*Outside the Sendai City Gymnasium*

"All right, let's go get some food. Of course, I'm paying" Coach Ukai told them.

"Eh? Food? But..." Daichi started but the man cut him off.

"Just shut up and eat"

The players looked at each other in confusion and followed him.

*At the Restaurant*

"Sorry for going here before you're open" Coach Ukai tells the store owner.

"Don't worry. This used to happen all the time" she chuckled "It's nice to see Kazumi's daughter here again. They used to be our regular customers" she ruffled Ayame's hair and takes her leave.

Coach Ukai goes to his seat and spoke "Running, jumping, thinking, and anything else that stresses your muscles and mind will cause the fibers to tear and exhaust you mentally. Right after a match, like now, your muscles and mind are at their limits, so you've got to repair them by eating. That's how you build muscle and think clearly, and become stronger. So eat. Eat a proper meal"

"Thanks for the food" everyone says and takes a bowl.

Everyone ate the food given to them. They ate normally but tears are streaming down their faces. The normally talkative Nishinoya was stuffing his mouth with the food in his bowl and was crying. The third years and second years silently ate their food while wiping their eyes. Hinata, Kageyama, and Yamaguchi were crying as they eat some meat, except for Tsukishima who's eating normally. Ayame stared at the bowl in front of her. She couldn't stand watching them cry and suffer from their defeat. She clenched her fist and stood up.

"I..." she started, making them look at her in surprise. She felt a tear fell from her face as she lowered her head "...I'm sorry..."

More tears fell from her face as she blinked back her tears "I-It was my fault...I-It's because of my mistakes and my errors we lost...I was panicking and I wasn't thinking correct decisions back then...I-I failed you...Everyone...nii-chan...Ukai-san...I'm sorry..."

The room was silent, except for the violet eyed girl's sobs. She kept muttering "I'm sorry..." all over again while covering her face. Yamaguchi's heart clenched after he saw her blaming herself "She shouldn't blame herself...It's not her fault...It was mine...I screwed up..." he thought, clenching his fist.

...

...

...

"I-It wasn't your fault" Yamaguchi blurted out. Everyone looked at him and he flinched at their stares. Ayame looked at him. There's no turning back now. He took a big breath "It wasn't your fault...It's not your fault or anyone's fault..." he said "It's supposed to be my fault..."

Mr. Takeda sighed "Yamaguchi-kun's right. Blaming yourselves is pointless and it won't change the results. Starting now, you should count your defeat as an experience and use it to learn from your mistakes. That defeat is not a sign that you guys are weak. Now, please stop blaming yourself, Ayame"

"Sensei..."

"And we're not blaming you or anybody else. It's our loss as a team" Daichi added. Everyone nodded in agreement in what the captain said. Ayame stopped crying and smiled a little. However, that smile of hers is a painful and a sad one, and the freckled teen noticed it "Now that we lost against Seijoh, she's going to have a date with the Great King...I hope she'll be okay..."

*At the Mizuki household*

"I'm home..." Ayame said upon entering the house.

"Aya-chan, how was your game?" her mother asked. Ayame stopped and looked down "We lost..."

"Eh?" she blinked.

"We lost against Aoba Johsai in the last set..." she said. Her mother looked at her and grabbed her hand.

"Tell me everything, Aya-chan...explain to me what happened in your match..." her mother said seriously. She told him every detail, everything she saw in the match. Oikawa's strong serves and the joust with Kageyama at the net. Kageyama being subbed out by Sugawara. Sugawara's tactics combined with her strategy she came up before she lost her mind. Yamaguchi subbed in for the very first time as a pinch server. And lastly, the deuce that reached 30's and the weirdo quick that was blocked by the three blockers from Seijoh.

"There, there, Aya-chan..." her mother soothingly said while stroking her head in her embrace "You all did your best. It wasn't your fault to begin with. You did your best and I'm proud of you"

"Thanks...mom..." she replied, hugging her back. After explaining what happened, her mother suddenly smiled knowingly.

"Aya-chan, please excuse me. I...ah...need to talk to Nekomata-sensei about something on the phone" her mother said, going to the living room. Ayame looked at her confusingly but her mother smiled mysteriously. She opened her smartphone and dialled the old coach and went to the other room.

"I wonder what mom's doing..." she thought "Anyway...I'll be going on a date with Oikawa-san...My first date...I wonder what it's going to be like?"