Chapter Nine: He Who Is Called ‘Ace’

"ARE YOU EVER GOING TO EXPLAIN IT to us?" Suga asked Endo as he, Daichi, Tanaka, and Endo walked through the halls towards the second gym for practice. Ever since the quartet met up, they had been pestering Endo about his connection to Oikawa. Nobody had let it go after their practice game. How could they? It was always interesting to know some juicy tidbit about Endo. While Endo loved getting into other people's drama, he never really told anyone his own drama. So the guys just wanted to get a little information on him.

Even though Endo has been on the volleyball team for the past three years, no one on the team could really say that they knew Endo. Well, there was one person, but he wasn't here right now. They didn't know his past. He rarely talked about his family, his life in his home country, or his ambitions for the future. So seeing as this was an opportunity they could find out about some aspect of his past through his interactions with Oikawa, they were going to take it.

Endo shrugged his shoulders with a smirk, "There's not that much to explain."

"You know that stupid Oikawa!" Tanaka growled, "You owe us an explanation!"

Endo hummed with a smirk, "Hm, I find the mystery of this far more appealing than just telling you my secrets."

If Tanaka had hair, he would be pulling on it right now. He gritted his teeth at the smug bastard next to him, "You're so infuriating!" Endo just laughed loudly at Tanaka's plight as his eyes glowed arrogantly.

Daichi rolled his eyes, "I'm guessing you two went to school together."

"Oh, boo." Endo stuck his tongue out at his friend with narrowed eyes. His happy expression morphing into one of annoyance. "Daichi, always here to ruin my fun."

Suga nodded his head in understanding, disregarding Endo's glower at their captain. "I see. You and Oikawa must have gone to the same junior high

"Elementary, actually. I couldn't go to Kitagawa," Endo rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw. Any hint of amusement had been drained away as his eyes grew cold. "Father would never let me go anywhere except Mustafa." The resentment in his words was quite clear. He seemed to hold some sort of dislike for his father and the fact that he had gone to the prefecture's most expensive private school. The others of course knew how the blonde disliked his father, though that was just the tip of the iceberg. There was far more drama that they didn't know. The only one who did had already run away from the club, so there wasn't anyone there to really understand everything that Endo has gone through.

Suga blew a raspberry, "Rich boy gets to go to all the fancy-schmancy schools." Mustafa is a private middle school. It is extremely prestigious and not just anyone can get into it. The school is much like Shiratorizawa Academy Junior High since it was expensive to get into. Well, it was probably even more expensive to get into, especially because it is in Tokyo and not Miyagi. If anything, even if someone got into the school after passing the entrance exams, they would still have to shell out thousands of dollars just for a single year at the school. So it's reserved for the rich of the rich, the top one percent really.

The team always teased Endo for the fact that his family was wealthy. It was an unavoidable fact that Endo was quite well off financially. Not only that, but Endo tended to like flaunting his wealth quite a bit. Whether that was having the newest phone, designer clothes, or even a nice car. Out of any family in Miyagi, the Endo family was probably the wealthiest in the prefecture. The team liked to make a joke out of it sometimes. Though it could be annoying when Endo would constantly become extremely arrogant because of his wealth, but they made up for it by teasing him from time to time. They'd bring him back down to Earth when his ego inflated too much.

"Yes, it makes me wonder why I ever decided to come to Karasuno." Endo sighed as if truly saddened by his own choice in school. "I hate having to slum around with you peasants."

Tanaka bristled, just about ready to jump his upperclassmen, "Why you-!"

Though before he could do that, Endo placed a hand on his face to stop him from attacking. Tanaka just threw his arms around trying to hit the blonde, but Endo's long arms kept him at bay. Unconcerned with his younger teammate, Endo eyed the entrance of the gym after catching a glimpse of someone that he hadn't seen in nearly a month. It was a small ball of energy that certainly wasn't Hinata-kun, as this boy had black hair instead. Though once he caught a clear look of the famed libero, he bounded into the gym happily. "Is that who I think it is?"

The Guardian Deity turned to see the other members of the club come into the room. His dazzling smile seemed to widen even further, "Endo!"

The other teens came into the gym where Kageyama and Hinata had been practicing. Nishinoya Yuu, Karasuno's Guardian Deity, had seemingly interrupted their session, just as chaotically as he usually is.

"Hey!" Tanaka shouted out happily, "Noya-san."

Noya returned the same amount of joy at the sight of his fellow second-year, "Hey, Ryu."

"Nishinoya," Daichi greeted the short boy.

"Hey!"

The captain walked over to them and turned to the first-years, "let me introduce you. This is Nishinoya, a second-year."

Endo walked over and placed a hand on the smaller teen's head. He hummed in thought as he seemingly measured Noya's height. "Wow, Noya. You've been gone for nearly a month and you still haven't gotten any taller." Still the shortest on the team, how sad that must be, Endo thought. He couldn't relate.

Noya bristled and jumped at Endo. The two started to brawl with each other. "And you still don't have any manners, huh?!" The libero shouted out in anger while the blond cackled while dodging Noya's hands. The little demon was no match for Endo's quick reflexes and tall height.

"Don't talk to your precious senpai like that, my little kohai." Endo purred while grabbing Noya and lifting him up in the air. He trapped Noya's arms to his side, effectively stopping the small boy's attack. Though Noya's short legs wiggled in the air as he continued to fight against his capture. The older teen clicked his tongue, "you certainly have turned into a delinquent since you've been gone."

Daichi then chopped the back of Endo's neck, forcing him to drop Noya and yell out in pain. "Okay, okay you two. Calm down before I shut you both up."

"Yessir," both teens grunted out, Endo now nursing the new bruises on his neck.

Noya then turned to the younger boys who stared at the display, confused. "Hey! You guys are first-years, huh?" He then pointed at Kageyama, "You, the guy that was serving! The tall guy with the nasty glare. What junior high are you from?"

Kageyama stared for a moment before answering, "Kitagawa Daiichi."

"Seriously?" Nishinoya gaped now jumping in his spot, "That's school's for champs! No wonder you serve like that. I lost to them 2-to-1 when I played against them in middle school. They had someone who could deliver even better serves!"

The third-years stared at the bouncing energy ball with hollow expressions, "Noisy as ever." They did miss their precious libero, but his chaotic energy was definitely something they could probably go without.

"What junior high were you at, Nishinoya-san?" Kageyama questioned his senpai.

Nishinoya answered him with a shout, "Chidoriyama!"

He was also in awe at the answer, "That's a strong school. Why did you come to Karasuno? Because you heard coach Ukai was coming back?"

"No... I came to Karasuno because..." He paused for dramatic effect, making it out as if he had a profound reason for choosing this specific school. Though it wasn't that extreme of a reason, "Because I like the girls' uniform. Intensely. And the girls have lived up to my expectations. And above all..." He pulled on his blazer, "because of the boy's uniform. In black! I wore a blazer in junior high, so I admire this uniform. It's not brown or grey, but black!"

"I know what you mean," Tanaka agreed with a large smile.

