Chapter Thirteen: Decision

THE NEXT DAY FELT REFRESHING TO SAKURA. Not only is the gallery over, but it also went far better than she would have thought. Her anxiety had been quelled once she got plenty of praise from not only people that she knows but also complete strangers. So her photography truly isn't bad. It's actually really good going off of what happened yesterday. Now if only she could show the jerk Sato how well she did. He truly was an asshole to her in middle school. 

The Hinata family all got themselves ready for the day. Well, it was more like the twins got themselves ready while their mother and Natsu barely woke up to see them leave. As usual, Shōyō is full of energy, actually, there's far more energy inside of his little body than normal. The reason being that today was the start of the volleyball training camp.

So Shōyō got himself ready as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, Sakura was forced to hurry up as her brother was trying to get her out the door as fast as possible. He finally finished tying his shoes, "Okay!"

"We're going!" Sakura called out while putting on her own shoes.

Their little sister waved after them, "Bye."

The pair of twins then exited their house and grabbed their bikes. Pedaling as fast as he could, Shōyō took off leaving Sakura to try and catch up to him. Sure, Sakura could be quick on her feet but not this early in the morning! They maneuvered through their neighborhood and finally started to make their way up the mountain.

"This is kind of amazing!" Shōyō exclaimed suddenly, "Okay, it's time for training camp!"

He then started to take off down the hill, leaving poor Sakura in the dust. She groaned and tried to pedal faster, "Slow down, Shō! I can't catch up!"

Shōyō just laughed loudly, "Hurry up, Saku!"

"Why are you so energetic in the mornings?!" She shouted after them as they zoomed down the road.

---

"So what's it going to be like?" Yachi asked as she once again sat with Sakura for lunch. "This training camp."

The two were eating lunch with each other just like they had yesterday. It seemed like the two were slowly starting to form a friendship. One that could possibly last quite a while, Sakura hoped.

Sakura munched on some rice and shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure, I've never been to one, so I'm not sure what to expect." Sakura answered before pulling out her notebooks. "I imagine that all the guys will be sharing a room, and I think Kiyoko-senpai mentioned something about having to cook for them all." She huffed and rolled her eyes. "That's going to be tough, I'm already terrible at cooking for myself, can't imagine what it's going to be like having to cook for a whole volleyball team."

Though during her explanation Yachi started to think to herself about what the camp might be like. "A whole team of really tall scary guys…" Yachi muttered out, starting to shake slightly thinking what kind of scary people her new friend was going to be around. She grabbed Sakura's shoulders and shook them, "Hinata-chan! Don't die while you're out there. Actually, don't go, I can't lose my friend out there!"

Sakura pushed off the other girl's hands and shook her head. She appreciated the concern, but knew that it was unnecessary. "Yachi, it's fine. Besides, I'm pretty sure most of the team is scared of me." A smirk pulled on her lips which caused Yachi to shiver, "As they should be."

The other girl bristled in fear slightly, at least Sakura wasn't pointing her scary expression at her. Yachi would probably die of fright if Sakura would glare at her with such an expression. "A-ah, right…" Yachi said with a small nervous chuckle.

They then calmed down a bit as Sakura asked her, "So are you in any clubs, Yachi-san?"

"Oh, no." She shook her head, "I've been trying out a few, but they just don't seem to stick, I guess." Yachi has been hopping from club to club, trying to find something that stuck for her. So far, she's tried a few clubs for a little while, however, she found that none of them were her forte.

Sakura nodded her head in understanding. Sakura is lucky enough to know exactly what club she wanted to join ever since middle school. So she didn't necessarily know what it was like to not know what club suited her. "Hm, I'm sure you'll find a club sooner or later."

Yachi sighed and glumly ate her lunch, "I hope."

---

Sakura lazily trotted down the hallway around the other groups of students. Now that school had ended, she was headed to the photography club. Since she liked to usually lie about her emotions, she would deny the way she skipped slightly to the club room.

Eventually, she made it into the club room where the other five club members already were. They all lounged around the club room and spoke idly with each other. With his feet up on a desk, and balancing on the back legs of his chair, Wada Katski laughed at something that Yokoyama Nobu said. Yokoyama was sitting on top of the desk next to the blue-haired boy and ran a hand through their own blonde hair. They were debating about something or other, probably a topic that Sakura wouldn't care about. Next to them, the last second-year of the club Ito Miki sat at a desk writing in a notebook and commenting on something every once in a while. 

As far as second-years go, Sakura has to say that this trio is pretty relaxed and somewhat mature. Unlike the other second-years that she knows. Excluding Narita, Ennoshita, and Kinnoshita, of course. Really it's just Tanaka and Nishinoya who were the most immature of the second-years that she has come across while at Karasuno. Ito is outspoken and responsible, Wada is pretty easygoing and kind, and Yokoyama is loud and enthusiastic. With shoulder-length brown-hair, moderately tall, and with light green eyes, Ito is probably one of the most respectable people that Sakura has come across. Hazel eyes and light-blue hair are the trademark features of Wada Katsuki. He's on the more popular side of the social scene at school, which is due to his handsome features and such. Something that Sakura doesn't care about. Then the last of the second-years with short, shaggy blonde hair and glowing blue eyes, Yokoyama is quite a childish person from time to time. Though they're pretty skilled with a camera and become excitedly focused on their photography.

The other two members of the club were third-years. The vice-president of the group is Mori Aiko. If Sakura is to be honest, the white-haired girl might be on the same level as Kiyoko in beauty. She's like an angel with her long white hair and pale green eyes. She's quite soft-spoken but still passionate about her work with the club. Shimada Emi is the president of the club who has personally taken Sakura under her wing. Not that Sakura isn't grateful for having someone to guide her in some ways, however, Shimada can be overbearing from time to time. Even then, Shimada is the one person who Sakura has opened up the most besides her brother. Shimada is her first real friend in Karasuno. Hopefully, Sakura continues with this though, and makes the rest of the club her good friends.

They're nice to Sakura, she would like to consider them her friends. She knows that they want to be her friend, however, it would take her a while to open up to them to that point. It'll just take a little bit longer.

A pair of hazel eyes then turned to the new arrival as Wada greeted Sakura, "Hey, short stuff."

"Hinata!" Yokoyama waved enthusiastically at the first-year with their blue eyes lit with delight. Ito waved at Sakura before turning back to her notebook.

At another set of desks, Shimada turned to Sakura and waved at her. Sakura just nodded her head at them as she moved to sit at her usual spot by the window. Just as she was settling herself down, the two third-years of the club shared a glance with each other.

Mori brushed her long white hair out of her eyes as she took a closer look at the youngest member. She noticed a small difference in the younger girl the moment she walked into the room. Mori is quite an observant person, and she could see the small uplifting spirit in Sakura. "Hinata, have a good day today?" She asked in her sweet, melodic voice.

"Hm?" Sakura slumped back in her chair with narrowed eyes, "Why?"

Shimada smiled widely, "You just seem to be quite happy, anything happen?"

Sakura grunted and gazed out of the window. "No." Her day has been pretty much uneventful. Besides, maybe her getting a new lunch buddy and perhaps she was still happy about yesterday going so smoothly, however, everything else was boring.

"The training thing for the volleyball club is today, right?" Ito spoke up, finally turning away from her notes, even if she probably shouldn't because she desperately needs to study.

The first-year nodded her head, "Yeah."

Wada raised an eyebrow at the girl, "You don't sound that enthusiastic there, girly."

"She's usually not enthusiastic about anything," Ito commented with a small chuckle.

