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After the events that happened that night, Ayame slightly distanced herself from the freckled teen. Of course, except when they're doing some group study, she acted like nothing has changed. Yamaguchi noticed that and he thinks that she now hates him after he swatted her hand. It pained him that she's avoiding him but he could only blame his self for being rash. And Ayame's blaming herself for being thoughtless in touching his hair.

So naturally, both sides are blaming themselves.

It was raining hard that morning and Ayame rushed to her school without using her umbrella. She arrived in the building soaking wet so she had to squeeze the edge of her skirt to remove the water.

"I hope my notes are not soaked that bad..." she muttered. A towel was draped over her head and she looked up to see the freckled teen looking at her worriedly.

"You're wet" Yamaguchi told her and he started rubbing the towel on her hair "You'll get sick"

Her face heated up as she recalled that she touched his hair. She backed away from him and tightly clutched her bag.

"It's okay" she managed a smile while secretly resisting the urge to sneeze "I'll be fine. See you later in class"

"No...you're not okay...you're lying..." he thought. She was about to walk away when he grabbed her arm and looked at her in the eye.

"I hate it...I hate it when she does that. Pretending that you're okay...I hate it..."

"Stop pretending that you're okay!" he accidentally raised his voice slightly, causing a few students to look at them. Ayame was shocked at his words. Realizing what he did, he let her arm go and looked down.

"Sorry..." he apologized "Great...just great... I'm so stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

She ran from him and he turned around to return to his class when he bumped to Tsukishima.

"Oh, Tsukki, sorry" he said. For some reason, he felt hollow after earlier. Was it because that he felt the he hurt her? Or he felt hurt after seeing her hurt?

"Hey, what exactly happened between the two of you?" Tsukishima's monotonous voice startled him

"W-what do you mean?" he asked, looking away.

"I saw what happened earlier. What do you mean by that? That Ayame should stop pretending that she's okay?" he asked.

"W-well...she was soaking wet when she arrived so I gave her my towel but she said that she's okay. I kinda snapped at her about it" he explained

"But, that's not it...She's always pretending that she's okay in everything...even if she's already hurt..." he silently thought "Her eyes...they're lying...even when she's not wearing that pained smile...her eyes still give away..."

"Lover's quarrel, huh?" the megane smirked.

"Tsukki, that's not it!"

***

Ayame ran as fast as she can. Yamaguchi's words made her think. Why is she even pretending that she's okay? To hide the truth? So that everyone won't worry about her?

"I guess I can't hide anything from him...he can see through my lies...yet...why is he not prying deeper to know it?"

Tears started to stream down her face and she can't stop it. She wiped them but they just kept falling. The freckled teen's towel is still on her hands and she clutched it tightly to her chest.

"Why? Why does my heart hurt so much? I feel like I could trust him, like nii-chan...I feel like I could tell him everything. But...I'm afraid to tell him...why? I don't understand this anymore..."

She bumped into a certain third year and was about to fall when he gripped her shoulders.

"A-Ayame-chan?!" Daichi looked at her "What happened to you?! Why are you soaking wet?! Don't tell me you forgot your umbrella-" he stopped when he saw the tears on her face.

"What's wrong?" he softly asked. She looked at him blankly and leaned her head on his chest while tears continued to fall.

"Come on. Let's go to the infirmary. The girl's changing room is just right beside it so you can change, okay?"

She weakly nodded and he let the captain guide her.

***

Ayame changed her wet school uniform to her shirt and pants and hanged her wet clothes. Daichi stood outside while waiting for the girl to finish changing.

"Ne, nii-chan... is it...okay for me to pretend...sometimes?"she suddenly asked. The captain was shocked at her words.

"Why are you saying that?"

She laughed a little "Nothing really...I'm just asking...hahaha...sorry, nii. I'm being weird"

She went to the infirmary after changing and she sat on a chair, her hair dripping wet and the towel still on her hands. Daichi took a stool and sat in front of her and grabbed the towel from her hands and started drying her hair with it.

"Ayame-chan..." he started "I think, pretending at something is not bad, but it's not good either. You know, sometimes, you need to pretend to protect yourself but, sometimes you don't have to. There are people you can be true and honest about yourself"

"Is that so?" she mumbled, looking down on the floor "Am I really...pretending all this time?"

"I guess her dad's death really hit her badly" Daichi looked at her sadly "She changed a lot the past seven years. Little by little, she's doing her very best to overcome her past but...she's still struggling under that cheerful shell..."

