Private/Closed A High School RP.. but Rivalry

[OmnipotentOnion]

After several more minutes of walking, Senji finally reached his home, where his little brother of nine years old greeted him excitedly. "Hi, Senji! Did you have fun at practice? Did you see any cute girls? Was anyone better than you?" Miyaji Yoshida continued to pester his older brother with questions and tugged at his jacket before the latter laughed and ruffled the kid's hair, though he slightly winced at the question regarding 'cute girls'. "Woah, woah, calm down! Practice was... fun; there are a lot of good players there." The compliment was made through rather gritted teeth, as Senji tried to maintain a smile despite the agitation his answer brought to himself. The more he was forced to talk about volleyball, the more Atsuka came to mind, and it was beyond disconcerting.

After taking a shower, dinner progressed rather quickly; Senji's mother had fixed a large pot of curry and rice, and everyone was able to eat their fill and more. Once he was done, Senji excused himself and went out into the backyard, taking his volleyball with him. Noticing this, Miyaji wolfed down the rest of his plate and followed along. There, Senji began tossing it nonchalantly, making sure he was consistently touching the ball. His younger brother had followed suit, bumping a lighter ball up and down, though not quite as easily as his older brother. Senji saw Miyaji from the corner of his eye several minutes in, and with a smile of amusement, caught the ball and began to watch. "

You must really like volleyball," He chuckled, and upon the remark, Miyaji stopped as well, frowning at Senji and puffing out a cheek in defiance. "Of course I do! I like it more than you." Senji raised a brow, and his smile grew warmer. "What position are you going to play when you finally join a club?" "Wing spiker!" Miyaji replied without hesitation, his eyes shining. "I'll be the ace of any team I join!" Although he was able to keep his warm smile, Senji couldn't help but tense up at the position his brother had chosen, and Atsuka's face immediately appeared in his mind. "Oh? You'll have to work really hard to be the ace, though. Are you sure you can do it?" Miyaji's answer resounded through the serene night sky, clear and confident. "Of course I can! Just wait and see!"

As Miyaji's voice rang a bit too loudly, Senji's father finally poked his head outside the door, an amused smile on his face. "Alright Miyaji, come back inside; we don't wanna make too much noise for the neighbors." Miyaji was almost about to whine in defiance, but Senji stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go." After a few seconds of silence, the kid murmured a quiet "okay" before slowly trudging back into the house. Senji, on the other hand, waved good night to his family before heading upstairs to his room. After washing up and changing into more comfortable clothes, he finally climbed into bed and pulled the covers over his face, quickly falling asleep.

 

[kageyama]

The next morning, Atsuka woke with a slight headache. She had no doubt in her mind that it was from being irritated all night, and as she poured herself a bowl of cereal, she found herself swearing under her breath. The entire morning, actually, she found herself muttering different strings of curses in barely a whisper. After she had gotten dressed and smoothed her hair down, she threw her bag on her shoulder and slammed the front door of her house behind her with a goodbye shout to her father.

The whole school day, Atsuka was detached from her classes. She found herself staring at the wall more often than not, or nearly falling asleep with her cheek resting on her inner elbow. Of course, at the end of the day, she was wide awake and raring to go for volleyball. Unsurprisingly, she was the first to the gym, already helping the coaches set things up for the evening.

Once the gym filled up and everyone was warmed up to an extent, the coaches called for everyone to huddle. "As was mentioned yesterday, today we'll be having a practice match against Cypress High School," Ambrose's original leader began. Atsuka blinked. She was too busy sulking with irritation the previous night, she totally forgot about any mentions of a practice match. She felt a little guilty - had she remembered, she would've tried to find previous records of Cypress' volleyball team. "They'll be here any minute. You know the rules about these kinds of matches."

Stormridge's representative finished the meeting by announcing the starting lineup. "...Senji, and last, but not least, Atsuka. Any questions? Go make sure your water is filled and that you're plenty warmed up." The huddle disbanded in a matter of seconds, but Atsuka lingered behind for a second. She was still caught on the fact that she had forgotten about the game, and that the reason she had forgotten was literally that she was pouting. I ought to get over this... Atsuka thought, turning around and glancing at Senji.

