"So are you done sulking yet?"
Daichi lay beneath one of the many old shady oak trees in his back yard, an arm folded beneath his head and one leg crossed over his knee. Plucking a cube of watermelon from a small bowl that sat beside him and dropping it into his mouth, he gazed at the long-haired cat that lay curled up on his chest as he chewed, ears flat as he stewed in whatever emotion had soured his cheery disposition.
Sugawara hadn't spoken a word through lunch and remained quiet as Daichi's Mom offered him some crisp cold watermelon he'd decided to enjoy outside. After finding a spot that was much too far out of earshot for any of his family members to overhear him, he'd set his friend in the grass and made himself comfortable. Daichi knew it was pointless to push Suga to talk if he was in a mood, he would only mutter things too difficult for the brunette to catch, if he replied at all. It was best to leave him be until he felt like trying to form his frustrated thoughts into words, because yes, he did have a lot of thoughts on most matters, but he would only share if he wasn't badgered to. In truth, Daichi didn't mind hearing Sugawara's rants, quite the opposite really. He enjoyed the other boy's thought process, it was different from his own, but he could appreciate the calculated logic and thoughtfulness.
Daichi knew Suga well after the years they'd spent as friends, so he recognized when the grey and cream cat slunk over to him and climbed onto his chest, that he was upset about something. If it wasn't for the cool breeze that blew through his greenery filled yard, he'd have to protest against Suga's furry little body adding to the heat, but lucky for the setter, Daichi was nothing if not kind.
"I'm not sulking." Sugawara mumbled, burying his chin further into his tail and huffing out a little breath through his pink nose.
Eyes crinkling lightly with a soft smile, Daichi licked watermelon from his fingers and reached up to scratch at Suga's cheek the way Yamaguchi had, earning a reluctant but soft purr.
"Oh? Could have fooled me." He said, chuckling as he got a light nip to the fingers and smirking when the setter pushed his head back into his hand in a demand for more pets.
Continuing to sink his fingers into soft grey fur, Daichi gently massaged Suga's jaw in hopes it would sooth him enough to talk. It was quiet except for the peaceful rustle of the wind through leaves above as the two lay in silence, Daichi waiting for Sugawara to tell him what was on his mind, but content to be patient if that's what he wanted.
After a few more minutes, Daichi's patience was rewarded. Burying his head beneath his paws, and groaning, Sugawara began to mutter his thoughts.
"I couldn't stop myself Daichi, I couldn't stop…"
Confused at how the conversation started, the captain's brow lifted in puzzlement and he paused in his petting.
"I'm sorry, you lost me. Couldn't stop what?"
Sugawara didn't seem pleased with the question, scrubbing his little paws over his head aggressively as he moaned. Lips screwing into a concerned expression, Daichi pulled Suga's paws away from their clawing and encouraged him to elaborate.
"Cut that out. Come on, Koshi, tell me what you're talking about so we can be on the same page. What couldn't you stop?"
Continuing to groan, Suga looked up at him meekly.
"The cat food… It wasn't me, I swear! I mean it was… But something just came over me and- and- Oh god, what if I'm turning even more into a cat? I liked the way it tasted, Daichi, I liked it! I've never been that big a fan of tuna, why would I like tuna flavored cat food?"
Blinking surprised, Daichi rolled to his side and pushed Suga into the grass beside him so they could more easily talk.
"Well, that is weird… But so is turning into a cat in the first place. Maybe it's normal to crave that sort of thing when you become an animal?" He suggested, concerned about this new revelation, but not wanting the other boy to become even more stressed.
Trying to see the reason, Suga pulled his feet together and sat hunched, his eyes squinted in worry and his nose twitching nervously.
"What if I don't turn back? What if I stay like this, what am I going to do? I can't go to class, how will I keep my grades up? How will I get into a university? No college would accept a cat, I'd belong in a circus, not a classroom teaching kids!"
Sensing a panic attack on the rise, Daichi pushed up on his elbow and shook his head.
"Calm down, I'm sure you won't stay like this. We just have to be patient and take it one day at a time."
Looking up at Daichi with wide worried eyes, Suga stared at him intently.
"How do you know? How can you say I won't end up in a zoo as the world's only talking cat, that I won't have to give up all of my dreams and accept a life of cat food? It's a hard enough fight to remain a setter for Karasuno with Kageyama around, it'll be impossible like this-"
"HEY." Daichi said, sitting up straight and picking up his spiraling friend beneath his arms.
Holding the cat up in front of him, he stared back at him with a firm but earnest expression, Sugawara looking at him with fretful eyes of his own.
"I said calm down."
"But Daichi..."
"Shh, enough of that. You're right, I can't know how long you'll be a cat, or even how to turn you back, but I do know you're not alone. I promise we'll figure this out, Suga, we'll get you back to normal. I don't know how yet, but I won't give up until we do so neither can you."
Cream chin trembling, Suga's hazel eyes bore into Daichi's steady ones.
"You promise?"
There was no hesitation as the captain answered.
"Promise. We're in this together. Even if it is your fault for ignoring your wise friend's warnings and interfering with a cat that's being attacked by a flock of crows."
Smiling, Daichi set him back down as the other boy laughed lightly.
