Cicadas were already singing their tune under the trees. Birds flew in a graceful pattern in the sky. A row of glass glitters, as the morning rays shine through the windows. Everything was tranquil and peaceful. The only loud sounds came through in Gymnasium #1. Alone, the orange-haired teen opens the doors to let in some air. Her faithful dog-companion watches her take out the supplies, lying on the cold-hard-floor. Just then, his ear flickers and looks to the door beside him. His tail wags when a familiar face walks in.

"Mizuki." The girl looks back.

"Shoyo...you're up early." Her brother scurries over and grabs a cart full of volleyballs. With a smile, Mizuki continues as Shoyo helps her set up.

After a while, they sit by the door eating from their bentos Mizuki prepared.

"So, are you ready," she asks him. Shoyo tilts his head in confusion.

"For what?"

"Your last match, remember?"

"O-oh, yeah," he sheepishly grins.

"I think you're still half-asleep," she laughs. They look at the clouds passing by. Shoyo glances at his sister.

"Nee-san..."

"What is it?"

"...When are you going to join the team?" Mizuki blinks in surprise.

"You mean when I go to college?"

"Yeah."

"What brought this up all of a sudden?" She watches him play with his food.

"Well...it's been a while since you came back. I've gotten so used to us hanging out together and playing volleyball with my team. This training camp sorta made me realize...you're not going to be with us very long." He puts his bento aside and leans back on his hands.

"Well, I did tell you from the very beginning," Mizuki added.

"Yeah. I guess I didn't want to admit that you'd be leaving again."

The moment he said 'again', Mizuki knew what he was referring to. She gives a long sigh.

"Dummy."

BOP/Ah!

She lightly hits his head.

"Who said I was leaving again?"

"Eh..?"

"Traveling half-way around the world is different from what you're thinking," she smiles, "I'm only going to college...and we won't be that much apart than before. So, when that happens, we're not saying goodbye...we'll just tell each other 'see you soon'...something like that..."

"Nee-san..."

"But you know..." She cheekily grins as she hugs him.

"You don't have to act all nostalgic to hide that cute-side of you."

"S-shut up," Shoyo whines while blushing, "I haven't seen my sister in a long time."

"There's the Sunshine-Siblings." Suddenly, Satoshi and Masaki walk towards them.

"You're still calling us that?"

"Did you go for a jog?"

"Just finished. Are you two practicing?"

"Actually..."

"Nice idea!" Shoyo's outburst made Mizuki confused.

"Nee-san, can I show you something?"

"Huh...oh~ that. What, you've already mastered it?"

"You'll see."

Minutes later, Shoyo and Mizuki were paired up, against Satoshi and Masaki. As Shoyo takes his position, he remembers the words of Bokuto.

[Listen up...this attack is something born from upsetting the balance of stillness and motion. You have to have the perfect timing, perfect toss, and look like you're about to hit the perfect strike.]

"Here we go!" He throws the ball to his sister and starts to run.

[When everyone thinks you're going hit a powerful spike...more than anything, it works best when you think you're going to hit one yourself.]

The ball is up, Shoyo jumps while the opponents jump to block. His arm starts to swing.

[Just like you're sneering...]

Shoyo taps the ball over their heads.

"Ah!/Wh--!"

[Let them have it!]

The ball makes a dramatic fall before hitting the ground. The three older players stare at him in shock.

"Woah," Masaki awes, "he actually made a feint."

"Not bad," Satoshi smirks. At that moment, Mizuki remembers what Bokuto said to Shoyo.

[You know how they dive to receive a falling ball? You're usually at eye-level or above them, but the moment they miss it, they look up...It's the best feeling.]

Mizuki couldn't agree more, especially the way her brother makes an expression filled with joy. Her train of thought was cut off when Shoyo turns to her.

"Did you see that, nee-san?! I really did it!"

"Ahaha--yeah! You're definitely gonna catch your opponent's guard off. I bet the team will be, too."

