"All right, everyone. Good work" Mr. Takeda told them after arriving back to Miyagi. It was nighttime when they arrived back to their school.

"Thank you!"

"So, as I mentioned, tomorrow there will be inspections in the gym, so there'll be no club activities" he added "You've all gone a long time without a break, so please enjoy it"

"Hai!"

"Sensei, you should take a break too. You've done so much for us" Ayame worriedly told him after noticing the bags under his eyes "Ukai-san, you too"

"Hai, hai, we get it, Ayame" the teacher told her "No need to worry"

"Yep, and speaking of that, looks like an annoying relative of mine is coming home. Damn it, he's going to be a pain in the ass once he's out..." he sighed exasperatingly.

"Who?" she asked.

"My old geezer. The original Coach Ukai" he replied "I think he and your mother were old friends, I remember"

"Yeah, I think so"

"Anyway, see you next practice. I'll be going home and take a rest. Bye" the man walked ahead. Ayame bowed to their teacher and went to the clubroom to wait for her companions. While waiting, the unsettling feeling in her stomach felt stronger and she dreaded what is going to happen.

"I don't like this..."

She heard footsteps coming from the clubroom and she shook her head and hoped that it's all in her head. She turned around and saw her classmates.

"Sorry. Were you waiting for us?" Yamaguchi asked.

"Yeah. Ah, by the way" she said "Have you seen Shoyo-kun? I need to talk to him"

"Sorry, but I haven't"

"Haven't seen him" Tsukishima shrugged.

She sighed "Next time then. Well then, shall we go now?"

Daichi suddenly called out from the second floor "Hey, Ayame-chan, you guys are going home now?"

"Kinda. Are you coming, nii-chan?"

"Yeah. Can you guys wait for me? Just give me a minute"

"Okay!"

The three of them waited down the stairs for the captain to finish preparing his things when a frantic looking Yachi ran to them. She was in the verge of tears as Ayame and the other two approached her.

"H-Hitoka-chan? What's wrong?"

She looked up to her as she stuttered out in a shaky voice "A-A-Ayame-chan...th-they...th-those t-t-two...p-please..."

Her brown eyes were full of fear and she's tearing up as she grabbed the violet eyed girl's arm tightly. She was panting heavily and her hands were shaking. Her current situation reminded Ayame of herself when she's all alone and scared...about her nightmare. Still, she wanted to help their new manager, despite the fact that the dread inside her grew intensely.

"Hitoka-chan, calm down. Tell us" she gently told her. The blonde girl's grip on her arm tightened as she blurted out.

"Hinata and Kageyama-kun are fighting!!"

"WHAT?!"

They stared at her in shock. Daichi and the other members went outside the club room after hearing their shocked voices.

The only person who seemed unsurprised by it was Tsukishima "Those two? They are always fighting, you know? It's nothing out of the ordinary"

"N-No! I-It's different!! They are fighting!!"

"Where?!" Ayame asked, grabbing her shoulders.

"I-In the second g-gym..."

She threw down her bag "Tadashi-kun, you guys call the other senpais!! I'll try to stop them!!"

"W-Wait, Ayame!! Y-You'll get hurt if you try to stop them!!" Yamaguchi tried to stop her but she already ran off.

"Idiots!! Why are those two fighting?! I have to stop them or the team will be torn apart!!" she gritted her teeth as she ran faster to the gym. Even though she's a few meters away from it, she could hear Hinata and Kageyama's shouts.

"Are you trying to say that my toss was at fault?!"

"No! That's not it! It was perfect! It was spot-on! And yet, it was stopped! If I don't get better, it's not going to work on stronger opponents, either!"

"Hey!! You two!! Stop that right now!!" Ayame yelled as she bent over to catch her breath. The two didn't notice her and continued their fight "Look, I don't give a damn in what you idiots are fighting over but I'm telling you guys to cut the bullshit and talk it over!!"

She ran to them and tried to pry them apart but her tiny strength was no match against the two's strength and the intensity of their anger. As she tried to push them away from each other, she was accidentally elbowed and was knocked aside. As she fell down on the floor, her past memories washed over her, causing her eyes to widen and for her tiny body to shake violently.

"Let go of her!!"

"Shut the hell up!!" he shakily pushed the gun closer to her forehead, his index finger dangerously close to the trigger "I-I-I'll kill th-this girl!! D-Don't go any closer!!"

No...not now...not that one...

She hugged herself as she gave a shaky breath to try and hold her breakdown. But it was no use because as she looked up to see Hinata and Kageyama fighting, she could only see two grown-ups fighting from her memory. She started hallucinating and when she looked down, she saw a glinting black pistol in front of her.

She lost it.

"Hey!! Stop it, you two!!" Tanaka ran to them and landed a punch on both of their faces, effectively stopping their fight. They regained their senses and looked away as they touched the bruise on their face.

"Ayame!!" Yamaguchi approached her and knelt in front of her. She's panting heavily and her face is beaded with sweat. Her tiny body is shaking violently, and he was reminded at that time when the second year harassed her, where he first saw her in that state.

"Ne, Ayame? Can you hear me?" he gently rubbed her shoulders but she seemed to be in a daze "Ayame? What's wrong?"

Her body trembled and she is tightly clutching her head when she suddenly screamed and fainted on his arms.

"Ayame!!"

Daichi caught up with them when he heard her scream. He knelt next to the first years and worriedly looked at his "little sister", who is unconscious on the freckled teen's arms.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Daichi-san, when we arrived here, Ayame is curled up on the floor a-and she's shaking, th-then suddenly, she just screamed. We don't know what happened before she's like this" he explained.

