Chapter Nineteen: Winners and Losers

KARASUNO WAS DOING QUITE WELL AGAINST THEIR opponent. While Tokonami isn't exactly a tough team, they're not the worst team around. They're decent. It was just that Karasuno was a tad bit more talented, thanks to the supernatural talent of Kageyama and Shōyō. Though the upperclassmen were just as formidable opponents for Tokonami. Asahi's spikes were extremely powerful, Nishinoya's receives were perfect, Daichi's leadership was strong, Tanaka's hits were fiery, and even Tsukishima's blocks were sound. Soon enough, Karasuno won the first set with a score of 25-12.

Throughout the entire game, Sakura tried to get the best photos that she could. She really thought that it would definitely be better if she were actually on the court to take the pictures. Instead, she'll just try and zoom in as much as possible. Plus she thinks that it'll just look better for an action shot if she were down there, but she can't really argue with the rules about her not being allowed down on the court. Plus being down there meant that she wouldn't have to deal with Oikawa. 

The prick really didn't know when to let up. She could see right through his little ruse and such. It was obvious that he wasn't trying to be nice and trick her into thinking that he wanted to befriend her, he had other plans. He wants to get as much information out of her about the team as he can so he could use it to his advantage. She wasn't entirely sure what he wanted. Last time she saw him, he had wanted to play against Karasuno with their full power. Though as he tried to talk with her, it seemed like he wanted to know just how well the team worked together. So did he want an advantage over them even though he challenged them to be as strong as they could? It didn't make too much sense to Sakura. Though she ignored him as best as she could and tried to ward him off with some cold glares. It also helped that a few times his teammate also helped out with trying to rein him in. She appreciated him a bit for that. Both had dealt with an annoying person like this, Sakura with Endo and Iwaizumi with Oikawa, so they had a mutual understanding when they locked eyes.

She also had to deal with overhearing the other Aoba Johsai players talk about Karasuno. There were a few things that they said that either made her smirk a little or glare at them. She may not be apart of the team but she's quite defensive of her brother. So when they said something to belittle her brother's technique it annoyed her greatly. Thankfully, when they were talking about her twin, it was to marvel at his quick attack of make small comments about the basic mistakes he was making. She tolerated those comments, as long as they weren't mean comments just for the sake of being mean. Making comments about her brother's plays that obviously needed work was fine, since she'd probably say that same thing and agree with them. She mostly was listening to Onion-head and that ace talk to each other about the team. At least when Oikawa wasn't trying to talk to her.

Kindaichi, Aka Onion-head, stared at the game in surprise, "They're suddenly about to win the set."

"Their libero is going to be real trouble." Iwaizumi observed. "Having that stubbled dude on their team allows Kageyama to use his tosses more effectively."

Sakura agreed with that, while she found Nishinoya quite the nuisance, she couldn't deny how talented he is. Also Asahi is such a cool and powerful guy. If she were being honest, Sakura might or might not look up to Asahi because of their similar struggles not to long ago.

After a few more points were won, Karasuno ended up winning the set with a score of 25-12. "Nice job, guys!" On the sidelines, Endo cheered and clapped Daichi and Asahi on the back. "You guys are killing it out there!"

Asahi bashfully scratched the back of his neck. "Oh, thanks, Joji."

"I mean, you guys usually do good," Endo said while running his hand through his blond hair. "We'd have probably won already if I were on the line-up, but it doesn't matter. We'll win either way."

Tanaka nearly did a spit-take when he heard Endo's confident statement. He turned to the older boy with a menacing glare and stalked up to Endo, steam starting to come out of his ears, "You cocky son of a--"

Endo cut him off and held him back by his bald head, "Ah, ah, there are children here." The way he tsked at his underclassmen, obviously in amusement. Tanaka just huffed and turned away while muttering to himself. 

Asahi chuckled nervously, "don't rile him up, you're on the same team!"