She was immediately irked, though, just by looking at him. Atsuka instantly looked away, practically forgetting her ideas of getting over their feud. Nope. Not happening any time soon.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji has been just as confused as Atsuka. A practice match? He hadn’t recalled being notified of such a thing. However, her managed to shake off his confusion and pay attention to the coach’s following instructions. From his periphery, Senji caught the girl sneaking a glance at him, though she had quickly turned away.

As the coach concluded his message, the players on the starting lineup began making their way too their positions on the court, the Cypress players following suit. Before the Stormridge-Ambrose players got there, however, Senji stopped them and looked around. After several more seconds of silent inspection, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head before speaking. “Alright, here’s the thing: I barely know most of you guys here at Ambrose, and same goes for you, not to mention the red-hot rivalry our schools have. That being said, however, I’ll be doing my best to work with all of you, so... just jump high, and swing hard, yes?” The speech was meant to encourage, sure, but as he looked around, Senji leveled a stare at Atsuka as he spoke, a challenge glint on his eyes that seemed to ask, I trust you’ll keep up?

With that, he said no more, and the team finally got into position, ready to start the match with Cypress’s serve.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka caught Senji's stare, returning it with her own icy glare and a quiet tch. She said nothing and sauntered up to the net to get ready in position, rolling her sleeves up to her elbows.

Cypress sent over a float serve with the use of a shorter girl. As it fidgeted in the air and over the net, Atsuka swung off of the net, crouching at the ten-foot line. A boy in the back row popped the ball up to Senji smoothly. Atsuka was watching with the eyes of a hawk as the ball began to fall above Senji's fingertips, hungry to smash it into the opponent's court. She began her steps, which were hard into the wood floor, and then leaped up.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

As everyone got into position, Senji began to tune out all of the noise, focusing only on what happened on the court. As the serve was easily received by a back row player, the setter took a deep breath before jumping, his hands stretched upward to reach the ball. From the edge of his periphery, Senji noticed Atsuka, already airborne and ready to spike. Upon seeing this, he rolled his eyes and let out a quiet but annoyed huff. Fine. With that, he promptly fired a quick toss, and the ball shot forward, sent on a flawless course to the apex of Atsuka’s swing. If I don’t, she’ll probably get even more irritating. Senji watched with an aggravated expression, hating the fact that he knew they would be getting a point here.

 

[kageyama]

Face twisted with irritation, Atsuka clobbered the ball downwards as hard as she could. It hit the ground in between two players that loitered readily by the ten-foot line. The gymnasium was hushed as the ball bounced away madly, and Atsuka landed on the floor with her nose scrunched up. Cypress' players didn't have any time to react - the blockers had jumped far too late and the back row was nowhere near ready to receive a hit as hard as hers. An uneasy shift was noticeable on both teams. A final moment of silence passed before someone from Atsuka's team cleared their throat and broke the quiet atmosphere with a "nice kill, nice kill." They huddled up, a few others murmuring encouragement as well. Pained to say it, Atsuka managed to mutter, "Good set," to Senji. But that was the end of it, and she was quick to get into the correct formation after rotating. She looked through the net at Cypress, and most of their players - on the court and the bench - were whispering to each other. It aggravated the hell out of Atsuka.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji clenched a fist, hearing his knuckles pop as he let out a sharp exhale before muttering a "Nice kill" in response to Atsuka. The next rotation put him as the server, so instead of staying in the setter's position, he made his way behind the boundary line, ball in hand. After giving it a few spins in the center of his palm, Senji took a deep breath before turning his gaze to the other side of the court. Once the whistle blew, the setter took his position, several steps behind the line.

