"Yuuka? What are you doing here?"

Ichima Mayu was standing in the corridor near the classroom. On her way to get her food, she met the ace of her team, head down, slow pace. She looked worried about her classmate. She rested a hand on her shoulder but she did not react. The only she did was rest her head on her friend's shoulder. She knew that reaction: something or someone hurt her feelings. She had met a lot of her crisis phases so she could somewhat guess. She wrapped an arm around the fragile girl and waited for her to speak.

"Can I come over?" her voice sounded weak. It was low and Mayu could hear how broken she seemed to be. She did not hesitate.

"Of course you can. Do you want to skip practice?" 

She shook her head. "I don't want people to get suspicious. Moreover, the tournament is coming. We need everyone to be here."

She could not argue. They could not allow themselves to miss one day right now. She gently stroked the back of the red-head to soothe her. "It's gonna be alright."

They stayed like this for a bit before moving into the classroom. They sat together and talked about various topics. Mayu was very careful about her every word and choice of subjects. She was always trying to help others but she was still strict most of the time. However, she was always careful around her best friend. She knew how fragile she was and she did not want her to break down. She knew how bad it could get and she did not want anyone concerned to go through these times again. Yuuka made so much effort to get back on track, she did not want her to go down the hill once again.

Their practice just finished and it was time to pack up and cleaned the gym. Mayu shouted out at Akane and Christianna that were messing around and not helping the others. Yuuka was calmly picking up balls before she picked up a fight with Hondashi. She sighed but let it slide for once as it would help her friend to change her mind. Ever since the day where Hondashi called Yuuka 'Yuubaka', they had been fighting now and then. The ace was still helping the first-year to improve on her jump serve and they worked fine as a team but for some reason, they kept having these little arguments. Yuuka would call her 'Honda-chan' and that would set her off. At first, Yanni seemed very shy and did not talk a lot but, as time flew, she got more comfortable around the team and she showed her true personality. She was a bit like Iwaizumi when she got angry.

"Yuu-chan!" a voice echoed in the gym. Mayu saw Yuuka stiffened when she recognized that voice. Now, she was sure who the culprit was. She turned to look at the door to see, as usual, Oikawa and Iwaizumi. She was surprised Oikawa was still there but did not question that. She walked towards them with her arms crossed and a serious face on.

"She won't be coming home with you," she notified them. Her tone was severe. She did not want him to be around because she knew it would hurt her.

They looked surprised when she told them that. "Why's that?" Oikawa asked, sounding almost disappointed.

"She's coming over. So, no need to walk her back. Now if you would excuse us, we still need to finish this."

Her replies were cold and she did not care if they made them suspicious of something. She closed the door and went back to finish packing. She saw Yuuka smiling at her and she smiled back.

"Thank you for having me," Yuuka thanked her as she sat down on Mayu's bed.

"Don't worry," she replied as she set her bag on the ground. She sat on the bed next to her and glanced at her. "Do you want to take your shower first?"

She nodded. "Only if you don't mind."

"Of course not! Let's go. I'll go ask if we can eat upstairs."

Mayu walked down to see her father. Her father nodded and she hugged him to thank him. Her siblings came running to her to ask her why she would in her room and explained that it was a girl's problem and they were not authorized to interfere in any way. They pouted but finished by accepting their sister's request. When Mayu went back to her room, Yuuka was there, drying her hair. She took her pajamas and took her shower. When she came back, dinner was set on the table and Yuuka was waiting next to it while on her phone. Mayu sat down on the pillow and took Yuuka's phone from her hand. The latter protested and tried to take it back but the blonde had time to look at her screen and see what she was looking at. It was some old screenshots and pictures from middle school about her and Oikawa. She frowned as she understood where it was going.

"He has a new girlfriend?"

Yuuka stopped moving and her look fell on the floor. She nodded after some time and spoke up. "A girl was feeding him at the infirmary and they were flirting with each other."

Mayu's frown only grew wider as she clicked her tongue in frustration. She handed back the phone and crossed her arm. "Once again, another adventure that will last a month."

"Maybe it will be serious? They looked happy together."

The captain flicked the other girl's forehead and pinched her cheeks. "You say that every time and every time it lasted a month. He can't keep a girl."

"Th-that hurtz Mawuu~"

She released her cheeks and started to eat as hunger took place. She still cursed at the brunette for hurting her teammate's feelings. "Why would you never go and tell your feelings to him?"

She blushed a bit, sadness in her eyes. "Because it's in the past. I can't make him fall in love with me after leaving him like this."

"Of course, you fucking can!" she exclaimed with her mouth full of food. Yuuka looked a bit disgusted by that but she was used to it. "The guy likes you, I swear."

"Then, why would he go out with all these girls?"

"I dunno, I'm not in his stupid head. But, especially from you told me about your sleepover, there's no way he's indifferent about you!"

