Chapter Three: The Formidable Ally

SAKURA SETTLED HERSELF ON THE GROUND BESIDE the scorekeeper with her camera ready. It's not an official game or anything, but she still wanted to take some pictures of the boys. Might as well as practice taking some pictures for the team, right? So while the guys set up for their match, she got comfy on the ground next to Suga.

The door opened once again, and the stunning third-year manager walked through the door, "Good morning, everybody."

Ennoshita greeted her like a normal person should, "Hello there."

Yet the resident idiot did not. "You're looking as beautiful as ever my dearest Kiyoko!" Tanaka shouted at her like a mad man, only for her to ignore him like usual. Still, despite the girl not doing anything, he still shivered at even being in the same room as her. "Aw, yeah being ignored."

Sakura looked up at the older girl with a blank expression as the black-haired beauty walked over towards the scoreboard. "Oh, morning Kiyoko-senpai." 

"Hello, Hinata-chan." She said, "I didn't think you would be here."

Sakura shrugged her thin shoulders and pursed her lips, "Well, nii-san had forced me to wake up early for his practices all week. I want to see how those practices have helped him improve."

"Hey, Kiyoko!" Endo suddenly greeted the manager with a charming smile as he bounded over to the two. 

"Hello, Endo," She replied back in aloof voice and then moved away to get ready for the match, effectively ignoring Endo as he approached. Though, unlike Tanaka, her ignorance didn't affect him. He was neither enchanted nor upset that she walked away from him. At least he wasn't as perverted as Tanaka, Sakura thought. The blond looked down at her with a sly smile, "ready to see how well your brother and Kageyama fair in this game, Hinata-chan?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched at the fact that he called her 'hinata-chan', but she disregarded it for the time being, "I guess."

Endo tilted his head curiously, "aren't you worried about him? He just might lose this match, you know."

She shrugged her shoulders and glanced up at him from the corner of her eyes, "I don't care if he wins or loses. He won't be punished if they do lose, which is all I care about."

Endo eyed the bored girl for a moment and contemplated her reaction. You would think that she would want to see her brother actually win this game. Yet here she was, perfectly content with either outcome. If it were him, Endo would probably be cheering his heart out for his sibling. Then again, he and Sakura didn't really have the same personality, so he wasn't sure what she would do at this match. He could understand her logic about Hinata-kun not being punished if he did lose the game. There wasn't much on the line for the kid besides maybe his pride, and suffering through the humiliation that came with losing a game. Though if she really did care for her brother, wouldn't she want him to win? Isn't that what a sibling is supposed to do? He wouldn't know.

Before he could say anything else to her, his captain grabbed everyone's attention. "Alright, let's get started." Daichi took charge to start the match, "I'll play on Tsukishima's team to make it three-on-three."

Shōyō jumped up with confusion painting his face, "Huh!? Is that fair though?"

The captain chuckled, "Look don't worry, of course, it is. Tanaka has got a lot more attack power than me. I won't go easy on you though."

"Aww, but Daichiiii," Endo whined while leaning against the captain with faux tears running down his face. "I wanted to play against the troublesome duo!"

Hinata and Kageyama bristled and shouted out in annoyance at being called the 'troublesome duo'. Though he wasn't wrong. Daichi sighed loudly and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Endo, shut it!" You would think that he would be used to the third-years' antics, but Endo could always be a nuisance when he needed to be.

The blond boy gasped dramatically and pretended to cry into his arm. "You're so mean, captain!"

Tsukishima eyed the strange interaction before clearing his throat and pretending to whisper to Daichi, though he made sure the others could hear him. "Well, ahem, the buzzcut or the shorty, who to crush. I mean, challenge first. So hard to choose, but I do know I want to save his highness for last."

"Uh, Tsukki," Yamaguchi walked over and whispered to his best friend with urgent hesitancy. "They can hear you. Be careful."

"I know genius, I want them to hear me." He rolled his eyes at his best friend, he spoke louder for the others to hear once again. "I can't wait to watch the king fall apart out there."

"Well now," Daichi chuckled, "you've got quite a personality there don't you?"

Sakura scoffed from the sidelines and made sure that the beanpole could hear her, "Yeah, a terrible one." Endo snickered into his hand at her comment as he walked towards the others, finished with his dramatic act. Her words had earned her the pleasure of being on the receiving end of the blond's narrow-eyed glare. She didn't mind it though, she just ignored the burning stare as she lazily leaned on her arms.

Tsukishima's glare hadn't let up on the unaffected girl as he continued to speak, "It'll have to be a pretty great show to top watching him get abandoned by all his loyal subjects last year."

Kageyama's fist clenched at the jabs about his past. While they may be true, he didn't like being reminded of it. After all, it was one of his lowest points as a volleyball player.

"Well, well," Tanaka sang as he walked over to the troublesome duo with a sweet smile. "Did you hear that you guys, they're talking trash now. That jerk better step off..." He then turned around with a menacing expression, "OR HE'S DEAD MEAT!"

"Suga-senpai," Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and looked up at the vice-captain who turned to look at her. "Please tell me he isn't always like this."

The upperclassman sighed, "I'm afraid he is." All she did was groan in displeasure. 

The game started with Shōyō, Kageyama, and Tanaka against Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Daichi. Sakura honestly didn't care who won this match, despite saying that Tsukishima was going to lose earlier. Sure it would be nice for her brother to win, but if they did lose nothing would really happen to Shōyō. His pride might end up being wounded, but she knew that he would bounce back eventually. The only one who was really at risk was Kageyama, who would not be allowed to be a setter. So she didn't care. Though it would be nice to see Tsukishima's ass handed to him. That would definitely be entertaining.

A few points had already been scored, and at the moment, Kageyama had just set a spike for Tanaka. The second-year easily broke through Tsukishima's block. "YEEAAAAH!! WHOOOHOO!!" Tanaka shouted at his scored point and pulled off his shirt to spin around like it was a lasso. 

"Put your shirt on!" Suga shouted at him with annoyance lacing his words.

Ennoshita rolled his eyes, "Yeah, calm down." 

"Nobody wants to see that," Kinoshita said.

Endo shook his head, "It wasn't even that impressive!"

Sakura just pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed loudly. God these guys are annoying, she thought. The match continued on with Daichi serving the next ball.

"Front!" Kageyama called.

Tanaka moved to receive the ball confidently, "Got it!"

"Hinata!"

An excited expression blossomed on the short teens face. His first real spike in a high school game! How awesome!!! He couldn't wait to feel the satisfaction of hitting the ball over the net, scoring his first point in a real game. Shōyō jumped up, more than ready to spike the ball, to the surprise of everyone in the room. Seeing a small teen like him able to jump at least a few feet in the air was amazing. Even Kiyoko was stunned by the sight right in front of her. Sakura though was unfazed, as she has seen it a million times before. Though just as Shōyō tried to get it over the net, the extremely tall Tsukishima was there to make a perfect kill.

Shock flooded Shōyō's body as he realized that this was just like middle school. Another wall to block him and keep him from scoring. His twin clicked her tongue. She expected that it would be blocked at some point. After all, you can't really do much against someone as tall as Tsukishima. He's a giant.

"You took me by surprise before," Tsukishima said smugly as his glasses gleamed slightly in the light, "you've got a really nice jump there. Now if only you were about a foot taller you would be a real superstar. Better start taking your vitamins."

On the sidelines, Sakura scowled harshly at the boy. She usually isn't one for showing her emotions, at least externally, but when someone constantly berates her brother, she was definitely going to show her displeasure. What was with this guy and hating on just about everyone? That sadistic bastard certainly got a kick out of it, which Sakura was ashamed to say that she was just about the same. As if knowing what she was thinking, Tsukishima smugly smiled at her as well. Seemingly figuring out that he could get to her by speaking like this to her twin. It almost seemed to amuse him, even more, seeing that he had riled up the other twin, even if it was just a twitch of her brow and a deep frown.