After a few more seconds and a few more deep breaths, Senji tossed the ball, sending it quite a distance upward along with a little bit of sidespin. Watching it carefully, he then took several steps forward before leaping up into the air, arm brought up and at the ready. Finally, Senji swung down, hitting the ball perfectly before landing. The ball seemed as if it was shot out of a cannon, and within the blink of an eye, it had hit mere centimeters past the ten-foot line, continuing to bounce forward until it was stopped by the wall. Once again, the gym fell quiet, and Senji celebrated with a small fist pump in the air. As soon as the players returned their focus to the match and all was back to normal, he picked up the ball that was rolled under the net and prepared to serve once more. The next serve wasn't as powerful as the previous one, but Senji made sure to compensate with a bit more topspin.

 

[kageyama]

Cypress was fairly shaken up by the points they had just lost, but they had seemed to catch on that it would be a rather explosive match and settled a bit. A young man in their back row received Senji's second serve - it wasn't a perfect pass, but it was good enough for their setter to get under and fire to their middle. Atsuka was already crouching to cover their own middle hitter's block. And it was a good thing she was there, too, because the hit had brushed off the side of the blocker's hand. Biting her lip, she shrugged her shoulders forward and sent the ball to Senji after it had fallen into her platform. Both she and the middle hitter swung to the line, getting ready to hit.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Watching as Atsuka bumped the ball to him, Senji couldn't help but scoff in annoyance. The receive wasn't to blame; it was actually the opposite. It seemed like the girl's proficiency at the sport got on his nerves more than he'd admit out loud. Jumping up to continue the play, he wound an arm back, feigning a setter dump that would be spiked straight down. The Cypress team noticed this, which was what he'd been counting on, and they called out, "He's hitting it!" The middle blocker focusing on Atsuka darted to the side and jumped next to the setter, and Kyran, who'd been rotated to the back, called out the presence of two blockers. However, at the last second before the ball came into contact, Senji immediately changed tactic, turning to the side and facing the airborne Atsuka. Watching her carefully, he then sent yet another quick toss, delivered perfectly and without deviation. toward her waiting arm. As the ball sailed smoothly, Senji barked, "There's no one there!"

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka was seething as her hand hit the ball, swiping all the way through. The ball was struck straight down the line, earning them a point. "Like I don't know that," she hissed under her breath as she landed, watching as a Cypress player dejectedly went after the ball that was rolling away. In the team huddle, several back-pats were given, as well as words like, "alright!" and "nice, let's keep it up." Atsuka turned on her heel as they returned to their positions. As Senji went back to the serving line for the third time, Atsuka was muttering under her breath. "'There's no one there' oh, really? What was your first clue?" she spat quietly so that the middle next to her wouldn't glance at her. However, the Cypress player across from her raised an eyebrow.

The rest of the match went as expected - Senji and Atsuka's team (which had yet to decide on a name after the combination) swept Cypress in the two sets, as well as an additional third set because there was extra time. In the end, Atsuka didn't feel as bad about failing to research Cypress. The teams bowed to one another and then Cypress was sent on their way. Both coaches called everyone over, congratulating them as well as pointing out things that could be worked on. Atsuka forced a scoff down her throat when attitude was listed as something to be worked on. When they were dismissed, she huffily turned to help take the net down.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

School went by quickly; months passed, and the Stormridge campus still seemed years from full repair. Of course, one would have to be blind to be unaware that the relationship between Senji and Atsuka seemed to only be getting worse, despite the word about attitude from the Cypress practice match. They were a supernatural force on the court, that was for sure, but they were almost always at each other's throats.

On Friday, once practice was concluded, one of the coaches held the team for a bit later to give an announcement. Senji had found himself helping Atsuka with taking down the net, and he decided to ignore the cold glares he occasionally received, swallowing any petty scoff that tried to escape. Once all the players had gathered, the coach began.

