Eyes wide as he took in the appearance of the loudmouth ace, Daichi let out an exasperated breath and narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the Nekoma Captain.

"Thanks for the heads up, Tetsuro." He sighed, the other captain rubbing the back of his neck but refusing to take all the blame.

"Excuse me for forgetting about someone who isn't in the room, when confronted with a talking cat. I'm sure it's fine, we'll just… Tell him not to tell anyone?"

"Suga-Chan is a cat now? This is totally cool; I've got to tell Akaashi!"

Whipping out his phone, Bokuto wasted no time navigating to his friend's contact and hit 'call'. Lurching toward the screen, Daichi and Sugawara both shouted in alarm.

"Stop him!"

"Damn it, Bokuto! Give me that, hang up the phone!"

Jumping out of his seat, Kuroo tackled the large boy to the ground and scrambled for the phone Bokuto was now holding out of reach. Fighting for possession of the cell, the two rolled around kicking and elbowing one another.

"I want to tell Akaashi, get off! You can't stop me!" Bokuto yelled as he hit speakerphone, the ring filling the room and making the Karasuno boys groan with anxiety, looking on as they were unable to do anything.

"Do you tell him every time you take a shit too? Hang up the phone, dammit!"

Face being smooshed by the hand of Fukurodani's captain shoving him away, Bokuto scowled and continued to hold the phone just far enough that Kuroo couldn't reach. As a last-ditch effort, he looked to the boy still playing his game on the bed and called for assistance.

"Kenma, grab it! Get the phone from him!"

Glancing wearily over the top of his handheld game, the setter sunk further into the mattress.

"I don't want to, I said don't involve me…" He muttered, tugging his hood up and shrinking in on himself as he ignored his friend's struggles on the floor.

"Kenma, you little-"

Before Kuroo could finish his sentence, the ringing that filled the room ceased, and a new voice came through the phone. Freezing, the three boys held their breath and went silent.

"Hello, Bokuto-san? I told you I had a college prep test I'm studying for, is this important?"

Grinning ferociously, Bokuto continued to shove Kuroo away from him and responded with excitement.

"It's super important, Akaashi! You know Suga-chan, right, right?"

The line was quiet for a moment but then there was a hum of acknowledgment.

"Are you speaking of Karasuno's other setter? Sugawara-San?"

"Yeah, yeah, that guy!" Sugawara glowered as the ace continued, annoyed but unable to interject. "He's a cat! He has a tail, and fur, and cute little cat ears! Oh and he can talk, you should see it!"

For another long moment, there was silence from the other end of the phone, the three waiting with bated breath as they debated what Akaashi might say. When the silence stretched on, Bokuto cocked his head in befuddlement and shook the phone in his hand as if his friend might feel it.

"Akaashi, are you there? Hello?"

"Yes, I'm here." The tone of the mild-mannered setter had changed from when he first spoke, it now held a level of lethality, a change that had the gold eyed boy pausing and looking marginally fearful.

"Listen carefully to me, Bokuto-San. I do not want to repeat myself a third time. I will be studying this weekend and cannot be disturbed with games or childish antics."

"Ch-childish? But- But Akaashi-" Bokuto said indignantly, clutching the phone tighter as he realized the younger boy didn't believe him, and intent on convincing him otherwise. Indifferent to his Captain's protest, Akaashi cut him off coldly.

"Do not interrupt me. As I was saying, I will be studying, so unless there is an absolute emergency, you should not be dialing my phone number. Sarukui-San and Washio-San are perfectly capable of answering your questions and entertaining you, there is no reason for you to disturb me. Is that clear?"

Stuttering as his mouth fell open and he tried to find his words, Bokuto blanched at the scolding he'd received, Kuroo ceasing his efforts to steal the phone in order to cover his mouth and stifle his laughter. Letting out a joint sigh of relief, Daichi and Suga relaxed a little.

Still struggling with a rebuttal, the boisterous captain frowned and shook his head.

"But, Akaashi! Suga-Chan really is a cat! I swear it if you just came over to see-"

"I said, is that clear?"

Pausing as he was cut off yet again, Bokuto crossed his arms in a powerful pout, but obliged.