"Whatever, one more. I got this one for sure." Shōyō said in determination before the game continued. He was set a few more spikes, but each time they were blocked by the same smug beanpole. Things certainly weren't going as Shōyō had hoped.

"Blocked again," Suga said, dejected.

Ennoshita nodded his head, "How many times is that?"

"Tanaka's getting a lot through though," Kinoshita said, trying to lighten up the mood.

Though Sakura, ever the Debby-downer, shrugged her shoulders, "the only way they'd actually win is if nii-san is able to get his spikes through. You can't really win a game with only one spiker breaking through blocks."

"Wow," Endo said and leaned on the top of Sakura's head, to her annoyance, "you're quite the pessimist aren't you, Hinata-chan."

"Don't touch me, baka!" She shouted and pushed the poor third-year away, who ended up falling to the ground on his face.

Back on the courts, Tsukishima taunted Kageyama, who did his best to ignore the blond. "You better snap out of it buddy, or you're going to keep getting blocked." Kageyama made sure to keep is back to the giant, not willing to reveal that he was bothered by the jabs. "Why don't you give them one of your royal sets, the kind that wipes out your opponent and your teammates at the same time."

The dark-haired setter flinched a little at the reminder but made sure not to show any other indications that he was affected by those words. "Shut your mouth."

The boys set up for the next service to be made, which Daich called out, "Your serve, Tadashi."

The meek boy took his spot for the serve and hit it... only to have it fall short and hit the net. "Oops," the freckled boy sheepishly said while tubbing the back of his head. "Sorry Tsukki." Endo snickered at the poor boy's misfortune.

"Shake it off," the captain encouraged while Kageyama got ready to serve the ball this time. His jump serve was quite impressive, just like Suga had seen from a few days ago. Sakura had made sure to get at least one shot of him in mid-air. She may not totally like the guy, but he did make a good subject for photos. 

He aimed his serve for Daichi, thinking that he might be weak at receives, but found out that their captain can easily make it. Caught off guard by that fact, Tsukishima was easily able to set the ball for Tadashi who spiked it over the net. Shōyō wasn't ready to receive it, so it just hit off of him and out of bounds.

Tanaka walked over to Kageyama, "Steady receives like that are Daichi's specialty. They got mad defense."

"Did you think I would be a weak spot?" The captain asked the first-year with a raised eyebrow. "I may not have as much raw talent as you, but I've been training on receives a lot longer than you have. You won't break through that easily."

Okay, even Sakura had to admit, Daichi sounded cool.

"Your grace, shouldn't you be taking this seriously?" Once again, Tsukishima took the time to call out Kageyama.

Endo did his best to hide his small smile. The sight of drama was something that he lived for! Seeing this, gave him such good entertainment. It would be even better if he could interject himself into it. Causing drama and being involved with it was what he thrived on. Though there was no way he'd really get to get in on the action. This was just between the first-years and whatever beef they have with each other.

Shōyō walked up to the net and glared at Tsukishima, "Dude, what's the matter with you? Why do you have to keep picking on the guy? Chill out with the frickin nickname."

"What for?" The blond scoffed, "Don't you know why everybody started calling him the "King of the Court"?"

The ball of sunshine furrowed his eyebrows. "I just thought his enemies called him that because he's a really good player and well everybody so afraid of him."

Tsukishima laughed at his stupidity and naivety, "That's a common misunderstanding but it's just not true. Well, if the rumors are to be believed then his nickname, "King of the Court", was given to him by the other players of Kitagawa First. Yeah, that's right by his own teammates. The truth is they were not paying him a compliment but calling him a tyrant." Endo was eating all of this up, if only he had some popcorn. "I've been hearing about it for a long time, but now that I've seen him play, I'm convinced. He got benched at the finals because he was a domineering, power-tripping, dictator. That's why you won't try a quick attack, you're shaken up by what happened that day."

There was a short moment of silence as everyone took that it. They knew that Kageyama could be full of himself and abrasive to others when they played, but they didn't really think it was that bad. Meanwhile, Kageyama was remembering that faithful game. How he snapped at his team and ended up with a mutiny at match point for their opponents. Being put on the bench was probably the worst feeling for anyone, especially someone as passionate about volleyball like him.

"Wow," Sakura spoke up and couldn't help the humorless chuckle pass her lips. Tsukishima glanced at her from the corner of his eye, with his smug smirk still on his lips. She must be surprised by the truth, which is understandable. The orange-haired girl didn't seem smart enough to realize the truth. Though she just flashed him a fake smile with annoyance shining in her eyes. "I didn't think anyone could be a bigger jerk than Kageyama. Congrats." Tsukishima glared heatedly before he scoffed at her. Of course, she didn't see the point of what he was saying. She really was just as idiotic as her brother.

"You know what," Tanaka said approaching the net to glare at the bully, "I've had enough of your smarmy ass-"

"Tanaka." Daichi reprimanded him, which only made the second-year pout slightly.

"Well, why bother setting if there's no one there to spike it?"

"You're right," Kageyama started solemnly, "The thought of no one being there to back me up, it terrifies me, alright?"

Admitting that must be a big step for Kageyama, Sakura realized. Talking about your flaws was not usually an easy task. So for him to say that, he was certainly improving himself. Perhaps Kageyama wasn't going to try to be "The King of the Court" anymore, thank god. High school is the time for reinventing yourself, after all.

"Yeah, but that was back in middle school," Shōyō said innocently, surprising Kageyama. "Your sets are going to reach me. No question about it. After that, the only problem is how to get passed this jerk hole." He said pointing to Tsukishima and earning a snicker from Daichi, Tanaka, and Endo. Though a shake of the head from Sakura, she would have thought he would come up with a better insult, had she taught him nothing? "You need to kick Tsukishima's ass, join the volleyball club, and become the setter, just like we planned. Then you have to send the ball to me, it's not that complicated."

As uplifting as Shōyō's words might have been, they didn't impress Tsukishima. "Oh, shut up. That over-the-top, annoying little attitude of yours is disgusting." He took the ball and got ready to serve it. His words were starting to rub just about everyone the wrong way. Nobody knew why he was being so... mean to his opponents. "And enthusiasm won't make you any taller. If you think trying hard is all it takes to succeed you're sorry mistaken."

The ball was served, and Tanaka received the ball. As it flew through the air, heading straight for Kageyama, Tanaka and Shōyō both called for it. Who would he set it to? Tanaka may be able to get it through even if he is blocked, thanks to his power. Hinata would most likely not get it through, seeing as he hasn't gotten one during this entire game. Who was the better choice in this situation?

"Kageyama!" Shōyō's voice broke through his contemplation. He turned his eyes up to see the small teen already in mid-air ready to hit a spike, "I'm here!"

Making up his mind he easily tossed the ball to Shōyō to hit it, which he did. It wasn't a powerful hit, but it still got over the net, to the surprise of everyone. He landed back on the ground happy with himself but still dejected, "That was close, almost jumped at nothing... but it's out."

"What the hell was that for?!" Kageyama shouted at him.

"The ball came right towards me!" Shōyō shouted, surprising Kageyama into silence, "I don't care what happened in middle school, I'm grateful for any set that comes my way, I just want the ball. I'll jump anywhere. I'll hit any ball. Believe me, give me set and I'll hit it."

Tanaka rushed up to them with wide eyes. "You guys can do quick attacks and didn't tell me!"

"What's that?" Shōyō tilted his head in confusion.

"That crazy fast attack you just did!"

"Uh-uh," he shook his head, "no, the only attacks I've hit were way up in the air."

Tanaka groaned, "You literally just did it. Look remember in middle school when that rookie setter mess up that set but you hit it anyway? Like that!"