"Karasuno has black uniforms, and the girl's uniform is cute. The school's close to home. It was a no-brainer." Just at that moment, a tall dark-haired beauty came walking into the gym. Nishinoya's eyes grew wide with hearts in them as he spied the third-year manager. He took off into a sprint and launched himself at the poor girl, "Kiyoko-san! I've come to see you!" She shouted out in surprise and Noya found himself at the receiving end of a harsh slap. 

Endo laughed loudly as Nishinoya now laid on the ground with a handprint on his cheek, "Rejected!"

Daichi chuckled, "He's like a hurricane, as usual."

Shōyō stared in surprise at the display, "A horny tornado."

"Quite the noisemaker, isn't he?" Their captain laughed, "Yet when he plays, he's surprisingly... quiet."

Nishinoya collected himself, sending one more glare at Endo who continued to laugh at his blunder. He turned to everyone with his smile, "And? Where's Asahi-san? Did he come back?"

Everyone held their breath for a moment. The dreaded question was something that none of the upperclassmen really wanted to tell him. Endo's laughter came to a halt at the question, at the reminder. The older club members looked away from him. "No..."

Nishinoya processed the muttered answer before gritted his teeth. Slowly but surely the group eyed his fist shaking slightly as he clenched them in frustration. "That coward!"

"Hey, Noya!" Tanaka exclaimed at the disrespect, "Don't talk like that about your senpai!"

"Shut up!" Noya just about screamed, "A coward is a coward. If Asahi-san's not coming back, neither am I."

Tanaka called out to him as Noya spun around and marched out of the gym, "Hey, Noya!"

The gym was quiet and awkward for a moment after their libero stomped off. The air was thick and nearly choked each boy as they stood there watching the smallest club member walk off. They knew that talking about their missing member would upset Noya. It upset them all that Asahi had yet to come back.

Endo cleared this throat and made sure that his face was devoid of any negative expression. "What did I say, a delinquent. Talking bad of his upperclassmen, I wonder where he learned that." Trying to defuse the tension, he chuckled and looked down at Kageyama and Hinata. Obviously hiding the fact that Noya's departure had upset him just a little bit. His fake smile was plastered on his face, trying to hide his true feelings on this matter. "Don't take after him, Kageyama, Hinata-kun. Always respect your amazing senpais, okay!"

Suga deadpanned, "I don't think taking your advice is a good idea either, Endo."

---

Meeting up with the photography club was slowly becoming something that Sakura enjoyed. It may be away from Shōyō, but it was slowly becoming a safe space for her. Not only that, but she was also making friends. The upperclassmen who were a part of the club were slowly but surely becoming close acquaintances of hers. She wasn't exactly friends with them, but she got along with them easily and could have good conversations with them. There were only four other members besides herself and Shimada; one other third-year and three second-years. Sakura didn't talk to them outside of the club(mainly because they were her upperclassmen and she didn't see them that often), but they had a nice enough relationship.

It also helped that everyone in the club was supportive. In the beginning, Sakura was so hesitant to show them her photos. However, they got her to open up enough for her to show them at least some of her work. From then on, they found how Sakura was so new to getting compliments and was quite shy to show others. So they showered her with compliments and good-hearted constructive criticism whenever they could. Instead of trying to tear her down, like some assholes, they would rather see her improve.

Currently, the club was ending a tad bit earlier than usual. It was coming up soon; the first gallery of the year. Just next week, Sakura would have to enter a photo into the gallery. Everyone was pretty jittery for it, but knew what they were doing. While Sakura has a better idea of what to do, she just needed to find something she deemed worthy of being in the gallery to represent her. The club president came bouncing over to the first-year with a smile stretched on her face, "So you have an idea of what to do, Hinata-chan?"

"Yeah, I think so," Sakura shrugged her shoulders while placing her camera around her neck. She then pursed her lips, having an internal debate for a moment before coughing. A light tinge of pink came over her cheeks as she spoke in a small voice. "By the way... you can just call me Sakura. So you don't end up confusing Shōyō and me."

Shimada was, Sakura would say, her first friend. At least, her first real friend at Karasuno. So isn't this what friends do? They become friendly, have nicknames for each other and stuff. Sakura has really only had one nickname from Koji and Izumi, who called her "Saku-chan". Nobody necessarily got familiar with her in that way(besides Endo and Tanaka so far), though that may be due to her seeming to be unapproachable. Some people just assume that she's mean or didn't want people to be friends with her. However, she didn't mind if someone called her with such a familiar honorific(unless they were annoying like Endo and Tanaka). Though she did kind of find it embarrassing to say it out loud. She's never gotten close to someone unless they had something to do with Shōyō. Really, Shimada could have kept calling her Hinata since Shimada had yet to even meet Shōyō. So there was no real reason for Shimada to differentiate between the twins by name. However, Sakura was just using it as an excuse to give her... friend the ability to be more familiar with her.

The brown-haired girl cooed and grabbed Sakura in a tight hug, "Aw! You're so cute Hina- I mean Sakura-chan!" Oh, how she loved seeing her little kohai opening up to her even more.

Sakura choked for a moment at the tight grasp on her. She wondered if Shimada was secretly a wrestler or something. The younger teen fought against her for a moment before finally escaping Shimada's gorilla tight grip. She straightened out her uniform and huffed, "Whatever. I'll be going now."

She exited the club room with a final goodbye to all of her fellow club members and started to make her way towards the gym. On her way there, there were two thoughts rolling around in her head. One; the gallery and what she would enter into it. Two; how she was going to let her brother let her ride home alone since all she wants to do is go home at the moment.

While she was stuck in her thoughts, she didn't hear the thudding footsteps running up behind her or the shout, "Hinaaataaa!!"

It was already too late by the time Sakura realized there was someone behind her. She found herself being run into by a boy, a little shorter than her. "Wah!" 

The two tumbled to the ground, with the boy falling on top of Sakura. She grunted at the sudden weight on her while the boy held his head after accidentally hitting it. He laughed joyously, "Oh, sorry, Hinata! I'm just excited a-" He froze with wide eyes after finally opening his eyes to see who he had accidentally tackled. This wasn't Hinata, even if they looked extremely alike. Not only that but she was also wearing the girl's uniform. "...girl?"

"Can you get off?" Sakura deadpanned up at the boy who was still hovering over her, frozen. A few seconds passed without any movement from the teen with black-haired and a tuft of blonde hair right in front of his eyes. He was staring at her in awe and confusion. She then tried again, "Please? Hello?"

He blanched, "I'm sorry, girl Hinata! I would never mean to hurt you ever! I deeply apologize!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Get off."

"I'm sorry!" He then jumped off of Sakura and bowed deeply.

She slowly got up as well, brushing off her uniform before checking to see if her camera was okay. If this boy had damaged her camera in any way, he certainly would have been in a world of hurt. Though she found that it was perfectly fine. Looks like this guy gets to live another day. She huffed, "Stop apologizing, it's all right. You thought I was my brother, right?"

"Hinata didn't say he had a sister!" He exclaimed in surprise.

She stared at him closely with a raised eyebrow, "Who are you?"

The boy puffed out his chest, "I'm Nishinoya Yuu, a second-year! Call me senpai!"

