"Ahh....finally..." Ayame stretched out her arms as Karasuno won a set "All right, all the games are done for today and our players didn't have to do another lap of diving drills"

"A-Amazing, M-Mizuki-san!" Yachi stared at her in amazement "Y-You're not only pretty but y-you're also amazing at volleyball!!"

"Hehehe...thank you, Yachi-san..." the violet eyed girl rubbed her neck in embarrassment "A-And...c-can you please just call me by my first name? Calling me "Mizuki" is rather stiff for my liking"

"O-Oh, I-I'm so sorry!!" the blonde girl suddenly crouched down for forgiveness, much to Ayame's surprise.

"Ah, it's okay...Please raise your head" she said "Actually, I've been thinking about calling you "Hitoka-chan", if it is okay, that is..."

"I-It's fine! I'll also call you "Ayame-chan"!"

"Ah, thank you, Hitoka-chan!" she smiled "Well, see you later, I guess. I have to talk with Ukai-san. Later"

"Hai!"

"Uwaah~! I feel like I was talking to a little sister! It feels nice~" Ayame smiled to herself as she approached Coach Ukai and their teacher. The two were talking when they saw her and smiled.

"Ayame, good job" the man ruffled her hair as a job well done.

"Amazing play as always!" Mr. Takeda beamed at her.

"Thank you, Ukai-san, Takeda-sensei!"

"Yo! Ayame! Keishin! Sensei!" the old director of Nekoma approached them with a grin on his face "Congratulations on your first win, Keishin!"

Coach Ukai was smiling twitchingly as he heard the old man's teasing tone and gave him a glare.

"This shitty old man is pissing me off!! Damn it! Is he mocking us because we had our first win after the oddball duo arrived?! Calm down, don't let him piss you..." he sighed deeply and turned his attention back to the old director with a humble smile.

"Thanks, I guess"

"Why don't we celebrate this over with something to drink, eh?" Nekomata-sensei grinned "The other coaches are already there so all that's left are us! Right, Naoi?"

"Uh...yes, I guess you could say that" he replied while rubbing his head.

"Oh~! A drink!!" Mr. Takeda was getting excited with sparkly eyes at the word "drink".

"All right, we're coming" Coach Ukai nodded and turned his attention to the girl beside him "Ayame, you can go back to your room now. Good job for today"

"No" Nekomata-sensei shook his head "Ayame, you're coming with us to drink and celebrate"

"What?!" Ukai and Naoi stared at the man in shock "Sensei, she's a minor!!"

"So what?" he raised an eyebrow "It'll be fine!"

"Sensei!" Coach Ukai turned his attention to the teacher. However, the word drink made Mr. Takeda all excited that he forgot Ayame's not allowed to drink.

"Ukai-kun, it'll be okay! As long as Ayame's with us, she can drink as many as she wants!" the teacher grinned and made a thumbs up. The man face palmed and sighed exasperatingly.

"Are you really a teacher?" he muttered.

"I really don't know how to respond..." Ayame looked back and forth between Coach Ukai and Nekomata-sensei.

"Don't worry, the pub's quite near! Come on!" the old director walked away with Naoi and Mr. Takeda following him. Coach Ukai and Ayame had no choice but to follow him.

They arrived at the pub, which is located quite near the school. It wasn't crowded and the only customers were the coaches of the other schools and Tanaka's older sister. She saw Ayame and grinned.

"Ah! You're the genius first year Ryu's talking about!" the blonde woman placed her arm around Ayame's shoulder "Aw~! You're so cute~!! I'm Tanaka Saeko, by the way! Ryu's older sister!"

"Ah...nice to meet you, Saeko-san. I'm Mizuki Ayame. Thank you for escorting Kageyama-kun and Shoyo-kun" Ayame lowered her head to thank her properly.

"No worries!! Just call me Saeko-nee-chan, okay?"

"Hai, Saeko-nee-chan" she smiled politely "She's like Ryu-senpai!"

"Ne, Ayame-chan, want to join us for a drink?" she grinned while holding a cup of sake for her.

