XXXI

March 26th

It was Kunimi's birthday yesterday :D Happy Birthday, love!💕

Keeping his promise to Isuma, Ginjima consented to not play during the match. He stayed with the coaches and Isuma on the bench. Keeping her promise to Kita, Isuma didn't try to study the Kato High players. She didn't need to- the second and third-years knew the team well and had no trouble countering them.

Halfway through the first set, Ginjima brought up something that he'd been thinking about lately. "Hey, Isuma-chan?"

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you ever hang out with... you know, girls?" Ginjima asked. Isuma set down her water bottle, glancing at the court. The score was 15:04, and they weren't even playing at full power- Ginjima was out, and Aran was momentarily on the sidelines. "...when I was younger, I never really had any friends. I was always with my brothers, and they weren't usually bothered by it. I think we were around thirteen when they told me I should try talking to the girls in my class."

Her tone made it clear that it hadn't gone well. "...what happened?"

Isuma didn't say anything for several seconds. She vaguely said, "They didn't like me. At all. I knew it, but I tried to talk to them anyway. And... it didn't end great."

Ginjima didn't try to question her any further. Isuma turned towards him. "Point is, I don't like talking to other girls. Especially the ones now. I don't have to be a genius to know that every single one of them is either jealous or just hates me."

"...oh." Inarizaki scored another point. Kato High seemed to have accepted their inevitable defeat; Isuma murmured, "They're not even trying."

"There's no point, is there?" Ginjima asked. Isuma answered, "Yes, there is! They shouldn't just give up. Even if they might lose, they shouldn't just stop."

Her tone was incredulous, as if she couldn't imagine someone ever giving up. Ginjima shrugged. "Some people just aren't... as dedicated to volleyball as Atsumu is."

Isuma didn't reply and just watched the match, occasionally marking something in her notebook. "Hey, didn't you say that she was their coach?"

She gestured to the woman clad in blue and yellow on the other side of the referee. "Oh, yeah. I think she used to be the girls' coach at Kato High, but there weren't enough girls to form a team, so she disbanded it and switched to boys' volleyball."

Isuma answered, "...she looks defeated, like she's experienced this one too many times."

"It must be hard," Ginjima said. "I'm surprised they made it to Round 3 at all. We defeated them in the first round last time."

"The Quarter- and Semi-finals are tomorrow, right?" Isuma asked. Ginjima nodded. "Yup. The second-best school here, Taji North, always makes it to the finals. We face them every time... we beat them every time."

"I'm guessing you don't get along?"

"...let's just say they aren't our biggest fans," Ginjima answered, his tone bitter. "And, well..."

He trailed off. Isuma asked, "What?"

"It's never been officially proven but... their coach is a little reckless. They break the rules. A lot. And they're good at it because they always manage to get off. The referees haven't ever noticed..." He fell silent, not wanting to continue; Isuma didn't force him to go on. "Anyways," he continued, changing the subject, "They haven't forgotten the times we've defeated them. All that resentment and bitterness is gonna crash on us like a tsunami if we play them."

"But don't all teams feel that way?" Isuma questioned. "You've beaten all the teams here over and over again. Aren't you afraid some people will flip out and try to get revenge or something?"

Ginjima sighed. "Don't bring that up right now. I think about that enough as it is. Watch there be a psychopath in some random school who really hates us. Not that there is!" he hastily added, seeing Isuma's expression. "I was just kidding! I don't think people hold grudges that serious, Isuma-chan. After all, they came into the tournament knowing that they could lose, right?""...yeah. But you can't be sure that everyone here isn't a psychopath, right?" Isuma asked. Ginjima groaned. "Let's talk about anything else."

"Fine!" She laughed just as Inarizaki scored another point. 23:09. Kato High's coach, Mika Sensei, noticed her and turned towards one of the players on the bench. "Nako, isn't that girl new?"

"Oh, yeah. I saw her yesterday. She's their new manager, Sensei." Mika bit her lip; their new manager had it so easy. Inarizaki being a powerhouse, she probably didn't have to work hard at all to help their players. Mika, on the other hand... she had trouble just convincing her team to come to morning practice. Her eyes flicked to the court; even she could see how their team was silently regretting all those practices they'd skipped. Inarizaki scored another point, ending the first set. The gym erupted with cheers and shouts; Mika sighed. "Well, that's that."

