A new semester brought new beginnings. Mitsumi returned home from morning conditioning and realized she had time to take care of herself since she wasn't sprinting to work. She showered and took her time getting ready. Her hair was braided in two, although she would later admit that her boyfriend did a way better job. She wore an olive green, long-legged, romper with a white and black striped shirt underneath. Her favorite part about the outfit was the deep pockets she could shove her phone and other knick-knacks in. It had been a while since she had taken the time to take it easy.

Her first class wasn't for a couple of hours, so she took the time to cook a proper breakfast and prepare a healthy lunch. She decided to send Suga a text with a giddy smile. This was the first time she had the time to cook a full meal of rice, cheesy scrambled eggs, and some sausages. She then packed the leftover rice into bento boxes with the leftover chicken and veggie stirfry she made the night before for lunch. 

Mitsumi Chie: I'll meet you at the auditorium courtyard! I have a little something for you. <3

Sugawara Koushi: Give me a second to dry my hair. I'll be on my way in five. :)

The two of them had grown into the habit of using little emojis at the end of every text. Mitsumi wrapped one bento in a cloth-covered in tiny birds and the other in a polka dot cloth. She slipped them into her canvas bag with her books before heading out the door.

Spring was her favorite season for many reasons. Flowers being one of them. The campus was covered in vibrant Sakura trees. The pink blossoms had exploded overnight. She picked a spot at a table under one of the large Sakura trees and read her piano literature book while she waited.

"Are you giving me your piano literature book?" Suga came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist in a back hug. His lips were next to her ear. "You look refreshed."

Mitsumi blushed a bright pink. Although she couldn't understand why she had such a reaction. "Morning Koushi." She could finally give him a proper morning greeting. "How has your morning been?"

"It's been good. Coach Ueno introduced us to the new physical trainer today. He's pretty cool." He let go of her and took a seat across the table.

She smiled gently and pulled the two bentos out of her bag. "Same with us, she's pretty neat. Maeda is pretty hardcore though. I'll be sore tomorrow for sure." Mitsumi chuckled a bit and handed him the bento covered in the bird cloth. "I have time to cook finally. So, I thought I would make you some lunch."

He grinned at the sight of the delicately wrapped bento. "Is it poisoned?" Suga accepted it and slid it into his backpack. Her disappointed look made it hard not to snicker. "I'm teasing. When do you have class?"

"Not for another two hours. How about you?" Mitsumi put a bookmark in her textbook and set it aside.

"Mm, my morning class got canceled already. Our professor is sick, on the first day too." Suga rested his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his open palm. "How is this new schedule feeling for you?"

The girl laughed. She really didn't know since it was the first day. "Well, so far it's weird. I go to work a couple of days a week. And I suddenly have time to take it easy." Mitsumi glanced down at her watch. "I was going to practice piano. Everyone is in their piano pedagogy class. So, I can sneak you upstairs and you can listen." She hadn't finished the prerequisites for the class yet, so she was the only one not in it.

Suga pursed his lips. He knew she wasn't allowed to let anyone up there. However, he was tempted to listen to her tickle the ivories. "Sure. We have time. Why not?" He stood up and swing his backpack over his shoulder.

Mitsumi beamed and stood up as well. She grabbed a lanyard with a stack of access cards and other cards hanging in a giant stack, held together by an elastic band. "Sweet! It's just around the corner."

Sneaking someone in wasn't hard. You just had to be smart about it. Only the piano majors and stagehands knew about the existence of the room. Mitsumi pulled out a white key card and swiped it in the door lock. The light illuminated green and the door unlocked. Everyone normally practiced in the music building, but only the piano majors had access to the upstairs rehearsal halls. They were normally used when their classmates were using the other rooms or the other music majors booked those rooms out. 

She put a finger over her lips telling him to stay quiet. The staircase to go upstairs echoed a lot. And with class going on in Dr. Ito's office right next door, she wasn't going to risk having her access suspended for the semester. There was another door at the top of the stairs that she pulled open and poked her head in. Nobody was in there. So, she smiled and swung the door open more.

