Archive of Our Own

It could be because of the promise of snow, or the winter break, both of which are scheduled to begin when the practice match ends. Either way, Shiratorizawa play distractedly, and although they win, the final scores are closer than predicted. This is clear evidence that the team is lazy, incapable, and total embarrassments to the school, their families, and themselves according to Coach Washijou, who rounds on the players the moment the visiting team are out the door. As a result, he declares, everyone who so much as stepped on court during the game has to clear up the gym alone (Yunohama visibly brightens, newly grateful for his sprained ankle). The vast, suddenly cheerful Shiratorizawa bench scramble out of the gym, as outside, the first flakes of snow begin to fall like confetti.

When the door swings shut again, there are eight of them left.

“This isn’t so bad,” Ohira tells Goshiki as they’re folding the net up a few minutes later, in an attempt to stop his grumbling. “Last year, Tendou had to run a lap of the athletics field for every single one of the other team’s spikes that went through,” He hesitates, to add suspense. “Even when he was on the back row.”

Goshiki’s heard this story before - it’s one of a collection that the third years repeat with unwarranted nostalgia - and it doesn’t impress him. Starters shouldn’t have to clean gyms! That’s for someone else to do!

“Like first years?” Yamagata suggests, over his shoulder, and Ohira chuckles.

“You know,” Ushijima begins, across the gym “If you sweep faster, we will finish sooner.”

This is addressed to Kawanishi, who has been stood still at the edge of the room for the last few minutes, watching the snow coming down through the windows above his head. He hasn't made any pretense of sweeping at all, slow or fast. Turning, he fixes Ushijima with a long stare, which can't possibly disarm him, although he still moves on to encourage Tendou instead, who is using his broom to practice kendo. Kawanishi returns to the snow. The ground will already be hidden: the carefully maintained grass areas that spot the campus indistinguishable from the paths that students are supposed to keep to.

Semi has fallen into step with Shirabu as they sweep and, in an unhopeful attempt at communication, lays out what he thinks is an impressive choice of conversations - starting with setting technique, he tries favourite tv shows, and then spontaneously asks about holiday plans, before returning to volleyball because at least that’s definitely common ground - but each new topic gets nothing more than a blunt acknowledgement in response. They finish in silence, and once he’s put away his broom, Semi joins Ohira and Yamagata, who are watching Goshiki stagger to the storage cupboard with the last net, which is really far too heavy for him to carry alone, even though he insists that he can.

Shirabu stands by Ushijima, who is waiting stolidly for his team to finish, although Goshiki is the only one still properly bothering with cleaning duties. It doesn’t take him much longer to heave the net into the closet, and once he’s done so, he bounds over, keen to get home, proud despite himself at helping.

No one follows. Kawanishi has sat down, so he can see out of one of the ground-level windows, broom abandoned behind him. Tendou, on the other hand, is making full use of his - his shouts as he spars with an imaginary partner puncture the air, disrupting Ohira, Yamagata and Semi’s conversation.

“We can leave.” Ushijima states, which gets Tendou’s attention, and subsequently everyone else’s because, if there’s one thing to be said for Tendou’s whooping, it's loud.

It takes a little more time to put everything that belongs in the gym away, and pick up everything that doesn’t, but eventually, everyone is ready to go, gathered around the door, which is shut tight against the outside. Night has fallen, and surreally large flakes of snow are now peeling themselves off from the dark sky. Kawanishi hasn’t actually stood up yet, but at least he’s next to the door. His habit of disappearing at inopportune times is infamous, but right now, he can be seen, and that’s good enough.

Opening the door proves a harder task than expected: the snow has slumped against it, forming an accidental barricade. It gives, eventually, but not before Goshiki taken up the role of battering ram and run at it several unsuccessful times. When it does open, it's fast and sudden, and Goshiki is flung out into the cold. He totters for a moment in the frame, and it almost looks like he’s regained his balance. But then, the momentum grabs him again, and he is swallowed by the snow - gone, but for one frantic arm, and his yelling.

It doesn’t take long to decide that Goshiki’s okay - his adamant declarations that he’s totally fine (even though it is really dangerous and gross and most people would probably freeze, so they really shouldn’t go out again, please, but anyway, he’s fine, because he’s strong, you know?) are not an attempt to look tough. Or at least, not only.

He can barely be seen under donated towels and jackets, and the third years are gathered around him. Shirabu, unsure of what to do to help and uninterested in working it out, has stepped away, and sits by Kawanishi. The lower windows are blank now, covered by drifts of snow, and so Kawanishi has turned away from them, and is idly watching his phone.

