The timeline is going to be weird when I start adding birthdays again... Bear with me!

(The specific dates are listed at the end of 2.14 part one!)

(October 6)

From October 6th to the 7th, the Karasuno team went back to Tokyo for their last training camp before Qualifiers. They took advantage of the three-day weekend; the 8th was the second Monday of October, which was the national holiday of Sports Day.

Ai also kept in mind that Nishinoya's birthday was coming up soon on Wednesday. She wouldn't miss it for the world.

.

At Shinzen High School, the crows and cats were neck-to-neck. It was their second set, and there was a deuce at 24-25.

Yachi stood by to change Karasuno's score and Kiyoko flipped Nekoma's points on the right. Ai was sitting with Coach Nekomata again, as it was routine now, while Coach Naoi stood with the whistle as the referee. Sometimes, Karasuno would be bitter about it, but she made time to manage both teams.

"Front, up front!" Asahi yelled.

Daichi covered for it, and Tanaka bumped the ball to the orange-haired first-year.

Hinata saw the blocks, even without Kageyama's toss, and spiked over Kenma's head. Unfortunately, it flew out of bounds, as Yaku called it.

Ai blew out a breath. The teams ended with a final score of 26-24. It was the last game of the day.

Kuroo sighed and walked up to a staring Kenma. The third-year smirked. "Whew. At long last, we can't let our guard down around them."

"Yeah..."

"I hope you don't mean that you were going easy on Karasuno until now, Kuro," Ai said, handing them towels.

"Thanks," Kenma mumbled while the captain retorted.

"Maybe a little," he teased.

She giggled. "Sure," Ai agreed sarcastically.

As they were cleaning up, Hinata sneezed from the autumn cold; the temperatures weren't as low in Tokyo as the northern prefectures, but the gymnasium wasn't equipped with heat insulation.

Taketora finished his yellow water bottle, and Ai walked up to him after rolling the ball cart out of the storage room.

"I'll take that for you, Taketora-kun." She held out a hand.

The tiger head looked startled. "Huh-!? Uh- oh-, I- uh... T-thank you..!!!" He shot both arms out straight, shaking with nerves as he respectfully gave it to her.

She smiled and tapped him above his elbow with her other hand. He was a little taller than Daichi, she noticed, and had strong muscles that were evidence of his weight training. "Good work today. Nekoma must be proud to call you their ace."

Taketora tried his best to think of a response, but he was a stuttering mess.

Ai made a pursed smile. He'll get used to it, she thought to herself. Hopefully, by the end of the year, he'll stop becoming so flustered whenever she spoke to him.

In the same gymnasium, Kenma was having a conversation with Hinata as they picked up red, white, and green volleyballs.

"Shōyō, you're amusing, so I might want to play a game that's not a practice match against you." He looked at the first-year with his golden cat-eyes. "A game where losing immediately means game over."

Hinata grinned determinedly. "Let's do it. A match where there is no rematch."

It was exciting to imagine them at nationals; the Battle at the Garbage Dump. The two captains promised to meet at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium while standing back and watching Hinata and Kenma talk about a game with no rematch.

Hearing Ai's voice from behind, Kenma turned around. The setter stared at the manager talking to Taketora, his teammate. She wore her black Karasuno jacket with white lettering, partially because she didn't have a red Nekoma jacket to borrow.

"I wonder who's side she'll choose then."

"Huh?"

"What do you think of Ai, Shōyō?"

"U-um..." He glanced in her direction before becoming embarrassed, as he remembered all of his past interactions with her. "S-she's really pretty and really nice,'' he said, blushing and stating the obvious.

Kenma nearly rolled his eyes at the response. "I know that," he said exasperatedly. "But what do you think of your relationship with her?"

It was supposed to be an analytical question, but the middle blocker didn't get it. "I-I'm not...! S-she's... It's... We're just friends! ...I think," he stammered out.