"Okay! We are good! Welcome to the Piano Majors' Lair!" Mitsumi welcomed her guest with a smile. "This is where we hide out until the recital." She casually joked about the matter. The jazz professor had made a comment in the school newspaper about how the pianists were totally undercover until they "emerged from their hiding places and dark caverns of practice."

Suga set his backpack down at a table and took a look around. It was an average rehearsal space with wooden floors. There was an upright piano on one wall, A conductor's podium and music stand in the center of the room, and lockers in the back of the room. There were also a couple of carts of music stands and chairs that the stagehands would bring down for performances. Off to the side were three practice booths with grand pianos inside. They had a narrow window on the right side that looked in. Various papers were taped to the door. One was a reminder that there was no food or drink allowed. Another one had a shortlist of names of those who were authorized to use the booths. And there was a color-coded schedule of who was using the booth at what time. It was a serious system.

"This is quite the setup!" He said genuinely surprised at the hidden room. "And this is above the stage?"

Mitsumi grabbed a stack of books out of her locker. "Yup!" She closed her locker without locking it. "You can actually hear all the performances from up here. It's pretty cool." She waved him over as she pulled the door to Booth B open. There was a chair tucked on the opposite side of the window. "Don't worry, I'm booked for this hour. Nobody should be coming up here, but if they do they won't be able to see you if you sit here."

He felt totally illegal doing this. Sugawara Koushi was the last person on earth to bend rules. It wasn't in his nature. He sat down on the chair as Mitsumi stepped in and closed the door tight. She seemed to have a checklist she went through. "I thought you had a locker in the music building." He commented as he tried to count the number of books in her arms.

"Yeah, I have two. I keep my personal repertoire up here and all of my accompanying things there." Mitsumi clarified as she got ready to practice. 

She checked the dehumidifier levels, opened the piano lid, and then took a seat on the bench. Suga watched her silently as she fiddled with the bench height. He remembered her struggling with it at the piano recital and chuckled. "Is it really that hard to adjust the bench?"

"When you are as short as I am, yes." Mitsumi sighed and cracked her knuckles. She lifted the key lid and exposed the ivory keys. "Just a friendly reminder that practice is never meant to be pretty." She smiled at him and finally got to work.

The pianist was insanely meticulous about how she managed her time. She spent ten minutes doing her technical warm-ups. A timer reminded her that those minutes were up. She then moved on to the piece she would work on for the remainder of the time. This semester, she was working on Beethoven's Appassionata for the recital.

Suga watched and listened to her closely. Every time he felt like he was getting into the piece, she would stop and scribble something down onto her music. It was a meticulous process of selecting what sounded best or what worked the best for her small hands. He guessed that he wouldn't be hearing the full piece today. He had never seen someone in the rehearsal stages before. It was a no-brainer that this was the reason why she didn't have a ton of traditional homework. This was her homework. It was a never-ending project.

A timer signaled the end of practice. She was quick to clean up and get everything back into order. "Ugh, that was rough today. I'm not used to having people listen to my practice sessions anymore." She stretched after putting her books in her locker and locking it. "Welcome to what my day is mostly made of."

Suga smiled and checked the schedule on the booth door. "So, you do three one-hour sessions every day? How did you do that with a job?"

"It was the music office. Dr. Tanaguchi let me use her piano when work was slow. Which was like... every day. Now I practice whenever I have free time." Mitsumi walked over to him and gave him a hug. "I'll walk you to class."

He kissed her head, "Mm, sounds good to me."

...

The day was crawling on painfully. Mitsumi finished all of her reading and homework by the time her afternoon classes rolled around. She decided that she would crash the music office to take care of some printing. The one time she went to the library, the smell of books and academics caused too many flashbacks to her study sessions in high school. So, she avoided that place at all costs. Plus the music office had free printing.