"Hey! Don't encourage her! She's a minor!!" Coach Ukai grabbed the cup from her and faced the old director of Nekoma "Nekomata-sensei! Ayame's only a minor!! Her mother will kill me if she finds out her daughter is drinking some sake!!"

"Don't worry, Kazumi won't find out!" the old man just grinned to assure the man.

*At the Mizuki Household*

"Why do I feel like someone's talking behind my back?" Kazumi glared at her side when she felt something that struck her head like lighting.

***

"I highly doubt that..." Coach Ukai mumbled. Naoi sat down and drank some sake and pretended he's not part of anything. Though he is secretly nervous that Kazumi will find out that her daughter's drinking and the woman will strangle him to death.

"Come on, Ayame-chan!! It's okay!!" Saeko laughed and drank straight from the bottle.

"Have a drink, Ayame!!" Nekomata-sensei gave her a cup full of sake. She stared at the cup for a while and sniffed it curiously. The smell made her nose wrinkle, though she's curious what it actually tasted like.

"I-I guess I'll take a drink or two..." she said before drinking.

*After a few more rounds*

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Ayame was laughing with the other coaches when the old director told them one of his no sense jokes.

"...And then, he slipped on the bath and caused a fire because he knocked down a candle!!"

Everyone was roaring with laughter, except for Coach Ukai. His eyebrows twitched as he watched them all get drunk. He's also drinking with them, except that he has high alcohol tolerance, so he's not easily drunk unlike the violet eyed girl.

"C-Crap...she's already drunk..." he muttered.

Ayame is already in her tenth cup of sake and she's already laughing like crazy and waving her cup. Her face is red from drinking and her eyes were wet from laughing too much.

"More drink!!" she waved her cup before her head slumped on the table. Saeko poured more sake in her cup and the violet eyed girl raised her head and drank it all up. Her eyes were half lidded and she was quiet, until she broke out laughing and slapping the table repeatedly.

Coach Ukai quietly slipped out and pulled out his phone. He dialed Daichi's name but he didn't answer. He tried to call Sugawara but it was the same. He tried Shimizu's but, still the same.

"Argh! Damn it..." he scratched his head and tried to think of any other people who is close to Ayame, aside from the third years. He pondered for a while until he snapped his fingers.

"That's it!" he searched through his contacts until he saw the freckled teen's name. He heard it ring and crossed his fingers, hoping that the boy will pick up.

***

Yamaguchi was drying his hair when he heard his phone ring. He picked it up and saw Coach Ukai's caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Yes!! Finally!!"

He pulled his phone away from his ear and wondered why the heck the man's all happy about.

"Uh...Ukai-san? What is it?"

"Ah well...are you busy?"

"No...I just finished practicing. Why?"

"Can you come here? Like, right now? I'll be waiting here in the pub near the school"

"Eh? Pub?" he blinked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's...complicated but-" Coach Ukai's voice was cut off by a familiar feminine voice "UKAI-SAN!! LET'S HAVE ANOTHER DRINK!!"

"S-Sorry, I-I'm a little busy at the moment-"

"NOW!! NEKOMATA-SENSEI AND THE OTHERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!!"

"O-Okay, okay! I-I'll be right back!" his voice turned into a whisper after "Listen, Yamaguchi, I really need you to come here"

"Ukai-san, was that...Ayame?" he asked in disbelief. It is no doubt that it is her voice but he can't help but wonder what the heck she's doing in a pub.

"Uh...yeah. I'll explain what happened later so please come here. And bring a friend with you, anyone on the team if possible, okay? Later"

He hanged up and the freckled teen was left speechless. So many questions circled his brain, like what is she doing there? What happened? Furthermore, why does she sound...drunk?

He shook his head and grabbed his jacket and phone. He put on his shoes and was about to turn around when he bumped to a certain megane.

"Tsukki! Are you busy right now?" Yamaguchi rapidly asked.

"Huh? Why?" he raised an eyebrow "Are you in a hurry or what?"

"Sort of. Ukai-san called me earlier. He needed some help and asked me if I could bring someone with me to the pub"

"Pub?"