"Alright, I got the okay from the principal; we'll be taking a road trip to the beach to train for a week, starting this coming Monday." Several murmurs of excitement sounded among the players; Senji remained silent, though an excited glint shone in his eyes. "And, although we'll be going there mainly to practice, you'll all have plenty of opportunities to socialize among yourselves, including a party on the last night and free time for a few hours everyday." Upon hearing this, Kyran, who had been sitting next to Senji, poked his friend in the side with a finger, a teasing smirk on his face. "Oh, well would ya look at that? You'll have plenty of opportunities to spend time with your little girlfriend over there." Tracing his finger, Senji noticed that Kyran was pointing at Atsuka, who had been sitting quite a distance away, and in response, the setter feigned a stomach illness, retching silently and with exaggeration. "I'll die before I ever consider dating her," He retorted curtly, and the conversation ended there.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka was quiet at the announcement, though part of her was a bit eager to try a new type of training.

When Monday rolled around, she woke up early to shower and double-check her bag. Before leaving, she hugged her father and assured him she'd stay safe during the trip. Then, she stepped outside with her bag clipped and on her shoulders, her windbreaker half-zipped. It took her a few several minutes to get to school, where only a handful of players were hanging out by the bus. The coaches stood nearby, marking down attendance and discussing the itinerary for the week. A breath of relief slipped from Atsuka's lips as she noticed that Senji wasn't there yet. All weekend, she'd desperately been trying to block her angry thoughts about him and instead imagine how it'd feel to hone her strengths and weaknesses. Atsuka strolled over to a small cluster of Ambrose kids, greeting them with a half-hearted smile.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Several minutes after Atsuka arrived, the bus slowly came into view from Senji's view. He was dressed in a white shirt, black bomber jacket, and black shorts, and he quietly walked over to the coaches to mark his name down on the attendance sheet. Noticing Atsuka from the corner of his eye, Senji fought back an irritated "Geh." and went over to where Kyran was talking with some friends.

After everyone had marked themselves off on the sheet, the team began boarding, with Senji around the front of the line. Taking a window seat near the back, he immediately pulled a blindfold over his eyes and put on headphones before leaning back in his seat. Kyran had decided to sit with his other friends, so the seat next to Senji's remained vacant as the setter began to relax.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka followed a few acquaintances into the bus after the entire team had arrived. Her eyes scanned over the rows of seats, nearly snorting when she saw the open seat near Senji. Never in a million years, she thought with annoyance, slipping into a seat near the front by a girl she'd barely spoken to. The girl didn't seem to mind, though, and smiled as Atsuka shoved her bag under the seat in front of her. When she was settled, everyone had taken their seats and the bus engine began to purr before they took off on their departure. Atsuka could tell the girl next to her seemed somewhat curious, so she properly introduced herself and began small talk.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

After several hours of driving, the team finally arrived at Silverside Beach, a place with a beautiful view of the ocean and nearly glowing sand, free of blemishes. Everyone quickly filed out of the bus, and once everyone was gathered, the coaches led them to the inn. Holding up both hands to quiet down the excited players, the Ambrose coach waited until all was quiet before beginning to speak, a smile on his face. "Alright, so we're finally here; I hope you all packed appropriately. First, you guys are gonna have time to find your rooms and get everything situated. Find your roommate and go together, and in about 45 minutes, we'll all meet back here to begin practice." With that, Senji made his way over to where Kyran was, and the two reached their room quickly. Once they had unpacked everything and changed into appropriate clothes for practice, they decided to make small talk and play cards for the remainder of the time.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka found herself rooming with the girl she sat near on the bus ride - a girl from Stormridge named Miya. She's a lot more tolerable than certain Stormridge players, that's for sure, she thought with a mental snort as she began to unpack her bag. It went by quickly and left several spare minutes for the girls to further interact with each other. Atsuka was not a sociable person off of the court, so the reassurance of the girl's company was comforting.

