Thank you so much delightfulsunbeam for my first review! You have no idea how much it means to me. I'm glad that you like my idea. Right now it's just going to be a little slow in the beginning, but I hope that you like it! Don't forget to let me know what you think of it!

Chapter 1

It had been a strange week.

Starting at a new school is always stressful by itself. Meeting new people and the rumors that go along with being the new girl. My personality was quiet and withdrawn until I was comfortable with someone, but that wouldn't help me with not knowing anyone. The rumor mill was the funniest though. One rumor was that I had been kicked out of my last school for fighting and that I had been a thug. The only reason for that was because it was Tokyo. Most of the other rumors were the same.

I didn't bother to correct them, mainly because I didn't care. I was only concerned with making it to the end of high school so I could go back to Tokyo. Don't get me wrong, I like living in the country, but I mainly just missed my friends. Living with my aunt, uncle, and older cousin was nice, but I missed my brother and his antics. But there would be no way for me to ever see him again.

The other strange thing was a guy that had been suspended came back. During one of our free periods, he immediately approached me, completely unafraid. I had been working on an assignment when he walked over and sat down in front of me. I looked up in confusion and raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"I've never seen you before and you weren't here last year," he explained with a grin. "So, who are you? I've heard the rumors, but I wanted to ask."

"Kaneko Kitamura," I told him hoping he would just leave. "And if you believe the rumors then you're an idiot."

"Oh! I'm Yu Nishinoya, it's nice to meet you Kaneko-chan," he greeted, his grin widening. "You're very blunt."

"Why sugarcoat?" I inquired in annoyance. "It's just a way to lie and it only leads to someone getting hurt. And who said you could call me by my first name?"

Nishinoya laughed, actually laughed, and ignored the last part. "That's an awesome way to look at it! Do you play any sports?"

"Do you ever stop talking?" I shot back.

He just chuckled. "Occasionally, but you didn't answer my question."

I sighed in a suffering way. "I used to play volleyball. But I don't anymore."

"Really?! I play too!" he said in excitement. "I'm a Libro. What position did you play? And why don't you play anymore?"

"I was an outside hitter," I replied. "And why I don't play is personal."

He just smiled at me. Thankfully, before he could say anything else, the teacher walked into the classroom, and he was forced to go back to his seat. I only got out my books and notebook while trying to ignore Nishinoya now. There were a few other times that he had tried to talk to me, but I did my best to deter him. It never worked though, and he still insisted about calling me by my first name.

The last strange thing was my older cousin calling me just after school. My older cousin was far older than me and ran a store with my aunt. He kept saying that he was getting asked to be a coach for the boys volleyball club, but he refused to do it. However, he called me while I was coming home with a strange request.

"Kaneko, I need you to head back to school," Keishin told me. "I'm headed your way with your track suit."

"Huh?! Why would you be doing that?!" I demanded.

"Somehow the teacher in charge of the club managed to get a practice match with Nekoma," he explained, and I stopped walking in shock. "I won't let them embarrass themselves! You're coming! You'll be the student coach for them."

"Wait a minute!" I shouted at him. "Don't I get a say in this?! Maybe I don't want to be a student coach! Especially getting them ready against Nekoma!"

I then heard his voice in front of me. "You have the experience," he explained as I looked up at him and hung up the phone. "It's recent experience. Not to mention, the doctor said that upping your training more will help."

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head in exasperation. He made a good point. My doctor wanted me to up my training and there was only so much that I could do on my own. It would help to be able to train with others to keep pace again. Keishin held out another duffle bag to me. It was my black and red one with all of my volleyball things inside.

Taking it from him, I threw it over my shoulder as I turned around and walked next to my cousin back to my school. During the walk, Keishin explained the match up with his old team tonight, in order to see everyone's skills. Walking up to the gate, a teacher met up there and he looked at me curiously. "This is Kaneko Kitamura, my cousin," Keishin introduced us. "Kaneko, this is Ittetsu Takeda, the faculty advisor for the boys volleyball club. She's here to be the student coach and a secondary set of eyes for me."

Takeda smiled and bowed in greeting. "It's very good to meet you Kitamura-san."

I returned the bow. "It's very good to meet you as well Takeda-sensei."

He led us to the gym were we could hear the sounds of sneakers on the floor and volleyballs hitting the floor. Looking inside, I saw many of the boys doing serving drills. My eyes were drawn to Nishinoya on one side, moving side to side to receive. Takeda opened the door and announced our presence.

