"The final match... the deciding factor on which team will represent Miyagi..." Ayame thought as she stepped out of the bus "Shiratorizawa Academy...the last boss..."

She stretched out her arms and looked at the Sendai Gymnasium in front of them. Excitement filled her up inside and she couldn't wait and see how they will play against a team that went to Nationals more than once.

"Sawamura!!"

Michimiya was running over to them, along with Aihara Mao and Sasaki Chizuru, with a smile on their faces "We came to cheer you on!!"

"Michimiya!" Daichi turned to face her with a smile "You guys really came"

"Wow! You're really going to play in the finals!" she tells him in an excited voice.

Ayame was grinning knowingly as he pushed Tsukishima and Yamaguchi away from the third years. Sugawara, being a teasing person he is, left to give the two captains space, also pushing the confused Asahi as well.

"All right. Let's go, everyone" the setter told the rest.

They had no choice but to follow their vice-captain's orders.

"Fufufufu..."

"What the hell, Ayame?" Tsukishima raised a brow at the small girl when she was giggling strangely.

"Hehehehe...Nothing~" she gave them a close eyed grin.

Yamaguchi stifled a laugh when she saw her face "Cute"

Michimiya gave the captain a victory charm, while claiming it's only for him, but for the team as well. The blush on her face says otherwise, though. Ayame glanced back at them and smiled in approval.

Upon entering the gym, she noted the amount of people waiting by the hall. It is to be expected since it is the finals. More students came to watch and people from the press are also present in the scene.

"Wow..." Tanaka remarked at the amount of people "So this is the finals...There are so many people"

"Ryu, this is no time to be scared!" Nishinoya told him.

"It's not that I'm scared!"

The libero placed his hand on the baldy's shoulder, a ray of light shining on his face "Listen, Ryu. Picture this. The finals... our opponent is Shiratorizawa"

You can basically picture out what's about to happen.

He continued "What do you think is going to happen when we play to a crowd this big?"

"What's going to happen...?"

Just then, a couple of girls passed by next to them.

"They always look so much cooler when they are good players"

The comment struck the baldy to the core.

"Hup" Nishinoya received a spike while maintaining his "cool aura"

"Bam" Tanaka spiked with the same aura as him.

"Yoshaa"

The girls, particularly the girls from the other schools squealed and cheered for them.

"Nishinoya-kun! Tanaka-kun! You were amazing!!"

The second year duo did an ikemen pose with a matching sparkly background, gladly accepting the compliments thrown at them. But of course, they are waiting for certain people to give them the compliments they wanted.

"Nishinoya-kun, Tanaka-kun" Shimizu shyly looked at them with a blush on her cheeks "D-Do your best..."

"Yuu-senpai! Ryu-senpai!" Ayame's violet eyes sparkled in admiration as she looked up at them "You are my best senpais!!"

"Yuu, Ryunosuke" Kazumi smiled at them "You make me proud, boys"

The imagination ended when both males clasped their hands together as newfound confidence and motivation struck them, making other people look at them strangely and Ennoshita stare at them in disbelief.

"Noya-san, I'm gonna do this! I'm gonna become a hero after this match"

Meanwhile, Shimizu and Yachi walked past them, completely ignoring the two. Ayame looked at the two questioningly and turned her attention to Yamaguchi inquiringly. He only shook his head in reply.

"I'm not gonna lose, Ryuu!!"

"UWOOOOOO!!" the two roared "Guts! Guts! Guts! Guts!"

"They seem more hyped up than usual" Kinoshita sweat dropped.

Ennoshita quickly scolded them "Hey, you guys are embarrassing us, so stop screaming!!"

"But I'm glad those guys never change" Narita smiled, and they couldn't help but agree with him. It's Nishinoya and Tanaka, after all. Those two are never quiet (except when it is something serious).

"Shut up, you two!!" Daichi snapped at the duo "Come on. Let's go"

Ayame was only thinking on how the current match will play out and she didn't notice that a few boys from Shiratorizawa were nudging and pushing each other on who would try to ask for her number.

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima instantly gave them a cold stare and they backed out.

"I told you to be more possessive" the megane said as soon as the boys walked away.

"I can't do that, Tsukki!" he half whispered in embarrassment.

They went further inside the hall and Daichi gave them further instructions.

"All right. As soon as we put our stuffs away, we're going to warm-up-" he suddenly stopped and Sugawara bumped to him in the process.

"Ow! What the heck, Daichi?"

The Karasuno volleyball club looked at the middle aged man who is reading the pamphlet that suddenly spoke.

"Up until recently, they couldn't even get past their second match. Karasuno couldn't fly or crow" he closed his pamphlet as he walked away "Hopefully, them making it to the finals isn't some fluke, either"

Ayame's eyebrow twitched and she gave off a scary aura "What did he just say~? Karasuno couldn't fly or crow~? Our advancement to the finals is a fluke~? I want to have a talk with that man for a few minutes to see if I wasn't just hearing things~"

The rest of them shuddered. Coach Ukai was sweating bullets when she gave off a demonic aura because it reminded him of Kazumi.

