The Third Miya: Isuma

XXXI

March 26th

It was Kunimi's birthday yesterday :D Happy Birthday, love!💕

Keeping his promise to Isuma, Ginjima consented to not play during the match. He stayed with the coaches and Isuma on the bench. Keeping her promise to Kita, Isuma didn't try to study the Kato High players. She didn't need to- the second and third-years knew the team well and had no trouble countering them.

Halfway through the first set, Ginjima brought up something that he'd been thinking about lately. "Hey, Isuma-chan?"

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you ever hang out with... you know, girls?" Ginjima asked. Isuma set down her water bottle, glancing at the court. The score was 15:04, and they weren't even playing at full power- Ginjima was out, and Aran was momentarily on the sidelines. "...when I was younger, I never really had any friends. I was always with my brothers, and they weren't usually bothered by it. I think we were around thirteen when they told me I should try talking to the girls in my class."

Her tone made it clear that it hadn't gone well. "...what happened?"

Isuma didn't say anything for several seconds. She vaguely said, "They didn't like me. At all. I knew it, but I tried to talk to them anyway. And... it didn't end great."

Ginjima didn't try to question her any further. Isuma turned towards him. "Point is, I don't like talking to other girls. Especially the ones now. I don't have to be a genius to know that every single one of them is either jealous or just hates me."

"...oh." Inarizaki scored another point. Kato High seemed to have accepted their inevitable defeat; Isuma murmured, "They're not even trying."

"There's no point, is there?" Ginjima asked. Isuma answered, "Yes, there is! They shouldn't just give up. Even if they might lose, they shouldn't just stop."

Her tone was incredulous, as if she couldn't imagine someone ever giving up. Ginjima shrugged. "Some people just aren't... as dedicated to volleyball as Atsumu is."

Isuma didn't reply and just watched the match, occasionally marking something in her notebook. "Hey, didn't you say that she was their coach?"

She gestured to the woman clad in blue and yellow on the other side of the referee. "Oh, yeah. I think she used to be the girls' coach at Kato High, but there weren't enough girls to form a team, so she disbanded it and switched to boys' volleyball."

Isuma answered, "...she looks defeated, like she's experienced this one too many times."

"It must be hard," Ginjima said. "I'm surprised they made it to Round 3 at all. We defeated them in the first round last time."

"The Quarter- and Semi-finals are tomorrow, right?" Isuma asked. Ginjima nodded. "Yup. The second-best school here, Taji North, always makes it to the finals. We face them every time... we beat them every time."

"I'm guessing you don't get along?"

"...let's just say they aren't our biggest fans," Ginjima answered, his tone bitter. "And, well..."

He trailed off. Isuma asked, "What?"

"It's never been officially proven but... their coach is a little reckless. They break the rules. A lot. And they're good at it because they always manage to get off. The referees haven't ever noticed..." He fell silent, not wanting to continue; Isuma didn't force him to go on. "Anyways," he continued, changing the subject, "They haven't forgotten the times we've defeated them. All that resentment and bitterness is gonna crash on us like a tsunami if we play them."