"THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!"

Kuroo and the rest of the Nekoma players bowed to Ayame as thanks for being their (temporary) manager.

"Sure, it's my pleasure" she smiled "I had fun with you guys, being your manager and all. So, thank you as well"

"She's like an angel~!! So cute~!!" Inouka, Shibayama and Lev thought with a blush on their cheeks.

"We've been blessed~" Yamamoto dreamily sighed once again.

"She should've joined us instead..." Kenma, Yaku and Kuroo thought.

"Thanks for being our manager, Ayame" Naoi shook hands with her "It's a big help you're here"

"A VERY big help, indeed" Coach Nekomata laughed "Our team played even better when you're here cheering them"

"Yes!! I feel like I could spike much better when Ayame-san's here!!" Lev exclaimed with sparkly eyes.

"No one is asking for your opinion" Kenma told him.

"But, Kenma, you're sets are much better and you're complaining less when Ayame is here" Kuroo smirked "And you have that happy look on your face when she complimented you"

The setter flinched and looked away, muttering "I'm not"

"Kuroo was even more provocative than usual" Yaku said "His total service ace today is six, too. Trying to show off now, aren't we?"

"Well~, let's just say I'm in my good mood~" the captain nonchalantly replied "More likely, everyone's showing off"

The players flinched at what he said. Question marks danced on Ayame's head.

"Shibayama cleanly received Bokuto's spikes earlier many times. Inouka was moving faster than usual and his blocks managed to shut down some ace spikers. Lev was miraculously not having plenty of mistakes in serve and receives. Yamamoto was a cannon today. Fukunaga was happy as a clam while spiking past blockers. Kenma was complaining less and he's doing tiring sets that he would never usually do. Kai's receives are solid as ever and Yaku wasn't showing any tiredness while chasing blocked out balls" he explained "Now, who's showing off here?"

They stared at him before looking away, their faces slightly red.

"You've been watching them, huh, Kuroo?" the younger coach sighed.

"Isn't that a good thing? Everyone is doing their best in the game!!" she exclaimed.

"How pure and innocent..." Yaku thought "She didn't even realize that it's all about her..."

"Anyway, I'll be going to my own team. I'm sure Daichi-nii's worried about me" she waved her hand "Bye, everyone! Thanks again!"

Their faces looked like they wanted her stay as their manager forever but they let her go before Karasuno starts murdering them.

"Hmm...maybe we should bet with Sawamura-kun that Ayame gets to be our manager if we win" the captain suggested.

"Don't. The guys will murder us if you do that" Yaku sweat dropped as he imagined what might happen.

Ayame ran to where Daichi and the others are practicing. They were sweating and panting a lot after a whole day doing their penalty, which was doubled because of their tardiness, but they kept on doing their extra practices.

"Everyone!! Daichi-nii!!" she ran to them. All their heads turned to her direction and Daichi crushed her in his bear hug. Nishinoya and Tanaka were tearing up and they wanted to hug her as well but Sugawara shook his head and stopped them.

"Uuuuu...Ayame-chan...! You're back!! Safe and sound!!" the second year duo cried.

"We didn't do anything wrong to her..." Nekoma thought as they heard what they said.

Yamaguchi was relieved to see her back to the team. He caught her eye contact and they smiled to each other before the others could notice.

"N-Nii...you're...crushing me...can't breathe..." she gasped for air and the third year released her from his arms.

"I'm so glad you're back! I thought Nekoma tainted you to join them after seeing you so happy with them!" he sobbed as he thought of the possibility.

"Silly nii-chan~" she snickered and made a victory sign "No matter what, my heart belongs to Karasuno!! Although Nekoma is also full of good people, I'm always loyal to you guys"

The guys started crying once again as they were moved by her loyalty. However, Daichi and Yamaguchi noticed something about Ayame that she changed these past few days. She's been a lot more carefree, childish and smiling genuinely...and it made them happy to see her like that. It's a small change but it's for the better, for her sake.

