On the morning Himeko left for the training camp she felt a little buzz in her pocket

[Group Chat Setting Ducks]

Toru: I hope you have a lot of fun

Hajime: call if u need anything

Himeko: Thank you :)

Himeko had a smile on her face all the way to school.

დ

With everyone gathered at the school gym, Coach Ukai ordered them to group up so he could address them.

"All here?" Coach Ukai asked. The blonde man had one hand placed on his hips. "The practice match against Nekoma is in four days. Inter-High preliminaries will be soon thereafter. We've got no time, and you guys are full of holes. Since that's the case, there's only one way for you to win. Practice. Practice. And practice. Save the ball, even if you have to barf."

"Yes!"

"We'll get started on receives first. I'll serve—" Coach Ukai glanced at Mr. Takeda with a narrowed gaze. "Let me guess, you can't serve."

"C-Correct."

"Tt. Only one serving to the team will double the time—"

"Do—do—do you want me to serve as well?" Himeko hesitantly offered.

"How well can you serve?" Coach Ukai immediately asked.

"It's the best thing I can do in volleyball," Himeko admitted.

"She's really good!" Shōyō encouragingly added. "She goes whoop then fwam!"

Himeko smiled, a pleased blush crawled across her face at her friend's praise.

"Show me," he said.

"What level?" she asked.

Ukai raised an eyebrow.

"W-Well I can do gentle to ease in or I can go straight to difficult," Himeko began to explain, fidgeting with the hem of her jacket.

"Do the whoop then fwam!" Shōyō encouraged her.

"Sure, do that," said Ukai, amused by Shōyō's enthusiasm. He tossed her the volleyball. She fumbled when she caught it, her face burned uncomfortably.

That would be the...

Himeko bounced the ball once, twice, then up into the air it went. She leapt up with it, then served it hard, aiming for the back corner of the quart.

Serves were the only thing she was consistently good at because she practiced side by side with Toru and Hajime for years. A lot of their practices were spent with her serving and them receiving so she learned to get good at tricky serves to help them practice. She couldn't receive, couldn't spike, and most certainly couldn't toss in a match... but she could serve.

Toru and Hajime even praised her for her serves. They called them service ace.

It hit the usual mark, whizzing past the astonished members of the team.

"You can jump serve?!"

"Wow!"

"Surprisingly strong—?!"

"I WANNA RECEIVE THAT!"

"Whoop then FWAM!" Shōyō cheered. "See? She's really good! She taught me how to serve!"

Shōyō's serves were his best skill after his speedy spikes. When Himeko realized his receives were atrocious, she switched gears and the two practiced their serves all break. He'd still have the occasional fumble, but literal weeks dedicated to one ability made for a solid foundation.

Receiving was something learned through experience in games, and not something Himeko felt comfortable coaching someone on.

Serves, though?

Serves she could do.

"Nice," said Coach Ukai. "Half of you with her, rest with me. Receive like your life depends on it. Ehh—Himeko, right?" At Himeko's nod he said, "Don't go easy on them."

"Yes, sir."

დ

Practice went on well until it got dark. Himeko and Kiyoko weren't able to stay all the way through. Both girls were assigned to help Mr. Takeda making meals so they left early. While Kiyoko prepped the curry, Himeko worked on prepping the ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch.

When the boys finished up practice, Kiyoko and Mr. Takeda were nearly finished with making the massive amounts of curry and rice. Kiyoko was cutting something over the countertop while Himeko laid out the bowls.

"Himeko," Kiyoko quietly called Himeko over.

Himeko bounded over to Kiyoko. "Y-Yes?"

"Here," said Kiyoko. She handed Himeko a plate of apples cut into bunnies.

Himeko's eyes widened. "Huh? For me?"

"Mm-hmm." Kiyoko nodded to her own plate of bunny apples. "Have you had apples with curry before?"

"Not together, exactly..."

Kiyoko had a small smile on her face. "I made two types of curry. If you get the sweet curry and dip your apples in it..."

"I'll definitely try it out," Himeko promised eagerly.

"I hope you'll like it."

