Practice started early in the second gymnasium. The squeaking of shoes and the sound of a volleyball being passed back and forth were like music to Ayame's ears. And as usual, she tabulated all of the players' improvement and their weaknesses in her sketchpad. Her date with the Great King was a few days ago and she was quite glad that it was all over and no one bothered to ask.

"So, how did the date with the Great King go?" Tsukishima teasingly asked her.

Okay, except for this annoying tall blonde.

"It was...fine" she answered, feeling a little awkward "We went to a café then had a little walk in the park, that's all"

"Don't remind me..." she grimaced after recalling what Seijoh's captain did to her. It still sent shivers down her spine and it was very uncomfortable "That was...embarrassing and creepy..."

"That's all?" Tsukishima raised an eyebrow "I expected that the Great King stole a kiss from you, right, Yamaguchi? Isn't that what the Great King do to the girls he used to date before?" he turned his attention to the freckled teen with a smirk.

"Tsukki, why the heck are you asking me that?" the freckled teen thought "Are you trying to make me feel jealous or what?"

"I-I don't know..." he muttered.

"Don't worry. He didn't steal a kiss from me." she replied "Why would Oikawa-san even kiss me, anyway?"

"Bless her naivety..." Yamaguchi sighed in relief.

"Forget it" Tsukishima told her.

"By the way, I heard from Shoyo-kun that you guys scared Ando-san, the art club president. Why did you do that?" she asked.

"For him to regret his decision in giving the Great King your number" the megane answered "Yamaguchi told me that the Great King got your number from him"

Yamaguchi flinched upon hearing his name and the girl looked at him. He turned to face her and bowed his head.

"Sorry, Ayame, if we had to do that. It made me feel a little ...angry after he gave him your number. I mean, giving him your number without your consent sounds wrong, right?" Yamaguchi apologized.

Ayame sighed "Yes, I understand, Tadashi-kun. I appreciate that. Really. But promise me you guys won't do that kind of thing again"

The freckled teen nodded and the megane shrugged "All right"

"Anyway, I'm glad that the third years are still staying" Ayame said, looking at Shimizu, Daichi, Sugawara and Asahi "The next goal will be the Spring Tournament...and we're definitely getting our revenge" she added, smiling evilly.

"She's a sadist" Yamaguchi and Tsukishima inched farther from the girl's dark aura.

The gym door was suddenly opened by Mr. Takeda and he tripped upon entering, making everyone's attention turned to him. They gathered around him and the girl knelt next to him.

"Sensei?" Hinata said.

"Take-chan?" Tanaka said.

"You okay?" Coach Ukai asked him. The young girl helped him up and the teacher looked at them while blood dripped from his nose.

"W-we're going, right?" he said.

"Where?" Hinata asked him.

"Your nose is bleeding!" Kageyama told him. Mr. Takeda pushed his glasses.

"Tokyo!" he said, showing them a paper with the date and location written on it.

"TOKYO?!" they all said, surprised.

"Tokyo..." Hinata echoed "You mean, Nekoma?"

*Nekoma*

Kenma sneezed and the phone flew from his hand and Kuroo caught it. Snot escaped his nose and Yamamoto recoiled from him in disgust.

"Gross!"

"Tissue!" Yaku, being the motherly type of the group, gave him some tissues to wipe the snot.

***

"A practice match?" Kageyama asked.

"Yeah! But it won't be just Nekoma this time" Mr. Takeda wiped the blood from his nose "The Fukurodani Academy Group. It's a group of schools from the Kanto region that includes Nekoma. Apparently, they hold practice matches all the time"

"Yes" Ayame nodded "That group consist Shinzen, Ubugawa, Fukurodani, and Nekoma. They hold practices and training camps in their schools"

"Woah~"

"This time, because of Coach Nekomata, Karasuno will also be able to participate in their matches" Mr. Takeda said.

