*Club Activities*

"Guys! Line up! Takeda-sensei wanted to talk to us!" Daichi called them. The players lined up and Ayame was surprised to find that their sensei has brought a visitor.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Ukai Keishin, your new head coach. Starting today, he and Mizuki-san will be helping you in your practices" Mr. Takeda told them. Ayame was the first person to react.

"Ah! It's that guy!!" she said pointing a finger at him "The guy at Sakanoshita!! Isn't he the former Coach Ukai's grandson?!"

"Yes, he's the former Coach Ukai's grandson and an alumnus of Karasuno" the teacher nodded "You've done your research, Mizuki-san"

"EEH?! SERIOUSLY?!" they all said, blinking in surprise.

"But that's not the name of your store" Hinata said. The man sighed "The store's named after my mother's side of the family"

"And also, the Golden Week training camp will soon start and after that, we will have a scheduled match against Nekoma High School"

"I only agreed training them until the match against Nekoma, sensei..." Ukai told him.

"A training camp?!" Hinata exclaimed.

"A practice match against Nekoma?!" Kageyama added.

"Yeah, it looks like Nekomata-sensei agreed but..." Ayame thought, suddenly feeling weak "He's going to be the new head coach and I'll be the assistant coach. I'm supposed to be happy for this yet...why do I feel like I'm no longer important to them?"

Yamaguchi noticed that his classmate is not feeling well and started to worry over her "Mizu-I mean, Ayame, are you all right? Are you sick?"

"H-huh? Oh nothing, Tadashi-kun, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired I guess..." she said, biting her lip.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

"Tokyo, huh?" Tanaka said, making an intimidating face "I'll smash those city boys to smithereens..."

"He said, "shitty boys"" Tsukishima snickered.

"Shut the hell up, Tsukishima!!"

"Well, city boys and shitty boys nearly sound the same" Ayame noted.

"Yeah, that's right" Yamaguchi nodded.

"All right. We got no time to waste. Let's get started. I want to see what you guys are made of. The game will start at 6:30 PM" Ukai said.

"Game? Oh! A practice match?"Ayame asked "So soon? What team?"

"The Karasuno neighborhood association team" he replied.

"EEH?!"

***

"Looks like they can't make it in time" Coach Ukai sighed, checking his watch "It's a weekday, after all"

Yamaguchi failed to receive the ball and it rolled to the entrance, where a man in glasses picked it up and gave it to him.

"Here you go" he said, throwing the ball to him and he caught it.

"Thank you very much" the freckled teen replied. Moments later, three of the grown ups entered.

"Hey!"

"Hey"

"Wow, this bring backs memories" they said.

"Eto..." the freckled teen said, feeling awkward.

"The team Neighbourhood Association..." they said "...is here!"

"Finally, you guys are here" Coach Ukai said, greeting the neighbourhood association players.

"IEEEE!! They're oozing with experience!" Ayame and Hinata thought, clearly intimidated by the older team.

"Sorry, some of us are busy so only four of us came since it's a weekday" the one with glasses apologized.

"I know...sorry for dragging you guys here..." he said, sighing deeply.

"I was expecting geezers from a neighbourhood association" Tsukishima said. Yamaguchi nodded "Me, too"

"I think you guys are stereotyping them too much" Ayame sighed "And also, the neighbourhood association is full of Karasuno's alumni and they are all in their twenties or older, as what mom told me"

"Oh...this is the current team, huh?" another member said, looking at the players "Who's coaching this team before you became their coach, Ukai?"

He sighed and scratched his head "Well, I'm not sure if you're going to believe me but...a girl is helping them out" he said, pointing to Ayame. She cocked her head and waved a little.

"Osu!" she said "Mizuki Ayame, at your service!"

...

...

...

"EEEEEEEEEEEHH?!?!"

"Are you serious?! Hey, Ukai!!" a member asked, shaking the man by the shoulders.

"Told ya" he replied "And...did I forget to mention that she's a first year?"

"SAY WHAAAAAT?!"

While the grown-up team is trying to process the information given to them, Karasuno's volleyball club members looked at them in amusement. Ayame managed to grin at their shocked expressions.

"Well, for starters, no one would believe that a girl is our coach" Daichi said "And, not to mention, a first year"

"Their faces are epic" Tanaka snickered

"Couldn't agree less" Nishinoya nodded, snickering also.

After a few minutes of explanation, they prepared their warm-ups. Coach Ukai approached Nishinoya.

"Hey, if you're not injured, I need you on the neighborhood team" he said to Nishinoya, who seemed surprise at what he said "Their libero is busy so we need a replacement"

"Yuu-senpai, are you okay with it?" Ayame asked him, knowing that the libero won't play without the ace back. He sighed and nodded and walked towards the other team when Hinata suddenly said.

"Oh! It's Asahi-san!"