The black-haired man took another large gulp of his beer, setting the glass down when his phone suddenly rang. He clicked his tongue as soon as he read the caller's ID, snapping a "What now?" to no one in particular.

'Unknown number.'

He definitely couldn't ignore that one.

With a heavy sigh, he picked up the phone, staying silent as he waited for the caller to start the conversation.

'Kuroo-san.'

He grunted in reply.

'It's already the end of the month. We couldn't transfer it to your account, so we have to give it to you in cash.'

"Go ahead. My bank account was banned last week. Too much unpaid bills." At this point, Kuroo had seated himself on the table, picking up his glass once again.

'We'll take care of that. When and where?'

"What?" he demanded, gulping down the rest of his drink.

'The cash, Kuroo-san,' the caller's patience was truly admirable, if only someone else knew.

"Can't you just send it here?"

A pause, then, 'How long do you intend to keep this up?'

"... Just send the cash here or keep it for yourself," Kuroo declared, as he pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call.

He stood up and dragged his feet back upstairs, towards his room. A golden cat followed behind him, letting out a soft 'meow', which only sparked more irritation.

"Not you too, Pudding." The man, Kuroo, slammed the bedroom door shut, and grabbed a controller from the floor, sitting in front of the large screen that was connected to a game console.

The cat meowed once more, scratching his arm slightly.

"What? I'm not in the mood to go outside, that's all," he protested, "And no. I don't need to socialize more or any shit like that."

Kuroo let out a deep breath, and clicked the resume button to continue the game where he left off just half an hour before.

The action made his cat hissed, trying to scratch his hands this time, but Kuroo growled back, raising the controller up as he locked his eyes into the screen.

"Get off me, Pudding! I'm going to clear up this level now, so you'd better not interrupt!"

Another aggressive reaction from the small feline.

"Pud, stop it!"

The cat let out a final hiss before it jumped out of the window, leaving its owner alone with all his gaming devices.

"Fuck, why can't I just die?! No one will miss me! Even my own cat always pick a fight with me!"

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A figure in dark grey hoodie ran through the parking lot, easily making his way into the airport. He fixed the hat that covered most of his orange hair, pushing up his sunglasses while he tapped his foot in impatience.

Finally, he spotted his target walking out of the building, and with a loud 'Yosh!' he jogged towards the woman, swiftly grabbing her suitcases and ran off.

"Hey!"

He rushed towards his car, neatly placing the suitcases inside the car's trunk. After that, he sat on the driver's seat, right at the moment when the door next to him was pulled open.

And the woman was standing there, glaring at him in anger.

"Three and a half years!" she yelled, taking a seat next to the man, and slammed the door shut. "Three and a half years since we last met, and the first thing you did was stealing my stuff!" she snatched the hat off his head, along with the glasses.

"Well played, Nii-chan! So fucking well played!"

The man flinched, "Natsu, calm down! Why are you so mad at me?"

The woman, Natsu, let out a scoff and crossed her arms, "You never said you're picking me up, Nii-chan. And then you suddenly grabbed my suitcases, and here I am now, inside your car taken to who-knows-where."

"And this, could be considered a kidnapping," the older sibling, Shouyou, stated with a small grin, starting the car. He ruffled his little sister's hair, planting a soft kiss on her forehead, before began to drove out of the place.

"You don't hate me, do you?" he asked.

"How can I?" she replied, "It was all thanks to you that we both are alive now."

"I'm glad," he replied, "So? How was work? Three years at a hospital in the seaside wasn't that boring, right?"

"Far from it!" this time, she was enthusiastic, "I mean, it may be a part of my medical study, but I love the experience. It was really fun!"

"Any stories?"

"Many!" Shouyou chuckled at the reply, shaking his head as he turned for a second and smiled at his sister.

"Alright, you can tell me later. Now just rest, Natsu, we'll talk more at home."

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"Make sure to submit the essay before the end of this month! That's all for today, class dismissed!" the man announced, crossing his arms as he watched his students left the room in a rush, probably hurrying to their clubs.

He let out a deep breath, and decided to leave as well. On his way, though, he heard someone calling his name.

