After the large celebration on campus upon the team's arrival, Mitsumi settled for a small home-cooked dinner with her family and Suga in her apartment. Kuroo, Bokuto, and Kaori were invited over as well. There was plenty to celebrate: bringing home the gold, placing in the top four, and Kaori taking home the bronze.

"Your girls won the gold again." Kuroo casually stated as he grabbed another piece of meat off of the serving plate.

By her girls, Kuroo meant the Nekoma girls. Mitsumi grinned, "Yeah, we got a photo all together." She covered her mouth as a small belch escaped her system.

Suga raised an eyebrow at the girl from across the table at the sound.

"Excuse me." Mitsumi stuck her tongue out really quick. He was there to keep her in line.

Her father chuckled, "Whoever thought I'd be sitting at a dinner table with some of the greatest volleyball players in the Nation?" He set his chopsticks down on the table "What are you guys feeling?" 

"Dad, you are literally surrounded by top players at work all the time." Megumi rolled her eyes at her father's statement. 

Bokuto grinned, "On top of the world! Yeah, we placed 4th, but getting that far was epic!" He was excited to tell the kids at the sports center about the week.

"Relieved it's over." Kuroo was ready to get some rest.

"Honored to be a part of something big." Suga tagged on.

Kaori nodded in agreement. "Nationals were so cool! I want to do it again!"

Mitsumi turned her phone back on. She had to turn it off so she could eat without the constant buzz of notifications. "I feel lucky." She smiled gently. "Today's win was out of complete luck. They should have gotten the point."

Noriko gave her daughter a quick side hug. "That means it was meant to happen."

"Hey sis, you should check your IG page!" Megumi was looking through her sister's page.

Mitsumi opened the app to see a trillion notifications. She took a look at her most recent post. She had posted a picture of her and her team holding the trophy and a photo of her, Saki, and Akari posing together with the new National team.

"You have more followers than me now!" Bokuto checked his social media. "Not fair!"

"2.2 thousand likes on this post alone. 4.1 thousand followers." Mitsumi's brain was melting at the high numbers. She didn't think she would explode in popularity. So much for living a normal life.

Suga looked like he was going to pass out. Popularity came with its own set of issues. And whatever this newfound popularity meant for his girlfriend was already wracking his mind. "Chie, I'll crush anyone that bothers you." His expression darkened as he pounded his fist into his open palm.

"You really think you can fight a crowd by yourself, Suga?" Kuroo cackled at the comment.

Kaori punched her cousin in the arm. "There are bigger things to worry about than some fan group." She reassured the silver-haired boy.

"Kaori-chan has a point." Noriko smiled and picked up everyone's plates.

"Don't you dare do the dishes in my house!" Mitsumi scrambled to beat her mom to the kitchen sink. "I will take care of all of this!"

...

Mitsumi was back in student mode after a weekend of celebrations. It was the first day of lectures, and thankfully Mei was kind enough to gather all of her syllabi. The two of them had a majority of their classes together this semester.

The two girls were chatting as they walked into the band room for their second semester of piano literature. Dr. Ito had sent an email saying that the class was moved because of the piano tuner working on the piano in his office. Things had been taking longer than he had anticipated.

"Congratulations Mitsumi!" Oyami was handling one of the steel pan cases. He was struggling to put the case on the shelf by himself. "Welcome back!"

Mitsumi helped the scrawny pianist with a smile. "Thanks, Oyami. I thought you finished piano literature." She stared at the massive case that was now in the locker and shook her head. It was way heavier than she thought it would be.

"I did. I think it's just you two this semester." Oyami locked the locker and straightened himself out. "I was just putting my drum away. I'll see you guys later!" He waved and walked out of the band room.

The girls sighed heavily. Oyami really was something else sometimes. They took a seat in the front of the room next to each other. Mei pulled the movable desk down in front of her. "I was thinking about trying out for the intramural team." She had a cheery smile on her face.

"Really?! That's awesome! You should totally do it!" Mitsumi smiled brightly. "The best part of intramurals is that you don't have to worry about a crazy schedule." She pulled her notebook and textbook out.

"Yeah, I don't think I could handle a professional schedule." Mei twirled her pen between her fingers. "If I was, I would probably be trying out for your team."

Their professor walked in right on the top of the hour. Dr. Ito looked at his role and then looked at all the empty seats. "So it really is just you two stuck with me this semester." He set his materials down on a large conductor's music stand. "You've been the talk of the town, Mitsumi. Congratulations to you and your team." He pulled a lined whiteboard over.

"Thank you, Dr. Ito." Mitsumi tugged on the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "I will be sure to relay the message."

