The Next Day.....

Shinzen High's Gymnasium

"Aahhh~!" Yamamoto gaped at the scene. Standing by the doorway was Mizuki and Skye. Mizuki had on a black tank-top with dark-orange shorts with black-linings, dark sneakers, and wore her elbow-pads and kneepads. Skye wore a white tank-top with navy shorts and gray sneakers.

"Good morning, everyone," Mizuki greeted.

"G-good morning, senpai," Yamamoto stuttered.

"Morning," Yaku and Inuoka hollered.

"Hey Momo/Yo, lil' mandarin."

"Hey, old man," Shotarou greeted Nekomata-sensei from the benches.

"Good to see you again, Paul." Nekomata then glanced at the girls.

"Who might that be, next to Mizuki?"

"An old rival."

"Guys, this is Akira Skye. She's a volleyball setter and my best friend. We also used to be rivals in high school."

"Nice to meet you," Skye bowed, and they did the same.

"Although, I have to warn you," Mizuki added, "her appetite could rival an elephant's. So have extra provisions nearby before she passes out."

"S-shut up," Skye whined.

"Now we've got two beautiful girls in our presence," Yamamoto gawked.

"You're being weird again, senpai," Kenma mumbled.

"Coach said we'll be playing with you, today."

"Alright. We just have to finish setting up here."

"Okay."

"Come on, Mizuki," Skye pulled her arm, "I'll do your hair while we wait." They went aside as the boys continued to set up. Skye tied her blonde hair into a high ponytail with a sparkly-hairband. Sitting down, she went behind Mizuki and started grabbing a few strands of her hair. It got quiet for a few minutes, but they didn't complain. Then, Skye broke the silence.

"So~ what have you been up to since we last met," Mizuki asked while tying her shoes.

"I was able to stay at the hospital for a while, until Shotarou-sensei came by to pick me up. But it sounds like you've had an interesting summer so far, from what he told me. Also~..." She leaned her face next to Mizuki's.

"Who's this Azumane person? Someone you know?"

"Asahi? He's an ace player on the Karasuno team. Everyone misjudges him, but once you get to know him, he's really kind, gentle and cares about others."

"Heh~? Sounds like you're attached to him."

"Huh?" Mizuki eyed her, confusingly. Skye gave a sly grin.

"Do you like him, or something~?" She saw her face explode into a tomato.

"W-what are you talking about?!"

"You can't fool me~...I have an eye for this kind of thing."

"Oh, shut up!"

"Ahaha! You're so easy to read...but don't move. I'm almost done." Mizuki huffed in annoyance. When Skye backed away, she pulled out a mirror from her bag.

"Perfect! What do you think?" Skye held the mirror as Mizuki looked at her reflection. Mizuki's hair was fashioned into a waterfall braid ponytail.

"It's beautiful. Could you do this style on me, only?"

"Sure. Maybe becoming a hairstylist is my second career."

"Why not?" They laughed. After warming up, they headed towards the courts.

"So which team is Ubagawa?"

"The one wearing yellow and green," Mizuki pointed at the other court.

"Alright. Good luck with training."

"You too." Mizuki jogged towards Bokuto and Kuroo, who were engaged in conversation with Akaashi and Yaku.

"Hey guys," she called out.

"Hm?" They all turned around to see Mizuki, and noticed her new look.

"Wow~ your hair..." Yaku smiled. Mizuki played with a few strands.

"Do you like it?"

"You look extra cute, today!" Bokuto squeezed her tight, making her awkwardly laugh.

"Bokuto-san...you're crushing her, again," Akaashi sweat dropped.

"What do you think, Kuroo," Bokuto glanced at him, "isn't Momo really pretty?"

"You do look nice, Mizuki," Kuroo agreed.

"Thank you. Oh, Bokuto-san...I'll be with your team for the first set." Bokuto's face beamed as he leaned down to her height.

"Alright! And just call me Bokuto."

"How about Mr. Owl?" She pointed her finger outward. Bokuto closed his eyes while grabbing his chin.

"Mm~...its not really my thing."

'Not even your appearance?' she joked in her mind. However, she too thought about it. Seconds later, she stared right at him.

"If not a nickname...then how about I just call you, Koutaro?"

"Eh?" The boys unison.

"What? I call most of my friends by their first names...plus, we've known each other for a while, now, and I like the name 'Koutaro'. Is that okay?" She asked Bokuto. However, his face was expressionless, making her confused.

