The barbecue was held outside in the open. Thankfully, it was a lot cooler than before and they don't have to worry about the summer heat.

"Where's Ayame?" Tsukishima asked the freckled teen.

"She went with Yachi-san to the other managers. She said that she wanted to help them" he replied "Why?"

"Nothing" he pushed up his glasses and Yamaguchi swore he could see the evil glint on it.

"T-Tsukki, I'll be going over there..." he quickly walked away from him, fearing that he or, in fact they are up to something.

However, it still amused him a little that the three shippers (Tsukishima, Sugawara, and Yaku) have no idea that he and Ayame are already a couple.

Speaking of which, the two of them never spent much time together ever since they confessed their feelings (the longest probably is the infirmary scene). Since they also kept their relationship a secret, it also made things complicated. He could only hope that they could spend their time together using this barbecue event without making other people suspicious (much).

He didn't know that the trio is also thinking the same thing.

He enjoyed watching Ayame smile as she helped the managers. Still, he still couldn't shake the feeling of jealousy as he saw the other players watch her with a blush on their cheeks.

And he was grateful that a glare from the protection squad (Nishinoya, Tanaka and Yamamoto) made the other males stop from approaching her. Plus Daichi as the overprotective "brother".

Feeling a little restless and with nothing left to do, he left his place and approached Ayame and Shimizu.

"Is there anything I can help with?" he asked.

"Ah, Tadashi-kun" she smiled "Sure, you can help. Will it be okay with you, Shimizu-san?"

"It's all right" the third year replied "Here, you can help by chopping the vegetables"

"Osu" he nodded "Ah, I'm going to wash my hands first. I'll be back"

"Uwaaa... as always, he's being helpful..." she thought with a smile "I really like that side of him..."

He returned back and started helping with the preparations. Nishinoya and Tanaka also wanted to help the managers after they saw the first year with them but Sugawara stopped them and told them it's better if they don't help, since he knew that they aren't a bit reliable doing a manager's job (cue the shocked faces of the two).

"Thanks for helping us, Yamaguchi" Shimizu smiled at him.

"Ah, no, I just want to help" he sweat dropped when he felt Tanaka and Nishinoya stare at him intensely, feeling jealous that the first year received a smile from the third year beauty.

"Helpful as always, just like the Golden Week training camp" Ayame smiled, feeling something fluttering in her stomach as he stood next to her.

"Ah...not really..." he sheepishly replied "But, I burned myself last time..."

"That was an accident. You were doing great that time, though"

Shimizu smiled when she saw the two first years converse to each other while laughing a little. She always thought that the two are adorable when they're together and she was happy that they are secretly a couple. Miyanoshita, Ubugawa's manager, tapped her shoulder.

"Um, Shimizu-san, could those two be...?"

She shrugged lightly and continued her work with a mysterious smile "Who knows?"

The manager tilted her head in confusion.

Preparations for the barbecue are done and the only thing left is...

"It's time..." Ayame's violet eyes has evil glint on it as she held a plate on her left hand and her chopsticks on poise on her right, her face deadly serious with an evil smile plastered on it.

"Sometimes, she can also be scary...probably from Kazumi-san..." Yamaguchi sweat dropped "You're so excited, Ayame..."

"Meat idiot..." Tsukishima muttered.

***

"ACHOO!!"

"Mizuki-san, are you sure you're all right?! You've sneezed two times now!!"

"Yeah, I'm a sturdy woman. Sickness is nothing to me" she waved it off and wiped her nose with a tissue "But...I feel like I'm being mentioned..."

***

"Ahem" Coach Nekomata cleared his throat for everyone's attention "Well-done on the week-long training camp, everyone"

The players were already drooling as they waited for him to finish.

"Nothing puts a smile on your face more than filling your stomach with good food" he smiled "Eat all the meat you can"

"THANKS FOR THE FOOD!!"

Everyone grabbed the cooked meat and ate as much as they can. Ayame, on the other hand, quickly swiped the meats she finds delicious and piled it on her plate, along with a couple of riceballs and vegetables.