დ

Dinner was a loud, boisterous, and fun affair. The boys were hyped over the training camp, excitedly chattering about their upcoming match. A few of the boys were particularly pleased to be able to eat food made by Kiyoko. Himeko couldn't blame them. She was pleasantly surprised by the combination of sweet curry and apples. Kiyoko had good taste.

Eventually everyone finished eating and it was time take their baths and head to bed. Because Kiyoko lived nearby, she went home so Himeko was left to bunk by herself. It would have been nice to have a little slumber party, but oh well.

Unfortunately when Himeko tried to sleep she found herself unable to.

She laid in her futon dozing in and out of sleep until well past eleven at night. Finally realizing she wasn't going to get good rest, she decided to stretch her legs and get some fresh air. Himeko pulled on her jacket, slipped her flip-flops on, and grabbed her phone.

The inn they stayed in was dead silent. She could hear the boys snoring from their room when she walked past them.

Not wanting to distburb their rest, she crept quietly down the stairs. She nearly let out a scream when she saw a figure in the moonlight by the front door. Thankfully there was enough light from the nearby vending machines that Himeko could identity the figure as Tobio Kageyama.

Why is he...?

"T-Tobio," Himeko hesitantly called out.

Tobio stopped, turning around to face her. "Yes?"

"C-Can't sleep—?"

He stared at her. "Yes?"

In that case...

"Do you, um, want to go f-for a walk w-with me—?" Himeko ventured, her voice grew quieter at the end. She wasn't sure why she was so scared of rejection—it wasn't like it would kill her, but for some reason the thought of being told no after she had scrounged up the courage to ask something terrified her.

That was why she had refrained from asking things in the first place.

She hadn't expected Tobio to stop at all to talk to her, let alone for him to say—

"Sure," he said.

Himeko's eyes widened. "O-Oh. U-Um, there's a convenience store nearby. W-Wanna walk there together?"

"Okay," he agreed. "Do you have your phone?"

"Yes," she said. She pulled it out, switching on the flashlight for it. She patted the pockets in her jacket, double-checking she had her wallet. Satisfied she did, she made her way to the front door. She could hear Tobio's footsteps right behind her.

It made her heart flutter in a nervous-yet-exciteable way.

Not only was she on her very first overnight school trip, but she got to go on a little adventure when it was dark! She had stayed out in the dark with Shōyō, but they always ended it before bed time.

It was past bed time. Past curfew. It was midnight.

She had never gone out so late. She wondered if maybe she wasn't supposed to, but the teachers never told them to stay put–?

Plus everyone else was asleep. She'd hate to wake them up over a silly question.

Leaving the inn, they were greeted by near darkness. There were only a handful of streetlights and they were sparsely spread apart so there was a lot of darkness in between. Hardly any buildings had lights on either, and the sidewalks were lined with bushes.

It was silent.

"Wow," whispered Himeko.

Tobio looked at her inquisitively. "What?"

Himeko flushed. "S-Sorry. I've never been out so late. I didn't realize it, um, would be so q-quiet."

Tobio glanced around. "Yeah, I guess it is. Where's the convenience store?"

Himeko nodded down the road. "Not far."

Tobio walked beside her, his hands shoved in his hoodie pocket. Himeko kept her flashlight aimed down at the sidewalk, carefully watching each step. She had a feeling she'd trip if she stopped paying attention.

Neither of the students spoke. Tobio was not the talkative sort to begin with, and Himeko was wholly focused on their surroundings and doing her best to not trip.

She marveled at how different the streets appeared past midnight. She wondered when exactly did things come alive again. When the sun came up? Before? Everything was so much louder on the walk in to school, Himeko found it difficult to correlate the eerie calm with the bustling mornings.

Something moved, catching her attention through the corner of her eye as she heard a bush rattle. Himeko jumped, she reflexively reached out to Tobio and grasped the bottom of his shirt in a panic.

"What?" he asked, surprised by her touch.

"S-Sorry," she said, shakily pointing at the rattling bush just up ahead of them.

Tobio peered at it with a narrowed gaze. "Probably a cat or something. Let's keep walking."

"Ah... um, yes..."

Neither of them moved.

"... Are you going to start walking?" Tobio asked her.

"... Are you?" Himeko asked.

They both continued to stare at the bush. They would have to walk past the bush to continue their journey.