"Groups like that are created through relationships built up over years. So it's not easy to get in without connections" Coach Ukai explained "We've got to make sure to thank Coach Nekomata. And Sensei, too, who I'm sure kept persistently asking him"

"No, I didn't, really..." the teacher said "Your name helped a lot, Coach Ukai. And honestly, it was Ayame's mother that we're supposed to thank for"

"M-Mom? Why?" the girl asked.

"Nekomata-sensei said that Kazumi-san suggested that Karasuno should participate in the away games. He heard our match against Seijoh and Date Tech and agreed to take us" he explained. He faced the girl and bowed "Thank you, Ayame"

"THANK YOU!!" the players bowed.

"Eh?! Ah...eh well..." she said, looking away shyly "I-I'll tell mom about that..."

"She's really cute when she's shy" Yamaguchi thought, looking at her face.

"Over the years, we've lost our connections with other schools in the prefecture that we were once close with" Mr. Takeda told them "There are many schools where the coaches that were once close to the former Coach Ukai, are now gone. We shouldn't miss this chance!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm going to be able to see that set up in person again" Kageyama muttered evilly with fire backgrounds.

*Nekoma*

Kenma shivered as he felt a chill run down his spine "Maybe I caught a cold..." he muttered, shivering lightly "I'm getting chills..."

"Hey! We're right before a match!" Yamamoto scolded him.

***

"This time, I'm going to protect us 'til we win!" Nishinoya vowed.

*Nekoma*

"Yeah...it might actually be a little cold today" Yaku shivered as he grabbed his shirt.

"You, too, Yaku-san?!" Yamamoto looked at him in disbelief.

***

"We're gonna take down that City Boy Alliance!!" Tanaka yelled.

"City Boy..." Tsukishima said, stifling a laugh.

"...Alliance?" Yamaguchi said, covering his mouth.

"Pfft...weird name..." Ayame giggled.

*Nekoma*

"I'm feeling hot! I'm burning up!" Yamamoto yelled as he took off his school uniform.

"Yamamoto, shut up" Kuroo told him.

***

"This time, I'm going to break through for sure!" Hinata said, trembling with excitement.

"Um, the only thing is, their prelims for the Inter-High start this weekend, so it won't be right away. Also, at this point, we've only received the invitation" the teacher told them "There are some agreements we have to work out, but I'll tell you all about the details another time. But it seems that all of you are..."

Daichi nodded "Of course!"

"We'll go!!" they all said, jumping from excitement. The coach and the teacher smiled at their spirits until the teacher saw the time.

"Ah! I've got a staff meeting so I've got to get going" Mr. Takeda said, taking his leave "Ukai-kun, Ayame, I'll leave the rest to the two of you"

"Sure" Coach Ukai said and Ayame nodded.

"Tokyo, huh?" the girl suddenly said "It's been a few months since I left Tokyo..."

"Speaking of which, why did you transfer to Tokyo if your hometown is Miyagi?" Tsukishima asked her. She was surprised at his question and her face darkened as she recalled her memories from seven years ago.

"Tsukishima!" Coach Ukai hissed, making an X with his arms. He knew what happened years ago because he saw it himself but he swore secrecy to Ayame's mother.

"That's right" she thought, her body trembling slightly "Even though I assured myself that it will be fine, it will continue to haunt me. I can't run away from it" Yamaguchi saw her expression and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Ayame? What's wrong?" the freckled teen worriedly asked her. She blinked a couple of times and shook her head "No, I don't want them to worry. It's best if they didn't know it. Only nii-chan and Ukai-san knew what happened"

"I'm fine" she replied, smiling at them "We had a...family issue..."

"That smile...she's hiding something..." Yamaguchi thought.

Daichi knew that she remembered her past again and placed a hand on her shoulder. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima gave the captain a confused look but he shook his head.

"This will be another long trip" Daichi said, changing the topic "At least, Ayame-chan won't be alone again. Shimizu will finally join us"

The manager nodded her head "I'll do my best, too"

Ayame smiled and placed a hand on her chest "Me too...I will also do my best!"