"Yeah, whatever, but you're missing out-"

"A risk I'm willing to take. I will see you at Monday morning practice, Bokuto-San, do not call me again."

With that, the phone was disconnected, and the room returned to silence. As Bokuto stared at his phone appalled, it eventually began the loud beeping indicative of being hung up on, making the black- and white-haired boy pull himself together to make a noise of astonishment.

"He hung up on me!"

Letting out a hyena's cackle, Kuroo released the ace to sit up and clutch at his stomach as he laughed raucously.

"He really did! Way to go, Akaashi, didn't think you had it in you!"

As the distraught ace sat up and stared down at the phone in his hands as if it'd betrayed him, Sugawara flopped back in Daichi's lap and let out an intensely relieved sigh.

"Thank goodness, we should have known no one would believe him, why didn't we think of that?"

Shoulders drooping in his own relief and sagging back in the grass, Daichi dropped a hand on Suga and ruffled the fluff on his head.

"Good question, it's the obvious answer, really. If he tries to tell anyone, we'll just act like we don't know what he's talking about."

"HEY!" Bokuto barked, jumping to his feet and going back to the desk to glare at them. "You made Akaashi think I'm a child!" he yelled, jabbing fingers at the three of them as Kuroo got up and wandered back to the computer with a scoff.

"Trust me, it wasn't us that convinced him you're a child. Now if you want to say we made a liar out of you, by all means. But childish, that honor belongs to you, buddy."

Growling, Bokuto shoved the Nekoma captain's shoulder.

"Don't patronize me!"

Chuckling, Kuroo pushed the other boy out of the way and took a seat at the desk again, Bokuto gripping the back of the chair he sat in and leaning over his shoulder.

"So now that that's dealt with, you still haven't told me how it's even possible for someone to turn into a cat. Did you drink a magical potion or something?" Squinting his eyes and peering at Sugawara with a penetrating stare, Kuroo rubbed his chin. "This defies all logic; I don't really believe it myself."

Pulling back from Daichi's phone screen and leaning against the other boy's stomach, Sugawara stared back uneasily.

"Would you stop looking at me like that? I don't know how it's possible, but apparently, it is. All I know is a cat was being chased by a flock of crows, so I saved it. When it ran off, I followed to see where it was going but when I touched it…This happened."

"Wait, so some random cat showed up and after rescuing it, you chased after it?... Why didn't you just let it go?"

"That's what I said," Daichi muttered, shaking his head and causing Suga to give an affronted noise as he looked back and forth between them.

"What is this, a gang up on Suga committee?! Don't you think I've suffered enough without your lecturing?" He sulked, huffing out a sigh, and glaring up at them balefully.

"Hey hey, I think being a cat would be cool!" Bokuto offered, a grin on his face as he thought about it.

"No responsibilities, you can jump really high, everyone loves and wants to pet you… Sounds like a blessing!"

Shaking his furry head back and forth, the hair on Suga's tail fluffed up and he narrowed his round eyes.

"No it isn't, it's a curse! I still have responsibilities, but now I can't do them because I'm a cat! Not to mention this has been a day from hell, I was bit by a dog, fell in a pond, Daichi's Mom hit me over the head with a broom, his little sister bathed me, and I ate a can of cat food! How is that a blessing?!" He demanded, the hair on his nape standing as well.

"Yikes, his sister bathed you? That's rough buddy." Kuroo cringed, shaking his head at the setter's misfortune.

"Wait, you ate cat food? I've always wondered what that would taste like, was it good? I bet it was super fishy." Bokuto laughed to himself, Suga staring at him in disbelief before he let his head fall forward with exasperation.

"That's all you got out of everything I said? No wonder Akaashi hung up on you." Sugawara groaned, flopping down onto Daichi's legs and covering his head with his paws.

"There there." Daichi soothed, patting his cat friend sympathetically, unable to really do anything else.

"Do you want me to bite you again?"

"Well, compared to the scratches all over my chest and forearms, I'd say I could handle that."

Looking back up at Daichi with guilt quickly filling his features, Suga's ears laid flat and his eyes grew big and innocent.

"I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to make you bleed."

Laughing lightly, the brunette scratched the setter under his chin and gave a mellow smile.

