"If we can win twice at the prelims tomorrow, we'll go to the qualifiers in October to decide the representative team" Mr. Takeda told them and gave the paper to Ayame and Coach Ukai. He continued explaining to the players as the violet eyed girl studied the diagram.

"This wouldn't be much of a problem to the guys, since they only have to win two straight games to proceed to the qualifiers..." she thought.

"There are only two games in the first prelims?" Hinata asked.

"We were able to make it to the top sixteen at the Inter-High, so we're exempt from the first games" Sugawara explained to him.

"Whoa! We're awesome!"

"You said it, Shoyo-kun!" she grinned before clapping her hands "Okay! Warm-up then serves!!"

"OSU!!"

Ayame stretched out her arms and saw Yachi shaking as she hugged herself "Hitoka-chan, are you all right?"

"H-H-Hai..." she nodded "S-S-So we're finally playing o-official matches...I-I'm getting nervous..."

"Well, it's your first tournament after all, Hitoka-chan" Shimizu said "On the other hand, Ayame-chan's first official tournament was the complete opposite of Hitoka-chan's reaction"

"W-Wow...Ayame-chan's so confident..." the blonde imagined what Ayame was like in a tournament surrounded by people "So confident...I can't do that..."

"That's not true, Shimizu-san" Ayame laughed sheepishly "I was really, really nervous that time that my insides were like twisting themselves"

"In any case..." the third year manager looked at the captain, vice-captain, and the ace "For us...it's our last"

Yachi looked up at her with teary eyes, which surprised her and she quickly apologized "Sorry, sorry! Don't get all teary-eyed"

The blonde manager covered her eyes with her arm and looked away "I-I'm not! A mosquito just flew into my eye!"

"A mosquito?!"

"She's obviously crying...but..." the first year strategist tightly gripped her pen "I understand what she's feeling...it'll be the third year's last chance...Daichi-nii's last tournament in high school..."

She breathed deeply "I will give it my all to let them win!!"

After the warm-ups, they proceeded to the serves. Nishinoya, as the libero, received their serves. Ayame noticed something about the libero's receives, though she didn't interfere yet. She looked at the freckled teen who is preparing his jump float serve.

"Bring it!!"

He did his serve but it was caught effortlessly by the second year, which depressed him a bit.

"Yamaguchi, nice serve! It was hard to get!" Nishinoya told him.

"Oh, right..." he replied.

"Tadashi-kun, you're thinking too much of avoiding the libero! Relax and have a clear image in your head!" she told him.

"Osu!"

"Kageyama-kun, remember to control your strength when serving!"

"Osu!"

"Ayame's gotten sharper, hasn't she?" Mr. Takeda noted "She's also giving her all in their practices"

"Yeah, it's a good thing. She's less likely to have mental breakdowns when pressured the way she is now" the coach nodded before looking at the volleyball magazine "By the way, sensei, what are you concentrating so hard on?"

"Ah, this?" he showed the magazine to him "Ayame lent this to me. She said that she has tons of volleyball magazines, from the oldest to the newest and current volume. This is the latest"

He chuckled in amusement "What a volleyball fanatic, that kid...so, what is it inside?"

"Well...our first years are amazing, but I was thinking there are so many other amazing first years..."

"Yeah..." he nodded as he saw who he's referring to "That guy, huh? You're right..."

***

Ayame twirled the pencil around her fingers as she sent her message to the freckled teen.

To: Yamaguchi Tadashi

Subject: Tomorrow

Good luck tomorrow!! Let's do our best!!

Actually, he's not the only person she sent that encouragement. She already sent her messages to the rest of the team and he is the last one. As expected, the others said wished her back and thanked her, except Nishinoya and Tanaka (they probably fainted from pure happiness and wasn't able to reply back due to the bliss).

Her phone beeped and she saw his reply.

Thank you!! Good luck to you too!!

She smiled, but something in her says that she was not satisfied and felt the urge to talk to him more. Considering that their relationship is a secret, it's hard to spend time with him during the day without making them suspicious. She typed again.

Ne, Tadashi-kun, can we talk a bit longer?

"Idiot, what was I thinking?!" she slammed her head face first on the table and groaned "When did I get so needy?"

Beep.