A minute after Shirabu has sat down, Kawanishi looks up.

“I’m not sure if we can leave.”

So. There are, normally, several ways out of Shiratorizawa Academy. There’s the train, which stops just off campus. Then there’s the road. Walking is also possible - it’s not too far to town, although students come from all over the prefecture, for the school’s excellent academic and extracurricular programmes and so that's less common. These are all basic facts, about day-to-day life at Shiratorizawa. It should be easy to get home.

A surprise snowstorm is not day-to-day.

The trains have all been cancelled, as the snow piles up on the tracks, and keeps on piling. According to the traffic report arduously loaded on Kawanishi’s phone, any parts of the road not covered in snow are congested. And the idea of walking is vetoed before anyone has a chance to suggest it by Goshiki, whose “No!” is surprisingly decisive, given the pout and shiver accompanying it.

“We’re stuck?” asks Tendou, after all this has been established. It's a clearly stupid question, so Shirabu frowns at Tendou.

“Haven’t you been listening? Yes.”

“Okay. O-kay.” For a moment, Tendou’s face is dangerously neutral, and it’s impossible to tell what his reaction is going to be. Then he grins. “Then we can do some teambuilding.” Something in his tone suggests that the plan, which he’s obviously got, will not include their usual drills. “It’ll be fun.” he adds, which means it definitely won’t be fun, at all.

“The most efficient way to strengthen our team would be further volleyball-” Ushijima begins, glancing towards the cupboard where everything has been put away, but Ohira cuts him off.

“We should let people know where we are.”

“And find a way to stay warm,” Yamagata adds, and in the process, gains Goshiki’s support forever. The door is wedged open by Tendou’s shoe, and along with the wind, a few slight flakes have got in through the gap and are spinning slowly in the draught.

“We should go to the clubroom.” Ohira continues. “Our coats and bags are there, so that’ll mean we’ll all have our phones. And it’ll be warmer.” He’s always been the most organised in the team, responsible for herding them into buses and gymnasiums stadiums on time, and seems unperturbed by the night’s prospects. Lucky him.

As soon as Ohira has spoken, Goshiki jumps up, shedding towels. “I don’t want to go out again!” One of his windmilling arms hits Semi, who steps back and then attempts to give Goshiki a reassuring pat, though the whirl of limbs makes this difficult.

“The clubroom has-”

“No!” Goshiki looks genuinely worried, and his action is shaking ice that had previously been stuck in his hair free, so water is dripping down his face. A particularly large drop falls from his nose as he stills, shoulders slumping. It’s dismal.

“Some of us could go and get stuff, and then come back?” suggests Yamagata, looking around at the other third years, who have ended up stood in a circle around Goshiki. Kawanishi and Shirabu stay sat in silence at the edge of the room. “I mean, we shouldn’t leave anyone alone.”

There’s a general murmuring of agreement, and then silence. No one volunteers, no one moves. For a moment the only noise is the wind howling to itself.

“Someone’s got to look after Goshiki, right?” Semi says, after a sufficiently awkward pause. He gives him another pat on the arm. Goshiki looks sceptical.

Making a poor effort to disguise the weariness in his voice, Ohira speaks up. “We should all go.”

“We can’t all go, that’s the point.” Yamagata says, as Goshiki stiffens.

“I meant we as in third years.”

“Oh.”

Another pause.

Sombrely, as per always, Ushijima nods. “That seems sensible. We will be able to bring more back.”

“So, agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“An adventure!”

“Sure.”

“...Sure.”

Goshiki yells as he spikes the ball - he finds it makes them stronger. Kawanishi does almost block it but it's hard enough that it ricochets off his aem and bounces out. Goshiki gives a yelp of joy, and Kawanishi answers it with a blank look. As Kawanishi’s expressions go, it’s probably a good one - Goshiki doesn’t feel like he’s being cursed, which means it’s basically a smile. Shirabu picks up another ball, shifting it between his hands whilst he waits for Goshiki to return to a position where he can toss it to him.

Goshiki isn’t sure how long it’s been since the third years left and he, deciding the best way to get warm - and improve! - was to practise, had grabbed a ball from the cupboard and started practicing serves against a wall. It's been a while, though.

Since then, the second years have silently joined him - together, they’ve set up a net, and are now practicing their respective skills - blocks, sets, and Goshiki’s spikes. That’s the coolest. He likes how both of them are focused on him, whether they're on his side of the net or not - it makes him feel important. He can’t wait to properly be ace!