Yokoyama perked up and buzzed in her seat, "Except for photography! Remember her expression when we told her about the darkroom we're setting up."

"Oh, yeah," Shimada commented with a growing smile. She remembered that from last week, "I've never seen such a smile on her before."

Sakura deadpanned, "I wasn't that excited." That is a lie. She was excited to hear about the darkroom that they wanted to make. Sakura hasn't used one before and is completely enthused about getting to use one at some point. Though she tried to keep that to herself.

The others all shared a look with each other with the same thought about that being untrue. Shimada hummed, "Mhm, so are you excited?"

"I don't know." Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "Being around a bunch of sweaty teenage boys twenty-four seven is not something I'm totally looking forward to this week."

Ito slumped in her seat with a sigh, "Well, at least you get out of classes for a bit." She whined about her position as the photographer for the basketball team, "The basketball club hasn't had a camp in a while, I rarely get any school off with them."

"That's a good thing," Wada commented coolly, "if you did miss classes your grades would suffer."

Ito bristled and glared at him hotly, "Are you saying I'm stupid!"

"No, but you just did." Wada retorted and found himself on the receiving end of a notebook thrown at him. A small fight broke out between the two, but the others disregarded them. It's usual for Ito and Wada to get into small fights or something over stupid things. So it's no cause for concern.

Yokoyama leaned forward towards Sakura, "So, are you really not excited to be around a bunch of cute guys like them."

Sakura blanched, "Cute? What does that have to do with anything?" Does she find any of the volleyball boys cute? No, nah, there's no way. Though if she really thought about it-

"Oh, come on," Shimada cooed and moved to sit beside Sakura. She leaned in with her glistening green eyes filled with mischief. "Don't be coy, Sakura-chan. You must have a crush on one of them, right?"

Sakura cringed at the thought and stared at her senpai with a disgusted expression, "Gross."

"Are you kidding," Ito joined in on the conversation now that she and Wada had stopped fighting. Now they both were invested in the conversation. Ito swooned, "that Sugawara is something else!"

Yokoyama jumped up, "Don't forget Nishinoya!"

"Yeah, but he's too energetic for me." Mori waved her hand dismissively, "Now, on the other hand, Ennoshita-"

"Let's not forget about Kiyoko," Wada said calmly, "the goddess herself."

Shimada nodded her head in agreeance. Those volleyball boys definitely are some good eye candy. She turned back to her kohai, "So! Sakura~"

"No," She replied bluntly, hoping to stop them from speculating anything. "I find almost all of them annoying."

"Ah, almost." Shimada cheekily commented which caused Sakura to glare at her. Sakura can admit that some of the guys are decent, mainly the second-year trio on the team, and perhaps Suga, Daichi, and Asahi. However, there were a few others that just overshadowed the decent guys on the team.

Wada tapped his chin in consideration, "You know, that glasses guy reminds me quite a lot of you." Sakura blanched at his comment, "Seems like a perfect match to me."

"He's right," Ito exclaimed and pointed at Sakura, "what's that guy's name?"

The first-year glared at all of them, which caused each of them to shiver. Sakura hotly replied, "I'd rather start playing volleyball then ever have a crush on the bitchy blond giant."

Each of the older students nodded their heads, somewhat unbelieving. They can't really read what Sakura's emotions are just yet, however, they were definitely going to take this as denial from her. Perhaps there is something there, that maybe even Sakura could notice it. Ah, young love.

Wada was the first to recover from the heated glare from the first-year. He chuckled lightly, "The Lady doth protest too much, methinks." Sakura just glared at him even more intensely, as if she were trying to stab him with her icy gaze.

Yokoyama cringed slightly, "Oh, and you hate playing sports."

"Whatever," Sakura rolled her eyes, "no matter what I say, you'll take it the wrong way."

Shimada smiled innocently, "Maybe."

---

While Sakura was being interrogated by the photography club, at the gym, all of the boys finally showed up for practice like usual. Currently, Endo helped Asahi with his stretches as they conversed happily with each other. "Do you think little Ukai will be like old man Ukai?" Endo asked as he stretched out his legs.

Asahi shrugged his shoulders while helping hold Endo's leg, "I don't know." His expression then became a bit blue, "I just hope that he isn't as intense as his grandfather."

"Hm," Endo hummed and moved to help Asahi with his own stretches. He smirked while leaning down into his friend's personal space, "I remember seeing how hot you got after those practices. Gotta say I'd be ok with seeing that again."

"J-Joji!"

Endo laughed cheekily at the flustered expression consuming his best friend's face, "Oya, someone's a bit flustered now aren't they."

Soon enough, the temporary coach showed up and gathered the boys together. "You're all here," he commented.

The group all exclaimed, "Yessir!"

Ukai nodded his head, "The practice game against Nekoma takes place in four days. After that, it will be time for the Inter-High preliminaries. There's no time! But you guys are full of weak spots." He explained, "There is only one thing to do in order for you slobs to win. Practice! Practice! Practice! Keep retrieving that ball until you throw up!"

"Yessir!" Shōyō shouted out loudly, which must have meant that he probably already did his job.

So the team lined up and started their drills for the day. Ukai got up on the platform and got ready to serve some balls at the boys to practice their receives. Which they all desperately need to work on. First up, is Yamaguchi. Though he was missing a few receives every once in a while.

"Come on, how many balls are gonna be your last one?" Ukai shouted at him, "Focus!"

Yamaguchi growled slightly, "One more!"

"Here comes!" This time, he was easily able to save that one which earned him some encouragement from his teammates.

"He's made five!" Kiyoko commented, "Time to switch."

Ukai nodded his head, "Next!"

Daichi then stepped up as Yamaguchi hobbled off of the court, "Here, Sir!" The serves continued from club member to club member. The first-years obviously needed some work with their receives, even the king of the court. The third-years, who have the most experience, seemed to be the most skilled at this. Well, almost all of the third-years.

Endo then stepped up for his turn and got in position, "Hit me, little Ukai!" So the coach did and there were far too many spikes that were either completely missed by him or misdirected. It seems like Endo isn't that good at this...

Once he finally got three done, he stepped off the court with a sigh of relief. Narita took his turn after him as Tanaka bounced up to Endo. The vicious smirk on his face was teasing as he laughed at him, "How many times did it take you, Rich boy? Twenty?"

Tsukishima butted in with a snicker, "More like thirty."

"Eh, I'm not too good at receives," Endo waved off unaffected, "except receiving Oikawa's serve." He isn't that good. Sure, he's learned how to do relatively powerful serves and could receive Oikawa's monster serve pretty ok. He isn't that good of a spiker, since he can get blocked pretty easily. He isn't that strong when it came to his spikes or blocking, which isn't that surprising. So what if he isn't that good? He has fun most of the time, so why should he care? It's not like he'll be a regular player anymore with the addition of these talented first-years. So it's no big deal to him. He whipped his sweaty face with his shirt, "I'm fine with not being all that good." The dashing smile that he flashed them all was completely easygoing.

"Nice work," After getting through all of the boy's, Ukai jumped off of the platform. "Good work! Okay, next, spike practice!"

"Yessir!"

So they lined up for spiking practice, with Kageyama and Suga by the net for setting obviously. Now spiking is a skill that they obviously have pretty good control over. Ukai was certainly happy with seeing that at least, "This is looking real good!" 

Off to the side, Sauga glanced at him quickly

Yamaguchi stared at Suga with a tilted head, "May I go next?"

"Sure," Suga shook himself out of his staring, "sorry!"

