XI.

Kei.

"Actually," After a whole while of the King being quiet and pondering hard about something, finally spoke up.

Everyone's attention shifted to him, who looked like he had finally remembered something.

"She was my schoolmate back at middle school. And she was the famous middle blocker and captain of the girls' volleyball club."

Everyone's expression morphed into bewilderment, and I've got to admit, it also grasped my attention.

"She was the captain of the girls' volleyball club at your middle school, Kageyama?! That's so cool! I'm sure she's also an awesome player!" The Shrimp exclaimed with gleaming eyes of excitement. I wanted to shut him up by gagging him with a volleyball.

"She was," Kageyama confirmed, putting a finger on his chin as if reminiscing. "I observed her for years. She had the most passion for volleyball. But I don't know how that passion suddenly burned out."

"Maybe something horrible happened to her that made her hate volleyball? An accident, maybe?" Tanaka-san theorized, making the team's attention snap to him.

It's possible, however...

"That's shallow for an excuse, Tanaka," Ukai-san interjected, placing his hands on his hips as he let out a sigh. "In regards to sports, it's inevitable for athletes to get accidents or injuries once in a while. It might have been the cause of over fatigue due to training hard. It only proves how devoted she was to volleyball." He explained which left the team speechless, staring at him with awe.

"It might have been the reason for her forcing to quit." Sawamura-san said.

"She didn't look like she was forced, though." Azumane-san remarked with a scratch of his head.

"But how did she manage to hate something she used to love so easily?" Yamaguchi asked.

"I don't think she hates it, Yamaguchi." Sugawara-san contradicted with a small smile. "I'm sure she still loves volleyball from the bottom of her heart. As much as she wants to hate it, she couldn't. And it must have been so frustrating for her."

"She's wasting her talent..." Nishinoya-san muttered with crossed arms.

That made my lips involuntarily form into a frown. That girl is so hard to figure out. She keeps on being rude, sarcastic and glaring at people all the time like she was getting paid for it. But deep inside, she's as helpless as a child.

"Don't you think so, Tsukki?" Yamaguchi asked me with a slight tilt of his head.

"How am I supposed to know? We're not even close to being friends." I just said which rewarded me a pout from him.

She loathes volleyball yet loves it at the same time. There must be a deeper reason behind such lingering emotions than what they all theorized. Chances are higher that a person had influenced her... but who is it? Mikazuki-san is a hard puzzle to piece all together because first of all, she's aloof and doesn't want to be involved with anyone. This is going to be even more complicated without digging even deeper and thinking outside the box.

But the King's next words gave me my first clue.

"She was also Oikawa-san's apprentice."

On that day when I asked her to help me finish off the strawberry shortcake she baked for me, I did something utterly oblivious to me that triggered some kind of unpleasant reaction on her. She suddenly stood up from her seat; tears sprung her eyes whilst muttering apologies which took me completely off guard. She wouldn't have shown that kind of reaction if...

If she doesn't feel something for me, isn't it? Or I did something that might have reminded her of something she tried so hard to forget.

"I DON'T LIKE HIM!" I heard Mikazuki-san exclaim with frustration laced on her tone. I was facing her back and they were still unaware of my presence.

"Who, Mikazuki-san?" I asked with a calm tone which made her slightly flinch on her spot.

"Ah, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi greeted me with an excited tone. What could they have talked about? "Where have you been?"

"A girl from another class called me." Confessed and got rejected. But I've got to admit, I have to give credits to the girls for being brave and gutsy. My eyes lingered to the girl who was still facing behind, refusing to meet me.

"Ah, I see! Another confession, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," I just said with passive tone.

"I'm so envious, Tsukki! Why don't you teach me your ways?" His sentence made me snap my attention to him and give him an 'are you kidding me?' look. He just gave me a shy smile in response. He averted his gaze and shifted it to the girl who was still facing her back at us. "Oh, Mikazuki-san, why are you facing behind us?"

Good question, Yamaguchi. I'm going to bet on your freckles that she doesn't want to see me.

"Ah, Mikazuki-san..." I called out as I feigned a tone that just remembered something. I want to see your reaction on this... I need another clue. "we have a practice match later. Would you care to watch?"

"As if I care. And I have work later..." Her confidence crumbled to the ground. Whenever she talks to me, she always builds that snide façade. But today, she didn't sound sure.