"Daichi-san!!"

He turned, and raised an eyebrow. Aoba Johsai's uniform, he noticed.

"Ah. Oikawa-kun, hello. What are you doing here?"

The boy grinned, "Stop calling me that, you're practically another uncle of mine." He puffed out his cheeks, "Seijoh got a practice match against Karasuno. It'll start in a few minutes. Want to watch?"

The man, Sawamura Daichi, hummed in reply, nodding his head, "I guess I can stay for a while."

"Great!" the boy pulled out an envelope from his pocket, handing it to the adult.

"Now what is this, Takeru?"

"Uncle Tooru is holding a party for the company's silver anniversary. That's the invitation, and he said, 'Come here and let's get drunk!'. I think he invited almost everyone else."

"I don't know if I'll be able to go..."

"Please do, Daichi-san. It would be a great reunion. Uncle Tooru might actually needs you all, since... well, you know... about Iwaizumi-san..."

The man sighed, entering the gym and gave a nod of greeting at another of his colleagues, Kageyama Tobio, the coach of Karasuno's Volleyball Club.

"I guess I'll try..."

"Thank you so much, Sawamura-sensei!" Takeru exclaimed, using the formalities this time, before he ran off to his team.

The teacher let out another heavy breath, before he made his way towards the bench, sitting next to his old friend.

"Are you coming, Sawamura-san? To Oikawa's?"

Sawamura sighed. "Probably? I wish I can, the exams are coming closer and I got extra work to do. What about you, Kageyama?"

"I'm quite sure I'll be able to. But... do you think Kuroo-san will make it?"

Sawamura stayed silent, recalling the last time he met his ex-superior, trapped inside his own house willingly.

"He will be able to come..." Sawamura trailed off, looking back at Kageyama.

"But he won't be there."

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"Shimizu-san, we have arrived."

The woman nodded, fixing her glasses as she stepped out of the car. A man in black suit closing the door for her, saying a few words to the driver before they entered the building.

"What's my schedule for today?" she asked, to which the man replied with a hum as he pulled out his notebook.

"First, you have the monthly meeting in two hours. A new soon-to-be stockholder wished to see you during lunch. You also need to send the report to your father this evening. Aside from that, it's your usual work."

"Thank you, Tanaka." The two walked out of the lift, and the woman turned to look at the man, "Anything from Terushima?"

"Lev will hold a meeting tonight, at ten, the usual place."

"And about the next operation? It has been a while, six months are quite long for a break," she commented, entering her private office, along with her assistant.

"He said there's plans, though Lev never mentioned the details."

The woman huffed, "He hasn't gotten over it yet, Ryu?"

The formality was gone, the man loosened his tie while he staredbout of the window, "Seems like that. What about yourself, Kiyoko-san?"

"I guess... it can't be helped. It's traumatizing, to say at least."

"But you don't seem bothered with it..."

The woman shook her head, taking a seat on front of her desk and gave her ex-teammate a soft smile.

"I have a feeling... that Kenma-san won't die like that. I'd like to think that he's still alive somewhere..."

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Black-Owl:
Excuse the intrusion. I'm sure you know who I am. May I ask you favor?

White_Rabbit:
Ah! How straightforward! You are that legendary 'Bird of Prey', right? Fu-ku-rō?

Black-Owl:
Correct, White_Rabbit-san.

White_Rabbit:
Call me Usagi! What kind of favor are you talking about? (No guarantee that I will help you!)

Black-Owl:
Usagi-san, have you ever heard about 'Neko'? His name was pretty well known around two years ago, before he died.

White_Rabbit:
Neko? The leader of The Golden Cats, you mean? As a fellow informant, I do admit that it's a strange case. But why asking help from me? Technically, I am your rival in business.

Black-Owl:
Yes, that's who I'm talking about. And truthfully, I don't take you as an enemy. You are my senior in this line of work, that's all.

White_Rabbit:
Your words put me at ease, it's flattering. Anyways, as you said, he's dead. Why would we still talk about him?

Black-Owl:
Curiosity.

White_Rabbit:
You interest me, Fukurō. I can tell you a few things about it. But first, what will I get in exchange?

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