Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

Miyagi Devils

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Mitsumi was internally panicking as she waited for her test score to load on her laptop. She had gotten a text in the Music History group chat saying that the scores for the multiple choice section had been posted. She had been so stressed out about that class, that she wouldn't be able to sleep until she saw she had a passing score. But of course, the campus wifi was acting like total trash. She stared at the white screen and tapped her fingers against the wooden table and rested her other elbow on the table surface.

Luckily, the student union was quiet during the late afternoon. The foot traffic was minimal because the majority of students were back in classes. The music department had a collective lunch hour that split the day in half between lectures and ensemble practices. Mitsumi was too wrapped up in trying to get her technology working. And then, it finally loaded. The page finally loaded. She scrolled down to where the grade was entered and cheered. "Yes! An A minus!"

"HEY, HEY, HEY! Mitsumi! You have a lot of energy today!" Bokuto caught sight of his friend. "I take it you're pumped up to head to Miyagi too!" He dashed over to the table and jogged in place. "Even Kuroo and Suga are extra excited. Takuma was so pumped too. Him and Eiba are ready to send the KILLS out!"

Mitsumi closed her laptop and put it away. "You guys are playing Shiratorizawa today in a practice match. I'm sure Kuroo is calling this a redemption from high school, and Suga is excited to be near his family again." She unwrapped a rice ball and took a massive chomp out of it. "Aren't Takuma and Eiba alumni?" She had read about them in Monthly Volleyball when they were in high school.

"Oh yeah! That makes a lot more sense now. I totally forgot." Bokuto scratched his neck and let out a deep sigh.

"Bird brain." She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Where are you headed?" She followed him out of the building.

Bokuto pulled his phone out, "Oh, the science faculty offices. I have to drop off some assignments." He scrolled through his text messages, "I'm gonna guess you are going to the gym?"

"No, I'm just going to pick up my food from my office. And then go to the gym." Chie shoved her hands into her sweatshirt pockets, "Make sure Kuroo isn't late."

...

The girls were gathered in the locker room getting ready to leave. It was the first practice match of the season, and an away practice at that. Shimura tossed her hair into two buns and slid a baby blue headband in. "Hey, we need to assert some serious dominance, ladies! We have a presence to establish!" Even if it wasn't an official match, the captain was determined to crush Miyagi University.

"She's really off her rocker today." Yuki muttered, "Watanabe, do you know if the buses have arrived yet?" The vice captain turned to the blonde haired manager.

Watanabe nodded, "Yes! They have! Riza and Makoto are out there right now finishing loading the equipment." She was holding a large cardboard box and keeping the door open with her foot, "There's something the coach wants to give you guys before we leave though. So, hurry up!"

Chie checked herself out in the mirror one more time. She didn't care too much about her actual appearance, she just wanted to make sure the team outfit fit properly. Her joggers were baby blue with a gold, white, and black stripe down the sides of the leg. She wore a white workout shirt and had her hair up in her classic ponytail. It seemed that she hadn't been issued a jacket yet. Her teammates were all wearing their black sports jackets that had their names on the front under the university logo and the university on the back in large white letters. It was weird to look in the mirror and not see a single speck of red anywhere on her. Which was odd. But she shrugged the thought off and went back outside. She decided at the last minute to tie her red ribbon with black cats on it in her hair. It seemed silly, but the ribbon was her good luck charm.