Sure. Is there something troubling you?

She shot up and typed her reply.

Nothing. I want to tell you that...mom discovered our relationship... I'm sorry I'm not good at covering it up...

He didn't reply for a few minutes and she was starting to get worried and bit her lower lip. To her relief, he replied.

Sorry, I was kinda surprised. It's okay, Ayame. You're mom is pretty sharp in this kind of thing...

She didn't know that the freckled teen on the other line dropped his phone after reading and was a blushing mess as he imagined what he'll say to her mother when he'll meet her next time they practice.

Recap on the day they arrived back to Miyagi from the training camp: After being escorted home by Daichi and Yamaguchi (Tsukishima went to an errand and the captain wanted to visit her mom), Kazumi instantly hugged her daughter and ruffled the captain's hair and patted the first year's shoulder saying that she missed them. Yamaguchi was shocked to find that the room was littered with take-outs and such and the woman told them that she survived five days by eating take-outs, which is no surprise to the two childhood friends, knowing what a bad cook she is. The two players stayed for dinner; per request by the mother while Ayame did a full-course meal for them to eat. It was that in that moment that Kazumi noticed the air between the two first years.

(flashback)

"Thank you for the dinner, auntie, Ayame-chan" Daichi bowed "I'll be leaving, then"

"A-Ah, me too. My mom's calling me home" Yamaguchi bowed as well "Thank you very much for the dinner"

"It's fine! It's fine! Ah~, Aya-chan's cooking really is the best!!" Kazumi laughed "Take care, you two!"

"See you at school, guys" Ayame said and they nodded before leaving.

"Aya-chan..." her mother faced her "Can we talk?"

They sat on the living room. Ayame nervously rubbed her hands together while the woman took a deep breath and asked directly.

"Tell me, are you and Tadashi going out?" she asked in a kind voice. The violet eyed girl's face exploded in red and she shook her head defensively.

"N-No, w-we...uh...it's not...um..." she was avoiding eye contact in embarrassment while trying to hide their secret.

"Aya-chan, I know the eyes of a couple when I see one. Don't underestimate your mother's experience in love...though Kaito was my first and only boyfriend" she smiled "You and Tadashi have the same expression and love you hide in your eyes and you two have that air around you, though I say that Daichi doesn't suspect anything. I could only guess that you're keeping it a secret from your team, right?"

Her jaw dropped in awe before sighing in defeat "H-Hai...it's true... Tadashi-kun and I are dating just recently and...we're keeping it a secret...for now..."

"Thought so" she smiled "I'm glad that he is your boyfriend. I definitely approve it"

"Thank you, mom, and I'm sorry for keeping it a secret" she was relieved before realizing that she had to tell her something "Oh, I have to tell you something..."

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath and spoke "I...I told Tadashi-kun about dad...about that day...and he still accepted me...I also told the team about it and they accepted and understood me... I hope, you're not mad"

"Never" she hugged her daughter "In fact, I was glad you found people you could trust to. You're no longer bounded by that shackle of your past anymore, am I right?"

"Yes..."

"I'm so happy and relieved for you, Aya-chan..." she stroked her brown hair and kissed her forehead.

"Mom, after that, I had my first good dream about dad. He...He told me to tell you that he loves you..."

She chuckled but she didn't realize that tears were falling down her face "Damn, that Kaito... he didn't have to tell me twice...I love him forever...I love you too, Aya-chan..."

"I love you too, mom..."

(end)

Yeah. Mom surprised me, too. But she said it was okay and she approved you.

Uwaaah... Kazumi-san is so understanding, I'm kinda relieved...

But...honestly, Tadaashi-kun, I just realized it's hard to hide the fact that we're...going out... especially to the team...

...Yeah, you're right...

We rarely spend time together during the day...

Yeah...

So, I had an idea.

Eh? What is it?

The day after the preliminaries tomorrow, I was planning to visit dad's grave. I had an idea to ask you if you want to come with me...I want to introduce you to my dad...

When she sent her reply, she was nervously anticipating his reply. She could try to understand if he didn't want to, since he maybe wants to rest after the game day...but she thinks that she'll be a little disappointed if he didn't come.

Her phone beeped and he replied.

Sure. I'll go with you.

Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled widely while typing.

Thank you, Tadashi-kun. We can talk about the details tomorrow. In the meantime, we have to rest for tomorrow. Good night and good luck to us!

Yeah! Good night, Ayame.

She climbed on her bed and hugged her pillow with a smile before closing her eyes, her heart pounding loudly in her chest.

*Day of the Preliminaries*

"That's them. You know, Karasuno" a guy said to his friends when they saw the players preparing in their corner "They're the ones that played a full set with Aoba Johsai at the Inter-High prelims and actually almost beat them"

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Apparently, Kitagawa Daiichi's King of the Court is on that team, along with Nishinoya from Chidoriyama"

"The guy who was called the best libero during junior high?"

"Yeah. But other than the libero, there was that one other guy who kept receiving Oikawa's serves. I think it was their captain"

"But their players don't seem to be that tall, right?"

"I'm pretty sure one of them is close to 190 cm, but I don't think he stood out much"

"Not to mention, their two lefts are pretty scary. They look like power spikers. And most importantly..."

They blushed when they saw Shimizu "Their manager's cute!"

"Or rather she's hot! No, wait, she's sexy!"

"Other than their manager..." he nudged his buddy when they saw Ayame studying her sketchpad "Remember the famous assistant girl coach of Karasuno? You know, that violet eyed girl?"

"Yeah, she really is cute and a beauty up close" he whispered "It's hard to forget her since she has those rare violet eyes"

"Also, I heard that she's just a first year"

"Eh? You're kidding?!"

"Yeah, and she's super smart in volleyball and the team's sharpest observer. It was thanks to her that Karasuno managed to stay toe on toe with Date Tech and Seijoh"

"It would be nice for a girl coach for a change but..." their expressions changed when they saw Hinata looking at the court below "There's that one guy. The tiny middle blocker that hits those crazy quicks...Karasuno's #10!"

The orange haired teen turned around, and his face shocked everyone else.

"Whoa, what the heck?! He looks like he's skin and bones!"

"H-Hinata, are you okay?" Yachi worriedly asked him. Ayame also looked at him worriedly, and to the trembling freckled teen next to her.

"Yep, I'm fine..." he replied "I threw up on the way here, so I feel better..."

"Of course you'd feel sick after eating all those pork bowls for breakfast" Tsukishima smirked at the shorter teen's gluttony, resulting for the shorter teen to pop a vein in his head.

"It's normal to eat pork cutlets on game days!"

"And by normal, you mean..."

The violet eyed girl sighed "I understand Shoyo-kun. I ate five bowls of spicy pork curry for breakfast"

"So you and shrimp are on the same page based on the appetite, except that you don't threw up before game days like him" he smirked again.

Yamaguchi's face was pale and he covered his mouth "I-I feel like I'm going to puke, too, after remembering Hinata puking..."

"Huh? Go to the bathroom, already!" Tsukishima quickly told him "Ayame, go help him-"

He didn't finish because she's already by his side. Damn, this blonde is satisfied seeing them together.

"Can you stand? Do you want to go to the bathroom?" she asked gently while rubbing his back and making small circles on it.

"N-No, no need to..."

"Here, Ayame-chan" Yachi gave her a drink "It might help his stomach relax"

"Thank you, Hitoka-chan" she accepted it and gave it to the teen "Drink this, Tadashi-kun"

"T-Thank you, Ayame, Yachi-san..."

"There, there..." she continued making small circles on his back as he drank, which made him, feel better "I'm a little worried if you guys are nervous or something..."

"They certainly are" Daichi sighed when they saw Asahi shaking and covering his mouth.

"M-My nerves are getting to me, too..." the ace muttered.

"I thought you were busy concentrating but you were trying not to puke?!" Sugawara looked at him in shock.

"Shoyo, is this seriously the second time you threw up on the bus?"

"You were able to actually hold it in until the bus stopped, instead of puking on someone's crotch. You've really grown up, Hinata"

The two second years laughed while the other players looked at them unbelievably.

"Is that really the team that almost beat Seijoh?"

Ayame turned to face them with an angel's smile that held the opposite meaning, which made them flinch in fear. Daichi grabbed her head and scolded her.

"Don't scare them"