"I'm sorry, Yuu-senpai, but this meat is mine!!"

"Ah!! No fair, Ayame-chan!!"

"Daichi-nii, thanks for letting me pass through!!"

"You practically zoomed past me, but whatever"

"Whoa, just like Hinata. Ayame-chan can also move very fast" Asahi thought as he watched her move back and forth and skillfully avoiding the taller players.

"Oooh!! Ayame-san, those moves were so awesome!!" Lev told her when she stopped next to them.

"Eh? Ah..." she realized what he meant "That was nothing, Lev-kun"

His face had a small blush as he asked "Ne, Ayame-san, would you like to-"

"Go, Fukunaga" Yaku quickly ordered him, who nodded in response (Was somehow part of Yaku, Sugawara and Tsukishima's schemes).

"Osu" the second year grabbed the meats that were supposed to be Lev's and piled them on his plate.

"Lev! The meats you were waiting to be cooked were taken by Fukunaga-san!!" Inouka told him. The half-Russian was alarmed and wasn't able to finish his statement to the girl as he begged the second year to return the meat back to him.

"You can go now, Ayame. Sorry if Lev bothered you" the third year libero told her.

"Ah...not really" she shook her head "Anyway, I'll be taking my leave now, Yaku-san"

She bowed and left the area. Yaku made a thumbs up and a certain setter noticed it, who quickly nodded in reply.

"Yaku, what the hell are you up to?" Kuroo asked upon arriving.

He shrugged "Nothing. Oh, by the way, Kuroo, Bokuto just stole all the meat behind you"

Nekoma's captain swiftly turned around and managed to grab the owl headed ace's collar as he stuffed the meat he stole in his mouth.

"Hey! Bokuto, you bastard!! Don't you steal my meat, you jerk!!"

Meanwhile, Ayame got a little lost in a crowd of players "Uwaaa... where is he... I can't find Tadashi-kun...I want to talk to him..."

"Ah, Ayame-chan"

She turned around and saw Shimizu holding a plate of riceballs "Shimizu-san!"

"You have a lot on your plate, huh? You must be pretty hungry" the third year smiled at her, which caused her to laugh sheepishly.

"Yes, you're quite right about that but..." she then whispered "I-I want to share some of the meat with Tadashi-kun..."

"How thoughtful and cute..." she silently thought "Then, would you like some riceballs?"

"Hai! Thank you very much!!"

The two girls are emitting a flowery and sparkly background, which caused a couple of players to look at them with a blush on their faces and they started pushing each other to talk to them.

"Go, go"

"You go"

"No, you go"

They suddenly shivered in fear when they felt the tremendous aura being emitted by Nishinoya, Tanaka and Yamamoto with a scary face added.

The two girls have no idea about them.

"Ah!" Sugawara saw her and approached her "Ayame-chan! Good timing, Yamaguchi was looking for you"

"Eh? Really?" she asked, her voice sounding slightly excited "Where?"

"He's over there" he pointed towards the gym door "I think you should go see and see him"

"Oh, thanks, Suga-san" she bowed and left, leaving the setter in a satisfied state before apologizing to the manager.

"Sorry for cutting your conversation with her, Shimizu"

"It's fine. I was about to leave anyway" she replied "Have some riceball, Sugawara"

"Oh, thanks" he was acting normally as he took one but he's actually internally screaming because Shimizu offered him a riceball.

The violet eyed girl followed his instructions and saw the freckled teen eating there, slightly distanced from the other teams.

"Tadashi-kun!" she called out "Were you looking for me? Sorry I got a little lost"

"E-Eh?" he blinked before realization settles in "If by any chance, did someone told you I was looking for you?"

"Yes, Suga-san told me"

"I knew it..."

She noticed his plate "Are you finished eating?"

"Ah, no, I just started earlier"

"Eh?! But...that's a small amount!!" she panicked and was suddenly embarrassed when she compared their plates "I-I have even more food than you..."