Kawanishi blocks his next spike. That’s okay though, Goshiki reminds himself, because being blocked is part of the game, and Kawanishi’s so good at it that it doesn’t feel like a failure, even if he doesn’t ever seem to put in much effort. If he's honest, Goshiki’s not sure why Kawanishi is practicing now. He can understand Shirabu, because even though he’s quiet, he can get really fired up. But Kawanishi doesn’t even seem to be bothered by actual, real games, so it’s odd that he’s participating, voluntarily, when he spends every actual practice discontent and unwilling.

Goshiki adds this (‘choosing to practice with me’) to his mental list of Reasons Why Kawanishi Might Be Secretly Nice And Not Actually Scary. It joins the time Kawanishi gave him a banana on a busride home, and the fact he apparently has a little sister, which probably means he has a soft side. There’s also the fact he and Shirabu are friends, and high five during matches, which could mean he’s friendly, but Goshiki is only half counting that, because he’s also not sure on whether Shirabu is scary or not. Either they’re scary together or nice together. Right now, he’s happily leaning towards the second.

Because he’s thinking about this, Goshiki screws up his next spike - an attempt at a sharp cross turns out blunt, and Kawanishi blocks it apathetically. That refocuses him, and they settle into a back-and-forth. For every spike Goshiki gets through, Kawanishi blocks one. Shirabu is a neutral party, only facilitating the definitely important competition. Technically he and Goshiki are both against Kawanishi, but there’s no real team spirit. That’s fine though, because an ace has to be able to stand alone, and Goshiki’s almost there. In fact, it’s like, he’s the ace, only there’s also another ace. Who, sure, is technically better and more important, but that’s not to say Goshiki isn’t good too.

Anyway, that doesn’t matter right now, anyway, because he’s the only one spiking, so he’s definitely the most important one here.

Goshiki is a point ahead when they finish and that makes him winner.

The coolness of this makes up for the fact that Shirabu’s final toss (which definitely does not count) neatly hits him on his head, although to be fair, his excuse is pretty good. He’s been distracted by the fact that there are literal, actual snow monsters, who have wrenched the door open and burst into the gym.
For real. Lumbering creatures, made out of snow from head to foot, like something from a film. Goshiki freezes.

See, monsters are just about higher than volleyballs on his personal ranking of Things To Focus On - although he feels like he might get chastised if he voices that opinion - and so he loses track of the ball, right up until it hits him.

There’s a snigger which runs round the creatures at Goshiki’s misfortune, which tips him off that they are not actually snow monsters, but rather, snow people. Ushijima appears behind them, loaded with bags and it’s at that point that Goshiki realises they are, in fact, snow teammates. Snow Tendou shakes his head wildly, and becomes normal Tendou.

“Do that outside,” says Semi, wiping his face so his distaste is visible. Yamagata has already moved back to the door and is hanging his head out, sifting snowflakes out of his hair. When he straightens up, it looks exactly like it usually does, stuck into spikes, apparently having resisted the damp weight of the snow. Tendou, whose hair hangs down sadly, frowns and attempts to pull it into place. There is a brief tussle with gravity. Gravity wins.

Giving up, Tendou takes off the coat he has been wearing, which reminds Goshiki to grab his from where Ushijima has put his load down. The door, closed when Tendou reclaimed his shoe to go outside, is open again and letting in the cold, and snowflakes too.

Ushijima, despite being mostly clear, is sporting a pair of snow legwarmers, which he has been staring down at for a while. Now, suddenly, he starts aggressively stamping his feet, scattering pieces of ice across the shining gym floor. Semi gives a slight groan.

It’s not long before both Yamagata and Tendou have joined Ushijima’s stomping. Ohira too, who has previously been attempting to brush off his arms outside the door, but without much luck - as much of it ending up inside the gym as out - gives in and taps the snow off his shoes, and then tracksuit bottoms, and then everything else, over the floor.

“Don’t be lame!” Tendou calls to Semi in midair, having begun to spring up and down. Semi continues to shake his jacket outside.

All this is watched in silence by their kohai.

“Wh- What happened?” Goshiki eventually, agonisingly asks.

“Tendou.” Yamagata succinctly replies. Semi punctuates this with a tsk, but Tendou himself takes it as a cue.

“I made a snowman!” he says, lunging at Shirabu with his arm outstretched. Shirabu flinches away, and it takes a moment from him to realise that he is being shown a picture on Tendou’s phone, not attacked. There is no sign of any snowman. The picture is just dark, except for a few smudges that may be snowflakes in the image, or dirt on the screen.