"So, does this mean we'll be seeing the quick-attack," Satoshi asks.

"Maybe..."

"Unfortunately," Mizuki interrupts, "I probably won't be there if you do."

"Why's that?"

"Mizuki's got a mission to fulfill," Masaki implies.

"Mission?" Mizuki motions her finger for him to come closer. He leans in as she whispers. Shoyo backs up with a wide smile.

"Seriously?! That's awesome!"

"Satoshi and Masaki will take care of our stuff. Just don't tell anyone until then."

"Now I can't wait for the match!" Shoyo was pumped up.

"But first, let's eat. I'm starving."

"Masaki, you ate just a few minutes ago."

"That was a light snack."

"Shoyo..."

He turns to Mizuki as they walk together. She raises her fist with a smirk.

"Make sure you pull it off. Let everyone see the dynamic duo again."

"Leave it to me," he smiles, "and I'll be waiting."

"You got it." The two fist-bump, sealing their promise.

"One touch!"

"Got it!"

The gym was rowdy as ever. Karasuno was facing against Fukurodani for their final match. The team was only a few points away from tying.

WHOOSH/THUMP

Kageyama lightly threw the ball over with one hand.

"A dump attack," Takeda awes, "Kageyama-kun is doing very well. He hasn't missed a jump serve today, either."

"Yeah," Ukai nods, "he's more calm and collected. He gives you the same uneasy feeling as the calm before a storm. By the way..."

"Hai?"

"Where did Mizuki and her friend run off to? They were talking to Satoshi and Masaki earlier and just left."

"...I'm not sure." Meanwhile, Kageyama was zoning out all distractions, focusing on the game.

'My body's more responsive than usual,' he thought, 'the same goes for everyone else.' He eyes Hinata after setting the ball to him.

'Hinata is doing well, too. He's not making any unnecessary movements. We just might...do the new quick...but...'

"Asahi, nice serve!" Kageyama gets ready to set, as if seeing everything in slow motion.

'If we miss, the good atmosphere around the team might shatter. We should just hold off until the chance of success is higher...'

.

.

.

To his right, he sees Hinata, soaring in the air, waiting for him to respond.

TOSS~

'...The ball's coming...' Hinata starts swinging his arm.

'And...it stops.' At that moment, his hand calculated the right time it did.

The ball slams down and bounces out of the court. Members, managers, coaches, even the teams watch as the ball came to a halt. Slowly, the duo responsible for it look at each other, dumbfounded. Within seconds, their faces light up in excitement, until Kageyama quickly regains himself.

"You've got to be kidding me," he exclaims, "if you're gonna do that, let me know sooner!"

"I just felt like we could pull it off, didn't you?!"

"All right~!!" Ukai howls.

"The heck was that," Nishinoya grins.

"Nice, Hinata, Kageyama!"

"...The first cog." Takeda can see the first gear making its way in.

"Hey, Akaashi. Wasn't that amazing? Maybe we should do it too?"

"That's something we should never try." Bokuto sees his kouhai's wary expression.

"Hinata hit it like it was nothing, but it would take a lot of practice to hit a toss like that. Not to mention...." They look at Kageyama.

"...making a toss float at the point of impact is an incredible move. At my skill level, its impossible." From the sidelines, Satoshi joins Masaki.

"It's time we make the change."

"Got it." Masaki pulls out his phone.

"That was so cool," Hinata happily shouts at Kageyama. He made all sorts of gestures describing his mood.

"It was like, shoop! But when it actually stops right in front of you, it's scary! You really are awesome!!"

"?!" Kageyama was stunned.

"W-what...you dumbass..."

"Awesome! So awesome!"

"Kageyama's expression is indescribable," Sawamura implies.

"What happened to his mimetic muscles," Tanaka jokes.

"It's not often Hinata compliments him in such a straightforward way," Asahi chuckles, "I'm glad we believed in this and waited." His friends smile in agreement.

"Next time, make sure you--"

"You did it!" Hinata and Kageyama turn to Yachi, who was jumping for joy.