"Huh? But I don't remember how I did it. Whatever, I'll still hit whatever set comes at me. You just wait and see!"

On the sidelines, Endo leaned down to Sakura. He made sure this time that he didn't touch her, as he didn't want to end up bruised. "That brother of yours is sure something huh, Hinata-chan."

Sakura huffed at him, "Stop calling me 'Hinata-chan', you nuisance."

"You've never done combos before, so that's impossible for you."

Lightning struck behind Shōyō in shock. How could he just say something like that?! "Don't be ridiculous, you don't get to act like a wimp just stop it!"

Kageyama just glanced at him, indifferent, before walking off. Tsukishima chuckled and called after him, "Not very regal of you, sire."

Shōyō blanched and glared at Tsukishima, "You're going to pay for that, I promise you."

"Look at that, getting all bent out of shape again." He looked down at the short player with a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. It seemed like all he ever did was smirk, and it infuriated a few people. "You can't just bulldoze your way through everything, you know that right? Not everyone is a good fit for every job you know. I mean, you're clearly not cut out to be a spiker."

Sakura grounded her teeth together while clenching her fist. Oh, if only she had a volleyball to throw at this jerkwad. Seeing her anger start to boil over, Suga bent down slightly and placed a soft hand on the top of her head, to hopefully calm her down. Though all it did was cause her to stiffen up at the sudden touch. Did he not hear her with Endo a few minutes ago?! She didn't lash out at him though, as she figured he wasn't doing for the same reason as Endo. Still, she didn't totally appreciate it. The sentiment of calming her down was nice and all, but she'd rather go without the touching part.

"You're right, in middle school, even now, no matter how much I jump I always get blocked." Shōyō admitted, "Height is important for volleyball you can't always just jump real high to make up for being short like me, but still that never stopped me from wanting to be a spiker." He remembered the awe that came from watching the Tiny Giant, the way that he amazed his twin with his jumps when he first tried to play. He liked that feeling, the satisfaction that came with surprising people, especially his sister. You could argue that she was one of the main reasons he wanted to succeed so well, along with becoming the next Tiny Giant. "I don't care whether I'm cut out for it or not, I'll do the best I can with what I got and I'll win. I'm on this court and I'm not going anywhere."

Tsukishima let out a breath in frustration, "Have you even listened to a word I've said. It doesn't really work that way, shorty. You can't substitute spirit with height unless you want to be a libero that is."

"I open up the wall and block the spiker," Kageyama, who had been quiet since this little spat between Shōyō and Tsukishima started, walked over to stand side-by-side with Shōyō. He spoke firmly to them, he was obviously passionate about this. "That's the setter's job."

Everyone else in the gym watched as Kageyama pushed Shōyō's head down and started to talk with him. Most likely discussing their plan of action for the rest of the game. Eventually, Tanaka was dragged into it as well, so he would know what exactly it was that his team was thinking. Surprisingly, even Sakura was interested in what they were talking about, though obviously couldn't hear them.

Once the boys finished their huddle, Tsukishima set up to serve the next ball which was easily received by Shōyō. He was ready to spike the ball like last time, though this time around it wasn't going to be as weak or out of bounds as the first. Yet he wasn't ready for how fast Kageyama had set the ball. He completely missed hitting the quick set. Shōyō landed on the ground with the volleyball falling lifelessly to the ground a few feet from him.

"How'd you miss that! You have to-" Kageyama started to shout but cut himself off from probably insulting Shōyō and bit his lip. He seemed to have learned from the past and didn't wanna risk repeating it. Shouting at Shōyō would only result in a mutiny, once again. Kageyama certainly didn't want that to happen again.

Tsukishima chuckled at his opponents' misfortune, "Nice ball, your highness."

"Nothing ever works out on the first try!" The setter exclaimed in frustration.

"Hey, that's what losers say."

The troublesome duo still kept trying to get their hit right. Though each and every time, Kageyama's sets were a bit too fast for Shōyō to hit. On one try, Shōyō had even ended up tangled in the net because he jumped too far. It wasn't working out at all. Though Endo found it quite funny how they easily got frustrated with each other. Still, it probably would be better if he saw this happening to another team. After all, he was going to end up having to work with these two idiots eventually. Endo certainly didn't want to have to deal with this in the middle of a game, that could totally cost them a win. And Endo is all about winning!

"I can't guess your timing at all," Shōyō miserably said.

"You have lightning-fast reflexes," Kageyama shouted, "you just need to give it more pow, more oomph!"

Shōyō grew frustrated, "Is it oomph or pow, make up your mind!"

"Don't get caught up in the terminology!" Tanaka jumped in between the two.

On the other side of the court, Suga picked up the discarded volleyball and walked over to the fellow setter. "Kageyama, you need to make sure you don't let history repeat itself." He gained all of their attention, "Uh, what I mean is uh-"

Kageyama pointed at Shōyō, "He's got super fast reflexes, and he can jump, he can learn how to quick attack."

"That's not really what I'm getting at though." The third-year shook his head, "I think I know how you guys can be more effective. Hinata doesn't really know what he's doing out there."

At those words, Shōyō deflated slightly, "That's kind of harsh."

Suga continued on, "He doesn't have technique or experience like a lot of the people you competed against in middle school. But he's a rare asset."

The orange-haired boy's mood spiked happily at being called a "rare asset". His ego certainly got a bit of a boost at that. Who wouldn't be empowered after having their senpai call them an asset like that? "Ah, really? Aw come on, I'm not like a genius or anything."

Tanaka turned to him with a bland expression, "Who said that?"

"If I had your skill..." Suga continued on in a strained voice, "I mean think about it maybe you should try adapting to more of Hinata-kun's characteristics instead of the other way around. Don't you see what I'm saying? Then, maybe-"

"Take it easy Suga," Tanaka tried to calm his friend down.

"It's up to you to use his talents more effectively!" The silver-haired teen exclaimed, "I'm a setter like you, so I was honestly a little freaked out when I saw you play last year. You've got incredible talent and control over the ball. But most of all you're good at analyzing the opponents blocking moves and you make decisions on the fly. I've got... none of those things."

"Don't you say crap like that!" Tanaka exclaimed, not putting up with how Suga was putting himself down.

Daichi stopped him, already seeing how Suga was trying to help, "Hold on, just let him talk, okay?"

Suga continued on with his pep talk for the younger boy, "You're good at what you do and almost have too much determination. But your ability to assess your surroundings is your most important skill. So pay closer attention to your allies!"

Suga then walked back off of the court to let the boys discuss their plan. Hopefully, his words had sunk into Kageyama. This could help them significantly if they figured it out correctly. Endo patted him on the shoulder with a large smile, "Good job, vice-captain! Such wisdom!"

Sakura tilted her head as she watched her brother and Kageyama talk with each other. While she couldn't hear them that well, she figured that they were going to work together to the best of their ability. If there was one thing for certain, she knew that when posed with a challenge, both Kageyama and Shōyō would rise to it. The two of them were extremely competitive, to an annoying degree.

So the service was set by Daichi and easily received by Tanaka. In the zone, Kageyama assessed his surroundings and was ready to make the most precise toss to Shōyō as he could. He calculated everything perfectly and set the ball at an amazing speed. It only took a split second, but the ball was suddenly hitting the ground on the other side of the court. Everyone stared in awe at the turn of events. It actually worked?

The small spiker stared at his hand as it became a slight pink and stung a bit. "I... touched the ball!" Shōyō exclaimed and started to laugh hysterically and turned to Sakura, "Did you see that imouto!!"

"It wasn't that great," Tsukishima said lamely. Honestly, what was so amazing about just hitting the ball over the net. These simpletons were awed by anything.