"My wise friend is a total buzz kill… But thanks, Daichi. I don't know what I'd do without you." Suga sighed, curling his tail around himself once more and looking a little less frazzled.
"You've had my back for years, no need to thank me." Daichi assured, a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth as his friend seemed to calm down.
"You're a great leader, of course I'd have your back." Suga said with a soft smile of his own, looking to the brunette's pocket as a buzzing noise began.
Leaning to the side, Daichi reached into his shorts and drew out his phone to look at the screen, eyebrows jumping when he saw who it was.
"Crap! It's a video call from Kuroo with Nekoma, I told him we could talk volleyball after practice today and I completely forgot. I was going to tell you but then all this happened." Running a hand back over his head with confliction dancing across his face, Daichi stared down at the image of Nekoma's captain and bit his lip.
"Go ahead then, answer it! We can trust Kuroo to keep quiet, besides, I know you wanted to ask about that play with Tsukishima, it's hard to explain through text, just take the call." Suga encouraged, making up Daichi's mind as he looked to the setter to make sure he was really okay with it, then tapping on the little green camera icon before it could stop ringing.
A couple seconds lapsed as the screen went to black, and then Kuroo appeared, a silky smirk revealing a glimmer of white teeth.
"There you are Sawamura, thought you were gonna let me down for a second there."
Grinning easily back, Daichi chuckled.
"I'll save that for when we put you in your place on the court."
"Oh yeah?" Kuroo grinned wolfishly, head falling back as he let out a laugh. "Big words for a team that hasn't beat us yet. Maybe you should save the smack talk for when you can back it up, eh?"
Scratching the back of his head, Daichi still smiled as he shrugged and then gave a glance down at Suga who'd come to settle himself in the captain's lap. Turning his attention back to the screen, he tried to gauge Kuroo's surroundings.
"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, where are you, at home?"
"Hm? Nah, I invaded Kenma's house, I thought he'd benefit from our little soiree. Not to mention his parents are out late tonight, which means he won't eat anything for dinner if I don't make him. Isn't that right, Kenma?"
Watching as the camera shifted, Kuroo could be seen leaning over on a bed and draping an arm around the pudding haired second year, the latter looking apathetically annoyed at the closeness, but not looking up from his game.
"Get off, Kuroo."
"Aww, you don't have to act cool in front of Karasuno chumps, Hinata isn't even here."
Not bothering to respond, Kenma turned his head from the screen and continued to focus on his game. Turning his hands to the sky, Kuroo gave a 'what can you do' shrug and leaned forward once more. Picking up the laptop, he carried it to a desk Daichi couldn't see and took a seat, facing the camera so that the entirety of the rather plain room could be seen.
After getting settled, the spikey haired captain folded his arms behind his head and leaned the chair back on two legs.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road. Where's Suga-chan, didn't you say it would be the two of you?"
Glancing down at Suga again, Daichi reached up to idly scratch at his nose.
"Yeah… About that…"
Perplexed, Kuroo's brow pulled up in curiosity.
"Trouble in paradise? What, you two aren't fighting, are you?"
Daichi shook his head.
"No, nothing like that… Do you think you can keep a secret? It's kind of… Complicated."
"Listen, Sawamura, I know teammates can get annoying, but you better not have killed the guy. I really don't feel like getting dirt on these pants if I have to help you dig a hole, they're new."
"That's you're only objection to my murder?!"
Standing up on his two back legs and pulling Daichi's arm down with a paw, Suga glared at Kuroo through the little screen, ears flat in indignation.
Eyes blowing wide, Kuroo tipped back too far on his chair and his arms went pinwheeling as he toppled backward onto the floor.
"Serves him right…" Suga muttered, to which Daichi shook his head.
"Don't you think some warning was warranted?"
"You only say that because he'd help you bury my body without question."
"I would never kill you though, so does it really matter?"
"Easy for you to say."
On the other end of the call, Kuroo was staggering to his feet and gripping the edge of the desk as he looked into the camera incredulous.
"Suga-chan?! Are you- You're a cat." He said stupefied, turning back to the other boy in the room and pointing at the screen.
"Kenma, Suga-chan is a cat, like an actual cat."
Eyes turning up from his game for only a moment then growing wide with a disturbed expression, the second year turned his body completely from the screen and shook his head.
"Weird. Don't involve me."
Turning his attention back to the screen, Kuroo righted the chair and sat back down, refusing to take his eyes off Suga. Feeling uncomfortable, the silver haired setter returned to his seated position and Daichi shifted the camera so that both of them could be seen.
"Is this a joke or something? How are you doing this?" Kuroo asked skeptically, eyeing the captain and vice-captain as the two exchanged a look between themselves.
"More like a cruel joke…" Suga muttered finally.
Gripping the back of his neck, Daichi sighed.
"We'll tell you what happened, but you've got to keep it to yourself, okay?"
Nodding his head in quick agreement, Kuroo waved his hand impatiently.
"My lips are sealed, spill."
Looking to one another once more, Suga took a deep breath.
"Well," he began. "We were at practice when this cat chased by a bunch of crows showed up-"
"Hey hey hey, is that a talking cat?!"
Staring at the large gold eyes that suddenly appeared over Kuroo's shoulder, Suga went silent.
Kuroo grimaced looking guilty.
"Oh uh… Bokuto's here by the way." He admitted.