"Nothing wrong with having some fun~!" Endo purred with a chuckle. If he couldn't play in the game, then he was going to have fun on the sidelines. Teasing his friends and making jokes to them is his passtime after all. 

The second set then started as the whistle blew, and Kageyama was up to serve. Throwing the ball in the air and serving it, he was able to easily get a point for the team thanks to his precision and power.

Kindaichi gaped as Karasuno cheered, "A no-touch ace!" 

"Now that they've won the first set Karasuno is starting to get into the groove," Iwaizumi commented, impressed with Kageyama's powerful start to the second set. 

Kageyama easly won his team five points just because of his serves. A fact that Sakura was thoroughly impressed with, but kept her mouth shut. The last thing she'd want is for Kagayama's ego to get any bigger.

Sakura watched the game intently. It wasn't that much of a back and forth, but she could tell that Tokonami wasn't going to just give up. She admired them for that fact. If she were on a team that didn't have the greatest chance of winning, she might just give up. Perhaps it's the pessimist in her that would see playing as a lost cause, but she most likely wouldn't put in the effort for it.

"Do these guys understand they have another game to play this afternoon?" Kindaichi asked, "It's just that victory was a sure thing so they should have kept as much energy in reserve as possib--"

"What's so bad about it?" Oikawa cut him off, speaking for the first time in a while since he had been told off by Sakura and Iwaizumi, "We got to see them play for keeps. But they didn't use the deviant fast attack."

Sakura scoffed lightly under her breath, "Karasuno now has technique and strategy, something they lacked last time you saw them." The way he said it almost made her think that he didn't think they would wait to use the freak attack. Like they would be more than eager to use it right away against all of their opponents. While that may be a somewhat fair assumption, the entire team wasn't reckless. However, she's sat at their practices and knows that they have a plan of when to use the troublesome duo's attack. While they were a new team, they had plans and strategy, surprisingly.

A different Aoba Johsai player, Hanamaki Takahiro, then walked over to his teammates, "The other game is also over. Date Tech won by a landslide."

"Karasuno vs Date Tech…" Kindaichi trailed off, "Who will rise to victory?"

"Let's go." Iwazumi said before heading off, "We have to win our next game or we won't be there." He paused by the orange-haired girl sitting behind them and bowed lightly, "I'm sorry that this idiot wouldn't leave you alone."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "don't apologize for someone you have no control over. I understand the feeling."

Oikawa bristled at the fact that his best friend and this girl were talking about him as if he weren't there. "I-"

The younger girl pinned him with a cold glare, "You have a game, so leave." He just shivered under her intense stare, gave Karasuno one last glance before following after his team to get ready for their own game. After now sitting with Sakura for a little bit, he understands her just a little bit more. While he didn't get too much out of her, he was able to make some assumptions about her. She truly is a tsundere or doesn't care much about volleyball since she did little to no cheering for Karasuno. He noticed that when she did cheer it was mainly for her brother. So he could conclude that she was there only for him, though anyone could notice that from a mile away.

He could conclude that she was analytical since he could see just how intently she was watching the game. Her eyes were calculating, something that he knew he'd seen in other volleyball players, coaches, and managers plenty of times. Oikawa could only imagine what she was thinking about the game and the plays that were made. Even if she wasn't on the team, he now knows to look out for her as well. Since she was tied to the team because of her brother, he doens't really doubt that she'd help them out with planning and such if it means her brother stays on the court longer. It intrigues him a bit. Hopefully, he'll get to see more of her.

---

After the game was done, Karasuno all collected their things and headed out of the gym. They all congratulated each other and were in high spirits. This was quite a good outlook after all. They won their first game in the tournament! If they were able to keep this momentum up into their next game and the one after that, then there's no telling how far they could go in this.

