The previous match is now over and Karasuno took over the court. Two players from Ohgi Minami glared at them, and Tanaka returned the gesture.

"Looks like Ohgi Minami's a team full of punks..." he said.

"Did that really come out of your mouth?" Sugawara looked at him disapprovingly "Stop making that face"

"Hai, spiking practice!" Ayame clapped her hands to catch their attention. Kageyama sets the ball to the players while the same players who were glaring at Tanaka are making commentaries.

"Your shaved head is seriously lame. Seriously, like seriously, seriously..." no. 7 said out loud to piss the baldy off.

Ayame expected that Tanaka would give them his usual scary faces but his face only changed to bodhisattva mode, his hands in a praying position "I'm going forth. Let us play a good game"

Tsukishima, Hinata, and Ayame could only stare at him from the back.

"I didn't expect...Ryu-senpai would react like this" she whispered.

"You could say that again..."

"Or maybe..." realization struck to her as she looked at Kageyama. When it was Tanaka's turn, she tapped the setter's shoulder and whispered "Give Ryu-senpai a good one"

He nodded and tossed it to the second year, who spiked it with vigor while yelling "Take this, damn it!!"

His spike surprised their opponents and she clapped slightly, knowing that the second year preferred to show off his skill and power rather than glare back at them childishly.

"Nice kill" Kageyama told him.

Tanaka crossed under the net and faced the setter in a monk-like state "Thank you for that opportunity"

"Oh, osu"

The whistle sounded, signaling that the match is about to start. Players on both side bowed to each other.

"LET'S PLAY A GOOD GAME!!"

Ayame glanced at Ohgi Minami's team and did a quick observation.

"Average overall power: 6/10"

"Listen up" Coach Ukai said "the third years on their team are all out but their power lies on their second years. Be wary of their #1 on the left"

"OSU!!"

Mr. Takeda stepped forward "Since the Inter-High ended, you've taken on unfamiliar challenges and haven't been in sync. On top of that, you've lost about seventy practice games against powerhouse schools from Kanto"

"It's actually 63 games...with only 3 wins under our belt...but I'm not saying that out loud..." she sweat dropped when she saw the expressions the players were making.

"But your new weapons that kept failing at first are finally taking shape" he added "Please make it up for all the frustrations your felt"

"OSU!!"

"Karasuno, fight!!"

"OSU!!"

***

"A straight win" Ayame stretched out her arms and munched on the chocolate bar she has from her pocket.

"It was great to see everyone on the top of their game earlier. They haven't tried to use the new quick yet but their performance was good and steady. Now then..."

They won straight two sets from Ohgi Minami and the Karasuno team are currently waiting for the next game to finish for them to learn their next opponent.

"IIIIIEEEEE!!!" Hinata and Yachi flinched as they saw how the ridiculously tall blocker of Kakugawa Academy shut down the opposing spiker, which effectively ended the game.

"It's a weapon...his height is a weapon..." Asahi said as he watched the guy with wide eyes. She couldn't agree less.

"I know that there is a two meter tall player in the Prelims but..." the violet eyed girl gulped "Seeing him with my own eyes is just too ridiculous!! His height is too much!! Not to mention, he's a first year!!"

"At least give me some of that height..." she mumbled.

Yamaguchi heard her and he stifled a laugh, which she looked away in embarrassment.

"D-Don't laugh. It's true" she muttered.

"I'm not" but it was obvious he's holding his amusement down "You're not that small, Ayame"

"So cute..." he thought after seeing the face she's making.

"My height didn't change at all. Naoi-san told me before my height didn't even change a little" she sulked.

***

"Achoo!!"

"Coach, you got a cold?" Kuroo asked.

"No, I'm fine. Get back on your serves, you guys"

***

"Also, Tsukishima-kun called me chibi before in our first meeting" she added glumly.

"It's rare for Ayame to complain about her height...I guess she got a little insecure that Kakugawa's 2 meter tall guy is insanely tall..." Yamaguchi thought.