"I know, I was kidding. Don't worry about it."

"Ahem…So… What are you guys going to do?"

Turning their attention back to the rooster haired captain, Daichi and Suga looked at each other briefly and then let out a sigh in unison.

"Your guess is as good as ours, we don't know what to do other than keep it quiet so he doesn't end up in a zoo. Hopefully, he just goes back to normal in time. That cat disappeared after Suga transformed, so it's not like we could even chase after it.

"Hmm… It really does sound like a curse. If you can't find the other cat, I've got no clue what you should do." Kuroo murmured, rubbing at the back of his head with no advice.

"Oh, I do! What if it's like those princess stories, you know like that one with a toad or something?" Bokuto exclaimed, lighting up with his grand idea.

"It's Princess and the Frog." Kenma muttered quietly in the background, almost inaudible.

Looking over the shoulder Bokuto wasn't hanging on, Kuroo crossed his arms.

"Thought you weren't getting involved."

"I'm not."

"Offering information counts as getting involved." The captain smirked, watching his kohai as he scowled from behind his game.

"Does not."

"…Does too."

"Does not."

"…Does too."

"Fine," The blond retorted irritably, turning his body away from the duo once more and yanking on the strings of his jacket to allow only a tiny hole for him to peer through. "Then forget I said it."

Shaking his head, Kuroo turned back to the computer and jabbed a thumb toward Kenma.

"Drama queen. Anyway, what are you going on about Owl for Brains?"

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Sugawara asked eagerly, pushing himself up on Daichi's leg to better see the phone's screen.

"One of the books my Mom used to read me and my older sister when we were kids." Bokuto said, grabbing his chin and thinking back as he tried to remember the specifics.

"There was this one story about a girl and a frog and when they kissed it turned the frog into a prince! Maybe Suga just has to go kiss his true love or whatever, then he'll turn back into a dude!"

Brow furrowing, Kuroo looked skeptical.

"Who's going to kiss a cat?"

"I don't know, the girl he loves, I guess," Bokuto said, folding his arms and shrugging.

Shaking his head, Sugawara sighed.

"No way, that's not going to work. I'm not in love with anyone. Besides, if I tried to kiss someone like this, they'd probably run screaming." He sulked, ears laying back and looking the picture of dejection.

Squeezing his eyes shut tight, the ace thought for a moment before his head popped up with another idea.

"Oh, what about someone you're really close to? That's just as good, right? Who's your closest friend?"

Stiffening, Sugawara froze and then slowly turned to look over his shoulder.

"…Daichi."

"Wait, what? Me?" Daichi asked, face pinching in an uncomfortable expression.

"Well who else, you're my best friend! Am I not yours?" Suga asked, suddenly unsure as disappointment crept into his tone.

"N-no you are! I just- I don't want my first kiss to be with a cat." Daichi admitted, cheeks reddening, and avoiding eye contact as he rubbed at the back of his neck.

"BWAHAHA! Sawamura the Saint!" Kuroo cackled, holding his stomach again as tears beaded in the corners of his eyes.

"That laugh really grates on your nerves," Suga muttered, ears remaining flat as he glared at Nekoma's captain, Daichi looking equally annoyed as he flushed, and nodding in agreement.

Waiting for Kuroo to finish, the tall boy finally straightened once more and wiped the tears from his eyes before turning his attention back to Karasuno's captains.

"Well, are you going to get on with it?"

Looking to one another and then the screen, Daichi and Sugawara shook their heads.

"No!"

"Why not? What if it works?" Bokuto demanded, not seeing what the problem was.

"It probably won't," Suga argued, sighing as he continued to shake his head.

"But what if it does?" Kuroo asked with a wicked little grin, completely enjoying this very off-topic volleyball chat.

"You just want me to kiss a cat," Daichi said unentertained, crossing his free arm over his chest and staring dully at the other captain as he held his phone up.

"Nonsense, I'm just worried about Suga-Chan." He grinned. "How're we supposed to enjoy thrashing Karasuno if their other prized setter doesn't have fingers to set the ball? Don't you think you should be trying everything to get him back to normal? I'd kiss cat Kenma in a heartbeat to save Nekoma."