She sat down on the bench as the players walked towards them, murmuring. Mika didn't know what to tell them- she'd tried everything. Everything. She'd done all she could to train them, yet they never took her seriously. All of them seemed too ashamed to even look at her. Mika stood up, crossing her arms. 

"Did you seriously not see this coming? Half of you just gave up on winning while training. We can't change that. That doesn't mean you should give up now too. I don't care-" -for several of them had just started to protest- "-that we don't have much of a chance of winning. If we're gonna lose, then take a few points with you. don't just give up and let them win without batting an eye? Got it?"

Her tone was so deadly yet encouraging none of them could argue. Their captain, Sedin, murmured, "You're right."

Miko's voice softened. "Listen. I know the third-years leaving made it harder. This might hurt a little... but as you are right now, there's no way you can beat Inarizaki. So don't concentrate on winning here. Concentrate on changing. Developing. Do what you can. Now. Understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, Coach!" they answered. Miko smiled. "Good. Now get out there and steal a point or two from Inarizaki, 'kay?"

<<Skip to the beginning of the second set>>

"They don't seem as depressed anymore," Atsumu said, wiping his mouth. He handed his now-empty water bottle to Isuma. She tossed him a small towel. "Well, yeah. Their coach wouldn't have let them keep going on like that."

"Still. None of them really tried the first time we played them." Osamu said. Kita glanced at Kato High's coach, who was gazing at them- more specifically, Isuma. No one noticed but him; they were all too busy talking about the match. His eyes flicked from Isuma to Mika; he could almost hear her thoughts. 'She thinks Isuma must have it so easy, being a manager of a powerhouse. A lot of people probably think that- especially people at school. On the outside, she's the sister of two famous volleyball players. There are probably a hundred girls at school who think her life is amazing because she's beautiful and doesn't have to worry about what others think of her, when in reality, she probably has more concerns then them. She has a terrible past and life at home- aside from her brothers- and her new problem... the sudden fever she had yesterday isn't good either. If any of these people made the slightest attempt to understand Isuma, they'd know how complicated her life really is.'

The referee blew his whistle, pulling Kita away from his thoughts. "Go. Take this in straight sets."

"Yes, sir!" Atsumu ran back onto the court, followed by the others. Ginjima looked the slightest bit bitter as he watched them. Kita lowered his voice so Isuma wouldn't hear. "Gin. I think you're doing a lot better; if you can convince Sensei and Isuma, then you should be able to play for the last few minutes."

"Isuma'll never agree." He replied. Kita placed his hand on his shoulder. "She will. Hold on, I'll talk to her."

Without waiting for a response, Kita walked over to Isuma. "Ginjima should be fine to play for the last few minutes, right?"

"What?" Isuma hesitated, looking at Ginjima and then back at him. "I mean, probably... hold on. Hitoshi!"

She waved for him to come over. "Sit down on the bench. And take off your shoe."

He did as she asked. Isuma knelt in front of him and glanced at his foot for less than a second before saying, "He's... fine. I think you should wrap your ankle with this, just so it doesn't move around as much."

She held out a roll of bandages. Ginjima exclaimed, "You mean it?"

Isuma smiled slightly at his enthusiasm. "Yeah."

"Thanks, Isuma-chan!" He leaned forward and hugged her tightly, catching her by surprise. Before she could react, Ginjima hastily pulled away, remembering that Kita was there. "...sorry."

"You're good." Isuma smiled slightly as Ginjima took the roll of bandages from her and started to wrap it around his ankle quickly. Kita was almost amused at how nervous Ginjima seemed. "Honestly, Gin, I'm not gonna murder you. Relax."

Kita walked back to the others as Isuma helped Ginjima. "I really thought he'd kill me for hugging you."

Isuma turned the slightest pink, and Ginjima noticed. "That- that doesn't mean anything! Forget I said anything! Um, can you tape my fingers?" he added, changing the subject. "I suck at it."

"Sure." Isuma gently took his hand and wrapped his fingers with tape one by one, occasionally asking him how it felt. Inarizaki was already seven points ahead of Kato High, who'd managed to score two points so far. The second Isuma withdrew her hands, Ginjima leaped to his feet and glanced at the coach, who nodded slightly. "Kosaku can come out now. Get ready."

Ginjima grabbed Kosaku's number plate just as Isuma caught his arm briefly. "I'm telling you now- if there's anything wrong with you- anything at all- then I'm asking Coach to take you out."