"Um...Bo--"

"YOSHA~!" His sudden outburst made everyone jump. He scooped Mizuki up from the floor and spun her around, fast.

"That's perfect! You can call me Koutaro anytime!" He released her as she shook her head from all that spinning.

"O-okay," she sheepishly smile. From the other court, Skye giggled at their antics.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Fast Forward>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Left! Left~!"

"Got it!"

BAM!

"Cover!"

"Akaashi!" Mizuki shouted. The second-year set the ball just as Mizuki jumped up.

SLAM

"Gyahh!" Shinzen's captain dove and failed to receive the ball. The referee blew the whistle for Fukurodani's point.

"Yosha~!" When switching positions, Mizuki and Akaashi high-fived each other.

"Nice toss."

"Nice spike, senpai." Mizuki was subbing for Bokuto's place, with him being benched. It was her turn to serve the ball. She spun it in her hands to ready herself.

"Let's go~!"

Just then, Mizuki spotted Skye from the other court. She set the ball from the far corner of their side, to the Ubagawa captain and he slammed it at the left corner of the opponent's court.

'She's improved,' she smirked, 'her tosses can match anyone's.'

Looking back at the court, she tossed the ball up and high-jumped to spike it. It flew sideways down the middle, passing the libero.

"Way to go, Mizuki~!"

"One more~!"

Mizuki served it again, but one of the players caught it just in time.

"It's up!"

"Toss it!" Daiki shouted. Mizuki glanced at Akaashi, and both nodded. She didn't look at Komi from behind her while speaking.

"Komi-san, get ready."

"Eh?"

Mizuki and Akaashi ran. With one jump, they managed to tap the ball with their fingers.

"Komi, cover!"

"Hai!" Komi received it. The ball hovered right where the next was. Chigaya and Akaashi both jumped as their hands slammed on the ball the same time. With just enough strength, Akaashi pushed it passed him as it hit the floor.

FWEET!

"Alright/Yes~!"

"Nice recover, Komi-san," Mizuki fist-bumped with him, "I'll take it from here."

"Good luck," Komi grinned. As part of her training, Mizuki had to switch roles now and again. She was now filling as the libero, while Bokuto returned to the court. Their team was only five points away from winning the set. Daiki served the ball, but Mizuki received it effortlessly.

"Nice receive!"

"Akaashi~!" Bokuto shouted. His friend set the ball for a quick attack, which proved successful.

"Whoo~! Hey-hey-hey~!"

From the sidelines, Skye was drinking some water, and then wiped her forehead.

"Here." Yaku offered her a towel, which she gladly accepted.

"Thank you...um....?"

"Yaku Morisuke. Third-year."

"Really? I thought you were a first-year." However, she regretted saying that, after seeing Yaku's hurtful expression. She frantically waved her hand.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend you..."

"N-no," he shook it off. Skye leaned down a bit and gave a smile.

"But despite your height, you're an excellent libero. I admire how confident you are with your skills." This made Yaku blush, but he glanced the other way to hide it. They now watched Fukurodani/Shinzen's match from across.

"Mizuki's improved since I last saw her."

"Really?" Yaku asked, curiously.

"Hai...she's more focused."

"One more~!" Bokuto shouted as he jumped up.

"Spike it, Koutaro," Mizuki shouted. However, this made the ace blink and glance at her.

WHACK/GYAHH!!

It caused him to get his face smacked by the ball, and fall right on his back. It was Shinzen's point now, but Akaashi and Mizuki didn't mind, as they ran to check on Bokuto. From the other side, Skye and Yaku sweat dropped while hearing Kuroo snicker in the background.

"Koutaro, are you alright?" She put her hand on his shoulder as he rubbed his head.

"What happened," Akaashi asked, "you almost had it..."

"M-my bad," he awkwardly chuckled, "I got distracted."

"What?" Bokuto looked at Mizuki.

"I heard you call my name, so..."

"Eh? But you were so excited earlier, I assumed you'd be used to it." His teammates sweat dropped. Bokuto gave a sheepish look.

"Sorry...it won't happen again." Mizuki giggled behind her hand.

"Maybe I shouldn't call you that, during a game." She helped him up. Everyone went back into position. The ball was now getting tossed on both sides, both teams holding their ground and have yet to score a point.

"Cover!"

"It's mine~!" Daiki shouted as he jumped to spike. Akaashi and Bokuto were there to block it, but the ball tapped on Akaashi's fingers as it flew over their heads. Mizuki ran after it.

'It's too far!'

"Crap!" Akaashi cursed. It was headed out of bounds. Mizuki grunted as she slammed her foot down.