"I will rip your lips off your face if you try." Kenma threatened in the background, Kuroo rolling his eyes at his teammate.

"Relax, I said if you turned into a cat."

As the call fell into a lull of quiet, Bokuto threw his hands onto his hips and regarded the other two boys frustrated.

"Just do it and get it over with! What's the issue?"

"I don't know, getting fur in my mouth?" Daichi offered dryly.

Scoffing, Kuroo shook his head.

"Lame excuse. You guys are being babies, just do it and see if anything happens, it's not a big deal."

"Easy for you to say…" Sugawara muttered but turned his head to look back at Daichi and see what his

opinion on the matter was.

Reluctantly looking down at the cat in his lap, the brunette took in a deep breath and held it for a long moment before letting it out in a big huff.

"Alright fine, what the hell. I'll do it."

Eyes going wide, Suga blinked surprised.

"R-Really? Are you sure?"

Pushing a hand back over his head and making his hair stand on end, Daichi shrugged.

"I told you we were in this together, right? I'd be going back on my word if we didn't at least give it a try. I'm in if you are."

Facing going from stunned to eyes filled with gratitude, Suga nodded his head.

"Sure, let's give it a try. If this somehow works, I might be happy enough to kiss you a second time." Sugawara teased, attempting to lighten the mood as Daichi propped his phone against the tree they were sitting under and allowed the cat to jump out of his lap.

Grimacing with a half-smile, Daichi situated himself on his knees in the grass and knelt before Suga.

"I think once will be enough… Ready?"

Shooting a glare Bokuto and Kuroo's way as they inched closer to the screen to watch them, Suga turned back to Daichi and nodded.

"As I'll ever be."

"Okay… Here we go."

Suddenly looking nervous, Daichi swallowed his objections and began to lean down to the fluffy cat before him, Suga raising on his back legs to try and meet the captain halfway. Hesitating as they got close, Sugawara paused, but Daichi forged on and gently pressed his warm lips to his friend's, lingering a moment before pulling back. Face red, the captain reached up to scratch the back of his head and looked meekly down at his friend.

"Well? Feel any different?"

At first, there was nothing, but then Sugawara's face began to contort into an odd expression. Still sitting up on his back legs, the setter leaned back as he took in a sudden breath and then-

"CHOO!"

Sneezing violently, the fluffy cat fell back in the grass and laid there for a second before he sniffled and rolled into a sitting position once more. Rubbing a paw at his nose and licking over his lips, Suga shook his head.

"Nope, I feel the same… You taste like watermelon by the way."

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Daichi fell back onto his butt and crossed his legs so he could prop his head on his hands.

"And you smell like tuna."

Making an appalled noise, Suga hung his head and groaned.

"Please… Just kill me if the embarrassment doesn't."

"Huh, guess it didn't work after all. I'm all out of ideas." Bokuto said, folding his arms behind his head and giving a shrug.

"Looks like you might have to wait it out, that stinks. Hopefully it doesn't take too long, you'd better figure something out before Sawamura's Mom tries to make you an appointment to get neutered." Kuroo advised, Sugawara giving a choking sputtering sound and diving into Daichi's lap, where he hid between the arms that propped his friend's head up.

"Why would you say that?!" Suga cried, tail fluffing to twice its size as his ears pressed flat against his head in horror.

Shaking his head at the wild-haired boy, Daichi picked his phone up from where it leaned against the tree and gave Kuroo an unamused glare for frightening his setter.

"On that note, I think we'll reschedule our volleyball chat for another day. I'll let you know when things are back to normal, we'll talk later."

"Getting off so soon? I suppose it can't be helped when your vice starts coughing up hairballs. we'll hit you up later, good luck." Kuroo said with his usual laid-back grin, Bokuto leaning over his shoulder again to fill most of the frame with his face.

"Try squid cat food next, Suga-Chan!"

With that, Daichi hit the 'end call' button and sighed tiredly.

"Daichi?"

"Yeah?"

"You wouldn't let your Mom get me neutered …Right?"

Giving a little chuckle, the brunette picked his friend up beneath the armpits to look him in the eyes and shake his head.

"No, Suga.