"Good job, everyone," he called.

I heard someone shout to huddle up and then a few gasps as Keishin stepped up next to Takeda. I took a few steps to stand next to my cousin, and I could see Nishinoya's eyes widened at seeing me.

"Let me introduce you," Takeda announced. "This is Ukai-kun, who will be out coach starting today, and this is Kitamura-san, she will be you student coach."

There was a silence where everyone was shocked while Keishin and I looked around. Their gym was a lot smaller than the last one I played in.

"Coaches?" a tall brunette guy asked, breaking the silence. "Is this true?"

Keishin looked at the guy and corrected him. "Only 'til the match against Nekoma."

The guy seemed to deflate slightly, and a guy with a buzzed head pointed and looked unsure. "But this is the guy from Sakanoshita Shop," he said in confusion. "He's really a coach?"

"He's a sempai to all of you," Takeda explained. "He's the grandson of Coach Ukai."

They all looked shocked at this, and the small boy with ginger hair came forward in confusion. "But that's not the name on your store," he inquired.

"The store's named after my mother's side of the family."

"How do you know him Kaneko-chan?" Nishinoya called bouncing forward. "For you to be a student coach, you must be good."

"Noya-san, how do you know her?" the guy with the buzzed head asked. "I've never seen her before."

Nishinoya turned to him with a smile. "Kaneko Kitamura is a second year and in my class. She's new this year."

"She is right here," I growled and both boys jumped. I took a deep breath before pointed to Keishin. "He's my cousin and Coach Ukai is my grandfather as well."

"So cool!" Nishinoya and the ginger said together.

Keishin drew the attention back to him by putting his hands on his lips. "We got no time to waist," he announced. "Let's get started. I want to see what you guys are made of. The game will start a 6:30 pm. The opponents have already been invited.

"Huh? Opponents?" the brunette questioned in surprise.

"The Karasuno Neighborhood Association Team," Keishin grinned.

*Cat Among Crows*

While we were waiting for the team, I met the volleyball club members. I met Kiyoko Shimizu, the third year manager, who showed me where I could change into my gear. She was a little quiet, but she was very nice. I met the third year players, Daichi Sawamura, the brunette from before, and Koshi Sugawara, who were also the Captain and Vice-Captain. Daichi insisted that I call him by his name and Sugawara told me to call him Suga. They were both very kind and welcoming, but I could tell that the both of them could be fearsome if provoked.

Then there was the second year players. I already knew Nishinoya. Then there was Ryunosuke Tanaka, who was the one with the buzzed hair. He was the outside hitter and had a blush across his cheeks as he talked to me. Chikara Ennoshita, Hisashi Kinoshita, and Kazuhito Narita were the other three second years. None of them really played regularly, but they were very kind to me.

The first years were interesting. The most energetic of the bunch was Shoyo Hinata. He was the sort guy with ginger hair, and surprisingly, a middle blocker. But, I knew that looks were deceiving when it came to this game. He clashed personalities with Tobio Kageyama, the setter. I had a feeling that the both of them could be good friends.

Then there were the childhood friends Kei Tsukishima, the tall blonde middle blocker with glasses, and Tadashi Yamaguchi, another middle blocker, but not a regular. Tsukishima struck me as the one that didn't want to be here but wasn't willing to give it up. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, enjoyed playing, but was really just following Tsukishima.

I had just gotten back from changing to see all the boys passing volleyballs back and forth and Keishin cursing. "Damn, they're not coming," he said closing his phone and turning to me. "I guess it's impossible to get everyone on a weekday."

Shrugging, I turned around upon hearing familiar voices. Keishin went running over to them. "Hey, guys, thanks for coming on short notice."

I simply waved when they greeted me. The team would help me out with my training when they didn't have to work, which unfortunately wasn't a lot.

The team got ready and Keishin called out everyone about getting ready. I had a notebook and pencil ready to take notes on the players. Looking up, I watched as my cousin grill why the Libero couldn't play. Nishinoya went to join the Neighborhood Association team, when Hinata started to shout about someone named Asahi. Keishin started firing off questions at him, which I could tell was making Asahi uncomfortable. "Keishin, if you want him to answer, you need to stop the rapid questions."

"Oh, right," he sighed. "What's your position?"

"Wing spiker…" came the timid answer.