After dozens of minutes passed, they went out of the building to return to the meeting spot, but now they were dressed in athletic clothes. Atsuka wore a loose white tee and grey tempo shorts, her hair tied back in a ponytail. They had gotten to the spot a few minutes early, so the area only consisted of the coaches and a handful of other players.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji arrived a few minutes after Atsuka. He was dressed in a black dri-fit shirt and black shorts, and as soon as he saw Atsuka in front of him, he swallowed back an annoyed huff. As he made his way to a couple of Stormridge friends in the lobby of the inn, the Ambrose coach waited until everyone was gathered before beginning. "Alright: now that everyone's here... last player to the net on the beach does 2 laps around the sand court. Go!" Confusion arose from the sudden command, but as it finally set in, so did panic. Senji was one of the first out the door, sprinting to the net that had been set up in the beach quite a distance away. As he ran, he muttered a string of curses, mentally berating himself for wearing flip-flops.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka had been quick to ditch the sandals she had been wearing, considering the fact that sand was unforgiving to most shoes. She hadn’t even flinched when the coach yelled, and followed the actions of her teammates by whipping around to sprint out the door. Atsuka was quick to gain a lead — the lack of shoes was a helpful factor. She was only steps behind Senji, and agitated look on her face as she paced quickly behind him. The net was meters away when she picked up speed, passing Senji in a sprint without a word. She slowed down a bit as the net was barely a yard away, and when she reached it, she ran her fingers over the threads, shallowly panting. One half of her found pride in being the first one to the goal, but the other half deemed it ridiculous that she was so competitive with her own teammate. But Atsuka didn’t like the latter, and hung on to the flare of triumph she felt.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji had been cruising in first for most of the frantic footrace to the beach, but once Atsuka passed him by without a thought, he stifled a curse under his breath before kicking the pace up a notch. Despite the disadvantage his sandals presented to him, the setter managed to increase his speed, and at the very last second, he felt his hand touch the net around the same time Atsuka's did. Because he had exerted far more energy than the girl, he found himself panting rather heavily, holding his hands at the back of his head. "Thanks.. for slowing down," Senji wheezed quietly, continuing to gulp large breaths of air. "I almost... lost to you.."

Soon, the rest of the players came running over, and as the last player dejectedly began his punishment around the court, the coaches caught up and began. "Alright; to start, everyone will be doing spiking drills, we'll be setting for you guys." Senji's nose scrunched up upon hearing that he wouldn't be tossing the ball, but after resigning himself to the coaches' instruction, the team split into lines of two. Before starting however, the Stormridge coach turned to glance at the team, a sinister smile on his face. "Oh, and by the way... don't underestimate the sand."

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka (bristling after the interaction between her and Senji) was at the front of one of the lines, feet sinking into the sand where she shuffled away from the net. The coach tossing on her side grinned, saying, "You ready?" Atsuka nodded shortly, her tongue barely prodding over her top lip in concentration.

Now, Atsuka had an outstanding vertical indoors, so when the sand seemed to pull her down, she was shocked at the sudden decrease of her hangtime. Instead of being able to see over the net, her eyes were level with the top of the net's tape. With a squeak of surprise, she swung at the ball as best as she could given the circumstances. The ball hit the tape, causing the net to wobble greatly. When Atsuka landed -- very off-balance -- the ball rolled over the top of the net and fell into the other court. Atsuka rubbed the back of her neck with dissatisfaction as she ducked under the net to grab her ball. The coach chuckled. "Sand doesn't care if you can jump high on a court-floor, ladies and gentlemen," he said, his face beaming with amusement at the numerous uncertain faces before him. "Keep the line going, now."

Atsuka was murmuring under her breath as she returned to the line, now hovering near the back. Though she was beyond disappointed in how her skills were much less effective outdoors, she was shimmering at the thought of being able to master said skills both indoors and out.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

It took the entirety of Senji's willpower to force back a snort upon seeing Atsuka, bested by the sand. Luckily able to stay silent, he shrugged off any trace of amusement at Atsuka's slip-up and waited for his turn in line. Everyone in front of him seemed to have the same problem as the girl, losing their balance and coming up much shorter than their usual vertical in the new environment. Senji was no different; as he ran up, he jumped as he usually did. However, he was beyond surprised to see himself only a few inches airborne. Letting out a yelp, he barely managed to tap the ball upward before falling on his rear back onto the sand. A few chuckles of amusement rang out as Senji sheepishly ducked under the net and retrieved his ball. This sand's really unforgiving, huh?

