"I'm not quite sure but...I think...I like...I like Tadashi-kun..."

Daichi couldn't believe what he just heard. He couldn't utter a word as his mind was processing the information he just received. His "little sister". The volleyball fanatic and genius strategist yet super innocent and dense as hell, Ayame. Who would've thought she had grown to like someone?

"Uh...nii...-chan?" Ayame waved her hand in front of his face "Are you...all right?"

He blinked to reality and placed his hand on his forehead "Y-Yeah...I-I'm fine...I'm a little surprised, I guess..."

Actually, he's in a big shock right now that it took all of his self control not to react loudly in front of the girl.

"Surprised? Why?" she tilted her head in a childlike confusion.

He made a small smile and faced her "That you learned to realize your feelings for someone...I never guessed that at all..."

"Is it a bad thing?"

"No...quite the opposite, really" he replied "Since when did you started to like him?"

"...I...I'm not quite sure..." she twirled another strand of her hair "For...some...time...I think? I'm not quite sure when but..."

"Don't over think it. Remembering when your feelings for him started is not important" he stopped her "What's important...are your feelings..."

"I see..." she whispered "What...do you think...should I do?"

He smiled apologetically "Sorry, I may be your "older brother" but...I think it's best to ask another girl about that. A girl's opinion is much more different than a boy's, after all"

"Oh..." she saw Yachi coming back with some fresh slices of watermelons and Shimizu talking to Shinzen's manager "Thank you, nii. I'll be going to prepare for the next game. Later"

"Yeah. I'm about to go back to Asahi and the others too"

She threw the watermelon skin in the sack and left the captain. However, he was left thinking on how the young girl has matured and...came to like someone.

"But it won't be easy for her..." he thought sadly "Especially that she's afraid that he'll learn about her past ..."

*Practice*

"Hey, Yamaguchi. Are you okay?" Hinata asked the freckled teen, who is slightly looking a bit blue on the face.

"Uh...it's like...the captain's been staring at me in a scary way for a while now..." he replied "Did he...probably found out what happened? D-Did he know that I k-k-k-kissed her?! Ah, wait. If Daichi-san knew, then I probably wouldn't be practicing serves right now...But...why is he staring at me like that?"

Hinata shuddered when he saw the captain's face behind the teen, a few meters away from them "Uwaaaa...you're right..."

Daichi has been contemplating for a while now if he should or shouldn't interfere with Ayame's love life. He loved her and cared for her as a little sister (to the point that Sugawara and Asahi pointed out that he's being too overprotective). It is selfish to think that he didn't want her to have a boyfriend or to be in love but he doesn't have the right to do so.

For starters, he doesn't own her feelings, she does. He didn't want her to think that her life is being controlled by her childhood friend who is acting as her "big brother" and she'll probably hate him for that. The third year setter would say that she must decide about her own feelings and he should just cheer for her and guide her since she's already a growing teenager.

I mean, it's just Yamaguchi Tadashi, the only guy in the team he could probably trust on Ayame's well-being, aside from his fellow third years. Besides, he could see that the boy cared for her also and he seemed trustworthy enough.

But, he didn't realize that he's staring to the first year in an intimidating manner until Sugawara thumped his head, telling him that their next practice match is about to start.

***

Ayame watched the team as they made another run upward the grassy hill. This is probably the 27th time they lost and did a penalty and she could only watch as the team is currently enduring their "refreshing sprint". However, she found herself losing focus to today's match. Not completely but partly. And she would quickly shake her head and readjust her focus.

"They say that liking someone is a wonderful feeling but..." she bit her lower lip "I'm scared...It felt really nice when...when...I-I think that I like him...but...there's a fear crawling behind my back...What should I do?"

"Stop blaming yourself, Ayame" Coach Ukai quickly told her "Before you start thinking about it, I'm telling you in advance to stop it"

"I'm not..." she muttered.

"You were about too" he retorted back before ruffling her hair to make her feel better "Every time that we lose, you must stop placing this blame to yourself. It's not healthy"

"...Okay..."

"Besides, we just need more time until these guys finished developing their weapons" he said "It will be okay"

"Right"

Just then, Nekoma's libero stood next to her side.

"Uwaaa...that must be pretty tough for them..." Yaku said before facing the violet eyed girl "Hey, Ayame. Ah, greetings....etto...Coach Ukai-san, right?"

"Yeah. You're Nekoma's libero, Yaku, if I remember correctly..."