'If I can't dive--!!'

Everyone gaped as Mizuki jumped.

'Then how about this!"

Her body fell back, kicking the ball as she finished with a backflip. When she landed, Mizuki quickly turned and ran.

"Cover~!" She hollered.

"Bokuto-san!" Akaashi tossed it.

"Oorraaa~~!" Bokuto jumped and did a straight spike on the left.

.

.

.

"Yosha~~!!" The set ended, with Fukurodani for the win. Mizuki sighed in relief.

"Heh...not bad," Nekomata grinned, "did you teach her that, Paul?" However, the man just laughed.

"Nah, that's all her doing. Quite a miracle, though..."

"Come on~ let's go!"

"Hai~"

"Oh, they're doing it," Bokuto and the rest watched Shinzen go out the doors.

"Doing, what?" Mizuki asked.

"The penalty. It Shinzen's special "refreshing sprint up the grassy hill"..."

"Oh~...."

"Did you see that!?" Skye wrapped her arms around Yaku's shoulders.

"A-ahh!" Yaku blushed while stumbling.

"That was awesome, right, Yaku-san?"

"Eh? A-ah...it was."

A few feet away, Kuroo was watching Mizuki and Bokuto converse.

"But you were great, Koutaro."

"You, too," Bokuto hugged her and nuzzled his face into her hair.

"And that peach fragrance is so soothing..."

"H-hey, quit smelling my hair...don't be weird."

"Too late for that."

"Akaashi~ you're making me sound uncool." This made Mizuki laugh, and reached up to pet his head.

"Of course you're cool...the coolest friend I know." She and Bokuto grinned.

"Ah!"

"You okay, Otaki!?" Shirofuku hollered. Otaki tripped over when trying to gather some volleyballs.

"I'm gonna go help out the girls." Mizuki jogged away, with Skye following after to help, too. Kuroo looked at Bokuto before looking back at Mizuki, ignoring Yaku's call from behind.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Fast Forward>>>>>>>>>>>

When it was time for lunch, everyone was cleaning up.

"No way. Nishinoya's going to try that?"

[Yeah.]

"Well, I'm glad you two are working together." She was talking to Asahi on the phone.

[Me, too. So how's your training, going?]

"A lot tougher than before. I saw Skye running out of the gym to throw up."

[Skye?]

"Oh, her name's Akira Skye...the one I talked about earlier."

[Ah, I see.]

[Asahi! Is that Mizuki-san? Let me talk to her!]

[H-hey, wait!]

[Hi senpai~! Come visit us so we can show you our special move!]

[You're too loud!]

Mizuki giggled when hearing Nishinoya on the other line.

[S-sorry, Mizuki.]

"It's alright, Asahi. It's good to hear your voices."

"Senpai," Inuoka hollered, "Akira-san needs you!"

"Okay~! I have to go."

[Okay. Oh, so when is this event happening, again?]

"It's two days after the getaway games. Just make sure to ask everyone if they can go. I'll be inviting some other people, too."

[I got it. See you later, Mizuki.]

"You too, Asahi. Good luck with practice." She hung up and jogged towards the doors.

In Karasuno's Gymnasium #1, Asahi was putting his phone in his bag.

"Say Nishinoya," he hollered, "are you still going after the getaway games?"

"Of course," Nishinoya grinned, "I get to see Mizuki-san in action! There's no way I'm missing that game!" Asahi chuckled at his childish behavior.

"More importantly..."

"Huh?" That's when Nishinoya gave a sly grin.

"Lately you've been talking to Mizuki on the phone. You two are pretty close now, huh..."

"E-eh?" Asahi blinked as his underclassman crossed his arms.

"It's not fair. She likes you more than all of us. Plus, she's the only one who can get you out of your shell....you've grown so~ attached to her."

"Eh~?! T-that's not it!" Asahi's face turned bright-red, which made Nishinoya laugh through his teeth. He then pointed at Asahi with an evil grin.

"Then why did you use that photo from the aquarium trip as your home screen?"

"I-I told you---s-stop looking through my phone!"

Meanwhile, Mizuki was with Skye. She gave her some pills for her stomachache.

"I'm starting to get tired of this routine." Skye drank some water with the pills, and exhaled loud.

"My bad," she sheepishly grinned.

"I know you like food, but take it easy. Shoutaro-sensei maybe watching us, but his training sessions make it feel like he's on your tail 24/7, even when he's not there."

"I get it," Skye whined. Mizuki sighed with a smile.