Kenma hummed. "I guess she's on Karasuno's side of the bench, at the end of the day."

The first-year calmed down a bit and thought more rationally. "I-I guess she seems really close to all the second-years. I think Noya-san said that Ai-senpai and Ennoshita-san and Narita-san are in the same class." Hinata tilted his head. "But isn't she best friends with you since you're a second-year, too?"

Kenma thought for a while before shrugging. A hint of a small smile crossed his lips. "Yeah."

On the sides of the court, Tanaka reeled down the net on one end while Yamaguchi took the other. Asahi stood next to the other left wing spiker.

Ai went to them after leaving Taketora to cool down. "Amazing job again today, Asahi-san."

"Thanks," the ace said, giving in to her high five.

"You too, Ryu." She held up her hand to him as well.

"Hell yeah," he slapped with more force. Tanaka knew it wouldn't hurt her and felt more comfortable than Asahi at least, to use more strength.

They folded the net, and the guys carried the heavy, metal poles to the equipment room.

"Oh, by the way, Sawamura," Kuroo said to Karasuno's captain when she wandered over to them, "I'm going to steal one of your managers for a sec."

"Yeah," he replied, already knowing which one of the three he was talking about. "As long as you give her back," Daichi smirked.

"No promises," Kuroo smirked back.

Ai tugged on his red jacket sleeve to drag him away. "Let's go, Kuro." She glanced behind herself with a smile. "I'll be back, Sawamura-senpai."

Daichi smiled too, trusting her to return after dealing with the attention-seeking cats.

.

Being the night before their departure, Kuroo took a seat on the floor next to her as she finished summarizing her thoughts in her usual notebooks. He made it look as if they were going over her notes together, but he watched her write rather than reading them.

"Hey, Chii."

She hummed in response. "What is it, Kuro?"

He lifted his dominant hand and took a sip from his water bottle, while his left arm rested on top of his bent knee. He sighed and placed the water bottle on the floor. "Never mind."

She was about to ask him what was wrong, but Kuroo leaned into her shoulder instead. She smiled softly. "What is it with you, Kuro?" she whispered.

They'd sat together leaning against each other, whilst everyone else minded their own business in Shinzen's First Gymnasium. He didn't say anything in particular as they spent ten more minutes in the emptying gymnasium as the students left. However, she sensed there was something more than just being with her for a fleeting moment before their weekend overnight was over, before he would lose her again when she returned to Miyagi.

.

After sitting with her childhood friend for some time, Ai went outside to be in the night air. She was leaning against the side of the gymnasium, feeling the cool breeze on her skin. She isolated herself to be alone with her thoughts and listened to crickets and the voices that she could now identify in a heartbeat. Bokuto was telling Tsukishima to beat Ushijima and come to Tokyo, only so that he could beat him in turn, resulting in his "over-overwhelming victory against Ushiwaka". His fun laughter traveled her way as the Fukurōdani players came closer to where she stood.

A part of her hoped that they wouldn't see her in the darkness, and she pondered moving to hide in the shadows. However, Akaashi was keen and saw her before she had the chance.

"Hey, Ai-san," he greeted. His voice was always kind, but also strong. It was how he led the team as vice-captain while supporting the captain. His blunt remarks could also keep Bokuto in check.

Ai looked up at them. "Hello, Keiji-kun, Kōtarō-san." Her words were soft and barely audible.

Bokuto noticed her, too. "Hey, hey, hey! Whatcha doing there, Ai-chan?"

"Nothing, just relaxing." She gave them a small smile.

"We're on our way to dinner. Do you want to come with us?" the setter invited.

"Yeah! Let's eat together, Ai-chan!" Bokuto said energetically.

She nodded a little. "I'll be there in a bit."

Akaashi caught on to her listlessness and told his companion to go ahead without him.

Becoming free of his babysitter, Bokuto shrugged and ran inside for a warm meal and a nice shower before bed.

