Chapter Thirty-Two: Direct Sunlight

"YOU DO REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE FINALS next month, right?" Takeda asked, focusing on the four idiots, "Right?" From the way that they looked away from him, it seems like they forgot and definitely aren't prepared. "So, I think you know what I'm getting at, but if you fail any subjects… you will have to take supplementary classes."

At the reminder of that, panic started to set in for them. Nishinoya and Tanaka took off sprinting, thinking that running away would help their case. Which it certainly wouldn't.

"Hey! There's nowhere to run!" Daichi shouted out as they tried to escape, "Ennoshita, catch them!"

The other second-year stepped into action, "Got it!" He grabbed the two by the backs of their shirts before they could even get a taste of freedom. At this point, he's become an expert at wrangling these two idiots around.

Shōyō was in complete shock, "Fail… Fail… What counts as a failing grade?" 

"That's your question?" Suga blinked at the poor, confused, and panicking boy.

Besides them, Yamaguchi stared at their frozen setter and started to worry, "Kageyama's not breathing!" The poor setter boy was as stiff as stone as his mind was blank. This seemed to be the worst thing ever for him.

"Since we said we were going to continue club activities, we have to at least make decent grades." Suga stated one of the most obvious facts. Yes, in order to stay in a club all of them had to prove that they could balance their grades and the club in a healthy manner. If not… then they would have to solely focus on their school work. Any normal student would know that, but not these volleyball idiots, apparently.

An amused smile was starting to grow on Tsukishima's face as he watched them freak out. Growing to enjoy how those four were squirming at the reminder of their grades he said, "You shouldn't fail." 

"Nope," Ennoshita agreed while holding up the backs of Nishinoya and Tanaka's shirts.

Shōyō jumped over to Takeda desperately, "M-Maybe if we beg the vice principal…" 

"Why don't you try really hard and not fail the exam?" Tsukishima asked.

Takeda sighed heavily, "Even if we get the vice principal's permission, if you have to take supplementary classes, those will take priority." 

The dream of going to the Tokyo camp was crumbling right in front of Shōyō. He turned to Ukai and jumped at him, "Coach!" 

"W-Well, this isn't something you're gonna be able to avoid as a student." Ukai said shakily.

"But…"

"You need willpower!" He tried to motivate the boy, "You need to believe you can do it!"

"Mind over matter?! No, that's fine." Shōyō bowed, "Please teach me!"

"Hinata," Ukai grunted, "I didn't really want to bring this up, but do I look like someone who got good grades?" Well, no one was going to answer that since… he didn't really look the part.

Endo shrugged his shoulders, "looks can be deceiving?" Though Ukai just gave all of them a hollow expression since it didn't seem like that statement applied in this situation.

Suga stepped up to the upset boy and did his best to reassure him, "Hinata, I'm sure you don't have to worry this much about it."

"I've never had a double-digit score on any of my quizzes." He stated, "Will I still be okay?" 

"Whoa, that's actually impressive!" Endo exclaimed in wonder. He's had his fair share of bad grades, but never in the single digits! That just seemed like an impossibility, did he even answer any of the questions? "You're definitely screwed!" That just seemed to cause Shōyō to freeze up even more.

"Huh?" Suga blinked at that piece of information. Behind him he then noticed Nishinoya and Tanaka praying for a miracle. "Hey! Stop it with the bodhisattva faces, you two!"

The boys then started to wail in anguish. Endo was both amused and getting a headache from their screams of terror. As they freaked out, a few boys basked in the chaos, and others stared worryingly, Takeda had started to mutter to himself in a trance, "They can do it if they try. They can do it if they try…"

Ukai slightly panicked at the disoriented expression on Takeda's face, "Sensei, pull yourself together!"

There were only two who seemed to be getting joy out of this turn of events. Tuskishima was one of them as he smirked evilly at the distress now swarming around the gym. He relished in the discourse surrounding him, "Ah, the sound of anguish." 

Endo also seemed amused with the entire situation. Which shouldn't be a surprise since it's been shown time and time again that he revels in situations such as this. "God, the way they're squirming over this is oh so entertaining." He chuckled loudly, "the panic is almost refreshing."

"Get a hold of yourselves!" Daichi exclaimed, attempting to rally all the boys together, "We still have time until exams start. There's no way Karasuno could bring our best without these four idiots! Not a chance!" They all stared at him in slight confusion as the four boys did their best to pull themselves together. Kageyama was still shell-shock as Shōyō had to hold him up.

"I don't know if I'm flattered or insulted…" Tanaka trailed off.

"We're gonna do this…" Daichi said menacingly, "We're all gonna go to Tokyo."

---

Getting the boys to calm down took a little bit. Though Daichi and Suga were able to corral everyone back to the club room to get ready to leave. Ukai had to help a still disoriented Takeda back into the school since the teacher was still anxious over the four unprepared boys. So they all finally got into the club room as Daichi grabbed Shōyō, Nishinoya, Kageyama, and Tanaka to kneel in front of him for a scolding. 

"Listen up, you guys," He started to say, "The one thing that you're going to promise me right now… …is that you will not fall asleep in class."

Asahi glanced over, "That's the first priority?"

"Staying up late through sheer willpower. Screwing up in your classes and in club. It's all absolutely unreasonable!"

They all muttered, "Right…"

"We're heading out," Tuskishima said as he and Yamaguchi made their way out.

"R-Right." They all called out, "Good job."

Suga looked at his underclassmen with a soft, reassuring smile, "It'll be all right. I mean, you guys passed your high school entrance exams."

"Suga-san!" Tanaka stared at their upper-classmen in awe.

Though Suga's smile took on a more menacing undertone, "If you fall asleep in class, you'd better be prepared for the consequences." 