"I'm sure I'm just some sort of relatives that he sees as weak and in need of protection," she sighed and hid her face in her knees.

"Stop saying you're weak!" she yelled at her while slapping the back of her head.

"Ouch! That hurts, Mayu-chan!"

"Eew! You sound alike!"

The red blushed and looked elsewhere. Suddenly, her stomach growled when the room was dead silent. They both glanced at each other before they both burst into laughter. "Thank you, Mayu." She leaned on her friend's shoulder and close her eyes.

"I'll always be here for you. But, Yuu," her tone was more serious but hesitant. She was not sure if she should say that or not. "I think... You should try to move on. Try to go out with some else."

She glanced at the ground and hummed acknowledging her statement. "I guess I have to. I can't keep clinging on him. But," she paused to look at her Polaroid stuck behind her phone. It was the four of them at Kitagawa Daichi's graduation ceremony. They were all smiling brightly, happy to finally finish middle school. "I feel like he keeps getting my hopes up. It's hard to give up on him."

Mayu nodded and pat her on the back. "Let's eat and go to sleep."

Mayu felt bad for her friend but she understood why she would feel like that. Even she believed that Oikawa was in love with her so she had a hard time understanding why he would always get a new girlfriend every time they were getting closer than just friends. It was almost as if... "He's doing it on purpose?" she whispered to herself as he realized something. That realization only made her madder than a minute ago. She could not believe he was doing something that horrible to her. She took her phone out and was ready to yell into his ears but stopped midway. She preferred doing this in private when Yuuka was not around. She sent him a text to ask him to meet tomorrow. She needed answers. She did not want this situation to keep going.

The next day.

Mayu was waiting outside. It was raining a lot today as it was the period of the year in Japan where it rained almost every day. Summer was coming soon as well so the weather was getting heavier as the day passed. She was shielding herself under the outside corridor, waiting for a certain volleyball player to show up. Soon enough, Mayu heard some steps coming from her right. When she looked up, he was there. She tried to remain as calm and serious as possible as she did not want to jump to conclusions. Oikawa looked serious as well. He was not wearing one of his smiles and did not seem as playful and carefree as usual. It was unusual for them to hang out without their other friends so they both knew it was not just for chatting. The boy leaned on the barrier next to her and stared at the rainfall. They were silent for a bit until Mayu finally decided to speak.

"So, you have a new girlfriend?"

He nodded hesitantly. "Is that why you wanted to talk to me? Are you in love with or what?" he joked to ease the atmosphere but he only received a glare from her.

"Don't say stupid things like that. It's about," she hesitated. She could not just say Yuuka's feelings towards him like that. It was not for her to say. "It's about a friend," she repeated looking down. "She told me you kept getting her hopes high but you just got yourself a girlfriend. She's really heartbroken because of you."

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, wondering who this person could be. "I can't think of anyone. Who is she?"

She shook her head and straightened herself. "It's not me who should say that. But let me tell you something. Consider people's feelings. Be more careful about your surroundings. I don't want my friends, even you, to get hurt from these situations. So, think twice as well about your feelings and don't mess around with girls just to forget other things."

Oikawa was at lost for words. He was not sure he understood the meaning of her words. Mayu sighed and took her umbrella before walking in the rain. She turned around and smiled at him. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, Oikawa. So please, don't keep her hopes up. She deserves better."

With that she walked away, leaving a confused Oikawa. The girl looked down, a bit sad that she was not able to say everything that she wanted, but it was better this way.

She walked into the changing room where all the other girls were. She hurriedly changed and, while she was still in her underwear, she felt arms surrounding her. She saw some red strings behind her shoulder when she looked back. She blushed a bit, not use to being hug like this. "Thank you, Mayun. You're the best." Ichima opened her eyes wide. She has not called her that way since middle school. She did not know she missed that until she actually heard her say it again. She smiled and turned around to hug her back.

"Anything for you, Yuyu."

"Don't call me that. You know I hate it," she pouted while still hiding her face in the crook of her neck.

She chuckled. "Don't lie to yourself. I know you're smiling."

They could not help themselves but laugh. The other girls raised their eyebrows and shrugged, not understanding the situation. "Captain, Yuubaka, we gotta go," Yanni announced as she opened the door.

"Who're you calling Yuubaka again, Honda-chan?!" Yuuka scolded her and walked outside, her indoor shoes in hand.

"There's not a lot of people called Yuubaka here so, I'll let you guess, dumbass."

"Stop trying to be like Hajime!"

The brunette blushed and smacked the back of the red's head. "S-shut up! Stupid."

They continued to argue while walking to the gym while Mayu finished dressing up. Aoi walked up to the captain while yawning. "Is everything alright, Cap'? It was a bit weird."

She nodded with a huge smile on her lips. "Yes, it is. Hopefully, it'll get better over time."

The setter did not fully understand what she was saying but let it slide and joined the other in the gym, followed closely by the captain.