"We're short on players. Hurry and warm up! Chop, chop!"

Asahi was a tall third year with brown hair up in a tight bun. As Asahi slowly came in, I noticed how the other third and second years looked excited, except Nishinoya. Asahi must be the ace of the team, and apparently at odds with Nishinoya.

Keishin hummed trying to figure out what to do about the last player and started to talk out loud. "Now we just need a setter. I wish I could do it, but I have to watch the game and the same goes for Kaneko." He then turned to the two setters, Kageyama and Suga. "I need to borrow a setter from you guys."

Suga was the one that stepped forward and Kageyama wasn't happy. "You're not doing this for me, are you? If you're stepping down so I can step up, I'll refuse."

Suga gave a very emotional speech that told me there was another story to go along with it. Especially, when he asked to give Asahi a toss again. It also told me about Kageyama's abilities as a setter. It said that he was close to being a genius. This game was about to be an interesting one.

*Cat Among Crows*

The game began and it was evenly scored. It was kind of funny to hear the different conversations. My eyes kept wandering to Asahi. He had a far away and crushed look on his face. It was then that they started to send the ball to him, and I could almost see the cogs turning in his head. When he lifted his head and called for a toss, it made me smile just a little.

Nishinoya was one hell of a Libero. He kept the ball in play from an almost impossible angle. It made me miss my old team even more.

Takeda was impressed with the sound that was made by Asahi's hit, and then he gushed over Nishinoya's receive. "He's amazing. So was Nishinoya-kun's receive. If he can save a ball that's been blocked, we can be invincible!"

I scoffed while Keishin just folded his arms. "What are you talking about? It's impossible to save those every time."

"These are balls that are going at least 100 kph," I explained to him as I watched the others. "They travel a distance of only two to three meters. There's no way you can save them all, no matter how good you are."

"Oh…" Takeda deflated.

"However,…" Keishin continued. "It's important to know that getting blocked isn't the end. Knowing your teammates are there to back you up, can set your mind at ease."

"I see."

The score was 7 to 5 for the Neighborhood Associates Team now. The serve went over and Daichi called for Ennoshita. I have to say, their receives were pretty bad. It wasn't that they were terrible, but they weren't that good either. The only one with brilliant receives was Nishinoya, but that was his job on the court. I looked up at Keishin as he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Overall, their receiving needs a lot of work," he said without looking at me. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," I responded and turned back to the game to see Kageyama get under the ball. Suddenly, he set the ball straight to Hinata, who had already jumped. Hinata spiked the ball super quick, and my eyes widened. 'He wasn't even looking at the ball.'

"Hey!" my cousin shouted to Hinata. "Why did you jump there, Shrimpy?"

Hinata looked utterly confused. "B-Because the toss will come to wherever I jump."

My mouth fell open, and my eyes turned to Kageyama. If the ball always came to Hinata, then Kageyama was able to perfectly coordinate with his motion. I had never even heard of anything like that. Sure, a good setter is able to bring out the best in all of his spikers, but this was unreal.

"What's the matter with you guys?" Keishin questioned in annoyance. "Are you freaks?"

They both looked at each other in confusion. Tsukishima started to argue, but I just kept staring at them. I vaguely heard my cousin explain what he was thinking to Takeda. I was too busy wondering how any of this was possible. It took a lot of trust to swing and not look at the ball. There were very few people that I would trust that much, and I've known them for years. I broke out of my daze when Keishin shouted.

"Karasuno is pretty good right now," he said in excitement. He then slapped Takeda's back. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Sensei?"

"I did tell you, repeatedly," he countered.

"That sounds like him," I commented and blatantly ignored the glare that I received. I simply continued on. "But I'm surprised that Hinata is the middle blocker. Normally, it wouldn't work out."

"That's true," Keishin agreed. "His quick attack is amazing sure, but how's he at blocking?"

Takeda got all excited at seeing Hinata facing off with Asahi, and how Hinata wanted to be ace. Apparently, he idolized Karasuno's Little Giant and aspired to be the ace, just like him. My cousin thought it would be interesting. I was pleasantly surprised that when Asahi went to spike, Hinata was already in front of him. It seemed that Asahi was surprised as well. Hinata didn't block properly, and it gave the other team the point to win the set. I might have been the fact that one of my best friends is a middle blocker, but I was already thinking of ways to teach him.