Endo slung his bag over his shoulder, "I'm rooting for you guys," he said, surprising a few of his friends. But he ended up just shrugging his shoulders with a smug smile, "I'm betting a solid 15,000¥ on you failing."

It's not that he thinks the others aren't smart… They just weren't book smart. Studying may not come easy to a lot of people, even he can struggle with it. However, these four were the biggest volleyball idiots that he knows, so who knows if they'll be able to study right. Volleyball seemed to be one of the only things on their mind, so why not make a bet with a high chance of getting some money. 

"Who did you make a bet like that with?!" Nishinoya shouted in annoyance. How dare the rich boy flaunt his wealth over them but also have doubt in their ability to succeed. Endo casually just pointed to a sheepish Asahi. That shocked them as Nishinoya yelled at his friend in surprise and disappointment, "Asahi!??"

The poor guy started to sweat under the heated stares of his friends. "I-I bet that you guys would do good!" 

Endo slung his shoulder over the nervous Asahi as he started to sweat about joining in the bet. Asahi did his best to explain things through his stuttering words, but Endo just started to move them towards the exit. Endo sang as the pair left, "I'm ready to win my bet~!" 

---

Yet another uneventful day, Sakura thought to herself as she exited the school building. Really the only thing that wasn't that boring for her was when Kiyoko came to the first-years talking to them about finding a future manager. Her classes were nothing to really focus on since they were quite easy today and more or less just review for the upcoming exams.

Exams are by no means any students favorite thing, they just create stress and issues for some kids. However, while Sakura didn't think that she enjoyed them, they weren't as stress-inducing for her as say her brother. Well, that's not a fair comparison, her brother is not a studious student to begin with. She has no doubt that he'll be coming to her for help with studying. Her brother can be clever, but by no means is he book smart. They always joked that Sakura was the one to get the brains while Shōyō got all the brawns when they were born.

She made her way across the courtyard to where she and Shōyō kept their bikes. Both of them were still there, so that meant Sakura would have to wait for him to get out of practice. Though she didn't have to wait long when there was the loud sound of Shōyō yelling at the sight of her. 

"IMOUTO!"

Sakura nearly jumped at the loud shout, "Huh?" She turned around to see that Shōyō was running up to her with Kageyama quickly behind him. They definitely were racing over to her, but she would expect nothing less.

Once they got close enough, Shōyō instantly grabbed her in a tight hug and started to beg, "Please, help us study so we can go to Tokyo!" The puppy-dog eyes that he was flashing her had already sealed the deal since there was no way Sakura could say no to that. Even Kageyama, who looked less than happy to be in front of her, had a feeling of desperation around him. Sakura blinked at the pair for a moment, before smirking lightly as she realized why they were like this. 

"So you can't go to the camp unless your grades are good?" It's the only assumption that she could make. The team has a camp coming up, exams are soon, and she knows supplementary tests would be the same day as the camp. So it's a logical assumption to make.

Kageyama scowled, "Don't sound so smug." He hated having to ask people for help like this. Practically, begging her for any help at all so they don't fall behind in their beloved sport. Sure, he's fine to ask someone to help study. He may be prideful but when it comes to his studies he's okay with asking for some help. However, when it comes to Sakura, he just knows she's going to make a big deal about this. Which she most definitely was.

"Watch your tone, king." Sakura tutted coyly, "I have no problem helping Shō-nii, but I have no obligation to help you." There was no doubt that she was going to help her brother study, as a sister it was sort of in her job description. However, the King was a different story. They never really see eye-to-eye on things, and have a rocky relationship as it is. So why would she want to 

Shōyō jumped up at that fact, "So you'll help us?!" His sister truly is a godsend!

"Say, please." She said before placing a finger on Shōyō's lips to stop him from her brother begging, "Not you." Sakura turned her leer onto Kageyama, "You."

Kageyama narrowed his eyes on her. Yup, there she goes. Oh how infuriating it is to see her holding this over his head. Though if he wanted to get to the camp, he was going to need all the help he could get. One of their top classmates was definitely a good idea. Though why it had to be someone like Sakura, he would never know. He gritted his teeth, as if it pained him to say it, "please."

She smiled condescendingly, "All right. I'll help." It seemed like that was satisfactory enough for her. She didn't really expect some extravagant groveling from him or anything, so this was the best that she was going to get. "Though I am a rigorous tutor. I will make sure that you learn what you need to do no matter what, got it." The two nodded in agreement. Though Shōyō was the only one that knew what he was signing up for with Sakura's tutoring. "Good, but no complaining about how I tutor you." Either they get the help that they can from her the way she can give it, or nothing else.

Kageyama's scowl seemed to deepen at her declaration, but he couldn't argue. He scoffed at her before turning to lead them down the mountain. "Whatever." Yeah, she certainly is an infuriating girl.

"So? I'm guessing a good time to study would be during break time." Sakura suggested as she and Shōyō followed after him.

Shōyō nodded his head rapidly, "yes! And at home too please!"

"Yea, yea I know. Though not him." Sakura pursed her lips and nodded her head at Kageyama. "I'm not letting him anywhere near my room."

Shōyō's eyebrows furrowed, "It's our room."

"When I'm helping you study, it's mine."

"Unfair!"

The trio traveled down the hill, talking over their schedule of studying and good places for it. Though there was one thing that popped up while they were talking. Well, more like someone. Tsukishima. Sakura wasn't pleased to hear that the two dummies also wanted to get help from him. Though she wouldn't totally blame them for it. They needed all the help that they were going to get, and if she can't help them in a certain subject, then someone else might. It just so happened that someone else was most likely going to be Tsukishima. How annoying. Speaking of which, they caught sight of the blond beanstalk and Yamaguchi heading home themselves. Ah, a perfect opportunity to ask him to help out.

