The Cat and the Crow

Return To Shinzen (Early October)

"Make sure you keep those straights shut out," Tetsuro said as he came up to stand beside Kei. They were taking advantage of an empty gym, and Bokuto was gearing up for another spike.

Kei grinned at him, but did as told, jumping up to block as Akaashi set up the ball. Bokuto reared back to make his spike, but right at the last second, Tetsuro moved his arms to the left, making a kill block and shutting Bokuto down.

"Awww man!" Bokuto complained as he went to chase the ball. "Let's do another!"

"Sure, but we'll just shut you down again," Tetsuro taunted, slinging his arm around Kei's shoulders.

"Did you really just..." Akaashi started to say, but Bokuto yelled over him.

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"

Kei just smiled and watched them banter with each other, enjoying the fact that they were back together again. It had only been a week, but he'd missed them all so much. The road trip here seemed endless, and now that they were here, time was flying by so fast.

"Hey," he heard his love's voice whisper in his ear. "Missed you."

"Missed you more," he replied. He would have said more, but they both saw Bokuto bouncing a ball impatiently. Reluctantly, they parted, but not before Kei kissed his cheek.

Tetsuro's face flushed, his eyes went wide, and his fingers touched the spot Kei had kissed. "You did that on purpose," he accused, squinting at Kei.

"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't," Kei replied with a little shrug. He was trying not to laugh.

"Tease!"

"You love it, though."

"I mean, true, but..." Tetsuro looked ready to retaliate, but Akaashi sent a ball over the net that dropped down between them.

"Friendly reminder that this extra practice was your idea, Kuroo," he said.

"Right," they both replied, which made them all laugh.

"We're ready," Kei told them, and they started up again.

Bokuto sent the ball to Akaashi, who set it up for him to spike. Kei's eyes were focused on the ball, but he listened to Tetsuro's pointers, as well:

"Read blocking works. It takes persistence, training, and endurance. And when you master it, you'll always get the last laugh." He proceeded to get a one-touch off a spike Bokuto, and Kei went back to receive it, sending it back to Kuroo, who sent it back over the net.

"When you run in, leave your options open. Stop, assess, and then jump."

"Try to avoid sideways jumps. If you can, make sure you stop and jump straight up."

"Insert power all the way to your fingertips, so they'll never be blown back."

"When you're going one-on-one against a spiker, you don't want to stand square in front of them. It's much better to be standing right in front of their dominant arm."

"Oh yeah! Don't put your hands straight up, either. Stretch them out. So you can teach this owl with frosted tips a lesson!" Tetsuro pointed at Bokuto, who immediately made a face.

"You wanna talk hair, huh?"

"I mean, he's not wrong," Kei said, trying to look innocent.

Akaashi snorted and broke out laughing. Tetsuro and Bokuto attempted to look offended, but eventually laughed as well. They decided to take a break, then, and went to sit down right in the middle of the court. Kei was going to sit down next to Tetsuro, but instead found himself in front, wrapped up in his arms.