"Guys," Daichi walked over with wide eyes and an expression of terrified awe, "he just did that with his eyes closed." Everyone jumped in surprise at that fact. Closed!? His eyes were closed? How in the name of kami had those two been able to do that?! What kind of madness was this! Daich went on to explain further, "From the moment his feet left the floor to the second he swung his arm, Hinata-kun's eyes were closed. Kageyama just made a pin-point toss into his hand, but Hinata-kun wasn't even looking at the ball! I don't know how he did it, but his timing was perfect."

During his explanation, Shōyō just continued to laugh in amazement. That feeling in his hand brought him such joy and accomplishment! "That's awesome! You guys, I don't know what happened but I just hit something! Did you see that? Huh!"

Kageyama spun to him and pointed at his with wide eyes, "Hey, what did you do? Your eyes weren't really shut, were they!?"

"Um, well you're the one who told me not to look at the ball," Shōyō explained sheepishly. "If I kept my eyes open I knew I would look at it."

"I wasn't telling you to-"

"But... but it worked, right? What's the big deal?"

"I know it worked but-" Kageyama started off in frustration, "what kind of person acts totally on trust?"

"I can't help it! Trust is the only way I know how to do it!"

Sakura shook her head at the question. It may seem impossible, but that's just what Shōyō is like. She may have not been as surprised by that, but that may just be because she grew up with him. Sakura has never known her brother to be any other way. A scense of trust that she could never have. He was different from her, in every way.

So the game continued on, with more failed attempts by Kageyama and Shōyō. It almost seemed like their magical quick attack was a one-time thing. Kageyama set the ball for him once again, though this time it was too far from the net and ended up hitting Shōyō in the face. "Sorry," he apologized to the fallen teen who now had a red cheek.

On the sidelines, Ennoshita shook his head as he added a point to Tsukishima's team, bring the score to 22-15. "Hmm, I guess that first time was a fluke."

"Yeah," Suga said with a hand on his chin in thought, "but I can tell their precision is already starting to improve."

"You really think so?" Ennoshia asked his upperclassmen shakily like he couldn't believe that. Sure the attack was pretty cool, but it certainly isn't consistent. They have yet to hit it even more than once.

"Doing good, Hinata-kun!" Endo cheered for the shorter teen and aimed a cheeky smile down at him, "just hit the ball with her hand, not your face."

"Yeah, I know." Shōyō said sarcastically and started to clean the floor while holding his bruised face, "That hurt."

The manager walked over to the boy in slight concern and bent down to him, "Are you okay?" 

"Ah, y-yes ma'am!" Shōyō exclaimed at her appearance and worry over him. Slowly but surely his face was starting to turn a bit red in embarrassment. He abruptly looked over to Kageyama who had a slight smile. Though he wasn't smiling at Shōyō's misfortune, he was contemplating how doing this, keeping up with Hinata and the game was actually... Fun. "What are you smiling about this is the second time I've been smack in the face. I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose. You do know we still have to win right?"

"Of course I do!" He roared and spun around to get ready for the rest of the game.

"Aw man, it's not working," Shōyō whined rubbing his cheek before looking down at his stinging hand.

Sakura walked up to her twin and placed a hand on his shoulder in encouragement. Her camera swayed around her, almost being completely unused. She had taken a few pictures, at least one shot for each of the players, but that was all. After all, she has been pretty invested in the game, whether she wants to say it out loud or not. The outcome didn't matter, but with this developing quick attack, there was no way that Sakura could really look away. "You'll get it nii-san." She squeezed his shoulder before bonking him on the head with her fist, "now kick that beanpole's ass. If you don't, you know I'll make fun of you for it."

Shōyō nodded his head, knowing that she would mercilessly make fun of him for losing this game. She wouldn't usually do that, but this isn't a real game, so she's a tad bit more relaxed with her support for him and how she teases him when he loses. There was a strong spark of determination in his eyes, one that Sakura had seen plenty of times. She knew that he would do it, even if she didn't say anything to him. He was motivated to get this done!

The game continued on with Daichi serving the ball again with it being received by Tanaka. Like lightning, Shōyō ran up towards the net which drew the attention of the two other first-years who were ready to block him if he did try to spike it. There would be no way that he would be able to get through them, so he did what Kageyama had told him to. Go around!

He ran around to the other side of the net, throwing off Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. He may be shorter, but he could get through this. He could get that extra inch, that extra second to get around that gigantic wall. So he closed his eyes and swung his arm back. His hand came in contact with the ball. For a moment, he was able to open up his eyes and look to the other side of the net, just beyond Tsukishima's extended arm. Then he saw it, the view from the summit! It was even more amazing than he would have thought. 

It almost felt like it went in slow-motion, for Shōyō at least. Seeing his own hit going over the wall before Tsukishima could block it, Daichi missing it, and the ball hitting the floor, left an amazing feeling in his gut. So it seemed like that new spike wasn't just a fluke. 

"Yes!"

as the newest members to the boy's volleyball club practiced with each other. Though by practice, it was really just Kageyama berating Shōyō every time he did something subpar. At this point, Sakura had gotten over listening to the king yell at her brother. She knew already that Shōyō might not be the best volleyball player, but he had raw athleticism and passion for it. While it annoyed her to listen to the boy, who she had found a large dislike for since last year, talk badly to her twin, Sakura didn't feel a need to shout at Kageyama for belittling Shōyō. Perhaps it's a good teaching style? After all, it usually takes a lot to instill a lesson in Shōyō for him to actually understand it. Maybe getting yelled at would speed up the process. Besides, it's always a hassle having to confront someone as temperamental as Kageyama.

"Damnit!" Kageyama shouted in frustration as Shōyō, once again, missed a receive and had dove flat on his face. "Stop dragging your feet, what happened to those reflexes you had? Get it together."

"All I've been doing is receives." Shōyō complained and jumped up, "Kageyama, we're running out of time I wanna jump around, I wanna do some spikes."

"Well, that's too bad!"

"That's enough!" Tanaka shouted at the younger boys, obviously annoyed with their behavior. Perhaps Endo was right the other day, having to help these two morons will definitely be trouble. "A word to the wise, Daichi's a nice guy most of the times but you will not like him when he's mad. Trust me."

The two chorused together at the reminder, "Yeah, we know."

"If he were to find out we were practicing early, I'm so dead. Not that I'm afraid of him or anything, of course not, that would be ridiculously ridiculous."

"Right," Sakura spoke up boredly from the sidelines. A small amount of amusement tainted her words as she smirked from her seat on the ground, "you totally don't sound scared at all."

Tanaka bristled slightly at her words but cleared his throat and ignored her, "Anyway, its probably for the best that we keep this little practice session a secret between the four of us."

Suddenly, the gym doors slid open abruptly as the gray-haired third-year from the team burst through, startling the other boys. Sakura flinched slightly but outwardly kept her composer at the older teen's entrance. "Aha, just as I suspected." 

"Suga!" Tanaka exclaimed in surprise and worry.

Suga smiled widely, "Hey."

"How'd you know!?"

Suga chuckled at the second-year and started to put on his gym shoes, "Come on, something was obviously up. I mean why else would you offer to take the key to the gym when you always show up to practice at the last minute." Tanaka jumped at his words and slowly started to worry that he was in trouble with the vice-captain. Suga shook his head, knowing that they were worried about being caught. "Don't worry, I won't tell, your secret is safe with me. A clandestine crash course, pretty exciting."

The three boys sighed in relief knowing that Suga wasn't going to tell Daichi. Sakura snickered which caused the boys to stare at her with narrowed eyes, she obviously liked seeing them in distress. Shōyō seemed to be the only one who didn't find her amusement surprising or annoying. After all, he was pretty used to it at this point. Sakura just hid her laughter and amusement as they started to practice some more. What could she say, she liked seeing people in pain like this. She found it to be one of the most amusing things.