"Tsukishima!..." Shōyō shouted out, startling everyone at how loud he was. Though he made sure to add on the honorifics, "san Help us study. Please."

"What?" Tsukishima blinked, "No." What else were they supposed to say? That he would outright agree with helping them. He doesn't like them all too much, so what would he be gaining helping them at all?

Though they weren't going to take no for an answer. Shōyō continued to beg, "Just, like, less than an hour each day! Or tell us how to study…"

Yamaguchi looked between them and offered a small shrug of his shoulders, "It wouldn't hurt to do that a couple minutes before or after club."

Sakura let out a small laugh, though it sounded more like a scoff than anything, "Doubt he'd be kind enough to help out anyway."

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes at her, "And you are?"

"Looks like you've learned something new once again." She asked with a false, sweet smile.

Tsukiahima just rolled his eyes at her. Her sarcasm was not that appreciated. Oh, how he could so go without having to hear it. "Hey, I don't think it's fair that you're having the shrimp ask for the both of you." He asked smugly as Kageyama had yet to say anything. Just like with Sakura, Tsukishima was acting the same way "What do you have to say, big guy?"

"Kageyama, ask him," Shōyō urged him.

The setter was having a flashback to just a few minutes ago when Sakura did the same thing. It was unsettling how similar the two were, he thought. Begrudgingly Kageyama grumbled under his breath, "Please teach us." Though it wasn't like anyone could hear him all too well.

"What?" Tsukiahima bent down and obnoxiously cupped his ear.

"Please… teach us how to study."

"I don't think I quite heard you."

Kageyama then intensely bowed down, his head nearly touching the ground as he shouted, "Teach us how to study!"

The door to the Sakanoshita Market slid open violently, startling the teens as Ukai yelled at them, "Shut the hell up! You're disturbing the neighbors!"

"S-Sorry!" Shōyō and Kageyama stuttered out.

Tsukishima grumbled, "Why am I getting yelled at?"

Once Ukai had returned to his shop, the teens realized it was definitely time to go home. It was getting late, and Sakura knew they needed to get home before their mother started to worry. "Let's just go, I'm hungry." Sakura said as she mounted her bike, "See ya, Tadashi." She swiftly started to pedal away, only saying bye to the only one she tolerated.

The boy smiled at her, "bye, Sakura!" Though his smile became slightly awkward when he noticed Tsukishima glaring at him.

---

The quiet day was a perfect time for some studying, which is what Sakura had told her brother. Well, she gave an excuse for every day being a good day for studying. No matter how annoyed or put off Shōyō might have been about missing out on practicing outside, he knew that she was just doing this in his best interest. Though He had to say that the studying that she was doing was… helpful. Yes, she was quite demanding of him with her tutoring, she was working with him to help him as much as she could. At this point, Sakura is aware of Shōyō 's strengths and weaknesses and was doing her best to help him strengthen them while also overcoming or avoiding his weaknesses.

So that's where Shōyō found himself at the desk in their shared bedroom, his notebook opened up as he copied some notes that Sakura had given him. Sakura was also in the room, working on her own studying and homework while keeping an eye on Shōyō to keep him on task. She's aware her brother could get distracted easily, so making sure he isn't going to get absorbed in something else.

She laid on her stomach, her books out in front of her on her bed as she was finishing up the last of her math homework. Not only that but she had to start coming up with some ideas about what she would do for the next gallery. Since Shimada had hinted at them talking about it for the next club meeting.

Ever since the first gallery that they had, Sakura had found herself enjoying the galleries and exhibitions that they've had. Some were small and just the photography club. Others were in collaboration with other clubs like the Art club, which usually had more people who came to see it. The photography club was small and not that interesting for outsiders, in all honesty. Though the art club, well, everyone knew the art club and loved to see it. Perhaps because there were a lot more mediums of art within the club than just one like photography. 

The sound of a phone buzzing went off. Sakura raised an eyebrow at it, knowing that it wasn't her phone since it's on silent. So of course it was Shōyō's. However, her eyes narrowed since she had been adamant to him about keeping his phone on silent and away from him to minimize distractions. Since she is well aware of how he could be easily distracted.

Shōyō looked at his phone to see whatever text he had gotten. It certainly seemed to fill him up with excitement since it was great news. Talking to Kenma was quite exciting, especially about the upcoming training camp. Though his determined and motivated emotions were stunted as he was hit on top of the head. Sakura scowled behind him and quickly snatched his phone out of his hands in his disoriented state.

"What'd I say," She harshly said, "no phones while studying!"

Shōyō whined, "It's Kenma." As if that was going to justify his disregard of one of her rules for his studying.

Their door then opened up as their little sister came bounding into the room. Her bright smile lit up the room as the childish energy consumed her siblings. There was no doubt that she wanted to play. She bounced around happily, completely dispelling the brewing argument between the twins. If it's one thing that Natsu is a master at, it dissipates any discourse between the two. She smiled largely at the two, "Ni-chan, onee-chan, let's play jump rope!"

Their mother then called from down the hall, "Nat-chan, the twins are busy studying."

She pouted, "Aw…"

"Come on Nat-chan," Sakura sighed while climbing off of her bed. "I'll play with you." The last thing that she'd want to see is her little sister upset about not getting to play with someone. Besides, she quite likes getting to loosen up a bit and play games with Natsu. She's quite the adorable girl, and Sakura adores her.

The little girl cheered, "Yay!"

As Natsu skipped as she started dragging Sakura away by her hand, Sakura turned to her brother, "You focus on studying," she waved his phone around in her hand, "I'm taking this." So she was led off by their little sister to join in on some jump rope while Shōyō was left to study.

