"K-Kenma-san!" Ayame exclaimed "Thank goodness the letter worked!!"

"Uh...yeah..." the second year scratched his cheek awkwardly "I was walking by to check the powerhouse room since there was a blackout. And I saw this letter lying in front of the door"

"I'm glad someone noticed it..." Yamaguchi sighed in relief, his arms still around the girl "But...I didn't get to hear the rest of what she was saying!! What was she trying to tell me?!"

"Um...you guys are..." Kenma kept glancing at his sides while pointing at them "Uh... your position...I'm not being rude but..."

The two first years stared at each other and the freckled teen was the first person to react.

"I-It's not what you think this is!!" he quickly explained, his face beet red and his arms flailing in embarrassment "T-T-T-This is...!"

"Think what?" she stared up at him. Ah, she's not embarrassed because her genius brain is clueless when it comes to stuffs like these "Is there something wrong?"

"Why is she not even embarrassed at all?!" he mentally face palmed.

"Don't worry. I'm not thinking anything" Kenma waved it off "Just a little curious"

He sighed in relief. Both teens stood from their position and went outside the room. The pudding haired teen closed the door after the two are out.

"Thank you for saving us, Kenma-san" Ayame bowed.

"Thank you very much" Yamaguchi followed suit.

"Don't think about it..." he told them "Why were you trapped in there in the first place?"

"We...ah, I mean, I was asked to bring some things to the storage room. I didn't know that the door handle on the other side is broken. We can't open it from inside" he explained.

"And I accompanied him" she added.

"Oh...I see..." he replied with a sigh "Looks like they forgot to place a sign on that door again. It has been a problem since last year. Anyway, I better get going"

"Why are you going on your own, Kenma-san?" Ayame asked.

"Oh, you know about the rumors of the ghost they saw last year, right?" he asked and she nodded "It was only one night they saw the ghost with but no one dared to come here alone after that. Kuroo was busy with Kai earlier, Yaku is quite bad about ghosts and stuffs and Yamamoto is scared about the ghost. The first years were also terrified because Kuroo exaggerated the story to them. I had no choice but to go alone"

"Aren't you scared about the ghost?" Yamaguchi had goosebumps all over his skin at the mention of ghost.

The second year shook his head "No. I've been walking here in this area most of the time since last year. I don't think it's real anyway" he started to walk away "By the way, the guys from Karasuno were looking for you two"

Ayame's jaw dropped "Crap! Later, Kenma-san! Thanks again!" she started running while waving her hand "Tadashi-kun, let's go!"

"R-Right!" he replied before facing the setter nervously "Um...Kozume-san? A-About earlier....etto..."

"Don't worry. I'm not telling anyone" he made a small smile afterwards "Good luck, though"

"Hai?" he blinked in confusion.

Kenma was already walking away "Better hurry back to your team if I were you"

The freckled had no choice but to follow the violet eyed girl.

***

It took a lot of effort for the Karasuno boys to hold down Nishinoya and Tanaka as they were frantically looking for their beloved kohai.

"For the millionth time, calm down, you two!!" Sugawara was stressing out at the fact that no matter how many times he assured them, the two second years were acting like rabid animals searching for food. It didn't help that even the captain is panicking while emitting a dark aura, much to the vice captain's distress.

"Not you, too, Daichi!!"

Mention that her "little sister" is missing and the captain will definitely go bonkers.

"Sawamura, please try to calm down" Shimizu softly "I know you're worried about Ayame-chan but please maintain your composure"

"I can't. Not after that a blackout happened. As the captain and her "older brother", I have to find her because I'm getting antsy not knowing where she is!" he ran his finger on his hair in frustration and worry.

"Even if that's the case, please try calm down. Panicking won't do any good" For the first time, the third year manager's voice was firm and stern, which shocked the team. She then looked at the two second years "Nishinoya and Tanaka, as well. Maintain your composures"

That struck the two boys to the very core of their being.

"KIYOKO-SAN SCOLDED US!!" they swooned with flower backgrounds.

"Great job, Shimizu" Sugawara gave her a thumbs up.

Tsukishima is watching from behind the team as they searched for the violet eyed girl.