"N-No need to be embarrassed! I don't mind it if you have more food than me because I think it's better to eat more than nothing, r-r-right?" he told her so she won't be embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah..."

Progress of their relationship: still in an awkward yet kinda sweet stage.

He scratched his cheek with his finger "Actually, I wasn't able to get much meat because it was hard to pass through the senpais who were crowding the grill..."

She presented her plate full of meat, vegetables and riceballs "What about we share? I was thinking if we could share the food so I took a lot of it"

Seeing her smile and her kindness squeezed his heart from the cuteness of it "If you don't mind. Thank you for the food"

Good thing everyone was distracted by the barbecue (except for some certain people) and they used this chance to be with each other. Not even the second year duo or the captain noticed them together next the gym door. Typical Kenma, who is located on the other gym door a little farther where the two are located, secretly took a picture of them and smiled.

"This is delicious!" he remarked as he took a bite.

"I know, right?" she smiled in content as she savored the meat "Delicious~!! Nothing beats meat after a week-long training camp, don't you agree?"

"Yeah!"

Daichi caught sight of Ayame and Yamaguchi together talking happily. He didn't try to interfere since it would seem rude to his childhood friend. Also, his overprotective big brother mode is off and he only watched them.

"Oh, Ayame-chan and Yamaguchi are eating together?" Asahi said as soon as he saw where the captain is watching "It's rare for you to just watch them like this, Daichi"

The captain looked at him with a deadpanned expression "What are you expecting me to do? Threaten the guy?"

"Well, yeah, especially that we're talking about Ayame-chan, who's almost like a little sister to you..." the ace sweat dropped "After all, you threatened the first years before during the Golden Week after knowing they shared a room with her and you're a bit overprotective when guys want to talk to her..."

"I bet you're thinking that "Yeah, since Ayame-chan's like a sister to you" or something along those lines, right?"

He flinched "Are you a mind reader, Daichi?"

"No, it's easy to tell when it's you. It's written all over your face" he said casually before he glanced back at the two "It's just that I don't need to..."

"Since, Ayame-chan told me that she likes him..."

"Eh?"

"Keep getting distracted and I'll get all the meat" he warned him as he swiped them once using his chopsticks and swallowed them.

"EH?!"

Back to the two first years, they were talking like their usual routine. It looked like they are still friends with the air they are putting on, but to those who knew (Shimizu and Yachi, and possibly Kenma) could tell how close they've become.

"Hmm?" Ayame looked at her plate and saw the food almost gone "There's no more meat"

"Sorry, maybe I ate too much..." he apologized.

"Don't apologize, Tadashi-kun. It's not your fault. I'll go get some more meat"

"I'll go with you"

"Eh? It's okay. I can get the meat myself"

"That's not it" he quickly replied, his voice with a hint of jealousy after he saw eyes of the guys who were attracted to the violet eyed girl "I...I just want to come with you...Please don't ask why..."

He slightly looked away to hide his embarrassed face "I can't tell her I'm a little jealous and...protective..."

She tilted her head in confusion before grabbing his arm "Let's go then"

The barbecue party ended happily with no guys interrupting the two together, thanks to the certain trio's plans and schemes. It's up to you to imagine what they've been doing to keep the two together during the barbecue party.

"Nekomata-sensei, Naoi-san, thank you for everything" Ayame bowed to the two coaches of Nekoma "On behalf of Karasuno, I want to thank you two"

The old man laughed and ruffled her head "No worries. Besides, your mother told me to add your team in this camp. We couldn't say no to the Demon Vixen's request"

***

"A-A-ACHOO!!"

The cat near the alleyway was surprised by Kazumi's sneeze that it nearly fell from the garbage can.

"Ugh...damn it, what the hell is wrong with me?!" she wiped her nose as she headed home "I miss Aya-chan and her cooking... it's thanks to takeouts that I survived five days ..."

Mizuki Kazumi: Very, very, bad at cooking. Looks pleasing to the eye when she cooks but the taste is...indescribable...