Though just as Sakura and Natsu were making their way outside they heard their brother shout out, "All right! I'm gonna go to Tokyo!"

"Shōyō, be quiet!" Their mother scolded him. The two sisters shared a look, Sakura rolling her eyes lightly while Natsu giggled.

---

When it came to be the next day, Sakura walked alongside Yachi as they headed towards the third-year classrooms. It took a bit of convincing to get Yachi out of their classroom and on their journey to find Kiyoko. Sakura knew that Yachi was anxious about talking to their upperclassman about the position in the club, but she was hoping that she could work her way through it. Everyone has their vices and flaws, but she had a feeling that Yachi would at least give it a chance. 

"Yachi. It'll be okay." Sakura said, staring at her friend in worry. The poor girl was fidgeting around to the point that Sakura was worried that she was going to pass out or something.

"But it's a third-year! A friend of yours!" Yachi exclaimed, earning some looks for the other kids they walked passed. "What if I say something wrong and then she doesn't want to talk to me and then you decide that I embarrassed you so much that you don't want to be my friend anymore and-"

Sakura cut her off, "Yachi, that isn't what's going to happen."

"Are you sure?" The girl asked as she nervously bit her nails.

"Yes." She said strongly and let just a small smile to grace her lips, "I'm not going to stop being your friend, all right. It will take quite a bit for that to happen." Since Yachi was one of her only friends in her class, it wasn't like she was going to drop her over something simple like this. Sakura certainly wasn't shallow like that.

Yachi blinked owlishly, "Oh, okay." She was well aware that Sakura really only had her as a friend in their class. Though that didn't mean she thought Sakura would leave her if she messed it up with this third-year manager. Yachi values talking to Sakura every day and sharing lunch and their breaks with her, she definitely would not want to lose that friendship.

"There she is." Sakura said as she walked over to the beautiful third-year. "Good morning, Kiyoko."

Her senpai smiled at them, "Good morning, Sakura."

"This is my friend Yachi Hitoka."

The beautiful teen smiled widely at the younger girl, "It's lovely to meet you." 

It seemed like Yachi had become star-struck now with Kiyoko looking down at her. Though once she realized that she had to give some sort of greeting she stuttered out, "N-Nice to m-meet y-you!" Which then prompted her to give a deep bow, which startled Kiyoko at how sudden it was.

Kiyoko glanced over at Sakura for a moment at the strange greeting from Yachi. The orange-haired girl just shrugged her shoulders at her senpai. So Kiyoko just continued, "Sakura mentioned that you were looking for a club to join."

Yachi nodded her head stiffly, "Uh, oh, yeah!" Sakura just raised an eyebrow at Yachi's nervous behavior. She knows that her friend has difficulty with her anxiety about certain situations and overthinking a lot. Sakura just hoped that if Yachi decides to take this on, it could help her work through it. She knew sometimes to work through something you can put yourself in certain situations out of your comfort zone.

"The boy's volleyball club will need to have a new manager next year since I am graduating." Kiyoko explained as she handed Yachi the manager "This year they did quite an amazing job during their games. Even at the Inter-High prelims, they were neck-and-neck with Aoba Johsai, who actually made it to the finals." Sakura was half listening to Kiyoko since she already knew this. However, she noticed the far off look on Yachi's face, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. Was she paying attention? Sakura wondered. "Though we do have quite a few troublemakers, but I'm sure you'll find that they're a team you want to root for. So, why don't we try a trial membership?"

"Huh?!" Yachi jumped, getting dragged out of her thoughts since she zoned out during everything Kiyoko said. She nervously shouted out, "Sure!"

Kiyoko smiled widely, "Really?! Thank you so much!" She exclaimed while grabbing her hand, "Then I'll come by again after school."

As Kiyoko skipped away happily at the new development, Sakura looked over at Yachi and her dazed expression. Sakura deadpanned, "Did you hear anything she said?"

"...no," Yachi coughed out sheepishly.

Sakura shook her head in amusement, "Don't worry, I'll catch you up, come on." So Sakura started retelling what Kiyoko's had said as they headed back into their classroom.

---

Kiyoko had come to collect Sakura and Yachi once classes were over. While Sakura could have easily brought Yachi there on her own, she knew that Kiyoko wanted to give Yachi a good impression and explain more things on their walk over. Not only that but Kiyoko is just an extremely kind girl.

All throughout their short walk towards the gym, Yachi was nervously fidgeting with her hands, but listening attentively to every word Kiyoko said. Sakura walked beside them while keeping quiet and letting Kiyoko take charge of the conversation. After all, Kiyoko was the one who had to teach Yachi what she would need to know to be a manager, if Yachi took the position. 

Eventually, the trio of girls made it to the gym entrance. Sakura made sure to give Yachi her silent support through looks and gestures, which seemed to work just slightly. Yachi was not exactly an anxious mess over meeting new people, or else their first meeting would have been a bit more awkward, Sakura knew. However, with the job of a manager possibly hanging over her, Yachi was just over thinking what was going to happen if she messed up at any point or disappointed Kiyoko.

Soon enough they made it to the door of the gym. The team was already practicing their passing and spikes when the girls got there. Though there was no way that any of them were going to miss Kiyoko's appearance. Though once they noticed her they also noticed the two others along with her. While they weren't surprised to see Sakura there, the blonde-haired girl was someone new. That was definitely causing Yachi to tremble just slightly, having to be around all these new boys and how intimately tall some of them were.

"So you found a new person!" Shōyō exclaimed.

"What's up?" Tanaka inquired.

Nishinoya joined in on the questioning, "What's going on?" 