“Amazing,” says Kawanishi from over Shirabu’s shoulder, in a voice that suggests - not incorrectly - that the photo is the furthest thing from amazing imaginable.
Tendou retracts his arm. “I put my heart into that snowman - you should have seen its eyebrows! Wakatoshi worthy!” He wiggles his at Ushijima, who frowns in reply. “It was so great! Wasn’t it?”

There’s a moment of silence, and then Yamagata, with the utmost gravity, speaks up. “Well, I didn’t get to see it, because it was at that point you pushed me into the snow.”

They take a long time explaining the various events of the expedition, but Shirabu only listens to the parts that interest him. He doesn’t hear much. Tendou, running around, knocks into Yamagata, and then- all hell breaks lose? He’s pretty sure there’s a snowball fight involved in it somewhere. Mostly, he's relieved he wasn’t involved.

Goshiki, on the other hand, is impassioned, issuing any number of oohs and aahs and snow is just the worst, right?!s. Kawanishi appears to be listening, but it’s just as possible he’s thinking about food, or the nature of reality - or, say, whether they’ll be able to leave before morning. This is certainly a topic that has been preoccupying Shirabu.

Still, that question is quickly answered, because the moral of the third years’ story, once it’s eventually concluded, is that outside is a place to avoid at all costs.
Goshiki seems torn between relief and an intense need to say ‘I told you so’, so he can tout what Shirabu guesses he sees as an intellectual win over his senpai - although considering his primary source is tripping head first into a pile of snow, a victory for Goshiki here seems a stretch.

Once this has been decided, there’s a movement to the bags. Phones are dug out - “I don’t have mine,” Yamagata says, sad but unsurprised, and takes Ohira’s, where his home number is apparently pre-programmed. Snacks are eaten, as paltry dinner substitutes. Goshiki cheerfully munches a banana, and Semi offers a packet of peanuts round, only to find most of them gone when the bag is returned to him. Shirabu hangs back, and hasn’t got to his bag before Tendou decides to move the evening’s activities along.

“I know what we should do now,” he says proudly, pausing for a moment with his hands on his hips. He looks like he’s posing, but it’s too subtle to call out, although when he starts speaking again, he jerks his head up, so he’s looking out, into the distance - at the gym wall. So it's definitely a pose. “I have an idea.”

Tendou’s idea is a revisit of his earlier teambuilding plan.

“Races.” he says. “In pairs. Winner gets bought ice cream after practice. Uh, chocolate ice cream. Also I’m with Wakatoshi.”

The third years confer.

“That seems- very favourable to you.”

“My idea, my rules.”

"I don't really want ice cream."

"But it's only appropriate."

“It’s not really teambuilding if we’re dividing up.”

“We’re dividing into teams, though.”

“I still believe my earlier proposal is worth revisiting - to practice volleyball would be the most effective use of time.”

“Would you be practicing volleyball at home right now?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t see why we can’t just go to bed.”

“Like a sleepover?”

“Like sleep.”

“That’s lame.”

“There’s nothing better to do.”

“Sure there is - let's build some teams.”

Shirabu retreats over to the bags and finds his. He sends a quick text home, explaining that he won’t be, and has one of the two energy bars he keeps for after practice on ordinary evenings.

He keeps his head down as he eats, adopting the familiar policy of ignoring the chaos around him, with the hope that in return, the chaos will ignore him. It never seems to work. Tonight, he finds himself upright with his leg tied to Semi’s almost before he realises anything’s happened.

“It’s a three legged race!” Tendou declares, brandishing borrowed scarfs at those closest to him.

He’s with Ushijima - Shirabu assumes the assumption is that it’s easier to let him have his way than argue. Yamagata and Ohira have ended up together, and are watching Tendou attempt to attach Goshiki and Kawanishi with amusement. It turns out, Goshiki is very ticklish, and so every time the scarf brushes his leg, he leaps up into the air. Yamagata’s sniggers are pretty much in time with Goshiki’s jumps. Kawanishi has looked away, whistling slightly, like he’s not in the process of being attached to - well, Goshiki. Goshiki’s unique, really - the height and drive of an adult, but the frantic enthusiasm of a kid half his age. About the same sense of humour too.

“I don’t know why we keep letting Tendou make decisions,” Yamagata says with as they watch, and Shirabu gives a cynical chuckle in agreement, more exhale than laugh, although Semi still looks startled at the reaction.

