Playing For Keeps

I'm A Hallucination - I'm Not Even Here

Changed into a pair of black sweatpants and t-shirt she'd borrowed from the boys' lost and found bin, Hanabusa tied a matching hoodie around her waist. Putting her belongings down on the edge of the raised platform used as a stage when the need called for it, she placed an A-4 notepad and pencil case down by a stack of books she'd checked out of the library earlier that day. Catching sight of the Captain exiting the changing room before any of his team, the slightly shorter girl held her hand up by her chest to get his attention. When he made a bee-line for her across the empty space filled with a winter chill, she itched the hairline behind her right ear.

"How do you prefer to be addressed?"

Surprised that was the first thing she had to ask, Kita spoke. "Whatever is fine."

"Shin Kun?" Receiving a look which said that was definitely not what he had in mind, Hanabusa huffed a brief laugh. "I could have called you 'Whatever Kun'."

"I'm still you're senior, y'know?"

"Yeah, Ojiro Senpai said so."

"Senpai is fine."

"Captain Sama?"

"Are you trying to irk me?"

"Nah, I'm just testing the waters." Wetting her lips, Hanabusa glanced away to inspect the entirety of the preposterous space. From what she read in her extended bathroom break during the last class before the end of the school day, it was noted that most practice spaces for high schoolers was half of what Inarizaki had. "Kita San, would it be okay if I set up a camera to record today's practice?"

"I'm sure Coach Oomi took our camera in to be fixed."

"Oh, no. I borrowed one from the performing arts club because I didn't know if you had one at all."

"We."

"Pardon?"

"If 'we' have one."

For some reason, the remark took a vicious grip on Hanabusa's heart and squeezed as if it was never going to let go. Face heating, the newcomer gestured to the stage and made sure to avert her eyes. "I wanted to record the practice so I can study it later."

Kita looked to where the girl had pointed and made a mental note of the small set-up in the centre of the raised platform; her writing material, the stack of books with titles such as Volleyball 101, Volleyball Strategies and Plays, and Tips For Improving Your Teamwork, plus a plastic crate of drinks he presumed were collected from the vending machines.

"You really don't do things by half, do ya..." Kita cocked his head a fraction only to ask her the same question she'd asked him a few minutes before. "And how do we address you?"

"I'm not a fan of the stuffy hierarchy BS, so my first name is fine."

Taken aback by the mild attitude which was nothing like what he had previously been at the brunt of, Kita furrowed his brow. "You adapt quickly."

"Like I said to Suna and Osamu earlier, I don't see the point of being overly friendly just 'cause that's what I'm supposed to do. But we're in the same club now, so I'd rather be informal and comfortable than having people walk on eggshells around me."

"That's very considerate of you."

"No need to snark me."

"I wasn't."

"Before you start," hearing the caterwauling coming from the locker room, Hanabusa inclined her head so far she had to bend at the waist. "I'd like to say I'm sorry for the attitude I gave you yesterday. I know it's no excuse, but I'm having a bit of a rough time at the minute. Please accept my apology."