Kiyoko glanced at the nervous Yachi, "Um, she's joining the club on a trial basis as the new manager…"

Now with all of the boys starting to gather around the girls, Yachi stumbled out a greeting, "I-I'm Yachi Hitoka!"

"Seriously?" Suga said happily, "That's awesome!"

Shōyō was bouncing around at all of this new news, "Nice job, Shimizu-senpai!"

Asahi bent down to greet the new coming, "You're a first-year?"

Though that only made Yachi panic a bit since she thought Asahi was not a student but instead an older man. She stuttered out, "I-I'm in Class 1-5, sir!"

Daichi made sure to put himself between them, in case Yachi becomes even more scared, "Asahi, back up a bit."

"Huh?" Though Asahi was a bit oblivious to why he had to do so.

"You're scaring the poor girl," Endo chuckled while patting his friend on the back in sympathy.

It seemed like Nishinoya and Tanaka were more than intrigued to see the new girl. Though their way of expressing this, just staring at her intensely, was doing nothing but scaring Yachi just slightly. "Hey!" Suga exclaimed and pushed the two away. "Don't stare like that! It's rude."

Even if he had been pulled back slightly to not frighten Yachi too much, Asahi was still excited with this new development. "Thank goodness. Now there'll be a manager next year, too."

Shōyō nodded, "Yes!" Though that just caused Yachi to jump slightly in nervousness.

"Sh-She hasn't actually joined yet," Kiyoko was quick to correct them, "I asked her suddenly today, and before work with the membership committee, so she's just dropping in to say hi today."

Yachi bowed her head to the group, "I-It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Same!" All the boys around her respectfully did the same. Though that just caused Yachi's nervousness to spike even more as she jumped. Sakura made sure to place a hand on Yachi's shoulder, hoping to calm the poor girl down just a bit. She just wanted to make sure that her friend knew that she was there to try to calm her down if she needed it.

Kiyoko stepped in, "Could you not surround her until she's more comfortable?"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed, "You guys are creepy when girls are around." It was almost like they had never been around too many girls at one time. She knew that a few of them were a bit… dumbfounded when it came to girls, but it shouldn't be too bad. It made her feel protective of the only friend from her class. After all, if they scared her off, what if Yachi decided to avoid her or something. So she did her best to subtly stand in front of Yachi as she rolled her eyes at them, "Please don't scare away my friend."

Tsukishima decided to make a jab, "You have a friend?" Which only earned him a deadpanned glance from her and nothing more. Not like she was going to give him any real acknowledgement. Which ultimately frustrated Tsukishima just a bit, but he kept himself quiet for the time being.

So Yachi saw that as an opening to leave the gym for the day. She smiled politely at the new group of people, though it did seem a bit strained, and left, "S-Sorry for the intrusion."

"Shimizu." Daichi said to their manager, "So you were looking for a new manager…"

"Yeah. I didn't think we got enough response when we tried to find people in April." The third-year girl said, "I thought it was important to find someone to carry on as manager, especially with Karasuno getting so much stronger."

Her inspirational words and determined expression, the boys all bursted out into tears at her dedication to the team. As they all shouted out to her in awe.

"Shimizu-san!"

"Kiyoko-san!"

---

"So have you thought about it?" Sakura asked as she slurped on some ramen. It was now lunch time the day after Yachi was introduced to the team. Sakura wouldn't admit it, but she was intrigued, to say the least, about whether Yachi was actually going to join the team as a manager. While on one hand, she wouldn't want to subject Yachi to having to deal with some of the rambunctious boys of the team, on the other hand, Sakura would like to have another girl around the team. Sakura is around the team plenty so she figured that her presence would help alleviate some of the nerves.

Once Sakura had met up with her brother yesterday, he wanted to know everything about Yachi. He already knew that Sakura had a friend in her class and general information about her, but certainly wanted to know more. It was slightly annoying for Sakura, at least at the beginning. Though after a while she liked getting to talk to someone about her friendship. After all, Sakura doesn't have too many people to talk to about her relationships besides the photography club to a certain extent, Yachi and her brother.

Sakura just kind of really hoped that Yachi was swinging a bit more into accepting the position of manager. Since she was around the team so much, it would be a nice change of pace to have someone new there. Having another friend, who Sakura actually enjoyed being around, on the team was a guarantee that Sakura would have more fun while around the club. Not to say that she didn't, but with the likes of the annoying Endo, infuriating Tsukishima, and the troublesome quartet, it would be a nice balance to have someone sane on the team. Not only that, but it meant the team had another supporter. They didn't have too many people who came to watch the games and cheer Karasuno on, so perhaps having an added person, especially a manager, could help with the team morale. At least, Sakura hoped so.

Sipping on her juice box, Yachi shrugged her shoulders, "I have. Though I'm not sure. It seems like a confusing job to take on."

"It's not that confusing," Sakura said, "you just have to wrangle in those volleyball-idiots from time to time."

"But I don't know much about volleyball." Her eyes started to become wide as some thoughts bombarded her, "What help would I be to the team? What If I get something wrong and then it ends up with the team losing or something? I could never face them again!"

Noticing that Yachi was starting to become overwhelmed, Sakura made sure to attempt to calm her down. "Hey, nothing like that would happen, trust me." She said, already trying to stop any sort of overthinking that Yachi might have about this. "If you don't know about volleyball the team will happily teach you what you need to know, I'm sure of it. I can even help you if you need."

Despite not being a volleyball player, or really a part of a team, Sakura knew plenty about volleyball. While her brother played the sport, he wasn't exactly too versed on what rules are in certain situations. So she took time to learn what was important. The rules, the positions, and anything else she deems necessary. 

"You will?" Yachi asked, appearing to be genuinely touched that Sakura would help her out. She's known Sakura only for a little while, and knows that she doesn't always reach out to people or to help them, so it was touching to realize that Sakura would help her with this.