(flashback, during the first years group study)

"It's great to see Aya-chan having fun with her friends" Kazumi smiled while sipping her tea "How's she doing as Karasuno's strategist?"

"She's doing her very best to help us" Daichi replied "She's having fun as well"

"Hinata, you dumbass! Shut up for a minute! I can't focus!" Kageyama's voice echoed from Ayame's room.

"You don't have to yell at me!" Hinata yelled back.

"They're a noisy bunch though..." the captain sighed.

The woman smiled but a worried expression crossed her face "Is she...not having any breakdowns anymore when she's at school?"

"None so far..."

"I'm glad to hear it" she sighed in relief "As long as nothing can trigger her past, she'll be okay. Ne, Daichi, is she pretending that she's okay sometimes?"

He looked down at his tea "Yes, sometimes...but, no one has actually noticed it, even me...I actually fell to some of it"

"Are you sure that no one noticed it? Because there's one person who seemed to notice and care for her"

"Who?"

"For now, I'll keep it a secret" she placed a finger on her lips "But really, I want her to have someone who can understand her, someone she could trust about the truth of her past, other than you, Daichi. A true friend is what she needed. I don't want my daughter to suffer for the rest of her life carrying that terrifying truth"

"It's difficult for her. She didn't want anyone to know yet she's also struggling to tell them. She's confused"

"I hope he can help her come out of that shell" she whispered, though the captain heard it but he kept his mouth shut.

(End)

"I may not know who this someone is but...I want that someone to understand Ayame and take care of her..."

"Just remember, Ayame, your nii-chan is right here" he told her.

"Yeah...thank you, nii"

***

Yamaguchi tapped his notebook with his pen to pass time. He kept thinking about what he said earlier. Did he went too far and she started to hate him?

He messed his hair in frustration and slumped on his desk.

"Damn it, I'm an idiot..."

The door opened and he saw Ayame, now wearing dry clothes, enter with the captain behind her. The two made a short eye contact to each other and both quickly looked away.

"C-crap, why did I just do that?"

He saw the towel he gave her on her hands. She tightly held it on her chest as she looked away from him. He made no attempt to get it from her and he only watched as she muttered her thanks to the captain.

"Ayame-chan, see you later" Daichi ruffled her hair and left. The violet eyed girl went inside her class and sat on her chair. She slightly faced him and he glanced at her. She looked away first and started opening her notebook.

"Yup, she's mad at me...I think"

*Club Activities*

"What should I do? Is avoiding him the correct answer? I don't hate him for slapping my hand like that. I don't hate him when he told me that I should stop pretending. He's actually right. But...I can't...I don't want everyone to worry about me. At the same time, my heart hurts every time I'm pretending that I'm okay. I don't know what to do...I'm confused..."Ayame bit her lower lip as she paced back and forth inside the gymnasium. She stared at her hand that she used to touch the freckled teen's hair and felt her face go red as she recalled it.

"Why? Why did my heart beat so fast when I touched his hair? Why is his concern so touching? It's not making sense to me anymore..."

"What's wrong, Ayame-chan? You've been walking back and forth in that area for quite some time now. I think you're holing the floor" Sugawara's voice pulled her from her train of thoughts.

"E-Eh? W-Well..." she twirled a strand of her hair as she thought of an excuse "I-It's because o-of the exams..."

"Great...another pretending act...just great, me..." she mentally kicked herself.

"Really?" Sugawara gave her a curious look. He saw her glancing at a certain freckled teen, who is talking to Tsukishima and the captain. He glanced at her also and she quickly avoided his gaze and stared down instead.

"Why is it like...Ayame-chan's avoiding Yamaguchi?" the third year wondered.

"Did something happen?" he kindly asked her. She shook her head and looked away guiltily "Ayame, you can tell me if you're bothered at something"

She smiled at him "Don't worry, Sugawara-san. I'm okay. It's just, I feel a little bad if Shoyo-kun and the others failed in their tests, considering that they want to go to Tokyo"

Sugawara sighed and nodded in agreement "I see. I understand if you feel bothered about them since you're helping them pass"

"Yes..." she nodded "He fell for it..."

"Ne, Ayame-chan, did something happen between you and Yamaguchi?" the third year suddenly asked, throwing her off guard.

"E-Eh?! A-Ano...n-nothing. Nothing happened" she quickly replied before biting her lower lip.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow. Before he could ask any further, Shimizu entered the room and called them to catch their attention.

