Playing For Keeps

Three-Way

Just under an hour had passed and the new girl was neck deep in her third pile of books. She'd had a quick skim over a few volleyball and sport strategy books until a migraine began to threaten her. Giving herself a break from scowling at the small words without her contact lenses or glasses to aid her, Hanabusa had offered to make a deal with the makeshift librarian: She would do the leg-work of collecting and replacing the books if Sasaki in return gave her a bit of a head's up about how the place really worked. Because for all intents and purpose, what she had been told by the teacher overseeing her induction was practically nil. She signed her legal documents; been handed a map, class schedule, her exemption pass, and pretty much been sent on her way. She'd been picked on during her morning classes by both students and her teachers, pulled off the hook by who she found to be one of the most sought after boys in school, and then...well, we don't really need an entire play-by-play, but it was fair enough to say that it was going to be a toss-up of how the day ended.

"Thanks for helping me out, Reika Senpai. It's really saved me a lot of time - it would usually take me about three days to do this much because of my hobbling."

"It's no trouble at all. I prefer to be moving even if my body doesn't and I was starting to get eye-strain poring over those tiny explanations at the back of the book every time I didn't understand something," Hanabusa called from the back row as she collected yet another pile in order to bring them to the front desk so the addressed didn't have to keep getting up. "Which happened to be every other line..."

The bell rang and in less than a minute and a half, four members of the volleyball team stepped into the stuffy room. Behind them, another second and first year, according to their designated tie colours.

Ginjima scouted the space, his recollection coming out as a remark rather than internal as he had planned. "Ouah, I've never been in here-"

"-Results prove so," Suna muttered under his breath as he rounded the reception desk to let the others filter into the space.

"Shut the fuck up, you goddamn nerd."

The youngest of the six boys glanced between his seniors with a worried look, "shouldn't we be quiet?"

Hissy-whispering amongst the boys thinned when Suna pointed around. "Is Hanabusa San still h-ouh, there she is..."

Coming around the corner with a pile of books so high she couldn't see past them, she dropped the load on the counter with a wobble. "Don't loom. You're scary to normal people."

"That's rude."

"You're all almost six foot and over, and we're two girls in a murky room. It's absolutely frightening."

Stepping onto his back foot to look the girl standing close in the eye without giving himself a double-chin, Aran made a strange expression. "When you make that kind of face, it's hard to believe you're scared of anything at all."

"Ojiro Senpai, why are you loitering in the library when the third years have mock exams?"

Pulling his upper lip inside the lower, the Ace glanced down at the girl who met his shoulder. "How do you know that?"

"I asked Coach Kurosu when I saw him on the way in this morning."

"The coach gets here at 7:30."

"I'm aware."

"Why were you here at 7:30?"

"I wanted to try and memorize where the classes are."

"How are you doing?"