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka had to restrain herself from snickering with her teammates as Senji met the sand. A smirk did slip onto her face but faded away as her turn to hit came once again.

The entire team spent several more minutes on the drill, with more and more people hitting into the net or slipping on the uneven ground. Atsuka managed to safely get each ball over, but each hit was with uneasiness and a sense of caution to the unfamiliar terrain. When they wrapped up the lines, one of the coaches was speaking again. "So you see, now, how sand is unforgiving -- which is exactly why we're working on it," he said, grabbing a ball and padding over to the edge of the court at the serving mark. "If you can learn how to stay stable on ground that's not polished and flat, your stability on said flat ground will increase greatly. Next up, you'll all be receiving. We'll be serving at you from both ends of the court. Get to it."

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji complied, promptly making his way to his assigned position to receive. Once everyone was ready, the coaches began. To Senji's surprise, the old men's serves were far from shabby; on his turn, he found himself already off balance and under-prepared to receive the ball. His own coach had fired a nasty spike serve that struck Senji's unsteady hands and bounced far off to the side. Stifling a curse under his breath, he retrieved the ball and returned it to Coach Warren before making his way over to the other line. Coach Sanchez, Ambrose's head coach, had a serve that was far more crafty: a jump floater that far surpassed any Senji had ever received. The wavering course of the ball had forced him to adjust his position, which he found hard to do and stay focused on getting in a solid receive, and once again, the ball bounced anywhere but the direction Senji intended.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka was a very well-rounded player -- volleyball came naturally to her. However, receiving either coach's serve made Atsuka feel like a beginner who had barely touched a ball in their life. Coach Warren's serve had Atsuka knocked into the sand on her knees, the ball bouncing off of her arms and directly into the net. Atsuka blinked once before she pushed herself back up and brought the ball back. She was more familiar with Coach Sanchez's serve -- this wasn't the first time he sent the ball over for his players. But despite her knowledge, Atsuka was still quite off-balanced. The ball had wavered over the net before it decided to fall into short court, causing the girl to scramble forward in an attempt to keep the ball up. She managed to throw her arms under it, and it bounced upwards and fell into the back corner of the court. Atsuka, the fronts of her legs now dusted with sand, blew out an annoyed huff, prodding herself back onto her feet once again to retrieve the ball.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

The first day of practice in the sand was nothing short of grueling; not only did the team find themselves struggling to play like they usually did, running around and simply moving on the uneven beach was just plain exhausting. Club managers for both teams found themselves running back and forth for water, practice jerseys, etc., so everyone ended practice with sweaty faces and sore arms and legs. Despite the new practice environment, Senji and Atsuka continued to outpace the rest of the team, performing at inhuman levels in comparison.

As most of the team retired to their hotel rooms for a few hours' break time before dinner, Senji stayed behind, thankful that the coaches had decided to leave the net set up. Determined to get a feel for the sand before the next day to avoid another day of embarrassment, the setter now began practicing his jump serve, though failing on most of his reps. Oblivious to anyone who might have been staying behind as well, he quickly wiped the sweat off his face and took a large gulp of water before returning to his individual practice.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka struggled with her serve on the sand a lot more than she’d liked to admit. Indoors, her serve wasn’t anything too crazy — it was mean, but it wasn’t the talent of hers that needed to be pinned on.

Because of that struggle, she had decided to linger behind to try and fix the issue before mealtime. She snagged a ball for herself as most students departed the sand court, and strode over to the edge of the court to serve, eyes fixated on the ball. She glanced upwards for a second, then quickly did a double take as she saw the figure of Senji on the other side of the court. A grimace appeared on her face, and she huffed angrily under her breath. She was glad at least another player was putting in dedication for training, but did it have to be him? At the exact same time she was putting in her own dedication?