"Everyone, do you have a moment?" she asked. A blonde girl peered nervously behind her and looked at them.

"Shimizu-san, I really owe you" Ayame thought, sighing in relief "And...is that the new manager?"

"So you found a new person!" Hinata happily said. The new girl flinched at the orange haired teen's outburst and hid behind Shimizu. Everyone crowded around them.

"Shimizu-san, is she the new manager?" Ayame asked excitingly.

"Well, she's joining the club on a trial basis as the new manager so we're not 100% sure she's joining yet" the manager explained.

"I-I'm Yachi Hitoka!" she nervously said.

"Hello, Yachi-san. I'm Mizuki Ayame, first year, the assistant coach of this team. Nice to meet you!" she shook hands with her and she squeaked out.

"V-Violet eyes!" she gasped, pointing at Ayame's eyes "W-wow...all the girls in this club are so pretty!"

"Oh, is that so? It's weird, isn't it?" she laughed a little.

"N-No, i-it's nothing like that! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she bowed her head multiple times and the violet eyed girl stopped her from keeping it up.

"No, it's okay, Yachi-san. Please don't apologize" she laughed sheepishly at her nervousness.

"You're a first year?" Asahi asked closely and Yachi nervously yelped at the ace's appearance.

"I-I'm in Class 1-5, sir!" she replied.

"Sir?" Ayame, Tsukishima, and Kageyama thought.

"Asahi, back up a bit" Daichi scolded him.

"Huh?"

"Asahi-san, I think you're scaring her" the violet eyed girl whispered to the ace.

"Eh? Is that so?"

Yachi flinched when she saw Tanaka and Nishinoya staring from behind Sugawara. The third year noticed this and covered their eyes.

"Hey! Don't stare like that! It's rude" he scolded them.

"I'm sorry if they're giving you a hard time, Yachi-san" Ayame rubbed her nape sheepishly.

"N-no...i-it's not really a problem, M-Mizuki-san!"

"Thank goodness. Now there'll be a manager next year, too" Asahi said and Hinata nodded happily. Yachi panicked and the violet eyed girl intervened.

"A-Ano, Asahi-san, she hasn't exactly joined us and we're not completely sure if she wants to join, right? Shimizu-san?"

"Yes, I asked her suddenly today, and before work with the membership committee, so she's just dropping in to say hi today" the manager explained.

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you!" Yachi bowed.

"SAME!" they all bowed noisily, making the blonde girl flinch nervously.

"Could you not surround her until she's more comfortable?" Shimizu pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Yachi-san" Ayame bowed "Yachi-san's really nervous, isn't she? She's probably intimidated by their heights"

"N-No, it's all right. S-Sorry for the intrusion" she went outside and closed the gym door.

"Shimizu" the captain faced the manager "So you were looking for a manager"

"Yes" she nodded "Ayame-chan also helped, thanks to her posters. I didn't think we got enough responses when we tried to find people in April. It thought it was important to find someone carry on as a manager, especially with Karasuno getting so much stronger, right? Ayame-chan?"

"Yeah, that's right" she smiled and both girls emit a bright flowery aura.

"Shimizu-san! Ayame-chan!" Daichi started crying in front of them, along with Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Sugawara.

"Nii-chan, you're so embarrassing" Ayame's face was red while scolding him.

"Kiyoko-san!! Ayame-chan!!"

"Ayame-chan, you're saying that you're pretending this whole time...but...you're starting to change a bit...is it possibly because of the team's influence on her?" the captain thought.

*Outside*

"I just caught on a whim but there were so many big guys! What am I going to do tomorrow?!" Yachi shakily thought and she suddenly gasped "I stood next to those pretty girls for like two minutes! What if their fans try to kill me?! I heard that the pretty violet eyed girl received plenty of love letters from guys in our year!! Oh no!! What if they found out I stood next to her?!"

The nervous blonde quickly ducked and looked cautiously around her. She quietly crawled her way to the main building when Coach Ukai noticed that she's acting weirdly.

"What's the matter?" he asked. She flinched in surprise and nervously turned and her jaw dropped.

"Blonde hair and pierced ears! To think that he's a fan, too..." she stood and ran as fast as she can "I-I'm gonna get killed!!"

The man was surprised at her outburst and stared "What? Killed...?"

Ayame opened the gym door "Ukai-san, what was that? I thought I heard someone screaming..."

"Some weird girl was screaming about being killed or something..."

"Killed?"