He nodded "I-I can't explain it right now. Please Tsukki. I have a feeling something happened to Ayame"

"I'm starting to think where this is going...Fine, I'm coming" Tsukishima grabbed his sweater and shoes and quickly put them on. Both teenagers slipped out of the school to go to the pub. The nights in Tokyo were a little cold compared to Miyagi and they were both glad they wore their jackets.

They arrived at the pub and saw Coach Ukai waiting for them at the doorway. He beckoned them forward and Yamaguchi was the first one to ask.

"What happened, Ukai-san?"

"Well..."

*After explaining*

"So...that's what happened..." Coach Ukai finished explaining why Ayame got dragged in the pub.

"Her mother will really kill us if she finds out" Tsukishima said, shaking his head.

Yamaguchi saw Ayame slump down on the table while holding a cup on her hand. She was mumbling and her eyes were half lidded from drowsiness.

"Sorry about what happened..." the man scratched his head as he bowed to apologize "I tried to stop her but...Nekomata-sensei was persistent and Ayame was really curious about the sake's taste so...yeah, that happened"

"What did Takeda-sensei say?" Yamaguchi asked the man.

"He said that as long as Ayame's with us, she can drink as many as she wants. Apparently, the word "drink" made him excited..." he sighed.

Both first years face palmed.

"Well, it's not actually your fault, Ukai-san" Yamaguchi said "Ayame is always a curious type so there's no stopping her from trying to drink"

"By the way, where is Sawamura? I tried calling him but he didn't answer his phone"

"Ah, I saw them doing extra practices in the gymnasium. I think they left their phones in our room" he replied.

"I see" he sighed "Anyway, can you two take Ayame back to the school? She's in no state of walking back alone and I couldn't leave here thanks to that old geezer" he gestured to a laughing Nekomata-sensei.

"We'll do it" the freckled teen nodded. He tapped Ayame's shoulder and she looked at him drowsily. Her face was red from drinking and her hair was a mess.

"Oh, Tadashi-kun" she grinned at him while waving her cup "Wanna drink?"

"Uh...no thank you. Come on, let's go back" he grabbed her cup and his nose wrinkled at the smell. He placed it far from her before he and Tsukishima pull her up by her arms. Ayame kept giggling as the two teens drag her away from the pub.

"Please don't tell her mother about this. She'll skin me alive if she knew that her daughter drank some sake" Coach Ukai pleaded. They both nodded and left the stinking place. The violet eyed girl was tripping over nothing and they have to hold her to make sure she doesn't fall face first on the ground.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" she whined "I wanna go back and drink more~!! Hey!! Take me back~!!"

She looked back at the pub while stretching out her arms. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi dragged her away from the wretched place and the megane made a tsk sound.

"She lost it" he grumbled.

"I'm not~!" she slurred, attempting a glare with her drunk state.

"Oh, snap back to reality, you drunk" he snapped at her.

"Shut the fuck up, you half assed megane" she growled. Yamaguchi flinched at her language and the megane's eyes twitched as he looked at her with a smirk. He leaned closer and stared straight into her eyes.

"Ohohoho~...what is this? Our innocent assistant coach is saying such vulgar words~"

"Tsukki, don't rile her. She's drunk" Yamaguchi whispered, slightly panicking when he saw the two glare daggers to each other.

"Who the hell are you calling innocent, you shitty, walking lamppost?" she snarled. The more she kept talking the worse her cuss words were being released from her mouth. The freckled teen panicked and signaled Tsukishima to stop riling her. He scoffed and stopped it, thinking that it's a waste of his time talking to the drunk girl. However, Ayame misinterpreted his silence as his "defeat".

"What now, Tsushitshima-kun? No fight left in you?" she smirked. Tsukishima stopped walking and turned around with a creepy expression.

"Hey, let me hold her..." there's an evil glint on megane's glasses and he was showing a "kind" smile. He was emitting a dark aura as he held out his hand "Come on, I'm being nice~"

The freckled teen inched farther from him while dragging Ayame with him "N-No thanks, Tsukki! I-I'll carry her"

"I'll carry her because you look like you wanted to murder her and I don't want that..." he silently thought.

"Fine, carry that drunk girlfriend of yours" he smirked.

