XXXIV.

Yamamoto Taketora was running away from something... or rather from someone. He couldn't believe that the rumor of the daydreaming ghost of Sadako that has been long history and solved was true after all!

He was mistaken before. He mistook poor Kenma to be the daydreaming ghost not too long ago. As a result, Kenma dyed his hair blonde in order to not stand out.

Or maybe it was a new different ghost that haunted the clubrooms this time?

He shook his head. It was dark inside the clubroom, but he was sure that it was a girl because her face was covered by her long, straight hair!

"Senpais!" Taketora cried out to his teammates who were on their way to the clubroom.

"Yamamoto, shut up. Don't shout in the hallways." Tetsurou scolded.

"Hey," Kai greeted, "You look pale. Is something the matter?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Morisuke said.

"She's back..." Taketora muttered, which made the third years furrow their eyebrows in confusion. "The daydreaming ghost! She's back! Sadako's back!"

"Eh? I thought that she's only a rumor?" Morisuke reacted, "And I thought that we've already cleared that confusion?"

"Kenma even dyed his hair in order to not stand out." Kai added, his eyes shifting back to Tetsurou.

"But I really saw her this time! Her whole face was covered by her long ass hair!"

"Are you really sure about that?" Tetsurou asked.

"I really swear! The gaming noises are not there so I'm sure it's not Kenma this time!"

Tetsurou sighed. "Well, fine. We're on our way to the clubroom anyway so let's all see for sure."

And so they marched their way to the clubrooms. Taketora's bravery increased now that his senpais are at his aid. Tetsurou was the one who opened the door. They were greeted by the dim room only with the curtain now closed, which made Taketora panic. He had already opened the curtains earlier! Did Sadako close it herself?

Someone groaned, which made them freeze right on the spot. Then in the corner lies a female figure sitting against the wall, and indeed, her face was covered by her long, straight hair. Taketora was about to pee his pants when Morisuke decided to flick the switch on the wall, and they gasped at the sight of the girl.

"B-behind that long brown hair... huh, Sadako has brown hair?" Taketora was more confused than afraid. The rumors said that the daydreaming ghost had dark hair.

Tetsurou then let out a hysterical laugh. "You idiot! That's Kinomi-chan!"

Morisuke and Kai heaved out a relieved sigh, then smiled with a shake of their head.

"See, Yamamoto? The daydreaming ghost is long history." Kai said with his gentle smile.

"This is the last time, okay?" Morisuke chuckled.

"MI-KA-ZU-KI!" Yamamoto called out, and Kinomi stirred from her sleep.

"Oh, my God, Yamamoto-san... did you swallow a megaphone? You're too loud, my ears are bleeding." Kinomi complained, putting her hair aside to reveal her groggy face.

"Does that matter?! More importantly, why are you sleeping here in the clubroom? And... why did you cover your face with your hair?"

"Why can't I? I'm also technically a member of your team, right?" Kinomi retorted, irritated that her slumber has been disturbed. "You opened the curtains and you didn't even shut it when you left. So I covered my face so it'll not be too bright."

"Well, I left because I'm about to have a heart attack because of you! You guys are going to be the death of me!"

Kinomi narrowed her eyes. "You're so dramatic." She drawled.

"By the way, Kinomi-san, your hair's too long now. Your bangs are even covering your eyes." Morisuke commented, going over to give her some bobby pins.

"Oh, thanks, Yaku-san." Kinomi gratefully took the bobby pins then proceeded to secure her bangs to the side.

"You're so pale and your hair's so long you effortlessly passed off as a ghost. Do you even see anything from there?" Tetsurou asked with a chuckle.

"Of course. It's not even that long." She rolled her eyes.

"Are you planning to get a haircut, Mikazuki?" Kai asked.

"Hmm... it's too troublesome. Maybe I'll just cut it myself."

"Hey, let me do it instead." Tetsurou volunteered with a grin.

Kinomi arched an eyebrow at this. "Bold of you to assume that I trust you."

"I also cut Kenma's hair sometimes. And it's free of charge." He shrugged.

"I think I've seen some scissors around here somewhere." Morisuke rummaged through the lockers and cabinets, then found what he was looking for. "Oh, here it is! And there's a... what is this?"

"That's a curling iron! I've seen my little sister use that sometimes." Taketora said.

"Huh? What's a curling iron doing in here?" Morisuke asked with a quizzical tone.

Tetsurou snorted. "That's Eira's. She must have forgotten it."