"So, you don't even work here anymore and have some free time, yet you end up here." Dr. Tanaguchi caught her giving a thumb drive to the new student secretary to print. Mei had taken her job so she could get out of working at the cafeteria.

Mitsumi jumped in her spot. "Yes? I just needed to print something before going to practice again." She was really hoping this wouldn't turn into a scolding.

The professor waved her hand. "You're good. I'm glad you are catching a break, kid. Just check your email when you get the chance."

"Oh yeah, I have this for you." Mitsumi pulled out the application for the competition. "I got the forms filled out. You just need to sign it."

Mei pulled the music printing job off of the printer. "So, you're entering too? Dang, competition is tight this year."

"I don't know. You guys are going to floor it. So..." Mitsumi shrugged her shoulders. She took the papers and shoved them into her class binder.

Professor Tanaguchi signed the application and clicked her pen shut. "Well, this looks like an ambitious plan. But, we will discuss that during our lesson tomorrow. Mei, that stack is for Dr. Ito. Can you take it to him?" She dropped the paper into the pile for Dr. Ito. The woman paused for a second. "That's so weird to say."

"I'll walk with you!" Mei grinned and grabbed the stack. She hadn't really done anything. Which was a relief from her old job in the cafeteria kitchens. "I'll be back!"

Mitsumi held the door open for Mei as they stepped outside. "So, how was the intramural team?" She asked curiously.

"Do you want the honest answer or the fluff answer?" Mei's posture slumped over. The two were officially best friends who trusted each other's opinions. It wasn't that she hated the intramural volleyball group, it just wasn't the same.

Mitsumi glanced over, "Huh, is it really that bad?"

Mei nodded, "Yeah, it's nothing like playing with you guys. I guess it's a non-competitive team, so it would be a bit rough around the edges. But honestly, it's kinda boring when people can't even receive properly and the ball doesn't stay up." She was honestly considering trying out for her best friend's team. Even if she wasn't a starter, she knew she would still have fun.

Mitsumi grimaced a bit. She knew how that felt. "Yikes. I'm sorry it's no fun." She fell into deep thought. "Honestly, I would encourage you to give open tryouts a shot. But I don't know what Dr. Ito will have to say if you make the team. How are your classes looking?" She personally saw a lot of potential in Mei. She was incredibly well-rounded.

Mei clutched the folder of papers in her arms. "I honestly don't think I could keep up with the schedule as you can." She was one who melted under stress very easily. "Are you guys going to meet up on Thursday nights again this semester?"

"Eh, good question. I'll be at Ajinomoto until the evening." Mitsumi rubbed her neck. "I'll totally go if you guys are all going to meet." She still had to put in some personal practice time with the others.

Watari Mei: Hey guys! Are we still meeting up at the gym?

Mei was quick to drop a text. An answer almost immediately popped up.

Shimura Akihara: I'm still down.

Kanagawa Takuma: Same!

Akaashi Keiji: I'll be there.

Kaori: Yep!

Kanagawa Yuki: I'd rather die than miss some good fun!

Mitsumi Chie: I'll only be there if Coach Fujito doesn't kill me. :')

Kaori: Should we move it to Sunday?

Bokuto Kotarou: I'm good with anything.

Mitsumi Chie: Sure! My Sundays are open.

Sugawara Koushi: I honestly don't know why we didn't think of this in the beginning.

Kuroo Tetsuro: We all have empty skulls.

Mitsumi shoved her phone into her bag. "Numb skulls." She muttered under her breath. "Well, I guess my concern was resolved."

"Two teams to keep track of. That sounds like an adventure. Do your games overlap?" Mei dropped the papers off in a bin outside of Dr. Ito's door. By the faint sound of the piano through the door, he was in a private lesson.

Mitsumi shook her head. "Nope. We travel around for the games during the summer. The rest of the season is in country matches and training." She was relieved by that. If she had game conflicts, it would be an utter disaster. She reached for her key card again and sighed. "I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, have fun!" Mei waved and started to walk back to the office. She considered herself lucky to land such a golden friend.