"Watch out/ Get him!"

"Eh?" Both girls looked behind them to see Lev and Yamamoto run after a dog.

"Taichi?" Mizuki blinked.

BARK!

"Ahh!!" Taichi tackled her on the bottom of the grassy hill. He licked her face as she laughed.

"Taichi, calm down. I'm glad to see you too, boy."

"How did he get here?" Skye giggled as she pulled Taichi by his collar, Mizuki stood up and dusted herself.

"Mizuki-senpai...he's yours?" Lev asked.

"Yup."

"Oh, looks like he found you." Shoutaro's head popped out from the door.

"You brought him here?"

"He was supposed to be in the office, but--ahaha...I guess we'll have to let him come with us."

"Great idea. Come on, Taichi..." The dog followed her inside the gym. Kuroo and Bokuto saw them come in.

"Ah, hey Mizuki! Do you--"

"Momo~!" Bokuto's loud voice overshadowed Kuroo's. The owl-ace merrily skipped his way over to the small girl.

"Hi, Koutarou. What's up?"

"You wanna play on our team, again?"

"Uh~...okay, why not?"

"Captain! The game's starting!"

"Hai-hai~! Come on, Mizuki."

"H-hold on! Don't pull my arm!" Mizuki sweat dropped as Bokuto dragged her to the court. From the sidelines, Yaku walked over to Kuroo.

"They're an odd pair of friends, huh?"

"Mm..."

"Uh?" Yaku blinked in confusion when hearing an unfamiliar, subtle-tone in Kuroo's voice.

For the past few days, everyone was practicing like crazy. From what Asahi told Mizuki, everyone from their team was practicing on their own or in groups. She would also call her brother to check on his improvement. There were also some mishaps and fun antics in the mix. Mainly, Mizuki kept getting dragged by Bokuto whenever he wanted her to practice with him. He definitely had a soul of a child, sometimes. Both Skye and Mizuki would often train alone with some of the boys before dinner. More importantly, they would discuss about technique and strategy when practicing together. One night, they were walking alongside after leaving Gymnasium #1.

"I'm going to the restroom."

"Alright. See ya." Skye jogged away. Mizuki sighed to herself, and tugged on the ends of her towel from around her neck. She was going to walk away, when...

"Lil' mandarin~!"

"Huh?" She turned to see Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi by Gymnasium #3's doorway.

"Come practice with us!" Kuroo waved his hand. Mizuki walked towards them.

"Working on your spikes again?" She asked.

"Hai...you wanna play? We're one player short." Kuroo pointed his thumb towards Lev. The latter was fanned out on the floor, sweat pouring from his lifeless body.

"Lev, I thought you'd be used to this by now," Mizuki deadpan.

"S-sorry...senpai...."

"But...I guess I can play a few games."

Lev's head shot up.

"B-but--!"

"Lev~...Take. A. Break." Mizuki ordered, making him groan in defeat.

"Great. How about--"

"Momo~! Partner with me!" Bokuto interrupted Kuroo as he raised him arm. he didn't see the tick-mark on the bedhead's forehead.

"But Koutarou....I was thinking of spiking. Besides, you have Akaashi."

"Eh~? But, Momo~..."

"Koutarou," Mizuki chuckled, "we practiced together plenty of times...so let's switch things up a bit."

"You heard her, Bokuto," Kuroo fake-smiled, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"This time, Mizuki's my partner." Bokuto pouted with his eyebrows furrowed. Akaashi just gave a wary look at them.

An hour later.....

Team Cats vs Team Owls.

Kuroo set the ball as Mizuki jumped. Bokuto and Akaashi jumped to block it. However, they saw her smirk.

BAM!

"Ah!" Mizuki hit Bokuto's fingers, making the ball come back to their side.

"Chance ball!" Mizuki hollered as she served it to Kuroo. She dashed to the other side of the net.

WHAM!!

Mizuki spiked the ball, opposite from Bokuto and Akaashi. The score was now 10 to 15, Team Cats in the lead.

"Alright!" Mizuki and Kuroo high-fived.

"Dammit! We almost had it~!" Bokuto scratched his head.

"Let's take a break," Mizuki suggested, which everyone agreed. They grabbed their bottles of water and rested. Bokuto and Akkashi were sitting on the left, and three feet away was Mizuki and Kuroo on the right near the score-board.

"Nice play," Kuroo complimented, "turning that attack into a one-touch was clever."

"Thanks...but, you're a pro at blocking." It got quiet for a few seconds.