Eventually, however, Tendou finishes with Goshiki and hurries back over to Ushijima so they can be tied together too - Ohira obliges, dragging Yamagata along behind him.

They line up at the end of the volleyball court, parallel with the net - which is still up. It’s part of the challenge, apparently. Definitely doesn’t have anything to do with Tendou being too lazy to put it away.

Goshiki does his best to warm up, by hopping from foot to foot, but it’s hard when Kawanishi is standing still. He can lift one leg, but then sort of has to duck to one side, so it feels like the other is going up. He stops pretty soon.

“Are you ready?” he eagerly asks Kawanishi instead.

Kawanishi shrugs.

Goshiki’s too short and too close to Kawanishi to be able to see his expression, so he doesn’t know if Kawanishi is shrugging disgustedly, or because he’s got so excited that he can’t speak. He hopes it’s that.

“Let’s win!” Goshiki tells him, and Kawanishi doesn't even shrug this time. Frowning, Goshiki tugs on his sleeve. “We’ve got to beat Ushijima-san.” he explains, because even though it’s obvious, he’s not sure Kawanishi understands how important that is. He’s got to beat Ushijima, to show everyone that he can, because he must be able to. Sure, maybe not at arm wrestling, or thumb wrestling, or actual wrestling - although he didn’t lose in that last one, Ushijima had just stood there unmoving whilst Goshiki tried really hard to push him over, but he hadn’t fallen either, so it had been a draw. He had lost emphatically at eye spy though, and really, who’d have thought that Ushijima would be so good at holding his breath? Not Goshiki, for sure.

But this - three legged racing with Kawanishi - this is going to be his time.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just beat him at volleyball?” asks Shirabu, from behind.

“Ready?” yells Tendou, and Goshiki pulls forwards excitedly. “I don’t want anymore time wast-”

He’s cut off by Semi, asking whether it’s actually fair to have Tendou deciding when the race starts, as that gives him an advantage. This leads to a long conversation, which winds up with the conclusion that Tendou might as well do it, seeing as there’s no one not taking part. Shirabu's raising hand is ignored.
“Ready?” Tendou asks again, and it all of a sudden occurs to Goshiki that he has not talked strategy with Kawanishi at all.

“Right, okay, so if if we move the middle-”

“Set!”

“Legsfirstandthentheoutsideonesandwejustkeep-”

“Go!”

"Ah!" Goshiki starts yelling frantically as they start forwards. Kawanishi ignores him, but, by looking at their feet instead, manages to prevent them from tipping over. Honestly, Goshiki has half-forgotten he has a partner - he’s just focused on moving as fast as he can on his own.

They do well for the first half of the course, but when they reach the net, Goshiki goes to fling himself underneath it, fully convinced Kawanishi will do the same. He doesn’t. He grabs the back of Goshiki’s shirt and makes him crouch and shuffle to the other side, so they lose time and probably the race, as Goshiki complains, at length.

This is the beginning of the end. Goshiki, determined to make up lost time, starts running as fast as he can, paying even less attention to Kawanishi than he did before. Kawanishi does not follow - he’s barely straightened up when Goshiki sets off and, if his interest in the race was lacking beforehand, it’s completely gone now.

They make it sixty centimetres before Goshiki finds himself sprawled on the ground.

Yamagata and Ohira quickly overtake them, and Goshiki stops rubbing his newly stinging chin and tries to catch up, crawling forwards like a cartoon of a thirsty man in a desert. He makes little progress - Kawanishi has sat up, but refuses to move anymore. As the finish line is crossed, Goshiki gives up and turns to see who will finish in second.

The answer is no one.

Shirabu and Semi are still at the start, having wobbled around the service line until Shirabu gave up and sat down with an unconvincing ‘whoops’. Semi is still doing his best to drag him along, but without success.

Meanwhile, despite breezy optimism about how much fun the net would be to navigate, Tendou doesn’t seem to be having a very good time with it. He and Ushijima are on opposite sides. Tendou has made it through, but Ushijima is inexplicably, inextricably stuck. Despite the best efforts of both of them, Ushijima’s zip is still tangled in the netting, and somehow, incredibly, his disapproving looks are not causing it to free itself.

“We beat Ushijima-san!” Goshiki hisses victoriously at Kawanishi. In response, Kawanishi rolls his eyes and begins to work on untying them. This motion catches Tendou’s eye, and he turns, fast and dramatic, towards them. The motion makes both Goshiki and Ushijima start, although his target is unaffected.
“We’re not stopping! Rematch!”

