better… especially, you, Kageyama. I don't give basketball tricks for nothing."

"Hai, hai." Kageyama mumbled, suddenly feeling rather nervous. "I remember what you told me."

"That settles it then!" Suzuki chirped. "I'll be wanting the news of you guys winning at least one match against these Tokyo-boys when I get home."

Hinata's head jerked up, followed by the eyes looking at her. "W-wait, you're no longer staying?"

"No."

"Why not? Can you talk to Daichi-san again? Maybe he and your brother can make the call and you can stay."

"No. Why would I want that? I have to go home, Hinata. It's already far too long to stay here. I have other places to be."

"But–I mean… I guess that makes sense." Hinata muttered. "But I kinda want to have you with us. So you can see us winning. We can prove to you we can win."

"I already believe you guys can win. You only need to prove yourself – besides, you'll be fine without me. You have Yachi to take care of you guys." Suzuki placed an arm around the smaller girl.

"M-me?!" Yachi paled. "Ano… I kinda need you Suzuki-san. I can't do this alone."

"If Mirai were here, she would've smacked that silly pouty face of yours." She rolled her eyes. "Of course you can. You all can." Suzuki gave Yachi another squeeze of reassurance before standing up and stretching her legs. "Alright then, I better get ready. I'm going to get my things."

Yachi decided to accompany her back to the school and Tsukishima just process the idea of her going home. She was here, only for two days, yet looking back, he felt she had contributed so much. From helping Shimizu and Yachi, sometimes Takeda-sensei, tagging along with Kageyama and Yamaguchi for practice, and that one moment when she surprised him by joining his block against the Fukurodani duo.

Tsukishima remembered being challenged by Yamaguchi–or being screamed at, he still couldn't forget that–and a small talk with the Seniors opened a new perspective in his mind. But safe to say the one keeping him in that new mindset was Suzuki. When she walked into Gym 3, that was first time he had seen her attempt any volleyball related move, especially blocking. She flopped on the technical and timing, but it was irrelevant. She was not a volleyball player yet the more she agreed to go for the next block, the more she wanted to do something a little different, a little better. That was admittedly admirable, and truthfully motivational.

In a sense, her presence changed him, selfishly perhaps; as he also wanted to show her that he was better than her… than his previous self.

"Chotto Tsukishima-san, Daichi is looking for you. Could you come?" Shimizu had called him before he could enter the gym. He glanced at Yamaguchi to walk ahead as he made the turn back out. He was met with Daichi but confused when he found the Karasuno teacher was there as well.

"Uh, is there anything wrong?"

"No, no. Everything's perfectly fine, Tsukishima-kun." Takeda-sensei waved him off. "I do need to ask you a favor, if that's alright."

"Oh, hai. What it is, sensei?"

"I understand you usually have night practice now but just for tonight could you help to see Suzuki-san arrive safely at the train station?" Takeda smiled. "Unfortunately her father couldn't pick her up tonight and so she opted to take the shuttle train. She said it's close by but I'm afraid I cannot let my student go wander around the foreign place, not alone. So, I'd appreciate if you would kindly accompany her to the station."

Oh.

"Oh, okay." Tsukishima frowned. "Sure, I could do that."

"Great! Hiruzen would needn't to threaten me, then." Takeda let out a stammered sigh. "Yes, great. I'll leave things back to you Daichi-kun. And thank you, Tsukishima-kun. I really appreciate it."

Daichi reached his shoulder. "Yeah, It'll actually make me feel better or else Tomoru would kill me." The Captain laughed. "You should talk to Kuroo and Bokuto too, y'know. I mean, I'm sure they won't have problem with this. But go tell them you already have the teacher's permission to leave."

Takeda and Daichi left before he could even comprehend what had just happened, What the hell?

Unsure of what to do, Tsukishima went back into the gym, watching Yamaguchi who was getting ready to receive Hinata's serve. Yamaguchi asked about the encounter and Tsukishima replied honestly, of how Takeda-sensei had him to do errand out of school. He didn't exactly tell him the said errand, nor Yamaguchi ever pressed on.

When Tsukishima noticed a new group of people entering his view, he made b-line to their direction. "Kuroo-san, a word?"

Kuroo stopped walking, letting the others walked on. "What is it?"

"I, uh… I won't be able to come for the evening practice."

"Oh? Why is that? Don't tell me you're already getting sick and tired of practice."

"No. Not that. I-I, uh…" He stuttered. Why did I stutter? "I have to go out of school for some time."

Kuroo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, now you're already getting sick and tired of our camp."