Okay... what the fuck is Eira-san's personal belonging doing in the boys' volleyball clubroom? Kinomi thought.

Kai and Tetsurou shared a glance, before the latter smirked when an idea popped on his mind. He shifted his gaze back at his sister. Kinomi instantly got what his gaze meant.

"Fuck no! I'm not letting you guys touch my hair!"

"Come on, Kinomi-chan. Even Kenma trusts me with his hair. I'm your brother!" Tetsurou reasoned with a grin.

"Woah, I bet you'll look even cuter with your hair slightly curled." Morisuke wondered aloud.

"I agree." Kai said with a smile.

"I second that! You'll be on a par with Karasuno's manager." Taketora said with a nod, his hand on his chin.

Kinomi rolled her eyes. "Alright. I'm only agreeing because I can blame you guys if it turns out bad."

"Oh, don't worry, sis. We'll turn you from Sadako to Princess Mulan in no time."

"Mulan is not a princess." Kinomi corrected with a frown.

"But she's a Disney Princess so she's still technically a princess." Tetsurou retorted which made the girl crack a smile as she called him an idiot.

Tetsurou carefully trimmed Kinomi's bangs and split ends, Morisuke complimented her straight and smooth locks. He also gently curled the tips of her hair, afraid that he might burn them if he left it for too long. He ran his fingers through her hair, settling for a more natural, loose curls. Kai and Taketora just watched the two of them work on the girl's hair.

"Good afternoon!" Lev greeted as he walked in the clubroom, along with the team and Kenma, who was busy with his video game. "Oh, Kinomi-san!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Kuroo... what did you do?" Kenma drawled.

"Isn't it obvious? We gave Kinomi-chan a makeover."

"I think I'm having... war flashbacks." Kenma slightly winced, making Tetsurou grin in response.

"We did a pretty good job on your hair back then. Isn't she lovely?"

Kenma spared a glance at the girl, then a small smile crept on his lips. "Yeah," He agreed before going back to his video game.

"You look alive!" Lev scurried over to touch her curled hair, but Morisuke slapped his hand away.

"Don't ruin my masterpiece!" Morisuke scolded.

"What do you mean, 'alive'? Do I look dead to you?" Kinomi frowned.

"That's a compliment, Kinomi-chan." Tetsurou said with his smug grin.

"Nice one, Kinomi-chan!" Sou and Yuki beamed with a wide grin. Shouhei offered her two thumbs-up as approval.

"Now I can brag our cute manager!" Taketora exclaimed with a triumphant and determined look, causing Kinomi to wince.

"Kenma-san! Let me curl your hair!" Lev said with a laugh.

Kenma glared at the half-Russian middle blocker. "No."

Kinomi.

A few days after diligent training, it was time for the continuation of the summer training camp. It is now held in a different school, Shinzen High School located in Saitama. It is structured with a wide area filled with spring greens and trees, which is why it feels airy and cool in here. A perfect setting for the training camp for a whole week.

Yaku-san curled my hair yet again like last time and opted for me to apply at least a cherry flavored lip balm for my chapped lips, despite my protests. The guys were busy collecting our belongings and I took a peek against Karasuno's bus which was just beside ours, looking for a specific someone. I smiled when I saw him in his usual frown, clearly still sleepy for it was still early in the morning.

"Hey, hey! Where's the Skytree?" I heard Hinata ask Kenma-kun with an excited tone. He's so energetic even in the morning. "Oh! Is that the Tokyo Tower?" He pointed at a normal transmission tower by the distance. I shook my head then went back to helping Yaku-san and Inuoka-kun with our baggages.

"That's... just a normal transmission tower." I heard Kenma-kun reply.

"What the hell? Are there no transmission towers in Miyagi? Pretty sure I've heard that conversation before." Tetsurou asked the captain of Karasuno team, obviously trying to piss someone off again.

"The transmission towers in Tokyo all look like the Tokyo Tower to us countryfolk!" Sawamura-san retorted.

"That's a rash thing to say. Also, we're in Saitama." Sugawara-san added.

The rest of the team all looked like they woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. The three of us walked on ahead because they're taking the strolling slow.

"Good morning!" We greeted with a bow, to which they did the same. I spared a glance at Kei, who was looking at me in a weird manner, and I smiled at him before proceeding to walk on ahead with the rest of my team.