“The first race hasn’t actually finished,” Ohira points out. “So maybe a rematch is a little preemptive.”

“Don’t be a nerd!” Tendou calls back, enthused again. Behind him, Ushijima silently manages to unhook his jacket from the net, and stands back from it, warily, although it’s hard to tell whether it’s the net he’s moving away from, or Tendou’s large arm gestures. “This is a fresh start! Let’s change up the teams! No offence, Wakatoshi.”

“It’s fine.”

Kawanishi continues to untie the scarf holding him to Goshiki, but again is stopped by Tendou. “You can stay a team. I just want the winners to do worse.”

“That seems- unfair.”

“I’m in charge.”

“It’s fine,” Yamagata calls, smug as only a victor can be. “It's not like this matters anyway.”

He and Ohira untie the rope connecting them, and Tendou does the same with Ushijima, and they fall into new pairs. Ushijima and Ohira gravitate together, whilst Tendou loops an practiced arm round Yamagata’s shoulder and the two exchange grins.

Shirabu has tuned out, but seeing this happening, assumes the best - he begins to loosen the scarf around his ankle.

“Stop!” yells Tendou.

In a rare moment of unity, Semi and Shirabu share mutual groans.

“Listen,” says Semi to Shirabu, as they wait for Goshiki and Kawanishi to make it back to the start line - they, handily, are already there, having never left. “We should have a strategy.”

“Sit down as soon as Tendou says go?” Shirabu suggests, uninclined to listen to Semi’s plans at the best of times, such as when he’s not imprisoned in a gym. There’s no real reason he dislikes Semi, or Semi dislikes him, except for their fundamentally opposing personalities, but sometimes that’s enough to limit friendship.

“No! No. I was thinking, if we come first, it’ll be proof that we don’t actually have to be a good team to win, and then we can argue Tendou down and do something which doesn’t involve energy.”

It’s not a convincing case. In fact, what Semi’s suggesting sounds an awful lot like the teamwork that Tendou is apparently trying to inspire. So they’d be playing right into his hands, if what he really wanted was a handful of teamwork. However, Shirabu is pretty sure Tendou just wants to win, and so if he loses again, they can get him to give up. Certainly, it’d be easier for Semi to convince Tendou to stop after the race than it would be for Shirabu to convince Semi not to bother before it - Semi is all about putting in effort, even if it’s pointless. However, in this case, the effort is going towards not putting in effort, which is paradoxical enough to appeal to Shirabu. “Okay.”

“I mean-” Semi begins somewhat aggressively, as though he was expecting Shirabu to disagree, then stops. “Oh. Okay. Well, I guess if we do the counting thing? I can keep time - if we move out middle leg on one, and the outside one on two?”

“Sure.” There’s a pause. “We should try and keep our paces the same length, probably.” That’s Shirabu all done with participation for this evening.

“Okay. Like this?” Semi holds his hands a little way apart, and Shirabu looks between them and his feet, as though he’s actually putting thought into his step size, finally nodding.

“That seems fine.”

“Right. So, how should we navigate the net?”

“The net?”

“Yeah, the net.” Semi gestures to it, as though he’s genuinely unsure whether Shirabu knows what one is.

Apparently Shirabu isn’t off the participation hook yet. “Go, um, under it.” he hazards.

Semi gives him an incredulous look, the suggestion apparently not worthy of a reply, but even as it’s settling into place, his expression shifts. “Or what if, we don’t.” he says reverently, his voice full of awe at his own idea.

“Oh? Can you fly?”

Instead of responding, Semi begins to move up, towards the corner of the court, dragging Shirabu along too. It's slow and ungainly, but as they move, he thinks he understands what Semi is planning. “We go around the edge of the net.”

“Yeah.” Semi looks proud. “It’ll be much easier. We setters are the smart ones, huh?”

“Mm.” Shirabu isn’t sure why he’s getting any credit for brain here, considering his main contribution was to suggest the opposite, but he doesn't care enough to fuss.

They lapse into silence whilst they wait for everyone else to be ready - with a plan decided (they’ll start within the lines of the court, and finish there, only ducking outside to briefly by the net to minimise accusations of cheating), there’s nothing else for them to talk about. It’s not quite as awkward as usual.

“Ready?” Tendou asks, when he thinks they all should be. It is a question, but there’s definitely only one answer Tendou’s willing to accept.

He doesn’t get it - even Goshiki seems unenthused. His partner must be rubbing off on him. Kawanishi would normally have found someway to disappear to by now, if he wasn’t attached to the least subtle person Shirabu has ever met.