"No that either." He retorted, slightly irritated, "I have something else to do."

"If you want to excuse yourself from practicing with me, you better have a clear and strong explanation, Tsukki. I don't tolerate you slacking off for no reason. I don't wanna hear bullshit." The Nekoma captain clicked his tongue. "I will ask again: what reason do you have for going out of school in the evening, dear Tsukishima-kun?"

"I'm taking Suzuki home, that's why!" He blurted out of annoyance but that was not the answer he wanted to give. He pinched the bridge of his nose, slanting his glasses a bit. "I-I meant, Suzuki is going home by train. Takeda-sensei asked me to escort her to the station." He sighed. "I have permission to leave the school. So, I won't be able to join you and Bokuto tonight."

Tsukishima didn't dare to find Kuroo's eyes. He didn't have too; Kuroo was practically squawking like an idiot. "Ah! Why didn't you say do? It wasn't that hard to say, was it? Yeah, okay, you'll be excuse. I'll probably have to take Lev in exchange, but more to receive."

"Uh, sure. Thank you, Kuroo-san." He excused himself away from him.

Apparently, Kuroo didn't let him go that easily, casually flopped his arm around the shoulder, yet again. "So Tsukki, I heard you and her are classmates?"

"Uh, who?"

"Don't pretend to be daft, you idiot. Suzuki of course. She's classmate of yours, right? She said so."

"If she had told you, what's the point of asking it again?" He added defensively.

"Just wondering. You and her seem close… closer than most." Kuroo shrugged. "She didn't just go around talking to people, I see. Just you."

"She talked to other people too."

"Sou sou. She does have much of a friendlier personality than you," Tsukishima snorted and Kuroo grinned wider. "But at the end of the day she will go back to you; and she stayed. I see that a couple of times. She always stayed by your side – I wonder what you guys are talking about."

Tsukishima wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just stood there hoping that Kuroo would finally release him.

"Does she have a boyfriend, Tsukishima?"

Was he being serious? "No. I don't know." Why am I answering?

"Well, don't you want to know?"

"N-no."

Kuroo felt his stance stiffened. That seemed to catch him off guard, even just a little. "Oh, young love. So innocent." The Nekoma captain laughed. "Anyway, where were we? Oh, yes, just so happens there's a nice restaurant on the way to station. You'll definitely walk around it. A perfect place for a dinner date, should I say."

Tsukishima stared at him, eyes widened. "W-what?"

"Why you looking at me like that?" Kuroo rolled his eyes. "You have the chance to walk her to the station, alone. Might as well treat her on a dinner or something, like a date." His other hand reached into the pocket of his red shorts and pulled out a couple of bank notes. "Do you need some money? I can lend you some cash if you want—"

"Stop it. I'm not a beggar. I have my own money."

"Ah there you go. Consider this as part of your training, Tsukki. For future dates." Kuroo smiled. "You two need to spend more time together. Not as fellow players or classmates, but just the two of you. And then you'll learn more about her." He added. "Heck, you'll learn about yourself too."

Tsukishima was about to remark on that, saying something like 'I don't know what you're talking about, Kuroo-san', but he was abruptly stopped when Kuroo suddenly pointed out to the door, where Suzuki and Yachi had returned. The former were already carrying a jacket and a bag. By the entrance, a small crowd had gathered, possibly to greet her farewell. Yamaguchi was talking to her and Hinata looked about to burst into tears. Even Kageyama was visibly torn, perhaps by the idea of learning basketball throw without a basketball expert. She talked to them all, although she appeared to be looking for someone.

When Tsukishima caught her eyes, he tensed when she had gone the effort to walk up to him. Kuroo was already nowhere near him.

"Tsukishima, Shimizu-san just told me you're going to come to the station."

"Yes. Takeda asked me to."

Suzuki pursed her lips, her hand had a firm grip on her bag handle, a bit too tight. "Oh well, I mean, you don't have to do that. Honestly you don't have to. The station is not far at all, only fifteen minutes away. I know my way around."

Tsukishima craned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I already said yes to Takeda. Good to know I don't need to walk that far." He then waved her in. "Come on, let's go."

Suzuki stared at the Blonde who was already walking out of the door, not even bother to look back to check if she was following him. (She would catch up, easily, definitely.)

She called him again, already on his heel. "Wait, w-what about your practice?"

"I am practicing. Walking is a form of fitness exercise. Good for health." He smirked. "I have to go back to the school, though. I wanna grab my trousers and jacket."

"Hm, alright." Suddenly she punched him in the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?"

She only shared an innocent grin. "No reason."