Himeko whispered, "Do y-you want to cross the street s-so we don't walk right by it?"

"Only if you insist."

"I insist."

"Okay, let's do that."

Not only did they go out of their way to cross the street first, but the two sped-walk the rest of the way to the store.

დ

Himeko breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they reached the convenience store. She let go of Tobio's shirt with a soft sorry.

"You say that way too much," he flatly told her. "It's a waste of time."

She almost apologized again, but caught herself.

The convenience store was empty except for the cashier. A young man who barely spared them a glance before going right back to his homework.

Tobio made a beeline for the milks in the back, picking out an ume flavored one.

Himeko smiled at his choice. "I always see you with a milk. I-Is it your favorite drink?"

"Mn. I guess," said Tobio. "Do you want one?"

"Um... sure. Got a r-recommendation?"

"Strawberry is always good," said Tobio, peering at the selection. "But since they've got melon I think you'd like that better."

Himeko picked out the melon one. She hadn't had melon soy milk in a long time. She didn't use the vending machines at school often since she brought her own lunch and water bottle. She had also taken a small break from milk since she threw up that milk-tea from the chug-challenge with Shōyō.

The two made their purchases in silence, then stood outside to drink their milk.

"It's a really nice night," said Himeko, admiring the weather and stillness of the night. She could feel the attraction of being out late at night. No wonder people snuck out past curfew! She would have hated to miss the odd tranquil-eeriness only midnight could bring. "I hope the weather will last."

"Yeah. I hate running in the rain."

"Running?"

"I jog in the mornings," said Tobio.

Himeko perked up at that. "Oh, really? I was looking at the track team earlier, but their times clash with volleyball."

"Do you like running?"

"I don't know," she said. "I've, um, never really done it for myself."

Tobio glanced at his milk, his stoic expression difficult for Himeko to read. She had come to accept that Tobio wasn't an expressive person unless enraged or irritated. She hadn't really seen him smile—only a smug smirk on a rare occasion—nor did he show when he was excited or sad.

He quietly asked, "Do you want to run with me this morning?"

"Huh?" Himeko blinked. "Huh? Wait, really?"

"You said you were wanting to try new things, right?" asked Tobio. "And you never did it for yourself, right?"

Himeko gaped. "You remembered?"

"Is it really that weird to remember?" Tobio peered at her with a narrowed gaze.

"Ah—no—sorry—I just—"

"Stop saying sorry."

Himeko bit her lip. "I would love t-to run with you. What time w-would we leave?"

"Six."

"Okay. I'll meet you at the front door at six," Himeko said with a big smile.

დ

When she woke up a few hours after her midnight excursion she was surprised to find Shōyō at the front starting his warm up stretches. Tobio was equally surprised and scowled at the boy.

"What are you doing here?" Shōyō and Tobio demanded of each other. Continuing in synch they said, "I'm here to run."

"Grrr," Shōyō glowered. "I have to run since I'm not biking over a mountain in the morning."

"Running has always been a part of my routine," Tobio retorted.

"Maybe you two can run together?" Himeko hesitantly suggested.

"No way," Shōyō rejected the notion with a vehement headshake. Seemingly wanting to divert the subject he abruptly asked Himeko, "What're you doing here? You going running too?"

Himeko nodded, straightening her jacket. "Y-Yeah. I haven't really done it for myself before, so, um... Here I am."

Shōyō's cinnamon eyes sparkled. "Wow! Already so early and you're trying something new. You're amazing, Hime!"

Himeko's entire face burned as her stomach sommersaulted into her throat. She rapidly shook her head, gesturing wildly with her hands in a panic. She tried to deny that fact with every part of her body. Completely flustered she could barely stammer out, "N-N-N-No! N-No w-way. I–I think–I think Shōyō and–and T-Tobio a-are far more amazing." Unable to look either of them in their eyes, Himeko stared hard at the ground. "Y-You both have s-something you love so much a-and are so passionate for. I-It's amazing seeing you two in action. You're... you're very impressive."

Himeko wasn't the only one unable to meet anyone's gaze. Shōyō and Tobio looked away, both boys shy from receiving such sincere and direct praise.

The bluenette anxiously fiddled with her fingers, her cheeks uncomfortably burning. "U-Um... d-don't s-slow down for me!"

