I like you...

"Good mo-" Yachi stopped when she saw the violet eyed girl sat up from her sleeping bag "Ayame-chan, did you get any sleep at all?!"

Ayame stared at her blankly, her eyebags showing and her hair is a bird's nest. She gave her a sleepy smile "Good morning, Hitoka-chan..."

"You should sleep a bit longer!!" the female blonde was really creeping out and worried about her.

"It's all right... once I take shower and some breakfast, I'll be back to normal..." she grinned.

"Is...that so...?" she said "Ayame-chan can be also a bit weird...sometimes..."

The truth was, she barely had a decent sleep last night. Her heart wouldn't stop beating as she remembered the course of events that happened last night. The confession he made stuck in her mind like glue.

I like you...

Her face suddenly exploded in a dark shade of red, much to the manager's concern.

"What's wrong, Ayame-chan?" Shimizu asked her.

"N-Nothing!" she squeaked in alarm before rushing inside the bathroom.

"Huh? What was that I was feeling? It...It really made me happy hearing that... but also...terrified...why?"

"What exactly ...liking someone like?"

Hearing the words "I like you" is actually no news for Ayame. She received confessions like that and such in school almost every day from boys in different class. It didn't bother her in the slightest (well, she's kinda annoyed about it) and she didn't feel anything. However, hearing Yamaguchi utter those words sent warmth in her and her heart started to pound loudly in her chest. It's very different from the usual confessions and the feeling is new to her and it only made her confused and...scared.

"Do I feel...the same?"

After some shower, she lined up for breakfast. Upon receiving her meal, she thanked the managers politely and found an empty table. She sat down and set her tray down.

"Thank you for the food" she whispered.

"Oh, Ayame-chan"

She looked up and saw the grey haired setter holding his tray full of food.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked.

She nodded "Of course, Suga-san"

"Thanks" he sat next to her and made a praying gesture "Thank you for the food"

While eating, she looked around and watched other players from different schools. Because of her extreme love to volleyball and her high curiosity, she would always observe the other players when she has time to know their strengths and capabilities, particularly their destined rivals and a certain owl headed ace. As she scanned the room around, her violet eyes made eye contact with Yamaguchi's brown eyes.

I like you...

His soft and whispered words echoed in her mind and she, for once, couldn't look away from him, though her face is gradually turning hot.

"C-Crap...I couldn't look away from him... M-My heart...it is beating crazy fast!!"

"Hey, Tsukishima!!" Nishinoya's loud voice snapped her from her thoughts "Eat up!! Or you're not gonna last!!"

"Nishinoya-san" the tall blonde's (slightly) mocking voice reached her ears "At least your stomach's big"

"What'd you say?! You little brat!! Your true self will pay!!"

"H-Hey! Stop! They're gonna break"

"Hey, Daichi's gonna get mad!" the grey haired setter told them.

She made a small smile as she watched the libero and the megane bicker at each other. She looked at the third year next to her and a thought crossed her mind.

You never know if you like someone...you feel it...

"I...I need to confirm my feelings first..." she internally sighed "Man, this is driving me crazy..."

***

Ayame entered the gymnasium after taking off her shoes and replacing it with indoor ones. While walking inside, she passed a lot of players doing their warm-ups when she heard a voice next to her.

"Hey, hey, hey!! It's you!!" she flinched in surprise and turned to face Fukurodani's ace "Karasuno's violet eyed girl coach!!"

"Bokuto-san, you're too loud" Akaashi told him and apologized to the girl afterwards "Sorry about that. He's always like this"

Much to their surprise, she replied with the same energy as him, her violet eyes shining n excitement.

"Y-You're B-Bokuto K-Kotaro-san!!" she bowed in respect "It's an honor to meet one of the nation's top five aces!!"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

For the first time a girl complimented him.

"Hahahahaha!! Hey, hey, hey, that's me!! Thanks!!" the ace was super proud and happy that he's leaning his head backwards while laughing.

"That reaction of hers is pretty rare in these parts...I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing..." the second year setter thought "Though Bokuto-san is extremely happy about this..."

"I'm sorry if I didn't have the chance to talk to you during the first away games!" she said "But...I've watched all your games, Bokuto-san!! You're so amazing!! Especially the one when you did a super inner cross last year!!"

"Really?! That was one of my best spikes, thanks for watching it!!" the compliment is really getting into him "You must be a fan of mine, huh?"

"Uwaaah...he's starting to turn big headed..." Akaashi sweat dropped. Some might think she's just flattering the airheaded ace but in reality, she's actually genuine about it. The setter could tell she's being true based on her tone and her innocent aura and sparkly violet eyes and she didn't know that she's really flattering the airheaded ace.

"Hai! I totally respected you and your team!!" her eyes were all sparkly and she suddenly turned your attention to the setter "And you're the setter, Akaashi Keiji-san, right?!"

He was surprised she talked to him "Right. You're Karasuno's assistant coach, am I right?"

"Yep!" She made a victory sign "Mizuki Ayame, first year! By the way, Akaashi-san, you're a setter since last year, right?! That's pretty amazing!! I saw one of your set ups last year too!! It was impressive!! I...I respect you, too!! You're also pretty strategic and can do on-the-spot decisions without losing your cool!!"

He was slightly taken back by her compliments but he made a small smile "Thank you, Mizuki-san"

"You're the best, Mizuki-chan!! Kuroo was totally right!! You're a really nice girl!!" he grinned "He also said that you're pretty sharp, too!!"