Endo observed the interaction with pursed lips. He figured that Suga is feeling a bit… off this year. Especially because they have the gloomy king on their team now and were taking Suga's spot as the regular setter. Endo knows that his friend has worked extremely hard these past few years. Though it's disheartening to think that his hard work wasn't worth much if a first-year was just going to take the rug out from under him. If it were him, Endo would use that opportunity to slack off in the club. However, this is Suga he's thinking about. His friend is a huge team player and wouldn't put himself in front of the team's success yet still wouldn't hinder his own improvement. 

The third-year brushed his hair from out of his eyes and sighed slightly. He's really good at reading his friends, so he knows just how Suga is feeling about this. However, at the same time, he doesn't necessarily know if he should talk to him about it. Endo isn't one to talk about emotions unless it provides him gossip or entertainment. At most, he's more willing to talk with Asahi about something like this, but his other friends are a bit trickier. Asahi knows him better, seeing sides of him that he hasn't even shown his parents. Looks like only time will tell if Endo tries to help out Suga and his small emotional dilemma.

---

Night started to blanket itself over the gym as everyone started to wind down. The practice had gone pretty okay for them. Well, it definitely showed them what they needed to work on. Overall, the team is pretty well-rounded, they just need to have someone help sharpen their skills into a refined weapon to help them. 

Daichi clapped his hands, "Okay, we're moving out."

"Yessir!"

The boys all worked together quickly to put things away for the night. So after the boys all ran around putting away the balls, packing up the net, and cleaning up the floors, they all grabbed their things and grouped up outside of the gym. They were just about to head to the building that they would be staying at for the next couple of days.

"Hey," Ennoshita commented as he noticed someone trotting over to them. He squinted his eyes at who it was, "there's Hinata-chan."

Shōyō jumped at her arrival and bounced over to her, "Imouto!"

Endo smirked as the young girl came over to them. He placed his hands on his hips with his dashing smirk illuminating in the dark. "Ah, paparazzi-chan. So glad you could make it!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she trailed up to the group of boys. She cringed slightly, the migraine that she had started to flare up at their loud voices. "Quiet down." She rubbed her head in annoyance as she frowned at them all.

"Huh?" Yamaguchi walked over to her with a slightly concerned expression, "Are you alright, Sakura?"

She waved him off, "I'm fine, just some annoying upperclassmen," she said with a grunt. Her club really hadn't stopped talking about the volleyball club for what felt like an eternity. They kept trying to get her to "admit" to having some sort of crush on any of the boys, which would not happen. Because it's pretty obvious that she doesn't! Who in their right mind would like any of them? Well, she could understand maybe the third-years, excluding Endo, and perhaps some of the second-years, excluding Tanaka and Nishinoya. They were alright, but not anyone she'd be keeping an eye on. Especially since she'd rather focus on her studies than worry about boys.

Shōyō then jumped away, just itching to head off, "Now, let's go! To the training camp!"

Sakura lightened up just a bit at her brother's excited mood. She certainly is always glad to see Shōyō so excited about something like this. It's a new experience for them both, she's just glad that she gets to be there for him for this. Not only that but having him around for her is a good bonus as well. 

To the side, as the boys already started to head off, Tsukishima stared down at Sakura boredly. Feeling his glare on her, she turned up to stare at him with a raised eyebrow, "Since when do you let people call you by your first name?"

Sakura scoffed at him and pinned him with her own stare. Neither of them seemed to be willing to let up on their heated glare. She crossed her arms over her chest, "I only let my… friends do it." She explained slowly, "Which is why you should only call me Hinata."

Tsukishima tsked and broke away from the stare, "I didn't think you were capable of making friends besides your brother."

"Yeah, well, you learned something new," Sakura clicked her tongue and walked away.

Honestly, she still isn't over how he had spoken to her the other day. Going forward, she certainly isn't going to tolerate having someone talk down to her any longer. Standing up to Tsukishima felt so good yesterday, and she'll be damned if she'll let him do it again. So she marched off, with a small skip in her step since she knew she pissed Tsukishima off even more. Ha, looks like he's getting a small dose of karma. Hopefully, she can continue doing it in the future.

As he watched her head off and catch up with her brother, Tsukishima scowled lightly. In the beginning, he knew that he couldn't get that much of a reaction out of her. However, he had been able to find something to annoy her. Of course, that is belittling her brother and her photography. He can tell that she's insecure about her work and protective of her twin, perfect topics to use against her. Though now it seems like he lost one of them. Though he can't figure out why it annoys him even further that she isn't going to react the way he wants. She's far too… unpredictable, and Tsukishima doesn't know how to feel about that at the moment.

So the club headed off to the building where they would be staying. Sakura made idle chat with Kiyoko, who had asked her to help with making dinner. The first-year denied having any sort of skill in the kitchen that could help the older girl out, but Kiyoko had shaken her head and insisted she could help out. Not wanting to disappoint her senpai, Sakura reluctantly agreed. She isn't a cook by far, but she'll help out any way she can. Besides, it's not like Sakura would be doing much. She's the photographer and there's no job for her to do right now, might as well as make herself useful.

While Sakura headed off to the kitchen with Kiyoko and Takeda, the boys piled into the building and started to take a look around. "So, this is the training camp!" Shōyō had to be the most excited in the group as he ran around from room to room with sparkles in his eyes.

Kageyama watched him do it, "Chill out a little."

"I can't help it!" He turned around to the gloomy setter, "I've never done a training camp before!"

Tsukishima grunted as he came over to them with a scowl, "What's so great about having a bunch of dirty guys in your face all day long?"

"Tsukishima, you turd!" Tanaka suddenly slid over to the first-year with fire in his eyes.

Nishinoya joined him with just as much feistiness in him, "All air within a quarter-mile radius of Kiyoko is sparkling clean!"

"Can you not tell that this air here is as fresh and clear as the Ou Mountain spring?" Tanaka asked, "I pity you."

Though the vice-captain walked up from behind them, "Shimizu lives nearby, so she goes home when the day's done." With the damage done to the two-brain-cell duo, Suga waddled off triumphantly, as if he hadn't just dismantled the second-years fantasy. So the two were face down on the ground, almost completely lifeless. Like a pair of zombies, the duo crawled through the hallway. They finally slithered their way up to the kitchen doors, which were opened up by their club advisor.

Takeda jumped at the sight of the near-dead second-years, "Wh-what are you guys doing?"

"Take," Tanaka gasped out and reached his withered hand out to the teacher, "it's hopeless; we're done for."

Though before he and Nishinoya could truly perish, there was a shining ray of godly light that blessed them. The origin of that light of course being the goddess herself, Kiyoko. Instantly their youthful expression came back as life was breathed back into their souls. The manager had just finished helping out with making some food with the club advisor and photographer. Said photography poked her head out from behind Kiyoko with a disturbed expression.

"You two are so annoying," Sakura clicked her tongue as the rest of the team came walking down the hall. She had been helping Kiyoko and Takeda with cooking up the meal for the boys. However, Sakura is far too unskilled with any sort of cooking that she was mainly just put on cleaning duty. Though it's not like she minded. A far less chance of her burning something and being embarrassed. Sakura may be pretty smart, but she can't even boil water without burning it. How that's possible, no one knows. 

Though at the moment, she was really questioning why she was here. Oh, yeah, because she can't say no to her brother. She only has herself to blame for this.

The boys all came into the kitchen, already smelling the amazing food that Kiyoko and Takeda had worked on for them. Everyone sat down for their meal, "Thank you for the food!" They all gorged themselves on their meal happily.

Sakura watched in rapt fascination as Kageyama scarfed down his food just as fast as her brother. It was both disgusting and interesting to find that there was someone else who ate as quickly and as much as her brother. Though then again those two are a bit more alike than they'd say. Still, this freaked her out just a little bit more than she'd admit.