"It's not my fault you were born short" the megane retorted, which hit a bulls eye on her.

"Geh" a gloomy aura hung above her "Don't say that...I mean, both of my parents are tall...then why am I...short...?"

"You know, they say that sometimes, two positives is equal to a negative result" Tsukishima smirked as he enjoyed teasing her "In other words, two tall parents is equal to a chibi child"

"Tsukki, you're so harsh..." the freckled teen sweat dropped when she sulked even lower "I think you shouldn't mind it at all, Ayame. It's not that bad being small since you can pass through crowds easily and you don't have to worry about your head getting hit on the door frame. Also, you're already plenty smart in both academics and volleyball. You should focus on the positive, okay?"

She looked up at him with hopeful and sparkly eyes "Tadashi-kun...!!"

He blushed and laughed a little to hide his embarrassment after seeing such a cute, hopeful face from her.

Daichi chose not to interfere between the two, which caught Sugawara's interest "What's up, Daichi? Not being an overprotective brother now, aren't we?"

He sighed loudly "Why is it that you guys are always judging me as that?"

"Well, isn't that true? You would basically warn any guy who would get close to Ayame-chan with a scary look on your face"

"Eh?! Really?"

"Really. It's scary and amusing at the same time"

"I don't know what you mean about my face but...Yamaguchi's different. He's not like Nishinoya and Tanaka-"

"So mean!!" the two cried out.

"Shut it, you two" the vice captain told them before focusing back to the captain "Well, it's not that I'm complaining but it made me curious"

"I'm a mature guy who wouldn't resort to something as childish as that, Suga" he chuckled "After all, Ayame's much more comfortable to Yamaguchi and she likes him. He's a good guy, I could tell"

"Hmmm..." the grey haired setter hummed as he let his words sink in.

"Etto...if we win the next game, we'll get through the prelims and continue on to the qualifiers in October" the captain looked at the chart on the board "We'll get through no matter what!"

"OSU!!"

"Uwaaah... just one more and we'll get through the prelims..." Ayame said, until she felt a shadow pass her and her jaw dropped when Kakugawa's two meter tall player pass by her side.

"H-He's freaking tall!! I-I barely reach even his armpits!!"

Her violet eyes even widened when she compared his height to Karasuno's taller players and shuddered "Uwaaaah... that height...is a monster..."

"T-Two meters is super huge!" Hinata trembled after seeing him close up.

"I know, right?" she nodded "At least, give us some of that height"

Yamaguchi placed his hand on his chin as he thought about the height differences "201 cm and 162 cm, huh..."

The orange haired teen corrected him "I'm 163 cm if you round up!!"

"201 cm and 162 cm..." Tsukishima ignored the shorter teen's complaints.

"That's a 40 cm difference" Ayame sweat dropped "It's not much but..."

"Listen!!" Hinata said "Why are you three ganging up on me?!"

"We're not..." the three first years of Class 4 thought.

"F-Forty centimeters is the same size as Ketty-chan" Yachi tried to comfort him "That's not that big!"

"Is that an attempt to cheer him up?" the megane asked her.

"Hitoka-chan's right! I-It's not that big!" the violet eyed girl nodded in agreement before thinking "Who is Ketty-chan?"

"I bet she's thinking "Who is Ketty-chan?" right now, considering that she thinks of volleyball and nothing else like the King..." Tsukishima thought.

"Tekachu is also 40 centimeters" the freckled teen said, which made the female assistance coach think again who the heck is Tekachu.

"So is fujikujira" the tall blonde added.

"Oh! So it's like that?" Ayame placed a fist on her hand when she thought about how long it is.

"I'm surprised you know fujikujira and not Ketty-chan and Tekachu" he told her.

"Fujikujira?" Yamaguchi asked her.

"It sounds like a type of whale but it's actually a type of shark" she explained to which he nodded in understanding "Ah, let's go. The match is about to start"

She grabbed his hand on instinct, which caught the attention of Tsukishima and Yachi. The blonde manager flinched and the blonde blocker smirked and cleared his throat.