"Ayame, I'll leave this to you" Coach Ukai patted her shoulder "Sensei and I will be leaving for our drinking penalty"

"Hai, you can count on me" she nodded. He nodded back and walked towards where the other coaches are gathering.

"Yosh, let's start!" Daichi clapped his hands and the rest of them started practicing.

"Wait, Daichi-nii" she stopped him "Earlier, I noticed something about your synchronized attack's timing"

"What is it, Ayame-chan?" Sugawara asked her.

"Etto...For the players who are doing the run-up for the synchronized attack, you're timing's a bit slow to catch up Suga-san's toss. Also, Suga-san, your toss is a little high for Ryu-senpai to perform a back attack for that"

"Sorry about that. Don't worry, I'll fix my tosses" the grey haired setter grinned and did a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Suga-san!!" Tanaka said.

"So our running approach was late..." Daichi placed a thumb on his chin before raising his head "Okay, we'll quicken our pace!"

"OSU!!"

"You've been observing us, Ayame-chan?" the setter asked her.

"Yeah. The whole day"

"Amazing!! But, aren't you Nekoma's manager on that time? How could you watch two games at the same time?"

"Well...it was mentally exhausting but...I managed to do it. I've been watching Nekoma's game patterns and you guys, since, I want to help you all after my penalty is over. After all, I've been trying to improve myself and my eyes"

He smiled and ruffled her hair "Okay, just don't push yourself"

"By the way, Suga-san, where are Shoyo-kun and Tsukishima-kun?"

"Well, Ayame-chan, don't be mad" he said "They went to the third gymnasium for their own practice"

Ayame processed the information in her mind. Third gym is where Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi are practicing. Meaning, the two first years went to them for another training session, like last night.

"No fair!!" she sulked with a gloomy aura above her "Those two...sneaking for a training session with them...I'm envious...I want to watch them train...I want to see Bokuto-san's spikes...but...the team..."

"Sorry, Ayame-chan...I know you would react like that if you knew..." Sugawara looked at her gloomy state.

"Oh well" she stood up and sighed deeply "There's nothing I could do about that. Training you guys is top priority"

"You recovered fast. Are you sure? You know, it's really okay if you want to watch them"

"It's fine, Suga-san. I already watched their training last night and my priority lies on the team first" she waved it off "Better get started on the synchronized attack, Suga-san"

"All right"

Following Ayame's instruction, they managed to perform the synchronized attack, although not perfectly, but it's a lot better than their previous one.

"Synchro attack: check" she smiled to herself "More or less, they can perform it properly by tomorrow"

She watched Nishinoya practicing his toss using a wall until his finger slip.

"Argh!! Damn it!"

"Yuu-senpai" she approached him.

"E-Eh?! What is it, Ayame-chan?" the libero straightened up as soon as she talked to him.

"About your libro's toss..." she started "Can I-"

"Go ahead. You want to critique it, right?" he smiled "You're our precious assistant coach, after all. It could really help me"

"Thank you" she said "As I was saying, your libero's toss, don't you think you're jumping too early?"

"You mean, when I make that toss?"

"Yes, your timing's too fast for you to toss it properly so, I suggest you slow down your timing a bit. Why don't you slow down in one step before you jump?"

"I see...I understand!" he grinned and picked up the ball on the floor "Thanks, Ayame-chan!!"

"Sure, Yuu-senpai. You can do it!"

He grinned "Ryu!! When you're done there, can you help me spike my tosses?!"

"Okay, Noya-san!!"

"Yuu-senpai's libero toss: check"

Yachi was helping out Kageyama with his new toss. His toss was fast as always and it stopped momentarily in mid air before it dropped down, a few inches near his bottle targets.

He clicked his tongue "Damn it. One more, please!!"

"A-All right..." Yachi nodded and grabbed a ball but the violet eyed girl halted her.