Kiyoko then got up, "Does anyone want seconds?"

The two biggest Kiyoko simps were instantly in front of her with their empty plates, "Yes, thank you."

"Okay."

 ---

Sakura wasn't sure if she should have taken Kiyoko up on her offer to stay with her. As much as she'd have liked to have this large room to herself, she isn't necessarily used to sleeping by herself. That's due to the fact that she and Shōyō have shared a room since they were born. Though it's not like she could sleep in the same room as the boys. For the sake of their safety and her sanity. God forbid one of the boys woke her up and faced the demon that she is in the morning. Someone may end up hurt!

Though she'll just have to deal with it. Another adventure on her own that she could use to try and distance herself from Shōyō. This one is a tad bit more forced, however, after her uplifting day at the gallery yesterday, she'll deal with it a lot easier than usual. So she settled herself into the large room. She set up her mat and already changed into her pajamas which is a pair of blue baggy sweatpants and a light-green tank-top. 

However, things never go to plan, especially with the Karasuno volleyball club around. So she found herself jumping at the sound of screams coming from the main lobby. It sounded as though it was Tanaka and Shōyō. That certainly is a little bit concerning. So she headed out of her room and down the stairs. She isn't necessarily happy to have her nighttime ritual interrupted. However, if there was something bad happening, she might as well find out what it is.

Though as she was heading down the stairs, there were even more screams, this time Nishinoya seemed to join in. She rounded the corner of the landing on the stairwell to find the three morons screaming at the top of their lungs as a frantic Asahi tried to calm them down. Sakura raised an eyebrow at them and realized that there really isn't anything wrong. They were just screaming for some stupid reason. Though why did she think it was anything else.

From down the hall, she could hear their captain shout at them angrily, "Shut up, you guys!"

Sakura's expression grew even more annoyed, "stop screaming." Though her harsh voice and small silhouette looming on the stairs gave her a bit of a demonic appearance. In turn, this caused all the boys to scream again in fear. Yeah, it certainly was going to be a long week.

 ---

Once the morning came, Sakura slowly got herself ready in the morning. One of the good things was that she didn't have to worry about having any of the boys around while she woke up. So it was pretty easy for her to get herself ready and head downstairs.

Just as she stepped off the final step, she found that the team manager had just arrived. Thankfully, Kiyoko had been able to avoid all the shenanigans from last night. She smiled with her pearly white teeth as the younger girl walked over to her, "Good morning, Hinata-chan."

"Kiyoko-senpai," Sakura greeted her politely.

The third-year tilted her head in the direction of the kitchen, "Do you mind helping me again with preparing breakfast?"

"Hm, why not." Sakura shrugged her shoulders as they made their way into the room. "Not like I have anything else to do until the practice match."

"I appreciate your help."

"Yeah." So the girls headed into the kitchen and got themselves ready to start cooking. They put on some aprons and grabbed the ingredients that they would need to make the food. While Kiyoko worked on cooking up the actual food, Sakura focused on chopping up the ingredients. They were silent with each other, the only real sound in the kitchen is the stove and knife cutting up vegetables. Though Sakura decided to try and make some conversation, even if she is enjoying the quiet. "Say, senpai," Kiyoko hummed in acknowledgment, "how do you deal with these morons all the time?"

There was a small, angelic chuckle in reply as she started to cook up some rice. "They are a handful to handle," she replied truthfully, "though I find that they can be manageable."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. She truly thought that Kiyoko had to be a saint with the way she has such patience for these boys. Especially with the likes of the club's resident simps and drama queen. Sakura clicked her tongue, "I suppose it helps with having years of experience with them, huh?"

Kiyoko laughed, "Yes, that helps."

Sakura put some of the chopped-up ingredients into a bowl, "I know that Shōyō and the King have certainly added in on the chaos as well."

"They have." There was no denying that things have certainly become lively with the new first-years. "Though the club itself would not be as fun to be around if the boys weren't themselves."

Sakura hummed in consideration about that. She can't say that the club didn't have personality. Because everyone certainly is an interesting character as a part of the club. "Maybe." After that, the conversation between the two continued on. It seems like they were starting to bond over retelling stories about the team. Whether they are embarrassing or not. Actually, the more embarrassing the better, in Sakura's opinion. 

After helping with breakfast and eating the meal, everyone headed back to the gym for practice. They were once again practicing their receives the same way they were yesterday. The only real difference was that Sakura was there to watch them from her spot on the floor.

"Keep moving your legs!" Ukai shouted at Shōyō who had missed another one of his receives, "You're not a windmill!"

Shōyō got back up and nodded his head strongly, "Yessir! One more!"

This time he was able to save the receive decently which earned him a compliment from Tanaka, "Nice, Hinata!"

"He's made five," Kiyoko commented.

"Okay, that's one time around for everyone." Ukai clapped his hands, "Next up is running!"

"Thank you!"

The boys all changed their shoes and ran outside to start their jog as instructed. Kiyoko walked off to start some other manager things, which left Sakura by herself. Well, except for the adults.

"They sure are energetic." Takeda commented with a small chuckle, "They even practice during the lunch break."

Ukai nodded his head, "I saw Kageyama running early in the morning too."

"Yeah, Hinata does that too. He said it's because he doesn't have to go over the mountains while he's at camp."

"Over that mountain?" Ukai asked, "That explains his stamina. Why aren't you the same way?" The pair of adults then turned to the last teenager in the gym who just shrugged her shoulders.

Sakura sighed, uninterested, "That's one of life's mysteries."

Takeda then turned back up to the temporary coach, "Let me guess… are you worrying about the game lineup?"

"I can't decide… on the setter." Ukai sighed heavily, the decision obviously weighing heavily on his shoulders. "For raw power, I'd use Kagayama. Even though Sugawara has built up his abilities playing alongside the ace since he was a first-year. Kageyama has the kind of talent that can skip over that in the blink of an eye." He then shrugged his shoulders unsure. "However, because Sugawara has been playing all this time, he most likely has the trust of his teammates."

It is a very tough decision to make. Both of these boys are extremely talented, choosing who to bench would be difficult for him. Takeda though saw this also as a personal dilemma for Ukai. "Is the real reason you're having a tough decision, due to the fact that Sugawara is in his third year of high school?" The coach gasped slightly as Takeda was able to see what the conflict within him was. "Being a third-year means that this year is your last so it's special." Though Takeda thought that he overstepped a bit as he waved his hands. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't interfere."

"No, you may be right." Ukai shook his head, "The only time I got to be in the starting lineup in all three years of high school was when the official setter, who was my underclassman, couldn't play due to an injury. Back then it was simply frustrating that they didn't put me in the game. But now that I've taken on the coach's job, even temporarily, I can't allow myself… to feel like a player."

They were enveloped in silence for a while as they both thought it over. Ukai can't make any sort of decision for a team that he was just coaching, temporarily coaching as it is, and make such a big decision. Choosing the regulars could make or break the team. Especially a team that wasn't that united at the moment. "I think you should choose whoever will be best for the team. Suga would agree." 

"You think so?" Ukai asked as the two adults turned to glance at the teen girl who decided to voice her opinion on his. Though her eyes weren't even pointed at them, she seemed to be more interested in her fingers.

Sakura hummed with a tilted head, not really paying attention to the conversation. "Suga doesn't seem to be the type to hold a grudge about this." She became quiet for a second, before shaking her head. "Though what I say shouldn't mean anything, I'm just the photographer." However, she may just be right.

