Mitsumi was glad it was Sunday. It was the one day she had absolutely nothing. So, she could sit and focus on her homework. Her brown hair was tied up into a messy bun. She sat criss-cross on her chair and flipped her pencil between her fingers. The mid-morning light poured through her curtains. For as much as she wanted to sleep in, her body wouldn't let her.

"Hey Mom! What's up?" She accepted the video call and held her phone up so she was in frame. It wasn't often her mother would video call her.

"Nothing much. Just doing finances right now." The woman let out a groan. "Have you gotten in with the physical therapist yet?" She sighed in relief as her daughter shook her head.

"I haven't, why?" Mitsumi looked at her screen with a puzzled expression. "I haven't had the chance to call the office. Besides, they are closed on the weekends."

Her mom's usual cheery expression softened before twisting into an almost sorry look. She had been dreading the conversation. "Well... Our insurance company just switched and it turns out it isn't covered anymore. So, can you check with your coach to see if the university has any assistance? I know you really need this to play."

Mitsumi automatically went into panic mode. Her eyes widened and her heart rate shot up. "If I can't take care of my knee, then I can't play volleyball. If I can't play, I lose my scholarship. If I lose my scholarship, then I can't attend school anymore. And if I can't attend school, then my life is a waste." She was sputtering through her sentences to the point they couldn't be understood.

"Chie! Snap out of it and think rationally for a second. Your athletics department should have a program so you can get medical treatment. So, talk to your coach." Her mother attempted to get her daughter to stop overreacting to something so trivial. Insurance policy switches happened all the time. And she was a bit taken aback that her eldest had gone into overdrive.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. Mitsumi propped her phone and covered her face with her hands. "I'll talk to him tomorrow." She hung up the call and screamed into her hands. Her head was spinning and her heart wasn't stopping. So, she strapped her knee brace on and grabbed her running shoes.

The only way she could calm down without anyone around was to go for a run. Mitsumi charged down the sidewalk and aimlessly ran down the streets. At least the weather was still decent for now. She sprinted until she couldn't tell if her heart was racing from working out, or because of the adrenaline that made her go for a run in the first place. No, not today. I am not going to have one today!

Kuroo was on his way to the library to work on another project. He saw the girl sprinting down the road and picked up on her frantic signals. He picked up the pace and took off after her. "Mitsumi! Hey! Hold up!" She didn't hear his calls so he grabbed her shoulder as he caught up. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

Mitsumi was panting as she was pulled to a sudden halt. "Not right now, Kuroo." She put her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath. 

"What the flip happened?" He could see the panic in her eyes. It was as clear as day. "And don't say nothing." Kuroo carefully guided her so she was standing straight. "Get your arms on your head too, idiot. You'll pass out from the lack of oxygen bending over like that."

"Insur-" she was gasping for air for a second. "Insurance doesn't cover PT. Can't afford. Scholarship. School." Mitsumi could string together a full sentence. But it was enough words to get a general idea of what she was thinking about.

Kuroo shot a quick text to his group saying that he would be late again and put his hand on the girl's head. "Seriously, you're panicking over your insurance company switching and not being able to afford PT? You know the team has a guy that does it for free. Right?" He felt Mitsumi's body start to sink and caught her before she could fall to the ground.

"Kuroo! Why do you sound like you are going to laugh at me?" Mitsumi growled at him and caught her breath. "And how do you know-"

Kuroo really was doing everything he could to not laugh, "Mitsumi, where do you think Bokuto has been going ever since he sprained his shoulder?" He flicked her forehead hard enough to leave a small red mark on the center of her forehead.

Mitsumi glared at him and rubbed her forehead. "Ow!!! What was that for?"

"To stop overthinking. Now come on, don't you dare think about blowing your knee out, Guard Dog." Kuroo had a Cheshire cat smirk spread across his face.

...

A young boy opened the door to where Suga was staying. He blinked seeing Mitsumi standing there as if he was confused. "Koushi!!! I think this is your girlfriend!" He said shouting behind him.

Suga came to the door with an embarrassed flush. "Ryu, how many times have I told you not to yell inside?" He scolded his cousin with a menacing glare. "Sorry about him. Come on in, Chie." He welcomed her in with a smile.

"Thanks for inviting me over again." Mitsumi smiled gently and exchanged her ballet flats for house slippers. "You have a nice place." She was surprised by how western the house was styled.