"Ah, yes. That's me" he bowed "Is it okay if I talk to your assistant coach?"

"As long as you're not asking her about our team's plans"

She grinned proudly "No way will they get any information from me"

The man deadpanned "Unless you're bribed by sweets or information from volleyball"

She flinched and laughed awkwardly. The libero smiled "Don't worry, Coach Ukai. We'll only be talking here. And it's not about your plans I'll be talking to her"

"Take your time" he shrugged "Damn, I'm kinda hungry. I'll be back after I grab something to eat"

"How are you guys?" Ayame asked as soon as the man left. The libero shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

"We're doing fine" though he added in a pissed tone "Except that Lev's getting on my nerves every time we practice"

She giggled in amusement "I notice that. His serves and receives are a mess but he seemed to be improving"

"There's no improvement in his personality, though" he grumbled

***

An imaginary arrow suddenly struck the half-Russian's back and he sulked dejectedly.

***

"You know, Ayame, I haven't talked to you ever since the camp started. Sorry about that" he said "And Lev's the one trying to make a conversation with you. I'm sorry if he's bothering you about that"

"I don't mind" she assured him "He's a bit like Shoyo-kun in some ways"

"I see..."

Ayame was staring on her clipboard with slightly unfocused eyes. Just then, an idea entered the libero's mind and he slightly grinned.

"Ne, Ayame, I know that this question might weird you out but..." he paused before resuming "How do you think you would react if someone confessed to you?"

Oh, we actually have a shipper here. He's been itching for the two to be together already.

"Oh...um...then I guess I have to turn them down..." she replied.

That answer shocked the libero. His face went white with shock and he sobbed tears of sadness and despair upon thinking that his ship sank.

"Poor Yamaguchi... please bless the poor boy's soul..."

***

"Ack!"

The freckled teen tripped as he was sprinting up the hill with the team. He landed face first on the grass and was grateful that it wasn't a hard soil he fell on to.

"Hey, Yamaguchi, you okay?" Tanaka stopped to look back at him. The said teen propped his elbows on his side to slowly rise up.

"Watch your footsteps" Tsukishima slowed his pace to wait for him to catch up.

Yamaguchi rubbed his head in embarrassment "I'm okay. I'm sorry if I delayed you guys..."

"Don't think about it" the second year pulled him up "Come on! Let's finish this hell!"

The three continued running towards the top of the hill while the boy dusted off the grass sticking on his shirt.

***

"But..." she continued, making the libero stop his drama "I...I might accept his confession...if...if I can return back his feelings...I'll only turn them down if I don't feel the same way..."

He was back from his cheerful and supportive self "Yes! A chance!"

Yaku didn't realize that the girl next to him had a cute blush on her cheeks as she remembered a certain confession that happened recently, or more accurately, last night. Her heart made some thumping sounds as she recalled it. Then, it hit her. She didn't reject him and she only gave him a vague answer. How could she be so stupid?! She resisted the urge to face palm and bury her face in a hole. She left the freckled teen hanging and still hasn't replied.

If she's not rejecting him, then what should she do?

"Ah, bad timing" he suddenly said "Sorry if we have to stop our chat. Our next game is about to start"

She blinked and saw Naoi and Nekoma's captain waving the libero to come back "Oh, okay, Yaku-san. Good luck"

He grinned "Yeah. Thanks. I hope your players will straighten out those crazy errors!!"

"They're actually the newest weapons we're trying to develop..." she silently thought to herself "Hai!"

He returned back to his team. Ayame breathed deeply before leaving her spot to join the managers, who were preparing to distribute the water bottles to the exhausted players.

"Let me help you guys" she said.

"Thank you, Ayame-chan" the beautiful third year smiled in gratitude "You and Hitoka-chan give the water bottles to the players. I'll be distributing the towels so it will be easier"

"Roger!"

She gave the first one to Ennoshita and he said his thanks. Upon giving the next ones to Tanaka and Nishinoya, they held it above their heads like it's a rare and sacred gift from the heavens.

"Ryu! Our angel gave us the water of life!!" Noya sparkled in happiness as he cradled the water bottle in his arms.

"It's a blessing..." Tanaka sighed dreamily.

"Um...it's just a water bottle, senpai..." she sweat dropped when she saw their reactions "Anyway, you have to rehydrate yourselves before the next game" she told them and they swooned with flower backgrounds upon hearing her message, much to her surprise.