 ---

Shōyō is lost. Totally lost. He may or may not have run a bit too fast and accidentally distanced himself from his team after trying to beat Kageyama. If only he had Sakura around to help him out, she has a far better sense of direction than him. Though just as he was losing hope for finding any sort of help for getting back to the gym, he spotted some people sitting by a fence. Well, a boy with dyed hair was sitting on the edge of a fence while a girl was leaning against it and looking over his shoulder. The boy has blonde hair with black roots and with his face stuffed into his phone. Every once in a while he furrowed his eyebrows as he concentrated on what he was doing on the game and also scowled at the girl beside him. The girl with a large smile leaned over the boy's shoulder and made comments right in his ear, in order to annoy him no doubt. Her shoulder-length chestnut hair swayed around her green eyes as she watched her friend play on his phone.

The first-year perked up at seeing them and jogged up to the pair, "Hey, what you guys up to?"

The two other teenagers jumped at the sudden voice as they turned to see the orange-haired boy run over to them. The girl flashed Shōyō a bright and kind smile while the boy shyly looked away from him. The boy's voice was soft as he answered him, "Well, it's just, uh we're lost..."

"You're lost?" Shōyō asked, "Are you two from out of town?"

"Mhm," the pudding head hummed.

The taller girl nodded her head rapidly, "Yeah, we're from the city!" The girl really is a lot taller than Shōyō. Then again, just about everyone is. Though she had to be about 180cm or so, certainly a decently tall girl.

"Wow! Really?" Shōyō exclaimed in amazement. He could tell that the girl was a tad bit more talkative than the boy. The girl, with her forest green eyes, smiled kindly at him while the other teen was still looking at his phone. He's seen this before. After all, his sister can tend to be a bit of an antisocial person. He then looked down at the boy before jumping into a squat next to him. "Is that a fun game?"

The boy bristled slightly at the close proximity as the girl snickered. After giving the girl a side glare, he answered the younger boy, "Uh, not really, I'm just trying to pass the time."

"Oh," Shōyō commented, a bit disappointed that the boy's answers were a bit short. Though he then noticed the bag beside him and Shōyō's eyes sparkled, "Hey, do you play too!?" He pointed to the shoes that were in the bag happily, "Those volleyball shoes in your bag."

"Um, yeah," the boy said which caused the girl to smile warmly at the interaction. 

Aw, look at Ken making a friend all on his own! She thought to herself while wiping a tear from her eye. I can't wait to tell Tetsu.

"I'm Hinata Shōyō." The energetic ball of sunshine introduced himself to the two, "So what're your names"

The pair shared a glance with each other. While the boy looked as though he was reluctant, the girl nudged him in his shoulder encouragingly. He sighed and muttered out, "Kozume..."

"Kozume?" Shōyō tilted his head, "Is that your first name?"

The boy shook his head and spoke in his soft voice, "No, it's... it's Kenma."

The tall girl then jumped at the first-year and swung an arm around his shoulders. She seemed to be buzzing in place, obviously excited to get to meet someone new. Not only that but having someone easily able to make Kenma talk this much was alright in her books. "You can just call me Yua, Hinata!"

Shōyō nodded his head happily at the girl, "So are you two in high school?"

"Yeah," Kenma grunted.

The energetic boy jumped, "What years are you guys in? I'm a first-year."

"We're both second-years!" Yua sang.

He bristled, "Aw crap, you guys are my upperclassmen," He bowed deeply, "I'm so sorry!"

Kenma just sighed, "It's okay, after all, that age-based hierarchy stuff that comes with sports, it's lame."

"Oh, you think?" The first-year furrowed his eyebrows.

However, Yua laughed happily with her hands on her hips, "I don't mind being called senpai though!" 

Shōyō nodded his head rapidly at her before turning back to Kenma, "Uh, so do you like volleyball?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders, "It's fine, I can't say I really care." Kenma drawled out, "I don't mind it or anything, but I'm not big on getting all worn out. But, uh, my friend likes to play and he needs me, so I play too."

Yua shook her head at him. Her good friend is never one to admit that he likes sports. She knows that he likes it enough to stick with it into high school, so that was something. To her at least. Well, it might also be because she's been around to help push him into it. Especially in their third-year of middle school.

"Oh," Shōyō blinked, "well once you get used to it, I'm sure you'll like volleyball too."

Kenma didn't even look up from his phone, "Whatever, I'm only playing it while I'm in high school."

"Don't say it like that, Kenma." Yua tutted while rubbing Kenma's head, much to his annoyance. "We all know you actually like to play!" Though the boy just glazed at her boredly before rolling his eyes and looking back at his game. Yua can be such a pest sometimes.

Shōyō brought the attention back to himself as he questioned Kenma, "What's your position?"

"Uh, I'm a setter."

The ball of sunshine jumped up and down. Yua watched him in fascination, how could one little kid be so full of energy like this? "Really? You're a lot different than the setter we've got." He said and imitated his own setter friend, "He's really growly and scary like a saber-tooth tiger. Grr." He then brightened, "I'm a middle blocker by the way."

Kenma just nodded his head, "Cool."

"Really?" Yua asked curiously as she thought out loud absentmindedly, "You seemed a little short for a middle blocker."

"Wha- Hey!"

Yua jumped about two feet in the air at the sight of an angered Shōyō before she scuttled behind Kenma to hide from the first-year who she had accidentally upset. "Sorry, Hinata-kun!" It was kind of funny seeing such a tall girl trying to use her small friend as a shield from the ball of sunshine. Though could you blame her? She honestly thought he must be a libero, or maybe even a pinch server.

Shōyō calmed down a bit and shook his head, "You think that's a little bit weird. Shorter guys don't usually play that position."

"Hm, I don't think it's weird, not at all," Kenma hummed, still not taking his eyes off of his game. Honestly, his golden eyes were glued to the screen only ever really glancing away to glare at Yua whenever she nudged him a bit. "People say a lot about me whenever I go to a game too. You know things like, 'I thought the setter was supposed to be the team member with the strongest abilities, so why did they ever pick this guy of all people.' You see, I'm not all that much of an athletic person."

Yua sighed heavily at that. She really doesn't relate all that much to the two boys. While it seemed like they both of them usually had someone looking down on them for playing the sport and not being what people would suspect for their position, she's never had that problem. First off, since she's pretty tall, people usually just assume that she either plays basketball or volleyball. Of course, they're somewhat right. So she's never had an issue with people doubting her abilities. Maybe she shouldn't assume what skill set people have before they play. After all, she's best friends with Kenma, who everyone assumes isn't the genius setter that he is. At least until it's too late.

"Oh," Shōyō said, bringing Yua out of her thoughts, "So does your school have a good volleyball team, or what?"

"Hm, I don't know." Kenma shrugged his shoulders. "Apparently, it used to be good, and then it went downhill. But as of recently…" For the first time, Kenma tore his gaze away from his phone and turned to look up at Kenma. His cat-like eyes piercing the younger boy in his spot. "I would say, it's pretty good."

Yua laughed at the remark, not really seeing the awed expression on Shōyō's face. "You guys aren't just pretty good, Ken." 

Shōyō furrowed his eyebrows, "Hang on, what school is-"

"Hey, Kenma, Yua!" A sudden voice shouted at the pair. The tio turned to find that another boy had approached them. He was quite tall, probably as tall as Tsukishima, and has a head of hair that appeared as though he had just rolled out of bed.

Kenma's face brightened just a tad bit, "Kuroo." He grabbed his bag and stood up. Yua hopped on over to the tall, black-haired boy who came to get them. Kenma then turned to Shōyō, "Got to go. Later, Okay?"

