(Contains part of the previous episode in the beginning.)

Day 7

Yachi yawned as she was putting away a folded blanket. The female first-year had been staying up late, like Ai, to help Kageyama practice.

However, the second-year was significantly less tired than before, thanks to a relaxing night over at Akashi's house. Ai finished getting ready and visited the boys downstairs.

Shinzen's captain was out in the hallway talking to his teammate. Some of her clubmates were already famished for breakfast, but energetic after a good night's sleep.

Ai left it up to one of the guys to wake Yamaguchi and checked in with the people who were up and about. Narita and Ennoshita met her with sleepy smiles, but Nishinoya was nowhere to be seen. Kinoshita thanked Ai for the hand cream the guys had borrowed; all of those laps of flying receives were enough to make their hands calloused.

.

After breakfast, Ai left it up to Nekoma's guys to set up the net. The poles were heavy and difficult to handle without strength and height.

"Ai-san." Akaashi walked over to where Ai unfolded the metal chairs for herself and the coaches.

She looked up at his voice. "Keiji-kun?"

"We're up against Nekoma first this morning."

She nodded. "I see. I'll look forward to watching you play."

He looked at her for a moment while standing in front of her. "You seem like you've fit right in with Nekoma's team," the setter said.

Ai turned to gaze at the guys in black shirts from afar. "It's because they're so welcoming. And, you and Kōtarō-san," she added.

Akaashi smiled. "Thanks for staying late in the Third Gymnasium with us."

"I'll miss watching you play when we go back."

"We'll miss you, too." He was happy for her friendship. Akaashi was the only second-year in Fukurōdani's starting lineup, and both of his managers were third-years. It wasn't to say that he disliked being with the seniors, but with her, talking was more casual.

She returned the smile and tilted her head toward the rest of Fukurōdani. "Stretch thoroughly."

He nodded, and jogged to join his teammates to warm up with a wave.

.

The set ended with 22-25, Fukurōdani's win.

Kenma, Taketora, Kai, and Kuroo stood to the side drinking water, from the bottles Ai had prepared, as Yaku, Inuoka, and Lev studied the scoreboard. They'd already finished their penalty lap.

The libero sighed. "It's not easy to win against Fukurōdani."

"Senpai, I did a quick summary of the current scores!" Shibayama ran to them with a paper in hand.

"Thanks a lot," Kuroo answered.

"Great work, Shibayama." Kai smiled and joined the captain in looking over the results.

Ai came up from behind the first-year. Shouts from Tanaka, Asahi, and Hinata could be heard too, as Karasuno played in the background.

"He's a natural with data," she praised, patting the number 12 on the young libero's back. After learning that Shibayama was also good with notes and keeping scores, Ai had helped him make a chart tabulating the statistics so far.

According to the information, Fukurōdani's team seemed to be the strongest of the five schools, as Bokuto always said.

Fukurōdani: 50 wins, 14 losses

Nekoma: 42 wins, 22 losses

Ubugawa: 36 wins, 28 losses

Shinzen: 29 wins, 35 losses

Karasuno: 3 wins, 61 losses

"As we thought, looks like Fukurōdani's at the top," Yaku contemplated. Then, the whistle blew on the next court over, and the two liberos and Kuroo looked up. "Oh, looks like Ubugawa and Karasuno finished."

The scorekeepers from Shinzen flipped the number flap to 25-23, marking yet another one of Karasuno's losses.

"One round of flying!" Daichi yelled.

"Right!" everyone followed with dark faces.

"They have a strange dignity around them when they do their penalties." Kuroo halfheartedly chuckled.

"Including the last away games, they've been doing several times more penalties compared to any other team here. I definitely couldn't do it," Kenma stated.

Ai went to stand with them. She watched as Daichi started, then Asahi, Tanaka, and Nishinoya. "It's for their benefit. They need the practice, unlike the Generation of Miracles did at Teikō."

Karasuno didn't have a team full of indisputably talented members. Plus, it was arguable that volleyball needed more team coordination than basketball, since they couldn't hold the ball but only touch it for a moment.

Although the group of crows continued their losing streak, their exceeding share of penalties didn't go to waste. Hinata improved on his flying receives, and everyone pushed the limits to their strength and stamina.

The third-year libero noticed. "That Shorty from Karasuno had become really good in his diving drills!"

"'Shorty'? Yaku-san, your height isn't all that different from Hinata," Nekoma's tallest first-year said.

Hit with annoyance, Yaku spun for a back kick to the mouthy middle blocker. "Lev, stand over there."

"There's no saving him from that," Kuroo watched from the corner of his eye.

"I warned him before to never say anything about Yaku-san's height. What an idiot," Taketora muttered.

Once Yaku had expelled some of his anger, he turned to Ai. "I guess you're already used to being around these tall giants, huh?"

The manager shrugged. "I've spent a fair amount of time with a two-meter titan."

"Two-meter?"

"Yes. Most of my old basketball team were about 190cm or more."

"190?" the third-year repeated. "Those are some tall guys."

Inuoka was surprised. "Wow! I'm only 187cm!"

She looked up at him and patted Inuoka's arm above his elbow. "I think that's plenty tall, Sō."

"Was your boyfriend one of the basketball players?" Yaku asked.

"Yes." Ai thought back to the fond memories of being in the same club together at Teikō. Her fingertips fluttered to her necklace like an unconscious habit. "They were victorious, but they weren't perfect. Still, I wish I could manage them again." Just to be with him again.

.

The managers were informed that preparing lunch wouldn't be necessary. The food and supplies would be delivered to the school around noon.

It was common knowledge to the coaches and teachers, but it seemed that the boys didn't know about the barbecue. The itinerary had simply said "mealtime", so the four crows were elated to hear about the special meal from Daichi. They danced and sang, freaking out Sarukui, Komi, and Konoha who witnessed the bizarre ritual-like praises toward meat.