In the second set, Hinata had been distracted and ended up getting hit in the face with a spike from Asahi. Everyone rushed over to him, and my cousin looked to me. Nodding, I got a small flashlight from my bag and ran over. Coming up behind Suga and Nishinoya, I tapped Suga on the shoulder. "Excuse me," I said. "I need to check him."

Suga nodded and pulled Nishinoya back with him. I knelt next to him while he was begging to stay in. "Hinata," I called lightly to get his attention. When he looked at me, I held up my flashlight. "I need to check you for a concussion before you can keep playing." I help up a finger before shining the light above his eyes. "Follow my finger with your eyes not your head."

After checking his eyes, I set my flashlight in my pocket and reached to check his forehead and the back of his head. I didn't feel anything broken and Hinata didn't flinch, so I pulled back. "He's good," I announced. "Nothing's broken and he doesn't have a concussion."

It was then that Hinata got scared and I looked over my shoulder to see Kageyama glaring at Hinata. Hinata quickly got up and moved backwards. "Why were you distracted in the middle of the match?" he growled out.

Kageyama then began to lecture Hinata as I stood and stepped back. It was about how Hinata envied Asahi, and they started to yell at each other. I moved away from everyone as someone came into the gym to get everyone to clean up. Daichi approached me with a concerned look. "Are you sure he's okay?" he inquired.

I gave him a small smile. "He checks out just fine, but I'll check him again after the match. Just to be safe."

"Thank you," he said with a smile. "You don't have to do that."

I chuckled a little bit. "I'd prefer to be on the safe side with any hit like that. I'm still studying, but I know the basics of how to find these things. I'm happy to do it, especially if that happens a lot."

Daichi scratched the back of his head with a nervous chuckle. "We hope it doesn't happen too often."

It was then that I walked back over to my cousin so they could continue with a parting smile. Coming up next to Keishin, I heard Kageyama call out the other team by telling them that he wanted them to block him. I raised an eyebrow as my cousin complained a loud. 'What was he thinking?'

"A quick attack's only effective if they can't see it coming, but he just revealed the plan to them. There's no way that Shrimpy can take them now."

"If he tried to take them head on that would be true," I commented, going over everything I had learned about Hinata. "But, I think that Kageyama had a different thought in mind."

"What do you mean Kaneko?" my cousin asked in confusion.

"We'll see."

It was then that Kageyama gave a rather impressive speech about them working together. I thought that it was rather self-centered to say that it was only because of Kageyama that Hinata was good. 'This team all need to work on various things, including Kageyama.'

During the match, Kageyama encouraged Hinata to dodge the blockers. We all watched as Hinata went one way and the blockers got in front of him. Hinata made a quick turn and ran quickly to the other end of the net. After he slammed the ball, everyone went silent, but Kageyama broke it.

"You're no ace," he started. "But with your speed and spring, and with my toss, you can face any blocker. The points scored by the ace's slam, and the points scored by dodging are both scored points. So, you don't wear a crown with 'ace' written on it. All you have to do is score lots of points. That's why our opponents will mark you."

He went on to get help from Tanaka and asked if he still thought that his position was still uncool. Hinata took a moment to answer but then said he didn't. As Keishin was asking about Hinata and Kageyama, I was remembering my childhood friends back in Tokyo.

There was an accident that took everything from me. I had gotten really depressed during that time. My friends and teammates where with me the whole time. But it was my childhood friends that really brought me back.

'Do you really think that this is what they would want you to be doing?! They would be ashamed at how you're acting!'

'Well, at least think about us! We almost lost you! You're still here and we all need you to be!'

I smiled at little as their voices echoed in my head. 'I really should call them tonight, or at least a text.'

After another good play, the high school team got another point and the Neighborhood team decided to get serious. The one serving, Shimada, did a jump floater serve. Takeda was confused when he saw it. "What was that? That didn't look like a particularly forceful serve."

"It's a jump floater serve," my cousin answered, and I jumped into explain.

"By hitting the ball so it doesn't spin, it wobbles in its path. Mostly, it'll just suddenly turn or drop from the air."

Takeda was impressed and began to take notes in a small notebook. The more Shimada did the jump floater, the worse the receiving was. My cousin and I both took notice. "The first year duo's attack is amazing, but receiving is a problem," he spoke aloud, and I took down a few more notes. "Especially the first and second years."