Tanaka and Kageyama paired up so the king could practice his setting with the outside hitter. Shōyō had been denied getting to hit any sets and instead had been paired with Suga to do some more receives. Shōyō was certainly getting frustrated that he couldn't do the one thing he had wanted since he first set foot in the gym. 

Sakura wanted nothing more than to just head to class already. After all, she had nothing to do at this point. It's not like she was also a volleyball player who could practice with them. She served no purpose at the moment. Sakura would have left already if it wasn't for the fact that Shōyō had begged her to stay for "moral support". All she could do was grumble to herself on the sidelines as she fell victim to his puppy-dog eyes. Sakura could never really say no to her brother, especially not when it's about something he really cares about. So she was forced to just watch the four boys practice for a while.

Tanaka screamed as he jumped up in order to spike another ball over the net from Kageyama. Once he hit it over, he was pumped at his own powerful hits, "Whoo, I'm on fire!" 

Shōyō was distracted by watching Tanaka's powerful spikes over the net. He watched in fascination and envy, why didn't he get to spike balls? Why was Kageyama so insistent that he didn't get any sets? Sure, working on his receives was important, and he should improve on them, but he should also get to practice his spikes! He was then brought back to his own task when he was hit in the head by a volleyball. Suga shook his head at the distracted boy, "Hey, you're not paying attention."

The orange-haired teen just ignored his upperclassman and shouted at the stubborn setter, "Hey, I wanna hit too. Throw me a bone here Kageyama." The setter turned to Shōyō with his ever-present scowl. "You're all about your sets aren't ya? Go ahead, send one over this way. Come on just one, for practice, please?"

There was a moment of silence as Kageyama pursed his lips at Shōyō before turning away from him, "No."

Shōyō, Tanaka, and Suga all blanched at his blunt answer. How could this guy be so cruel? To bluntly reject Shōyō's enthusiastic attempts to work on his volleyball skills. Did he dislike Shōyō that much!?

"Aw man, don't be like that!" 

"Yeah, dude send him one," Tanaka agreed.

At the upperclassman's exclamations, Kageyama turned and spiked a ball straight at Shōyō. The orange-haired boy was not ready to receive it, so the ball bounced off his forearm and flew over by Sakura. Said girl watched the interaction with narrowed eyes as her upper lip started to lift in a sneer. She caught the discarded volleyball and held it tightly in her hands, it almost looked like it was going to pop as her annoyance started to fester. The young setter shook his head, "I sent that one head-on, you receive to make a set and attack. Don't run your mouth if you can't follow through. I'll be sending all the sets to Tanaka during the match on Saturday. Leave all the attacking to him. You just do your best to not get in my way."

Anger started to bubble up inside of the small teen at Kageyama's dismissive behavior. He let out a breath, "Okay, fine, then as soon as I get good enough at receives will you at least throw a few sets to me too."

"I'll set to whoever I have to to win." He dramatically turned around to face Shōyō, "It's just, I highly doubt that person is going to be you."

"Watch your mouth," Tanaka grumbled at the blatant disrespect from the first-year.

Suga gasped, "How's he ever going to learn if you not going to set to him?"

Kageyama brushed off their reprimands and started to walk away, "It's almost seven, we should clean up."

"Oh, crap, hurry up! We can't leave any traces!" Tanaka shouted as he ran off to start hiding any signs that they had been there.

Suga also ran off with the same amount of panic, "We need to find a mop!"

Kageyama bent down to pick up one of the discarded volleyball to start cleaning up. His shoulders were tense like they always had been, as he seemed to scowl at nothing in particular. His back was still turned to the smaller volleyball player, who continued to glower. His anger simmered within him at the what Kageyama had said. Sakura, who has gathered all of her things, walked over to her brother and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down. Shōyō visibly relaxed but there was still a lingering wave of annoyance wafting off of him. She always had a way to calm him down just with her presence, most likely a twin thing.

Once Kageyama did stand up to put the balls away, he found himself being hit in the back of the head which nearly sent him to the ground. He clutched the back of his head and growled lowly at the fact that someone had decided to hit him. The angered setter spun around to see who wanted to face his wrath so much only to find Hinata's clone standing in front of her brother with a scowl.

Her thin lips were screwed so tightly into a frown, that it almost seemed like it would be stuck like that. Her right eye twitched slightly in anger while she glared at him. Kageyama almost had half the mind to shiver. Even though she was such a small girl, she was just as terrifying as a six-foot boy. "Asshole," she only said one word, but it was enough to keep Kageyama from saying anything else. With that, she grabbed her brother and started to get him to help clean up. Right now, all she wanted was to get away from that dick and head to class. She was starting to get a headache now.

---

"Wow, Hinata-chan!" Shimada marveled with sparkles in her eyes as she looked at the pictures on Sakura's camera. The pictures that Sakura had taken the other day of the boy's volleyball club had come out really well, apparently. They only needed a few edits to be made here or there, but other than that they were perfect for the yearbook or newspaper or anything else. Honestly, Shimada thought that they could be used for professional posters. "These look awesome!"

Sakura scratched her cheek slightly to hide the small hint of pink that spread up her ears, "Thanks." She was used to getting compliments, though they were mainly just from her family as she never really showed anyone else her pictures.

The two of them stood in the hallway outside of Shimada's classroom, which is where they agreed to meet up the other day. After all, Sakura wanted to show her senpai that she had already taken some pictures. To show that she was quite enthusiastic about being in the club, which she wouldn't say out loud.

"You've got a real talent here." Shimada complimented with a large toothy smile, "Especially, with these action shots, even I wouldn't be able to get shots like these!"

Sakura could feel the tips of her ears starting to turn a dark red, but she remained calm. "It's not that big of a deal..."

Shimada gaped at the girl, the seeming dismissal of her natural talent was disbelieving. "Are you kidding, I swear these could put on a bunch of posters or something!"

Her shiny eyes drifted off into space as she imagined seeing Sakura's pictures on a poster that could bring even more attention to the photography club. If people actually liked these, then they may be inspired to join the club! After all, as the president, Shimada is always looking for new members at any time.

Sakura watched her as the third-year mumbled to herself about the pictures. She slowly took her camera back from her senpai and eyed older girl wearily. "Well, I'll send you the pictures later, when I get home."

Shimada still stuck in her own fantasy about the club getting tons of new members, nodded her head absentmindedly. "Sure, sure."

"Alright," Sakura said putting the camera around her neck and turned to walk away with a lazy wave over her shoulder, "later."

She made her way through the third-year hallway and started to search for her brother who she was certain had found a space to practice. Eventually, she turned a corner and found the arrogant setter that she despised standing by the vending machine. He lazily sipped on a drink of milk while looking around the corner, seemingly trying to listen in on something and stay hidden. Sakura could hear her brother and Suga talking just around the corner. She knew that Shōyō wanted to practice some more during the break. He was adamant about fixing his receives in order to get Kageyama's approval to practice spikes.

Why he wanted his help was beyond her. The arrogant "King of the Court" has got to be the biggest assholes that Sakura has ever encountered. She could just set some for him if he asked, as she has done so in the past. Though she knew it was more than just practicing, it was teamwork. Kageyama and Shōyō had to work together now after they had vowed to beat each other when they next saw each other. Though they couldn't really do that if they were on the same high school team. So Sakura understood that Shōyō wanted to prove himself to Kageyama not only as a rival but as a teammate. In order to do that, he has to get Kageyama to set to him, at least once. 

Shōyō was so determined to get this to work out, especially now that they had the match on Saturday. If anything, Sakura thought that he wanted to prove himself to Kageyama that he had improved, even if he couldn't use these new skills against the king. If it were her, Sakura probably would have given up at this point. She wouldn't go as far as Shōyō to prove herself. Another difference between the two of them.