Sakura stared at him blankly, obviously not going to comply with his wish. She could already tell that he had the same chaotic energy as Tanaka. Dealing with the team just got 5x harder, she realized. "You're on the volleyball team, yes?" She studied him for a moment and took in his small build. He was by no means tall, actually, he was shorter than her by maybe a centimeter or two. Unless he could jump like Shōyō, then he would have to be a libero. Not only that, but she spied the small bruises on his arms and suspected that he got them from doing diving receives. "Why do I have a feeling you're Karasuno's Guardian Deity..."

Nishinoya brightened with stars in his eyes. Not only did this girl know who he is already, but she was quite cute too! She wasn't exactly on the same beauty level as Kiyoko, but she was still quite adorable. "You know who I am!"

"Ah," Sakura grunted still eyeing him, "I can see why you're the libero now."

Nishinoya bristled, "Why? Because I'm short!" He huffed, thinking that she was going to make fun of his height. So what he was short?! This may be girl was a bit taller than him, that didn't mean she could make fun of him for it! Even if she is a cute girl!

She shook her head lazily and spoke with a bored tone, "No, because you're quick on your feet. You knocked me down pretty hard too." She tilted her head at him with her eyes large and inquisitive, "I guess being short is just an added bonus."

Nishinoya stared at her for a long moment. Even if she had just called him short, when really she was only taller than him by about a centimeter or so. It almost looked as though he was in a trance as he stared at her. Sakura had thought that he had suddenly short-circuited with the way he became so quiet. Though he did finally speak after a bit, "You're so cute..." He had been completely distracted by the way her large brown eyes had been lit up in the sun rays and her short orange hair swayed in the light wind to say anything else. He may have said that without meaning to, though with this chaotic boy, you never really know what or why he does things.

She bristled slightly as the tips of her ears became red once she registered what he had muttered out. Sakura crossed her arms over her chest as she became embarrassed, "Don't say stuff like that to someone you don't know."

"What is your name, cute girl Hinata!?" He jumped at her and became uncomfortable close to her, ignoring what she had said.

She stared at him for a long moment before muttering out her answer, "...Sakura."

"A cherry blossom!" Nishinoya exclaimed with hearts in his eyes, already knowing what her name meant, "A cute flower!"

Sakura sighed heavily as she started to walk away from the love-stricken second-year. "I'm so done with you volleyball idiots." She then turned to head off to the gym with the boy following after her like a love-sick puppy. Things were definitely going to become even more annoying, she thought.

---

For some reason, one that Sakura didn't understand or care to comprehend, the libero wasn't going to play on the team. Apparently, the only reason he was at the practice at the moment was to teach her brother how to receive properly. While she was grateful to know that someone was going to finally teach him the correct technique, she was a bit annoyed that it was from one of the most chaotic boys that she's met. Ever since they had walked to the gym together, Nishinoya made it pretty obvious that he found her extremely adorable. No matter what he said, she always became embarrassed. Sakura has never had someone compliment her so much as he did in the first few minutes of them meeting. So sue her if she becomes easily flustered by the stupid things that Nishinoya said about her. This may be why she had placed herself on the other side of the gym, away from the second-year, hoping that she wouldn't draw his attention and be embarrassed again. The last thing she would want is for the others to see her like that, especially that stupid Tsukishima, he wouldn't let her live it down.

"So, what I'm saying is..." Nishinoya said as he stood in front of the first-years. "You shwoom in, swish together, then thump." He demonstrated a receive as the volleyball hit his forearm perfectly, "See?"

The others just stared at him and then tilted their heads. The way that he was explaining it was going straight over their heads. Nishinoya may be a genius, but he wasn't the greatest teacher. From the sidelines, Tanaka shook his head, "It's impossible to decipher the words of someone who moves on instinct alone."

Endo piped up with a snicker, "I'm pretty sure it's just how morons speak."

"Really?" Kageyama asked from beside them, "I got a good idea of what he meant."

"You've proven my point," Endo flashed him a wolfish smirk. The first-year just bristled at the slight against him. 

The other second-year stared at Kageyama with a disgruntled expression, "You're just like him. Whenever you explain things, you speak in sound effects, like 'oomph' and 'boosh'." He then grumbled, "It's gobbledy-gook to the rest of us."

Sakura had to admit, that Nishinoya is quite a talented volleyball player. He has the raw athleticism that any good athlete should have. That included being quick on his feet, having good technique, and having the advantage of being the shortest on the team. All good qualities of a libero. Though, at the thought that he was a very talented libero, Sakura raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Why isn't he on the team? She wondered, he's a volleyball idiot just like the others, so why would he not be able to play on the team?

"Uh, Nishinoya?" Shōyō asked as he walked over to the slightly shorter teen.

His upperclassman turned to him, "Huh?"

"Who is Asahi, the person you mentioned before?" He had just unknowingly opened up a can of worms that surely would bring up some sore spots on the team.

"Idiot!" Tanaka shouted at him from across the gym, "That's the name that must not be spoken!" On the side, Endo shuffled a little bit, uncomfortable, as he knew what was coming. This was a sore topic, for everyone, especially Nishinoya and Endo. Even Sakura could tell that the subject was a bit touchy for them. Her narrowing brown eyes swept over the older teens as she observed how uncomfortable Endo had suddenly come. It was strange to see the pompous boy become quiet like this.

Nishinoya was quiet for a moment, seemingly trying to compose himself. Though he eventually sighed and explained, "He's the Ace of Karasuno, for now."

"'The Ace'?" Shōyō asked in awe.

"Why have you gone dumb?"

The orange-haired teen jumped, stars already beaming in his eyes at even the thought of the positions "I want to be the ace!"

"You wanna be ace with your height?" Nishinoya asked inquisitively, causing the boy to deflate. Great, yet another person who didn't seem to believe that he would make it as an ace due to his height. Though Nishinoya laughed heartily, "I like you! For sure! You wanna do it because it's cool, right? Go for it! You be the ace! You can do it! You have way more promise than our current ace! I guess everyone wants to be the ace."

Shōyō nodded his head rapidly, "Yes, sir! It's cool to be the ace!"

"The word "ace" even sounds cool!" Nishinoya commented, "The words "setter" and "libero" are kinda plain."

To the side, Kageyama glowered slightly at the slander against his position. Seeing his sour look, Suga walked over to his kohai, "Now, now..."

"But one thing that really works up a crowd during a game, better than any amazing spike..." Nishinoya said as the others stared at him, as he started to explain his love for the sport. "They go crazy when a super receive is made! In "tall beats all" volleyball, the libero may be one of the few positions best suited for a short player. However, I do not play the libero position because of my height. I would play libero even if I was 6 feet tall." He said passionately, "Even if you can't spike or block, you cannot lose in volleyball as long as the ball doesn't touch the floor. And the one who does that job best... is the libero."

Shōyō was amazed at Nishinoya's little speech. While he didn't relate entirely since he loves to spike and jump, he understood his adoration for his position. Just like how Nishinoya loves being a libero, Shōyō loves being a spiker and hopefully an ace. "Th-that's so cool!"

"Y-you idiot!" Nishinoya grew flustered at Shōyō's sudden gushing admiration. He waved at the boy to try and hide his embarrassed expression. "You don't have to say it so loud and clear, you! How about two popsicles, in soda and pear flavor?"