She broke out into a sprint, hoping the morning air would cool her inflamed face.

Tobio and Shōyō were not long behind her. She barely reached the end of the block when the two whizzed by her, clearly racing one another. It made her smile to see them so energetic.

Running was not easy.

Himeko was not horribly out of shape, but she wasn't athletic either. She had never joined Toru or Hajime on their runs because she didn't want to hold either of them back. She had to keep a fair amount of focus on sidewalk because more than once she almost stumbled and twisted her ankle. She thankfully was able to catch herself.

She was out of breath half way through the run which she thought was decent. Shōyō and Tobio lapped her by that point, but that was to be expected. Both boys were diligent in their cardio, it would be expected for them to be faster than her.

The burn in her calves wasn't as unpleasant as she thought it would be. She could feel her legs were tired and her feet were going to ache later, yet it wasn't enough of a deterrent to stop.

Especially on such a beautiful day.

The midnight walk was nice, but she had to say running in the early morning felt amazing. There was enough light to take away the eerie factor of the dark. There was little to no movement about which cast a soothing tranquility in the air. Her heart pounded in her chest, her breathing haggard and heavy, and yet Himeko felt calm.

She thought, This is nice. I think I like this.

For a brief second she pondered if she should join the track team. The times clashed with volleyball so it'd be hard to make practice often enough to stay on the squad, but–

No, I don't need to.

She liked how quiet it was in the morning. She liked being byself. If she joined the track she'd have to run with others and likely wouldn't have the same level of peace.

Maybe next year she'd think different, but for the moment she wanted to try running by herself for herself.

დ

The training camp was a fun experience, Himeko was very happy she had gone. In the mornings she ran, and during the day she helped the team practice volleyball. Coach Ukai had her doing a lot of spikes, so much so she had to switch from hitting with her right hand to her left hand–which caused some surprises to learn that she was ambidextrous–and that really only caused both her hands to throb painfully by the end of the day.

It wasn't bad enough to complain, rather akin to a bad sunburn on her palms. On top of her elbows and shoulders aching from the amount of force behind each of her attacks.

Still, she was happy to help. The boys were elated any time one of them was able to catch or receive one of her spikes. When Yū body-dived to barely receive one of her spikes he was so excited he ran over to high-five her harder than she had spiked. Himeko almost cried it hurt so bad, and yet she couldn't stop beaming from his infectious joy and how happy she was to be included.

She may not have been a starting player, but they made her feel every bit as included in their team.

It was bittersweet to reach the last day of the training camp. She had been having a genuine delight and almost didn't want it to yet.

The boys, however, were excited for their match with Nekoma. They had been training hard just for it.

And the day finally came when it was time.

The Nekoma team all had red jackets, a sharp contrast to Karasuno's black jackets. They were polite enough, although one of them–a boy with a mohawk–looked strangely devastated when he saw Himeko and Kiyoko. Himeko could barely hear him squeak out beautiful and managers before he ran away from them. Himeko and Kiyoko exchanged confused expressions, but ultimately paid it no mind. Some students were strange, and that was fine.

Himeko was happy to watch the match, taking note how well coordinated the team was. Shōyō seemed to get along very well with their setter, a small boy named Kenma. Himeko was envious of Shōyō's ability to make friends wherever he went. She wondered if one day she could be like that.

The first game between the two teams was a delight to witness. Shōyō and Tobio astounded them with their quick-combo, but amazingly Nekoma didn't falter too long. They had a player sit with Shōyō every time the energetic sun was up front. Not that Shōyō minded–in fact he seemed delighted to have his own personal rival!

There was playful banter between the teams. Smug taunts, jeers, and good-natured insults tossed about. The Nekoma team leader, a tall boy with styled black hair, seemed to take great pleasure in calling Shōyō Chibi.

It was evident that the players were having fun, which made watching them all the more enjoyable.

When the first game ended with Karasuno's loss and Shōyō called for one more game everyone agreed with grins.

Before the second game started, however, the coaches insisted on a hydration break. Himeko knew from experience that if the adults didn't enforce hydration breaks some of the zealous players (like Toru, Shōyō, Tobio, etc) would continue to play regardless of their physical state.