"So far, no one has noticed that Yamaguchi is not present here" he thought "If they find out he's missing as well, he's in for a lot of trouble"

Of course, he knew full well that crazy ideas will stir once that both first years are missing, especially that one is a boy and one is a clueless and innocent as hell girl.

"How about we call her?" Asahi suggested.

"Um...her phone was left behind. I saw it inside her bag in our room earlier" Yachi replied.

"Geez, that girl..." Daichi sighed exasperatingly.

"Let's try search for her, okay? We can find her if we look harder without panicking" Sugawara said in an assuring tone "It would be easier if we split up and look for her, you know?"

"I don't think that's necessary" Kageyama said, while pointing at the hallway "She's on her way here"

Instantly, both Nishinoya and Tanaka faced the hallway where the black haired setter is referring to. Joy seized their hearts when they saw a small feminine figure running towards them.

"AYAME-CHAAAAAAN!!!"

"EEEEK!!"

"Hey!!" Sugawara and Ennoshita pulled them back by their collars upon realizing their mistake "That's not Ayame-chan!! Will you guys give it a break? You're scaring Ubugawa's manager"

They stopped and sulked in disappointment.

"We're sorry about that" Shimizu apologized in their behalf "Sorry for scaring you. We were looking for our club member"

"A-Ah...I see. It's fine" she waved it off.

"Oi, Kageyama, that's not Ayame!" Hinata told him.

"No need to point it out" Kageyama looked away while mumbling "I thought it's her because she has the same height as Ayame's"

"So the King thought it's her because of her height? How simple minded" Tsukishima smirked, already expecting the setter's usual response.

"What the hell was that, four eyes?!"

Cue the glaring Kageyama and the blonde's taunting smirk.

"By any chance, did you see a girl here? Somewhere around 150 cm and has long brown hair and violet eyes?" the third year manager asked.

"Let's see..." she placed a thumb on her chin "I'm not exactly sure but I saw two people running inside the hall earlier. The first person was the girl that had the same characteristics you mentioned and she's with a tall guy"

Fire silently burned behind Daichi's back and Nishinoya and Tanaka were surprisingly quiet, and they're pretty sure it's not a good sign.

"Thank you. That helped us a lot"

"It's nothing. Well, I'll be going then" she bowed and ran ahead, leaving the Karasuno members in a tense atmosphere.

"This is bad..." Asahi was inching away from the captain.

"Ah! Noya-san and Tanaka-san are...quiet..." Hinata said, suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine "I feel kinda scared upon seeing them this silent..."

"Uh...you guys okay?" Ennoshita asked, waving his flashlight in front of the second years face.

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Nishinoya and Tanaka started snarling like a bunch of wild animals and the rest of them were struggling to keep them down.

"Calm down, Nishinoya!! Tanaka!!" Sugawara told them "Stop overreacting!!"

"...I have to find her quickly..." Daichi's face was scary as he cracked his knuckles "Before this guy do weird things on her...."

The first years plus Asahi shrank in his intimidating aura.

"Daichi, you're overreacting!!"

"Let go of me, Chikara!! I have to find Ayame-chan!!"

"Why are you guys stopping us?!"

"Panicking won't do you any good, idiots!!"

"How simple-minded..."

"What was that, Tsukishima?!"

The members of the Karasuno volleyball club were making loud noises that can be heard at the end of the hall. If they got worse from there, they will definitely attract the attention of a teacher.

"Oh! Finally!!" Ayame appeared in the hallway "Good thing I heard you guys!!"

The rest of the members stopped and stared at her direction. Daichi was quick to hug her first, much to her own surprise.

"I'm glad you're safe..."

"There's nothing to worry about, nii-chan. I'm fine" she then gave a choke "Nii, you're choking me... I...can't breathe...."

"Sorry" and he released her in his bear hug. Nishinoya and Tanaka were crying in relief and were about to hug her if it weren't for Ennoshita and Sugawara. Another footstep followed her from behind and the freckled teen stopped next to her.

"Ayame, wait-" he stopped when he saw the team staring at them "Crap...their stares are piercing...what did I do?"