"Yessir!"

Sakura laughed lightly at the display. At least now he had a bit of karma for flustering her earlier, she thought. Though she hoped that Nishinoya also got her a popsicle, she actually felt like getting one after practice. Plus, free food is good, no matter what it is, in her opinion. A nice sugary treat will be nice after having to deal with these volleyball idiots. She didn't doubt that he would. From how enamered he seemed with her, Nishinoya would most likely do it. 

Nishinoya then calmed down a bit, "So, Ace Wannabe, what's your special skill? Sure, you may be crap at receives, but I bet you have something."

"I'm, uh..." Shoyo muttered, "a decoy."

Nishinoya stared in confusion, not able to hear what he had said, "You're a duck?"

He sighed, "I'm a decoy."

They were silent for a moment as the older boy stared at Shōyō confused. "Why aren't you more confident when you say that?"

"It sounds kind of boring compared to "ace" and "guardian deity"." Shōyō explained glumly.

Nishinoya shrugged his shoulders, "What it's called has nothing to do with it."

"But..."

He insisted, "If someone can score with a spike thanks to your decoy work, that makes your position as important as the rest of 'em."

His words certainly lifted Shōyō's spirits just a little bit. Even Kageyama agreed with Nishinoya as he nodded his head behind the short teen. Shōyō sighed, "Yes, sir."

Endo then waltzed over to them, a smirk plastered on his face. He rested his elbow on the top of Nishinoya's head, to the libero's annoyance. "You best take his words to heart, little guy!" The blonde third-year laughed loudly, "he may be a delinquent, but he knows what he's talking about... most of the time."

"Endo!" Nishinoya shouted and started to attack his senpai like a scrappy puppy. "Bend down so I can punch you're pretty face!"

"Ooo, Nishi thinks I'm pretty."

After a little while, Daichi ended up having to scold the two like the overworked father that he is. Meanwhile, just about everyone else was laughing at the display. Including Tsukishima and Sakura. The entire team was almost complete. All they were missing was their ace and a proper coach.

---

"You know, I don't think you need my help with this."

Sakura stared at the pair who had come to find her in her classroom the next morning. Her brother and Kageyama had wanted to journey over to the third-year classrooms in hopes of finding the Ace of Karasuno. Perhaps they could find out why this Asahi guy hadn't come back yet. Could it be because of an injury? Some other problem? Either way, Shōyō was extremely anxious to find him. After all, this was the guy that he wanted to be like!

Shōyō whined, "But you've been over there before!"

"Doesn't mean I know where your precious Ace is." Sakura hummed in uninterest as she stared out the window from her desk. She has been to the third-year classrooms a few times. Most of the time it was to find Shimada to talk with her about the club. Of course, deep down, she knew it was because Shimada was really her good friend and wanted to actually hang around her, but Sakura wouldn't say that out loud. Emotions are not her strong suit, so she wouldn't admit that she just wanted to be around someone she considered a friend.

There was then a grunt from the taller boy beside Shōyō, the to boys surrounding her desk, as he glowered down at Sakura. Kageyama didn't necessarily want her to come with, but Shōyō insisted that she could be of some help. Though whatever got this over with quicker was fine with him. Even if he had to go along with the stony-faced Sakura. "Are you going to help or not?"

Sakura paused as she heard him speak. The girl wasn't sure if she had heard Kageyama say the word 'help' before. Even if they've known each other for a short while, Sakura was positive that he never asks for help. He is far too arrogant for that. She smirked and teasingly looked up at the gloomy boy, "Oh, is the king actually asking for help, how strange."

"Hinata-kun is the one who's desperate to talk with the Ace and he won't shut up about it." He grunted in reply as his eyes narrowed even further. His blueberry eyes almost started to take on the shape of slits, like the eyes of a snake. At least, in Sakura's perspective, it looked like it. "Are you going to not help your twin?"

Sakura's jaw clenched at the question. And there, he caught it. He caught her in a bit of a tough position. Kageyama observed as she seemed to have an internal debate about this. If she said no, it meant she wasn't willing to help her brother. And she could rarely say no to him, Kageyama was slowly realizing. She really only said no when it was for something she deemed unimportant. However, meeting this ace is quite important to Shōyō. So Kageyama was sure that she'd have a hard time saying no to him now.

Shōyō jumped in place with his infamous puppy-dog eyes, "Please, Imouto!"

She clicked her tongue at the large eyes boing back at her. Her tough resolve slowly broke down at the pout from her brother, she really can't say no to him when he looks like this. Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, "Whatever, I'll help." Her brother yelped in happiness as he seemed to vibrate in place. Sakura sighed heavily and got up from her desk, "come on, I wanna get back in time for class."

She left her classroom with the two boys quickly trailing after her. For being such a short girl, she certainly could walk fast, so they didn't want ot lose sight of her through the school. Sakura led the boys through the corridors and passed plenty of different classrooms. While they walked, there were a few older students who called out to Sakura. Though in response to them greeting her, Sakura just waved slightly before trying to hide and walk even faster.

Shōyō was a bit confused. Sakura had other friends? She hadn't said anything about friends besides the guys from the volleyball team. Though he does remember her mentioning a Shimada, and some other people, so they must be the people trying to talk with her. It certainly wasn't a bad thing, by a long shot. He smiled widely. This meant that Sakura was putting herself out there, at least a bit more than she did during junior high. He didn't know why Sakura was always so closed off, especially in their third year. However, he's glad to know that she wasn't like that now. Joining the photography club has definitely done her some good! He is so happy for his imouto!

The trio then started to approach the first third-year classroom that they came across. Sakura moved out of the way to push her brother towards it. "Here, first classroom. Go find the ace."

Though instead of heading towards it, and easily staying in place since Sakura was as strong as a lemming, Shōyō turned to the tall blueberry next to him. "You go first," Shōyō said to him.

The dark-haired boy shook his head, "You're the one who wanted to see the ace, remember?"

"B-but I'm too scared to go near a third-year classroom."

As they were talking the door had opened up and a tall boy with long hair walked out of the classroom. The two first-year boys bikered a little bit more while Sakura stared at them with irritation burning in her eyes. She was debating whether or not just leaving to two here, since she didn't feel like she needed to be there. There was no way that she wanted to be late to class today. Her perfect attendance was not going to be ruined because of her brother's volleyball obsession.

Then their setter senpai came out of the same classroom, chasing after the long-haired teen. "Wait up, Asahi!"

"'Asahi'?" The three first-years asked.

Azumane Asahi, the tall ace of Karasuno, turned to the group with a tilt of his head. "Yes?"

Shōyō jumped at the intimidating figure in front of him and hoped over to hide behind Kageyama and his sister. Suga looked at the first-year trio inquisitively, "Wh-what? What are you guys doing?"

"Uh, well..." Shōyō stuttered.

Sakura stared up at Asahi with a raised eyebrow. Yeah, he's definitely an ace, she thought to herself. He appeared to be intimidating, and he was tall, maybe taller than the blonde beanpole. Though she did think that he looked... older than he actually is. The beard definitely gave him the appearance of a guy who was held back a few years. At least, she hoped he hadn't been held back a few years. 