"You know, it isn't nice to eavesdrop." Kageyama jumped slightly at the sudden voice and nearly spit out his milk. He turned to find the cold stare of the second half to the Hinata twins pointed at him. Sakura stared at him and clicked her tongue. "Listen, I know my brother can be a lot to handle, but you're not helping anyone by being a jackass."

"Hn," He grunted and took another sip of his milk. Her words didn't mean all that much to him, not really. All he wanted to do was ignore her just like he ignores her brother.

Sakura let out a long sigh and stared up at him with a tired and bored expression, "At least try to work with him. You are teammates after all." With that, she brushed passed him and walked around the corner to see Suga and Shōyō practicing. She was ready to just sit by the boys and watch them practice while enjoying her lunch. 

All the while, Kageyama watched her go with narrowed eyes. However, there was a small flame that started to burn in them. He wasn't sure why she was trying so hard, considering she must know how stubborn he is, but she was definitely adamant about trying to get him to work well with Shōyō. It was almost admirable, to him. To stick up for her brother against him.

How the hell are those two idiots twins? Kageyama wondered to himself. After all, they seemed to be on the opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. Shōyō was overexcited while Sakura was unenthusiastic. Shōyō couldn't intimidate an elementary kid, but Sakura could strike fear into anyone's hearts, and he spoke from experience. They looked so similar to each other, yet acted nothing alike. Honestly, Kageyama was quite certain that he would actually get along with Sakura if it wasn't for the fact that she was related to the annoying ball of sunshine. He shrugged his shoulders at his thoughts and decided to head back to class. After hearing what Shōyō said to Suga and Sakura's words, he had a lot to ponder over.

---

The next practice for the volleyball club was pretty lackluster. After what had happened yesterday, today seemed to be kind of boring. The craziness that had happened with the first-years had definitely caused a stir within the team. Add in the fact that the team now also had their own photographer now, and the guys were pretty enthused about what the rest of the year would be like. Though since those two first-years had not been allowed to practice with them, and their photographer most likely wouldn't be at the practice today, it was probably going to be a boring day.

Suga and Tanaka let out a large yawn together. They were obviously tired after having to be at the gym early for the two first-year morons to practice. Though even if they wanted to try and hide that fact, their captain was quite observant, "You two look sleepier than usual."

The two jumped at Daichi's observation and spun around to face him with fake smiles. Hoping that they were able to keep their secret under wraps. "Uh, really?" Suga questioned wearily, "Maybe I've been studying too hard or something."

"I've been studying hard too," Tanaka joined in, which earned a pointed glare from Suga.

"It doesn't sound very convincing when you say it."

Tanaka glowered, "Eat it."

"Oya Oya," Endo slid over to the two and wrapped his arms around their shoulders. It seemed like he didn't know the term "personal space" at the moment. His sly blue eyes watched his two friends with a teasing spark in them. He overheard the conversation and knew that he had to butt in, as he usually does. Endo certainly couldn't miss any possible tidbit of gossip from anyone. "It looks like you two are hiding something, huh?"

"Excuse us." A different voice interrupted Endo's attempts to get the scoop over his friends' tired behavior.

"Oh, hey guys." The captain greeted the two new people who now stood in the doorway. The two of them were tall, like extremely tall. The tallest of the two was a blonde with black-rimmed glasses on his nose and headphones around his neck. The other was a boy with light brown hair and a light dusting of freckles on his cheekbones. The others marveled at the sheer size of the two boys and stared in awe. "These are the other new first-years. Normally, we'd wait till next week to start new members but since we have that match on Saturday, we're making an exception and bringing them in now."

"Nice to meet you," the two newbies said together as the brown-haired first-year bowed while the blond didn't.

Endo eyed the two of them closely. He sized them up, just like he did the other day with Kageyama and the Hinata twins. His blue eyes were sharp and observant as he watched the shorter of the two stood up from his bow. Now, Endo usually has a very good idea of a person after first meeting them. 

The big, blond beanpole seemed to be the one to watch out for. He almost seemed a bit annoyed that he had to be there. Like he didn't like the fact that he even joined the team, which made no scense cause it was his choice. Though there was a certain kind of malice around him that Endo didn't like all that much. A bored arrogance that kind of reminded him of their new little paparazzi-chan. Though she wasn't arrogant in any way from what Endo saw, unlike Mr. Glasses.

The other boy seemed to be a meek kind of guy, to Endo. He wasn't much like the other first-year as he was shorter and had a light brush of freckles over his cheeks. Endo thought he looked like a nice guy, unlike the blond. Though he'd have to wait a while to figure out just what their deals were. 

Either way, with this new set of first-years, Endo knew that they were all in for an interesting year. He smirked widely as his eyes sparkled dangerously. Endo couldn't wait to see what kind of drama pops up from all of this.

---

Sakura let out a tired pant as she put away her bike at home. Her and Shōyō had just arrived home after their long bike ride from school. It was extremely late and she was a little peeved off that she would have to stay up a bit later to do her homework. She really should have done it while she waited for her brother in the meeting room for the photography club. However, she ended up taking a nap there by accident.

It wasn't until Shimada had woken her up and told her that she was locking up the room that she finally went to meet up with her brother. Though once she found Shōyō and Kageyama, both of them seemed to be beyond exhausted and horribly annoyed by something. She didn't question it, as she didn't want to be dragged into whatever it was that angered them. The king especially seemed to be angered by something or other. Still, Sakura didn't care.

Though now that they were home, it seemed like she was going to end up involved anyway. As soon as they had gotten inside, greeted their mother and little sister, and went into their shared room to settle down before dinner, Shōyō had started to rant.

"Calm down, Shō," She said while plopping down on her bed. "You're going to give me a headache with your complaining."

Shōyō sighed heavily and jumped on his own bed after already talking extremely fast. He was just so heated after meeting Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. After what they said about Kageyama and how they dismissed him so easily. Though it was more Tsukishima than Yamaguchi, Shōyō would admit. Either way, it was still frustrating!

"I don't know why he would even say that!" He exclaimed in anger as his face started to turn red.

Sakura leaned up on her arms to face her brother, "Hold on, hold on. What did he say?" It wasn't like she cared all that much, but she knew that if he didn't rant about it, she would never hear the end of it. Better to just let him vent and then shut up about it than let his emotions bubble over. 

"He said that Kageyama's nickname was from his team and not other people, and then he said that his team probably abandoned him and Kageyama got upset by it, and he called me short, and ignored me, and even said he'd throw the game on Saturday because he doesn't care!" Shōyō said all in one breath.

With all of that information to process, Sakura stared at her brother with wide eyes. She had no idea how he hadn't passed out from lack of oxygen after not breathing for that long. He was obviously upset by what that guy said, which was obvious from how he wouldn't sit still and he was rambling a lot.

She tilted her head back onto her bed in disinterest, "who was this again?"

"Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi!"

She hummed in acknowledgment, she didn't recognize those names, so they must be in another class. Either way, she didn't care enough to really think about it. The more pressing matter on her mind was the home that she'd have to do in a few minutes. Besides, Shōyō has a tendency to over-exaggerate things. So for now, she'd take what he said with caution. These guys might not be as bad as he says, or they are, she didn't care. As long as they don't bother her, she has no opinion on them.

"Well, I want to get my work done, so should you." She lazily grabbed her school bag to take out her assignments for the night. If she got them done now, then all she had to do was eat and go to sleep.

"But—"

She cut him off and threw his own bag at him, effectively shutting him up and giving him a bruised face. "Worry about those guys later, you have homework."