Kiyoko started to hand out bottles to the Karasuno team.

After a split second of hesitation, Himeko decided to hand water out to some of the boys over at Nekoma.

"Um—" Himeko held out one of the water bottles she was carrying. She smiled as nicely as she could. "Please a-accept this."

"Thank you," hummed the Nekoma captain, accepting the water bottle. "Must say, didn't expect our rival's manager to be so accommodating."Rival doesn't make you an enemy," she said, resisting the urge to shyly look away. The boy had an oddly intense gaze. It wasn't intimidating like Tobio's, but it felt scarily accurate. Like he could see straight through her and read her mind, or something. "I hope we can have more matches with you."

"Me too," he said. "What's your name?"

"Himeko Kuroko," Himeko introduced herself. "It's wonderful to meet you."

"Tetsurō Kuroo," he said. "Likewise."

Himeko bowed slightly as she left, wanting to be gracious. She continued to hand out water bottles to the others, happy to match a name to a face. All of the Nekoma boys were very nice, although the mohawk boy seemed strangely flustered and had trouble looking her in the eye.

Karasuno and Nekoma ended up playing several more matches, going on until the sun had set and the birds started to caw.

Nearly everyone was exhausted, save Shōyō who tried–and failed–to get one more game in.

Even though Karasuno lost every match, no one was discouraged. The two teams had the kind of chemistry that melded well together. Rivals, certainly, but friendly as well. Himeko greatly admired how all the boys were able to be so competitive with one another without taking things personally. She had witnessed a lot of players benched due to poor attitudes, but she didn't think that could ever be issue for a team with Shōyō on it.

How could anyone stay mad at him?

She didn't know how he did it.

As the teams started to clean up, Himeko helped pack up the empty water bottles. She paused in her work when she was approached by Kuroo.

"It'd be nice to know how your team does at prelims," he said.

Considering how friendly their teams had gotten, Himeko thought it'd be wonderful if the two teams could meet up in a proper match. Although that could only happen if both teams made it to nationals.

Himeko felt her heart thump. She swallowed back her jitters and offered, "If you w-want to exchange contact information, I can let you know."

"Eh? Would you?" he asked, cocking his head. Although he sounded amused, his "smile" looked closer to a smirk.

Himeko pulled out her phone, offering it to him. "If you'll do the same for your team. I'm sure s-some of my teammates will ask about you anyway."

He accepted her phone, chuckling. He offered his own phone. "You're pretty bold, huh?"

It took Himeko a few moments to register what he said. She had already finished entering her contact information when she realized. Himeko blinked vapidly. "Huh?"

"I don't give out my phone number to many girls you know," he said, winking as he handed back her phone.

Wait, wha—

Immediately, Himeko's face ignited like a dry leaf caught in a bonfire.

THAT WAS NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND.

She wanted to scream that—to voice that—to say anything to correct what he had teased her about, but she was too mortified. Little whimpering squeaks were the only things that came out of her. Tetsurō pocketed his phone, turned around, and left her with a jaunty wave and a soft chuckle.

Himeko trembled, burying her face in her hands.

That—wait—was that—? Did I—Did someone just—

She swallowed roughly.

Did a boy just flirt with me?

"Hime!"

Himeko jumped when she felt hands pulling her own hands away from her face. Shōyō's shining warm eyes met with hers.

"Whoa you're red, you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered, then cleared her throat. "S-Sorry. I—I just—um—Shōyō?"

"Yes?"

"Did you have fun today?"

"Absolutely!" he said brightly.

Himeko felt herself relax as she stared into his beaming face. The embarrassment and panic from earlier ebbed away like waves on the beach. Her fingers curled into his hands.

Himeko smiled for Shōyō as warmly and kindly as she could. "Good."

It was Shōyō's turn to look a little red.

დ

Kuroo has a special spot in my heart.

I did consider making him the neighbor boy but he's too smart to be oblivious to her. It would have had to have been a rejection which would have changed the direction of the story, and I wanted something soothing and encouraging, not angsty and recovery.

Answer: As a child it was a book / notebook, but as an adult it's now one of my gaming consoles.

Question: Do you prefer mornings, evenings, nights, or middle of the day? Which part do you think best describes you?

Reviews are love!