"I do need to speak with you. So, if you could hang tight after class." He pushed his glasses up. "Mei, you gave her the syllabus, correct?"

The other female nodded, "Of course!"

...

Mitsumi couldn't escape from the grasp of Dr. Ito. Despite receiving his congratulations, she was terrified of what he needed to speak to her about. Hopefully, it wasn't anything serious.

The professor sat down on the stool and rested his books on his knee. "So, there is a piano competition this semester. And based on your performance score last semester, you qualified." He rummaged through his folder for a packet. "You are not required to enter, but it is highly recommended. If you do, you will be excused from juries this semester."

Mitsumi took the application with a mental sigh. At the end of the day, she was just a student trying to survive school. "I will be sure to enter then." She gave a curt nod.

"I really hope your new job doesn't interfere with your education." The professor was referencing her new position on the Nationals team. The beauty of it all was that Mitsumi was officially a contracted professional. She was making money off of her sport.

"I doubt it will. My contract states that practices are in the evening on Sundays, and during the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Games are typically on Saturdays. But, all of our international games are in the summertime when there are no classes. Our conditioning season is in the late winter and spring." Mitsumi heard a sigh of relief. Mr. Romero was committed to the players finishing their education. So, on top of the scholarship from the University, the rest of her educational expenses were covered by the V. League.

Dr. Ito couldn't believe that he would be saying this. "You still have time to practice, correct?"

"Of course."

"I want you to submit a schedule to me of how this is going to work." The head professor was worried that one of his promising students would falter away. "It will help me to make sure all of your academic duties can be met."

Mitsumi bowed, "Of course. I will send you an email before the end of the day." She felt the muscles in her shoulders and neck tighten up. Thankfully, she only had one more class before having to go to work and practice for the day.

It's for your wellbeing. He wants you to succeed. Mitsumi picked up the pace. Her next class was piano technique with Dr. Ito's wife. She was the complete opposite of her husband. Which was a breath of fresh air, given the piano majors spent so much time with him.

Dr. Tanaguchi was in her office sitting at her computer for once. It looked like she was taking her lunch break. Chie set her backpack down underneath her office desk and clocked in. The music office was eerily quiet. "I'm here!" She said poking her head into her professor's studio.

"Oh, my freaking goodness!" The woman launched herself at her student. "You guys were monsters out there! How are you feeling? Have you been resting?" Dr. Tanaguchi was far worse than her own mother at times. Thankfully, nobody was around to poke fun at them.

Mitsumi squeezed her second mother tightly. It was unreal to her still. "I'm doing great, Dr. Tanaguchi." The longer their hug lasted, the more her eyes watered. "Thank you for believing in me this season."

"Oh shucks, hun." Dr. Tanaguchi pinched the girl's cheek. "There's more ahead of you. I'll accept your gratitude when I finally see a ring on that finger of yours." She winked and took a step back from Mitsumi.

Her face was burning bright red. "P-Please don't say that." Mitsumi was about to burst. "I'll be at my desk if you need me. I have an email to send."

Tanaguchi grabbed a binder off the shelf. "While you're at it. Make sure I printed the right pieces for this semester."

...

Mitsumi hadn't formulated a schedule yet. She had become preoccupied with the return of the other music professors. One of them asked her to take care of some more trivial matters. Which still took time. Tanaguchi mandated that she hear the progress of one of the pieces her student was working on. And then after an hour's worth of phone calls with local repair shops passed, she finally was free to get back to her original task.

She sighed and clicked through her calendar. Tokyo University held practices every day, twice a day. Conditioning was in the early morning, and team practice was in the evening. According to the paperwork she received, Mitsumi was cleared to do conditioning with the TokyoU team. The National Team practiced three times a week on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and Saturday mornings if there wasn't a game. Right now, there weren't any scheduled.

None of Mitsumi's classes overlapped with travel time or practices. Be it piano or volleyball. She had a proper lunch and dinner hour scheduled as well as her mental health breaks. Which has become increasingly more important. Mitsumi knew she would be quitting her office job. There was no way she could keep it with her new lifestyle. Her practices didn't start for another week. And there wasn't much of a need to keep the part-time job when the National Team would be paying her a pretty penny.

Suga walked into the office and leaned on the tall counter attached to the front desk. He spent a couple of minutes watching Mitsumi type away on her computer. She wasn't aware of his presence at all. He cleared his throat, which made her glance up from what she was typing.

"Ready for a midday break?" He watched the secretary carefully with a soft smile.

Mitsumi nodded and pulled a paper off the printer. "Yeah, give me one second. It's been a busy day." She scribbled down a message on a sticky note and stuck the neon pink paper to the freshly printed document.

Dr. Tanaguchi, this is my schedule from here on out. Please let me know what time would work for a private lesson.