I couldn't help the faint curling of my lips. "Oh, is that so? Is work more important?"

"Do I have to choose? Of course it would be work."

"Really? Then, let me put it this way," I trailed off and watched her as she craned her neck to take a glance at me, her expression grim. "Work or me?"

She faced me in an instant, her face morphed into bewilderment. Her lips open, however, no words came out of her chapped lips. Then she closed it again, at loss for words.

The new gained information made me chuckle in delight. "I'm just joking, Mikazuki-san. Don't take everything I say seriously." My lips formed a sly smile. "But you're free to attend and cheer for me. Although I doubt you'd do that."

But putting my aside on my liking to solve this puzzle, there is also one thing that I like to do.

"Do you know why I doubt you?"

If you're the person you were used to before, you're going to cheer for the opposing team without any shame or hesitation. Because he is in there. You wouldn't even be in here if you still were.

"Because I hate you." She deadpanned which made me let out an amused chuckle once again.

"You never fail to make me smile, Mikazuki-san, maybe that's why I like you."

I like to tease you, Berry.

Her cheeks were tainted with a shade of pink in embarrassment. She vociferated through gritted teeth.

"Shut up, you jerk!"

I ignored her gushing anger. "I'd thought that you'd rather cheer for your teacher."

I'm sure an image has already popped on your mind.

"What?"

"Oh, am I wrong? You're from Kitagawa Daiichi, right?"

She squinted her eyes at me, suspicion clear in her face. "So?"

"What do you think most of the graduates from that middle school-"

You enrolled here in Karasuno because you are escaping from something. You are in pain and suffering. And you thought that coming here was your salvation and it could help you forget the pain. The thought has already crossed my mind.

Pain from what? What or who could have hurt you so badly that changed you completely?

That's why I need to take this drastic measure of bringing up the past. I need to reopen your still fresh wounds so that I'll understand.

I need to know what happened to you.

My first suspect is Oikawa Tooru.

The way he was being so chummy with her, I assume that they were once close friends. The King also stated that she didn't possess this aloof behavior before. She was rather kind and gentle, friends with everyone in her school. The 'dere-dere' type which was cringe worthy. She also aimed to attend to Aoba Johsai, obviously to follow her senpai, yet scratched the said goal and came here instead. From then on, she became a whole different person. What happened in between those events?

But what I witnessed after the practice match already answered half of my questions.

When the team had finally called it a day, Yamaguchi and I was about to head straight home when my eyes caught a glimpse of a brown-haired girl with all of her guard broken just by the mere presence of a certain someone.

When I laid my eyes on her figure, I didn't saw a sarcastic and brave girl. I saw a rather broken and fragile girl who might cry at any given minute. The way she looked at him... it was the same look she had given me when she suddenly walked out on me with tears rolling down her cheeks.

My heart skipped a beat at the memory, emitting a bitter taste at the tip of my tongue.

"Wait, Tsukki! Where are you going?" I heard Yamaguchi's confused tone calling out to me as I started walking toward them and closing the distance between me and the broken girl. My first instinct was to take her away from that guy as soon as possible.

But who was I to commit such action?

I plastered on a teasing tone. "Hey Berry," I called out and she flinched. She became jumpy even at the slightest actions. More and more theories started to form in my mind. Oikawa-san craned his neck to give us a sideway glance, his expression was deadpan, indicating that we had disturbed them. But that's the least of my concerns.

"Tsu-Tsukishima..." I heard her mumble, her eyes had a strange glint but before I could decipher it, she bit her lower lip and bowed her head, avoiding any form of contact.

"What are you still doing in here? Are you really going to ditch your work?" I asked with a smirk, feigning sarcasm.

"Oh!" Oikawa-san reacted and I badly wanted to roll my eyes at him. "why didn't you say so, Mika-chan?"

"I-I forgot..." Mikazuki-san muttered with a timid tone. What a lame excuse, Mikazuki-san. You can do better than that.

This is the first time I've ever heard her talk with a tone like that. I'd never dreamed of seeing her with a soft-spoken demeanor. As much as I wanted to record her voice and use it to tease her with, it doesn't set the intense mood right now. The tension was so thick; you can actually cut it with a knife.

"You're late for work because of me, right? Let me-"

I didn't permit him to execute his sentence for I cut him off because I know for a reason that I wouldn't like the next words that might come out of his mouth. "You don't need to. I'll do it instead."