"Lev, don't run down the stairs. I'm going to kill you if you trip and fall!" Yaku-san reminded, as we climbed the long flight of stairs, while Lev was excitedly going down to greet Hinata.

"Sorry, Yaku-san!" Lev called out.

"Good grief." Yaku-san sighed.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, announcing a new text message. I fished it out and saw a message from Kei.

Tsukki:

You curled your hair, huh?

Me:

Yaku-san curled it. It feels weird tbh.

Tsukki:

Trying to look pretty for me? :)

Me:

Pfft. No. I'm trying to look pretty for someone else.

Tsukki:

Really? You didn't even need to make an effort for me though.

I looked back at him and saw him smirking at me. Warmth climbed up to my cheeks at his statement. You're so full of shit, Tsukishima Kei!

Me:

Ha-ha. Funny.

Tsukki:

I'm not teasing you.

I didn't have the opportunity to reply back to him when the coaches called for us to put our bags and gadgets aside so that we can already commence the morning practice. Nekomata-san and Naoi-san gave instructions to the team while I just stood behind them with my pen and notebook.

"We're like the blood in our veins. We must flow without stopping. Keep the oxygen moving and your mind working. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!"

I was more focused on Karasuno team rather than my own because I wanted to test out my hypothesis from two weeks ago. And just as I thought, they improved drastically over the course of two weeks... except him. Kei was slacking off... causing him to lose potential points. Nekomata-san even noticed it.

Then I spared a glance at their coach, then back at him again. I was worried about him. If he continues like this, he might be switched out of his regular position. There's no place for players who are not giving it their all.

When the night fell, it was time to call it a day. The coaches left the teams for their extra round of practices. Bokuto-san and Tetsurou pulled me to the third gymnasium so that I can further analyze them. But their true intentions were far from that.

"Hey, hey, hey, Mikazuki! I heard that you're quite the blocker yourself." Bokuto-san told me, which made me shoot a glare at my stepbrother. Tetsurou just let out an innocent smile.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Then, would you jump some blocks for me?!" Bokuto-san said with a wide smile, his big eyes sparkling.

"No way. I've seen your spikes, Bokuto-san. I don't want my arms to break." I declined. Bokuto-san pouted in dismay. I, then, turned on my heels to leave the gymnasium.

"What a way to lure a blocker, Bokuto-san, Kuroo-san." Akaashi-san commented.

"Well, that's fine. She hasn't played volleyball for a long time after all. I'm sure she's pretty rusty now." Tetsurou said which made me stop on my tracks. I craned my neck to give him a glance, seeing his smirk still intact as he looked at me. The scheming little bastard!

I turned to them, then walk to the side as I unzip my red jacket and tie my hair up in a ponytail. I'm not in my volleyball shoes but it doesn't matter. I tossed the jacket, notebook and pen on the corner as I approached them with a poker face on.

"Yay!" Tetsurou and Bokuto-san high fived.

"Oh, she fell for it." Akaashi-san muttered then went to grab some volleyball.

Lev and Tetsurou had a different round of practice. Lev protested at first, as he also want to jump to block but Tetsurou shut him down. He still has to practice his receives.

"One more!"

I jumped to block his spikes every time, but my blocks were too weak now. Unlike before, I always manage to kill the ball and rub it all over my opponents' faces. But now... my body's not 100% at the moment. Or maybe Tetsurou was right?

"One more!"

A cross shot! I went straight for it but I didn't manage to kill it.

"Oh, yes!" Bokuto-san cheered, while I rest my hands on my knees, catching my breath. My sweat dribbled past my chin and on to the floor. I have never sweated this much since middle school.

"One more!"

"She's already tired, Bokuto-san." Akaashi-san pointed out.

"Oh, seriously? Already?" Bokuto-san whined with a hint of disappointment.

"What do... you mean... 'already'? I jumped at least... thirty-seven blocks for you!" I complained while panting.

He grinned as he put his hands on his hips. "Oh, you counted that much? You know, Mikazuki, you're really good at read blocking but you lack stamina!" I tilted my head upwards and gave him an 'are you serious right now?' look. "And your blocks were weaker than I expected. I'm afraid that I'll break your arms if I put all of my strength to it."

"Huh? That's not your full power?"

"Of course not!" He smirks.

"That's not true, Mikazuki-san." Akaashi-san denied.

"Akaashi! You're supposed to say, 'Well, he's one of the top five spikers in the country after all'!"

