Resigning himself to his fate, the silver haired setter remained tense in the girl's arms, not enjoying this situation at all. This was not how he'd expected his day to go. Daichi and him were going to surprise the rest of the guys with ice cream after their hard work in the scorching gym, but instead he was about to be bathed by his best friend and his little sister? Even if he was a cat, it was humiliating!

On the way to the bathroom, Kokoro passed by their younger brother's room and popped her head in.

"Look Yasu, Nii-san has Suga-san's cat for a couple days. Isn't he cute?"

Turning away from the video game he was playing, the brown-haired boy that looked strikingly similar to Daichi, peeled back a headphone and stared at them.

"It looks like it's sick, what's wrong with it?"

Suga made a choked noise, almost exclaiming a rebuttal and then remembering he was supposed to be a cat. Flattening his ears, he ducked his head and glared at Daichi miserably, watching as the captain Covered his mouth and worked hard to stifle his laughter. Even his sister shook her head, giving him an admonishing look as she hugged Suga.

"You're both dumb, there's nothing wrong with him, he just needs a bath. Nii-San has been a horrible caretaker, poor Button deserves better." Kokoro declared, turning from her brother's bedroom and continuing down the hall as Yasu called lazily after her.

"Oi, what did I do?"

"You insulted precious Suga-san's cat." Daichi snickered, following after Kokoro to make sure she didn't completely traumatize his teammate.

Entering the decent sized bathroom, Daichi leaned over the side of the white tub and put the stopper in the drain before turning on the water, bringing it to a warm but not too hot temperature.

"Alright, give him here." Daichi said, reaching out for the cat and then frowning as the girl pulled away from him.

"Come on Kokoro, he's had a hard day, let's just get this done so we can eat lunch."

Jutting her chin out slightly, Daichi's sister handed Suga over but lingered by his side.

"Fine, but be gentle with him."

"I will." Daichi assured, kneeling beside the tub and giving his sulking friend a reassuring smile.

Lowering the reluctant cat, Suga began to squirm as the brunette set him into the filling tub, his mind instantly going to panic mode. Although this water was warmer, the setter was overcome with fear as he remembered falling into the Koi pond, the urge to scramble to safety taking over.

Not proud of the pathetic meow he let out, Suga sunk his claws into Daichi's arms and refused to let go as he began to tremble. He didn't like this, he wanted out!

"Ouch, Suga- Er, Button. That hurts, calm down."

"He's scared Nii-san. I bet he thinks you're going to let him drown." Kokoro speculated, kneeling beside her brother and taking down the shower head to begin carefully soaking the flustered cat.

Letting out a broken noise that almost sounded like 'Daichi' Suga began to struggle to get free, digging his nails into his friend and accidentally scratching him as he tried to scale the side of the tub.

"Ouch- Stop that, you're making this harder than it needs to be. Stay still."

Easy to say for someone who wasn't being held down by a giant pair of hands. Sugawara was aware they belonged to his friend and therefore should be able to trust him, but it was more instinctual to try and flee. He wanted to speak so badly, to beg Daichi to let him be with human words instead of distressed meows, but couldn't with Kokoro there. Hiding in a trashcan behind the gym was beginning to look better by the second.

Suga really tried to calm down, but his heart was hammering so hard in his chest he thought he might die of a heart attack. He settled for gripping onto Daichi's thick arms, knowing he was probably leaving marks but figuring it wasn't too bad since the captain allowed it… Even if his face was screwed up in a painful expression.

Speaking through gritted teeth, Daichi nodded his head toward his shampoo.

"Alright, I think he's wet enough Kokoro. Grab my shampoo and suds him up, I'm turning into a pin cushion over here."

"What, your shampoo?"

"Well it's not like I have cat soap, it should be fine, just use it."

Setting the sprayer aside, the girl made a thoughtful noise and instead reached for a pink and green bottle covered in strawberries.

"Let's use mine, it'll make his hair soft."

Shaking his head exasperated, Daichi glimpsed down to Suga still trembling in the water, eyes boring into his, then back to his sister.

"He's a boy, Kokoro. I don't think he wants to smell like a strawberry, use mine."

"He's a cat, he won't care what he smells like. I bet Suga-san will love it."

Before Daichi could further argue, Kokoro squeezed a stripe of strawberry scented shampoo from head to tail and began gently massaging it into Suga's fur. The older brother let out a sigh as he stared down at his friend apologetically, sure he'd get an earful when it was just the two of them and Suga could do more than meow.

Gripping the Captain's arms tight as Kokoro lathered up his grey and cream fur, Suga's nostrils were soon filled with the overwhelming scent of strawberries. In truth, he didn't mind the fruit, but that didn't exactly mean he wanted to smell like one. Doing his best to be still as his ears and neck were scrubbed, the setter began to stiffen as the girl scrubbed down his back, then stomach, moving on to his tail and then-

Letting out a startled yelp, Suga suddenly lunged with renewed strength, clawing his way up Daichi's stomach and chest to grab onto his shoulder for dear life, hooking his claws in to hold on tight.

"AH- OUCH, SUGA-!"

Now dripping with sudsy bubbles, Daichi winced at the scratches he could feel running the length of his torso and forearms, looking to his sister incredulous as he grabbed onto the cat to prevent further clawing.

"What did you do to him- Ouch- Let go Suga, er Button… Come on, have mercy, I'm bleeding."

Staring wide eyed at the cat who'd jumped from the tub, Kokoro tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"All I did was wash between his legs, why do you keep calling him Suga, Nii-san?"

Struggling with detaching his setter's claws from his flesh, Daichi muttered a curse under his breath as he then understood the other boy's actions. By the end of this stupid curse, one of them would be traumatized, probably both. Light flush coating his own cheeks, the captain directed his attention to his sister's question.

"Have I been? I didn't notice… Listen Kokoro, he should be clean enough, I'll finish up. I think it's just too many hands and it's freaking him out, why don't you see if Mom needs help with lunch?"

The young girl's shoulders drooped with disappointment as she huffed a sigh, but she didn't argue.

"Fine, but I want to hold him when your done… You should shower too, you smell like a gym bag." She said, getting to her feet.

Laughing lightly, Daichi grinned.

"Well we won't get to nationals if we don't break a sweat at practice, you can't expect me to smell like roses. I'll shower after I rinse Button, shut the door behind you, please."

"You're so intense all the time, Nii-san. How does your team put up with it?"

Daichi chuckled.

"They want to win just as much."

"If you say so."

With that, Kokoro left the bathroom and tugged the door closed behind her. Daichi waited a few seconds for his sister to be out of ear shot, and then whispered to Suga as he pried him from his shoulder.

"Hey, sorry about uh… er… You know. Let me just rinse the shampoo out of your fur and I'll get you a towel, is that okay?"

Ears laying flat against his head, Suga glared dully at his best friend.

"I'm going to punch you when I can make a fist again. You know that, right?"

Unable to help his snort, Daichi gave a nod.

"Yeah, that's fair."