"I know, I know! I won't complain!" Ginjima promised. Kurosu Sensei signaled the referee for a player substitution. When Inarizaki scored another point, the referee blew his whistle. Kosaku high-fived Ginjima as he returned to the bench; Isuma handed him a water bottle. "Great job, Yuto. You did really well."

"Thanks. How were my serves?" Kosaku asked. "They were more accurate than the last time I watched you."

"That's good." Kosaku lowered his voice slightly. "Is Hitoshi really fine?"

"I hope so." Isuma motioned towards the others on the sidelines. "Right. I'll go."

The moment he was gone, Isuma turned her attention back towards the court. The point-gap had widened even more, but Kato High didn't seem too discouraged. Isuma didn't like to think it but... 'They know. They're not trying to achieve something impossible. With the team they have right now, it's a wonder they can even work together. They shouldn't try to win- they should use this as experience for the future... and that's exactly what they're doing.' Isuma smiled slightly, her eyes flicking towards Kato High's coach. 'She's amazing. I want to be a coach like her one day. I want to take whatever team I'm training to the top.'

<<Skip to the end of the game>>

They won with a lead of fifteen points. Kato High's players didn't even bat an eye and picked up themselves off the floor and went to line up. Suna said, "They're taking it really well."

"As they should. They'll be stronger next year." Kurosu Sensei let out his breath. "Great job. Now go line up."

"Yes, sir!" They lined up and bowed to Kato High, then walked up to the net to shake hands with them one by one, then the referees and coaches. Once they'd started their cool-down stretches, Kurosu Sensei said, "Isuma, come with me. The rest of you, get to the bus the second you're done with your stretches."

"Yes, sir!" they exclaimed. Isuma swung one of the bags on her shoulder and grabbed her own, then followed Kurosu Sensei out of the gym. "We'll get the bus ready for them. I didn't really have a chance to yesterday because of Kamino's setter being injured."

"Got it." Isuma nodded, glancing back at the gym door. They arrived at their bus within a few minutes; Kurosu Sensei turned it on and they stepped inside.

The sun was starting to set when the others finally came, talking and laughing. Isuma looked up when Atsumu and Osamu entered. "Can either of you come to the hospital with me?"

"-the hospital? Why?" Osamu asked. Isuma answered, "I want to visit Kamino's setter, Altan-san."

Although her voice wasn't too loud, almost everyone looked at her in surprise. Kita didn't say anything and turned away, but Akagi noticed his grip on his bag's strap tighten slightly. Atsumu nodded. "Sure. I'll go with you."

"I'll come... as long as we can stop somewhere for dinner." Osamu shrugged, sitting down next to his brother. Ginjima stood up and looked at Isuma over her seat. "I can play tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. You're fine." Isuma flashed a small smile; Kita, who'd happened to glance at her at that very second, turned away immediately. Akagi hid a smile and looked at Kurosu Sensei. "We're ready, Coach."

"Good. Let's go."

The sun had just dipped below the horizon when they arrived. They were all drained- although they'd only played one match that day, they'd had school before that- but none of them complained when Kurosu Sensei told them to go into the gym for a quick debriefing about the next day. "Assuming everything goes alright tomorrow with our first match, we'll be playing Mailo High School tomorrow." Kurosu Sensei said. Almost everyone collectively groaned. "We play them every Inter-high, Sensei."

"I know, I know. But they're in our block every time, and they're good enough that other teams don't usually beat them. Our first match tomorrow is Kaiso. You played them during last year's Spring Inter-high."

"I remember. They're the ones with the great servers, right?" Suna asked. Kurosu Sensei nodded. "Right. While their serves are good, they don't stand out anywhere else."

For the next half hour, Kurosu Sensei answered their questions and explained the two teams to them. Finally, long after the sun had vanished, they got up to leave. A few minutes after leaving the others, Atsumu asked, "Is Kamino's setter doing fine? How come they haven't released him?"

Isuma's lips tightened in concern, and Osamu glared at his brother. "He'll be fine. You helped him before it got worse, right, Suma-chan?"

"Their libero, Hinosa-san, said he's fine..." Isuma murmured. "I don't know, though."

Atsumu shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to find out. How far is the hospital, anyway?"

"And can we stop for dinner on the way back? I'm starving."

"Maybe. Come on. I want to get there before it's too late."

Some people don't like readers who just spam comments but don't vote; I honestly prefer comments cause when you vote I know you like it but not really anything else ya know? Comments are just more fun.

TY for 55K :>