“You better be,” Tendou continues grudgingly when no one responds. This time, he counts down from three, and finishes with a ‘GO’ that fractures the awkward silence.

They go.

Ohira and Ushijima take the lead quickly. Still, Shirabu and Semi aren’t far behind, Semi counting, and Shirabu echoing the numbers in his head. 1, 2, 1, 2 - it’s not exactly hard, although the fact Yamagata is also counting out loud, just out out of time with them, means slightly more concentration is needed. Still, he and Tendou aren’t threatening them yet.

Surprisingly, this isn’t because of typical Tendou erraticness - in fact, he seems more focused than usual, eyes fixed on the floor, nodding along with Yamagata, but this concentration is still proving their downfall, because Tendou is so committed to each and every step that he ends up making the next one late, meaning they keep falling out of time.

Meanwhile, Goshiki and Kawanishi are going at a crawl. A compromise between the former’s need to go fast and the latter’s wish to not go at all has resulted in a tortoise pace. The only way they’ll win is if everyone else magically turns into hares.

They’re getting towards the net, and so Semi starts moving outwards, to loop round the edge. Ohira and Ushijima have slowed, stopped - Ushijima is jerkily bending down. He’s taken off his jacket, and must be freezing, but at least he won’t get stuck.

“We’re going to do it,” Semi hisses, as they pass the net and the competition. “We’re going to win.”

Somewhere behind them, Tendou yells an accusation of foul play, which Goshiki echoes, but Shirabu grits his teeth and focuses forwards. He’s half forgotten Semi’s there, which is probably why he puts his attached foot down too fast and almost falls. Semi grabs his elbow though, and once Shirabu has resumed his balance, they carry on, and it’s only a few steps more to the end.

Despite not caring about it at all, Shirabu can’t help an instinctual grin at their victory, and when Semi goes for a high-five, he returns it. Only a few seconds behind, Ushijima and Ohira cross the line.

“A well run race.” Ushijima says, matter-of-factly.

“Even though you cheated,” Tendou cries, emerging from the net, with Yamagata, who looks shattered, dragging a little way behind him. “It's okay, because you understood the message! This is beautiful!”

Simultaneously, Semi and Shirabu draw away from one another.

Tendou continues to shuffle slowly towards them, waving his arms emphatically all the while. “Teamwork! You worked as a team! Cool!”

“We’ve been working successfully as a team for several months now,” Ushijima points out.

“A team, yes, but not a team.” says Tendou, putting the exact same emphasis on the word both times he says it. Ushijima doesn’t bother responding, so Tendou presses on. “I mean, who’d have thought that something as simple as an incredibly fun and satisfying three legged race-”

“Really?”

“-Would have united our sparring setters in such great friendship?” There’s a definite gleam in Tendou’s eyes, and he looks ready to continue, continue for hours, only then Goshiki falls over - again - with a wail and an emphatic smack.

“This isn’t a good idea.” Ohira says, deftly untying himself from Ushijima, as Kawanishi picks Goshiki up (“I’m completely fine- ow! No, really, I’m okay - bruises are cool!”). “We should stop.”

“Yes.” Semi says quickly, and Shirabu nods.

“Please.” adds Yamagata.

“But- but the teamwork-”

“No, Tendou.” As though to back Ohira up, Goshiki gives a sharp yelp - he’d been trying to jump up and down, in an attempt to prove he’d recovered, but Kawanishi hadn’t moved, and he’d almost fallen again. He’s currently being held up by his elbow.

“The teamwork…” Tendou repeats forlornly, one last time.

“Our plan worked!” says Semi emphatically, as he unties them.

“No it didn’t,” replies Shirabu. “It was more Goshiki than us.”

“Tch.” Semi looks put-out, not unusually, and Shirabu feels a little bad.

“We still won, though.” he adds, trying not to sound too grudging.

“That’s true.” Semi replies, straightening up. It feels like a truce has been reached.

They go to bed after that, or at least, to the floor of the gym, which is the best option there is. Goshiki puts up a half-hearted protest, more against the idea of being told to go to sleep than the actual fact he has to, but he’s clearly tired. There’s no dissent from Kawanishi or Shirabu – neither appear bothered about the matter, although Shirabu is actually very keen on the plan, figuring that the sooner morning and escape arrive, the better. Meanwhile, almost all of the third years are in agreement. Tendou pouts, but gives in.

Of course, the fact they've agreed to sleep doesn't mean it happens.