~ Mitsumi Chie

She drew a smiley face at the end of the note, clocked out, and put the paper where Dr. Tanaguchi would see it in her office. The new schedule had been emailed off to Dr. Ito. Now, it was time to relax. Both teams had half the week off from heavy practice to rest and regroup after the long week. So, Mitsumi and Suga were using this time to get together.

They walked out of the office hand in hand. Classes were being dismissed, so plenty of people were pouring into the open-air hallways. Suga waved to some of his classmates as they walked by. Mitsumi was so busy so often that she was glad to see he had a good reputation with his peers.

"Sugawara! Good seeing you out and about." Someone caught the attention of the setter.

Suga stopped walking and smiled gently. "Akechi, it's good to see you! Did you just get out of class?"

"I did. I'm finally done for the day." Akechi rubbed his head. "Oh, I'll get those syllabi emailed to you as soon as I get home. I got called into work."

Mitsumi squeezed his hand. It wasn't that his friend was making her uncomfortable, she was just starting to feel the stares from passersby. She moved in closer to his side as he talked.

"Oh, Akechi. This is my girlfriend, Mitsumi Chie. She and Takuma made the National teams this year." Koushi often spoke to Akechi about his sports life. Mostly because Akechi was fascinated by everything sports.

Mitsumi let go of his arm to bow really quick. "Nice to meet you." She gave a polite smile.

"So you're the Guard Dog everyone talks about? It's a pleasure to meet you, finally." Akechi worked for the University's Print Services as a banner technician. "I printed all the volleyball banners a few weeks ago."

Suga was quick to move his arm around Mitsumi's waist again. "We have classes together." He explained how he met his friend. Sensing the girl's tension, he flashed a warm smile. "I'll see you in class tomorrow. We are headed off-campus."

...

Bokuto was at work doing his thing with the kids. He helped oversee a children's volleyball camp at the local athletic center. He loved his job, and it managed to wear him down so he could focus on his homework at night.

"Bokuto-san! You looked so cool!" One of the kids had picked up a volleyball off the gym floor with a smile.

"If you're on tv, that means you're famous, right?" Another kid tilted their head to the side.

The spiker puffed his chest out and put his hands on his hips. "Nationals was pretty cool."

One of his co-workers poked her head into the gym. "Bokuto, there's someone looking for you." She noticed that the kids had fueled his ego and sighed.

Kuroo and Takuma had gotten to the place early. They were having a bro bonding day since they had the time. None of them had decided what they were going to do besides find somewhere to eat.

"Oya? Quite the class you've got going on here." Kuroo caught sight of his frosted-tipped friend playing with some kids.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Kuroo and Takuma! Come on in!" Bokuto checked his watch. There were about five minutes until the class was over. He got the kids to start cleaning up and walked over to his friends.

Takuma found children to be draining. He did not have the energy to deal with kids whatsoever. Seeing Bokuto practically bouncing off the walls still was mind-boggling. "Good to see you're full of energy."

"What does Mitsumi call me again?" Bokuto searched his brain for an answer. "An Energizer Bunny?"

"A two-year-old on drugs." Kuroo corrected.

Their captain stifled back some laughter. Mitsumi has quite the vocabulary when she chooses to use it. Takuma shook his head and sighed. "Oof. Savage."

"Anyways! I'm going to clock out!" Bokuto nodded. "Be good for Yuka-san!" He called out to the kids before walking to the office.

The trio took to the streets hungrier than ever. They weaved through the streets, buying whatever food they could afford from street vendors. Yakiniku, Dango, yakisoba buns, pancakes, you name it. Bokuto and Takuma were arguing over something trivial.

"Oya? Is that who I think it is?" Kuroo caught sight of some familiar silver hair in the streets. The setter had his girlfriend in tow, their hands locked together as they went through the bustling street. He pulled the other two aside. "Oi, you idiots, look over at 2 o'clock."

"Bold of you to call me an idiot." Takuma turned his head in said direction. He wiggled his eyebrows. "Looks like the power couple is out on a date. What do you think they are up to on this magnificent day off?"

Bokuto's eyes gleamed with mischief. "I have an idea..."

...

Suga and Mitsumi had decided to go out for some Taiyaki fish on their way to the sporting goods store. He just needed more workout clothing. His current collection was worn out. Mitsumi had received a list from Mr. Romero of what equipment was being sponsored. And it was pretty much all the same things as what she had from her time on the youth team.

"I'm trying to decide if I should get a set of kneepads to use for game days only." Mitsumi chomped on her red bean-filled pancake. "Nationals really broke down the set I've been using."