He chuckled at her statement. "My aunt is an interior designer." Suga took her to the living room and sat with her on the plush couch. "Dinner should be done soon."

Ryu looked up from the game he was playing. "Koushi! I thought your girlfriend played volleyball."

"Just because I'm short-" Mitsumi gritted her teeth. She hated it when people judged her like that.

"She is the libero, Ryu." The boy's mother walked into the room hearing the commotion. "It's so good to have you over. I'm Koushi's aunt, Rinto Nami."

Mitsumi stood up and bowed, "It's a pleasure to be here. I'm Mitsumi Chie." She played with her fingers behind her back. "I was just telling Koushi that you have a beautiful home."

"Ah, well thank you! I'm actually in the process of decorating right now." The woman looked around the room. "Dinner is done, by the way." Nami stopped her son before he could sprint into the dining room. "Ryu, guests first. Go get your sister."

Everyone made their way into the dining room and took a seat at the table while Ryu got his older sister from her room. Mitsumi missed having meals with her family. She felt very much at home once she saw the food on the table. Suga placed his hand on top of her's underneath the table. He had noticed her fidgeting since she had arrived.

"Kaori, why don't you introduce yourself?" Nami passed the plates and chopsticks around the table.

The girl was about Suga's height and had her mother's bright blonde hair and hazel eyes. "Oh hey, I'm Kaori. The oldest." She waved a little bit, "I'm a second year at Tokyo Prep." She joined everyone at the table with what seemed like a judgemental stare. "Wait, you're that libero from the women's team that's all over the news again! Koushi! How did you not tell us that your girlfriend is a total baddie?!"

"Because it's more fun to have an element of surprise." Suga munched on some vegetables to hide the blatant lie. He just didn't think to bring her up so soon to his younger cousin.

Mitsumi picked up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks. "Mhmm. I'm nothing special." She said in a humble tone. "I swear I am a normal human being."

The comment made Nami and Suga chuckle. "So, how did you guys meet? Was it volleyball?" The aunt jumped right into the personal questions. She really had no shame.

The couple both turned bright red and rubbed their necks. "Y-yeah. Kind of." They stammered at the same time.

"Our high schools had frequent training camps together. And we stayed in contact." Mitsumi felt her cheeks burning and sipped on some water. She kept the details to a minimum. Their origin story was far more complicated than they wanted to explain. 

Suga agreed with the story. "We were scouted by the university by chance. And so... Here we are!"

"Well, she has my approval." Nami chugged her drink.

The meal was surprisingly enjoyable. Mitsumi found herself cracking jokes and laughing alongside everyone. It had been a long time since she had felt so relaxed around anyone. She watched her boyfriend play with Ryu in the living room as she sat with Kaori and talked volleyball.

"Yeah, I'm a middle blocker." Kaori scrolled through her phone and showed Mitsumi some pictures of her high school team. "We are headed to your training camp during Golden Week. We just got the announcement."

Mitsumi looked at the pictures closely. "Wait! I think I played you guys in the semifinals." She recognized the grey uniforms. "You actually almost got us in the third set if I remember correctly."

"Dang, you have a good memory." Kaori scratched her neck, "But yeah, it's weird to think that the best libero in the nation is dating my cousin."

"I told you I'm perfectly human." Mitsumi hated it when people put her on some sort of pedestal. "Sports is just kind of my side thing. After college, I'm hoping to be a music teacher... Maybe. I'm not entirely sure."

The comment got the silver-haired boy's attention. "Chie, there's a piano in the front room if you want to play something." Suga had never heard her practice her beloved instrument. All he ever heard were the endless complaints she had about her practice sessions. Although he doubted any of them were as horrible as she depicted them to be. 

Mitsumi looked at the time. There was time for one piece. And she felt awkward saying no. "I can play one piece for now. But I can't guarantee that it'll sound good or that I will remember it all." She followed Koushi to the front of the house and took a seat on the bench. She adjusted the piano bench a bit. "This is a piece I am working on for my end of semester recital by a French composer named Maurice Ravel. It's titled Sonatine and um... I'll just play the third movement."

Everyone gathered around to listen. The whimsical notes filled the house and transported everyone to a new world. They all knew she was good, but not that good. Their minds were getting completely lost in the melody and flurries of notes.