Sakura coughed lightly, a bit embarrassed now that Yachi had become so sappy all of a sudden. "Obviously."

"Yachi-san!" A sudden shout broke the pair from their conversation. Coming into the room was Sakura's brother and the gloomy setter, to the surprise of the two girls. "Pardon us!" Shōyō said as he came into the room, "I'm Hinata Shōyō from Class 1! This is Kageyama."

The setter nodded his head in greeting, "Hey."

"H-Hey," Yachi stuttered out after an unseen internal panic.

Sakura eyed the two of them while placing down her lunch, "What are you two here for?"

"We need help studying," her brother explained. "Imouto, can you help us right now!"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I guess, though I was in the middle of a conversation with Yachi."

"Oh, Yachi-san, do you like studying?" Shōyō asked her eagerly.

She just shrugged her shoulders, "I don't hate it."

"Could you teach me this English?" He asked her, "You should ask her, too, Kageyama!"

Kageyama gruffly said, "Please teach us." Sakura has to admit that it was easier for him to ask Yachi for help and not her.

"If we fail any tests next month, we won't be able to go to the Tokyo away games," Shōyō explained, "so we've been having the tall guy with glasses named Tsukishima help us…" An annoyed expression crawled onto their faces as they thought back to Tsukishima and his methods of teaching. "But lately, he's getting irritated because Kageyama and I are so stupid."

Kageyama grumbled, "I'm not scared of him."

"Fooled me," Sakura commented sarcastically, earning a glare from the boy.

Shōyō continued, "But it'd be better for someone to teach us nicely!"

"And I don't?" Sakura asked, slightly offended.

Kageyama deadpanned at her, "You are only slightly less condescending than Tsukishima." Sakura would have contradicted him, if she didn't think that it was slightly true. Though she still hated having been compared to the bitchy blonde giant.

"I-If I'm good enough…" Yachi stuttered out.

"Really?!" Shōyō jumped into her face happily.

"Don't feel pressured to help these two out," Sakura said reassuringly to her friend. "They're already getting a lot of help, if they fail now, it'll be a miracle fueled by their own stupidity." 

Yachi sweat slightly at Sakura's insult. She hasn't really seen how Sakura interacts with her brother, since this is only the second time meeting him. However, she could definitely feel that Sakura was a bit more on the harsher side with him for certain things. She just slowly nodded her head to Shōyō, "Yeah. But I wonder if I'll be able to teach in a nicer way than the tall guy with glasses…"

The two boys in front of them shook their heads as Shōyō said, "You definitely don't have to worry about that."

So the group all gathered around Yachi's desk. The girl was sharing her notebook with the boys who were more than happy to look it over and copy it down. It was certainly very organized. A bit different from how Sakura organized her notes, a tad bit more color to it as well. Dare the boys say they were even easier to follow.

"Wow!" Shōyō exclaimed, "I see! Wow!"

Yachi became bashful as the boys gushed over how organized her notes were, "Oh, it's nothing…"

"Your notebook's really easy to look at, Yachi-san." Shōyō praised, "You're great at drawing, too!"

"My mom works at a design firm, so she's always been picky about things like this." She then started to write in his notebook, "Oh, if you leave a space here, it'll be easier to fill in later. Also, if you limit the number of colors you use, it won't get confusing. And… I'm sorry! I was writing all over your notebook!"

Though Shōyō wasn't put off at all, he was intrigued with her work, "Oh, I see… You're amazing!"

"I-It's n-nothing… nothing…"

Even through her silence, Sakura was watching the boys copy the notes. Though it seemed like they weren't copying everything to a T, at least in her opinion. "You're writing it wrong, King."

"Eh?" Kageyama's eyebrow twitched at her speaking up.

She took his pencil from him, to his chagrin, and started to write, "this is a compound sentence, so there's a comma." The boy just grumbled under his breath before snatching the pencil back from her. Sure, she wasn't as bad as Tsukishima to a degree, but she still talked down to him at times like an idiot, even if she was being somewhat helpful.

Yachi nervously chuckled at the atmosphere around Kageyama growing gloomy, "Sakura is a bit better at English than me, her notes would probably be better."

"I gave them my notes," Sakura pointed out, "but I'm starting to wonder if they actually look them over to study. At least there's no oral exam, or they'd be screwed."

Kageyama glared at her, her obvious superiority about her English skills looming over them. He mumbled, "And you wouldn't?"

She deadpanned, "No."

"You can speak English?" Yachi asked with a tilted head. She knew that Sakura was intelligent, but she didn't know anyone at the school who was completely fluent in English.

"Yes."

Her eyes widened, "Fluently?"

Sakura just shrugged her shoulders, "My English is good enough to get me by."

"Ne, but imouto," Shōyō started to say, "you can speak it really well. You had full conversations with our teachers all the time. Oh, she's really good at Korean too!"

Sakura pursed her lips at the reminder, "I don't remember too much of that though."

A thought then popped into Shōyō's head, "Didn't you only learn it because you liked-"

"Shut up, no one asked you." She definitely didn't want to get into how she had a bit of a k-pop phase while in junior high. So she just bonked her brother on the head to stop him from speaking.

Changing the conversation, Yachi started, "So, Hinata-kun…"

"Just Shōyō's fine."

"Do you not like studying, Shōyō-kun?"

"I hate it." He gruffly confessed, though that wasn't surprising. "Sitting for a long time like this sucks."

"So you're trying really hard so you can go to Tokyo?"

"Yeah!" He became happy talking about the upcoming camp, "We're gonna have practice matches with all the strong schools from Tokyo!"

Yachi smiled at the upbeat turn of his mood, "That's amazing. I've never been that serious about anything before."