To start with, the floor is cold. Even through his gym kit, tracksuit and coat, Shirabu can still feel the freezing press of the ground, pushing into his back. It’s uncomfortable too – volleyball courts are designed to have spring, so players can jump higher, run faster, so you'd think they'd have some give, but it doesn’t seem to translate into a comfortable sleeping surface. At all. Shirabu twists round, again, trying to find a position that won’t make him ache.

There’s also the noise. A complaint from Semi about the situation – he’s not even a starter, he reminds the air at a volume that perhaps would be have been quiet if the rest of them were all talking at Tendou volumes – has spiralled into a passionate debate in barely-kept whispers involving Tendou and Yamagata too, over who would survive in a zombie apocalypse. Shirabu is actually a little gratified to hear that, if he and Kawanishi work together as his seniors predict, they should be fine at defending themselves. The same can’t be said for Goshiki apparently, who squeals indignantly and joins in, defending his ability to survive at increasing volumes that only underscore how awful he'd be at stealthiness. Eventually, Kawanishi speaks up and tells Goshiki that he could stick with him, although Shirabu feels that’s a decision that needs to be made between the two of them if they’re going to be working together - Kawanishi can’t go around offering help without consulting him. Then he reminds himself that this is a ridiculous hypothetical, and turns onto his other side.

Even Ohira and Ushijima are talking quietly, despite both being for the rest idea. Shirabu can’t really hear them, but between their surprisingly insidious murmuring on one side and a new debate, on whether zombies would or wouldn’t be easier to defeat than vampires, on the other, Shirabu can feel the night stretching on ahead.

Still, somewhere along the lines - after Yamagata, with unnecessarily eloquence, proposes that werewolves are the scariest monsters due to their innate humanness, and Tendou counters by saying that stink spirits are the worst because they’d get gunk all over his clothes (although maybe that’d be an improvement for Semi’s, he adds), and Shirabu lets out a groan at the sheer pointlessness of it all, covering his ears and tuning out anymore noise for the rest of the night - he falls asleep.

Kawanishi isn’t sure if he was the last one to get to sleep, although he had lain awake through a rare amount of silence, which endured even after Goshiki had begun to let out little snores which would usually be the cause of great hilarity. He’s definitely the first to wake, though. The hall gym is - mostly - quiet in the cool morning light. Ohira snores too though, Kawanishi notes. He can probably use that information for something.

Stretching out, he resigns himself to consciousness. He isn’t usually an early riser, but he’s not an easy sleeper either, and is almost proud at the fact he got as much as he did.

He stands noiselessly – he’s good at quiet – and paces to the edge of the gym, curious to see what’s happening outside. It's a pointless trip - the lower windows are blocked by last night’s fall, and only the sky can be seen from the higher ones. It’s blue. That’s a shame. He likes snow.

Still, if nothing has fallen for a while, that probably means they can get out, which is good. He likes snow, but he likes freedom, and breakfast, a little more.
He sits, with his back to the wall and lazily appraises his teammates. They’d ended up sleeping in a line, neat when they’d first settled down, although now it's more jumbled. He’d been between Yamagata and Goshiki, who has spread himself out in his sleep, taking up as much space as he can - it’s interesting to know his disregard for personal space is subconscious. Yamagata is also a fairly intrusive sleeper, he notes, but he’s rolled into Semi, so Kawanishi hadn’t been aware of that. On Semi’s other side, Tendou is curled up, not taking up much room. Shirabu had deliberately left a wide gap between them, apparently anticipating Tendou to be as disruptive in sleep as he is awake, but it seems that was a misplaced concern. Shirabu's in an odd position, Kawanishi observes objectively – legs one way, torso the other, and with his jacket twisted under him. It looks like he’s a restless sleeper. Ohira, on the other hand, is the paradigm of peace – except for the snoring. Next to him, on the end of the line, Ushijima lies still, taking up just as much space as he needs. That’s still a fair amount, but he and Ohira have arranged themselves so it works. Those two are pretty boring sleepers.

This is all taken in, processed, and put aside again in a matter of seconds.

The quiet is alien. Normally there’s always something happening – Kawanishi has never been first to practice, a trend he hopes to keep up, so there’s always some activity. The slam of balls, the squeak of trainers. Reprimands for lateness. So, this is nice, in a surreal sort of way. Not something on he was desperate to see, but he can appreciate it.

And, Kawanishi thinks, he can appreciate the team too, when they’re not making him put in effort. In fact - and this may be the cold, or the holiday, or maybe just the truth - they’re not bad at all.