The peak of their training was coming to an end. Though the schedule continued on as usual, the players all had different goals to become stronger and show the fruits of their labor. Mizuki and Skye experienced success and defeat, witnessed the downfall of others and those who rose to the challenge. And that's exactly what they see in everyone in this gym. Of course, there was still tension between Mizuki's brother and Kageyama, as they continued to work independently on the sidelines. Everyone knew that Karasuno didn't have much luck in the matches, but no one could argue that they've changed since day one. As of now, the day turned to night, and everyone started to clean up or continue to practice. In the mix, Skye and Mizuki were talking to Shoutaro and the other coaches.

"And that's about it," Mizuki finished.

"Is that alright," Skye asked.

"Of course," Nekomata grinned.

"If it's for training, I don't mind," Ukai agreed.

"Most of the time," Shoutaro implied, "they'll pair with one of them and work separate."

"What time are they arriving," Naoi asked.

"Around 8 a.m. tomorrow. In the meantime, you girls should rest for tonight. You've earned it."

"Thanks, coach," they unison while bowing. As the coaches walked away, Skye leaned towards Mizuki.

"Should we get dinner?"

"Surprisingly, I'm not hungry yet. How about we--"

BUMP

"Ah/Oh, sorry!" Mizuki turned around, but her eyes widened when seeing Asahi. An awkward silence overflowed.

'They're speechless,' Skye slightly smirked behind her hand. Asahi was the first to speak, and as usual, he was flustering.

"A-ah! I'm sorry." He bowed.

"Oh, no," Mizuki shook her head with a blush, "it's alright." She then saw the volleyballs on the ground.

"U-um...let me help you."

"T-thank you..."

"Mizuki~ I'm going to help Yaku-san and his friends clean up. I'll see you later."

"Ah..." She was going to protest, but the blonde already left.

'You traitor...' Her eye twitched. In the end, she just sighed and continued to help Asahi. On the other side of the court, Skye was running towards Yaku with a smile.

"Yaku-san~!"

"Ah, Akira-san." She leaned down, even if she was two inches taller.

"I saw your matches. Good work, today."

"O-oh...you too."Skye saw him carrying the net.

"Let me get that."

"Ah, n-no you don't..." But Skye already took it.

"It's fine. I admire how hard-working you are, but we can't always depend on just one person. It wouldn't be fair. Just leave it to me...you deserve some rest." Skye's bright smile beamed as Yaku stared blankly while blushing. Skye turned around as the ends of her hair slightly brushed his face as she left. Standing behind him were Yamamoto, Lev, and Kuroo.

"You're so lucky, Yaku-san," Yamamoto thought.

"Eh? Yaku-san...do you like Akira-san?"

"Eh?!" Yaku gaped as his face exploded.

"Heh~? Who would've thought."

"W-why are you smirking, Kuroo," Yaku glared.

"But you're shorter than her, right? So--"

"Shut up!!"

"Gyahh!" Lev fell back after receiving Yaku's powerful-kick. Near the storage room, Sky giggled as she watched the hilarious scene. Meanwhile, Mizuki and Asahi were just finishing their duty.

"Here's the last one."

"Thank you, Mizuki." The orange-hair-girl glanced away. Hesitantly, she opened her mouth.

"U-um..."

"Huh?" Asahi turned around.

"W-well...I wanted to say sorry..."

"What for," he asked curiously.

"For my brother's behavior, a few days ago. I didn't say anything before cause' I thought it would be too weird." Asahi remembered and felt his face heat up.

"O-oh...it's alright. But still...your brother speaks his mind when he wants to."

"Ahaha! That's true." They laughed a little. Then, Asahi's smile faded and replaced with a slight-serious expression.

"Um...Mizuki...."

"Hai?" She looked up in confusion.

"Well...its....." Mizuki tilted her head, as Asahi stared at her.

"....I--"

"Nee-san~!" Suddenly, Shoyo called for his sister.

"I need to talk to you!"

"I'm coming! Hold on!" She turned back to Asahi.

"So, you were saying?"

"Oh--uh....never mind. I'll tell you later."

"Oh...okay. I'll see you later." They waved to each other as Mizuki ran towards Shoyo. The ace gave a soft expression, but showed a hint of frustration. Walking towards him were Sugawara and Sawamura.

"Aren't you going do something about this?"

"Ah, Daichi..." Asahi saw them frowning.

"Asahi," Sugawara sighed, "you need to tell her sooner or later."

"But..."

"We were there, remember?"

"....I know..."

After hearing that, he just wasn't brave enough to confront her. Instead, he pretended to act like nothing happened, and it was eating him up.

"Asahi," Sawamura got his attention, "before the getaway games end, you need to tell Mizuki."

"Ah..."

"This is an order," he deadpan, "if you don't, I'll tell coach about the time Mizuki had to stay at your house during the storm."

"Eh?!"

Asahi shook in fear. Even so, his friends were right. He straightened himself and sighed.

"Alright."

"Good!" His friends grinned. Asahi looked back, seeing Mizuki smile at her brother.