"Ayame, please calm down" Yamaguchi sweat dropped before an idea flashed in his mind. He fished out a box of chocolate drink from his bag and punched the straw in before giving it to her. As expected, she dropped the yandere look and she was emitting a flowery and happy aura.

"So simple..." the males sweat dropped at the sudden change of her mood.

Coach Ukai looked at the man "So that guy's here again?"

"Do you know him?" Daichi asked.

"Nah, he would just show up to matches every so often" he told them "I don't think he is someone's relative, so I think he might just be a high school volleyball fan that likes Karasuno. He'll cheer for plays he thinks were good, and boo the bad ones. He's always been easy to read. Have you guys seen him before?"

"Yes. When we were still first years, he came to one of our games..." Sugawara explained before he and Daichi and Asahi hardened their looks.

"We'll never let him say that we're grounded crows ever again" Daichi said in a low voice.

Their strategist smiled but her eyes were like a demon's "Never again"

***

Compared to the match they had yesterday and the other day, they will be playing center court this time. Banners hung above the ceilings and the presence of people is even more compared to their previous game. It could be that it is the last day of the qualifiers or it could be that people are intrigued to watch the team who defeated Seijoh battle the team who has been to nationals more than once, Shiratorizawa.

The dark horse versus the champions.

Crows versus eagle.

Karasuno versus Shiratorizawa.

It's supposed to be a serious and dignified moment for everyone, except that...

"I'm going to the bathroom again..." Hinata was walking stiffly as he clutched his stomach.

"I-I need stomach medicine..." Yamaguchi asked the blonde manager with shaking knees.

"Me, too..." Asahi was shaking as he asked as well.

Yachi rummaged inside the bag for the medicine they asked for frantically.

"Center court...!" Kageyama looked so pumped up.

"Noya-san, cheer! Cheer!" Tanaka was pointing to the cheerleaders in despair.

"So jealous! Damn it!" Nishinoya was clutching his head as he curled on the floor in envy.

"Tanaka, Nishinoya, shut up!" Daichi looked like he was about to snap. Okay, he snapped.

"Amazing! We're playing center court! This truly feels like it's the finals! I'm so nervous!" Ayame was jumping up and down in excitement.

"You guys are panicking way too much" Tsukishima was stifling his laugh upon seeing most of them break down comically.

"E-Every...Everyone, calm..." Mr. Takeda was stumbling and stuttering on his own words as he tried to catch their attention.

"Ayame, stop jumping and help us calm these guys down!" Coach Ukai pulled her by her jacket's collar to stop her excitement.

"Eh?! What happened to them?!" she just noticed their current state and is now frantically checking up on them.

Definitely a dignified moment of the Karasuno team.

*Up on the bleachers*

"Hello" Kazumi greeted them as soon as she arrived "Quite a crowd we have here, eh?"

"Ah! Kazumi-san! Hello!" Shimada smiled in reply "The shopping district is willing to show their support to the team. We can't let Shiratorizawa outmatch us. Even though they even have drums and cheerleaders, we'll do our best to cheer our guys"

She stood next to the two alumni of Karasuno "It's the thought that counts. I'm sure Aya-chan and the team wholly appreciates it"

"Ano, could you be Haruka-wait, I mean, Mizuki Kazumi-san?" Akiteru asked upon recognizing her.

"Yes, and you are?"

He bowed "I'm Tsukishima Akiteru, Kei's older brother. Pleased to meet you"

"Likewise, Akiteru" she nodded in reply "Kei's big brother? Their personalities are nothing alike..."

"I cannot believe that I get to see the Demon Vixen again after many years. What brings you here, Mizuki-san?"

"My daughter's the assistant coach of the team" she smiled proudly "And of course, I'd like to show my support to my alma mater as well"

"Daughter-oh! So Ayame-san is your daughter! Kei also mentioned it to me that their assistant coach is one of his friends" he replied before chuckling a bit "He would sometimes say that "It's like having an annoying and clueless little sister". He says that but he looked like he's having fun. I'm just glad that my brother made new friends he's comfortable with"

"Is that so?" she smiled in amusement before raising an eyebrow "So, why are you ducking and hiding behind the rail?"

He flinched and awkwardly laughed "Actually, Kei told me not to come but I sneaked in anyway. I don't want him to find out I'm here"

She sweat dropped when she saw the megane below glare at the rail "I'm pretty sure Kei already knows"

"By the way, Kazumi-san" Saeko asked "Why didn't you just come with Ayame-chan earlier?"

She sighed before scratching her head "I don't want to catch attention. The press is still on me and it's pretty tiring answering repeated questions. If I came with Aya-chan earlier with the team, there is possibility that they'll pester her and the team with useless questions. Worse, they'll start comparing her to me"

"Sounds pretty bad" Takinoue said.

"I've been tempted to resort to violence if this doesn't stop"

Shimada and Takinou sweated bullets "Please don't!"