Sighing with agitation, she pretended that he wasn’t there. Atsuka spun the ball in her fingertips for a moment before holding it out in her right hand. A wave over determination crashed over her as she took her approach, sand kicking beside her feet. As she jumped a significantly lower jump than her usual, she grunted and swung at the ball with her best effort. She landed, and the ball hit the top of the net’s tape, flatly falling into her side of the court. The girl seethed for a moment before grudgingly pacing over the grab the ball.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

"Eh?"

Senji found himself unpleasantly surprised upon seeing Atsuka stride onto the other side of the court, ball in hand. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he watched her practice what he had already been practicing; however, he quickly shook it off and desperately attempted to disregard the girl, though he watched the course of the ball during her first serve. With a quiet huff, he returned his attention to the other side of the court and tossed his own ball up for a serve. Just his luck, the ball had decided to slam into the net and drop to the ground right beside Atsuka's ball. Letting out a sharp exhale of agitation, Senji gritted his teeth before silently walking over to retrieve his ball. When he was beside Atsuka, he decided to speak up, trying incredibly hard not to sound too irritated. "Didn't think you'd be here to practice too."

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka scrunched her nose in distaste, bending down and scooping the ball up. Getting back up, she straightened her back and looked down while Senji grabbed his own ball. "Really?" she said very flatly. "Did you forget that we're some of the only players who put in as much extra practice as we do?" An irritated flicker danced in her eyes as the pads of her fingers spun the ball in her hands. "Besides," she went on huffily, "you saw how all coordination is lost in the sand. I'm not settling for poor balance and a serve that doesn't even make it into short court." She eyed Senji for a moment before staring at the net.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji scoffed before retorting, "Saw? I felt the lack of coordination in the sand, obviously; it hurt way more than it looked." With that, he made sure Atsuka wasn't watching first before glancing at her, an idea in mind. Letting out a quiet sigh, the setter then rolled his ball off the court and walked back to his own side, standing in the center. "How about this: you wanna work on your serves? Hit one that I can't receive; I have to work on that too, anyway." Though the fact that Senji was willingly practicing with his rival was beyond unusual, his aim to make yet another competition between him and her out of something mundane was anything but. "Besides, I'm sure you'd like to rub in the fact that you actually did... if you can." The challenge was issued through a condescending glint in his eyes as Senji stared at Atsuka, waiting for a response.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka watched with suspicion as Senji paced out to the middle of his side of the court, hands tenderly pressing into the ball she held. She listened to what he was saying, growing slightly more irked with each passing second. A stare lingered on her face for a minute when he finished, but was dismissed as she turned around with an “alright.”

Walking to the edge of the court, Atsuka considered what she was doing. If she understood correctly, at that moment she was actually willingly practicing with the person she had deemed as her opponent. Almost snorting at the situation, she shifted the ball in her hands a few times before tossing it high in the air. Her feet bounded forward on the sand, and her left arm swung at the ball as she hung in the air for a short amount of time. As her feet hit the sand, she watched as the ball sped forwards, narrowly skimming the top of the net — but making it into the court nonetheless.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

As he watched the ball hurtle toward him, Senji took a deep breath. The serve, while nasty for Atsuka's first few times on the sand, seemed much slower than Coach Warren's serve. With this in mind, he darted forward, making sure to position himself with a solid foundation despite the uneven surface of the beach. Quickly getting into a steady position, Senji gave his shoulders the slightest shrug upward the instant the ball struck his forearms. The ball perfectly bounced upward, the spin and momentum killed as it sailed to where a setter would be waiting for the second touch. Though Senji had mentally celebrated his one of few good receives so far today with joyful triumph, he kept his outward demeanor cool and collected, picking up the ball and sending it under the net back to Atsuka with a small but challenging glint in his eyes.

