Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

Wildfire

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.