"There's this school called Nekoma High School in Tokyo, and the setter there is super-smart." Shōyō started to explain a bit more in depth, "And then like their leader has a really spikey head… He's really big and seems like a bad guy. And there's a guy that's totally awesome at picking up one receive after another like foom." 

"The libero from Nekoma is awesome." Kageyama commented, "He's on par with Nishinoya-san."

"There are a lot of amazing guys! Not just in Tokyo, but in our prefecture…" Sakura continued to listen to her brother's explanation and could see that it was going over Yachi's head. She'll have to make sure to go over volleyball terms and such later with her. "There's the Great King from Aoba Johsai, Ushiwaka, who's known as the undefeated champion, and Date Tech has the Iron Wall who's 190cm tall!"

"190 centimeters?!" Yachi yelled before blinking at the boy, "Um… Hinata, are you a manager, too?"

"Why?" He asked.

"Oh… I thought only tall people played volleyball and the club was full of tall guys."

There was a short pause as Sakura snickered into her hand and Shōyō took a second to jump up. "I may be short, b-but I'm a regular!"

Yachi froze in shock, since she just judged someone based just off of his height. She nearly threw herself under her desk as she shouted out, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay." Shōyō reassured her, "I'm used to it. Even if I'm not big, I can fly!" Yachi stared up at him with wide eyes. The determination that he had in his stance was palpable enough for her to see. He really was 

Kageyama broke her out of her thoughts, "Hinata, don't you need to copy this down?"

"Oh, yeah." He then quieted down and started to finish his copying. "Everyone's so big and they look strong, but when we're in a match, I feel like I'm taking those people on. It's exciting. It's nerve-racking."

Yachi blinked at his determination. It was inspiring to hear something like that. She smiled, "That's amazing, taking on people like that. That makes you a Little Giant, Hinata."

At the name, Shōyō jumped up, "Huh!?"

"What!?" Yachi jumped anxiously at the sudden shout.

"You know who the Little Giant is?" He asked, "Did Sakura tell you?"

That certainly confused Yachi as she had no clue what he was talking about. "Huh? Uh, no. I, uh… Don't you call Japanese players that when they're fighting with much bigger foreign players in sports?"

"Oh, right." Shōyō calmed down and deflated slightly, "Yeah, I'm gonna be the Little Giant."

Kageyama then said, "Hey, Little Giant that's not gonna make it to Tokyo, hurry up and copy this." Which Shōyō quickly did.

Sakura started to munch on her food again as she watched them finish up copying. If she were being honest, she's glad that there was someone else helping with her brother's studying. She honestly was surprised when Tsukishima agreed to help, even if it was only for a few minutes each day. She was convinced that he'd just laugh in their faces and leave them high and dry. It confused her a bit, but she was more than grateful for it. Which was not something she would admit to out loud. That beanstalk would just hold that over her head for who knew how long. Now with Yachi added into it, she was certain that her brother would do well. Sakura admires Yachi since she is very intelligent and well-rounded. Sure, the blonde was a bit jumpy and anxious a lot, but that didn't detract from her smarts. Sakura was more than glad to have her as a close friend.

Eventually, the break period was almost over, and the boys had gotten the notes copied, it was time for them to part ways. Sakura and Yachi followed the two boys out to say goodbye. Standing outside the door, Shōyō asked, "Will you help us study again?"

"Sure." Yachi nodded, "Teaching you guys helps me remember the material, too."

Shōyō then started to aggressively shake Yachi's hands, "Thanks! Thank you, Yachi-san!"

"Oh, no," Yachi said nervously at the aggressiveness, "it's nothing…"

"See you in club!"

Yachi waved at the two as they left before her smile dropped. Her appearance now becoming drained, "What is this? I feel like I've been left out in direct sunlight for a while."

"That happens when you're around my brother for too long." Sakura explained to her with a shrug of her shoulders.

Yachi looked to her as they headed back into the classroom, "you weren't kidding when you said you and him weren't alike."

Sakura couldn't help but chuckled slightly, "I told you."

---

School came to an end and all the students started to make their ways to their clubs or escape home. After their class ended, Sakura and Yachi headed to the gym. Basically the entire time, Sakura had been doing her best to explain things about volleyball to her. She talked about the positions, basic rules, and explained who the Little Giant was. Even from the way she spoke about the past middle blocker from Karasuno, Yachi could tell that Sakura knows nearly everything about him. The obsession that Shōyō had with the Little Giant was something that Sakura took seriously, in Yachi's opinion. It was heartwarming to see her invested in her brother's hobbies and interests. 

"Remember," Sakura started to say, "it's okay if you don't know anything, Kiyoko will help you." She did her best to prepare Yachi for what was to come, but she knew that Kiyoko would be there to help further.

Yachi nodded her head as if she was heading off to war, "Right."

Sakura smirked, "I know that you'll do good."

The two walked up to the door and were instantly bombarded with a bright ray of sunshine jumping at them. "Yachi-san! Imouto! This afternoon's English quiz…" He showed her the quiz that had a score of 21. "Some parts you taught me were on there, and I got a third of them right!"

"Wahoo!" The two cheered and jumped around before Yachi praised Shōyō. "That's amazing, Shōyō-kun!"

Sakura smiled just slightly at how happy the two of them were. Still, 21 isn't an acceptable grade just yet. Sakura thought to herself in slight amusement and worry. Yes, it's better than what he normally might do, but there was still a way to go before he could successfully pass their exams.

She cleared her throat to get the bubbly pair's attention, "Well, have a good practice."

"Do you have club today, imouto?" Shōyō asked with a small tilt of his head.

