Cats Have Nine Lives

Chapter 10: Goodbye Old Friend

Teru finished eating with Kuroo, Kenma, and some of the other Nekoma members (and Hinata) that joined in. She checked her phone, and saw that Ritsu had called a couple times throughout the day. Upon finishing her meal she hurriedly grabbed her phone, left the building and went to a quiet courtyard near the gym and called Ritsu.

"Teru?"

"Hey! Sorry I didn't pick up the whole day. I wasn't near my phone." She said apologetically. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint Ritsu in any way, even if it was something trivial.

"Nah, it's cool. Just curious about how you're doing." He chuckled.

"Oh! I did meet the number four ace in the nation. From Fukuroudani." She said excitedly.

"Really!? What's he like?" He asked excitedly.

"A little goofy but he's a nice guy. Really good at volleyball. He hits like a tank." She said and laughed. "And the setter over there is really good too!"

"So you played a match against them? How did it turn out?"

"We lost… 25-27…" She said, a little disappointed. "It was so close."

"Hey that's pretty good though! Not a lot of school teams can face Fukuroudani especially considering how you just joined. Maybe if you guys improve teamwork and strategy, you'll beat them in no time!" He said, wanting to encourage her.

"Yeah! Actually, we were practicing two-setter offensive formations and libero tosses and stuff today. I think we'll actually be able to beat them the next time we play."

Meanwhile, at gymnasium #3…

"Where's Teru? Wasn't he done eating a while ago?" Bokuto asked as he spun the volleyball on top of his index finger. "I need Teru to practice with~!"

"That's weird, I told Lev to tell her to come here… Ah, there he is. Lev!" Kuroo called Lev who entered the gym alone, with Teru nowhere to be found.

"Kuroo-san, Teru-san's not around. And he's not back in the room either." He said. "OOH! CAN I PRACTICE TOO!?"

"Not too fast." Yaku showed up as well with a frighteningly calm smile on his face. "Receives. Come. First."

"Wagh! Y-Y-Y-Yaku san!" Lev tried to escape, but Yaku had already grabbed him by the ear and started dragging him to where they could practice receives with everyone else.

"Huh, that's weird. Maybe he's lost?" Kuroo pondered. "I'll go find him. You guys get started first."

"Okay. Akaashi~"

Kuroo came out of the gymnasium and started going around the nearby areas. After spending about 10 minutes, he finally found Teru in a small courtyard, talking on her cellphone. Not wanting to interrupt, Kuroo decided to wait and reveal his presence after Teru was done talking.

"…And I guess I'll be fine for now." Teru continued talking on the phone with Ritsu.

"I see. It sounds like you're having fun!" Ritsu said.

"Yup. Enough about me. How about you? How's your rehab going? When I get back, let's go to Disneyland! Or USJ! I haven't been since we last went together." She asked.

"…" There was no answer, however.

"Ritsu?"

"Teru, actually…" Ritsu began after a long silence.

"…What is it?" Teru asked nervously. Ritsu couldn't begin his sentence easily. After a nervous chuckle and a determined sigh, he began.

"I have good news and not so good news. But don't worry! The not so good news isn't as bad as you think it is." He said, trying to sound energetic. "So, the good news is that the doctors told me that I could walk and be able to play sports if I work on my rehabs!"

"REALY!? That's… that's great!" Teru gleamed, sincerely happy. She smiled brightly and clenched onto her phone.

"The not so good news is… um… I'm gonna have to leave to America for a while." He said.

Teru felt her heart sink. Leaving to America? Since when was this going to happen? "W-When…? How long?" She asked carefully.

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, I tried to tell you ever since we last met… I couldn't tell you since I couldn't bear to tell you that just after meeting again." Ritsu apologized.

"How… how long?" Teru asked, in despair.

"I'll probably attend college there… they told me that it's not a simple process and that it'll take at least couple years. So I might as well graduate college there."

Teru felt like her head was going blank.

"U-Um… haha… but that's great! Y-You'll come back and we'll be able to play again!" Teru said, trying to force herself to laugh.

"Yeah. Hey, it's not like I won't see you for four years. I'm gonna visit time to time during holidays." Ritsu said, trying to cheer up the mood. "And we can skype too so that you don't forget my face."

Teru chuckled. She still couldn't mend the giant hole in the middle of her heart that was made upon hearing the news. Ritsu had always been there, even going back to her oldest memories. Being in the same neighborhood and going to the same school and same volleyball club, they had always spent time together. They were like siblings to each other.

Tears started rolling down Teru's eyes. Not only was she sad from hearing the news, she was also sad that it was her fault that they'd eventually have to be apart.

"Teru… don't cry." Ritsu said.

"Ritsu… I'm—I'm sorr—"

"THERE YOU GO AGAIN!" Ritsu yelled on the phone. "STOP SAYING SORRY! My god, if you say that one more time I'm never going to come back. Teru, how many times have I told you? Nothing is because it's your fault. It just ended up happening that way. Okay? And plus, I'm actually excited about going to America. You remember how I said I always wanted to study in America after I graduate high school? Well it's a good chance for me! I'm not sad about this at all! Well, except for the fact that I won't be able to see you often, but… I'll call you every day! If not, every other day! I'll call you so much that you'd think I'm annoying and wished that I'd stop calling."

Teru chuckled at that while sobbing.

"Teru. No matter what, we're still best friends, and we'll continue to be. So finish up the rest of your camp and contact me so that we can talk about it okay? You still have a promise to keep with me about being an ace and beating Fukuroudani."

"Okay…!" Teru said.

"…Good." Ritsu said. Teru heard some sniffles from the other side too, followed by a teary voice. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too…!" Teru said, getting more and more emotional.

"Gah. This is too emotional for me. Good-byes are best when they are short. Skype me when you get back home, okay?! And have a good time at camp! Show them who's the boss." Ritsu said, sniffling in between sentences. 'Just wait a couple years; we'll be able to play together again.'

"Okay…! Have a safe trip." Teru said. "T-Talk to you later!"

"Yup. I'll talk to you soon." Ritsu said, and hung up. Teru ended the call as well, and her arm holding up the phone plopped back down onto the side.

Kuroo, who was on his phone, noticed that Teru had ended the call and put the phone away in her pocket.

"Teru~ Bokuto and Akaashi wanted to practice a little bit before going back." Kuroo said as he strolled over to her, shoving his hands into the side pockets. He was puzzled as to why Teru didn't respond to him at all, with her head hung low. "Helloooo~? Teru~? Cat got your tongue?" He went over and bent down a little, taking a look at her face, only to find her cheeks covered in tears rolling down.

"W-Why are you crying!?" Kuroo panicked with his hands now out of the pocket and fidgeting, unable to find a particular solution to stop Teru from crying.

"R-Ritsu… is going away tomorrow…" Teru sobbed.

'Ritsu…? Ah. It must be that friend.' Kuroo thought. "You mean your friend? Going where?"

"He's going to America…! For rehab…!" Teru sobbed even harder after saying out loud "America" and "rehab."

"Well… he's going to get some top-class treatment then, right?" Kuroo said, trying to be optimistic.

"H-He said he can play volleyball again…!" Teru said.

"That's good news!" Kuroo exclaimed, sincerely happy for both Teru and Teru's friend, Ritsu. Teru just kept on sobbing. Teru just leaned her head on Kuroo's chest and kept on sobbing. Kuroo, unable to offer any more consolation, just hugged her and pat her head to calm her down. He thought that Teru wasn't crying because of the sadness, but more due to the relief of Ritsu being able to play volleyball again.

"There, there." He said. "I know you'll miss him."

"Yeah…." She sniffled. A few minutes later she finally calmed down. "Kuroo, I'm good." She said.

"Oh?" Kuroo then let her go, taking a look at her face. "Look at you, you look hilarious right now."

"Stupid Kuroo." Teru mumbled. "…Thanks."

"Heh. If you want to thank me, wanna join me and the Fukuroudani guys with practice? I need a blocker." Kuroo asked.

"Yeah." Teru nodded and started walking with Kuroo. Before showing up with a tear-covered face, Teru stopped by the outdoor faucet area to wash her face and blow her nose. Kuroo waited next to her patiently.

"So, how long is your friend going to be gone?" Kuroo asked after determining that Teru had calmed down enough to answer questions without exploding emotionally.

"A couple years. He said he wants to go there for college, so I'm guessing four years. But he said he'll visit during holidays." She said in between washing her face.

"Hey, that's not too bad." Kuroo said.

"Mmhm." She shut off the water and combed her hair back all the way with her hands. Kuroo then noticed how feminine her facial features were from the side after Teru revealed her forehead. She tilted her head back a little and sighed at the sky. Her forehead was plump and small, her nose was smoothly curved and tiny, and she had long eyelashes, neat eyebrows, and vibrant pink lips. He also noticed that the lines of her neck, arms, and legs that were visible were smooth unlike rigged lines of other guys. He was staring into her as if he was drawn in unconsciously. He wasn't thinking much; he was just caught up in observing. Teru then noticed in her peripheral that Kuroo had been staring for a while.

"What?" She asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"H-Huh?" Kuroo snapped out. "Nothing. You have some snot right there."

"Really?"

"No."

"Fucking Kuroo." Teru groaned. Kuroo just snickered since he loved seeing Teru's reaction after being fooled. They walked back to the number three gymnasium, where Bokuto and Akaashi were practicing.

"Heeeey, there he is!" Bokuto greeted and ran off to the net, bouncing the ball with his hands.

"Teru-san, are you okay?" Akaashi asked, a little worried. He was observant enough (at least more than Bokuto) to notice the swollen red eyes and nose.

"Haha, yeah. No worries." Teru laughed. "Let's start! Am I blocking?"

"Yeah! I want some good blocks!" Bokuto exclaimed.

Since it was late into the night and they had to get up early the next morning, they called it a day after practicing for an hour and headed back to their rooms to get ready to sleep.

And that's where Teru's troubles began.

After getting back into the room, she noticed boys—naked boys only in their boxers or pants, to be more exact—running around like madman after taking a shower. She noticed Kuroo taking stuff out of his bag to get ready for a shower.

'I need to shower too… I've literally had everything on since this morning… including these supporters…!' Teru thought. She was covered in sweat and she never took her leg supporters off for the entire day. On top of that, she had been surrounded by sweaty teenage boys all day. She was on the brink of going insane.

"Teru, you're not gonna shower?" Kuroo said as he stood up to leave.

"Of course I am." Teru said. "You can go first."

"Okay."

Kuroo left the room. She went through her bags and took out her toiletries and a change of clothes. Teru pre-packed her girls' underwear underneath her boxer briefs that she wore over her actual underwear—but it's not like she would ever walk around in her briefs, since that would reveal her legs also. She left the room and looked around; it looked like most of them had gone to their rooms to get ready to sleep, so there wasn't anyone hanging around in the hallways. She walked out with her toiletries and clothes and walked over to the stairs, climbing to the very top floor. When she looked around, there was absolutely no one. She thought it would be spooky at first, but her worries were resolved after hearing noisy boys making ruckus three floors down.

Now, she was faced with a real challenge: which room was she going to enter? Male or female shower/locker room?

'Well, in case anyone spots me walking out, I should go into the boys' shower, but then that also means someone could walk in on me changing… But then again, it's three floors up. Who would climb up three floors just to take a shower unless you're cross-dressing like me? …Right…?' Teru thought. 'GAAAH. This is so hard. Maybe I'll take a look to see what it actually looks like inside.'

Teru decided. She walked into the boys' shower room only to take a look at the setup. There weren't any doors, since the entryway had to walk around two corners to really see the room. When she walked in, she was faced with a pretty neat facility. There were lockers at the front, and behind the locker walls there were shower booths and baths. Bathroom and sinks were off to the left of the locker rooms, past a doorway.

'Oooh, not bad, not bad at all!' Teru gleamed and cheered silently. The best news was that there were shower booths, which meant she didn't have to face the danger of anyone walking in when she's naked. The next problem was when she was changing into her new clothes after the shower. She couldn't really leave her clothes in the booth since they would get wet, but it's not like she could come out all naked either.

She then gloriously spotted a handicapped booth, which was twice the size of the other booths. It even had built-in chairs that she could use to put her clothes.

'Oh hell yes. I'm going for it.' She first used the bathroom to take care of her business. She thanked the heat and rigorous exercise since she didn't have to excrete fluid by going to the bathroom for the entire day. After she took care of the business, she went into the shower stall and started taking off her leg supporters first.

"Aaaahhhh." She let out, in utter bliss from being free of the tightness around her thighs. She started undressing, turned the shower on and was able to take a long, relaxing shower without worrying about anything. She even brushed her teeth and washed her face while she was at it, so that she didn't have to go into the bathroom downstairs. After she was done, she completely dried herself and put on her underwear and compressing cloth around her chest. She then put on a clean shirt and her briefs over her underwear.

'Huh, it's like wearing shorts. I guess it's a little longer…?' She thought. But nonetheless, perfect disguise. She grinned to herself after looking at herself in the mirror. She then wore her long, baggy pajama pants, and she was set to show herself in front of people again. With her hair still slightly wet, she came out of the booth and headed downstairs, happily humming from taking a pleasurable shower. When she came back it was a little before 11 o'clock. Most Nekoma members were present and Teru spotted Kenma on his PSP, Lev talking to other first-years, Yaku, Kai, and Fukunaga chatting, and—

"Who the hell are you?" Teru asked a mysterious black-haired person, who was rummaging through Kuroo's stuff. Someone in the room let out a snort at Teru's comment.

"Huh?" The person turned around and faced Teru.

"What the—? Kuroo!? What happened to you!?" Teru exclaimed, utterly shocked by the very normal hair that Kuroo wasn't ever supposed to have. Upon seeing Teru's reaction, Kenma snorted and Yaku and Yamamoto broke out cackling.

"GYAHAHAH! TRUE, KUROO-SAN DOESN'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE KUROO-SAN RIGHT NOW!" Yamamoto said as he kept on laughing. Yaku just sat there, laughing his ass off and slapping his knee and Kai and Fukunaga chuckled. Teru gave Kuroo weird looks while putting her things away and zipping up her bag.

"Why, do I look waaaay too sexy now? I gotta say, Kuroo-san's already-overflowing-sexiness is doubled after showers." Kuroo flicked his hair and said, smirking.

"I'm assuming this is my futon?" She said as she yawned while lying down, completely shutting down and ignoring Kuroo's statement, which made the laughter more explosive.

"I guess I'm next to Teru-san!" Lev said as he came over. His bag was next to Teru's, so he naturally claimed his spot next to her.

"Teru, you're sho mean to me." Kuroo pouted, zipping up his bag and getting ready to sleep on the futon in between Kenma and Teru. "…He's already asleep!?"

"Oooh! I'll sleep too." Lev said and lied down as well.

Kuroo lied down on his side, resting his head on his hand and looking down at Teru, who was already fast asleep. He then studied her face while she slept. She was completely knocked out by the rigorous routine. While he studied her face, he noticed that her skin seemed silky-smooth and well maintained. He pinched her cheeks: no response. But he was able to get a feel of her skin, which turned out to be softer and squishier than he imagined.

'It's like baby cheeks…' Kuroo thought as he continued to play around with her cheeks, poking and pinching lightly, addicted to the sensation. He then found himself grinning like a moron and immediately retracted his hand, feeling slightly awkward from playing around with his friend's cheeks and grinning about it.

"Light's going off~" Someone announced and soon afterwards the room became dark and quiet. The Nekoma team soon fell asleep, anticipating another day full of volleyball when they wake up.

Sylvr Tyz: My god, I'm so sorry to hear you went through an injury :( I feel like you're just so prone to get hurt no matter what sport you do and how careful you are... had to take a break from tennis because of a fricking tennis elbow UGH. And don't even mention the numerous times I've sprained my ankle no matter what sport I play lolol. I hope you're all good and better now! And yes, I think writing stories regarding a topic where I've actually experienced in real life is super interesting! Really appreciate the support so much :)

LilweenGalatrass: :') THANK YO USO MUCH FOR THE WARM WELCOME. HERE IS THE UPDATE! Lol I forgot for the longest time that I had written a couple chapters in advance... so sorry for the wait! Thanks for reading :D

Lucy Jacob: THANKS FOR THE WARM WELCOME! Here is a chapter with more content(?) haha. Thanks for reading and leaving a review, I really appreciate it! :)))

Aka-chansama: FRICKINGBOKUTOYOUMEATYPIECEOFTANK lol. I can't agree with you more on the list of people that are taken... the world is very unfair :') And oooooh you're like very good with your deduction on Akaashi, especially considering how I already have a couple more chapters written out... stay tuned! And thanks for reading and leaving a review! I appreciate it so much :)))

Thank you so much for reading! Reviews are always, ALWAYS appreciated :) I have a couple chapters written out in advance, so stay tuned!