Yamaguchi's face burned and he looked away "She's not my girlfriend-"

His sentence was cut off because Ayame tripped on a stone but he managed to catch her. Her arms were circled around his neck and his hand was on her back to support her and he was slightly leaning to her. Her intoxicating breath hit his face and he wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"A-Are you okay?" he stuttered at their sudden closeness. She looked up at him and smiled. His heart thumped loudly when he saw her dreamy smile "A-Ayame?"

"Ne, Tadashi-kun" she placed her hand on his freckled cheeks, causing the teen to blush madly "You know...you look so cute with those freckles on your cheeks. I like it"

"I-I-Is t-that s-so?" he looked away while her fingers moved up to his dark green hair and started stroking it.

"C-Crap! There's no time for this!!" he shook his head "B-But...it's not bad...Agh!! Focus!!"

"Uwaaa~...your hair is so soft~...so green~...like a forest~" she giggled. Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima for help but his jaw dropped when he saw the tall blonde holding his phone.

"Ah...that was a good shot" he smirked. The freckled teen's face exploded in a dark shade of red and quickly slung Ayame's arm over his shoulder and carried her.

"Tsukki, now's not the time for that" he calmly told him, though steam were pouring out from his ears in embarrassment.

"Hai, hai" he said with a smirk "Though, this will be a good blackmail material against Ayame"

"I don't think that's a good idea" he told him "Because she'll probably kill you if you do that"

***

"Is the coast clear?" Yamaguchi whispered to Tsukishima. The tall blonde peeked at the hallway and nodded. Ayame was already half asleep by the time they reached the hallway and the freckled teen slung her arm over his shoulder to carry her while the megane was their look out. So far, they haven't encountered anyone yet and kept their best to silently bring Ayame to their managers so they can take care of her drunk state.

"Is this the girls' room?" he asked.

"Yeah, but..." Tsukishima peered between the small gap of the door "Shimizu-senpai is not here"

"What about Yachi-san?"

"Negative"

The two were silent for a minute until the same idea popped inside their heads and they looked at each other for confirmation.

"No choice?"

"Yeah, I guess we have to do it" he sighed "Let's take her to our room"

"Ugh..." Ayame covered her mouth "I-I think I'm going to throw up"

"I-Idiot! Don't throw up here!" Tsukishima whispered harshly "Hey, is there a bathroom nearby?"

"I-I think so. I'll take her there" Yamaguchi answered, taking the drunk girl with him. When he arrived, he nearly forgot to ask if they should enter the girl's bathroom or the boy's. He looked back and forth between the two signs while the girl threatened to make a retching sound.

"Sorry about this, Ayame" he gulped and dragged her to the boy's bathroom. By the time she reached the sink, she vomited a lot. He pulled her hair up and rubbed her back and turned on the faucet. He turned it off afterwards and wiped her mouth with a tissue. She stood unsteadily and nearly fell on the floor if he didn't support her. Sighing, he lifted her bridal style and left the bathroom.

"Huh?" she weakly looked up "Tadashi...-kun..."

"A-Are you all right?"

She touched his cheek "Were you always this...cute?"

"She's definitely not all right!!" he panicked "It's that sake! It's affecting her way of thinking!!"

He carried her back to their room where Tsukishima is waiting. The megane closed the door and searched for some basin and towel and filled it with water. Yamaguchi soaked the towel with water and squeezed it and wiped her sweaty forehead.

"Sheesh" Tsukishima pinched his nose "She smelled like sweat and sake. It's horrible"

"I know" he touched her shirt and rubbed the fabric "Her shirt is soaked with sweat, too. It's not good if the sweat dried on her back"

"So, are you suggesting we should..." the tall blonde paused and looked away "...take off her clothes?"

Both of their ears turned red and the freckled teen was embarrassed the most. Well, you can't blame them both. It will be embarrassing if they undressed the girl since it's their first time to do it; especially the said girl is drunk and innocent. And plus, it's their first time to see a girl's body.

"Y-Yeah..." he looked at the half asleep Ayame shortly before turning away "W-What do you think?"

Tsukishima was silent as he looked away. Finally, he sighed and spoke "It's better that we change her clothes real quick before her sweat dries up"

"Damn...this will be one hell of an embarrassment for us..." the megane thought.