This is the final exam I have to take before Interhigh starts...

I finished my exam a few minutes ago but there were people still filling out their paper. I looked up at the clock.

15 more minutes left...

I thought, looking outside to find something mildly entertaining to watch.

"Gosh, I hope I pass that, I'll never hear the end of it if I flunk it again" Haruko groaned, her hands behind her head as we walked into the cafeteria.

I chuckled, looking towards the now deflated Nina.

"If yer would've studied with me a few days ago, yer wouldn't be like that, Nina" I scolded her.

"You've got to stop putting things last minute, it's not a good habit to keep up, let alone a good work ethic" I continued.

Nina groaned in response.

"But Nana-chan!! The new season of my favourite anime was out and I just HAD to watch it!!" Nina whined, trying to reason with me.

I flicked her head as we walked into the cafeteria.

"That isn't a good reason" I finished, giving her a look.

"You sound like my mum Hana-chan, give me a break~" she grumbled.

I only sighed, mentally slapping my forehead.

The boys all stared at the trio as Hana scolded Nina about her habits.

"She's such a mother sometimes" Aran chuckled.

"Samu, do yer think it's a good time to ask her now?" Atsumu asked his twin, looking back at his sister in her 'scolding-mother-mode'.

"I dunno, I just want food, yer ate all of mine, yer pig" he shot.

"Oi!! I was hungry, cut me some slack!!!" Atsumu shot back.

"That's cause yer ate all of it before school, dumbass" Osamu glared.

"Like I said, I. WAS. HUNGRY" Atsumu retorted.

Ginjima looked at the twins.

"C'mon guys, try not to fight, we're in a public space" he warned.

"It's not like that's gonna stop them" Suna commented.

The rest of the boys either tried to prevent another fight from happening or just watched.

Kita continued to watch Hana, discreetly as she continued to scold her friend.

He unknowingly smiled at her behaviour.

Aran noticed and connected the dots before nudging his shoulder with a smirk.

"So..Hana eh?" he teased quietly.

Kita turned to him, stopping his cheeks from turning red.

"What are yer talking about?" Kita replied, playing dumb.

"Don't play dumb with me, I've known ya for sometime to know why yer acting like this" Aran called out, seeing through Kita's act.

Kita sighed and rested his cheek on his hand.

"What do yer want to know..." he looked at Aran, giving up.

"When are yer going to ask her out?" Aran asked, still smirking.

"First off, get that smirk off yer face" Kita said, his cheeks coloured a light pink.

Aran only laughed at his friend.

Kita then looked towards Hana once again and paused.

"I don't think it'll be a good idea" he answered quietly.

Aran raised his brows at this.

"What do yer mean?" he questioned.

"I think she would like it more if we stayed friends" Kita revealed, looking at the older Miya as she laughed at Haruko and Nina's interaction.

Aran looked to where Kita was staring then back to his friend.

"Yer so whipped for her, man" he chuckled, slapping his shoulder.

Kita didn't reply.

I guess I am...

I was laughing at Haruko and Nina's playful banter until I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned to meet dark brown and dark grey eyes.

"What do yer need?" I asked, looking at the twins.

I was met with no response as their gaze were on the food the cafeteria were selling.

They must've already eaten their lunch...just how much can they eat?...

I sighed and brought out some money and gave it to them with no questions.

"Don't spent it all" I told them, knowing how big their appetite was.

"Thanks, Nee-san!!" Atsumu pecked my cheek, before jogging towards the food.

I looked up at Samu as his eyes were sparkling at the sight of the money.

I chuckled and lightly pushed him forward to where his brother went.

He stood there for a moment, then broke off into a sprint.

I sweat-dropped before walking over to Haruko and Nina who already bought their food and found seats.

"That was sweet of ya" Haruko commented.

"There are rare days when their breakfast and lunch don't fill them up" I shrugged.

"They're already so tall though, it must run in the family" Nina wondered out loud.

Our training has become harsher than before in preparation for the Interhighs.

This is only the start...

We all gathered around after our coach blew the whistle.