'Not now...but, I will.'

>>>>>>>>Next Day>>>>>>>>

"Chance ball~!!"

"Got it!"

BAM!

"Yosha~!!"

"Alright, everyone take a break!"

"Hai~!"

"Whew...everyone seems to be in high spirits," Skye thought. She and Mizuki were stretching before heading to the courts.

"There's only three days left of training," Mizuki implied, "they're going all out..."

"Mizuki~! Skye~!"

"Ah, Shoutaro-san." They saw him standing by the doors.

"Look who I found." He stepped aside, letting the younger boys inside. They wore tank-tops and shorts, carrying sports-bags.

"Hey, Mizuki!"

"What's up, Skye?"

"Satoshi/Masaki!" They happily shouted. Mizuki ran towards Satoshi, and spun her around while laughing. Skye high-fived Masaki before hugging him. Everyone else gawked at their fluffy-aura.

"Who are they," Sawmura thought.

"Ah, I know," Shoyo smiled, "that's Satoshi and Masaki. They're old neighbors of mine."

'Why are they here?' Tsukishima's brow twitched.

"I'm so jealous!!" Nishinoya and Tanaka grit their teeth.

[It's been forever since we last saw you.]

[I'm so happy you came.] Mizuki smiled as she playfully rubbed Satoshi's shaved-head.

[Ahaha--hey! Stop or I will go bald.]

[Thanks for inviting us.]

"Woah, they're speaking in English."

"So cool."

ARF--ARF--ARF!

The Japanese mastiff ran up to Masaki and licked his face.

"Woah, big guy! Ahahaha!"

"Down, Taichi," Mizuki tugged on his collar as the dog stood on all fours.

"Is that your dog? Quite a handful, this guy."

"Yeah," she chuckled.

"Satoshi! Masaki!"

"Oh, Shoyo! Long time no see."

"You've gotten taller." Masaki ruffled his hair.

"Shut up," Shoyo laughed, "oh, you guys have to meet my team! Come on!" He ran back with excitement.

"He hasn't changed," Satoshi smiled.

After introductions were made, everyone continued as usual. During their break, the boys would watched Mizuki and Skye face-off against Satoshi and Masaki in a match. Needless to say both teams were ruthless.

"Mizuki!"

"Got it!" She served it to Skye, and ran to the net.

"No you don't," Satoshi shouted. He and Masaki jumped.

Toss!

Masaki and Mizuki's hands both touched the ball while applying pressure.

"Haahh!!" Masaki used enough force to push the ball passed them.

"Ah!" The ball drop on their side.

"Alright!" Satoshi and Masaki high-fived after winning the game.

"Dang," Skye sighed, "we almost had em'."

"Better luck next time, girls," Satoshi smirked as he came around their side.

"Tomorrow for sure," Mizuki challenged. Satoshi wrapped an arm around her shoulders as Masaki rubbed her head.

"Aww, you're so cute~. Try if you must, but we'll be on top."

"Geez~ cut it out! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Sorry," Masaki laughed, "but you're so cute when you're angry." Skye laughed as Mizuki pouted at their teasing.

"Ahaha...poor sis," Shoyo awkwardly smiled.

"Does this happen a lot, Hinata," Yachi asked.

"Hai...it feels nostalgic seeing them like this, again."

"Che~...I wanna play a game with Momo," Bokuto pouted. Akaashi sweat dropped at him.

"Yaku~...you're not getting jealous, are you?"

"Sh-shut up, Kuroo!" Yaku growled as his captain smirked.

>>>>>>>Fast Forward>>>>>>>

Nighttime...

"Good work everyone~"

"Thank you~!"

"I'm starving!"

"Wonder what's for dinner."

Outside, Mizuki and Masaki were walking together.

"I see~..."

"It's not funny," Mizuki sighed.

"Skye really knows how to hit a nerve."

"Don't remind me," she face-palmed.

"So that's your type, huh," he smirked, "guess my Little-Blossom is becoming a woman."

"Knock it off."

"Hey, its Shoyo." They saw him in Gymnasium #3, practicing with Kuroo, Bokuto, Akaashi, Lev and Tuskishima.

"When you're going one-on-one with a spiker, don't center yourself to their body when blocking. Center yourself with their dominant arm, instead."

"Why are you giving us advise," Tsukishima asked, "when technically, we're still opponents?" Kuroo gave an angelic smile and gestured to himself.

"I've always been a nice person." But Shoyo and Tsukishima just looked in disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that..." He deadpan. He rubbed his neck.

"I want to make the Battle at the Garbage Dump a reality." The two blinked in surprise.

"That's what the coach says...but we don't know how long he'll continue to coach. That's why...we need you guys to keep on winning. Well, its just practice for me, so don't sweat the small stuff."

Suddenly, Kuroo spotted Mizuki by the door.

"Hey lil'mandarin~"

"Nee-san/Hinata-san!"

"Good evening."

"Momo~!" Bokuto ran to her, but then Masaki used one arm to lift her away.