Endo certainly was quite happy with the outcome. His friends were more than ecstatic about it. It warmed his heart to see them like this after years of not being able to really do anything. They all have been talented since his first year at Karasuno, but Daichi, Suga, and Asahi were never given the correct building blocks to get to that extra step of winning games. Eventually, they got new recruits in his second year, but they still were not enough. This year though with the newest members convinced Endo that they were going somewhere. He could care less about getting to play or anything, despite the fact that he would love to show off his own skillset and such. However, as long as his friends, who truly wanted and enjoyed volleyball like it was their entire life, got to the top, then he wouldn't complain in the slightest.

Though one thing did get to him, and he knows that it's going to be inevitable. His father most likely will be an asshole and point out how Endo isn't on the starting lineup like last year. No doubt in his mind that his manipulative father would try to use that as a tool to get Endo to leave the club early and focus on his future. Endo doesn't care if he's on the court or not. He's a member of the team. Sure, his heart isn't truly one of a volleyball athlete, but he isn't in this club because he wants to be a professional athlete or anything. He's here because he has something in this team that he didn't get when he was younger; friends.

"Sawamura!" A voice shouted out, breaking Endo from his thoughts and drawing the attention of the entire Karasuno team.

Daichi and the rest of his team turned to find one of their former opponents standing in front of them. He was breathing heavily, obviously having chased after them to speak to them. Daichi blinked at the teary-eyed boy in confusion, "Ikejiri?"

"Win!" He exclaimed as his bottom lip wobbled, "You have to keep winning! Win for us too!"

Daichi stared at his old friend and clapped their hands together, "Sure, challenge accepted!" So Karasuno headed off after that interaction, more than ready to do just that. For those who didn't win their first games, the extras who didn't get to move on to the next round, this year's losers, Karasuno would win for them.

As they were walking away Endo shook his head, "And you guys call me dramatic? That was… textbook dramatics right there!" Let it be him to break through a slightly sentimental moment to make it about himself.

Daichi turned to the blond with a slight glare, "Shut it, Endo."

He just smirked in reply and teased, "Oooh, scary Daichi is a bad Daichi." The blond then ran off once he saw the shadowy expression on his friend's face. The last thing he needed was to have his captain attack him and possibly get hurt before the game. He may not be playing, but the last thing he wants is for a brute like Daichi to hurt him and possibly mess up a fine specimen like himself. Endo certainly is quite vain.

The team then came to the lobby of the building and found their photographer standing by herself looking through her camera. Once Shōyō caught sight of his sister, he jumped over to her and attacked her with a tight hug. "Sakura! Did you see me! We won!"

"I know, Shō-nii, you did really well." His excitement was a bit contagious at the moment. Even Sakura was smiling just a bit at his enthusiasm. After all, Sakura is more than happy to see that Shōyō got to win this game and stay on the court longer. She then turned to look up at the team's ace who jumped now that her attention was on him, "You too, Asahi."

The older boy let out a relieved breath at that, since he knows that she can be quite cold towards some people. He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, "Thanks."

Nishinoya and Tanaka then slide over to her with stars in their eyes, "Did I do good, Hinata-chan?!"

Sakura stared at the two second-years in both annoyance and reluctance. The last thing she wanted to do was fuel their weirdness by saying anything. From their expectant expressions, there was no doubt that they weren't going to leave her alone until she gave them some sort of recognition. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, "Yea, sure." The two idiots shouted out in excitement since they were acknowledged by the girl and somewhat complimented by her. It certainly had made their day, just about as much as their win against Tokonomi did. However, Sakura could admit, silently at least, that those two did do a good job. They're talented in their own rights, Tanaka is a powerful outside hitter, and Nishinoya is a skilled libero. It's not like she can ignore those facts.

"What about me?" Endo popped up with his bottom lip out in a pout as he whined like a needy child, "Can I have a compliment?"

She looked at him blankly, "You didn't even play."

"So?" He asked looming over the shorter girl with puppy-dog eyes, "I think I was a pretty good cheerleader, you know. Takes a lot to cheer on the team from the sidelines." Endo wiped his brow as if he had worked up a sweat by doing nothing.