"I see no harm in it. But, don't you get them for free since the team is sponsored?" Suga crumpled the paper the Taiyaki fish was wrapped in and placed it in his bag.

Mitsumi paused for a second in thought and looked at the email of items she'd received from the league. "When I was on the youth team, I had to buy my knee pads. Looks like that's still the case. It's probably because everyone has preferences." She was relieved that she didn't need to purchase everything all over again. "It looks like we mostly have equipment providers and some support from major companies." She tucked her phone away again and finished her snack.

Suga, coming from a relatively minor team in the middle of nowhere, knew very little about the inner workings of the professional league. He began walking down the road with her again as she informed him about how things worked. "So, when do your practices start?"

"Next week! Although, I have to go into the team offices to finish signing papers and such tomorrow." Mitsumi was honestly nervous about how all of this was going to work out. She was quite frustrated that she would be leaving the quaint office job that she had grown to love. Thankfully, she didn't live far from Ajinomoto National Training Center. It was only a train ride away. Unlike Akira and Saki. They would have to reconfigure their class schedules to fit work in. Thankfully, it would only be a few days a week. And the team paid for everyone's travel.

He laced their fingers together again. "I'm sure that's exciting." Suga couldn't help but worry for her wellbeing. He was going to be seeing her even less now. Was he excited? Yes, extremely. "You know Mitsumi, are we going to be able to see each other?" He didn't know that she was quitting the office job and that she had already detailed a strict schedule.

His worried thoughts were cut off by the purest giggle he had ever heard. Mitsumi stood on her toes and pecked a kiss on his cheek. "Of course! I won't be working every day. Plus, Dr. Ito forced me to submit a schedule to him to prove that I was still fulfilling academic requirements. And I am quitting the office. I actually have a bit more time than I used to." She was surprised by that fact. The best part about being a piano major was the flexibility she had to move things around. "I am only accompanying two people this semester. And, if it's okay with you, I was thinking I could use the piano at your place to practice. I don't have many lectures because it's spring."

He couldn't believe it. She was going to be freer! Suga looked up at the blue sky and laughed a bit. He had been worried for nothing. "I forgot you get paid to play. Gosh, I'm an idiot."

"Oh geez! Come on. Let's go shopping." Mitsumi laughed along as they entered the store they were looking for.

...

"Seriously? A sports store?" Takuma was a bit surprised at the couple's choice of a date. He was blending into the store crowd with Kuroo and Bokuto. They had been following Chie and Koushi around for the last hour. It had been surprisingly boring. Nothing had really happened as everyone had thought.

Kuroo was a bit relieved by that. He didn't need anyone doing any funny business with his "sister". Bokuto was already a bit enraged by it. He needed to get Chie back for all of the blackmail she had of him.

"Their relationship is so... Quiet." The moment Bokuto mumbled those words, he spotted Koushi in a neon yellow tracksuit Mitsumi had forced him to try on. The trio gagged at the awful sight.

Kuroo bit his tongue. If he laughed, it was game over. "I really hope he doesn't buy that."

"I'll kick him off the team for his bad fashion sense." Takuma was dead serious about it too. Thankfully, their setter seemed to have other outfits to show. "Gosh, that had me worried."

Bokuto started to think about some of the crazy outfits he had. "Mitsumi is the one with a twisted fashion sense. She bought me this really crazy-looking crawfish hat and a whole tourist outfit once as a Christmas gift when she came back from a tournament in Hawaii." He never understood the purpose of the gift. But he wore it anyway just because it was from Hawaii.

"It was a joke. But this idiot wore it for months." Kuroo watched his captain practically fall over into a rack of t-shirts. Which almost made him hurl out in laughter. He clutched his sides and tried to not let his hyena cackle let loose.

Mitsumi and Suga were walking in their direction. Takuma was stumbling to his feet as he tried to regain his balance. His hands were flailing as he tried to signal that the people they were spying on were coming in their direction.

"What are you doing?" Bokuto was totally oblivious to what was going on.

Mitsumi could have sworn she heard some voices that she recognized. She looked up from the rack of jackets she was going through. "Oh, hey guys!" She smiled gently, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Totally not spy-" Bokuto ended up getting a chop to his well-built abdomen by Kuroo.

"We were just shopping for new gear." Takuma smiled innocently.

Mitsumi raised an eyebrow in suspicion. The three men squirmed under the pressure of no response. She shoved one hand into her sweatshirt pocket and shrugged. "Have fun. Suga and I are running some errands together."

The setter found Mitsumi and was holding a plastic bag with their purchases. "You guys should never work for a spy agency." He had a dark aura around him which made his friends shiver. Nobody ever spoke about the lecture the three idiots had received afterward. And it was for the best.