"I'll introduce you." Suga commented and gestured to them, "This is Hinata and Kageyama, who just joined the club."

Asahi smiled, "Oh, the first-years."

"Afternoon!" They bowed to him, though Sakura just bowed her head a bit. She was too lazy to act formally at the moment.

"Afternoon," The new third-year greeted and turned to Suga, "They're all on the team?"

"I'm not," Sakura cut in and shook her head before gesturing to her twin, "I'm just this idiot's sister."

Asahi smiled sheepishly. Honestly, he thought that she was a boy at first glance. However, he really should have caught on to the fact that she is, well, a girl. She is wearing a female uniform after all. "Ah, I see. So how many did you get this year?"

"Four." Suga answered, "Not the numbers we wanted, but they're all promising. Including Hinata-kun, he's hoping to be the ace."

"I see." Asahi smiled before placing a hand on the short boy's shoulder. Shōyō was broken out of thoughts about the ace, "Give it your best."

Shōyō tilted his head, "Aren't you going to give it your best with us? I want to become the ace, so I want to see the real ace in action!"

There was an apprehensive expression on his face. Sakura could already tell that this was a hard decision for him to make. She has no idea what could have caused this tough-looking teen to become so uneasy about coming back to the team. From what she observed, all of the upperclassmen on the team felt uneasy about Asahi and Nishinoya. She knew that they two must have fought or something to cause whatever tension there is between them and the team. In order to have a complete and efficient team, she knew that they were going to need them all together. The chemistry that she had seen between the team as it is already was pretty strong, though she figured that it would be even more powerful with their libero and ace around.

"Azumane, the teacher's waiting for you!" A student called out to them, breaking their conversation up.

Asahi smiled apologetically, "Sorry, but I'm no ace." Then he walked off, leaving behind a group of disappointed teens. The most depressed at Asahi's departure is obviously Suga. He had been hoping to try and convince his friend to come back, entice him with the fact that Nishinoya was already back practicing with them. Try to get him to come back with the fact that even Endo seemed to be upset at their absence. However, nothing was getting through his thick head. Even if Asahi had faltered at the fact that Endo had shown any sort of indication that he was even slightly depressed, he still walked away from this.

"Excuse me," Kageyama spoke to Suga as Asahi disappeared down the hall, "but did he get injured?"

His senpai shook his head with a sigh, "No, it's nothing like that. The problem is... he may hate volleyball now."

"What?" Shōyō gasped as if it were a sin to not like volleyball, which he probably believed. "But he's so big and they call him the ace! Why would he?"

Sakura clicked her tongue, "Just because he's built for volleyball doesn't mean he has to play or like it."

The grey-haired setter nodded his head in thanks towards the girl. He is glad that she was there to be somewhat reasonable. Suga definitely knew that Sakura always had to explain things to her brother like this. He swallowed, "Asahi... was Karasuno's biggest and most powerful player. He could score in the trickiest, most problematic scenarios." He walked over to an open window and leaned out of it. The memory of what had happened the previous school year getting to him just a little bit. "That's why we trusted him and called him the ace. But..."

"Was he crushed?" Kageyama asked, already having a feeling what had happened.

"In this one game, his spikes were completely blocked." Suga swallowed as he remembered their game against the iron wall. No matter what they had done or tried to do, they were shut out no matter what. Their ace could not break through their wall, and their libero couldn't save as many balls as he could. "Asahi is the type who has a strong sense of responsibility."

The trio of first-years eventually turned to start walking off after finishing their conversation with their senpai. They all now had a better understanding of what was happening with their missing ace. How he had lost enough confidence to not want to come back to the team. Even enough to lose interest in volleyball to the point where he might not even like it.

The boys had to head to the gym for practice as usual. Though before she followed after them, Sakura huffed through her nose. Suga turned to find that she hadn't left just yet and allowed the troublesome duo to head off on their own. "If you say that he's the responsible type, then I'm pretty sure he'll come back." She said to him. Her expression wasn't void like it usually is. Instead, she looked compassionate, at least, as compassionate as a tsundere like her could get. Her eyes were soft and the corner of her lips was turned up slightly in a small smile. It took Suga by surprise since he had never seen her smile like this. At most, he had seen her slick, sadistic smirks. At the sight of her soft expression, Suga had blushed a tiny bit. Only a little though. Not a lot. What could he say, she looks absolutely adorable when she wasn't scowling so much. Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "That and I think Shō-nii will keep pestering him until he comes back. Either way, the team will have their ace, eventually."

Suga cleared his throat before chuckling. Yeah, she was right about that. Asahi wouldn't be gone for long, he thought. Also, her brother definitely wouldn't let this go so easily. "I hope you're right, Hinata-chan."

With one final nod and flash of her cute little smile, Sakura spun around and lazily waving over her shoulder. "Later," her light footsteps traveled further away from the third-year who still had a small hue of rose on his cheeks. All this volleyball drama was a bit more tiring than she would have thought. Honestly, Sakura was starting to get a headache with some of it. She exited the building and looked around to see where dumb and dumber went, only to find that they were racing off towards the gym. She rolled her eyes, there was no way that she was going to run after them. So she set off on her lazy trot towards the gym.

This time while walking off to find her moronic brother, her mind wasn't racing. At least not as usual. While she was still a bit... worried(she supposed) about the gallery next week, it wasn't as prominent in her mind. Sure it was coming up soon, and she is a bit jittery about it, but it was on the back burner. She had at least an idea of what she wanted to do now. After thinking back to why she liked photography, her insecurity with it, and her apprehension to share her passion, she had finally come to terms with what to do. She had a clearer idea of what she wanted to represent in her photo. All she needed was to find a subject for it. There was no way that she would pace herself as the subject, even if she was thinking of her own new beginnings. She hates taking pictures of herself, she always thought that she looked weird in photos.

On her way to the gym, Sakura ended up running into the two other first-years on the team. She pursed her lips, it seems like they were starting to run into each other like this quite often. On one hand, Sakura was more than okay with running into Yamaguchi since he is an extremely likable person. However, Sakura has made it quite clear that she did not like Tsukishima.

"Ah, Yamaguchi," she greeted the olive-haired boy politely. Though she didn't even bat an eye at Tsukishima as she threw a greeting at him over her shoulder, "beanpole."

Tsukishima glared down at her and tsked while putting on his headphones. He was obviously alright with ignoring her, though that isn't surprising. Sakura also is more than okay with not having to hear his annoying jabs at her. Yamaguchi smiled warmly, "Oh, hey, Hinata-chan. Are you headed to the gym?"

She nodded her head while following them, "Yeah, I don't have club today."

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess Shimada-senpai is giving us the opportunity to plan for the gallery next week."

"And here I thought you were slacking off." So it seems like the blonde giant is paying attention to their conversation. 

She stared up at him with her half-lidded eyes, "I guess you thought wrong." She clicked her tongue, "First time for everything, huh?"

"Tch."

Sakura disregarded him as he ignored her once again. Ah, how she loved annoying him just as he does to her. She then turned to the other boy they were walking with, "So how have you been Yamaguchi?"