 

[kageyama]

Atsuka scooped the ball up fervently, a short "tch" escaping her lips as she sauntered back to the line. She paused to think for a moment before she sighed and twirled the ball beneath her fingertips. Honestly, she thought to herself, it's sort of nice having an individual to practice with. It really sucks that it's him, though. She began to leap ahead as the ball was tossed, and she hit the ball with a hard blow. The ball spun madly as it was shot forward, and it pursued a little further into the court than the previous serve. Atsuka's feet hit the sand once again, and she watched with narrowed eyes to see what her serve would present.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji’s nose scrunched up in agitation upon watching the ball fly farther up than last time, and he quickly backed up and got into position to receive. Hurriedly finding his balance on the uneven ground proved rather difficult, but luckily, the setter was able to get into position at the last second. Crouching down and stretching his forearms out to meet the ball, Senji once again bumped the ball near perfectly to where the setter was usually standing, though it wobbled ever so slightly on its path. As he once again rolled the ball under the net, he maintained the same demeanor as before, though on the inside, he was somewhat grateful that he had such an opportunity to work on his receives. Despite that, Senji’s irritation toward Atsuka’s existence prevented him from voicing such thoughts.

 

[kageyama]

When the sky began shifting into a reddish-orange color, Atsuka paused at the edge of the court. Sweat was evident on the nape of her neck, and was plastering stray hairs from her ponytail to her temples. A slight pant accompanied her breathing as she cleared her throat. “It’s nearly dinner time,” she said across the court, thumbing the ball in her palms softly. Atsuka hovered in the spot for a second, hesitating on saying anything more. But she let out a short huff instead, turning on her heel in the sand and striding ahead to put her ball in the rack. From there, she dusted herself off as she made her way back to the inn, hoping she didn’t look too disheveled. After all, effort was put into their practice — even if hate was mutual between them.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

"Yeah," Senji replied curtly, grabbing his own ball that had been rolled aside and placing it on the ball rack. He caught her small moment of hesitation before she had huffily left for the inn, prompting him to raise a brow. Seemed like she planned to say something else. However, he quickly shrugged off the thought and made his way to the inn as well, parting ways with the girl to return to his own room. After taking a cold shower, Senji changed into a black shirt and khaki shorts, throwing on a black bomber jacket as well due to the chill of the evening. After getting himself washed up and situated, he quickly made his way to the lobby, his stomach growling with every minute that passed. The larger area on the first floor had been cleared out and filled with tables set with food, plates, and plastic ware. Team members were instructed to head over to the beach after being served by the coaches and managers, where a mat was laid out on the sand near the net, large enough to seat the entire team. After taking a plate filled with pasta, steak, salad, and fruit with a grateful smile, Senji headed outside, sitting down with a couple of friends, even making some small talk with Ambrose students as well.

 

[kageyama]

On stepping out of her own room’s shower, Atsuka tossed her windbreaker over her head and stepped into a pair of running shorts. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, still fairly damp as she hustled to the lobby as well.

Atsuka’s appetite wasn’t very large, to say the least. She had awkwardly followed a few males outside to where the majority of the team was sitting, with only a scoop of pasta and an assortment of fruits. Sitting herself near the edge of the mat, Atsuka toyed with the food on her plate. Her eyes glanced upwards as the mat filled up, clusters of friends chatting with one another about their days. Atsuka chewed the inside of her cheek, her elbows resting on her knees while her hands held her head. A very bored look occupied her face as she quickly paid attention to twirling her food around again.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Dinner passed rather quickly, and everyone helped out afterward to get everything cleaned up; Senji found himself begrudgingly helping Atsuka fold up the mat. It was a large mat, so it ended up taking more time than either of them anticipated. As they folded, Senji failed to fight back a nagging question itching at the back of his mind, and he finally spit it out, asking the question rather dryly. "I don't suppose you'll be practicing for a while after again tomorrow?" As much as he hated to admit it, it had been good practice earlier today before dinner. In the time they had worked together, his receiving on the sand, had improved significantly. Atsuka had ended up serving a few nasty serves that surpassed Senji's receives, so either way, more practice for the next few days would provide an opportunity for him to get back at her. He had turned his glance away from Atsuka as he spoke up, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible.