Obviously, I own none of the rights to either of these series. Those belong to J.K. Rowling and Haruichi Furudate, along with whatever publishers, producers, etc., are involved with both series.
There were some days when Hermione wished that she could skip forward in time. Anything to avoid the next 24 hours.
She sighed, playing with a blade of grass by her foot. Tetsurou was in class, so, for the moment at least, Hermione was once again sitting on the Nekoma campus, invisible. In a blouse and khakis.
The Ambassador's meeting was today.
And her birthday was tomorrow.
And she still didn't know what Tetsurou was planning for that, but it would be far more enjoyable than the meeting today.
The one thing she did know was that she did not want to attend the meeting. Kingsley said she just needed to take notes and that she wouldn't need to speak at all… but Kingsley also didn't even know where the meeting would be held, just that the Transportation office wanted her to come early at noon and they would take her to the location.
The last time she had been in that room, Tetsurou was being tortured by Bellatrix.
She closed her eyes, trying to chase away the memory.
It didn't help that Tetsurou wouldn't be able to come with her, so they would be testing how much distance would affect their bond now that there had been more time for it to settle.
Yet another reason to avoid this meeting.
You'll be fine, Mio. Akaashi's uncle has appointed someone to make sure you get everything you need, right?
Hermione bit her lip. She didn't mean to distract him. Pay attention to class.
Your anxiety is making that a bit difficult, love. I think the kid next to me is about to stab me with a pencil because I keep fidgeting so much.
Gomen.
Eh. It's kind of fun to see how much I can annoy him before he reacts.
That's not very nice, Tetsurou.
Yeah, yeah.
Hermione leaned back against the tree with a sigh. Half an hour until she left. I'm sorry I'll be leaving during your class.
Tch. I'm definitely going to the restroom right before you leave. That way controlling my reaction won't be a problem.
Probably for the best. The combination of nausea from the apparition and the emptiness from the distance on their bond was not likely to be pleasant.
Why don't you practice meditating? George said that would help us progress with the mental aspect of our bond, right?
Hermione sighed. I'll try.
She closed her eyes, trying to focus on the feel of the tree against her back, the breeze against her skin, the sunlight on her face…
I'm in the restroom.
Already? Apparently the meditation had worked.
She did not want to do this.
You'll be fine, Mio. You just need to go there and take notes, right?
Right…
Together. 3.
2.
1.
She apparated.
Nausea.
Emptiness.
She swayed on her feet.
Don't collapse at the ministry.
Don't throw up at the ministry.
The emptiness wasn't as bad as last time. It was like…like she'd forgotten something but couldn't remember what. Like there was something she needed that just wasn't there, that was just beyond reach.
Don't focus on it. They just needed to last a few hours.
She opened her eyes.
Her disillusionment was thankfully still in effect, so no one was looking at her. Well, no one except the man behind the desk. They must have some sort of monitoring spell in place.
She cancelled the disillusionment and the man nodded approvingly. No one else gave her a second glance.
No one except a young man, probably in his early thirties, wearing a suit and glasses while leaning against the far wall. He started looking between her and a sheet of paper in his hands, then hurried over to her.
"Hello! You must be Ms. Granger?"
Hermione nodded slowly at the stranger.
"I'm Fujita Katashi, Assistant Director of the Japanese Magical Education Department. Minister Akaashi asked that I escort you to the meeting."
"Minister?" Hermione squeaked in surprise. Akaashi had never told her that detail. Fujita raised an eyebrow, so Hermione hastily elaborated, "Forgive me, my friend, Akaashi Keiji-san neglected to mention his uncle's role in the government. It's nice to meet you, Fujita-san."
Fujita laughed, "Great uncle. He's quite a bit older than Keiji-san's uncle. Akaashi Hibiki-san is the brother of Akaashi Keiji's great-grandfather."
Hermione blinked in surprise. "Great uncle, then." She paused, then decided she might as well ask, "How are you so familiar with the Akaashi family tree?"
He smiled gently, "It's common knowledge that those with names starting with 'k' in the Akaashi family are the oldest male son in each generation that's in the line of heirs. All the five families have thematic names like that to make sure that everyone respects their heirs."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "And of course he neglected to mention this to me."
"To be fair, he is probably used to everyone already knowing and didn't think about the fact that you didn't know." Fujita grinned at her, "As long as you didn't insult him, there's no harm done. And if you're friends, I doubt you did that."
She shook her head, "It still would have been nice to know." And she'd have to ask Tetsurou later why he neglected to tell her.
"Well, the government rooms are through this tori gate over here." He gestured vaguely with his hand, then began walking in that direction.
Hermione quickly followed. "What name do we need to say?"
"Just your own name. As long as you are authorized, you will be transported to the building." He stopped underneath the gate and gave her a reassuring smile. "See you there." With that, he stated his name and disappeared.
Hermione bit her lip but stepped forward. "Hermione Granger." Immediately she felt the odd pull take hold as she was transported away.
She winced as the feeling of emptiness became sharper. Wherever they were, it wasn't in Tokyo. Tetsurou felt…a good distance to the south.
"You alright?"
Hermione turned to see Fujita looking at her with concern. "Fine. Just…adjusting. I'm not used to being so far from my soulmate."
Understanding flooded his eyes. "Ah. How new is your bond?"
"Around two months."
"And it's still giving you separation pains?" Now he was looking at her with confusion.
Hermione just shrugged, not really wanting to discuss it with someone she didn't know, even if they did come recommended by Akaashi's great uncle. Sure, it was unusual to have pain from separation at this stage, but it wasn't unheard of, and he would likely just assume it was because she had above average magical strength, which people tended to think about her anyways since she was a war heroine.
"Well, this is the center of the Japanese magical government. We really don't have that many departments, so it's quite small. The translation ward is in most rooms, so that shouldn't be a problem. I understand you're just here as an intern at the moment, but you'll most likely become the full ambassador in the spring?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, once I pass my NEWTs."
"I suggest just observing everyone for now, then. Unless you feel like there's something pressing you need to contribute, of course, then feel free to speak up." He smiled, "We're here about fifteen minutes early, so do you have any questions before we enter the meeting room?"
Hermione nodded, "I know Japan has eight government departments, but will all eight have representatives present at this meeting? All I really know is that the minister told me to attend."
Fujita laughed, "We don't really like other countries knowing much about us, so you'll have to forgive your minister. He most likely really doesn't know anything. Yes, all department directors and their assistants will be present, as well as the minister and any ambassadors that want to come. Normally there's someone from America, Russia, China, Australia, and Europe, though occasionally someone else comes."
So there would be a little over 20 people. That wasn't too bad. Much smaller than the Wizengamot.
"And how long will the meeting be?"
Fujita shrugged, "Could be ten minutes or five hours—depends on what each department head wants to discuss. Unless there's an emergency session, we only meet together once every other month, so sometimes they all come with long lists. Most of the time everyone is just updating each other, though."
Hermione nodded and was about to ask him another question when someone appeared in the entryway behind them. She quickly stepped to the side of the hallway as an older gentleman in a stately kimono looked between the two of them in annoyance.
"Fujita-san. Have you picked up a stray?"
A stray? Hermione bristled, but remained silent at Fujita's warning glance. She didn't know this territory. She shouldn't start fights. Not yet, at least.
"Hardly, Sakai-san. This is Hermione Granger. She is the intern ambassador from England."
If Sakai recognized her name, he didn't show it. "I see." The man looked down his nose at her, then said something in Japanese. Hermione's eyes widened. Fujita said that the translation charm was active in the rooms, but apparently it didn't work in the hallway. She tried to think of what he had said, but for the life of her the only thing she had recognized was the verb ending.
Fujita cleared his throat, "Sakai-san asked if you are finding your time here more enjoyable than the… ah…" he looked uneasily at his elder, "ruins of rotting England."
Hermione's eyes flashed. Ruins? Rotting? "I love my home very much, but I am also enjoying my time here. I am grateful that my family invited me."
"Of course, anyone would be grateful for an invitation away from such a war-torn nation." The man patted her shoulder condescendingly, "I am glad you survived such backward prejudice, my dear. We of Japan are happy to offer you sanctuary."
With that he swept by the two of them, heading toward a room down the hallway.
Hermione stood there, frozen. Sanctuary? Is that what he thought this was? And if he was 'happy,' why did he test her knowledge of Japanese? She turned to Fujita in confusion.
He looked sheepish.
"Gomen. I know you're not running away from your country or anything like that, but…" he sighed. "As much as we like to pretend we're above prejudice, and I think we are when it comes to magical blood or creatures, many still look down on other countries. And Europe's wars don't really help its case."
Hermione internally groaned. So they thought she was fleeing from a backwards, prejudiced country. Great. "Why did he speak in Japanese?"
Fujita shrugged. "Who knows. They'll respect you more if you can speak it, though."
"I'm working on it."
"That's good."
Another person arrived beside them. Fujita immediately straightened. "Minister Akaashi!"
Akaashi? Hermione looked over the man. She blinked. He had the same eyebrows as Akaashi, albeit greyed with age. He was in a dark grey formal kimono, steely blue eyes focused on her.
"Hermione Granger, I presume?"
English. Thank goodness. "Yes. It's nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for sending Fujita-san to greet me."
He inclined his head slowly. "I trust you are feeling better after this summer's events?"
Hermione nodded quickly. "I am. Tetsurou and I greatly appreciate the help your family provided."
"Anything for young Keiji."
Hermione smiled tightly, "He is a good friend." Though it was a bit rude to remind her that their family had only helped because of that friendship, even if it was true.
"And you will be a good friend to him?"
"Of course!" Hermione tried to keep the offended tone from her voice. Akaashi and Bokuto were good people. She would always help them if they needed it.
The man's eyes took on a victorious glint. "Then I look forward to the future years, Ms. Granger. Shall we?" He waved a hand toward the room that Sakai-san had entered.
Hermione nodded slowly, wary. Fujita seemed resigned about something and fell into step behind them as she walked down the hallway next to the minister.
The man paused at the door, turning to her, "I hope you do not mind, but Akaashi shared with me that your bond is still sensitive to distance. He was concerned about your ability to attend the meeting today. If you need to leave because of your bond, we will understand. Do not fear any repercussions—we will not think that you are departing out of any insensitive or immature motivations."
And Akaashi's relatives knew about the depth of the bond because they'd been there when Tetsurou had been tortured. The minister may not know all of the exact details, but he knew her bond was a trial by fire type. She smiled tightly once again, "Thank you, Minister Akaashi. I plan on attending the full meeting, though."
"Of course." He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "You should also know that there is a telepathy dampener on the building in order to help everything remain confidential and safe."
Hermione nodded her understanding. She had assumed she would be unable to talk with Tetsurou for the duration of the meeting, even if she was less than thrilled about the forced lack of contact.
With that the minister slid open the door, then motioned for her to step through into an already crowded room. No one paid them any attention, and Hermione quickly made her way to the cushions along the back wall where Akaashi's great uncle gestured that she should sit.
Well, kneel.
Minister Akaashi knelt on a cushion at one end of the room, and eight others knelt in a rectangle, four on each side. At the right shoulder of each of the eight knelt another individual. Fujita was now kneeling beside one of them, so Hermione assumed these were the eight directors and their assistants.
The others kneeling by the wall nodded in greeting to her as she took her place.
The minister gave a generic greeting to the group, then introduced Hermione. She nodded and smiled to the others as her name was called, but she was surprised at the number of people that seemed to regard her with coolness, Sakai most of all, followed by the man to his left. She quickly determined that the two of them were the administrators for nonmagical humans and magical creatures, respectively.
The meeting droned on. They were only just now beginning to finish the recap of July.
She took notes diligently, but nothing important seemed to be discussed. Maintenance updates, population updates, updates on affairs in other countries, but no decisions or discussions of actions to be taken.
The ambassadors began to fidget on their cushions next to her. Hermione's legs were uncomfortable and protesting the cramped position, but she gamely stayed still. The emptiness in her chest was becoming more painful and problematic.
Yet they were still discussing events from August.
It had to have been at least an hour and a half, now.
Her legs had fallen asleep, and she was dreading the pins and needles sensation that would undoubtedly begin the second she moved.
They were discussing September events, now, albeit ones still in the past.
She wanted to be with Testurou. The emptiness gnawed at her mind and she stumbled a few times in her notes.
Fujita would occasionally catch her eyes and smile or nod encouragingly.
"Next week my department plans to begin our renovations in Tokyo Station…"
Next week? Finally a future event! Hermione quickly wrote it down.
It was interesting learning about the different kinds of tasks that the Japanese ministry prioritized, but the meeting had been going on for at least 2.5 hours, now.
Hermione just wasn't used to sitting for that long, anymore. Not since the tent. She was used to action, not bureaucratic drudgery.
Would she be able to do this?
She would.
It was the right decision.
It would just require some patience. Fujita had said not all meetings were this long.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
The directors and their assistants looked at the minister, startled. He had just interrupted a discussion about the rise of fairies in Hokkaido.
"We won't solve the fairy situation by just talking about it today. Go home, brainstorm, and submit your ideas to the Miya-san by the end of next week. I'll have a meeting with him and his assistant at that time to discuss the problem."
And then everyone began to stand. The meeting was adjourned.
Now she just had to move her legs.
A hand grabbed her elbow.
Hermione flinched.
The hand retreated.
"Sorry!" Hermione looked to her left. One of the ambassadors was holding up her hands apologetically. "I figured you could use some help. Kneeling for this long takes some getting used to."
Hermione smiled apologetically. "Thanks. Sorry, I'm afraid I'm still a bit jumpy after the war." Hermione held out her hand.
The woman stood up gracefully, then clasped Hermione's hand and helped pull her to her feet. Hermione winced at the stinging sensation that rapidly filled both legs.
"Understandable. I'm Mackenzie McIntyre, the ambassador from Australia. Nice to meet you, Ms. Granger."
"Nice to meet you as well. Thanks for the hand."
"No problem. You want to go get coffee or something? I can give you the lay of the land."
Hermione smiled, it was a nice thought, but she really needed to see Tetsurou at the moment. The emptiness was rapidly affecting her ability to focus. "That would be lovely, but I'm in a bit of a rush to get home at the moment. Could I owl you to set up a time?"
McIntyre laughed, "You Brits. Just give me a call." The woman reached into her suit pocket and pulled out a business card. "Or a text if you want, it doesn't matter." Hermione accepted the card gratefully with both hands, making sure to read it before putting it in her notepad carefully. She was grateful that Kei had told her the etiquette for business cards in Japan.
"Thank you. I'll be glad to do so." McIntyre grinned at her.
"Well, I'm off, then. Don't be a stranger." The woman nodded off to the side. "Looks like Fujita-san wants you for some reason. Don't let them get to you, alright? They can be a bit weird about foreigners, but he's generally a good guy." She gave her a small wave then headed toward the exit.
Hermione turned to where the woman had gestured and saw Fujita fidgeting against a wall. He grinned and came over as soon as they made eye contact. "I imagine you're eager to get home, but I just realized I hadn't told you how… there's an apparition barrier on the government rooms."
"Oh." Hermione blinked. That made perfect sense, the British ministry had those as well, after all. "Could you show me the exit, then?"
He nodded. "Follow me."
Hermione ignored the stinging in her legs and quickly fell into step behind him. She nodded at Minister Akaashi as they passed, and he returned the acknowledgement.
She followed Fujita down the main hallway, heading in the opposite direction from the entrance. When he reached a sliding door at the end, instead of entering it Fujita pulled her off to the side, into a small stairwell. Hermione raised an eyebrow in surprise when he erected a privacy barrier and then handed her a business card. "This is the furthest stairwell from the meeting, so no one should bother us here, but I wanted to be sure."
Her eyes scanned the card in surprise. He wasn't just a ministry official, but also taught at Chuo University? That was interesting.
"Give me a call so that we can talk at some point, alright? I'd like to have the chance to explain what you can usually expect from each of the directors. You're really lucky Minister Akaashi likes you, you know that?"
Hermione frowned, "I am?"
"They like to haze ambassadors a bit. They usually leave you to flounder when it comes to finding the meeting location, and the first meeting with an ambassador is always abnormally long, even longer than this one. I was really worried when you said you had a sensitive bond, but apparently the minister already knew about that?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes. My soulmate and I ran into some trouble this summer and Akaashi Keiji asked his family to help us."
Fujita let out a slow whistle. "Well, between whatever that was and your war heroine status, he seems to think you don't deserve as much hazing as the others got. Just make sure you stay on his good side and thank him when you get the chance, alright? And keep in mind that he probably wants you to be Keiji-san's ally."
"Right." Hermione's mind whirled. She had just stepped into this political world and already she was in a political alliance. She didn't even know what the Akaashi's stood for, politically. She nodded absentmindedly. Regardless, she did owe a debt to the Akaashi family for their help this summer with the wards. But her priority should be the U.K. first and foremost… "Thank you for telling me."
"No problem! I'm personally against all the hazing stuff, so I'm glad to help you." Fujita grinned at her, "I'm sure you want to head home, though. Just walk down the stairwell to the first floor and you'll be able to exit. Once you're outside you can apparate. I've got to go back inside and debrief with my director."
She nodded her thanks as he slipped out the doorway, then she rushed down the stairs. Thankfully it was only two flights, and she soon saw the exit door.
Hermione blinked in the harsh sunlight. A huge field surrounded the building, giving her absolutely no clue as to where this place was located.
Tetsurou?
No response. Telepathy must be blocked in the whole vicinity then. Annoying, but it made sense. Tetsurou would just have to deal with the surprise. Hermione closed her eyes and apparated to an alley near the Nekoma gym.
Nausea instantly churned in her stomach, but the sense of fullness and relief over Tetsurou's proximity was far greater.
Mio!
His voice we laced with relief and worry.
Gomen. I didn't realize there was a telepathy barrier until I was at the government buildings.
So it was a barrier. I figured it was something like that, but your emotions—gyack!
Hermione winced and rubbed her temple where she'd felt a large burst of pain. Gyack?
Ugh. Gomen. Yaku nailed me in the head because I wasn't paying attention. Come inside? I told the guys you might be stopping by afterwards.
Hermione smiled. It would be nice to be visible inside the gym for once. Though… First, you have some explaining to do, Tetsurou. Why didn't you tell me Akaashi's 'uncle' was the minister?
Akaashi said he told you his uncle is the emperor's magical advisor! It's the same thing!
Hermione blinked, startled. How in Merlin's name was I supposed to know that it was the same thing! We don't have that in England!
You don't? How should I know that? You have a queen!
Hermione groaned. And he said uncle, not great uncle. What's the deal with that?
Now you're just being picky. He calls most of the men in his family his uncle.
She wanted to bang her head in frustration. And why did you say I would 'probably' be seeing his relatives if his great uncle is the minister?
How was I supposed to know he'd be there? For all I knew it was a smaller meeting held by the director of international affairs.
Ok… All of this was aggravatingly reasonable, but…. Why didn't you tell me Akaashi was in the line of heirs?
There was a long pause. You found that out?
Yes.
He didn't want you to know. He liked the anonymity. Hermione sighed. After growing up with Harry, it was hard to be angry at a reason like that. Who told you?
Fujita-san. Minister Akaashi assigned him to help me today.
Ah. No one Akaashi can get mad at, then. There was a pause, then, Now will you come inside?
Hermione sighed. She supposed the rest of the conversation could wait until later. She didn't want to distract Tetsurou unduly.
She walked around the side of the gym, then pushed open the door with a creak.
"Finally!" Hermione let out a squeak, bracing herself as Tetsurou wrapped himself around her. She pushed at his sweaty chest.
"This is disgusting! Get off!"
He laughed, shaking his head. "Nope!"
"Get off or I'll tell your team what you keep in your fridge!"
Tetsurou immediately let her go, and she sighed in relief, wrinkling her nose at the places where she could still feel his sweat. "That was disgusting."
"That was uncalled for, is what it was. How dare you blackmail me?"
"It's hardly blackmail."
"What does he keep in his fridge?" Hermione turned to see the rest of the Nekoma team looking at them curiously. She thought the one who had spoken was called Yaku.
"Sorry, but apparently it's blackmail worthy, so I'm going to keep that to myself." Hermione grinned at the boy.
He quickly turned to Kenma, "Do you know Kenma? What's in his fridge?"
"Leave me out of this."
"Aw, you can't just say that and not anything else!" Yaku turned back to Hermione, frustrated.
"Yes, she can." Tetsurou glared at his teammate.
Yaku glared right back, but another boy stepped between them. He was tall with black hair shaved into a buzzcut. "Leave it, you two."
"Tch." Yaku glared off to the side for a second, then focused back on Hermione. "I hear you're going to be here often, is that right?"
Hermione slowly nodded.
I told them you'd be by after your ambassador meetings and made it sound like those are more regular than they are.
"Well, if you're going to distract our captain that much, you should help us, too."
She blinked. The tall boy next to him elbowed Yaku in the ribs. "What he means is, would you be our team manager? Even if only part-time?"
"Oh." Hermione hadn't expected the team to ask her. Or to be asked so soon. She still nodded, though. There was no reason she couldn't, other than not wanting to explain how she got to Tokyo so often. "Yes, I'd be happy too. I'll have a lot to learn, though."
I explained. Said you were staying in the room next to my parents and acted as if we are never alone at my house.
Arigatou.
One of the other boys was stepping forward, holding out a sports jacket with the Nekoma logo across the back. "Welcome to the team, then!"
She took the jacket gingerly, then held it up to look at it. She'd never thought that she would own a muggle sports jacket like this.
"Go on, put it on." Tetsurou was grinning at her.
Still somewhat shocked by the weirdness of her being part of a sports team in any way, Hermione slipped the jacket on over her blouse. She must look ridiculous with a sports jacket on over business casual clothing. She'd have to change in the future.
Suddenly, the boys all bowed as one, Tetsurou included, and called out "Thank you for joining the team. We look forward to working with you."
"Ah…" Hermione looked around uneasily, "Arigatou. Thank you for the opportunity." Thankfully they began to rise back up after she responded.
Kenma spoke up quietly, "Happy Birthday. I know it's a day early, but…" he shrugged, "It's not like Kuro would have let us ask you tomorrow."
Hermione blushed. "Arigatou." So that's why they'd asked her earlier than she'd expected. Tetsurou had told them her birthday was coming. She rubbed the sleeve of the jacket, still a bit befuddled, yet also happy.
She turned to Tetsurou, confused. "Don't you have practice tomorrow, though?"
"Nope." Tetsurou grinned at her, clearly proud of himself. "I got it moved. Privileges of being the captain."
"They just let you do that?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Consider that the other part of your birthday present from the team." Yaku was glaring at Tetsurou. "Now we have to practice on Friday this week."
"Oh." Hermione bit her lip, unsure. "Arigatou."
"It's fine, really!" Kai was waving his hands now, trying to assuage her. "We don't mind. Once he figured out why Kuroo wanted to move practice, Yamamoto practically insisted we do it-Right Yamamoto?"
He turned to the boy with the mohawk, who just looked between them both, confused. Kai sighed and said something in Japanese. The boy started nodding profusely. "Hai!" He added something in Japanese, but the only word Hermione caught was 'girl.' She looked at Tetsurou for a translation.
"He said, 'Anything for a pretty girl.'"
Kenma spoke up, "You forgot the 'even if it's also for our idiot captain.'"
Tetsurou's eyebrow twitched. "You didn't have to add that part, Kenma." His friend shrugged.
Hermione laughed at the two of them, but before she could respond a whistle sounded from the coach, and the boys immediately disbanded, heading back to the net.
"Neither of the coaches is that good with English. So I'll be giving you instructions." Tetsurou grinned at her.
"Oh? Will you now?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, turning to face her soulmate.
"Well, I don't know if you know this, but I am the team captain."
"You? I never would have guessed. I would have thought it was mister tall and reliable over there since he was the one that needed to break up your fight."
"Kai?!" Tetsurou glared at her. "As if; he's just the vice-captain."
"Mmhm."
"Keep this up and you'll have to clean our club room."
"I worked with the Karasuno team long enough to know that cleaning your club room is definitely not one of my tasks as manager."
"Things are different here."
"Right. Well, I won't be doing that, so good luck."
"Kuroo! Stop flirting!" Yaku was glaring at them from over by the net.
"You're just jealous! I'll be right there!"
"I am not, you idiot! Don't make me come over there and drag you back here!"
Tetsurou opened his mouth to yell back a reply, but Hermione cleared her throat. He turned back to her sheepishly. "Gomen. Yaku's just a jerk like that."
"Right." She grinned at him, barely containing her laughter.
"Anyway, the coaches want you to watch the first years as they do receive drills and count how many receives each does well during practice."
"Well?"
"They need to send the balls back to the setter. You want him to be moving as little as possible."
"Ok, can do. They're over at that court?" She gestured toward where some younger looking players were setting up.
"Hai. I think the coaches are trying to keep us separate for now."
"Like that small of a distance would mean anything to us."
Tetsurou grinned, "Well I can't give you sweaty hugs, at least."
"A large blessing, to be sure. I should thank them."
A volleyball come flying toward them, hitting Tetsurou square in the back. Hermione winced at the pain.
"Oi! Idiot! Get over here and stop flirting, already!" Yaku was glaring at them, hefting another ball in his hands.
"You freaking demon, do you have to throw balls at me like that?!" Tetsurou was already walking toward his teammate, clearly annoyed.
Hermione decided that she'd let them argue it out, or at least let Kai handle the two of them once more. For now, she could work with the first years.
A/N: As always, feedback is much appreciated! Y'all's reviews always make me so happy.
BrownEyesAngel: Back to some Hermione/Kuroo goodness.
Hermione and Tsukki def hung out in unwritten scenes at the start, but there hasn't been too much time for that since the soulbond.