"Don't tell me...she remembered it again...damn it...how can I explain this to Aunt Kazumi?" the captain gave out a heavy sigh and looked at the first year duo.

"Hinata, Kageyama, you guys can explain this to me next time. I have to tend Ayame-chan first. Go home and tend your injuries" he ordered them, his tone calm and steely.

"...Osu..." the two avoided each other as they walked out of the door.

"I-I'll go with you, Hinata!" Yachi said, following the ginger haired boy.

"Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Tanaka, Nishinoya, Suga, Asahi, you guys can go ahead" Daichi told them.

"All right. We're going first then" Sugawara said. The second years and third years didn't know what to say and they left first.

"Ano...captain, can I...uh...stay here?" Yamaguchi asked "If it's not a problem, that is"

"...all right..."

"I'm leaving first then" Tsukishima bowed and left. Once they were the only ones left inside, Daichi punched the floor, much to Yamaguchi's surprise.

"Damn it!!"

"D-Daichi-san, p-please calm down...."

He clenched his fist and placed it on his forehead "I didn't protect her. I wasn't on her side when this happened. I couldn't stop her from remembering it...I thought...I could be the best big brother to her but...I failed...I'm the worst brother..."

"Remembering it?" he thought "Daichi-san, don't say that. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm trespassing but it's not your fault. I don't know anything about Ayame's past but it can't be helped if she remembered it. There's no stopping it. The only thing we can do for now is help her and support her. Although we can't be by her side all the time, we just have to help her as much as possible. You're, like, the best big brother Ayame had"

The freckled teen looked down at her unconscious face "I have no idea about her past but, I'd like to help her, as her friend. I don't want to see her having those entire burdens on her shoulder. It pains me...to see her like this..."

"Yamaguchi..."

The younger boy flinched when he realized that he said that and started bushing madly "P-P-P-Please forget about what I said!! I'm sorry if I crossed the line!!"

The captain chuckled and stood up "No, I won't forget those words. Thank you, Yamaguchi. You sound more like a senpai than a kohai right now"

"Eh?!"

"Nothing" he picked the girl up and carried her on his back, her head resting on his shoulder "I'll be carrying her. Yamaguchi, can you carry her bag?"

"Hai"

While they were walking home, the third year couldn't help but remember what Kazumi used to say. He glanced at the freckled teen and saw his face in a sad and pained expression.

"Could it be...that "someone" Aunt Kazumi mentioned is...Yamaguchi?" he thought "In the first years, he seemed to be the one closer to Ayame-chan..."

They stopped in front of the girl's house and rang the doorbell. Daichi's spine stiffened, afraid at what the woman might say when he told her that her daughter had a breakdown. It's not like she'll kill him, right?

"Ugh...don't think negatively! It'll only make things worse" he thought.

"Oh, Aya-chan, welco-" her greeting was cut short when she saw her daughter on the captain's back. Her eyes trailed back and forth the captain and the freckled teen. Her lower lip started to quiver, her instincts fearing the worse.

"W-What happened?"

"Aunt Kazumi..." he looked down before facing her "Ayame-chan...she...had a breakdown..."

She gasped and covered her mouth "Oh no...Aya-chan..."

Daichi felt guilty and the freckled teen stood silently as he watched the woman struggling to stop herself from crying.

"Daichi, does Tadashi..."

"I haven't told him" he answered "Sorry, Yamaguchi, but this is probably as far as you can go. Thanks for accompanying us and I'm sorry"

"Ah, no, it's okay, Daichi-san. I understand" he gave Ayame's bag to her mother "Kazumi-san, Daichi-san, I'm going home first"

"Take care, Tadashi. Thank you" the woman said.

He bowed and left, though he felt his heart sink when he couldn't enter the house "I told them I understand but...in reality, I have no idea what was happening. It can't be helped since it's probably a personal matter..."

***

"Aunt Kazumi, I'm truly sorry" Daichi lowered his head in shame "I...I couldn't protect her..."

"Don't apologize, Daichi" the woman patted his shoulder "It's not your fault. Your teammates didn't know what happened, right?"

"Hai, only Ukai-san knew what happened"

"I feared that the time will come that everyone knew her past and then they'll..." she slapped her cheeks and shook her head "No, I can't think like that..."

"Auntie...can I ask you something?"

"About what?"

"Before, you told me that there is this someone who noticed her pain and he cares for her...this "someone" you're referring to is...Yamaguchi?" he asked.

She gave him small smile "Why? Are you curious?"

"Yes. Earlier, he...looked like he wanted to help Ayame-chan in any way he can. He said that it also pains him to see her like this. Auntie, is this "someone" you said before is him?"

"What do you think?"

"It seemed fitting, I guess"

"...Who knows? Maybe it's him, maybe it's not" she smiled mysteriously, looking at her sleeping daughter.

"Again with the cliffhangers..." he sighed "You know, auntie, I think it's best for Ayame-chan to tell someone about her past so it will be easier for her. She's...she's always so secretive now, especially when she's in pain"

"I'm sorry, Daichi, but that won't be easy for her. She's not only traumatized here in Miyagi, but also in Tokyo as well. She has a trouble trusting someone about the truth after what happened last year"

"If only, Tadashi can bring her out of her protective shell, she'll be much more true to herself. If only Aya-chan could trust him...I know he can help her out..." Kazumi brought her hands together and placed it on her lap "That's all what I want for her... to be free from the shackles of her past..."