"Kageyama-kun, instead of thinking of the bottles as the target, why don't you visualize a spiker instead?" she suggested to him "The reason that you kept missing is because you're thinking too hard to hit the bottles with your falling toss, from what I observe since day one. Instead, you should change your way of thinking about your toss. Think of it that you want the spiker to hit your new toss"

"Visualize..." he thought about it deeply.

"T-That was amazing, Ayame-chan..." the blonde manager looked at her in awe "She really is the team's sharpest observer!!"

"Ah! Oh no!!" she suddenly gasped as she looked at the time "I-I have to go and help Shimizu-senpai in the kitchen!! I'm sorry, Kageyama-kun!!"

And she left a trail of smoke as she ran. The two of them stared at her and female sighed.

"I'll take over her job" Ayame told him.

"Thank you very much!!"

She threw the balls to him as he performed his toss. However, she kept glancing at the two players doing their own serves. She's slightly fidgety because she wanted to talk to the freckled teen. However, she can't leave the setter on his own while he's practicing his toss.

"Ah" her eyes slightly widened when she saw the ball drop dangerously close to the bottle "That was close"

"You're getting better at the toss, Kageyama" a voice said. Both teens turned and saw their coach walking to them "Yo"

"Osu" Kageyama nodded at him.

"Ukai-san!" Ayame exclaimed "That was quick"

"The moment they started drinking, I told them I'll be taking a piss and slipped out. I told you I'll try to sneak if I can" Coach Ukai said before patting her back "You can go now, Ayame"

"Eh, why? I have to help Kageyama-kun with his toss"

"I'll take over for it"

"Why...?"

"You want to go to Azumane and Yamaguchi, don't you?"

She flinched.

"You were a bit antsy and you kept glancing at them. Also, I heard from Sawamura that you've been giving them advices and suggestions after the observations you made earlier. You haven't talked to those two, right? Go ahead. I'll help Kageyama's toss"

"He read me...though it's not the real reason..." she silently thought "Okay. Kageyama-kun, sorry"

"No, it's fine. Thanks for the help" he said.

"Okay. Ukai-san, thank you"

"Sure. Anytime, kid" he nodded at her before focusing to the black haired setter "So, like what she said..."

Ayame went to where the two servers are practicing. Strange, she suddenly felt excited now that she can talk to him but at the same time, she's also feeling a bit shy and awkward.

"Oh, Ayame-chan" the ace noticed her "What is it?"

"Um...Asahi-san, regarding about the jump serve..."

"Go ahead. I'm listening"

"So, um...I understand that you're a bit terrified if the serve will be in or out but, you don't have to hold back in your serve. You, too, Tadashi-kun"

The said teen flinched when she mentioned his name "Yeah, I'm listening, too"

"Asahi-san, your jump serve lacks control, too. Also, I'm not sure if you noticed it but, your serve toss was a bit low for you to hit it. Haven't you wondered why most of your serves hit the net and ends up as a service error?"

Asahi thought about it "Well...now that you mentioned it, I didn't notice that before. I thought it's because I didn't hit it with enough power"

"Well, that's also partly the reason" she said "Anyway, Asahi-san, I think you know what you're going to do about that"

He smiled "Yeah, thanks, Ayame-chan"

The third year ace started practicing his jump serve and Ayame approached Yamaguchi's side.

"H-Hi..." she smiled nervously "Uwaaaaaa!! Why did I suddenly get nervous?!"

"N-No need to be tense..." he told her, though she could see his hands and lower lip tremble.

"Uwaaa...he's also nervous like me..."

"A-Anyway" she cleared her throat "In your jump float serve, like what I said earlier, you don't have to hold back, okay?"

He nodded.

"Let's see...there's nothing wrong with the way you're doing the jump floater but you should practice your accuracy and precision when you want to aim to certain people or certain sides of the court. After all, jump floaters are tricky serves. I know it's hard but you can gradually do it"

His heart was suddenly filled with happiness from hearing her words and seeing her cute smile that he nearly fainted.

