The news of her engagement spread like a wildfire through the training center. Mitsumi couldn't catch a break with everyone's incessant questions.  It was entirely fair though. Everyone had been joining about it for years now. She finally caught a break during lunch, when she could finally relax and talk with Saki.

Saki had signed another contract with the JNT and also decided to play for the Red Rockets as well. It was more like her contract was also dependent on Mitsumi's. Their coach wanted both of them. And so, the era of them fighting against each other on the court was put on pause. During her off time, Saki put her degree in Physical Therapy to use. A local practice had hired her part-time so that she could begin her career. It wasn't anything super major. She simply went in a few days a week and assisted the head therapist.  

"I'm really grateful that we can just stay in this stadium now. There's no running around." Saki flopped onto the grass. They were enjoying the spring weather in the courtyard before they had to go back in for Red Rocket's conditioning.

Mitsumi sat down and chomped into her onigiri. "I know right. I'm so happy that the V. League relocated them here." The days of scrambling between locations were now over. "Did you ever figure out your housing situation?" They could camp out in a single location now. Thankfully, the JNT and V. League seasons had very little overlap. So, it wouldn't be long until they only had one practice a day.

"No." Saki bluntly stated. "All the places nearby here are either out of budget or filled." She had been apartment hunting for months and was having no luck.

"Well, Koushi is moving into a new apartment this way so we have a place to live after the wedding." Mitsumi reached into her bag for her water. "He moves in at the end of this week, so his room will be open if you want to stay with me. I told him your hotel stay ends this week, so you'll have to stay on the couch for a bit." She didn't want her best friend to be homeless. Housing in any form was a hot commodity in Tokyo. And it was insanely difficult to get.

"Really?!" Saki's eyes glittered, "You literally are a lifesaver!" She was okay with living on a couch. "I'll have Jiji to keep me company on the couch."

"Oh no, Jiji sleeps with me." Mitsumi shook her head. "He's my precious fur baby."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Saki sighed and finished off her light lunch. "But seriously, I'm perfectly fine having to sleep on the couch. It's not like I haven't done it before." She chuckled a bit.

The brunette hummed in agreement before suddenly snapping her fingers and cursing. "Shoot, I have to figure out music for the sponsor's banquet." Mitsumi had totally let that event slip through her mind. She had been asked to perform and provide entertainment for the semi-annual banquet. The league provided a generous paycheck for her services too. So, of course, she didn't say no.

"Dude. That's literally next week." Saki laid down in the grass with her hands behind her head. "You'll sound great playing anything though."

"I just have to decide what to play." Mitsumi pulled her phone out and sighed. "Alright, I have personal training in a few." She sighed heavily. "What are you doing?"

"Practice with Chihiro, Madoka, and Akira. And then I'm going to meet you over in Gym 2." Saki stood up and took their trash. "Don't die. I don't have personal training until after practice." She didn't really want to wait to die after already feeling dead. "I'll see you later though."

Mitsumi smiled brightly and flashed a peace sign. "Peace out!"

...

The Hikari Pharmaceutical Red Rockets, the number one women's V. League team in Japan. Mitsumi was glad to have a couple of familiar faces with her on the team this season. She had Matsuri and Saki at her side, so she was feeling pretty confident in her team already. According to Suga, he knew Kanako by association because of high school.

"That's my favorite libero!" Matsuri cheered as Mitsumi managed to make a save with her foot. They both were running through a few smaller things after their team practice had ended. Mitsumi was trying to decrease her reaction time. 

"Heck yeah! We're feeling good today!" The libero called out, "Send me another one!"

Suga had just gotten off of work for the day. He took his green sweater off and draped it over his left arm. The gym was too stuffy for his work attire.  He decided to pick Mitsumi up from the stadium before heading home for the day. It was no surprise to see that she was still working hard. He stood in the doorway and waved to catch her attention after admiring her for a few minutes. Ever since becoming a teacher, he rarely had the time to watch his fiance. 

"Time to go." Mitsumi sent the last ball back right into the cart. "I'll see you tomorrow, Matsuri!" She smiled gently before jogging toward Suga with a grin.

He took a step back before she could tackle him in a hug. "Go shower, I'll wait in the lobby." Suga chuckled at her pout and kissed her cheek before she walked off again. It was clear that she was wanting to go home as fast as possible now. 

