The little Dragon [Haikyū ff]

Chapter 11

Kaida sat down in her desk, taking out her notebook and sipping from her apple juice box. Some of the girls that Kaida talked to try and start a conversation but left her to be by herself when she politely said that she wasn't in the mood to talk.

Though it was obvious that she wanted to be isolated right now, a very flamboyant boy walked up to her and loudly greeted her. "Saka-chaannn!" He shouts, leaning on her desk as he smiles brightly at her.

Kaida couldn't really bother to greet the Libero properly, as she was stuck in her own mind. She only nodded in greeting as she sipped her juice.

"Ne, are you going to be with us during Golden week?" Noya questions, seeming excited for the week of training. Kaida keeps staring at her desk, seemingly unaware that Noya was still talking to her.

I couldn't possibly play volleyball again. If I did.... I'd be doing it without her.

Kaida felt as Noya did when he refused to play without Asahi. If Kaida played without her sister playing- or even watching- it would mean that Kaida could continue volleyball without her. And the player didn't want to accept that at all.

Noya stares at Kaida in worry as the girl kept staring blankly. He reached forward, "Saka-chan?" He calls out to the girl, the close contact snapping Kaida from her deteriorating thoughts.

"Gomen, Nishinoya-kun." Kaida apologizes, standing up and grabbing her things. "O-Oi!" Noya called. She quickly left the classroom, leaving others to stare after her.

Kaida briskly walked away from the classroom, ignoring Noya who kept calling after her. She stopped in an empty hallway, leaning against the wall as she tried to gather her bearings. She attempts to stop the useless and futile tears that threaten to make their way down her face.

Why is it so hard for me to turn my back to this....?

Kaida raises a hand and stares at it for a moment before making a fist. "Damnit..." she cursed to herself. "....why..." she cries to herself, "Why is this so hard?"

It's then that Kaida becomes angry. Angry at herself. She shouldn't let all of this bug her so much. After all, it's just a sport.

But it's not. Volleyball was something previous from her childhood. Something that she and Miyoko shared.

Kaida stood up straight. She wipes her tears, knowing that she had to return to class otherwise her 'uncle' would surely have her head.

Grabbing her bag, she wipes away any trace of her emotions. The only hint that she may have been crying are her red cheeks, though she could excuse that from running.

Kaida walks down the stairs and out of the second year building. Along the way, she had changed her mind, deciding there was no point in returning to class as people would just stare and ask questions- not to mention the teacher chewing her out. Instead, Kaida made her way to the second gym and unlocked it with one of the spare keys that she had been given.

If she wasn't going to school, she might as well start on the training program that Keishin had asked her to help with. She went and sat up on the stage, taking out a notebook and writing different drills down that they could do.

It was evident that the team had great receivers, like Daichi and Nishinoya, but those two couldn't always carry the team. The others weren't terrible at receiving except for a few of the first years.

After a while of listing different drills that the boys could work on, Kaida sat in the gym in boredom. She looked around the court, the space looking very different without a volleyball net in the middle. It reminded her of the old days.

Miyoko was the star volleyball player while Kaida was taking on the basketball route. It wasn't like they only stuck to their own sport and nothing else. Both girls learned each sport and were very active growing up, it's just that Miyoko had a passion for volleyball while Kaida loved the running included in basketball. Also, the younger sister was quite rough and a little aggressive which made her right for basketball.

Neither would be seen lingering around inside very long unless they were sick, doing homework, or sleeping.

Kaida walked towards the supply closet and changed into her workout/after school outfit. It wasn't hard, seeing as she always wore her spandex under her skirt while all she had to do was change her top and shoes.

After she was dressed, the brunette wheeled out the rack that was also kept in the supply closet. The volleyball club wasn't the only one that needed a gym.

Kaida brought out the basketballs, setting up at the free throw line before shooting a little. After about fifteen shots, only missing one, Kaida gathers them again and begins going in for layups. Even faking, crossing over, and spinning as though she had an actual opponent on her. Soon, she decided to travel up court and pretend as though she were in an actual game.

Kaida was the point guard when she played, due to her ability to handle the ball well and to make fast decisions.

She fakes a pass to the right wing and sprints left, dodging an imaginary player which opened her up for a shot. She took it, jumping and pushing the ball forward with her right hand, allowing her hand to hook down after the ball left her fingers.

It spins before landing in the basket, not even touching the rim. She stands there, listening to the echo of the ball. It somewhat brings the brunette comfort, allowing her I recall the days of her childhood. It was always fun, being outside all the time and playing with her sister all day...

Kaida retrieves the ball, shaking away her thoughts. Instead, she runs to the curved line on the court and turns around, shooting. She watches as the ball fly in an arc, a slight backwards spin due to her wrist flicking downwards. It gets closer to the goal, bouncing on the rim and spinning around it before falling through the net. The ball bounces on the court.

Once.
Twice.

And it keeps bouncing, the pauses between the sound becoming shorter and shorter until it seems like there's no pause. Like the sound of a racing heart.

"Sakanoshita-Chan?"

Kaida spins around, shocked to see Sugawara at the doors of the gym. "S-Suga-San!" The girl stutters, embarrassed are being found fooling around in the gym.

"S-sorry! I'll start putting everything away-!" Kaida grabs the ball that she just shot.

"No, you're fine." Suga walks further inside, a soft and comforting smile on his face. "I just came in here because it's lunch time and I wanted to set a little. Thankfully you're here, so maybe you could hit some of my tosses?" He gets closer to the girl, taking note of her slightly disheveled and sweaty appearance.

'She was practicing basketball.' The third year notes, slightly blushing due to how unkept she looked after her practice.

"Oh... I was kind of hoping to not do any volleyball today. I've just been scheduling the different exercises for Golden week and I took a quick break." Kaida shrinks into her shoulders, holding the basketball close to her and above her face so as to hide.

"Eh? Oh that's fine! Don't worry about it." Suga waves it off, looking at the girl in total seriousness as he shows his concern, "Is everything alright, Saka-chan?"

Kaida pauses for a moment before going to put the ball up in the rack. "Ah, I think I'm just a little stressed out." She scratches the back of her head with a chuckle, "There's just a lot going on right now but everything's okay!" She smiles at her upperclassman.