"A-ah, I've been alright." He jumped slightly at the sharp attention. Yamaguchi definitely didn't want to see Tsukishima and Sakura have a bit of a spat between each other again. He liked to think that he was slowly becoming friends with Sakura, especially with how she's been kind to him. So he didn't want that to be ruined because of the relationship between the two. He smiled sheepishly, "Though I did have a bit of trouble with our math assignment today, but Tsuki helped me out. He's really good at math!"

He always has something nice to say about Tsukishima, she observed. No matter what, he tried to wedge in some sort of compliment about the blonde. Sakura would have found it quite sweet if Tsukishima wasn't such an asshole. "Never would have thought."

Yamaguchi chuckled slightly and disregarded the pointed glare Tsukishima was burning into his side. He calmed down enough and scratched the back of his neck, "So when is your gallery?"

"Next week," she answered swiftly.

"Oh, it'll be really cool to see your work, I haven't seen any of your photos yet." While Sakura had been around them these past few weeks, she hadn't shown anyone her photos. Of course, Yamaguchi was certain that she has shown her twin her work, but he hadn't seen any. The gallery gave him the perfect opportunity to see what she could do. He was actually really curious to see what photos she had taken of him, if any.

Sakura puckered her lips and looked away from him, "Well... I didn't necessarily think anyone on the team would want to see it."

"Why?" Tsukishima snapped. His tone sounded sharp and uninterested, but truly, he was just a little, a little bit curious as to why. She wasn't exactly an open book, from his perspective, and he couldn't read her as easily as some people. He could tell that she was hiding quite a bit, just like himself. Tsukishima had baggage, stuff that he hid from everyone in hopes to avoid the same betrayal that he was subjected to as a kid. Sakura could be doing the same, he thought. Someone doesn't become this emotionless and unbothered with life for no reason. Something happened to her, and even if he would want to admit it, he was curious as to what it was. He has an idea of what it was related to, but he wasn't certain.

"Let me rephrase that, I don't want you to see it." She stated hotly, breaking the tall boy out of his thoughts. He glanced down to see the harsh stare that she pointed at him, "Especially you."

The sly smirk that graced his lips caused Sakura to falter slightly. He moved to stand in front of her, effectively stopping the trio from continuing on. Yamaguchi watched anxiously from the sidelines while Sakura glared at Tsukishima. He couldn't help the snide snicker that escaped his lips. "Scared that we'll actually see how bad your photos are."

Sakura clenched her jaw at the jab. Though she couldn't really deny that he was completely wrong. Even if her confidence had been built up quite a bit since joining her club, it wasn't high enough to let her brother's team see her work. Especially not the beanpole. He would tear her down within a second, and she really didn't want to hear what he had to say. She could tell that he was figuring it out what was going through her mind from that smirk on his punchable face. "I don't care what you think of my work." She snapped harshly, showing that his slightly true statement got to her. "I just don't want to deal with you bothering me while I'm there." With that said, she brushed past him and leaving behind the infuriating boy.

"If you say so," He said smugly. Oh yeah, he could see through her now.

---

Now at practice, everyone settled into their normal routine. Sakura sat down againt the wall to watch them while they lined up to practice their receives. Next up is Nishinoya, who jumped once the ball was spike at him, "Rolling Thunder!!"

It was silent for a moment as they took in his exuberant display of skill. Though eventually, a few of the other boys started to laugh at his shout. Suga just stared at him with a raised eyebrow, "Uh, yeah, nice receive."

"That's just a rolling receive!" Tanaka cackled loudly at his fellow second-year's 

Kageyama stared at him with wide eyes, "Why did you shout like that?"

"What was that?" Tsukishima asked through his snickers while Yamaguchi did his best to hide his laughter. Though his shoulders continued to shake despite his efforts. Even Sakura was laughing at the poor boy, though she did a better job of hiding her laughter by stuffing her face into her knees.

"Kageyama! Tsukishima! Yamaguchi!" Nishinoya raged at the laughing first-years, "I'm gonna lecture the whole lot of you! Crouch! No, sit! Get over here, so I can look down at you!"

"Teach it to me!" Shōyō called out, rushing up to the libero with stars in his eyes. "Please teach me the rolling Thunder!"

Endo was probably the loudest as he laughed at his friend and patted him on the back. "Good job, Nishi! As excitable as always!"

As the boys continued to laugh at their libero, their club advisor came running into the gym. "Well done, guys! Can I have your attention, everyone?" The boys all gathered up in front of their teacher, "You're all doing the Golden Week training camp this year too, right?"

Daichi nodded his head, "Yes, we need more practice."

Takeda pushed up his glasses like a badass, "Anyway, for the final day of Golden Week... I've booked you a practice game!" The boys cheered at the news. A practice match! How awesome!

"Wow!" Tanaka exclaimed, "You're really pulling your weight, Take!"

"Who are we playing against?" Suga asked excitedly.

Takeda then explained, "A veteran school in Tokyo, Nekoma High. I believe the nickname they go by is... 'The Cats'."

Shōyō tilted his head in question, "Cats?"

Tanaka placed his hands on his hips, "We heard about them a lot. Our old coach and theirs were rivals, and we'd travel to play against each other all the time." Ah yes, the famed Nokoma volleyball team. Things are definitely going to get interesting soon.

Suga nodded his head, "I remember! 'The Major Matchup! The Cats VS Crows Dumpster Showdown!'"

"Was that seriously a major matchup?" Tsukishima asked snarkily at the riduculous name.

Their captain raised an eyebrow to Takeda, "But we haven't had any reason to play them for a while, so why now?"

"Right, I'll explain the details later." Their advisor started, "I happen to learn about our worthy adversary Nekoma, so I just had to stage a 'fateful rematch'. I'm positive he'll make a move... if we play Nekoma High." At the corner store down the hill, Ukai sneezed.

Daichi "Okay! Let's put some enthusiasm into this practice game so it doesn't go to waste!"

The entire team nodded, "Yessir!"

"Tokyo, huh?" Tanaka thought out loud with a sharp toothed smirk, "Those damned city boys. I'm gonna pulverize their pretty little faces."

Tsukishima laughed, "Did you say 'city boys'?" The way that Tanaka had said 'city boys' sounded more like 'shitty boys', he should probably work on his pronunciations. 

"Shut up!" Tanaka bristled at the younger boy, "Tuskishima, you bastard!" Though Tsukishima was more than happy to see how he caused his upperclassman some plight.

Though as the rest of the team was quite excited with the news, there was one person who was a bit... Nishinoya walked up to the captain, "Daichi? I'm sorry, I can't attend the practice game."

Daichi turned to him in confusion, "Nishinoya?"

The boy sighed heavily, "Shōyō's a great guy and the other first-years are a bunch of ruffians, but they're all fun. I think this team is gonna shape up into something good."

Endo came up to the pair, having heard their conversation and decided to come over to see what it was about. However, now that he heard it, he wasn't that glad to know about Nishinoya not wanting to stick around. He had high hopes of their libero staying in the club. Though now it seemed like he had hoped for nothing. The blonde tried to smile, "Come on, Nishi, with your help it will."