Akaashi turned to her. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine, Keiji-kun. Thank you. You should go on with him," she encouraged, not wanting to impose.

He wasn't convinced. Akaashi carefully grabbed her wrist, as if he was trying not to scare her away with sudden movements, and pulled her into a hug. He held her close, reassuringly.

Hesitantly, and honestly a bit confused, she hugged him back. "Keiji-kun?"

"It's alright," was all he said as he held her modestly around her back.

She bit her lip at the emotions overflowing inside of her. Somehow, he saw the pain in which she unconsciously suffered, as he read into people and their characteristics. Now that they've known each other for about three months, Akaashi was starting to understand her personality, too.

They stood in each other's arms for minutes. He rubbed her back to fight the autumn cold while she pressed her cheek against his chest, feeling his support. When Akaashi stood up straight, he was even taller than Kageyama.

Ai felt herself relax in his embrace, and her nerves settled. She listened to his calm breathing and heard footsteps. Her closed eyelids were heavy and didn't open until she was spoken to.

"Ai? What are you doing out here so late?" Nishinoya's voice sounded.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she woke herself up from the trance. She turned her face to him but didn't move away otherwise. "Yū," she voiced.

"Good." Akaashi gave her one last squeeze and rubbed her back again before handing her over to her teammate. "Will you take her back inside?"

"Yeah," the second-year libero replied with a little suspicion.

Akaashi smiled and patted her head before walking past them to the school building.

"Fukurōdani's setter?" Nishinoya asked once he was out of earshot.

She nodded and hugged her new, shorter chaperone around his neck, mostly for the missing warmth. It was a bit hard to believe that the three of them were the same age. They walked back to the cafeteria, with him holding her hand. She helped wash the dishes and did her weekend homework before going to bed.

———

Before Karasuno left Shinzen the next day, everyone from Nekoma wished her luck and told her to visit again. Bokuto and Akaashi did the same, too.

It warmed her heart that they all cared so much about her, and she gave them all hugs.

The schools from Tokyo waved goodbye to their rivals, expecting to win their respective representative qualifier tournaments and see each other at Nationals the next time they meet.

———

In Miyagi

On the days leading up to the tournament, Tsukishima continued to attend his brother's practice at night, where he learned to think strategically. His intelligence and rational mind shined through in those moments, and he utilized his height and new blocking advice to finally stop Akaizawa's spike.

.

Back at their Second Gymnasium at school, Kageyama and Hinata didn't want to stop practicing. They wanted to keep training, even as Daichi called to wrap things up so that it wouldn't affect their match tomorrow.

The captain sighed at them while Sugawara watched from the stage. Ai was standing to the side with Tanaka, reaching up and massaging his shoulders to help improve his flexibility.

A little help from Yachi curbed Hinata's desire to keep hitting spikes, and the two boys competed to pick up the most balls.

———

October 25

The qualifiers were at the end of October. They rode the borrowed school bus to Sendai City Gymnasium. The last time they were there was when they defeated Tokonami and Date Tech but lost against Seijoh. Finally, their chance at revenge.

When they arrived, Hinata bumped into Johzenji's second-year captain, the same person who'd tried to get Ai and Kiyoko's phone number.

He waved over to the beautiful managers, and Nishinoya and Tanaka reacted. The two jumped to attack him with seethed teeth, sharp nails, and demon red eyes, but they froze midair upon seeing a female manager in yellow.

All of the top sixteen powerful schools of the prefecture were here, in this very gymnasium. Date Tech, Johzenji, Wakunan, Araigawa, Aoba Johsai, and Shiratorizawa, to name a few.

The team walked inside, and Ai thanked Nishinoya for his defense. He'd formed a puzzling relationship of trust with Akashi that summer in Saitama. Akashi had strangely approved of and appointed him as her guardian of a sort.

.