"IIIEE!! T-They shouldn't...!!" she nervously glanced at Tsukishima and back at the oblivious Ayame.

"Oya? Holding hands now, aren't we? Like boyfriend and girlfriend"

Realization sinks in the two and they faced the blonde in their normal faces, as if unaffected by his words.

"Eh? What's wrong with holding hands? Isn't that normal?" Ayame tilted her head in confusion while having an internal panic "Uuuuu...crap it, crap it...I'm such an idiot!! I shouldn't hold hands with Tadashi-kun when we're with the team!! It's supposed to be a secret!! I'm sorry, Tadashi-kun..."

"Normal, yes...for boyfriend and girlfriend relationships..." he smirked.

"Not necessarily, Tsukki. I think friends do that from time to time" Yamaguchi added while sweating internally "Oh, boy...oh, boy...stay calm, Tadashi...don't react in a way Tsukki will realize our relationship...keep a straight face... reason out if you have to!! I don't blame Ayame...I understand how she feels..."

"Hmmm..." he raised an eyebrow "Damn, not even affected... oh well, considering how clueless Ayame is to stuffs like this and I'm sure Yamaguchi's adjusting to her cluelessness..."

"Thank goodness he didn't realize it!!" the two sighed internally.

"Uwaaah...I'm getting nervous for those two when Tsukishima-kun corners them..." Yachi thought while clutching her chest, which is beating insanely fast from nervousness.

***

"First, Kakugawa's Academy is practicing for their spikes, and us, receives" Ayame told them which they nodded in agreement "Tadashi-kun, sorry but could you help us carry some balls?"

"Sure. I'll go get them first"

As he crossed the other side of the court to fetch some balls, the violet eyed girl observed the other team while also maintaining her focus to the team. Once it was #9's turn to spike, she caught sight of Yamaguchi about to cross the court. The spike barely hit the teen's flyaway hair resulting for him to be rooted on the spot.

She gulped "Uwaaaah...that height...but..."

"Are you all right?"

She ran to him and saw his face full of fear and nervousness from the spike.

"I thought I was goner from that..." he said before sighing in relief.

"Ah, that guy didn't apologize for nearly hitting you!" she realized before trying to call out #9 "Ano, #9-"

"No need to!" he pulled her before she could continue "Really, it was my fault to begin with. I shouldn't cross the court when he was spiking"

"But-"

"I said it's okay. We don't have much time now in practice, right? Come on, let's continue"

She sighed in defeat and continued their practice until the games started. As the games progressed, Ayame still can't over that #9 is a first year and he's 2 meters tall.

"Grrr...his spike went above our blockers... he made it look like blocking him is useless..." she thought while twirling her pencil around her fingers "But... I guess we're just lucky on one thing..."

She saw Hinata's arm change that into a feint, but it didn't pass through #9's block.

"What incredible height..." Mr. Takeda sweat dropped as he looked at the tall player.

"Normally, that would have been able to go above the block..." Coach Ukai said "But he's sort of ridiculous..."

"But, you know, Ukai-san, we're lucky on one thing..." Ayame smiled when Daichi and Nishinoya nod to each other, which he realized that they knew something. She gestured the teacher for a time out "Takeda-sensei"

"Oh, right"

Karasuno called for a time out and the players huddled around them.

"No matter how high I jump, he keeps hitting from above me. What do I do?" Hinata stressed out and the captain told him to relax.

"Shoyo" Nishinoya opened his eyes that were now full of confidence "Volleyball isn't all about mid-air battles"

"Yes, and it's the most important field where the liberos shine" the violet eyed girl smirked "Floor defense"

"Looks like Ayame-chan also noticed it" the libero grinned.

"Never underestimate Karasuno's sharpest observer" Daichi smiled "Anyway, about their two meter player, it seems he can't hit the ball in any way he wants"

"He can only hit in a cross direction that his body is facing" Nishinoya added.