"I want to practice here too." The libero pursed his lips, "But if I play a game and our team won, that would be like proving that we can win without Asahi. I'd hate that." He then turned to stare meaningfully up at the third-year spiker, "You understand, right Endo?"

Endo stared at the libero with no smile on his face. It had dissolved so easily, proving that he was just putting on a mask. He tried to keep any negative expression off of his face, but he slowly started to appear disheartened. He sighed heavily, "...Yeah..." As much as he wanted to argue with Nishinoya, his argument was tugging on his heart. He also didn't want to play a game without Asahi. He's the strongest one on their team, which is why he is the ace. Even when they had played against Aoba Johsai, it was upsetting to know that they won without him and Nishinoya. It was by the skin of their teeth, but it was still a win. A win without their entire team. As much as he liked having a win over Oikawa, it was slightly pushed to the side with the fact that it wasn't with his best friend.

"We've been teammates all this time. I-I'm sorry for being so selfish," Nishinoya stuttered out.

Even if Nishinoya felt like he was doing a disserviece to the team, Daichi knew where he was coming from. He nodded his head, "Understood, but I want you to come to the training camp with us."

Nishinoya sputtered at the demand, "What? But..."

Before he could question it, the smallest first-year came running over to them with a volleyball in hand. His eyes were large and sparkling, "Noya, one more time! Do the Rolling Thunder one more time!"

"See?" Daichi smiled while crossing his arms.

Endo smirked, now seeing how they could use Shōyō as leverage to get Nishinoya to stay. Hopefully, for a while. He placed his hands on the libero's shoulders and pushed him closer to their ball of sunshine. "Don't disappoint your kohai, Nishinoya!"

---

The practice came to an end and the boys were starting to clean up the gym after a satisfyingly tiring practice. Not only that, but the boys were still buzzing in excitement over the training camp and the showdown against Nekoma. Traveling to Tokyo will definitely be extremely fun!

Sakura was a bit interested to hear about this trip. She has no idea what these training camps would be like, since Shōyō had never been to one before. So she couldn't wait to hear about it from him when it was over. Especially that practice game against "The Cats". She could only imagine what kind of team that was. If they earned that nickname, then they must have the reflexes of cats. That was the only prediction that she could really make about them since she had no idea what kind of a team Nekoma is. Maybe she should look into it.

The troublesome duo was taking a few quick sips from their water bottles now that they had finished their clean up duty. Shōyō looked over to Kageyama, "Do you think that things with Sugawara and Nishinoya would work out if Asahi came back to the club?"

Kageyama shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno."

From her seat against the wall by her twin, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, "Maybe." She couldn't be sure of anything with what was happening between their senpais. She's only known these boys for a short time, so she has no idea what to expect of them. Whatever relationships they have with each other isn't something that she's privy too, at least not yet. 

"He said that Asahi is the type who has a strong sense of responsibility," Shōyō recalled their talk with the older setter, "but I think Sugawara is the same way, don't you?"

"Both of them are very responsible." Kageyama commented, "Although they can't possibly win by themselves."

"A-are you allowed to say that?" Shōyō gasped dramatically at the seeming hypocrisy that he just witnessed, "I remember that famous line of yours like it was yesterday!" He then flattened down his spikey hair and tried to intimidate the king's voice. "'I'd rather do every receive, spike, and toss by myself.'"

Kageyama raged at the pretty good impression of himself and grabbed Shōyō by his shirt. He vigorously shook him for his mockery, "Shut up!"

"'All by myself'." Though since Shōyō disregarded him and continued with his impression, Kageyama threw Shōyō through the air. However, Shōyō just landed on his feet as if the king hadn't just tossed him like a volleyball. "And everyone on our side of the net is supposed to be an ally. I hate it that we're so awkward."

Sakura raised an amused eyebrow as she stood up from her seat on the floor, "That comes with being a teenager, Shō."

The orange-haired boy huffed, "That's not what I meant."

"I know." Sakura chuckled, "Golden Week sounds like it'll be fun for you guys though."

Her brother jumped into her personal space. She leaned back at his invasion and pushed him away as he pouted, "Are you not going?"

"Why would I?" Sakura asked with a tilted head, "I'm not a part of the team."

Shōyō whined childishly, "But you should still come!" He wanted her to be there with him while experiencing his first training camp. They've done everything together, so why would this be any different?

Though it was a bit hypocritical. He wanted Sakura to be her own person... yet still wanted to have her around him most of the time. It was strange. It seemed like even though he wanted Sakura to find her own identity, he was still unwilling to distance himself from her either. Whether it was intentional or not, it most likely will not help Sakura to find her own niche away from her brother if even he is not letting her go off on her own. The least he could do is not try to get her to come with him at every volleyball related thing he did. While she would be doing photography and such, it still revolved around Shōyō. Everything she does is related to Shōyō, she was in need of doing something that is for her. Hopefully, both of them realized this sooner or later.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "For what purpose?"

Shōyō pouted harder, as she had yet to see the obvious, "To take pictures of us and stuff."

She stared at him with her usual blank expression, not understanding what he meant. "I do that just about every day." 

"But at the camp, you can take even more pictures of us getting hurt!" Oh, he knew his sister so well.

Sakura paused for a moment before tapping her chin, "Hm, good point." It was a tempting offer. While she usually took photos of the entire team(when she felt like it since it can be a bit boring just taking pictures of the boys doing the same thing all the time) she didn't get much of the opportunity to get photos of them hurting themselves. And Sakura needed to have her fill of sadistic photos. The ones of Shōyō were all fine and good, but getting those of others was fun. The others on the team didn't have many moments where they messed up as spectacular as her brother, warranting a photo. "I guess I'll think about it."

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima then walked up to the trio of first-years, having a quick sip from their water bottles. The tall blonde pushed up his glasses as he stared down at the other first-years with a malicious expression. He smirked, "You take pictures of us getting hurt?" He may or may not also be quite the sadistic person, so he may want to see them.

"Yes, especially Shō," she stated nonchalantly like it was an everyday thing, which it is. She then started to flip through the photos on her camera. Sakura had yet to transfer them onto her laptop, so there were a few older photos on it. Including one that caused her to smirk widely. The sadistic gleam to her eye didn't go unnoticed by those around her. They even shivered at how she hummed in amusement. She turned the camera to show them what she was looking at, "Though I do have this one. It's probably my favorite."

Kageyama sputtered at the photo that he was presented with, "What!" His face was becoming a tad bit red. Whether that was because of anger or embarrassment, nobody could really pinpoint it. It was probably a combination of the two.

Of course, it was the photo of Kageyama from their practice match against Seijoh. It was a perfectly timed photo of Shōyō's botched serve hitting him in the back of the head. Sakura chuckled with an amused smirk, "Can I just say, I have pretty good timing."

---

"I appreciate the thought," Asahi said while scratching the back of his neck. In front of him stood the same three first-years who had seen him the other day. Apparently, they had come to see him yet again to try and get him to go back to the team. He had to admit, they sure were persistent. "But why are you so keen on me even though we've never practiced together?"