I shook my head, wiping the sweat off my face using my shirt. Bokuto-san and Tetsurou are right by the ingress, might be looking for some passerby who'll they use to block for spikes again. Akaashi-san is by the opposite end taking a sip of water. I took a seat on the floor by the sideline, right beside Lev. Ugh, I need a shower...

"Lev, did you finally bite the dust?" I asked him as he was sprawled out on the floor, face first.

He turned his head and gave me a frustrated look. "I also wanted to jump for blocks! It's not fair!" He cried out.

I snorted with a small smile. "Life's not really fair, you know."

"Oh, hey, you. Karasuno! You with the glasses!" I heard Tetsurou call out to someone outside the gym. Kei is the only bespectackled member of Karasuno. Is Tetsurou going to provoke him like he did with me? "Would you jump some blocks for us?"

"Oh, actually, I'm done for the night. If you'll excuse me."

Right. It's Kei. He's not having extra practices as expected.

"What?!" Bokuto-san and Tetsurou said in unison.

"There's no point in practicing spikes without a blocker! Come on!" Bokuto-san tried to convince him, and I let out a smile as I hugged my knees.

"Why are you smiling, Kinomi-san?" Lev asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Why does it have to be me? Why not someone from Fukurodani?"

Akaashi-san then approached them as well. "There's no limit to Bokuto-san's spiking practice, so everyone runs away pretty quickly."

"I'm too busy whipping this guy into shape." Tetsurou pointed at Lev.

"I said I'd jump some blocks!" Lev cried out again.

"Shut up! If you want to continue as a regular on Nekoma's team, you need to actually be able to receive the ball!" Tetsurou scolded, which made Lev whine. "He may not look like it, but this guy's one of the top five spikers in the country, so it'll be great practice."

Bokuto-san smirked.

"So he somehow didn't make it into the top three, huh?" Akaashi-san subtly dissed Bokuto-san.

"Don't mind." Tetsurou comforted as he patted Bokuto-san's back.

Bokuto-san swatted his hand away. "Don't raise me up just to let me get knocked down!"

"They've already had their fun with your girlfriend." Tetsurou, what the fuck? "And besides, if you're a middle blocker, you should practice your blocking a bit more."

"Ah, there it is... the provocation..." I mumbled, then they made way for Kei as he entered the gymnasium. The provocation... it works every damn time.

Kei looked down upon me, before reaching out his towel to me.

"Don't worry, it's clean." He muttered.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to, you know." I said, as I wipe my sweaty face and arms with the towel.

"I know." He said before marching inside the court with a smirking Bokuto-san and a deadpanned Akaashi-san.

I watched Kei attempt to block Bokuto-san's spikes, and just like me, he managed to fail more than succeed. In no time, he was also as tired as I was. That's how taxing it is to deal with Bokuto-san's spikes... or we both just lack stamina.

"Yes!"

"You just beat all of one blocker."

"Shut up!"

"Well, how about two, then?" Tetsurou approached Kei's side.

"Bring it on!"

Tetsurou has finished Lev with their round of receives. I glanced at Lev, asking him if he was still alive. I heard no response. Kei glanced at Lev then at me, and I held his gaze for a few seconds before he averted it and focused his attention back at the court.

He wants out yet he's still attentive.

Tetsurou, then, managed to kill the ball the first time. Wow, he's a piece of shit but he's good.

"Yeah!"

"Damn it!" Bokuto-san exclaimed, "You know, four eyes," Oh, here it is, the feedback. "you're great at reading attacks but... your blocks are pretty weak. Your arms are so frail like Mikazuki's!" I glared at him. "I'm scared I'm gonna break them. You need to stop the ball like you mean it!"

"I'm still a growing boy! I've just started gaining muscle and getting taller."

"Huh?" I mumbled to myself.

"Talk like that, and the little shrimp is gonna hog all the glory. You guys play the same position, right?" Tetsurou remarked.

Now, that's really going a little too far...

Kei didn't reply after a few moments, leaving the three of them confused.

"I don't think that can be helped. The difference in natural talent between me and Hinata is too great." Kei said with a forced smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah! Are you practicing spikes again?!" Inuoka-kun and the rest of the team walked in, but my focus was still on Kei. He excused himself before glancing at me.

"I'm heading back, Kinomi."

"Okay." I said.

"Looks like you stepped on a mine, Kuroo-san." Akaashi-san remarked, making Tetsurou wince.

"You pissed him off!" Bokuto-san added with a taunting tone. "At long last, Kuroo-kun, the master of provocation, has failed."