Ryu stood in awe of his new friend. "Woah!" He exclaimed at the end as everyone clapped. "Can you teach me how to play that? I can only play the boring stuff." He had a little pout on his face.

Mitsumi bowed and looked down at the elementary school student. "Practice really hard and then I will. How about that?" She checked the time.

"I am going to walk Mitsumi home. You kids should make life easy for your mother and go to bed." Koushi stated with a smile. "I'll be back, Aunt Nami."

"Be safe kiddos." Nami winked, "And don't do anything stupid out there." That wink must run in the family. Because Mitsumi swore she had seen it on Suga's face before.

The setter had a smile on his face as their arms linked together. The humid summer night slammed against them as they walked down the sidewalk. "Your aunt and cousins are so sweet." Mitsumi looked up at Suga, "I'm a bit jealous."

"Haha." A small chuckle escaped his lips, "They can be a handful."

"So, how was Osaka?" Mitsumi tightened her grip around his arm. "It was a tight match."

Suga looked down at his girlfriend and ruffled her hair. "It was stressful, but we won!" He stopped walking and faced her. His hand never left the top of her head and his other hand slid down to meet hers. "You have to take chances and enjoy the ride."

"You have a point." Mitsumi looked up at him intently. The way he was gently touching her made her heart flutter in a good way. "You were pulling some bold moves. I can't wait to see Kageyama quake in his shoes at the training camp if you pull those on him." 

They both laughed as they stood under the lamp post. He wrapped his arms around her in a secure hug. His lips stopped right by her ear as he buried his face in her neck. "I enjoy hearing you laugh and seeing you smile. It keeps me going. So, not having you around in Osaka was hard. "

Mitsumi turned into a tomato again. She had never received that compliment before. "T-thanks?" She hugged him back not knowing what to say. In all honesty, this was her first official relationship. And she said "official" because Kuroo and Kenma didn't count at all.

Neither of them wanted the hug to end. But, they pulled back to look each other in the eyes for a moment. Koushi could see the swirl of doubt and confusion in her grey eyes. This was the first time that he could really study her eyes. And so he took his sweet time putting a hand on her cheek and stroking it softly.

"I really mean it. You should smile more often." He pressed a soft kiss on her lips before clearing his throat and letting go of her. "A-Anyways, let's get you home."

Mitsumi's face burned bright red again. Did he just kiss me again?

...

Coach Yamata had read Mitsumi's email about her situation and sent her the paperwork. He watched his team warm up in the gym from his second-level office with a sigh. At least he wasn't losing his libero. But, until she was in better form, he needed to figure out what to do to prevent her from injuring herself more.

He walked down the stairs and blew his whistle to wrap up the warm-up. "Today, we are working on defense drills." The coach clapped his hands together. "We need to take a load off of Mitsumi and tighten up before the preliminaries. Let's get some receives going."

"Hai!" The team responded as they lined up. Riza, Wantanabe, and Coach Yamata were standing on tall platforms on the other side of the net. Each team member took turns receiving their serves and running to the back of the line.

Mitsumi was focused throughout the drill. These were a piece of cake for her. At least, they usually were. She realized that Riza had tossed the ball way too high. So, she set the ball instead of bumping it. And to her surprise, it was a solid set. Coach Yamata took a mental note of that move. "Mitsumi, I have an idea for later."

...

"You want me to set the ball all the way to Shimura and Makoto from here?" Mitsumi was standing at the back of the court shocked. The spikers were closer to the net. She had no setting skills whatsoever.

The Coach pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, this will minimize the impact on your knee and give us more attack power if you can pull this off." He grabbed a ball from the basket. "And we aren't stopping until they both get a passable spike."

Mitsumi nodded, "Right." She acknowledged the instructions and got ready.

The Coach started tossing balls up into the air. Nomiya was drinking some water on the sidelines as she watched what was going on. Yuki, Uehara, and Minami were on the other side of the net ready to receive whatever spikes were being dished out. She whistled as she watched them work on the new attack.

"Dang... he's expecting us to get their hits?" She was always worried that one of her arms would snap if she received one of Shimura or Makoto's spikes.

Uehara laughed, "That's if Mitsumi can actually get the ball over far enough."

Mitsumi was seriously struggling to set the ball from the back row. And nobody could really blame her. It was a tough move. She managed to finally get one set over to Makoto and jumped up in the air. "Finally!"

