"What are you two looking at?" Daichi asked Nishinoya and Tanaka, who were looking at the magazine "Come on, let's practice!"

"Wait, Daichi-san, check this out" Tanaka held up the magazine for them to see. "Shiratorizawa's Ushiwaka is among the three most noticed-high schoolers in the whole country"

"Ah! Shiratorizawa! The school where Kageyama couldn't get in!" Hinata said.

"Shut up!" Kageyama shushed him after the shorter teen rubbed salt on his wounded pride. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi couldn't stop snickering.

"Who's Ushiwaka?" Hinata asked.

"You don't know?" Tanaka looked at him in disbelief.

"That's because you're only a fan of the Little Giant, Hinata" Sugawara said.

"I'll explain to you who Ushiwaka-san is" Ayame said, pushing her imaginary glasses upwards like a teacher.

"Is she trying to impersonate sensei or Tsukishima?" they all thought.

"Ushijima Wakatoshi, a third year from Shiratorizawa. He's unmistakably the number one ace of our prefecture" she explained to the orange haired teen, who slowly nodded in response.

"How do you know Ushiwaka?" Tanaka asked her.

"People talk a lot about him. And also, when I was in Tokyo, I usually saw him in the match in the Nationals. After all, Shiratorizawa is a powerhouse school so they're also a big hit in Tokyo" she explained.

Daichi studied Ushiwaka's face "Hmm...He definitely has "ace" written all over him" he said, looking at Asahi, who instantly turned pale and started sulking. Nishinoya, being a good friend, patted his back to comfort him.

Ayame stood next to Yamaguchi and asked him "How's your practice with Shimada-san?"

"It was...okay..." he replied. Actually, out of all the serves he kept practicing for how many nights, he wasn't able to do at least one jump float serve past the net. It depressed him at the thought of not having at least one serve correct, now that the Inter High Prelims are nearing.

"You can do it! Don't give up, Tadashi-kun! I believe in you!" she told him, smiling brightly. He smiled airily and nodded "Thanks, Ayame...ah by the way, you and you're mother looked the same. She's really kind...though a little overacting..."

"Yeah, she's kind, mostly...but she can be scary sometimes...."

Mr. Takeda suddenly entered through the gym doors with a sheet of paper in his hand, panting "I'm glad you're all here! The meeting was long however...Here it is! Match ups for the Inter High Preliminaries!"

Ayame scanned the paper to look for the word "Karasuno" and took a sharp breath.

"If we win the first round, there's a chance that our next opponent will be Date Tech" she said and Asahi flinched.

"That's not all..." Tsukishima added "If we win against Date Tech, there's also a possibility that we might face Aoba Johsai"

"And the powerhouse school where Ushiwaka is..." Daichi said.

"Shiratorizawa ..." Ayame grimly added.

***

The day before the Inter High prelims begins, the players gathered around their coach and teacher for an announcement. Coach Ukai crossed out the date before turning to look at them.

"All right, that's all for today's practice. Sugawara's hand signals worked and Asahi's back attack is now done. We managed to try all of Ayame's attack patterns and it's working great" he said. She grinned and did a little victory sign.

"You're no longer the "flightless crows" and the "fallen giant" like they all think" Ayame told them, smiling. The coach nodded.

"Go home and go to sleep early tonight" he added.

"RIGHT!"

"Okay, that'll do it-" Daichi started but was interrupted by Mr. Takeda.

"Just a second!" he said "One more thing. Shimizu-san?" he turned his attention to their manager.

"I'm not good at cheering, but..." Shimizu started "It's something that Ayame-chan and I did for all of you"

She walked towards the ladder and gestured Ayame and their teacher to follow her. The players looked at them confusingly while the manager and the violet eyed girl climbed the ladder to the second floor while the teacher holds it. Together, they unfurled the black banner and tied it on both sides. Ayame couldn't stop smiling while she watched their expressions.

You're no longer the "flightless crows" and the "fallen giant" like they all think.

"I didn't know we had that..." Sugawara said.

"Ayame-chan and I found it while cleaning, so I washed it and fixed it" Shimizu explained.

"I'm fired up!!" Tanaka yelled.

"That's our Kiyoko-san and Ayame-chan! Great job!!" Nishinoya added.

"Let's get fired-" they were about to say but Daichi stopped them "Wait. I think they're not done..."

Everyone's attention is on their manager, who is too shy to look at anyone in the eye.

"Do..." Shimizu started, looking at Ayame. She nodded and smiled encouragingly.

"Do?" they all repeated, confused, yet filled with anticipation. Shimizu finally faced them with her cheeks dusted pink.

"Do your best..." she managed to say and they climbed down the ladder afterwards. Everyone was speechless and continued to stare at the banner. Until, the upperclassmen all burst into tears, surprising all first years.

"Shimizu! No one ever did anything like this for us before!" the captain sobbed.

"Even the captain?!" Hinata said, looking at the crying captain.

"Daichi-nii's being dramatic..." Ayame said, face palming.

"Those guys...they're speechless?" Tsukishima stated, looking at Nishinoya and Tanaka who are crying.

"They usually never shut up" Yamaguchi added.

"You're all out of control!" Mr. Takeda told them after the upperclassmen cried dramatically.

"Seriously...the senpais...they're being dramatic and emotional..." Ayame sighed but she grinned and turned to face the first years "What can you guys say to our banner?"

"It's amazing!" Hinata told her.

"Great job, Ayame" Kageyama said, nodding his head.

"The King's finally complimenting a commoner..." Tsukishima snickered.

"SHUT UP!!"

"Ayame, Shimizu-senpai, thank you for the banner!" Yamaguchi bowed, beaming at them "It looks like everyone's morale and confidence are boosted!"

"It's not what I exactly pictured but I guess it still worked" Ayame said, laughing sheepishly.

"Yeah, even though they're a bit dramatic, at least they will be feeling confident in the preliminaries. I'm glad it worked" Shimizu smiled. A bright flowery aura is emitted from the two girls and the second year duo dramatically covered their eyes from them.

"THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN!!" Tanaka cried, bawling his eyes out.

"THEY'RE TOO BRIGHT!!" Nishinoya added, shielding his eyes.

"WE'RE GOING TO WIN THE FIRST ROUND FOR SURE!!" Daichi said in a determined manner. It would've been very inspirational and serious if it weren't for the snot escaping through his nose.

"OSU!!"