"Crap, I'm way too happy!!" he slightly looked away while covering his red face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing!"

*Dinner*

"Thank you for the food"

Ayame glanced at their managers as they served to each player. Shimizu and Yachi seemed to be fine, despite that they're the ones who mostly handled the cooking and preparing and they will be the ones handling the washing of dishes later. She stood from her seat and approached them.

"Will you two be okay?" she asked.

Shimizu smiled reassuringly "Don't worry, Ayame-chan. We'll be fine"

"Karasuno's manager beauty just smiled!! A goddess's smile has blessed us!!" the players from other schools swooned, but it was short lived after sensing a tremendous dark aura from a certain table.

Nishinoya and Tanaka (for some reason, also Yamamoto) were giving off a dark aura and a hideous face, growling lowly like rabid dogs.

"Don't you dare steal our goddess. We'll kill you"

"Oi, you're scaring other guys. Stop that" Daichi scolded them.

Ayame sighed "All right. But, when you need some help, you can call me"

"It'll be fine! This is our penalty, after all" Yachi told her "But thank you for your kindness, Ayame-chan!"

"Like Hitoka-chan said, it's our penalty and we have to do it ourselves" the third year added "Thank you, though"

"Sure. Then, I'll be going back to my dinner" she waved at them and sat back at her table. She continued eating with her club mates when two players from Shinzen approached her.

"Ano...Mizuki Ayame-san, right?" the first one asked with a tiny blush on his cheeks.

Yamaguchi's boyfriend instincts kicked in as soon as he saw the blush on his cheek and the way he's being shy to her but he couldn't act in a way where Tsukishima, Sugawara and Yaku will realize their current relationship.

Nishinoya and Tanaka's ears widened in their direction but a look from Ennoshita and Sugawara stopped them from reacting...yet.

Daichi's face darkened and Asahi, who is sitting next to him, shivered in fear as soon as he saw his face.

A glare from Yaku stopped the rest of the Nekoma team from intervening (Ah, they're also the Ayame Protection Squad Faction 2: Nekoma version).

"Yes, that's me. What is it?" she asked politely and kindly.

"Um..." the second one blushed and bowed a perfect 90 degree angle "C-Can we ask for your number?"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"This guy is straightforward..." the males thought.

"What the hell?" Nishinoya stood in front of the boy with an intimidating face "Trying to hit on our strategist, aren't ya?"

The two players trembled in fear "W-We're not-"

"Hohohoho~" Tanaka leered at them "Liar~...stop denying or we'll eat you alive~"

"EEEEEEEEK!!"

"Please stop that" Ayame patted their shoulders "Yuu-senpai, Ryu-senpai, you're scaring them. It's rude, you know?"

"Hai, forgive us, angel~" the second year duo switched their expressions and we're swooning with flower backgrounds.

"Creepy...those two are really creepy..." Ennoshita, Kinoshita and Narita sweat dropped upon seeing their fellow second years act like that.

"Ano...please forgive them" the violet eyed girl bowed to apologize to the two players.

"A-Ah, no, it's fine, Mizuki-san, we just..." the second one was about to ask again but he paled after he saw Karasuno's captain sitting silently while emitting an extremely dark aura.

"Uuuuu...I didn't do anything..." Yamaguchi mentally sighed "But, I owe Nishinoya-san, Tanaka-san and Daichi-san for acting first...it's hard to do something when Tsukki and Sugawara-san are looking at me intensely..."

"What is you want again? My number?" she said again "I'm sorry but-"

"I-It's fine!" the first one gave a nervous laugh "W-We weren't really asking for your number. S-Sorry for trouble hehehe..."

"B-Bye, Mizuki-san..." the second one bowed again before the two of them quickly ran from Karasuno's table.

"That...that was fast..." she said before sitting down.

Sugawara cleared his throat and Tsukishima glanced at him. He made a small hand gesture and the megane nodded. The grey haired setter nodded back before catching Yaku's attention. He made the same gesture and the libero nodded back.