Yua waved over to her new friend with a dazzling smile, "Nice meeting you, Hinata-kun!"

The trio then started to walk off together. The tallest boy, Kuroo, grunted at the pair, "You guys shouldn't wander off."

"Sorry," Kenma muttered, though not actually sorry going by the tone of his voice.

Yua waved her hands dismissively at her other best friend, "Hey, You told me to keep an eye on Kenma." She casually shrugged her shoulders and walked beside the roster-haired boy.

Kuroo shook his head, "You guys don't know your way around here."

"Yeah, yeah," Yua waved him off, stretching her gangly arms over her head, "Can we eat? I'm starving."

Though as they walked away, Shōyō watched them go with a confused expression. What did Kenma mean by "later"?

 ---

Endo strolled down the slightly darkened hallway heading towards the cafeteria for yet another satisfying dinner with the team. Sure, the food wasn't anything like the Michelin star level of meals that he gets at home. However, he'd say that it's far better than the food he gets from private chefs. After all, he gets to eat with his friends, instead of by himself at home. The food doesn't really matter as long as he's in good company, in his opinion.

So he, along with Asahi and Daichi, was happily making their way towards their next meal. Suga wasn't with them, since he had left a little early, saying that he had to do something. However, it seemed like they had found him and what he had to do.

"Mr. Ukai?" Suga said to the coach who had been grabbing a drink from the vending machine. Meanwhile, Endo, Daichi, and Asahi quickly stopped themselves and started to eavesdrop on their conversation. Endo was more than pleased to do it, any juicy tidbit into Suga's thinking is something that he is more than willing to get a sip of.

The older man turned to Suga, "What's up?"

"Us guys in our third year don't have a next year," the third-year started off strongly, "That's why I want us to win as many games as possible. I want us to get the ticket to the next game. If Kageyama is the better choice to get that ticket, I think you should select him without hesitation. Daichi, Asahi, and Endo have been playing together since they were first-years. I want to stand on the same court with them, even if it's just for one play." He swallowed thickly, "When Kageyama gets tired or something unexpected happens, even if you think it's pitiful for me to be in this position despite my seniority, if it means I'll have more chances to play in games, I'll take what I can get. Even if I'm not the official setter, I will never give up on playing. I want to be given more chances to do that. I'm sorry for being so rude."

Ukai stared at the young man for a moment. Suga was willing to give up his spot as the regular setter to Kageyama if it meant that they advanced further in the tournament? That certainly is the definition of thinking like a team player. Instead of putting his own want or need to play his last year of high school with his friends as a regular, Suga wanted to make sure that they succeeded. That they moved on as far as they could without him being the regular setter for the team. How selfless. Ukai processed what he had said before sighing, "Sugawara… I believe I underestimated you. To be honest, you're freaking me out right now."

Suga blanched, "What?"

"I'm still green as an instructor," he continued, "but I'll do everything I can to keep you guys on the winning track."

That's all that the setter had to hear as he bowed deeply in gratitude, "Thank you, Sir!"

"Sure."

Around the corner, from their eavesdropping spot, expressions of confrontation were present on Asahi and Daichi's faces. Endo really looked as though he had heard some even more drama material. After all, who doesn't like a little competition among friends? A toss-up for the spot as a setter on the team between the first-year and third-year would certainly bring a bit of drama to the team.

"We're gonna get motivated," Daichi commented. "We're going after that one extra victory."

Asahi nodded his head, "Yeah!"

"Whatever you guys want," Endo commented with a firm nod. He then gave them a thumbs up with a dashing smirk. "I'll help anyway I can."

 ---

"Thank you for the food!"

Now everyone was in the kitchen, ready to devour the food that was made for them. Well, Kageyama and Shōyō were basically halfway done with their meals after only five minutes. It was impressive how they could inhale their food that quickly without choking. Sakura watched them from her spot besides Shōyō with an apprehensive expression. She made sure to keep an extra glass of water beside her just in case one of those idiots needed it for eating their food too quickly.

Across from them, Tsukshima watched the pair with disgust, "Where do you get that appetite?" Next to him, Yamaguchi looked as though he was going to be sick at the way the troublesome duo stuff their food down their throat. So Sakura offered the glass to him, who was appreciative of his friend keeping an eye on him. There's no need for him to get sick just from watching them.

"Hey, eat up!" Nishinoya then slides in from nowhere, "Force it down if you have to!" Yeah, they were certainly taking that advice. They barely even pulled their faces out of their bowls to look at him.

At one of the other tables with the third-years, Suga was eating quite a lot as well. Well, not as much as thing one and thing two, but more than the setter usually would. Daichi noticed with a chuckle, "You've got a healthy appetite today, Suga."

"Really?" Suga asked with a smile, "I need to fill up… so I can work my hardest!"

"Then here, take my veggies," Endo commented as he slid the plate over to his friend who just shrugged his shoulders and did as he said. The blonde made a disgusted expression, "You know I hate them."

At the table with first-years, Nishinoya pointed at Shōyō who had asked for some of Yamaguchi's food. "You! Let Yamaguchi eat his own food!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and offered her rice to Shōyō, "Here, have mine." She scoffed as her brother just took the bowl from her, now done with his own large portion, and moved on to hers. She started to drink her tea, "Watching you two has made me lose my appetite."

"Shouldn't you make sure you eat your food?" Tsukishima snickered, and started to mock her a bit, "So that way you can grow up big and strong one day."

"If that's the case," Sakura lazily commented with her eyes sharply staring at him from over the rim of her cup, "you probably shouldn't eat anymore. Lest you grow too tall." She took a sip and rolled her eyes again. It seems like she's doing that a lot. "God knows your attitude is too big for anyone to handle."

Tsukishima glared at her as the other first-years laughed at the interaction. She smirked in return and ignored him in favor of looking at her phone. Yeah, there's no way Tsukishima was going to get on her nerves any time soon. She's above his petty comments… for now.

 ---

Lined up in the gym, Ukai held up a board showing just who was going to be opening up for the game against the cats. "This is our starting order for the Nekoma game." It's no surprise to see that the ace is in the lineup, along with the captain. Obviously, Kageyama was chosen to be the starting setter while Shōyō and Tsukiahima were the middle blockers. Lastly, Nishinoya and Tanaka were also on the starting lineup. Those on the bench weren't exactly happy but knew that this would happen. Well, Endo wasn't exactly upset about being on the bench, he could care less if he was a regular or not. "You guys haven't had much time to get acquainted. I don't expect you to function with mechanical precision. Just because a hotshot libero is in the club and the ace returned, it doesn't mean that victory is a sure thing. The winner keeps the ball in play. We'll see how far this ragtag team can go. This is Karasuno VS its nemesis, the Cats!"

The boys all nodded their heads with a shout, "Yes, Sir!"

"Asahi!" The tall third-year bristled at the shout from Nishinoya. He slowly turned around to see that the libero was staring up at him with his hands on his hips. "Setting Suga aside, don't you feel bad for Ennoshita?"

Asahi stared at him in confusion, "What?"

"Only the strong stand on the court! This is obvious!"

"Um, Asahi?" Ennoshita called, "I haven't always been dedicated to the sport. I ran away from the game once. That's why…"

Nishinoya then cut him off with his hands on his hips, "Once he becomes tougher than you in body and spirit, he'll take away that regular spot from you, fair and square! Right, Chikara?"

"Don't put words in my mouth," The other second-year shook his head rapidly, already seeing that Nishinoya was just going to cause him problems by saying these things.

The libero "No, wait. You'd have to take Ryu's regular spot first!"

