"Let's go, Sawamura!" Yui yelled encouragement from the balcony. She wondered if her cheers had even reached his ears, from what she could tell he was completely engrossed in the game. Leaning her forearms onto the railing, she smiled as she watched him preparing to serve. The lean, short haired captain looked calm as he bounced the volleyball a couple times in front of him. She didn't have to see him to know he had that look in his eyes, different from his usual kind and soft gaze.

Daichi Sawamura loves volleyball. Yui has known that since the day they met.

He hits the ball with a satisfying whap!

"Hey Michimiya, shouldn't you be cheering for Karasuno, not just Sawamura?" Mao teased her lightly. The female captain choked slightly, whipping her head towards her friend. Blood rushed to her cheeks, embarrassed as if Daichi had been able to hear the conversation.

"O-of course I'm cheering for Karasuno!" she hissed defensively. "Sawamura was serving, obviously!" A smirk tugged onto Mao's lips as she hummed in reply. Yui huffed as she turned away from her friend, returning her attention to the game.

Now, her stare unconsciously gravitated towards at the athletic figure donning the "1" on the back of his jersey, regardless of where the ball was on the court. In the male domain of volleyball, his height was nothing too special. However, in the classroom he was always among the tallest. For all the years that she's known him, she has looked up to him both physically and mentally.

Behind her, she could hear some of the girls gossiping among themselves.

"Hey, hey, do you like anyone on the boy's team?"

Well, they were the women's volleyball team… of course they would be curious about the men's team. There was something exciting about doing the same sport.

Yui's ears pricked slightly as she caught Sawamura's name being mentioned a couple of times.

Tanaka roared with excitement after successfully spiking the ball to the other side of the net, celebrating loudly with the equally enthusiastic Nishinoya. Running out of patience as he watched them noisily taunt their opponent, the captain angrily yelled at them to behave. Yui giggled slightly. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd seen him do this, like a big brother scolding his younger siblings. At times, he seemed more like a father figure especially towards the first-years.

"The captain actually sounds kind of hot when he yells, doesn't he?"

Yui's face exploded in a blush as she overheard them giggling in agreement. They were totally right, of course… Sawamura was always polite in class and never made too much noise. But he had that sort of deep commanding voice that fit perfectly for a strong captain. Plus, seeing him angry was kind of a turn on...

When she was younger, she always imagined her first love would be a devilishly handsome bad boy. He would flirt, tease, and sparkle when he grinned, just like in all the manga she read. But before she knew it, she started falling for the serious and good-natured Daichi. He was definitely no flirt or tease, in fact she couldn't recall any instances where he showed much interest in romance. The only romance he clearly expressed was his love for volleyball. While he still liked to goof off with his friends, it was clear that Daichi had a level of maturity that most third years didn't have. He was never the silly, boyish cute type of boyfriend. He was more of like... husband quality, or something.

That's not to say he wasn't handsome, though. Daichi was good looking, tall, and fit. Especially since his growth spurt after middle school, it wouldn't be an overstatement to say he was attractive.

Yui rested her chin down on her arms as she leaned on the balcony railing, watching his large back breathing heavily from dashing around the court. That wasn't the main reason she liked him though. They were both captains, but to Yui she felt as though he was on a completely different league from her. Daichi was a pillar of stability. To his teammates, he was reliable, passionate, wise, and a natural-born leader. To her…

Yui closed her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Hikari-chan," the captain comforted her teammate as she cried into her hands. Her small, gentle hands soothingly rubbed her back.

"But Michimiya-san, I let you down… I let you all-"

"We're a team. We lose together, and it's no one's fault," Yui said firmly, "... The important thing is we get back up."

It was the last game of her third year in middle school. She had trained so hard for that match, only to lose both sets. Dread, frustration, and disappointment formed a lump in her throat that she struggled to swallow. Hikari-chan's eyes widened at her senpai's positivity despite hard the she had been working for this match. Through teary eyes she looked up at Michimiya, smiling empathetically down at her.

'Don't cry. You're a captain. Be strong.' she told herself.

A brief image of the boy's team captain flashed across her mind.

The next day after practice, she stayed behind to clean up. She parked the cart filled with volleyballs right in the corner of the storage room. She sighed. Finally, the captain had a moment to herself. Looking down at her shoes, she slowly lowered down onto the floor. Burying her head into her knees, she let out a muffled cry as the tears she had been holding in finally spilled. Suddenly the doors to the gym opened loudly behind her, jolting her.

'Oh, shoot! Who could it be?'

"Sorry, I'll just be a minute," the voice called out, "I just forgot something in here."

'Crap! It's Sawamura!' She knew his voice anywhere.

She hurriedly wiped her tears in a panic, grateful that she chose to sit facing away from the gym court.

"... Michimiya?" he asked, recognizing her curly brown hair. "What are you doing in there?"

"Oh, nothing," she answered weakly, painfully aware of her cracked voice, " I was just cleaning up." Upon hearing her, his eyebrows furrowed and he quickly moved towards her to confirm his suspicions.

"Are you okay?" Hearing him approaching, she quickly picked herself up off the floor and turned away as he tried to sneak a glance at her face.

"Michimiya," he repeated, more urgently. A sense of worry rang in his voice, and he instinctively reached out to grab her arm to prevent her from escaping. She couldn't help briefly meeting his gaze, exposing her tear-stained face. His eyes widened, and she slipped her arm from his grasp in embarrassment. She sniffed, wiping more of her tears that wouldn't stop coming.

Of course, Daichi had caught wind of the crushing defeat of the girl's team yesterday. He watched as she attempted to stop crying in front of him, stunned and unsure of what to do.

"... Sorry-.. I.." she hiccupped between tears, trying to clean herself up. 'This is awful. He probably thinks I'm weak… And I am.'

The tears kept forming as her thoughts spiraled into deeper negativity. 'There you go again, Yui.. Right in front of Sawamura. I feel so ashamed… As captains, I know we're supposed to be the strong ones.'

Suddenly, she felt herself being gently pulled into an embrace, long arms wrapping around her. She opened her eyes in surprise to be face to face with his white tee shirt.

"Sawa-.. Sawamura," she stammered nervously through her tears. Her body was shaking inside his unwavering hold.

"... D-.. don't mind… I didn't see anything."

Captain Daichi Sawamura respected her as a fellow captain, but was also a sweet and forgiving gentleman.

Feeling the blush growing on her cheeks, Yui suddenly perked up and slapped her cheeks.

'Geez! What am I thinking, fawning over Sawamura like that! He is my good friend, f-r-i-e-n-d!'