She couldn't remember much about the encounter when she was in elementary school. Mayumi only called him after a nickname and his image became more hazy as the years went on. Moving from Miyagi didn't help either, she understood there was not much of a chance for the childhood friends to meet again.
Her daydream was quick to fade away as the rally continued on during practice. The team must have completed their receiving drills and moved on to spiking drills while she was preoccupied.
We don't need things like memories.
The school's motto stared back at her, daring her to go against it.
She knew, it was another time in her life. A time when she was first introduced to volleyball. He was indirectly responsible for the passion she developed for the sport. While it was nice to reminisce at times, she wouldn't be a true Inarizaki fox if she didn't live up to the school motto slightly.
To her it meant - don't look back and dwell on the past, keeping looking forward.
Because they will always be on top.
Ojiro wasn't shocked to see their manager, shaking her head furiously as if she did something unforgivable. Mayumi did that often, practice was for mistakes to be fixed after all. Most of the time she was thoroughly frustrated over lack of effort from certain players (ahem, Suna). It was when she smacked herself in the head a few times with her clipboard that he too lost it and made his way to his co-captain. Did the twins really push her over the edge at lunch? She finally went insane?
Kita saw her. How she stared at the school's banner that was hung on the bleachers across the gym from her position at the end. He also took a glance at its words.
In all honesty, he wasn't particularly fond of the motto. Roads don't only run one way, it doesn't only run forward. To him, memories are important - in order to rise to the challenge - the team must know what happened and went wrong in the past. Otherwise, it could lead to reckless behavior.
Speaking of being reckless, she shouldn't be self-inflicting a concussion so early on in the season. If she doesn't pay attention during practice, she may get injured more by getting hit by a stray ball.
Practice ended with Mayumi having a red bump on her head. With her bangs, it wouldn't have been noticeable. But she was a crybaby once the adrenaline left her and her eyes were still red and slightly puffy after tearing up over the pain. Kita stood next to her, the coaches going over what time to arrive for the practice match tomorrow, but he was too busy stealing glances at her.
He gave her his jacket after the spiking drills were completed, when she first started to cry. It was his only attempt and knowledge of what would comfort her. The sleeves were big on her, the entire jacket covered her frame and swallowed her. He recalled the first time he gave her his jacket he had to hide a slight pink hue on his cheeks that formed. Coach Oomi dismissed everyone, Kita was broken out of his reverie and made his way to the locker rooms with Aran and Ren so that they could head home and get well rested for the practice match in the afternoon tomorrow.
Aran and Ren were discussing the stats on the opposing team that was coming in, formation and plans already beginning to formulate in the captain's head. He would have to keep an eye on the four 2nd years - Atsumu, Osamu, Gin and Suna. Their attitudes were predictable at best, it was just a matter of time until he would have to step in and take charge.
He didn't even bother to retrieve his jacket from Mayumi. She had forgotten her own tracksuit jacket that morning, and the evening brought a chilly breeze in the air, they couldn't risk the manager getting a cold. Yes, that's what he told himself - just to protect her from a possible cold.
He knew she would give it back anyways. The weather didn't bother him that much on the way home, it was a welcomed change from the heat that they had during the day. Yet, an odd feeling rose in his chest seeing her wear it outside of practice as she walked home with the twins. Her hands are still too short for the sleeves.
He wished then that she would always forget her jacket.
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Mayumi hoped Shinsuke-senpai would be okay on the walk home without his club jacket. She made no attempt to give it back however, there was always a familiar warmth in his jacket that just seemed to make her feel at home. It was like second nature to pull up the collar of the jacket,her way of protecting herself from the twins as they made snide comments to each other above her head.
At least with the jacket she felt warm, inside and outside.
They arrived at the cafe, Mayumi telling her order to Atsumu while we went to grab a table with Osamu.
"Hm? Are you not getting anything 'Samu?"
"He knows my order, we came here a few days ago to scout it out. Do you still want to come over tonight, I can help you make the onigiri for the team's snack after the matches."
"Of course I'll stay the night for my favorite twin." Mayumi emphasized the 'favorite' once she saw Atsumu walking closer with their order number stand, giving him her own attempt at a smirk. She was sitting across from the grey-haired spiker, while the now moody blonde setter slumped next to her.
"C'mon, you know I don't mean it when I call you a 'loser'", Atsumu gave her a smirk and leaned in close while she gave him a blank stare in return, "cause you're my loser." His voice dropped slightly, teasing and taunting her.
"Do you want information on the team tomorrow or what?" While she maintained her blank stare, Mayumi was unable to stop the heat rising to her cheeks with Atsumu being so close to her face. She hoped to whatever gods were out there that he didn't catch the pink tint on her face, and instead focused on the treats that were finally brought to their table.
Even if he did notice her blushing, she would claim that it was over seeing food arrive at their table. While Atsumu could be an idiot at times, at least he was able to remember their orders. The twins both enjoyed milk tea, Osamu getting a standard angel food cake and Atsumu sticking to his soufflé cheesecake. Mayumi stayed true to her caffeine needs with iced coffee, pairing it with a strawberry shortcake.
"What school are we playing again tomorrow?"
"Fukurodani Academy, they also have one of the top five aces in all of Japan."
Of course with their upperclassman, Ojiro Aran, the added part of the rival's ace didn't worry any of them. They could gloat about their ace being in the top five as well. Defensively, they would be more than okay.
"But ..." Mayumi added, and the twins snapped their heads back to her. She took another bite of her cake, savoring the sweetness for a moment too long.
"I've heard rumors that their ace has terrible mood swings."
Then she gave them both a smile that sent chills down to their bones. It wasn't a kind or gentle smile that graced her face. No, the Little Fox of Inarizaki was showing her face for the first time this season.
"Let's make sure he is extra moody tomorrow, boys."
a/n: I posted this fic less than a week ago, and as I am editing this chapter, I just hit over a 100 reads.
If any of you have read this story this far, or at all, and you even gone to vote on some the chapters - I just want to say: THANK YOU SO MUCH and I love all of you. I really started writing this for fun in between my classes last weekend, and haven't stopped since. I have been able to put out almost two chapters a day, and seeing the attention this has garnered only encourages me more so.
It means a lot to me knowing people are enjoying this. Obviously some stuff has been altered for the fanfic purposes. If there is anything you think I could improve on, or just want to say hi - always feel free to leave a comment or send me a message :)
Stay safe and healthy everyone, I'll be back soon with another chapter.