"Uh...you can leave them now, Ayame. They'll be fine" Ennoshita told her "They're just being idiots right now"

"I'm sorry"

"Ah, it's not your fault. They're always like this whenever Shimuzu-senpai distributed water bottles or towels to us"

"Right" she bowed and continued to distribute water bottles for the team. When she was about to give the remaining two, turns out the last ones left were Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. She mustered her courage and tried to act casually as possible as she strolled to them.

"Eh? Ayame-chan" Asahi said, making the said girl stop "Are you okay? Your right foot and right hand are in sync and...you look a little stiff"

She flinched and straightened up "I-I'm o-okay, Asahi-san!"

The ace approached her and smiled kindly after noticing her discomfort, though he didn't know the reason "Would you like me to finish your task?"

She was about to politely decline but she's way too nervous to say or approach the freckled teen. She sighed and smiled gratefully to the third year "I'm grateful, Asahi-san. Thank you"

She gave the remaining bottles to the ace and he gave it to the two first years. Yamaguchi saw her behind the third year and they made a small eye contact before turning away in embarrassment. Actually, she broke the eye contact and scurried back to their teacher.

She leaned her back on the wall and slid down and hugged her knees, her head buried on her arms. Her heart is beating in a fast pace and she's hiding her red face. She couldn't understand why she's acting like this. Or in fact, she didn't know why she can't bring herself to approach the teen.

"Why am I...acting like this?! What's wrong with me?!"

"Ayame? Is there something the matter?" Mr. Takeda asked her worriedly after noticing her state "Are you ill?"

"Uh...n-no...I'm okay, sensei..." she quickly stood up and straightened herself "A-Anyway, the next game will be starting"

***

"Hey!! You totally slacked there!! You need to at least jump!!"

"Well, aren't you alert. My bad"

Ayame watched as the tall blonde "apologize" to the first year setter. She noticed that her focus is slowly failing and it didn't help that the megane is being a smartass like usual. That kind of behavior is actually pretty normal for her since she's used to his personality, but lately, he seemed to be slacking a lot and it pissed her off.

"Ayame, Sensei, what do you guys think of Tsukishima?" Coach Ukai asked.

"I think he's taking this seriously" the teacher replied.

"I'm going to be blunt. Is it okay?" she asked.

"Better"

She breathed deeply "He's slacking. Well, not like not doing or something but, he never gives his all in practices. It's really frustrating"

"What do you mean by that?" Mr. Takeda looked at her in confusion.

"Well, sensei, the other regulars are giving their 100% in a game, even if it's just a practice match and he's like giving us his 65%. I understand that he has a little stamina compared to them but..." she glanced at the bench players, though she quickly looked away when she saw the freckled teen "The bench players are giving everything they got, doing their very best, to play in the court as much as they can before they are substituted out and he's just..."

A tick mark appeared on her forehead "It pisses me off..."

"Yeah, I get the gist of it" the coach sweat dropped "Well, it's just like what you just said. I'm not asking him to become more passionate but, if he's not going to give his all, I'm gonna have to change regulars. I need players who can win a match on the court"

"Yeah, but it really is a shame" she nodded "Tsukishima-kun is the tallest and he's pretty much essential to the team. If he could train more and become a strong blocker, our defenses would amp up a lot"

"I see..." the teacher said.

The violet eyed girl slightly winced when the captain and the libero bumped each other when they were receiving the ball. She resisted the urge to call out the third year and ask him if he's all right but she decided against it.

"Focus, Ayame!" she breathed deeply as she scanned the players "Communication needs a little help. Receives are getting better, since out of all the regulars, Shoyo-kun and Tsukishima-kun are the weakest receivers. Floor defense is slightly weak once Yuu-senpai is switched out so we must use the blocks for defense to cover for it. The new quick is still pretty bad, needs more time, I guess. Same goes for the synchronized attack, maybe the tempo of the running approach should hurry its pace for timing? Also, Asahi-san's jump serve needs to learn his ball control in serving it and Yuu-senpai's libero's toss is in a rough shape. Maybe Yuu-senpai needs to slow down his approach since he's going too fast for the toss. Everyone's motivations are higher than usual. It's a good thing but sometimes scary..."

#1 spiked and Kageyama received it, followed up by Tanaka.

"We're counting on you, Asahi-san!"

Her eyes widened "It's a bit short!"

She saw Hinata staring at the ball, almost as if attempting to hit it. She crossed her fingers and hoped that he won't do anything rash but was relieved when she saw him back down and let the ace hit it, earning a point for Karasuno.

Nevertheless, they still lose.

"Go!!"