Matsuri chuckled, "How's it been going lately?" She pushed a cart of balls off the court for the managers to lock up.

"It's been good. Teaching is exhausting, but what's new?" Suga rubbed the back of his neck. He only had fifteen kids in his class this year, but they were all very, very energetic. During the first week of school, he thought he was going to collapse from exhaustion. And it wasn't like he was out of shape of either. 

The spiker laughed, "What do you expect? They are kindergartners!" Matsuri leaned against the wall and sighed. "My sister taught first grade for a while. She loved it, but it wore her out! She always said you just love the kids so much that that's all that really matters at the end of the day."

"I could toast to that." Suga nodded in agreement. "How is the season looking?"

Matsuri nodded and gave a double thumbs up. "Pretty great. We are going to have a pretty good one with our current lineup." She gave a quick wink. 

"Yeah, that's if Hirugami doesn't kill me with her words first." Mitsumi returned from the locker rooms with her gym bag in her hand. 

...

They bid farewell to the stadium and began the walk home. Mitsumi filled her fiance in on the Saki situation. To which he smiled and agreed too. They were on their way to Aunt Nami's for a family dinner. And for Mitsumi to use the piano.

Every ounce of time she had outside of volleyball was spent practicing for gigs. Mitsumi was hoping that after the Olympics, she could focus on international music competitions and open a music studio. She had missed the last Olympic games due to having emergency knee surgery that benched her. Needless to say, she was pissed. But, she knew she had another shot. Not to mention that she was accepted into the TokyoU Graduate program to continue her studies in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano. 

Nami was cooking up a storm when they walked in. She had to feed two high-level athletes and her very hungry son. Kaori would be home from practice at any moment.

"Need any help?" Mitsumi stepped into the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it. I'm almost done. You must be tired, so go rest for a bit." Nami didn't have much left to do. "Or better yet," she gestured to the piano room.

Mitsumi chuckled, "Alright. You'll be hearing what I'm working on for the banquet." She stepped out of the kitchen and went to the piano room. She opened the door and took a seat on the bench. It didn't take long for Suga to join her there. He sat on an adjacent chair and listened to her music.

Her skills had seriously bloomed. She had started college with nothing to her name. But now, she is a well-respected pianist. Mei had decided to keep their duo together after she graduated. So, during Mitsumi's off-seasons, they would tour around the country competing and performing. Their solo careers had also been steady. It was a dream for both of them.

Kaori was excited to hear the piano playing when she got home. She poked her head into the room with a grin. "Dinner time, lovebirds!" She chimed.

"Coming!" They chirped and walked out.

"How was practice, Kaori?" Mitsumi asked as they all helped to bring the dishes to the table.

"We had a closed practice match against Tsukuba. And DANG their new setter is insane." The college student exclaimed. "Like seriously, she's crazier than that one chick from Kyoto." She set some plates on the table before taking a seat.

Suga chuckled and sat next to Mitsumi. He rested a hand on her knee as he turned his attention to his cousin, "I'm sure it was quite the practice. Who won?"

"We did, barely. It was a long game. And poor Kimi was really holding all of us together." Kaori felt bad for her best friend. She was just glad that they could still play together.

Mitsumi felt his heart squeeze in happiness. "She learned from the best!" He happily scooped some food onto her plate.

"How was work for you guys?" Kaori began to shovel food in her mouth.

Nami glared at her daughter. "Kaori! What have I told you about eating? You're going to choke." She was still going to scold her kids no matter their age. It's just what mothers do.

"Eat, sleep, volleyball, repeat!" That had become Mitsumi's mantra now that the season had started up again. "The Red Rockets are ready to slay this season. And the JNT is going to take the world by storm!" She was really looking forward to her first season without having to worry about school.

"I've been having fun! My class this year has a lot of energy, so they keep me on my toes." Suga already had bags under his eyes. And school had only been in for a month. "I've learned that if you make learning a game then they'll actually behave." He sighed a bit and drank some water.

...

Everyone talked about their day and what had happened. There was a lot of buzz about upcoming events. There was plenty to look forward to. Mitsumi returned to the piano to finish practicing while Suga helped clean up.