"H-hey..." Akaashi, Lev and Shoyo awed at his strength.

"Now, now," Masaki smirked, "don't harm Little-Blossom...she needs her energy to eat, ya know?"

"Quit doing that..."

"But you're holding onto me pretty tight."

"I don't wanna fall! Now put me down~!"

"Then stop being so cute," Masaki laughed as he carried Mizuki inside the gym. He held back a smug-smile when seeing the third-years, annoyed.

"If you're having a match, we'll keep score."

Minutes Later....

"This is some set-up."

"Right?" Mizuki and Masaki watched them play. Kuroo, Lev and Tsukishima were the tallest and on the same team, versus the shorter men. Right now, Akaashi just set the ball for Bokuto. the ace jumped the same time as Tukishima and Lev.

"Dang, you're ridiculously tall for first-years"

WHAM!

"Ah..." Shoyo saw him hit the ball on Lev's fingers.

"One more, Akaashi~!"

TOSS

BAM!

He did a straight-spike down the left of the court.

"WHOO~ HEY-HEY-HEY~!" He raised his arms victoriously.

"W-was that...on purpose?!" Shoyo exclaimed. Bokuto grinned.

"Yup! It's a rebound."

"Rebound? So cool~!"

"When you aren't completely ready, and feel like your going to get blocked, you purposely hit the block with the ball, and try one more time when it bounces back."

"Ooh~" But then Bokuto's mood changed.

"But there are times when it doesn't work."

"That happens quite often with you, Bokuto-san."

"Akaashi~! You're supposed to say 'That's not true'!"

"Spiking doesn't mean by just slamming it to the ground," Mizuki looked to Masaki, "you need to be calm in-order to plan a better attack." Masaki hummed and grabbed his chin.

"You think you're brother could do it?"

"He lacks certain tactics and skills, but his talent is making unexpected surprises."

And she was right. As time passed, the Owl-team was one point from tying with the Cats.

"Yosha~!"

SLAM!

"Ngh!" Akaashi dove for the ball, and Bokuto served it to Shoyo.

"Get the last part, Shrimpy!"

"Heh," Kuroo smirked, making Bokuto gap at them.

"H-hey, you guys are playing dirty!" The three latters grouped together.

'This isn't even a wall,' Akaashi thought, 'it's an umbrella...there's no where to hit it.' That's what he thinks.

Shoyo jumped, and as his mind was calm, his eyes shifted to an opening. Eyes widening for a split second, his arm swung down and spiked the ball on Lev's fingers.

B-BAM!

'He hit it up!' Bokuto and Akaashi gaped.

"Gah!" Shoyo fell on his back as the ball came down. Kuroo turned around.

"Did you...do that on purpose?"

"Ah...well, I was aiming for Lev's fingers."

"What?!" Lev exclaimed.

"But it was sheer luck, I guess..." Suddenly, Bokuto grabbed his head and grinned.

"Well done, Shrimpy! Even that terrible toss, you pushed through!" Shoyo sheepishly laughed.

"The valiant little-warrior who fights in the face of a two-meter-wall!"

"Talk about exaggerating," Akaashi sighed. Bokuto pointed his thumb at himself.

"I...shall give you a special attack."

"Special attack?!" Shoyo's eyes sparkled, but the others were giving funny looks.

>>>>>>>>Final Day>>>>>>>>>

"This is it."

"Yeah..." Mizuki and Skye were going back to the gym after washing up, with Taichi beside his master.

"Say Mizuki....about Shoyo and Kageyama...."

"Are you talking about their spat during that match?"

"Hai. I know they're trying to improve, but did they have to work separately?"

"Actually...way back on their first-fight, everyone thought things would be difficult. But after a while, I realized they're trying to meet each other's expectations. Kageyama's trying to respect Shoyo, and Shoyo believes that Kageyama will master the fall toss. So when Shoyo snapped at him, he was telling Kageyama not to doubt himself because he knows he can do it."

"I get it," Skye smiled, "those two are a complicated-duo."

"But you know...Shoyo and Tsukishima may call Kageyama the King...but looking at him now...Shoyo's the one wearing the crown."

"So I guess Shoyo is demanding the absolute-perfect-toss."

"Bingo." They laughed.

"Wooo~hhh!"

"Huh?" When reaching the doors, they heard screams from the Karasuno boys. They looked inside and saw Shoyo, Tanaka, Nishinoya and Kageyama doing some kind of ritual dance.

"Meat, meat, meat! Hooray for meat! Meat is god~(2x)!"

"Why are they chanting," Skye sweat dropped.

"Shoot, they must've hear about today's special treat," Mizuki cursed.

"Y-you don't mean..."

"Hai~....the barbeque party."

"Well, that's one way of lifting their spirits." After a while, the team gathered around for a quick pep-talk. Although, Ukai didn't step forward. Instead, he looked to Mizuki.

"Why don't you take this one?"

"You sure?" Ukai smirked as he gave a thumbs up. Mizuki chuckled and did the same. All eyes were on her as she stood before them.