***

"Really, mom is so supportive..." she smiled and made mental note to make a full-course meal to thank her mom.

"Despite the mishaps the previous days, it's really nice to see everyone on your team has changed" Naoi told her "And so are you, Ayame"

"You look so...free, right now" Nekomata-sensei smiled "Could it be perhaps...you told your teammates about that day?"

They are a bit touchy about the subject since they knew how much she feared when they know the truth and leave her.

"...Yes..." she smiled a little when she recalled the warmth the surrounded her when she told them everything. But the warmth of a certain boy made a lasting impression in her mind "I never thought it was possible but...they accepted me...and I could never be happier than that..."

The two men were happy that the violet eyed girl, who used to be timid and shy, would be more open and free from her shackles. They ruffled her hair and smiled encouragingly.

"Keep moving forward, that's more like it" the younger coach said "Improve and give everything you got, Ayame"

"Make sure you can manage to win at least a set from us. Beat Keishin as the coach, okay?" the old director of Nekoma grinned.

"Hai! We won't lose to you!" she told them with pride "We don't know when but someday, we will get a set from Nekoma"

"Have a safe trip! Tell your mother our regards!!"

"Hai!" she bowed and left the hallway. She passed by a wall and saw the freckled teen waiting for her "Sorry, Tadashi-kun, did I make you wait for a long time?"

"No, it's okay. I told you that I'll wait for you here" he assured her.

She was touched by his kindness and she smiled "Thank you. Let's go back to nii-chan and the others, shall we?"

When they went outside, Yamaguchi already expected the looks Tsukishima, Sugawara and Yaku were giving them but he pretend to act normal.

"Where were you two earlier?" the third year setter grinned and nudged the first year on the arm.

"Ano...Shimizu-senpai asked us to do an errand back in the hallway" he replied casually. That's a lie, actually.

"He's correct. I asked them to do something earlier. Thanks for the hard work, you two" Shimizu told them. That, too, was a lie and she's good at playing along.

"Hmm...I see" Sugawara said "Damn, that was smooth. Looks like Shimizu really did ask them for an errand..."

Fukurodani, Ubugawa, Shinzen and Nekoma were at the entrance to see Karasuno off.

"Mizuki-chan, we will be seeing you next time!!" Bokuto shook hands with her energetically to which she replied with the same energy.

"Hai!! Thank you for helping our first years!!"

"Take care, Mizuki-san" Akaashi told her.

"Ayame-san, I hope you get to be our manager again!" Inouka and Shibayama said, which caused some Karasuno males to be on edge "It was fun when you were there!"

"Of course. However..." she touched her chest where her heart is "My heart belongs to Karasuno...and it's the team I will pour my support to..."

"Angel~...!" the males swooned at her words.

"It's okay!! We will support you!!" the two first years told her happily.

"Thank you, Shibaya-kun, Inouka-kun!!"

"Take care, Ayame" Kenma and Kai said as the second year patted her head. Fukunaga shook hands with her.

"Great performance in the camp, strategist" Kuroo ruffled her hair with a grin on his face.

"Good luck in everything" Yaku smiled and hugged her.

"Hai!!"

"Why are they saying their goodbyes only to Ayame...?" Karasuno sweat dropped at the aura Ayame and the others were giving off.

"Yamaguchi" Nekoma's libero said, which surprised the teen a bit "Like I told you before, take good care of her and be a man, okay?"

"E-Eh?" he blinked and saw Tsukishima and Sugawara smirk at him, which made him shiver in fear.

"I'm counting on you, Suga-kun" he told the setter, who fist bumped at him.

"Leave it to us"

"Not good...they are more fired up than ever...their eyes are burning!!" the freckled teen thought as he saw how determined the trio is for the two of them.

"Ayame-san!!" Lev came running and halted in front of her "Before you leave, can I ask for your number again?"

"You're a hundred years too early to ask for a girl's number, moron~!!" Yamamoto mocked the first year with a scary face.

"You're the one to talk, Tora" Kenma told him and a stray arrow stabbed the second year ace on the back.