"Alright girls, in preparation for the Interhighs, the boys have asked for a practice match against us" she announced.

Just as she said that, the door opened, revealing the tall boys as they made their way to us.

"Thank you for letting us practice with you" Kurosu-sensei said, shaking hands with the girl's coach.

"It was no problem, we're both aiming to win Interhighs so this is good practice for both teams" she replied.

"Alright, get into position, the match will start soon" Fujiwara told both teams.

We all nodded as the two captains walked up to each other and shook hands.

"Let's have fun" the boy's captain said, a friendly yet competitive smile on his face.

"Agreed, may the best team win" Mito replied, her smile mirroring the latter, shaking his hand with her naturally strong grip.

They were eye level with each other due to their similar heights.

It looked like a laser beam was shooting from their eyes as they shook hands, both teams shuttered at the sudden change of mood.

I was about to walk to my place when a hand appeared in front of me.

I smiled at the person and shook his hand.

"May the best defensive specialist win, Kita" I smirked playfully, shaking his hand with a strong grip.

"Likewise, Miya" he repeated, his smirk mirroring mine as we shook hands.

"We're gonna win, Nee-san" Atsumu announced, pointing at me with competitive eyes.

Osamu nodded from beside his twin, agreeing before they both went to their positions.

I feel like a war is about to start...

I nervously thought.

-Girls vs Boys-

20-20

It was only the first set but both teams were starting to get tired.

Nina set the ball as Mito spiked it, getting blocked by Suna.

She growled, annoyed as the ball flew back to our side.

Suna is good at reading people...almost too good...

I ran to the ball and picked it up with my right hand before it could reach the floor.

"Sorry, cover!!!" I shouted, scrambling to get up and jogged back to my spot.

"Don't mind!!" Nina replied, setting the ball once again.

Mito jumped once again, Suna following, however she started to fall down along with Suna, not spiking the ball.

'Huh? Seriously?" Suna thought, his face scrunching up a bit.

Haruko then appeared behind Mito, spiking the ball down with full force as it landed in the corner, just inside the court.

"Nice kill~" Nina congratulated, high-fiving her.

Haruko stayed silent for a few moments, deep in thought.

"Haru-chan?" Nina called out, confused from her lack of response.

By this time, both the boys and girls looked towards the unusually silent ace in curiosity.

Haruko then turned to the setter.

"...That toss was a bit too high and far from the net..." she deadpanned.

There was a silence.

"EH?!?! BUT HARU-CHAN, IT WAS A LAST SECOND CHANGE!! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE THERE, I WAS GOING TO SET FOR NAKAMURA-SENPAI!!!" Nina complained.

I was dumbfounded and so were the others.

"So yer meant to tell me that yer managed to set it to Haruko without much difficulty even though it was a sudden change?!?!" Yuko exclaimed, impressed and shocked at the same time.

"...yeah?..." Nina replied, oblivious to her own skill.

I mentally slapped my forehead.

And this girl calls me hopeless...

-Girls vs Boys-

24-24

We've been tied for a long time...

I thought, observing the boys from my spot at the back.

One of my biggest problems is Suna...he's skilled at reading and manipulating people...

I noted, secretly eying the fox-eyed boy.

I then turned my gaze towards Kita.

Kita is also a problem..even if yer pass Suna..yer have to deal with him next...

I watched as Haruko got blocked again by Suna.

Hm...so the better the spiker is..the easier it is to manipulate them and block...

I concluded, formulating a plan.

"One touch!!" Suna shouted.

I turned to Nakamura-senpai.

"Naka-senpai, please receive this spike for me" I instructed.

She nodded in response, knowing that I had a plan, and got ready to receive.

Atsumu set the ball to Osamu as he spiked, the ball now barreling towards me.

The boy's eyes widen as they watched me move aside and let Nakamura receive the ball, sending it to Nina.

Nina seemed to have caught on immediately after seeing my actions and nodded towards Haruko as she began to run up and jump.

Suna reacted immediately and went to block Haruko, the front court players following suit and the other players' attention now on her.

Good..everyone is distracted and the middle and right side are wide open...