Just like the previous day, Shōyō had dragged Sakura along with him and Kageyama to go talk with the third-year. She tried to argue that they didn't need her since they knew how to get to the third-year classes. However, she couldn't say no to the way Shōyō just about begged her to go once again. Kageyama found it quite amusing how Sakura could bend to Shōyō's will at times. Don't get him wrong, he's seen Sakura deny Shōyō of certain things from time to time. However, when it has something to do with his ultimate passion, volleyball, she was wrapped around her twin's finger. So here she was, stood beside the duo as they looked up at Asahi. Though she was a bit bored and was just staring at the floor tiredly. It seemed like her late-night study sessions and early mornings were starting to catch up to her.

Shōyō jumped, "Oh! Because if you don't come back, my upperclassmen won't cheer up!"

Kageyama cringed before hitting the smaller boy in his side, "You're too loud."

Then he was hit in his side himself, just as painfully as Shōyō had been(if not more). He glowered at the short girl while rubbing his now bruised side. Sakura glared right back at him cooly, "Refrain from hitting my brother."

"You guys are a hoot." Asahi laughed lightly. He found that these first-years were quite amusing. He then sighed, "But I'm sorry. I've lost my ability to visualize what it's like to break through those high clockers right in my way. I'm positive I'll be shut out. It freaks me out and fills my head with thoughts of self-destruction."

Sakura supposed that she could relate to Asahi on some level. He seemed just as doubtful in his volleyball skills as Sakura could be with her photography. Sure, she's gotten better at showing certain people her work and having the courage to do so. However, that was really only because she's become numb to what people might say. She could never take a compliment seriously unless she could decipher if whoever was saying it was actually sincere. Shōyō was always sincere to her, Shimada didn't seem to have a mean bone in her body, and those on the volleyball team who had seen her photos are nice to her, so none of them would speak badly of her work. Could she take constructive criticism? Yes. Though could she hold herself against insults to her work? A little bit. At least, better now than in junior high. 

Doubting herself was always a huge flaw of hers. It hindered her ability to create her own identity beyond just being Shōyō's twin. So yes, she understood Asahi's perspective. However, unlike her, he had people depending on him, basically begging for his help and guidance. Sakura's photography isn't a team effort, but volleyball is. So she supposed there was a bit more pressure added to his dilemma when compared to hers.

"Th-this may sound cocky coming from pipsqueak first-years, but I have to say it," Shōyō stuttered out, breaking Sakura from her thoughts.

"Not at all," Asahi smiled, "What is it?"

Shōyō took a deep breath, "I know what you mean. I'm short and I don't have technical skill so I kept getting stopped by blockers. But now I can get past any high blocker thanks to his tosses! The blockers all fade away and the view of the other side of the net opens up to me! And when the ball hits my hand at the highest point, the weight of it kind of sloshes into my hand." He held out his hand as if it was still stinging from a spike. "I love that! I'm jealous of you. Right now, I don't have the height or the power to break through the blockers, but you do. I know you've been blocked a lot until now, but you've scored way more times than you were blocked, right? That's why they all call you the ace!"

Asahi stared at the small boy in wonder for a moment. His words obviously getting to him in some way. Though before they could continue, they were interrupted by the shrill sound of the school bell. Now that all had to head to their classes for the day. Sakura, Kageyama, and Shōyō were definitely going to have to leave now if they wanted to make it to their first-year classes on time. So Sakura already turned to leave, not willing to let these boys be the reason she's late to class.

"Let's go," She commented and grabbed her brother's arm as he tried to stay rooted to his spot.

Kageyama tried to help out, "It's time to head back. Dummy, you'll be late." The trio then started to walk off, but the black-haired teen paused and addressed Asahi, "Excuse me... It's only natural that you can't win by yourself. That's why there are six people on the court. I only learned that for myself recently so I can't talk big about it. Excuse me."

Asahi watched as the three first-years headed off to their classes for the day. What they had said had struck a cord with him, especially Shōyō. He knew that feeling, he knew what it was like. However, now, it felt like it was so far away from him. He had been shut out far too much to clearly feel what it was like. So while the first-years walked off, the twins making fun of Kageyama for his words about teamwork, Asahi's mind ran rampant with his own internal debate.

"Man those guy sure talk a lot."

Asahi jumped at the sudden voice behind him and turned to find a fellow third-year behind him. It was his best friend, and drama queen, who stared at him with his signature raised eyebrow and smirk. "J-Joji."

"Asahi..." Endo trailed off while staring at the teen in front of him. The two hadn't had a full conversation with each other for a while. The tension was thick between them as they took in each other's presence. The blonde clicked his tongue and walked closer to his friend, "I hope that the small fry and gloomy king's speeches got through your thick head." He hit Asahi over the head which caused the bearded teen to whine out in pain.

"H-hey-!"

"We miss you, okay? The team's not the same without you." He then coughed realizing what he said was kind of sappy and quickly added, "Or Noya, yeah the both of you." Good save, he thought to himself sarcastically.

Awkwardness consumed them once again as Asahi tried to find his voice. For such a big guy, he really had the personality of a timid teddy bear. "Suga said that Noya already came back."

"He did, somewhat," Endo stated and glared at Asahi, "Which means we're just waiting on your lazy ass. We need our ace!"

Asahi winced at Endo's sudden shout and shrunk in his spot. This was why he had been trying to stay away from Endo, no matter how much it hurt him. He didn't want to disappoint the club, which included Endo. Especially Endo. He bit his lip, "You know I don't feel like the ace, not anymore."

"And here I thought I was the dramatic one," Endo scoffed.

Asahi was the one to raise an eyebrow this time. "You are the dramatic one, Joji."

"Oh, I know." Endo easily admitted and didn't even try to argue with him. The two shared a laugh with each other as they allowed themselves to have a moment of contentment. They hadn't talked like this in a while. Ever since Asahi had left the club, he had been actively avoiding Endo. It hurt the blonde, to have his best friend avoiding him for some silly reason. However, Endo let it happen. He knew that Asahi needed to be alone for a while. Though a month was really far too long for his liking. He sighed heavily, "Look we've known each other for a long time... and I know that you love volleyball, even now." Asahi looked away from Endo's burning gaze, already knowing that his friend could see right through him. Even if he tried to deny it, the two of them know just about everything about each other. They also have the innate ability to know what each other are thinking without saying anything. There was no need to hide secrets from each other, as they could easily tell if one of them was trying to hide something. Endo placed a hand on Asahi's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "So just save us all the trouble and come back to the club. We have a hard enough time looking after our newest members, we need some help, okay?"

Asahi chuckled with a small, timid smile on his lips, "Yeah. I'll think about it."

"I'm serious, I really think we can go far with the new first-years." Endo commented before brightening, "Plus, we've got paparazzi-chan now, she can really take great pictures. Though it helps when the subject, me, is quite handsome." Asahi chuckled at Endo's arrogant statement. He did kind of miss Endo's selfish statements, even if sometimes they could get annoying. He missed Endo. And the rest of the team, of course.

They parted ways after that to their classes. Asahi's mind was racing with a heated debate about going back to the club. Meanwhile, Endo was praying to Kami-sama that his friend would actually get off his ass and come to their practices. Because if he didn't, Endo really wasn't sure if he'd stick around the club without his best friend. Suppose that's just how attached he is to Asahi.