"I was only joking"

"As if!!"

***

Ayame was helping out the Karasuno team while glancing from time to time. Ushijima's not the only one they have to be wary about, she knew that for a certain.

(flashback to yesterday after the second day games)

"All right, let's start the meeting!" Coach Ukai announced and gave the players a thick file of papers neatly clipped together.

Everyone sighed wearily upon seeing the amount of papers.

"Hey, I know you are tired from already playing two matches today, but you'd better listen" he told them "Tomorrow's the next match. First, I'm going to start with my honest opinion..."

He flipped a page "If the most complete team in the prefecture is Aoba Johsai, Shiratorizawa is the most incomplete team in the prefecture. Do you think so too, strategist Ayame?"

She nodded in agreement "Hai. Without a fault"

"Incomplete?" Daichi wondered.

"Do you know why we think that?" the man asked before giving emphasis to the files on his hands "That's because I looked at the file Ayame and the managers made after they found out everything they could about Shiratorizawa"

The boys were in awe in what they did and they now see the files in a new light.

"Kiyoko-san did that for me?!" both Nishinoya and Tanaka were crying tears of joy.

"No, it was for all of you" she replied, crushing their hopes. The third year manager composed herself and smiled a little "That's about all that we can do and Ayame-chan helped us a lot, so...right, Hitoka-chan?"

"Hai" Yachi shyly looked down "We wanted to be of some use to you all and with the help of Ayame-chan's sharp observation skill, we decided to help you in this way..."

"Both Shimizu-san and Hitoka-chan really helped in information finding about Shiratorizawa" Ayame smiled "Thanks to them, all of the observations and files about Shiratorizawa were filed neatly and in order so it will be easy for everyone to read it"

"Uwaaah! Thank you, Yachi-san, Ayame!!" Hinata gratefully told the girls while the setter next to him was in awe of the contents.

"This is amazing..." Yamaguchi said as he skimmed through the files "Each of the player's statistics, spiking habits, their usual plays... everything is listed in complete detail"

"Well, it is to be expected since Ayame's helping out, and she is our sharpest observer in the team" Tsukishima noted, though he is actually impressed by the work.

"It might not be the full observation since we only watched part of the games and some replays and comments from other people. We did our best on what we can find" she replied with a smile.

"You guys better not let it go to waste!" Coach Ukai told them "You'd better clean out those ears and listen!"

"HAI!"

Daichi leaned forward "Ano... so what do you mean by "incomplete team"?"

"If you'd call the attacks we and most other teams do multiplication" he started "Shiratorizawa is addition"

Ayame flipped a page of their notes "However, their addition consists of adding powerful strengths together. To get through blocks, we used speed, position differences and time as techniques to get through blocks"

"Shiratorizawa also used the difference in time, but when their receives are a bit off, or in cases where they want to score, no matter what, they set really high to their wing spikers, especially Ushijima. There's only one reason for that"

"Because they can absolutely get a point that way"

(End)

Ayame glanced at Shiratorizawa's side. Just as Ushijima spiked, she could hear the impact of the ball as it bounced up to the bleachers. She nervously bit her lower lip upon seeing the power of his spike up close.

"His power... it's different from the other players we faced before..." she thought as she focused her attention back to her teammates "Aside from that..."

Nishinoya caught her looking at him worriedly and he flashed her a grin and thumbs-up.

She faced the libero "Yuu-senpai, this might be especially hard for you, since as the libero, you frequently receive an ace's spike"

His face was serious "Yeah, I know what you mean, Ayame-chan"

"Ano... What is this about?" Hinata asked in confusion.

"Oi, dumbass, you don't know?" Kageyama raised a brow at him "Or, you haven't realized it yet?"

"Hah?"

Ayame answered to avoid another round of bickering between the two "Shoyo-kun, Ushijima-san spikes using his left hand. Receiving a spike from a left hand user is completely different to someone who spikes using the right"

"Why?"

"The ball's spin" Coach Ukai said "Spiking left handed means that the ball's spin will be completely different than the right handed ones that you guys are used to in receiving"

"Other than that, our blockers will have a hard time trying to block it because of the timing and the way you position yourself against the blockers is something you are not used to" she added, glancing to the blonde megane, who nodded in agreement.

"As if we can block a cannon like Ushiwaka"

She shook her head "The chances are low but is definitely not zero. Aside from his left hand gift, his strength is powerful as well, like what Tsukishima-kun says, he's a cannon"

Shimizu nodded in agreement "During a previous game we saw, his spike went past the blockers as if they were nothing"

"I wanted to have you guys get trained to left hand spikers but... we don't have left hand users. Even my mom has difficulty in using her left hand since she's a complete right hand user" she sighed "The only thing we can do tomorrow is to have everyone, especially the libero and blockers get used to the left hand attacks of their ace"

"That's right, Ayame-chan!" Nishinoya stood up with a grin and pointed to his self proudly "Shiratorizawa has Ushiwaka. Then, Karasuno has me"