I thought, beginning to run up.

Before Nina set to the ace, she suddenly changed direction and back-set to were I was, catching the boys off guard.

'What the hell?!' they all simultaneously thought.

The ball then appeared in front of my hand as I swung my arm and hit the ball just inside the line, right in the right corner.

There was a silence as the ball rolled off the court.

Wow...I managed to pull that off...

I thought, while letting go of the breath I was holding.

I felt a slap on my back as I stumbled forward, catching myself.

"Nice kill" Haruko smirked, fisting bumping me.

"I'm surprised I managed to pull that off" I replied, smiling at my achievement.

"Well thanks to that, we managed to win the first set" she smirked before looking at Suna.

Haruko clicked her tongue at the boy.

"Y'know yer a pretty good blocker...ya keep on appearing everywhere I go, yer annoying' shit" she eyed the first year.

Suna just looked at me, not knowing what to do.

"Oi!! Don't ignore yer senpai, it's rude!!" Haruko fumed, walking up to him.

I slapped her back.

"Leave the poor boy alone" I scolded, pulling her away from Suna.

We were having a short break before we started the second set.

I was sitting on the floor, drinking my water and resting before I heard a familiar voice.

"Nee-san, yer so cool!!!" Tsumu gushed, kneeling next to me with sparkles coming out of his eyes.

"Can yer teach me how to spike like that?" Samu asked, kneeling on the other side of me, looking at me with determination in his eyes.

"Later, Samu" I replied, ruffling his hair.

The twins then continued to blabber on about how I never play with them anymore and that I should teach them new things.

I sweat-dropped and snuck away without them realising and watched them as they continued to blabber on, not knowing I wasn't there anymore.

"Nice kill" someone replied.

I looked up to see Kita, Aran, Ginjima and Suna.

"Thanks" I replied as they all sat down.

I looked towards Suna and pointed at him.

"Yer know, Haruko is right" I told him.

He looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

"Yer a good blocker, being able to read and manipulate people on the court is no easy feat" I told him.

"Polish yer skills a bit more, I think you'll be able to manipulate even the strongest of players, Suna" I finished.

I continued to give advise and tips for Suna as he listened, interested as he mentally took notes.

The others chuckled at our antics.

"What are yer, his mother?" Aran teased.

"People would think that yer Suna's sister and not the twins'" Ginjima commented.

I slapped his shoulder lightly and laughed, looking at the twins who were still rambling.

"As annoying as they are, I wouldn't trade them for the world" I said with a soft smile.

They nodded in response while we all continued to watch the twins as they soon realised that they're sister has disappeared.

"Eh? Where did she go?" Tsumu questioned, confused.

Samu just shrugged, equally confused.

The girls ended up winning three sets out of five in the end, it was a close game.

"Thank you for the game" we bowed to each other before packing up.

"Next time we'll beat ya" the boy's captain declared, shaking his hands with our captain.

"We'll be waiting then" Mito replied, looking at his eyes.

There was a laser beam shooting from their eyes as they gripped each other's hands.

Everyone looked at the two captains and backed away, leaving them to do their own thing.

"Good game" I said, holding out my hand to Kita.

"Likewise" he replied, shaking my hand.

We let go as we packed up and began to walk home.

"I wish yer luck in the Interhighs" Kita said.

"Same here, I'll come by and watch ya if I can" I replied, looking at him with a smile.

Kita's expression then fell a little.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

He paused for a moment.

"I normally don't participate in official matches" he revealed.

I stopped walking, Kita doing the same as we looked at each other.

"..what do yer mean by that?" I pressed, confused to why a dependable player like him wasn't playing.

"I'm not a regular and I don't normally play in official matches" he explained.

Before I could say anything, he spoke.

"But I'm content even if I'm watching on the sidelines" Kita finished, continuing to walk.

I followed him as we walked in a lingering silence.

We stopped in front of my house, still not saying anything.

"I believe in ya, Kita" I said, breaking the silence.

Kita looked at me confused.

"Things will begin to look up sooner or later, I'm sure of it" I declared.

I gave him a smile as I walked inside my house.