"Nice kill! Hinata! Kageyama!" The duo shows them a fist, smiling her way. Yachi can feel her spine shiver in ecstasy, as she grins back.

"I'm so jealous," Tanaka hollers, "let me look cool, too!"

"We can't let them beat us," Sawamura grins.

"Hey, hey, hey~" Bokuto yells, "don't get to cocky, guys!"

"Huh?" Everyone turns to Satoshi after blowing the whistle.

"For the second half of the game, Fukurodani will be making a substitution."

"Substitution," Akaashi questions.

"About time," Shoyo shouts in excitement.

"What do you mean, Hinata," Sawamura asks.

SHOOM~

Just then, the doors behind Karasuno open.

"Sorry for the wait~!"

"Perfect timing!"

Everyone gawks, wide-eyed as Mizuki ad Skye walk in. They each wore a sports top; Mizuki's black with diagonal-orange-lines on one side, Skye's dark-blue with white-lining, and their shorts were black. Skye had a high-ponytail. The top-half of Mizuki's hair was pulled back and styled into a bun from behind.

"Eehhhh~?!" Tanaka and Nishinoya stutter, on the verge of nosebleeds.

"Mizuki/Akira/Senpai?!" They all blush at their appearance.

"I'm not looking! I'm not looking!" Yamaguchi, Inuoka, and most of the pure ones were hiding their faces or turning away.

"Whistle~!" Satoshi purses his lips in a smirk.

"Looking good, girls," Masaki hollers. Shoyo approaches his sister, stars in his eyes.

"You look so cool, nee-san! Is that a new outfit?"

"Thanks," she smiles, "bought it during my stay in America."

"HOLD IT~!"

"Hm?" They look at Ukai, his face holding a scowl with a faint blush.

"What's is that?!" He points at Mizuki.

"Keishin, you've seen me wear this before. I play street volleyball and beach volleyball, remember?"

"That's not the problem, here! Why are you wearing it?!"

"It's hot," Mizuki shrugs, "and we need to get used to wearing them for the tournament we signed up for. Besides, it was Shotarou-sensei's and Neko-okksan's idea."

"HAH?!" He glares at the old men who were sitting on the other side of the gym.

"It's fine," Shotarou grins, "I've been to beach volleyball tournaments before. They're just wearing casual uniforms."

"We're indoors! You shitty old---"

"C-calm down, Ukai-kun," Takeda quickly holds him back before he could get up from his chair.

"He's sometimes overreacts," Mizuki whispers to Shoyo, who nods.

"You're pretty calm," Akira implies, "I thought you would get all embarrassed...(whisper) especially when you're in front of your crush." Skye sees Sawamura and Sugawara trying to support a dazed-cherry-faced-Asahi.

"I thought so too," Mizuki chuckles, "but you two were right. I have been overthinking this...it's time I stop running." Skye and Shoyo grin at her, their sign of saying 'you're welcome'.

"Get out there and play, girls," Nekomata hollers with a smile.

"Hai~!"

"Are they substituting for us," Sugawara questions.

Just then, Skye runs to Karasuno's side, near the net. She puts her hands together and makes a running position.

"Mizuki!"

"Alright!"

DASH!

Mizuki runs pass them. At the right moment, her foot makes contact on Skye's hand.

"Let's go~!" Skye throws her in the air.

"Hah?!/What the--?!"

Mizuki twirls over the net.

She lands in the middle of Fukurodani's side, and quickly stands with one hand on her hip and a smile.

"It's time you show me the fruits of your labor...Karasuno."

"What...?"

"D-Don't tell me--"

"Finally," Shoyo smirks, "I've been waiting for this..." He swiftly points to Mizuki.

"Time for our first match...nee-san!"

"N-no way!"

"Didn't see that coming," Kuroo thought. Kenma agrees with a firm nod.

"Brother against sister," Inuoka states.

"Have fun out there." Skye joins Fukurodani's managers on the sideline.