"Not only that, it seems that he recently started playing volleyball and we're lucky about that" she added.

"Like Lev from Nekoma?"

"Yeah, but he lacks the speed and senses that Lev has" the coach said "In other words..."

"He only has his height but that alone is far above than anything else" she continued "Since he could only hit in a direction where his body is facing..."

"Abandon straight shots and focus on the cross side" the captain continued.

"Also, when blocking, it's obvious that trying to shut him down is impossible, so, use a soft block if you can to reduce the ball's momentum"

"OSU!!"

"With a team that has a super tall player, if we can't win alone, we just have to add a few more, right?" she said, and they clearly knew what she meant "Ah, Shoyo-kun, if you can't fight him head on, avoid the blockers and use your speed and your other weapons. And if Kageyama-kun is up for it..."

"Hai?" the setter said.

She smirked "You can use the new quick against him"

***

"Ayame? Are you okay?" Yamaguchi asked her after they were done collecting their things "We won and we can play in the qualifiers for the Spring Tournament but you seem down"

"Eh? Ah, it's nothing. I just realized that Kakugawa's 2 meter guy will be scary next year. It's making me nervous and excited at the same time. Weird, right?" she laughed awkwardly.

"No, it's just who you are so it's not weird for me" he smiled.

"Oh, by the way, about what I told you for tomorrow..."

"It's all good. I don't have any plans for tomorrow" he assured her "8 in the morning in front of the bus station, right?"

"Yes"

Nishinoya and Tanaka suddenly called the third year manager in their most energetic voice "Kiyoko-san! We'll hold your things!!"

"They already got most of it" she replied.

"All right. Let's go" Daichi called.

"Oh. I'm going to see if anything got left behind. You go ahead, Hitoka-chan" Shimizu told her.

"Right!"

"Ayame-chan!! We'll hold your things!!" both second years said again.

"Sorry but, I can handle my things since it's not much" she apologized "But, thank you"

The two second years swooned in happiness.

"Speaking of which..." she trailed off "I feel like I forgot something..."

"What is it?" the freckled teen asked her "I think you should check your bag-"

"Ah!!" she exclaimed loudly before rummaging her bag and her jaw dropped "I left my sketchpad!!"

"Eh?! The one with the attack patterns inside and most of everyone's statistics?"

"That one!" she bit her lower lip "Urgh...I'm going back! You can go ahead, Tadashi-kun! Shimizu-san!! I'm going with you!!"

"Uwaaah...she's fast..." the males thought as they saw her leave a trail of dust as she ran to the second floor.

The two girls went back to their former area and she quickly saw her sketchpad on the floor, unharmed.

"I'm glad it's in one piece!!" she hugged it on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmm...it seems that only Ayame-chan's sketchpad was left-huh?" Shimizu saw a yellow covered bento sitting on the corner "Whose bento is this?"

"Etto... I don't know but, I have a feeling it's from one of our players" she said "It's pretty cute, though"

"Well, let's take this and leave, then. There's nothing here in this are now"

"Hai"

The two girls were about to leave when two boys approached them. Ayame had stinking feeling that this scene is pretty familiar to her.

"Hey, glasses-chan, violet eyes-chan" the guy with dyed hair and piercings smiled playfully "Do you mind if we ask for your numbers?"

"I knew it..." Ayame internally sighed exasperatingly.

"I'm sorry but we have people waiting for us" Shimizu apologized.

"Hey, Terushima" the other guy said "Check out this girl next to her"

As he slightly stooped down to look at her closely, the violet eyed girl observed their features. They are tall and they are muscled and she saw that they are wearing gym pants. Her instincts tell her that they are volleyball players and she agreed to it.

"Violet eyes? Whoa, that's pretty cool!" he said "Wait a minute, I heard a rumor like this before...a violet eyed girl coaching a volleyball team...what team was it again..."

"You're too forgetful, dude!" his friend laughed at him.

"You're one to talk!"