Oikawa-san raised an eyebrow at this, staring at me intently in the eye. "Why? Are you her boyfriend or something?"

He is just like a big brother to her. I glanced at Mikazuki-san who was staring at me with a shocked face. And I think I got another piece of the puzzle in the right place.

My smirk stretched if it was still possible. I took a step forward. "What are you going to do if I am?"

"Tsukki?!" Yamaguchi exclaimed with a shocked face, his mouth ajar.

Oikawa-san's face morphed into shock for a few seconds before he masked it off with a smirk, mirroring my expression. "Really?" He asked with a challenging tone, shifting his gaze at Mikazuki-san. "Is it true, Mika-chan?"

Mikazuki-san, who was too shocked to give a coherent answer, only stuttered. "U-Um... senpai-"

"Being unable to answer directly just proves it." I silenced her, staring at Oikawa-san then back at Mikazuki-san who only gave me a look in disbelief.

After a few moments, Oikawa-san let out a small chuckle. "Okay, if you say so. I only sneaked out to go talk to you so I better get back to my teammates now." He gave Mikazuki-san a tight hug; however, I didn't see her reaction because her face was buried on his chest. She didn't return the hug. He pulled away and looked straight to me, a smile plastered on his lips but his eyes said otherwise. He started to walk forward and as he did so, he never tore his gaze away from me. "As for you, mister, you better take care of my precious kouhai. She's like a little sister to me and if you hurt her..." His smile changed into a smirk, a sinister one. When he passed by my side, he whispered the final words. "you're going to regret it."

You already did.

I only sent dagger looks to some empty space as I took note of his warning to me. I glanced at Yamaguchi who was staring at me with a worried look. I sighed and shifted my gaze at Mikazuki-san and she was also staring at me in disbelief. When our eyes met, she shook her head as if she didn't like the action I did.

I walked until I was in front of her, grabbed her wrist which took her by surprise and basically dragged her out of the school.

"Tsukki, wait!" Yamaguchi called out from behind us as I walk on the sidewalk without even a marked destination. I can hear her faint rugged breaths, a sign that she was weary due to walking with fast strides. And as I realized that, I slowed down my pace and peered over my shoulder to take a look at her, whose head was facing the floor and letting me drag her without any resistance. She was like a marionette at the moment.

My feet came into a halt in the middle of nowhere and I released my grip on her wrist, facing her with a blank look as I did so.

"What's wrong with you?" I demanded with a bothered tone. And as those words registered in her brain, she slowly tilted her head upwards; her dull and lifeless muddy brown eyes met my honey brown ones.

What she did next was the least I expected. She forced her lips to curl up to a mirth smile, but it looked sad and broken to me. A single tear rolled down her cheek and out of the blue, she fell forward and if it wasn't for my fast reflexes, she would have kissed the ground.

"Mikazuki-san!" Yamaguchi exclaimed with a panicked tone the moment I caught her in my arms, her small body felt cold and fragile to touch. "Oh, my God! She collapsed!"

I rolled my eyes. "Duh."

"We have to take her to the hospital!"

"Shut up, Yamaguchi." I snapped in irritation. His panicked state will not even help a bit in thinking a solution. "This is to be expected. She had a lot of emotional stress and it was too much for her to take it all in."

"Oh." He looked at her sympathetically.

I sighed. "She just needs to rest. Take her phone in her bag and call for her relatives." I instructed and he wasted no time in rummaging through her belongings until he shook his head. I gave the girl I'm holding a look in disbelief. Seriously? She doesn't have a cellphone? She might have lived under a rock.

"Do you know where she lives?" I asked and hopefully, he will nod his head in agreement. Unfortunately, he did the other way around.

"How about you, Tsukki?"

I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I piggyback ride her body. I adjusted her feather weight for a comfortable position. "I wouldn't ask you if I knew." I retorted sarcastically then started walking forward.

What did I put myself into?

"We just need to find a house for her to stay the night."

"How about your house? Your dad is a nurse, right?" Yamaguchi suddenly suggested with a knowing tone. He walked side by side with me and even had his finger up as he smiled at his own suggestion.

Dad might have been home for dinner by now.

I didn't bother to answer and just let out an exasperated sigh as I ruminate at his suggestion. If she stayed at Yamaguchi's, who knows what will happen. I won't be able to monitor her.

Well, it can't be helped then.