"Keep at it, Mitsumi." Yamata watched the ball slam into Uehara's arms. "Uehara, nice receive!"

...

Mitsumi realized that she had been doing the drill for much longer than she thought. Her knee wasn't hurting as much as it usually did after practice.

"Mitsumi, let's have a chat." The coach pulled the libero aside before she could leave. "I saw your email this morning." He said as they reached his office.

"Oh, yes. Um, thanks for the paperwork. I'll get it to you tomorrow." Mitsumi thanked her mentor.

Coach Yamata stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Dr. Watari wanted me to give you these instructions before you see him." He handed her a folder and sighed. "I'm shocked you haven't been seeing him. But then again, you probably didn't know. I expect you to be in our starting lineup for the tournament. So, I've revised your conditioning schedule."

Mitsumi thumbed through the papers in the folder and bowed. "Thank you, Coach. I'll work hard."

She hurried out of the gym and hurried towards the music building. She needed to grab her piano music before her piano lesson. She jogged to the faculty offices and swung the door open. Nobody was inside, which was a bit strange. It was 4:30 pm. All the ensembles were done rehearsing at 4:00. Mitsumi collapsed onto the bench and took the extra time to warm up and organize her music books.

Dr. Tanaguchi could be heard laughing, "Don't worry, Ito! Geez, it's not like her and Mei are going to wreck their arms playing volleyball. And if they do, they are my students. So I'll deal with it." She opened the door to her office to see her student sitting there. "You look like you sprinted here from the gym."

"I jogged. And you're the late one today." Mitsumi sipped on some water and sighed. She set her water bottle on the floor and cracked her knuckles. She realized that her teacher was giving her that questioning look and scratched her head. "Coach Yamata held me back for a quick chat after practice. So, I didn't have much time to make it to my locker and then here."

Tanaguchi nodded in understanding. "Well, I hope you didn't get in trouble." She pulled a binder off the bookshelf and opened it to the piece they would be working on. "Chopin today, correct?"

Mitsumi not only got a total workout during volleyball, she was getting a total mental workout from Tanaguchi. She hadn't practiced that much over the weekend because of everything that had happened. And it was showing.

"Not a lot of improvement on this one. I know." Mitsumi sighed heavily in disappointment as she released the final note of the etude. "I promise it will be better next week."

"I know you had a game this weekend. But, did you practice at all? We can't have your playing slip." The professor could tell that something was up. She grabbed a purple pen from her pencil box and scribbled a few more notes down on the music. "You have talent in two very demanding realms and you need to balance both of them."

The student nodded, "I did practice for my full hours on Friday. And then I got a couple hours in on the weekend. I'm just really tired." Mitsumi admitted that her energy was drained. And she just wanted to not have anything to do.

"Well, I know you are working hard. I'll see you at the Masterclasses tonight then."

...

Suga had joined Mitsumi for dinner at her place. They were sprawled out across the couch like the normally were for their study dates. His Introduction to Education class was proving to be a pain. Mitsumi was resting her head on his lap as she read through her piano literature book.

He set his own book down and sighed. "I heard from the managers that you got pulled aside today." Koushi watched the girl sit up and toss her book on the coffee table. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just got some paperwork so I can see Dr. Watari." Mitsumi yawned and wrapped herself up in her blanket. "Do you think you could teach me how to have killer sets?" She felt his arms around her and smiled gently as he let her rest against him.

"It's about time you got in contact with him." He flicked her forehead, "And yes, I can. But, are you switching positions?"

Mitsumi winced, "You've been hanging out with Kuroo too much. And no, I'm working on a libero set attack." She rubbed her forehead until the sting disappeared. "Coach said it'll be less strenuous on my knee."

Suga kissed her forehead where he had flicked her. "Dang, he really is crazy." He held her tight to him and rubbed her back. "A set from the back of the court is no joke. Noya struggled trying to pull that off."

"Yu? Really? Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Mitsumi melted at his touch and snuggled into his chest. "That kid is always pulling off crazy moves." She heard her boyfriend chuckle and looked up at him. "Don't tell me I'm wrong."

"Not at all, my beautiful blanket burrito." Koushi laughed and squeezed her a bit tighter. "Next week's training camp bonanza is going to be quite the reunion. I can feel it."