Shōyō huffed at her but did as she said and started to pull out his work. There was no need to argue with her at all, especially over something like homework. She was always the one to focus on assignments and grades more than him. Sakura studied as much as she could to get the grades she got and did a very good job at it. She constantly encouraged Shōyō to focus on his schoolwork at times when he had been too obsessed with volleyball to do his homework. It's a good thing she did, or Shōyō definitely would have failed some of his classes. So he did as he was told begrudgingly, though he muttered under his breath every once in a while. Sakura just shook her head at him and started her own work.

---

Just like yesterday, Sakura was forced to wake up at the ungodly hours of the morning by Shōyō. He pestered her to get up as quickly as possible, eat a small breakfast, and mount their bikes to head to school. She was far more annoyed than the previous day since she got even less sleep than last night. A grumpy, sleepy Sakura was not a good Sakura. Nobody better mess with her today, or they're probably going to end up fearing for their lives.

Still, she went with him even if she complained all the way there. What kind of a sister would she be if she didn't go? This was for Shōyō's sake as he wanted her there for support. She could never deny something from her twin. He was probably her only weakness, honestly. Shōyō could most likely make her do anything if he flashed her his puppy-dog eyes for long enough. 

Things were just about the same as yesterday. She still sat on the sidelines and watched Shōyō, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Suga practice together. Sakura will admit that she did take a small nap while she waited, which ultimately ended up with her being squished by Tanaka as he gushed about how cute she is... only to end up with a nice fist-sized bruise on his cheek after that. 

Though now it was lunchtime, thankfully. Shōyō, once again, had met up with Suga to practice as much as he could, which left Sakura alone for the time being. Now, she would have gone to sit with them and munch on her food, but she wasn't up for it. Too tired from waking up so early for two days in a row had taken its toll on her. She's a growing girl who needs her sleep! A full night's sleep is always important, especially to Sakura.

So, here she was, sitting on the ground underneath a tree casually eating some rice. It was quite peaceful to be by herself. She should really do this more often. All her life, she's kept herself practically glued to Shōyō's side, as he did the same with her. They never strayed far from each other as they always calmed each other down if Sakura got too heated, or Shōyō got too enthusiastic. They knew how to control each other's emotions when they needed it. Their mother always said that they were inseparable since birth, which is true. Though she also encouraged the two of them to try and do things on their own. So, Sakura moved on to photography at the beginning of middle school to try to distance herself from Shōyō. Though no matter how much she tried, she really couldn't do it. Being separated from her twin for a long period of time always made her anxious in a way. 

Though at this moment, for a short time, she was perfectly content without Shōyō. Just munching on some rice, lazily scrolling through the pictures that she has already taken, and enjoying the quiet.

Though the quiet didn't last as long as she would have liked.

"Hey, shorty," A snide voice said which caused Sakura to stiffen at the name-calling. "I thought you would be practicing non-stop, you seemed quite hell-bent the other day. Did you lose your determination already?"

"What?" The orange-haired teen turned around to glare up at the boy walking up to her. 

Tsukishima's eyes widened a fraction as he realized his mistake. This certainly wasn't Hinata. While they did have the same hair, small stature, and pale skin, she also was… well, a girl. Her feminine features were quite a dead give away of that, even if there weren't many. Her cheeks were soft and round with wide brown eyes that were currently glaring up at the beanpole. Obviously, she wasn't that happy with being called "shorty".

Yamaguchi gaped, seeing that they mistook the girl for the spit-fire volleyball player. He flailed his arms, "Tsukki didn't mean that! We thought you were someone else." He sharply bowed down at a ninety-degree angle in apology. "So sorry!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled, "hm?" She stared at the two with a calculating gaze. They were freakishly tall, compared to her. They made her look like a little kid with their height. She's used to being short but these guys were just making it ridiculous. 

The one who was frantically apologizing had light brown hair and a multitude of freckles covering his cheeks. The other one was blond with glasses and headphones around his neck. The bored look in his eyes was something that was mirrored in her own. Well, at least she knows that she's had that same look before. As people have told her.

She narrowed her eyes, "how do you know nii-san?"

Neither of the giants were surprised that the girl in front of them was related to the annoying first-year. It would be especially weird if they weren't related because they were nearly identical. They didn't hear Hinata say that he had a sibling, let alone a younger sister, at the school or anything. Then again, they've only had the one interaction with him and it didn't include talking about family.

"W-we're in the volleyball club with him." Yamaguchi coughed and scratched at his blushing cheek. He glanced down at the girl and saw the bored glare she had on her face. If he had to be honest, she scared him just a little bit, and all she had done was ask a question. Scarily enough, it reminded him of his best friend. Oh boy, another Tsukishima?!

She pursed her lips and seemed to relax just a little bit. A small amount of tension washed away from her face, though she was still wasn't completely relaxed. She clicked her tongue and tilted her head, "Oh, I see. You're Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, right? The two other first-years on the team."

Yes, she had heard quite a bit about the two of them. Shōyō had ranted and raved about them last night even after she made him do his work and eat. It was quite easy to rile up Shōyō as he could be a bit sensitive and emotional about the littlest of things. That being said, usually, Sakura didn't take what he would say to heart, especially when they were about a person. However, she would make a bit of an exception at this moment. While Yamaguchi didn't look like much of a bad guy, Tsukishima was a bit of a different story.

The freakishly tall blonde stared down at her with narrowed eyes. He stood over her with a standoffish kind of attitude that she didn't really appreciate. Not only that, but he seemed to be entertained that he annoyed her. The lenses of his glasses gleamed slightly when the light hit it the right way, making him just a tad bit more intimidating. Though that didn't affect Sakura.

"Ah, Hinata didn't mention a sister," Tsukishima said.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "pretty sure it was because you were too busy berating the king and underestimating my brother."

Tsukishima eyed her for how she referred to Kageyama as his volleyball nickname and the distaste that coated her tongue. Someone else who didn't like the King? It's to be expected considering how arrogant that kid can be. Still from what she said, it almost seemed like she was defending him. He scoffed, "I didn't think you would care about the king."

"I don't," Sakura eyed him lazily and turned back to her food. "I don't care what you say about him, I only care about you thinking less of my twin. You definitely riled him up yesterday." Her eyebrows scrunched up in distaste, "thanks for that, by the way, I had to listen to him complain about it all night."

The blond huffed, "whatever, I was only stating facts."

Sakura hummed, uninterested. She certainly wasn't going to rise to the bait that Tsukishima was trying to set out for her. Sakura knows what type of person he must be now, and she didn't appreciate it. He was the type to enjoy discord and upsetting people to a certain degree. Putting people down must be his favorite pastime, she thought. Though, unlike Shōyō, she was uninterested in what he may have to say, "Sure, sure. Now, can you two leave me alone, I was enjoying my lunch until now."

Yamaguchi nodded his head frantically, seemingly wanting to not upset her since having mistaken her for her brother. "Yeah, sure thing Hinata-chan!" He started to push Tsukishima back in the direction that they had come from. Yamaguchi definitely didn't want his best friend to end up upsetting another person. He's used to Tsukishima's abrasive and blunt personality by now, though he knew that he liked to be mean to others. Yet upsetting Hinata-kun's younger sister was probably not going to be a good idea. Then Tsukishima would have both of the twins on his case, Yamaguchi was just trying to save him the trouble of having to deal with them.

She grunted as she heard the two of them start to walk away from her. Though she couldn't help herself from saying the last word, "Word to the wise, my brother is definitely going to give you a run for your money, beanpole." She glanced over her shoulder to stare up at him. Her bored, coffee-brown eyes bored into his sharp, golden ones as a small smirk lifted the edges of Sakura's lips. "Doesn't matter if you want to throw the game or not, he's not gonna leave you alone now."