As Karasuno continued to have a water break, Hinata told Kageyama that he wanted to hit the falling toss soon. Everyone looked at the two with worry. However, the middle blocker's partner told him not to be impatient. As long as Kageyama was missing the tosses, it wouldn't be any practice for Hinata.

People could change at any time. Ai knew that well. So, while Yachi was consternated by the setter's change in thinking, Ai wasn't as surprised.

Before, the setter would have told him that Hinata's will was unnecessary for the fast attack, that he'd put up a toss that wouldn't get caught by all the blockers.

Now, Kageyama respected Hinata's opinion in attempting a quick attack where he could fight in the air, unlike in the previous version. Furthermore, Hinata believed that Kageyama could achieve that perfect toss. That was why he got mad in that match with Nekoma. He firmly believed that Kageyama would master the toss, but Kageyama had hesitated for a moment. Although Hinata and Tsukishima called Kageyama the King of the Court, today, Hinata looked like he was the one with the crown, commanding, 'I demand a perfect toss from thee'.

Kageyama's development was marvelous, and wasn't in the slightest inferior to Hinata's growth.

She walked over to the team of yellow jerseys on their break. "How is everyone? I haven't been able to check in much except for at night and in the morning."

Asahi, Sugawara, and Nishinoya sat in a triangle, and she kneeled on the floor to join them.

"That's alright. You've been busy," Sugawara justified on her behalf.

"Yeah! And, we're having barbecue for lunch today!" the libero added.

"I heard." She chuckled with the ace. "And you, Asahi-san?"

"Doing great. Thanks, Ai," he replied in his laidback tone.

Ennoshita held a towel as he stood next to Daichi. "Having two managers isn't that bad. Besides, you come back to help when you have time."

Yamaguchi nodded in agreement, yellow bottle in hand.

"Well, I guess we can let Tora see what it's like to have a female manager," Tanaka bragged.

"I don't think Taketora-kun expected to get such a meddlesome manager." She glanced at Nekoma's team, also currently on a break before their next matchup. "But, I can see why you two get along. He's a wonderful person."

"We'll have to claim you back once this camp's over," Daichi said with his hands on his hips. She knew he shared a captain's rivalry with Kuroo.

Ai smiled at her team. "That's reassuring."

.

Nekoma played against Ubugawa, next to Karasuno and Fukurōdani. It was their last set of the one-week training camp.

As she kept her eyes on Nekoma's match, the gears seemed to be aligning on the next court over. Each person had improved on their special skills and was about to score a deuce with the powerhouse of owls. However, despite Bokuto's emo mode, Fukurōdani was better at supporting their ace than Karasuno taking another point from them. The set ended with 25-23.

Beside the revolutionary events of her team, Ai watched the game in front of her with a pencil in hand when someone from Shinzen shouted.

"Hey, look! A dog!"

"What? Where?"

"It's wearing a uniform!"

"Where's it going?!"

The small black and white dog wearing a Seirin uniform instead of a collar ran through the gymnasium. He came up next to the chair Ai was sitting on and barked at her for attention.

"Arf, arf!"

She kept her eyes on the players as she answered him. "I'll be with you in a minute."

"Is that your dog, Akatsuki-san?" Coach Naoi asked.

"Not exactly," she answered halfheartedly.

"Hey, Ryu! Ai has a dog!" her libero yelled from his side of the court.

"Woah!"

The smart puppy with baby blue eyes sat and watched the rest of the set with her, being obedient and patient. When Nekoma won and she finished her last notes, Ai placed her stationery on the floor and picked him up. "Hello, Nigou. It's been so long."

He woofed a reply and licked her hand.

She placed him on her lap as the team of cats, all except Inuoka, Shibayama, and Kuroo, glanced at her with disapproving looks. "Where is Kuroko-kun?"

Seeming to understand her words, he leaped off and ran back out the door. Ai excused herself and started to follow when she heard their voices.

"Nigou, please don't run off like that. We searched for you."

"We should get a damn leash!"

"It's fine! Is Ai-cchi here?" The source of the question poked his head in the doorway. "Hey!" Kise grinned.

"Ryota-kun." She smiled brightly.

"Ai-cchi! Have you gotten prettier since the last time I saw you?" He grinned happily and went to hug her.

Tanaka and Nishinoya seethed at the intruding stranger.

"You're just as good-looking. I hope your modeling job has been going well." She returned his hug. "I've been seeing you more on the cover pages of magazines lately."

He grinned. "It's been great, thanks!"

"Akatsuki-san, hello."

"Volleyball, huh? Why not basketball?"

Kuroko and Kagami entered next, with the shadow holding his lookalike.

Ai nodded to them as only one of them smiled softly. "Hello, Kuroko-kun, Taiga."

"Momo-cchi gave me the address, so we came early!" Kise explained.

"I see." She smiled genuinely. "Thank you for coming. I'll be out in a minute." Ai spoke to the coaches of both teams about stepping outside for a minute, then invited her three human and one canine visitors to the back slope.

Reference:

Inuoka's name has the word for "dog" (inu) in it. Shibayama has "shiba", which is a breed of dog. Kuroo just outright says he likes dogs better, while Yaku prefers cats.

Author's Note:

Don't forget to let me know your favorite characters so I can write about them! If you already have, feel free to remind me again or leave me some ideas for scenarios!

(I know one of the first requests I got were for Aone and Mitobe, and I am so sorry for not getting a chance to write more about them! I'll do my best to add them as the story progresses!! I did manage to squeeze Tendō in though, so stay tuned... I'll have to think about Suna, but I have a tiny idea for Sakusa!)

Thank you!!

Total Word Count: 2255