"Yes," she nodded, "technically it's just about every other day, but I'd rather come to your practices." Shimada was very relaxed on the club attendance as most of the time they don't have all too much to do. The only times everyone is required to go is when they have a gallery coming up or some similar event to go over about. Honestly, it's a bit of just a glorified hangout between friends, in Sakura's opinion. Yes, she would love to go to every club meeting, but she just was still having some trouble leaving Shōyō's practices. It's too ingrained in her routine to be at his practices everyday that she was having some difficulty pulling herself away from them.

There seemed to be an emotion that flashed in Shōyō's eyes for a moment before it was gone as if it didn't happen. He just smiled at her, "Have a good time at your club then!"

"Have a good practice," she said before giving Yachi a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. With that, she lazily walked off to head to the photography club. Shōyō watched her go with his smile, though it did slip off a bit. He didn't know that her club was every day. Had he known that he might encourage her to go more. Then again he had to wonder, would he be okay with not having her around for his practices either. Just as much as Sakura is used to being at the volleyball team's practice, Shōyō was used to her being right on the sidelines. Though he can't think about that right now, he has to focus on practice.

---

Walking into the club room, everyone was in their normal spots as usual as Sakura got comfy in her spot by the window. Her fellow clubmates were already in the club room talking to each other. Wada was sitting on top of a desk, talking animatedly about something. If Sakura had to guess, it was about something that she surely wouldn't be interested in.

The group all greeted Sakura in their own ways as Wada smiled at their youngest member. "Hinata-chan, you're just in time." 

Ito rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed with whatever Wada had already been talking about, "Yeah, you almost missed out on Wada going on and on about his new girlfriend."

Wada smiled wistfully, "And what a beautiful girl she is." Whoever this girl was, she must have been pretty amazing for him to swoon like this.

"And isn't this girlfriend number five this year?" Ito sassed with a raised eyebrow. It's known to everyone at school that Wada is a popular guy, which means plenty of love confessions, and who is he to turn them down. Especially when they're from girls he is even slightly interested in. Sure, at this point he's dated most of the girls in his grade and a couple third-years, he's just an interesting guy.

Though that didn't stop Wada from smirking at her, "Jealous?" 

"You wish!" She scoffed at the absurdity of that question. After all, why would she be jealous of someone like Wada Katski?

Yokoyama leaned over to Sakura and stage whispered, "She's definitely jealous."

"Yea, I don't want to hear about your girlfriend," Shimada said, leaning over to her underclassmen. She smiled, it appeared a bit teasing, as she looked down to Sakura, "I want to hear about why Sakura's here! Did you miss us!?"

"No," Sakura scoffed, "of course not."

The club president just cooed, "Come on, admit it, you missed us."

"Perhaps," Shimada brightened at Sakura admitting that, "I did miss seeing Mori-senpai." Shimada then deflated.

"Though it is surprising," Yokoyama commented while pursing their lips, ignoring the depressed Shimada. "You don't usually come to club on days like this. Normally, you're here just when we tell you to be and have something important." 

"You make it sound like I'm a slacker or something," Sakura scrunched up her eyebrows.

Mori giggled lightly from her seat across from Sakura, "When it comes to attendance, you are."

Sure, she didn't come to club all too much, but she was there when it counted. Sakura justified her lack of attendance for the club by the fact that they didn't have all too many important things to do. She viewed days like this as just a time to be lazy with the club and talk. She pursed her lips, "Well it's not like we have much to do."

Wada leaned over with a smirk, "How would you know if you aren't usually here on days like this." He had her there.

"Do we have something to do?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, challenging them on the notion.

Shimada jumped up in excitement, "Indeed we do, today is 'learn more about Sakura day!'"

Said girl blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

"We would love to get to know you more Sakura!"

"Yeah, you come in here only every once in a while and it's not like you talk all too much about yourself."

Sakura couldn't help herself but shift uncomfortably, "There's nothing too interesting to talk about me."

"I beg to differ," Shimada said, now plopping herself onto the table that Sakura was sitting at. "What have you been up to? What have you been taking pictures of? Any new projects? What about the volleyball club? Finally decided on which boy is cute enough for you?"

Sakura huffed, "none of them are cute!"

Mori intervened before they scared Sakura off, "In return, you can get to know us more."

Sakura looked at the five in front of her and their eager expressions. They obviously just wanted to be closer to her as club mates and friends, which Sakura knew was a good idea. She had decided recently that she should officially distance herself from Shoyo and making her own group of friends is one part of that. So she could use this moment to achieve that. It was just that… it seemed to be easier said than done. 

She glanced away, either in embarrassment or anxiousness, and grumbled out, "I guess that it's okay." The others cheered, "but no talking about the volleyball club! None of them are cute, I am not and would never be interested in any of them!" Shimada, Wada and Ito deflated at that piece of information, since they wanted to get all the juicy bits of Sakura's life. Though that didn't mean they weren't getting anything from her. "I've been thinking of working on a portfolio a bit more," she explained, "taking it a bit more seriously so I can use it later on, I guess."

"That's pretty smart," Ito tapped her chin in thought, "we should all probably do something like that."

Sakura deadpanned, "you don't already?"

"We will now!" Shimada exclaimed, "it's a great idea for all of us, I'd say."

Everyone agreed with that sentiment. At least now they would have more to do with their lazier days in the club. You would think that they'd have some sort of activities to do when not having to worry about galleries. Sakura thought to herself as she watched them talk about the ideas for portfolios and how to go about making them. Perhaps she could suggest some things to Shimada and Mori about projects that they could do. Though for that to happen, she would have to come to the club a bit more often. Watching the other teens talk with each other made Sakura realize that it didn't sound like such a bad idea. So in that moment, she came to the decision that she would come to the club more often and socialize more often. It might just do her some good.