Hinata went to the bathroom by himself again. The first-year knew that it was a place where he could run into dangerous people; Kageyama at the middle school tournament, Lev at training camp, Towada at the preliminaries two months ago, and Kageyama and Kindaichi back in May after a practice match at Seijoh High.

He knew he had to be careful. Still, he became surrounded by his darkest adversaries.

.

After claiming a spot and setting their things down, Ai went and found one of her first-years, none other than Hinata Shōyō, in front of the men's bathroom, sandwiched between Oikawa and Iwaizumi on one side and Ushijima on the other. Soon after, Aone from Date Tech came as well.

It was a sight to see.

Ai breathed out a sigh. "Shōyō. What are you doing?"

Everyone, including the spectators around them, turned to her. Whispers spread, the subject changing from the idiotic provocation of Karasuno against the powerhouses of Miyagi to the gorgeous stranger in the matching black jacket.

"A-Ai-senpai," Hinata stuttered.

"Ah! Ai-chan!" Oikawa beamed. "Hey!"

Ushijima's face was stern. "Akatsuki Ai, from Teikō."

"Teikō?" The Great King and Seijoh's ace both asked.

"I'm flattered that you remembered, Ushijima-san. But, it's Karasuno now." She stepped up to them, placing Iwaizumi between herself and his flirtatious friend. She smiled kindly at Date Tech's proud Iron Wall of a middle blocker. "Hello, Takanobu-kun."

Aone nodded silently, keeping his exterior stern expression.

"I apologize on behalf of my crow if he's done anything of harm." She placed her hands on Hinata's shoulders and glanced at the people around her. "May we meet again on the court, Ushijima-san, Iwaizumi-san, Tōru-san."

The unyielding look in her fuchsia eyes diffused the tension, and the feared ace of Shiratorizawa left with parting words.

"It doesn't matter who it is. We'll gladly accept your challenge."

Oikawa started to walk away as well, grumbling angrily.

His vice-captain was about to follow, but he stopped as if remembering something. "Uh, Akatsuki, is it? Sorry about that guy. He's usually like that," he explained.

Ai smiled at Iwaizumi looking out for his longtime friend and at his thoughtful manners. "Please, don't worry about it, Iwaizumi-san. I understand."

He smiled back timidly with a red blush. "Th-thanks for the birthday message. And, it's Hajime to you."

"Of course, Hajime-san." She smiled and bowed gracefully as the two went back to the rest of their Aoba Johsai team.

Next to her, after the commotion, Aone also bowed respectfully to Hinata, which the first-year hurriedly returned. It was heartwarming to see their honorable relationship, and Hinata was polite and respectful of his seniors.

Aone turned to Ai next, feeling guilty for looking down at her, and offered one of his large hands. Just because she was smaller than him, it didn't change the fact that they were equals, being the same age and all.

Ai took his extension of friendship and shook his hand with both of hers.

He was surprised that she wasn't afraid of a big guy like him and was slightly relieved by it. But then again, he didn't know her background.

Aone looked forward to when Date Tech would be matched with Karasuno, so he could play against Hinata again.

But for now, their first enemy was Johzenji High.

Author's Note:

Maybe I'm just too nitpicky, but the October calendar in the anime says "Tokyo Training Camp". I thought that it meant Karasuno was going to the Nekoma campus at first, ...until it showed the scenery of Shinzen High School. (I had a whole scene planned out for it, too! :( I guess I'll just add it somewhere else...)

Shinzen is not in Tokyo; it's in Saitama Prefecture. They're both in the Kantō region, but Nekoma and Fukurōdani (and Itachiyama and Nohebi, if I might add) are the schools in Tokyo.

???

Maybe Takeda-sensei wrote it wrong on the calendar...

Extra:

I came across a website through Tumblr that makes visuals for height /en/

Extra:

Haikyuu!! x Sea Breeze Collaboration Event

https/storybrook-and-fruitsbaskets./post/662357469367058432/another-haikyuu-collaboration-event

Total Word Count: 2957