With those last words, the two other first-years turned to leave. Leaving behind tension now residing between Sakura and Tsukishima. While Sakura was not going to let go of the fact that the blond had tried to belittle her brother, Tsukishima was annoyed that she was nothing like her brother. Sure, he didn't know that she was actually his sister instead of Hinata himself, but he would have hoped that she would be easy to rile up just like him. Yet all he got out of her was light scoffs and eye rolls. She was far more controlled and calm than her twin, that was for sure. Those twins were complete opposites of each other, and it kind of ticked him off. Though he didn't dwell on it for long as he would rather dismiss the girl entirely. No doubt in his mind, she'd just end up being another annoyance that he'll have to deal with.

---

The next few days were a blur for Sakura. She woke up with Shōyō for the rest of the week to go with him to his practices at the gym. Sakura had gotten better at waking up, but it still bothered her. She enjoyed her sleep immensely, she didn't like missing out on it. Though she still helped her brother when he needed it. She kept him focused on his school assignments when he was too distracted by practice, or even helping him at home with his receives. Shōyō's skills had improved a lot in the past few days thanks to the practices with Kageyama, Suga, Tanaka. No doubt, he'd be ready to get a set from the infamous king soon enough.

So now on a nice sunny Friday morning, Sakura watched as Kageyama spiked yet another ball at Shōyō. She and Suga had been watching both of them go back and forth with each other for a while now. Shōyō was throwing himself around the court to receive all of the hits. He had improved exceptionally since the beginning of the week, which both Kageyama and Suga noticed.

Tanaka then came in through the door, late as usual. He eyed the two boys who were practicing already. He walked over to Suga and Sakura with a quirked eyebrow. "Damn how long have those two been back and forth like that?" 

Suga shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I got here like fifteen minutes ago, so."

"It's been nonstop? Wow!"

They watched as Shōyō fell down after hitting another ball back towards Kageyama. Despite showing signs of being completely exhausted, he was still willing to push himself to the limit. It was nothing new to Sakura, as she's seen it plenty of times from him. Sometimes, she wished she could be like him in that regard. To push herself even more to do something, to have that powerful amount of motivation and determination within her. Though it seemed like Shōyō was the twin to get all of that, while she was stuck with next to none.

"Everybody has their limits!" Kageyama suddenly shouted as he hit yet another powerful spike at Shōyō. He received it perfectly despite his forearms stinging so much as they turned a bright red from so many hits. "Let's take a break--"

"NOT YET!" Shōyō cut him off loudly, "No! It hasn't hit the floor!"

"Okay, fine." He exclaimed before hitting the ball again, only for it to go soaring over Shōyō instead of straight at him.

"That's brutal, can he hit that?" Tanaka asked loudly as Kageyama blanched at his force of habit.

"Hinata-kun has had amazing athletic ability since middle school," Suga said as they watched the small teen rush after the ball. He gained Tanaka and Sakura's attention, "But besides all that, he's got this insane thirst for victory that keeps him going."

"That's just how Nii-san is," Sakura spoke up from beside him, now drawing both of the older boy's attention to her. "He likes a challenge and will do anything to prove his worth." She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes as she grumbled, "Plus, he's far too optimistic for his own good, honestly."

They watched as Shōyō pushed himself one step further and dove at the ball, successfully saving it from hitting the ground. "He did it!" Tanaka cheered as they watched him in shock, "Nice one, little man!"

Kageyama watched the ball come back towards him as he started to remember Shōyō's sheer determination. Not only that but Sakura's words about them being teammates now. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to actually work with him. After all, it would be counter-intuitive for him to keep putting down his new teammate. So, Kageyama set a spike up from Shōyō to the surprise of just about everyone.

"Here we go!" Tanaka yelled.

Suga stared with wide eyes, "There it is, he finally set him one."

"Too bad," Tanaka said as they looked over to the panting Shōyō, "there's no way he's got enough strength to spike it down."

Though at the sight of an actual set, the biggest grin broke out on Shōyō's face. Sakura couldn't help herself but feel warm inside at the sight of her brother being so happy. Something as simple as a volleyball being set up from him to spike brought such joy to her twin, and in turn to her. All she ever wants is for Shōyō to be happy like this. They watched as Shōyō sprinted up to the net and jumped to a seemingly impossible height for someone like him and spike the ball to the other side of the net.

"I gotta hand it to him, the kid can jump." Suga marveled as Tanka stood in surprise at Shōyō's unrelenting athleticism. 

"I can't believe he managed to hit that." Tanaka said in shock as they saw sparkles radiate off of the small teen, "Check out the stupid look on his face."

Suga started off in space as he started to think about when he and Shōyō had been practicing during breaks. "So I guess getting a set must be really important to the guy, huh? I suppose getting tosses from a setter is something we always took for granted."

Sakura shook her head as she reminisced about their time in middle school. The reminder that it was something amazing for Shōyō to actually get a setter to set him a ball. Since he never truly had someone to help him out, other than her. "Nii-san didn't have anyone to really set him for spikes. I did my best, but there's only so much I can do." She did her best to help Shōyō with setting him some spikes when they were in middle school. She wasn't the greatest setter, but she was decent enough to help him at least a little. Though she wasn't the most athletic when it came to helping him overall with volleyball. Still, for him, she did her best. A small smile made its way onto her face, one that neither Suga nor Tanaka thought she could possibly muster, "I'm glad he's finally got what he wanted; a team."

"Hey," Kageyama said while looking down at the tired teen who panted on the ground, "tomorrow we'll win."

Shōyō nodded his head firmly, "Yeah, tell me something I don't know!" His cheeks then inflated as his face started to turn green. All that exercise must have made him sick as he threw up all over the floor.

"Aw, that's sick!" Tanka screamed in disgust as Suga instantly started to run around to help Shōyō.

"Tanaka, get some water! Oh god, and a bucket, and some towels!"

Sakura walked over to her sick brother, making sure to avoid the mess, and patted him on the back. "You'll be fine, Shō."

---

Saturday was usually a day that Sakura used to sleep in, like most other people. Though today was different, as she had a feeling that most of her weekends were going to be. It was the day of the match between the first-years. Though at the moment, she watched as her brother started to sprint at full speed towards the gym.

Sakura rolled her eyes at Shōyō's behavior. Why he decided to try and race Kageyama to the gym was beyond her. All he'd do is tire himself out before the game. Literally, as soon as they had put the bikes down, he had taken off running once he saw that Kageyama was ahead of them. She had to hand it to her brother though, he was pretty fast. 

There was still no way that she would run after him, so she strolled after them at a leisurely pace. She wouldn't have come to the game, as Shōyō even said that she could rest for the day. Sakura had argued that if she had to get up all week for him to practice, she was going to see how well he did at this match. 

She finally walked up to the gym to find a glaring match between Kageyama, her brother, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima. Sakura raised a delicate eyebrow at them and scoffed, "you guys are ridiculous." They're all on the same team after all. How were they suppose to work together if they had some petty disagreement with each other? She just lazily raised a hand at them in greeting, "Hi, Yamaguchi-san, beanpole."

Tsukishima looked over at the girl he wasn't exactly expecting to be there. After all, it was a match just between the team, so why would she be here? "Ah, if it isn't shorty number two."

"Hey, don't call her short!" Shōyō jumped to his little sister's defense like a good brother should.

"Calm down, Shō." Sakura just waved her hand dismissively, "He's just annoyed since he knows he'll lose this game." She took pride in seeing the small twitch in the blond's eyebrows as his golden irises sharpened dangerously.

Before Tsukishima could say anything else to the orange-haired girl, A different blond popped his head out of the gym door. "Aw look at that, you're all getting along so well!" Endo teased them all with a sly smile. He then caught sight of the only girl among the group and cheered happily, "Hinata-chan! Here to take even more pictures of me, huh?"

Sakura took a deep breath and disregarded the third-year as she walked through the group to enter the gym. She grunted at the older boy in greeting and didn't give him anything else to satisfy his ego. Today was definitely going to be a different Saturday for her.