Tanaka ran up to Ennoshita and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "That's fine by me, scumbag!" The poor other second-year was at the mercy of the overzealous boy who shook him around. "Come at me, Ennoshita, you scumbag!"

Fearing for his well-being, Ennoshita tried to fight his way out of Tanaka's grip. "Nishinoya, just stop it, okay?"

Meanwhile, Endo watched it from the side with Suga and Daichi. He snickered at the scene, "do you think one of them is going to get hurt?" He leaned over to his friends, "I bet ¥10,000 that Tanaka's gonna end up on his ass."

Suga and Daichi shared a glance with each other. There goes Endo, throwing his wealth around. He acts like ¥10,000 is pocket change to him, which might be. Daichi shook his head, "I'm not taking that bet."

"Oh, come on~!" Endo whined, "Not even gonna match it?"

Suga deadpanned, "Like we have money for that, Mr. Rich boy."

"You guys are no fun," the blonde blew a raspberry, "Oh, to be poor peasants. How dull your lives must be."

"Endo!"

Sakura watched the interaction blankly. These guys sure are a lively bunch… They may end up giving her a migraine soon.

---

Another day went by for the team. Their routine easily was followed by everyone like a well-oiled machine. The day started with the girls and Takeda making breakfast again followed by some of the boys going out on a run. Though that was usually just Shōyō and Kageyama, which always involved the two of them racing each other. Then the entire team would meet up for their practice a little later in the morning. Currently, as the boys were practicing, Sakura followed Kiyoko into the gym. She carried a bag full of uniforms for the team. Kiyoko had asked her to help pick them up once they were done, and if it meant not being bothered by any of the boys for a short while, Sakura agreed. The two girls walked up to the club advisor. "Sir?"

Takeda turned to them, "Hey, are they ready?"

"Yes," she nodded her head and the two him with the bags, "the uniforms have been cleaned and altered."

So they gathered up the boys and handed out the uniforms to them all. Sakura smiled just a bit as she handed her brother his own jersey. It was number ten, just like his idol. It warms her heart to know that Shōyō really is on his own journey to becoming the next Tiny Giant, his ultimate dream.

He accepted the uniform from his sister with stars in his eyes, "I saw this on TV! Hey! Imouto, take a picture!" He jumped and held up the uniform to her to take a photo, only for him to get distracted by Nishinoya's uniform. "Noya's the only one who gets orange! That stands out!"

"Well, duh," Nishinoya boasted with his hands on his hips, "that's because I'm the star!"

"The star!" Shōyō exclaimed in awe.

Kageyama narrowed his eyes at the orange-haired boy, "During a game, the libero goes on and off the court many times, so he is different from the others to make it obvious, dumbass."

"I-I knew that!" Shōyō bristled, "Of course I knew that!"

Sakura shook her head, "Even I doubt that you did."

Her brother scowled at her slightly before noticing Kageyama's jersey number being nine, "Kageyama's is one number higher."

"I knew he'd say that," Tanaka and Tsukishima chorused together.

"We're first-years," Kageyama glared, "so be grateful that you're getting a uniform at all."

"I know that!"

Once again, Sakura spoke up, "Doubtful."

"I get it." Dachi chuckled, "He doesn't remember the number."

Suga shook his head, "He only saw him on TV that one time."

The captain then explained, "The number worn by the Tiny Giant when he played in the Nationals was 10."

Sakura scoffed lightly under her breath, "you would think you'd remember something as important as that." Though she's probably expecting too much of her brother. He has the attention span of a puppy.

Shōyō's eyes widened as he spun around to face Ukai, "Did you arrange this especially for me, Coach?"

"No, it was a fluke." Ukai shook his head.

With his shining eyes, Shōyō stared down at his jersey in a new light, "Then it's destiny!"

Kageyama rolled his eyes, "It was a fluke."

"Don't be jealous of me, Kageyama," Shōyō said, patting him on the back.

Kageyama raged, "Why would I be jealous of you?"

The others chuckled at the interaction before Shōyō turned to one of his senpais who was still admiring his uniform. "Um… Endo-senpai?"

The blonde turned to glance down at his kohai, "Yes."

"Why is your number thirteen?" Shōyō pointed at the older teen's jersey with the odd number on it, "You're a third-year, so shouldn't your number be higher?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders, "Well, yeah, I guess. But just like how you like the number ten, I love the number thirteen."

"Why?"

Endo's smile widened to a disturbing length, "It's an unlucky number of course!"

Kageyama tilted his head, "Thirteen is unlucky?"

"Yeah!" He exclaimed, "Back home, it's considered especially unlucky, like how number four is unlucky here in Japan." Endo explained before looking down at his jersey, the white of the number staring back at him as he seemed to grow to be a mix between sentimental… and resentment. "I find that… I'm quite an unlucky person, despite everything that I might have. So I like the number because it's just very… me."

The other third-years shared a look with each other. They all had an inkling as to what made him feel this way. Asahi most of all knew why, since he knew what Endo's childhood was like. They all know that Endo has just about everything he could ask for due to his family's wealth, however, Asahi is well aware that Endo doesn't have what he wants. Well, he really hasn't had it until he joined the volleyball club. Of course, the ace knows that after this year… Endo is likely to lose it as well.

"Incidentally," Ukai said, drawing everyone's attention back to him, "at the time Hinata's hero, the Tiny Giant, played here, Karasuno was at its best. But for all that, Karasuno didn't beat Nekoma a single time. It ended in a losing streak. I want you to clear our name."

"Yessir!"

"Okay, now let's resume practice!"

"Thank you!" The boys all exclaimed before running off to do just as he said.

"That must mean that Nekoma has a good team," Takeda hummed, "What kind of team do they have?"

Ukai shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know their current status, but they've always had good receivers. They never had any stand-out players, but they also had no holes in their defense. They're our opposite. They're called the Cats for a reason. They're flexible." He then glanced at Sakura who was idly typing on her phone. "Do you know anything?"

Sakura looked up at them, now seeing that they were addressing her. She just turned her eyes back to her phone, "Me? Why would I know about a team from Tokyo?"

"You seem to be the type to know everything, I guess," Ukai explained. Really she thought that she would know everything about everyone. It certainly seems that way to him at least.

"Tch. No," Sakura grunted, "I don't know about this team. I don't concern myself with other schools unless it has to do with Shō…" She then paused and placed her hand on her chin in thought, "though guess I should find out something. Would definitely help with understanding how his quick attack would fare against his opponents." There's nothing wrong with doing a little bit of research on their opponents. Though should she really do it? Considering she's not even on the team? Oh well, she'll think about it some more later.

Ukai and Takeda eyed her for a moment as she seemed to be mulling over something. "Hm. You want to help you brother right?" Ukai asked, already knowing the answer. "If we get a few more practice matches, it would probably be a good idea for you to find out more about those teams they'll play against."

"So you want me to be a spy?" Sakura asked lazily, "Like a private investigator?"

Ukai nodded his head, "Yeah."

Sakura huffed, "I have my own life, you know." Not a total lie, but also not the complete truth. She waved her hand at him, "I'm not going to spend my time stalking other schools."

"It was just an idea!"

 ---

The game between Nekoma and Shirato is currently in progress. In the beginning, even if the players from Shirato didn't think that Nekoma could be all that good, especially considering their setter is some meek little guy, they were now eating their words. Not only is Nekoma extremely cat-like, but they are also strategic to a terrifying degree. Of course, that's all thanks to their genius setter, Kenma.

Kuroo, the tall, black-haired third-year of the team and captain, was able to make a receive and make it look easy. After that, it was a piece of cake for Kenma to set the ball and Yamamoto to spike it for the final point.