"I'll take it from here, Komi-san."

"Ah, hai..." The libero steps off the court.

"So cool, Momo! That was the coolest stunt I ever saw!"

"Thanks, Koutarou."

"Dammit," Ukai grunts while crossing his arms, "those geezers and their schemes..." Takeda, Shimizu, and Yachi sweat-drop.

>>>>>>FAST FORWARD>>>>>>>

"One blocker!"

SLAM!

Hinata's hand caught the spike.

"One touch!" Kageyama received it. Nishinoya took this chance.

"I got it!" This confused the opponents. In and instant, Nishinoya jumps from behind the back-zone, and sets the ball.

"Ah!" Komi gaps in shock.

'Heh...you're going with that, huh...' Mizuki smirks as she sees Asahi spike it.

"Back-row attack!"

"The second gear..." Takeda whispers.

However, Mizuki lets the ball pass her, as it falls over the back-row.

"Its an out," Sugawara whines, "so close~!"

"Sorry!" Nishinoya shouts in frustration down on his knees.

"My toss was a bit slow!"

"I-it's okay," Asahi reassures, "I think it's my mistake." But Nishinoya just shouts at him, making him flinch.

"You gotta be honest when I mess up, Asahi-san!"

"O-okay..." The score was now 12-to-15.

"They changed this much in a week," Komi questions.

"Somewhat," Skye answers, getting his attention, "right now, Karasuno doesn't have enough experience to go against a powerhouse school like yours. But they'll come around when the time is right."

From the other-side, Sawamura stares at the sunshine-girl.

'Watch closely, Mizuki...'

"Left! Left!"

'We may not be winning right now...'

Nishinoya serves the ball, high.

'...but we'll focus on honing our new weapons.'

"Now!" Sawamura, Tsukishima, Asahi, and Tanaka run at the same time, while Kageyama positions himself.

'A first-tempo-synchronized-attack!' Skye smiles.

'Don't let the blockers pinpoint the target. All of you, jump and strike like the toss is going to you!'

TOSS!

Kageyama tosses the ball. All four jump, swinging their arms down.

"Oraaa~~!!"

The ball hits the ground. Satoshi blows the whistle, gaining Karasuno's point.

"Yosha~!!" Tanaka hollers as he balls his fists. Nishinoya comes behind him and jumps up and down.

"Nice, Ryu!"

"It feels so awesome when a spike goes through..."

"He's crying," Tuskishima sees tears in his eyes.

"He's babbling," Asahi sweat-drops.

"It's been so long since I made a spike this awesome." Takeda smirks at the successful attack.

"The third cog..."

Karasuno was on a roll. Every receive, toss and spike, they soon tied 18-to-18. Both teams took a time-out to talk to each other.

"Just as planned," Ukai explains, "you haven't been letting their ace spike too freely...but that doesn't mean you should get too confident. If you can keep their #4 back, then we just might pull this off. Let's finish this!"

"Yeah~!!"

"We're having a difficult time," Akaashi implies, "but let's stay calm." As he continued, Mizuki looks at Bokuto next to her. He had his eyebrows furrowed in an upsetting-manner. His team sees this, too.

"Bokuto-san? We're you listening?" Mizuki reaches out, just as Bokuto was looking at Akaashi.

"Koutarou...are y--"

"What?! I'm listening!" His arm slaps her hand without him noticing.

"Come on, let's do this." He gave his bottle to Yukie and storms onto the court. Yukie turns to Akaashi.

"Could this mean..." The other teammates sweat-drop.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-senpai," Akaashi apologizes, "he didn't mean to act like that."

"It's fine...but he's awfully moody today. Is he...?" Akaashi rubs his neck, a sign of confliction. That's all she needed to understand. Mizuki then puts a finger to her lips and winks.

"If that's the case...I have a backup plan you'd might be interested in."

"Huh...?" Though confused in their state, Mizuki's smile widens the more she thought of her next intentions.