Sakura shook her head and turned to walk away, "So annoying." 

"Waaait~!" He called out in a pout while trailing after her like a lost puppy, "I want Hinata-chan's approval too!"

"Don't call me that, boke!"

---

Resting in the lobby of the building, Karasuno found a quiet spot to stretch and prepare themselves for their next game. They stretched and rested for a bit while most of them talked and joked with each other. However, there was still a lingering cloud of anxiety that wafted over the group, specifically the upperclassmen. After all their next match is against Date Tech.

"Karasuno was incredible." Someone commented as they walked down the corridor. "Their tiny number 10 really freaked me out!" Said number 10's ears perked up at the statement.

The guy's buddy nodded his head, "Yeah, that's for sure."

"He was totally nailing those fast attacks."

Sakura took notice that Shōyō had also heard their compliments. It was well deserved, in her opinion. It's a recognition that she knew her brother deserves because of his unwavering talent and hard work. Though she just hoped this doesn't go to his head. Hearing the praise about his skill, Shōyō's cheeks became pink. He then turned to find that Kageyama was staring at him with an unsettling expression. "Wh-what? I'm allowed to be happy! No one's ever said that kind of stuff about me before."

"Did I say anything? It's great that you're getting noticed." Kageyama gloomily commented, "The more our opponents pay attention to you and get wary around you, the more you can show off your special talents."

Shōyō stared at him in confusion, "I'm not sure what you're saying but for now, your smile terrifies me." Kageyama growled and grabbed the top of the orange-haired boy's head which caused him to whine, "Ow! Ow, ow!"

Though Kageyama let go when he was chopped in the side by his victim's little sister. Sakura growled slightly, "Don't do that." The setter just grabbed his newly bruised side and glared down at her.

Their coach and captain then came walking up to them, "Yeah, he's right. Anyway, "That tiny Number 10" will set an excellent mood. The bigger the mood is, and the more Hinata shines, the more blinded the opponent blockers are going to be. We'll be using the same starting lineup for round two as we did for round one."

"The next game is at 1:30 PM." Daichi declared, "Don't let yourselves cool down."

Ukai clapped his hands, "Have a light meal before that time. Don't fill up!"

"Yessir!" The boys all shouted.

Endo rummaged through his bag and pulled out his lunch. A beautifully designed bento box is what he pulled out with an equally crafted meal inside of it. Obviously, such a delicious-looking lunch was made by his mother. Not only is she a talented artist, but she's quite a skilled cook as well. She certainly had the time as a stay-at-home mother to hone in on that skill.

He got cozy and started to dig into his lunch while talking with Asahi, "so you ready for the next game?"

Asahi shrugged his shoulders, "Uh, as much as I can be."

"Not very confident," Endo laughed and nudged the other boy's shoulder, "Come on! You'll be fine. Not only did you win the last game, but this game I'll most likely get to play on the court." That's not a garentee, but Endo would like to play at least a bit today, especially if it's against Date Tech. Sure, playing wasn't exactly what he wanted to do, even now that he wasn't on the starting line up anymore. Though to get some good revenge against those giants would be more than exciting!

The ace shook his head, "Don't be so arrogant, Joji. It's not a good thing." Though he wasn't exactly scolding him, Asahi knows that Endo is quite full of himself. Asahi is well aware of why Endo acts like this. It isn't something that they like to discuss much, but they both know the truth. So he shouldn't really be surprised when Endo says selfish things.

He just smirked in reply, "You got to admit, this rematch will be in our favor. We've got the new first-years and we're all fast more confident than we were months ago."

Asahi thought about it for a minute and then nodded a bit, "That's true."

As a team, they all have gotten more skilled at volleyball. Asahi would also say that they are a bit more close as a team. In his opinion, they had grown closer thanks to the tightly knit way that they were all brought back together. Since he and Nishinoya had not been at practice those few months, things had obviously been a bit more depressed because they weren't a whole team during that time. Though they were brought back, closer than ever, and with some new first-years along for the ride.

