Chapter 24, Back to Miyagi

THIRD POV

A few days passed since the training camp, they were bound for another session.

The girls whined because it was going to be a long 5-hour drive, but it was their duty and they didn't have any other choice. They packed, the same way they had when Aoba Johsai went against them. And as usual, long knee pads, longer than usual shorts, loose t-shirts, and their gray colored jerseys.

They were all picked up in their school bus when they were complete at the school. The coach made sure everyone was there, and if everyone got their items ready. They arrived at school on 5 AM sharp. A ride from Tokyo to Miyagi is approximately 5 hours, so when they left at 5 AM they would arrive at 10 AM.

The school excused them, as well as the team they were going against. They would spend 8 hours for the team. That meant training and playing with them for 8 hours straight, although there are water breaks, it would cost them a lot of energy. This school was a little hardcore, so they had to extend the time compared to other schools like Aoba Johsai. They just played and trained with them for approximately 5 hours.

•

Ameri yawned, "Are we finally here at the hotel? I badly want to take a bath."

The bus halted, stirring some girls awake along with Kuro. They yawned and stretched before standing and exiting the bus. Shirome stayed asleep as most of them already got out.

"Wait where's captain?" Haide nervously asked.

"Metsuhai! Where's Furumi?" The coach asked, but the said boy was no where to be found.

Speak of the devils, Kuro stepped out of the bus. He was carrying his and Shirome's bags, and Shirome was asleep on his back. He adjusted her so she could sleep comfortably.

"Sorry, she was hard to wake up. She must have been so busy last night," Kuro sadly smiled and walked along the team to the hotel they were going to stay at.

After talking with the receptionist, they went inside the elevators. Ameri winced, "Yeah, I called her last night. She signed a lot of papers and had to entertain some kids of businessmen. She also had to clean their court when the kids played there. Although I didn't know why she didn't just let her maids do it for her," She sighed heavily as the elevator doors open. They walked for a while and opened the room Shirome will stay at.

"Captain is really hardworking," Aizen stated, others nodding in agreement.

"She deserves to rest for a while. Girls, freshen up and then we'll go to Shiratorizawa," Guren said.

"Wait, you didn't tell me we're playing against Shiratorizawa. Shiratorizawa," Ameri widened her eyes at the coach and super visor.

"Well, surprise!" The coach said and went inside his room. The super visor Ichiro just sighed and waved at the team, "Go and get ready, we'll leave at 30 minutes," She said and went inside her room.

Kuro gently place Shirome on her bed. He took off her shoes and placed them properly on the shoes rack. He set the air conditioner just at the right cold temperature. He pulled the blankets and covered the sleeping angel with it. He smiled before exiting the room silently.

•

"Shirome, wake up," Ameri gently shook her to wake her up. She had just finished showering and changed on her volleyball outfit. She wore her school's tracksuit above it. She sighed and poked the small captain's cheek.

Her eyes fluttered opened and she raised a brow at Ameri who flinched by it. She apologized silently and stood straight.

"Ameri, why didn't you wake me up? Now I'll be late again, as usual," She sighed, "Where are we?" She asked, fixing her bed and grabbing her clothes to get ready.

"We're at Miyagi, apparently. We're up against Shiratorizawa," She said as she sat on Shirome's bed.

Shirome stopped for a second but then nodded, "I see."

"Go and get ready, you still have 15 minutes," She said as she just stared at the ceiling.

Shirome took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. Putting on face moisturizer and sunscreen, she let her hair air dry. She exited on her tracksuit similar to Ameri's. She turned the AC off and locked her room with her key when they got out.

The team gathered in the parking lot where the bus was making engine noises. The team got dressed neatly, all of them got their hair tied except for Shirome.

They hopped on and relaxed, taking a 20 minute ride to Shiratorizawa Academy. They were amazed at how the placed looked cool, albeit their school looking almost the same. Shirome and Ameri walked side by side as they received stares.