"Well, I wouldn't have thought that..." Tetsurou trailed off, then gave me a glance. "My bad."

I arched an eyebrow at him, standing up. "Why are you apologizing to me?"

"I might have pissed off your boyfriend."

"Anyway, I'm also heading back. I ache all over." I gathered all of my belongings then gave them a dismissive wave of my hand. "Good night."

"I think you've pissed off the girlfriend, too!" Bokuto-san laughed.

Kei was nowhere in sight. He must have hurried back to the classrooms to take a bath and gone straight to bed. Is he that triggered?

I took a quick peek at the first gymnasium and saw his team getting all around with their own practices, making me feel kind of sad for Kei. My brother might have pushed his buttons but it just showed how deeply low he felt about himself.

"Looking for someone?" I flinched when I heard his voice from behind me. I turned around and there he was with that same forced smile he was wearing earlier.

"I thought that you already headed back?"

"I went back because I left my knee pads inside."

"Ah, okay. Would you like to head back together?"

"Okay. Wait here." He went inside the gym to look for his knee pads, and I looked intently at him as he watched his team practice, a frown decorating his features. He went back to me, then we walk side by side with each other.

"Tsukishima," I called out.

"What?"

"You know Tetsurou didn't mean it like that, right?"

"Well, he's telling the truth. You don't have to comfort me, Kinomi."

"Kei..." I stopped on my tracks, and so did he. I bit my lower lip as I reluctantly took his hand in mine. "Let me in your mind. Please?"

Kei looked down at our hands, making me squeeze it just for him to feel me, that I'm here for him.

"You do understand, right...?" He muttered. "Why I feel this way. No matter how hard you try, there's always someone somewhere who will beat you down so hard you will never be able to stand up again. I..." He trailed off, closing his eyes. "I feel like there's no need to try hard when you'll suffer the consequences later."

"How do you know?" I asked, and he stared at me. I smiled. "How do you know that you'll lose when you haven't tried? You'll live a life full of regrets... because you lost when you know you could have done so much more. You won't win at everything, you know... life would be too easy if that were the case." I looked away. "I won't ask you to change your mind just because I told you. I won't ask you to train more because I don't want to disregard your feelings. But I know that I believe in you... and that you'll find your calling someday. And when you do, I hope you won't have any more doubts about yourself."

"Are you speaking from experience?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, but a genuine smile was evident nonetheless.

"Shut up..." I pouted.

"Have I disappointed you?" He asked suddenly. I shook my head, still pouting. "Really?" I nodded.

"Have I?"

"Many times." He smirked.

I punched his arm, earning me an amused chuckle from him. Then he pulled me in for an embrace. His body was so warm, might be because of our recent training. Our sweat mingled together, but I didn't care.

"What am I going to do with you?" He wondered.

"Love me?" I chuckled.

His hug tightened, a smile evident in his voice. "That's doable."

Then someone cleared their throat. I quickly pushed Kei away to see his whole team looking at us with different kinds of reactions.

"Tsukishima! You're slacking off so that you could go all lovey-dovey with your girlfriend, huh?!" Tanaka-san hollered, making me frown in embarrassment. "You really have to rub it all over our faces that you have a girlfriend, huh?!"

"Girlfriends over everything, Ryu!" Nishinoya-san exclaimed. "It's Kiyoko-san over everything for us!"

"Somehow, I'm kinda jealous that he's got everything." Hinata pouted.

"You're an idiot." Kageyama told the orangehead.

"Quiet down, everyone." Sawamura-san scolded. Then he turned his gaze back at us, awkward written all over his features. "Um... sorry. Please be mindful where you are next time." Sawamura-san said with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry." I apologized before we make way for the team. They passed by us, making side comments on the way. I suddenly remembered Fukurodani walking in on us two weeks ago, making my blush grow even deeper.

Sugawara-san sighed dreamily. "Must be nice to be in love."

"Uh... are you serious?" Ennoshita-san asked.

"Tsukki... um, we're heading back..." Yamaguchi said with a small smile. Kei nodded. "Good night, Mikazuki-san."

I nodded, still couldn't bring myself to look at them. Then we were left alone again.

"We really need to stop hugging or holding hands in the middle of nowhere..." I said after a while.

Kei snorted. "Next thing you know, they'll walk in on us kiss—"

"Kei!" I hissed, completely flustered. Kei just let out a laugh as we walk back to the classrooms.