In the end, the Neighborhood Team won. After embarrassing Kageyama and Nishinoya and made me giggle, Keishin explained that they would be receiving. "Starting tomorrow, you've got rigorous training ahead," he explained. They all agreed and bowed while thanking him. "And don't forget to stretch."

They all went over to circle up and Daichi lead the stretches. While that was happening, Keishin sighed which caused Takeda and I to look at him in confusion.

"Was the receiving that bad?" Takeda asked. "So bad you're sighing?"

Keishin rubbed his head. "No, I'll come back to that later. Back in the day when I'd wait to be picked as a player, I didn't even realize that it isn't easy being the picker."

"That and the receives were really bad," I threw in and my cousin gave me an annoyed look while Takeda looked at me curiously. "What? I know plenty of people who could have received that jump floater and multiple others."

Keishin sighed again in aggravation. "Just because your old team is known for receives, doesn't mean that they were that bad."

The others finished stretching and started to clean up. Takeda then turned to me. "Kitamura-chan, what school did you used to go to? You seem to know a lot about volleyball."

I looked at Keishin, who nodded at me. "I used to play, and I played for Nekoma."

"Really?!"

"Which is why she's here," Keishin explained. "She knows how the current Nekoma team plays, and it'll be a major advantage."

"Yeah, don't count on that," I countered, then I walked over to where Hinata was talking with Asahi, leaving my cousin sputtering.

Walking up behind Hinata, I heard the tail end of the conversation, and smiled slightly. "I think that you'll still be a regular," I commented, and they both turned to me. "With your power, sitting you on the bench would be a waist." I then turned to Hinata. "I need to check you again, Hinata. Just to make sure that you avoided having a concussion."

"B-B-But, I'm fine!" Hinata sputtered, trying to argue. "I made it through the match totally fine!"

I narrowed my bright emerald green eyes at him, and he flinched in surprise. "While that may be true, I would rather be safe than sorry. Besides, you remind me of someone. He had a nasty habit of trying to convince everyone that he was fine when he really wasn't. He did that so that he wouldn't be put on the bench."

I put my hands on my hips as Hinata looked at me with wide eyes as he gulped, and the three third years behind him were surprised as well at my show of anger. "The new rule is that if you don't get checked out, you don't get to play. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Hinata replied with fear in his voice.

I nodded to him and motioned for him to follow me. I led him back to where my bag was and asked him to sit down. After grabbing a slightly stronger flashlight, I knelt in front of him and asked him to do the same as earlier. "Say, Kitamura-sempai? May I ask you a question?"

After checking his eyes, I nodded to him. "I guess you can, and don't call me Sempai. I don't like that hierarchy in sports and school."

"Okay," he said slowly, but shook his head. "Um, how do you know all of this?"

"Which one?" I countered, checking his head for any bruising. "Coaching or the medical knowledge?"

"Um, both?"

"Well, the medical knowledge is from me studying it for the past few years," I answered absently going through my bag for a small jar of cream. "I want to become a sports medic, so I figured I'd start early. As for the coaching part, I used to play volleyball in middle school and last year."

"Oh wow!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. "What position did you play?"

"I played as an outside hitter," I explained as I pulled out the jar I was looking for. Opening and scooping out some, I looked up at him as I held it up. "This cream will be cold, but it will help prevent bruising and pain."

He nodded at me, and I put some on his forehead. "So, why do you not play anymore? And are you really gonna be our student coach?"

"Why I don't play is personal," I snapped a little. Hinata flinched and I took a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry. It's just a touchy subject. As for the student coach, I might not do it."

"What? Why not?" he fired back. "Is it because you don't play anymore?"

I sighed as I whipped my hands and put the jar away. "That's a part of it, but I don't think that I could be that good at it. It would make me want to play, and I can't right now. Plus, I only came today to help my cousin with the initial analysis of the team."

"That's not a reason to not try," Hinata countered seriously, and I looked over at him in shock. "My very first game in middle school, Kageyama's team destroyed my team and I. But I didn't let that stop me from trying my best. I'm still not that good, but I'll keep going because it's what I want to do."

He stared at me with a fire in his eyes, and I was reminded of both of my childhood friends. One had a big passion for volleyball, and the other one only got that look in his eyes when he was about to play a video game. I was shocked at his declaration but was even more shocked when some of the others came over to us.

"Hinata, dumbass, don't go being weird and scaring her off!" Kageyama shouted at him. Hinata stood up and they started to argue with each other.