They took their leave when Kaori mentioned she had a study group coming over. Jiji greeted the couple by brushing against their legs as soon as they walked into the living room. Mitsumi ran her hand through his fur and smiled a bit. "What are you up for the rest of the night?"

Suga held up his briefcase. "Grading papers, if you want to help. It isn't too much." He yawned and put his bag on the table. He loosened his tie and undid the first button of his shirt.

Mitsumi nodded, "I'll make some tea and join you then." They both went to change into their pajamas. She pulled on one of his shirts which was basically a nightgown over her head and slipped a pair of shorts on underneath for comfort. 

It wasn't uncommon for them to sit over a cup of tea, grading papers while sitting at the coffee table. If anything, it provided Mitsumi some form of entertainment. She was a surprising master at decoding children's handwriting. 

The candles were lit and the television was playing in the background. Mitsumi had found it difficult to listen to music and focus on work at the same time. She blamed the four years of intense music analysis for that unwelcome fact. The tea was seeping in two mugs of steaming water.

Suga took the two stacks of assignments out of his briefcase. He decided that he would grade on set and she would do the other. And he made sure to bring home his roll of stickers. If his students scored between 80 and 90, they got a silver star sticker. If they scored between 90 and 100, they would earn the coveted gold star. Perfect scores got a gold star and a fun scratch and sniff sticker. It was his way of encouraging the kids to do well. And it proved to be a good method.

"No wonder the kids love you." Mitsumi felt Jiji crawl into her lap and nestle his way onto her thighs. "What kid wouldn't want one of these cool stickers? My teachers never did stuff like this growing up." She peeled a sticker and stuck it on the top of the page by the student's name. She moved on to the next paper and petted Jiji with one hand.

Suga heard Jiji purring and chuckled at Mitsumi. "Well, you didn't have cool teachers then." He teased a bit. "I swear, Jiji loves you more than me."

"He's a Mama's boy." Mitsumi loved their fur baby and spoiled him a little too often. "I'm surprised he slept with you yesterday though. Maybe he's finally realizing you aren't that bad."

He scoffed and slammed his pen on the table. "Chie! I'm not a bad person! You just spoil him too much." Suga crossed his arms and pouted.

"I might spoil him too much, but that's beside the point." Mitsumi chuckled and kissed his temple. "Are you just about done? I've got one more." She was about halfway through the last worksheet.

He nodded, "I beat you for once." Suga paper clipped the stack back together and placed it in a folder. "Are you wanting to watch an episode tonight?"

She nodded and finished up. "Yeah. I'm down. I might fall asleep though." Mitsumi yawned and stretched her arms up into the air. "Tomorrow is Friday, hallelujah." She scooped Jiji up into her arms and stood up before setting him down in his bed. He was out cold.

The two of them curled up on the couch together. She noticed a notification on her phone and opened it up. It was unusual for anyone to message her at this hour.

Kuroo Tetsuro: Do you mind coming to my office in the morning? Matsuki and I have an idea we want to discuss with you.

Ah yes, the publicity team in the marketing department. Mitsumi sighed wondering what those two came up with. They sometimes shared a brain cell.

Mitsumi Chie: Sure, I'll stop by before practice. It better be good. :)

Kuroo Tetsuro: Oh, it's gonna be good.

Suga looked over her shoulder. "A meeting?"

"Unfortunately. It's Kuroo though, I wonder what that idiot needs." Mitsumi pulled the blanket around her tightly and relaxed. "Have you heard anything from Bokuto recently?"

"Did you not see the group chat?" Suga shifted so they could both be more comfortable on the couch.

Mitsumi opened up their group chat and saw a video she had somehow missed. "BFFT! What is he doing?!" The video was of Bokuto trying to do some cartwheels. He kept missing the landing, resulting in some hilarity. "He will figure it out. At least he seems to be doing well." She dropped a laughing emoji in the chat.

Suga started the episode of a drama. He held her to him happily. Her form grew heavier as she slowly succumbed to sleep. He paused the episode, knowing she would be upset if he finished it before her.

Slowly, he shifted her so she was in his arms. Mitsumi was snoring, which meant that she would be sleeping well. Suga laid her down in her bed and tucked her in. Jiji sensed his favorite human and trailed behind him. The cat jumped up onto the foot of her bed before falling back asleep.

"Rest well, Sparks." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you."