"Hai!! For example, Bokuto-san, you're power and stamina is 5/5 and your jumping and speed is somewhere around 4/5!! Based on what I saw last year and this year's training camp, you used to specialize cross spikes but you can now also do straight spikes!! Your shoulder muscles are also pretty flexible to pull some crazy cut shots!"

"Akaashi-san, on the other hand, is very balanced and his jump, stamina and speed is somewhere around 4/5. You're physical power is a bit lower but you can accurately set a toss for a wide range of attacks despite that!! You know how to adapt really well to any receive that happens, right?!"

"Correct, Mizuki-san" he nodded "That's an impressive observation"

"Uwah!! Kuroo's right again!!" Bokuto grinned "Mizuki-chan, you're pretty damn clever!!"

"Osus!!" she grinned and saluted "Looking forward for another practice match with you!"

"Same!!"

Ayame bowed and ran back to her team. She's still wearing her excited expression as the team watched her curiously. They didn't ask, for they heard her and Bokuto's loud voices echo inside the gym as they talked about volleyball, but it was mostly about the ace they talked about.

"Uwaaa...I had so much fun talking to Bokuto-san and Akaashi-san!!" she thought and smiled to herself. She blinked and shook her head "No, I can't be distracted. I have to focus for the team's next practice match and..."

She glanced at the freckled teen and gulped "Confirming my feelings for Tadashi-kun..."

***

Ayame stood next to their coach as they watched their practice match against Nekoma. Asahi breathed deeply as he prepared his jump serve. It hit the net and fell on their side, resulting a win for Nekoma.

"Penalty...again..." she said as she looked at their players "Though it's a good thing to develop their physique but..."

"We keep losing a set..." Coach Ukai nodded.

"Go!" Daichi clapped his hand and the players sprinted upward the grassy hill under the blazing summer heat.

Match against Shinzen: Karasuno loses.

"Go!"

Match against Fukurodani: Karasuno loses.

"Go!"

' Basically, Karasuno didn't win a single set and did their penalties every time they lose.

"Sorry, guys..." she bit her lower lip as she watched the players' out of breathe situation "My strategies aren't enough to make us win...If we could polish the new quick and the other new attacks we formed, we might stand a chance... please hang in there..."

"Everyone!!" Ubugawa's manager called them "The parents from Shinzen High gave us some watermelons!"

"UWOOOH!!

Everyone went outside to take a break from their practices. Some were sitting on the grassy hill and some were chatting with other team members. Ayame, on the other hand, is happily munching on a watermelon slice right next to Yachi.

"Hitoka-chan, aren't you eating with us?" she asked.

"It's okay" she said "Us managers already ate beforehand. The rest are for you guys"

"Thank you"

"Can I get one more?" Kageyama asked the blonde manager.

"Sure"

Both girls noticed that the tall blonde threw the watermelon skin after eating and started walking away.

"Huh? Tsukishima-kun, is one slice enough?" the female blonde asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for the food"

"Jeez, what's up with him?" she frowned "Hey, Tsukishima-kun, are you sure you're full? You're the skinniest on our team, after all..."

"I'm fine. I don't eat too much watermelon often" and he was completely out of sight.

She considered asking his best friend about the reason why he's acting a bit aloof but she was too embarrassed to approach the boy, for even thinking of talking to him again is making her nervous and his confession wouldn't leave her mind.

I like you...

"Why..?" she bit her lower lip "Ne, if you knew what happened in my past, will your feelings...change?"

"Ayame-chan, I'll be going to get some more slices" Yachi told her.

"Okay"

When the first year manager left, Daichi threw the watermelon slice in the sack that was hanged on the wall next to the violet eyed girl. He didn't leave and he stood next to her.

"Is there something wrong, Ayame-chan?" he asked.

"...nothing..."

"Liar"

She didn't say anything. He continued "You've been acting a little out of it since this morning. You seemed to be thinking something troubling in your mind. You can tell your nii-chan about it"

She was silent for a minute as she looked down on her food "...Ne, nii-chan, you...have someone you like, right? Mi-"

He quickly covered her mouth before she could continue. She stared at him for quite some time with a deadpan expression until he pulled back his hand "Yes, there is someone and you know that. Why the sudden question?"

"I was about to ask you but you covered my mouth before I could continue" she sighed exasperatingly "A-About that...what does it mean to...like someone?"

He was slightly surprised "What does it mean... surely, there's no need to put some logic in there. It's a special feeling that exists on that person only. You don't only like someone because of their physical traits but also by their heart. You put your trust on him and you rely on each other. You know, I really can't explain about stuffs like that. Say, Ayame-chan, why are you asking me this?"

"There were...strange things that has been happening inside me. It's...It's making me confused. My heart would beat crazy fast and...my stomach...would behave really funny. It's like...there's something fluttering inside...Nii, it's really weird but...I don't hate it..."

He thinks that he could see where this is going "Since when...?"

"For quite some time... ever since Suga-san told me that you don't know if you like someone but you feel it. He said that...there were signs about it but... I'm not quite sure... For some reason, I'm scared..."

"Scared? Why?"

She looked at him sadly "Daichi-nii, you know my past, don't you?"

He nodded gravely "Yes"

She tore her gaze at him and glanced at a certain freckled teen "I'm scared...if he knew my past...I'm scared that his feelings will change...I...I don't want that to happen... I'm scared if he knew...but...I really want to tell him but I'm scared... I-I don't want these feelings to be thrown away because of my...my sin..."

"She's been thinking for a long time about this...but..." he took a sharp breathe "Ayame-chan, you...you like someone, don't you?"

"...Yes..." Her cheeks were dusted red and she twirled a strand of her hair "I'm not quite sure but...I think...I like...I like Tadashi-kun..."