The team went inside the gym where the boys' team were waiting. But Shirome got seperated and got lost when she wasn't looking where she was going.

After wandering around for atleast 10 minutes, she dragged to a corner. She turned, surprised. A few boys and girls stared at her with sparkles on their eyes.

She smiled, "Hello."

They clenched their hearts at the cute greeting, and blushed, "Um hi, we saw you the other day. You have been one of the talk of our school ever since we saw you entering the gym of our boy's volleyball team. You looked really nice even with a mask, but you looked captivating without it!" A girl said, the others nodding in agreement.

She hummed, flattered, "That's really nice, I guess. If you don't mind, my team is waiting for me and I have to-"

"No! Please wait just for a little while, we figured you only come rarely. Everyday we bring presents incase you showed up again, and our hard work paid off now that you're here. We might not have a chance with you, but we atleast wanted to give you presents for making us happy," A cute boy said, shyly handing her a bouquet of expensive roses with a blush.

She was really moved, but overwhelmed. This is all too much.

All of them gave her gifts, she barely managed to hold it all. Seven of them, 3 girls and 4 boys, gave her various presents. They chatted with each other for a while, taking 5 minutes of her time. It was time to go, and the people understood her and left her be. They had skipped a class when they saw her and immediately stumbled to get their presents from their lockers. True dedication.

"I'll get going now. All of you had been nothing but nice to me, I'm really flattered. I hope I get to hang out with all of you longer but, I have important sessions to go to," She smiled brightly at them. They teared up and bowed, waving goodbye at the girl.

Shirome walked to the gym where a boy had pointed at, and sure enough she heard the sounds of shoes squeaking and balls bouncing. They're doing spiking drills and about to start very soon.

Heaving a long heavy sigh, she adjusted the bouquet of roses, 7 letters, 2 sunflowers, 5 chocolate boxes that varied in brands, and 7 colorful buttons in a clear box on her arms and hands. She was slightly struggling, and opening the gym doors were a challenge. A boy from earlier had followed her, knowing that she can't open the gym doors by herself, he opened it for her with a kind smile. She thanked him and smiled back, finally entering the gym.

The gym fell silent as the heavy doors closed, Shirome sighed quietly and looked up to see everyone staring at her.

She quickly glanced around to find Kuro, and he had jogged to her and took all of the presents, "Please be careful with them," She quietly said. The boy nodded and walked back to the bench to place the presents carefully on the side. Kuro was used to it, although he still feels very snappy inside. This one was exceptional though, this was by far the most many received gifts for the captain.

She heard a voice call out to her, "Shi-chan! Hurry up, the first set is about to start," Ameri yelled.

"I will," She said and disappeared in the girls' changing room.

Tendo laughed, "What the hell? Ame-chan, is this normal for Shirome-chan?" He asked, a sly smirk on his lips.

Ameri rolled her eyes, "Yeah, it's really annoying. She had to deal with them all the time. They made her late just now," Ameri sighed. The other girls nodding in agreement.

"She's an ace with harem!" Goshiki accidentally thought out loud, making his team snicker at him except Ushijima.

"That is indeed a lot of gifts," Ushijima said, wearing a stoic face. The others nodded in agreement.

"Well, she's really pretty so it's kind of unavoidable," Shirabu blankly said, but Tendo teased him. His cheeks turned pink.

The smaller captain exited in her crimson shirt under her gray jersey that has number 1 displayed and the captain mark under it. Her shorts were colored black and her shoes where white. She jogged to her position.

"Ooh, Shirome-chan I didn't know a first year can be captain!" Tendo praised her.

"I didn't, too," She smiled at him, making everyone who saw it melt. They had seen her with a mask on and still look cute, but this was something more. Ushijima just looked away.

The team snickered, amused at how everyone was trying hard not to stare at their captain. Soon, the referee blew his whistle and their match has begun.

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