Endo also had a bright outlook on the game thanks to their new additions and more skilled team. What he wants more than anything is for his team to beat Date Tech and get their revenge. Not only that, but he wants Asahi to be the one to really do it. After all, their last game against Date Tech had really dampened his confidence. Now that Endo could clearly see that he's got most it back, he's sure that beating Date Tech will give his friend the needed push he needs to be fully confident in himself.

"Now come here," Joji shuffled closer to his friend, "mum made some teriyaki, one of your favorites! There's no way I'm going to eat all of it."

"Oh thanks, Joji!"

The bright smile that Asahi now had plastered on his face certainly caused Endo's stomach to flip. His chest felt tight as he focused on anything else but the dazzling smile of his best friend. He just turned his electric blue eyes down to his food, trying to forget the feeling. He's got some delicious food to eat and some sweet revenge to focus on. Not the way his heart fluttered at the bright expression on Asahi's face. He's gotta keep his head in the game.

---

Sakura situated herself in a seat up in the stands. Once again behind the Karasuno banner with her camera already set up to catch the game. She could feel just how anxious just about everyone on the team was. Based off of what she had heard about Date Tech and Karasuno's last game against them, she understood why they would be feeling like that. She couldn't only hope that the momentum of their win would help Karasuno win this time.

The loud cheers from across the way startled her, and broke Sakura out of her thoughts. "Go, go, let's go! Let's go Date Tech!" Sakura cringed at the sound of their chants. That certainly was going to get annoying fast. Why do they have to be 

Tanaka crossed his arms over his chest, "Those guys sure keep busy with scare tactics!"

They all lined up to start their warm ups for the game. Since they were going to be receiving, they started with some receiving drills. They Then it was their libero's turn.

"Rolling…" He slid over to retrieve the ball and rolled across the ground like a badass. "THUNDER!! Again!" The gym was enveloped in a silent awe as everyone from Karasuno, Date Tech, and the stands stared at the libero with wide eyes. "Nailed it."

"Noya, nice receive! It's totally sharp!" Tanaka slid over while snickering, "Aside from the name."

Nishinyoa spun around to him in anger, "The name is sharp too!" 

"Teach it to me!" Shōyō marveled as his eyes twinkled in admiration, "Teach me how to do the "Again"!"

The rest of the team all either chuckled or stared at the libero in confusion. Obviously, Kageyama was one of the ones, maybe the only one, who stared in confusion. "Was that different from the last one?" He asked.

Suga shrugged his shoulders, "He still retrieved it."

"What was that?"

Daichi shook his head, "Nishinoya's up to it again."

"Hey, Nishinoya," Asahi shook his head while giving him a warning. "Daichi will get mad at you again."

Though the libero didn't take his words into consideration as he stood tall, as tall as he could, and started to shout. "All right!" Nishinoya exclaimed, a wide, bright smile on his face, "We've got nothing to worry about! You guys focus on what's in front! I've got your backs."

"Th… That's so cool!" Tanaka, Shōyō, and Kageyama all exclaimed with pink cheeks and admiration shining in their eyes.

Endo laughed, "Damn, Noya. You're fired up, though when are you not? You really are a little firecracker, huh?"

Nishinoya jumped at the nickname, "Why you, don't call me stupid names!"

"Stop being stupid and I just might!" That didn't do anything to simmer the boy down. Nishinoya just became more rabid as he jumped at the blond third-year.

From up in the stands, Sakura facepalmed at their idiocy. She has to admit that Nishinoya was quite… impressive with what he had done. He's obviously a reliable player, as a libero should be. Though it seemed like he was just proving it again and again why he was one of the best liberos. However, she wouldn't say that out loud in case he heard or something and it just fueled his ego. The last thing she wants is for his undivided and overbearing attention to be pointed in her direction. Sakura just shook her head, trying to not think about that. For now, she's got this game to pay attention to.