"...Hah?! The guy Ayame-chan's with is Yamaguchi?!" Nishinoya yelled, pointing a finger to the teen.

"Hai?" both first years tilted their heads in confusion.

"I knew it..." Tsukishima smirked.

"Someone saw you two at the hallway earlier" Shimizu explained "We we're looking for you, Ayame-chan, because Sawamura's really worried. No one thought you are with Yamaguchi"

"It's kinda amazing no one noticed that I'm missing..." Yamaguchi rubbed his head awkwardly.

"Where were you guys?" Sugawara asked. The freckled teen flinched when he saw the look the grey haired setter and the tall blonde were giving him.

"Don't say anything that might give them ideas" he reminded his self.

"Um...We kinda got lost in hallway after the blackout after doing an errand" he explained. Daichi was about to open his mouth to ask again but the violet eyed girl quickly added.

"But, we're lucky we heard you guys! That really helped us find our way"

"Was she...also trying to hide what really happened?" the teen wondered as he looked at her in surprise "But... I don't blame her... that was something we can't just tell anyone..."

"Huh? Weren't you guys angry earlier because Ayame's with a guy?" Ennoshita raised an eyebrow at them.

"It's just Yamaguchi. He may be a brat when he's with Tsukishima but he's mostly a good kid" Tanaka replied.

"I don't know if I should be relieved or hurt by that..." the freckled teen sighed internally.

"And besides" Nishinoya added "He saved Ayame-chan before! I don't mind it at all!! Well, as long as he didn't kiss her or something"

Yamaguchi resisted the urge to blush and panic. He crossed his fingers, hoping that they didn't see him sweating bullets. Ayame remembered what happened in the storage room earlier and she only laughed awkwardly at the libero's statement to cover her embarrassment.

"It's actually a relief that she's with Yamaguchi..." the captain said "Well then, let's head back to our room. We have another day tomorrow"

"More like another day of penalty" Tsukishima muttered.

"Don't be such a pessimist, you brat!" the libero scolded him.

The team walked back to their areas. Yamaguchi and Ayame were walking behind them while having their usual awkward yet comfortable silence. Well, since that kiss happened, it turned a lot more awkward than usual.

Especially that confession...

He opened his mouth to apologize "I'm so-"

"Don't" she cut him off in a whisper "Please don't apologize"

"Don't apologize, Tadashi-kun. It's making me embarrassed..."

"O-Okay..."

Ah, I forgot to mention. They couldn't bring to face each other out of embarrassment. Even the slightest glance made their faces go red like tomatoes. And luckily, no one seemed to notice...yet.

The girls stopped in front of their rooms. Shimizu faced the males "Well then, we're taking a rest in our room. Good night"

"Good night, Kiyoko-san!!" Nishinoya and Tanaka saluted.

"Good night, nii-chan" Ayame smiled to the captain "Make sure you guys have a good rest. I'm pretty sure it will be another round of penalties tomorrow but let's do our best"

"Pessimistic and optimistic" Ennoshita noted "Not bad"

"G-Good night!" Yachi stuttered out while fidgeting her fingers.

They waved at them before leaving. The managers went inside and the freckled teen slightly distanced his self from the team as he walked behind them. Ayame tugged his arm before he could leave.

"Ano...about...earlier...did you...mean it?" she whispered "When...you...l-like me...?"

A faint blush dusted his freckled cheeks "Y-Yes... I really mean it..."

He was slightly shying away but she could see the seriousness and how genuine his eyes are about his feelings, which caused her to look away. But, she strangely felt happy on the inside, however, it was quickly diminished by that traitorous thought in her mind.

"N-Ne, Tadashi-kun... I didn't tell you earlier but...thank you for catching me" she said while fiddling with her hair.

"I-It was nothing..."

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Awkward.

"Well, good night, Tadashi-kun" she turned her back and walked back to their room.

"Good night, Ayame"

"I'm really sorry, Tadashi-kun. I need to sort out my feelings first..." she thought "If you knew what I did, I'm sure you'll hate me..."

"Ah..." she stopped and stared ahead "Tadashi-kun and I...we haven't eaten our dinner..."