"All right!"

"They don't have any geniuses on attack or defense," one of the Shirato players gasped out as they watched the victors celebrate their win, "so why are they so good?"

On the Nekoma side of the net, Yua bounced up to the team and handed them some towels and water bottles. A large smile was plastered on her face, obviously excited with seeing her boys win yet another game. "Good job, boys!"

"Do you have to be so loud?" Kenma cringed at her energetic voice as he took the water she offered him, "You're really embarrassing."

"Aw, don't pout so much Ken," Yua whined at him before grinning evilly at him, "or you'll find yourself without your switch for the rest of this trip." Oh yes, she knew just how to motivate her friend. Just threaten his one true love in life, video games. 

Kenma froze at the threat and glared at her with his golden eyes. "You wouldn't."

"She would," Yaku Morisuke, the third-year libero, commented with a chuckle, "and you know it." Yua is known for doing just that to Kenma in the past. After all, she always tries to encourage her best friend to be more invested in volleyball instead of just video games. It's not that she thought they were bad or anything, it was just that she'd like to see him be a bit more social and play sports a bit more.

Kenma glared at nothing as he couldn't argue. She's done it in the past and he honestly doesn't doubt that she'll do it again. He muttered out, "I hate you."

"Aw," Yua cooed and grabbed her friend in a tight hug which caused Kenma to cringe, "I love you too!" The rest of the Nekoma team laughed at the antics of their manager and setter.

 ---

Nighttime rolled around once again as crickets chirped their greetings to the stars in the sky. Currently, the Nekoma team is getting ready for bed. Since they need rest for their next game tomorrow against their rival school, the murderous crows; Karasuno. 

The one person who seemed to make an issue with their new opponents over nothing was obviously Yamamoto Taketora. The mohawk rocking second-year, "Does our fated opponent, Karasuno, have a female manager? Yes or no? My yakisoba bun says no!"

"What?" Shibiyama Yuki, a first-year libero, questioned, "I want them to have one, so I say yes!"

Inuoka So, another first-year though a middle blocker, smiled widely, "Same here."

"You idiot!" Yamamoto shouted and turned to them pointedly, "We already have Yua, so it would be frustrating if they had one too!" The other boys tilted their heads, "What if it's far worse, and their manager is both female and beautiful? I would never forgive that! Ever!" He started to cry, freaking out just about everyone else in the room as he jumped up to shout out the window. "If that time should come, prepare to meet your fate, Karasuno!"

Kuroo, with his patience running thin, turned to shout at him, "Yamamoto, shut up!" Beside him, Yua shook her head at the shenanigans of her team with narrowed eyes. Why had she agreed to be this team's manager? Oh, yeah cause it was the only way to make sure that Kenma actually stuck with the team instead of just relying on Kuroo to make sure that he stuck around. Besides, it's better to have the two of them around Kenma to make sure he stayed on the team.

"Hey!" Yua shouted as she growled at the boy. She jumped up and pointed at Yamamoto with a glare, "Are you saying I'm not beautiful!"

Yamamoto shook his head rapidly, "You're too much of a brute for me, Yua!" He then crossed his arms over his chest, "Besides, everyone knows you're off limits!" Yeah, he was kind of right. After all, his type of girl is the elegant type. Meanwhile, Yua is a bit more tomboyish and vulgar than that type of girl. Oh, well.

"You're just not into strong, hot women like myself, huh," Yua glared at him before plopping back down next to her third-year friend. She leaned against him with a loud, dramatic sigh. "Humph, I know I'm hot," she blinked her long eyelashes at her friend, "I'm hot right, Tetsu?"

"Well-" Though he didn't get to answer when Yua smacked Kuroo with a pillow.

She smugly smiled, "You're going to say yes, I know it." Kuroo mumbled something into the pillow that sounded like he was trying to say, 'you'll ignore me no matter what I say.'

"Hey, what do you think, Kenma?" Yamamoto asked as they all turned to look at the boy who was just playing his game, as usual. Thankfully, Yua hadn't taken his games from him. Though she's still debating it, after all, he needs lots of rest tonight and he can't get that by staying up all night and playing his games.

Kenma didn't look up as he drawled out, "It wouldn't matter either way."

Yamamoto grumbled, "I knew you'd say that."

"But…" Kenma trailed off, bringing everyone's attention back to him as they waited for him to continue. He then looked up with his eyes glistening slightly, "I am looking forward to our game with them, just a little."

All of his teammates, plus Yua, stared at him in shock. Yamamoto seemed to be the most freaked out by this, "M-Mr. Unenthusiastic Kenma is actually looking forward to a game?"

Growing fed up with the bountiful energy that the second-year ace has, Kuroo smirked dangerously at him, "Yamamoto, would you like me to put your excess energy to use by upping your training workload?"

Yamamoto shivered in fear at the glare from his captain, "S-sorry, Sir."

Yua smirked at him, "Pay back's a bitch."

 ---

Back with the Karasuno team, Sakura was currently heading back to her room after a nice bath. It's always so refreshing to have a nice bath by herself after having to deal with the team all day. She's kind of surprised that she hasn't gotten any migraines just yet. There have been some close calls but they were avoided after taking some medicine. Though there's still tomorrow. Just as she was finishing up drying her short hair and walking down the corridor, she could hear thing one and thing two yelling as they came running towards her.

Sakura moved out of the way just in time to watch as the two idiots raced past her. Her brother is in the lead while Kageyama was gaining on him, shouting at Shōyō for being a cheater. She stared after where they had gone for a moment before shaking her head and then continuing on her way. Just as she was coming up on the room that the boys were sleeping in, she found Yamaguchi and Tsukishima leaning out of the door. They too were watching as the troublesome duo continued to race each other to the baths.

"It's nighttime, how do they have the energy to run around," Sakura yawned, turning to the other two.

Tsukishima scoffed, "One of them is your brother, shouldn't you be used to it?" Yamaguchi nudged him with his elbow, obviously thinking it wasn't a good idea to insult her brother in front of her.

However, Sakura has somewhat thicker skin now. She just shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe. I'm just surprised that there's another idiot like him." She tilted her head in consideration, "Never thought I'd see the day." Truly, she didn't think that there would be someone as obsessed with volleyball and as much of an idiot as her brother. Unfortunately, it was someone that she still isn't necessarily fond of, but it's whatever.

"Hey, you!" They heard an annoyed shout from Daichi, "Who's running?"

Sakura hummed as they heard the two morons being reprimanded by their captain. She yawned cutely once again while rubbing her eyes. "Well, good night Tadashi, beanpole."

"Night Sakura!" Yamaguchi said while the girl trotted off to head to bed. Though Tsukishima didn't say anything, not that she expected him to. All he did was watch her go. His golden eyes followed her every move until she disappeared and Yamaguchi maneuvered him towards the baths.

 ---

Today is the day. The day of the match between Nekoma and Karasuno. The cats versus the crows. The fated reunion of the rival schools is just about to start. To say that everyone was jittery is an understatement. Shōyō and Kageyama had eaten far more food than normal because they were both excited about this and a slight bit nervous. Thankfully, Shōyō wasn't anxious enough to get sick, this time.

So the two teams arrived at the gym around the same time. Now, each of the teams stared at each other as they lined up across each other. They sized each other up. Meanwhile, Shōyō was more than surprised to see the two teenagers that he had run into the other day there with Nekoma. Yua smiled and waved enthusiastically at the younger boy while Kenma either ignored him or didn't notice. Yeah, looks like today is going to be an eventful match.