The Karasuno Volleyball Team held its own training camp in Tokyo so when it started to rain in the middle of their practice game with Nekoma, Nishinoya found himself walking down the memory lane as he takes a quick rest on the bench.

It was also raining when we first met. Though I've met her even before that.

During his one week suspension, Nishinoya took it upon himself to train and become stronger for the volleyball team. He would tell himself, Asahi-san and the others shouldn't just take it upon themselves. So he would do a few push-ups and sit-ups or go to a nearby open field and practice his own receives. There were also times that he would jog around the whole village and stop for a while, only to feel momentary weakness but nonetheless jog again with full determination to win.

It was an afternoon when he finished practicing his receives and it started raining so he took shelter at the manju shop (which was just a few blocks away from his house). Nishinoya didn't have a problem running in the rain all the way to his house but seeing that he's slightly drenched from the drizzle earlier, he cannot risk having a cold. I cannot be stronger if I have a cold, he thought so he waited for the rain to let up.

Unfortunately, the rain wasn't letting up anytime soon.

Nishinoya rubbed his head in slight frustration and sighed. Gramps might be worried about me.

"Nishinoya-san?" a female voice called.

He turned to see a girl, probably around his height, with long brown hair that falls around her chest and if one would look closely, she has dark round eyes which was covered by her bangs. She was also wearing the Karasuno school uniform but her skirt's longer while holding an umbrella in one hand.

"You're Nishinoya-ojiisan's grandson, right?" she guessed.

How did she—oh. She's the Akihana girl who usually chats with Gramps; the manju shop owner's daughter.

Then he remembered her parents—Akihana Mitsuba and Akihana Toshiro—the odd cross-dressing couple who were friends/drinking buddies of his grandfather from his childhood. It wasn't until primary school that he learned how to talk to them properly.

But I rarely see them here in the shop for a few months now.

"What are you doing here, Nishinoya-san? Is ojii-san not at home?" she asked.

"Gramps is at home," he replied. "I'm just letting the rain up."

There was a momentary silence and pitter-patter of water from the sky. Some parts of Nishinoya's hair were down and the girl noticed how his shoulders were slightly shivering from the cold.

"D-D-Do you want to come in? It's warmer inside," she offered, her cheeks blushing.

Nishinoya shook his head. "There's no need. I'll just wait here and run back home."

"B-But you're a volleyball club member, right? If you catch a cold here, then you won't be able to play," she pointed out. "Please come in the shop."

Since the girl was so persistent, Nishinoya had no choice but to comply. When they came in the staff room, the girl immediately turned on the heater and gave him a spare blanket to cuddle in while she was preparing tea and some snacks.

Now that she mentioned it, how does she know I'm a volleyball club member?

"Sorry for the wait," she announced, sitting beside him and placing the tray of food on the floor gently. "You can dig in."

Nishinoya gave his thanks and took the green tea manju. When he took a bite, he instantly felt relief. "It's warm and delicious."

"Thank you," she said. "I thought about making it warm since you were shivering outside."

"You always make this kind of stuff?"

"Since my childhood." She was kind of reminiscing something. "My parents loved this shop so much. So when the shop's Tokyo branch gained its popularity, they had to leave me here and run the shop on my own."

"Are you sad?"

"Not really. I miss them but they also come to visit me once a month so it's not a big deal."

Sensing that he was a little moved by her story, she added: "B-Besides I'm used to sleeping alone here so it's fine! Y-You don't need to feel worried about me."

Another silence ensued. Nishinoya finished eating his manju then drank his tea. "Hey, how did you know I'm a volleyball club member?"

The girl only looked away in embarrassment. "E-Er... I coincidentally watched your practice game in the gym once," she mumbled.

Nishinoya wasn't able to hear what she said plus she was looking away so he scooted closer and turned her face to him. "Oi! If you're talking to someone, stop mumbling and looking away."

And what he saw surprised him so hard that his heart was thumping. Behind her brown bangs was a beauty that could pass up as a reader's model. And when he pressed lightly on her cheeks, it felt soft under his fingertips.

Kiyoko-san is a goddess but this girl... she's so cute!

Nishinoya instantly released her face and apologized. "Please forgive me for harming such a cute face! I will not do it again."

"C-Cute face?" she repeated with confusion.

"But please forgive me for another thing."

"And that is?"

"I really want to squish your cheeks," he stated with a serious expression and a closed fist. "Really hard."

The girl slowly backed away in fear. "E-EH? Y-YOU CAN'T!"

Nishinoya was so determined that he kept on moving forward until her back hit the wall. "Please! Let me squish your cheeks. It makes me feel comfortable."

Noticing Nishinoya's puppy eyes and how she can't fight back from his strength, she looked like a cornered rabbit as she nodded and let him do as he pleases. But he wasn't pinching so hard so it was a relief in itself and when she saw his cheeky grin, she can't help but feel butterflies down her stomach.

"What's your name?"

"Akihana Aoi."

"Then Aoi, from now on, I'll be calling you Manju."

"W-Why?"

"Because you're warm and squishy."

Like a manju, huh?

Nishinoya's train of thought stopped when Tanaka suddenly approached him.

"Noya, is there something wrong?" he asked. "You've been staring blankly at the floor for a few minutes."

"He must be missing a certain nikuman girl," Tsukishima teased.

At the mention of nikuman, Hinata instantly whipped his attention to them. "Did someone say nikuman? I want to eat a nikuman!"

"You've eaten every single one of them last time, you dumbass!" Kageyama said, munching on one as Hinata tried to convince him to share with him.

Yamaguchi held a bag of nikuman and offered one to Nishinoya. "Nishinoya-san, here."

Nishinoya was slightly still in a trance when he took the food and ate it. The nikuman tasted like the ones Aoi brings to his grandfather.

"Where did you buy this, Daichi-san?" Nishinoya asked.

"Oh, I wasn't the one who bought it but the Nekoma team," Daichi answered. "They bought it from the near Akihana shop."

That's why it tasted so familiar, he thought as he took another bite.

Damn, I miss her.

BONUS:

After dinner, Nishinoya quickly took a bath and went outside to call Aoi. It seems that she was sleeping all alone in her house despite his protests that she stay in his house for the time being.

"Yuu-kun?"

Her voice sounds so sweet!

"Hey, Manju! You going to sleep now?"

"N-No. I still have things to do."

"Is that so? Were you busy?"

"I wasn't." There was a pause. "I'm glad that you called. I've missed you."

Nishinoya fought the urge to scream at the top of his lungs. He really wanted to kiss her so bad.

"I've missed you too. I thought about you all day."

Aoi was only silent and he guessed that she was probably feeling shy again.

When I get home, I'm gonna pinch her cheeks first before kissing her.