I stood up slowly and just stared at them and was, once again, reminded of my friends and teammates. Daichi, Suga, and Asahi all came up on my left and laughed awkwardly at the sight. "I hope that you do decide to stay," Daichi commented, and I turned to him. "I would like to see what you could do to help us."

As I watched him, I saw the same fire in his eyes as well. I looked back over at the others as Tanaka and Nishinoya tried to separate Kageyama and Hinata. The thought of seeing my old team again and not having a decent surprise for them, well, I wouldn't be a good cat if that was the case. There would be no way that they could get ready enough to win, but it'll be good to give Nekoma a run for their money. "I'll do it," I stated with a smirk, and they all paused in what they were doing to look at me. "I'll help you get ready for Nekoma. But don't expect me to be easy on you. I guarantee it'll be as hard as possible."

The boys all smirked at me and bowed to me. "Please teach us!"

"You might regret that," Keishin chuckled, and clapped his hands. "All right. Let's huddle up and finish practice."

I went to stand next to my cousin as the boys huddled up. "Don't tell them about Nekoma just yet," I murmured. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, and Takeda looked at me in confusion. "I don't want them to think that I'll just tell them how to beat Nekoma. I also want to be able to trust them when I tell them."

"I got it," Keishin agreed.

*Cat Among Crows*

That night, I had just got done getting ready for bed when my phone rang. Picking it up, I smiled at the picture on the screen before answering. "Hey there Tetsu."

"Kiki!" a volley of voices called from the speaker. It was loud and I had to pull the phone away from my ear for a moment with a giggle.

"If all of you talk at once, I can't hear you," I reprimanded still giggling. "You boys will ruin my hearing that way."

"Sorry!" they all chorused, then one of my childhood friends, Tetsuro Kuroo, came on the line. "Sorry about that Kane. When they heard that I was calling you, they all got excited."

"It's fine Tetsu," I assured with a big smile. "So, how are my tenacious cats doing anyway? How are the first years?"

"We're all doing good actually," Tetsu responded, and I could practically hear his cocky smile. "The first years are actually really good. We found a Libero to replace Yaku eventually."

"Really? That's great! What about the others?"

"Yeah, they're pretty good, but we have a first timer on the team this year," Tetsu groaned.

I giggled at his annoyance. "Just how new are we talking?"

"This is his first time playing," Tetsu deadpanned. "The moron doesn't even know the rules very well, and he's so cocky to the point that it's stupid. But he's so stupidly tall and lanky, so he would be a good addition if he would just put in more effort."

I laughed at that. "I'm sure that it's frustrating for you Captain. But I'm sure that you'll get him into shape in no time."

"I'm not so sure about that," he muttered.

"Are you going to ask her or not?" I heard the voice of Yaku ask in the background.

"Ask me what?" I asked curiously.

"I was getting to that," Tetsu told Yaku, and then he returned to talking to me. "We have practice matches coming up in the next few days in Miyagi Prefecture. We were all hoping that we could see you at some point?"

"I would love that," I told them excitedly. I knew that they were gonna play Karasuno, but I didn't know they would be around before that. "I might be busy helping my cousin, but I should find some free time to meet you all somewhere."

"Your cousin had better not be over working you!" Taketora's voice yelled.

I laughed. "It's not like that Tora. But he has been helping me with getting my strength back, so I'm grateful."

"How is that going by the way?" Tetsu asked, suddenly serious.

I smiled softly at his concern. Both he and Kenma would call me frequently to get updates on how I was doing when I moved out here. "It's going slowly, unfortunately. My doctor has suggested that we up my training more, so my cousin and I are going to try a different routine. Hopefully, I'll have better results. I have another doctor's appointment in a few days, so we'll see if it helps."

"Well, if you ever need any help, you can come here on the weekends and we'll help you," Tetsu offered. "It'll be just like old times."

"I might have to take you up on that," I giggled. "But you all need rest if you're gonna come here to play. So, go to bed the lot of you."

"Yes mom," everyone groaned at the same time.

I smiled fondly at their antics. "I'll see you goofballs soon."

"See you soon," they replied, and we hung up.

My phone vibrated with a text as I got under the covers. It was from Tetsu again. 'Sweet dreams honey.'

I smiled at my phone and replied with the same before plugging in my phone. I laid down and quickly fell asleep dreaming of the past.