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moonchild-things · 5 months

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Chapter Thirty-Seven: Tempo

Summary: Shōyō Hinata loves volleyball! There is no doubt that all he really thinks about is volleyball. His sister, however, isn’t the same way. Sakura is ready to start her first year of high school at Karasuno with her twin brother and doesn’t really want to do anything, unlike Shōyō. Though she can’t help it when she gets dragged into the antics of the volleyball club.

Word Count: 6303

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A/n: Oh I feel so productive! I finished writing this today, finished editing three videos that imma post on my youtube channel in the coming weeks and working on some more, and I worked on my manuscript for NaNoWriMo! Not only that but I got a requested story that I'm working on, it'll take me a bit but I'm finishing up the outline, get it checked and then get to posting some nice long chapters of it lmao Anyway, on with the chapter!

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EVERYONE COULD TELL THAT SKAURA WAS TENSE about something. It’s usual for her to sit on her own, rarely talk or engage in conversations while at her club. However, from the way that she was even more withdrawn than normal, everyone figured that there was something wrong. They hadn’t seen her like this before, so none of them were really sure how to bring it up to her. After all, what if they said something insensitive to her since they didn’t know what was going on with her. Well, that would matter if the people in this club actually knew how to be considerate of that.

Which is why Wada had walked over to Sakrau’s table and leaned over towards her. His piercing eyes stared down at her as she looked over some of her notes that she took in class. Feeling the gaze on her, Sakura glanced up to come face to face with Wada and his slightly concerned expression.

“Is everything okay with you, Hinata-chan?”

Sakura stared at him with a normal bored look, “I’m fine,” she leaned away from him, “now leave me alone, please. I’m trying to study.”

“You always study,” He whined, “but you’ve been glaring at that same paper for over thirty minutes and I’m beginning to think you’re trying to start a fire with your mind.”

She sighed heavily through her nose, knowing that he wasn’t just going to leave her alone like she wanted. For most of the day today, she had been fussed over by Yachi. Sakura really does appreciate the fact that she has a best friend who cares about her and her wellbeing, but it got annoying eventually. Of course, Sakura didn’t say that to Yachi at all since she didn’t want to hurt her feelings or anything. So she was hoping that when she came to her own club that no one would mention anything to her.

Though she realized that she only has herself to blame for this. She was acting more withdrawn than usual, zoning out from time to time and getting lost in her thoughts. She figured that out after noticing the strange looks Shimada was giving her. Maybe she should have done a bit better to make it seem like nothing was bothering her. The last thing she needs is for them to bother her as well.

She looked back down at her papers, not really paying attention to what was on it, “And what if I am?”

Wada gave her a look and sighed, “Listen, I know that we all are a bit worried about you…”

“Why would you be?” Sakura snapped.

“Well, I overheard a little rumor about you getting into a fight with your brother.”

Sakura gritted her teeth, “Damn Endo.” She knew that it had to be him who spread it a bit. Let it be known that Sakura hates how drama hungry Endo Joji can be at times.

Noticing how Sakura was growing uncomfortable and annoyed, Mori decided to speak up. Her heavenly voice said, “Wada, please. If Hinata-chan doesn’t want to talk about anything, then we don’t have to push her.”

“I mean…” Emi trailed off as she, Wada, Yokoyama, and Ito all shared a look with each other. “We all are curious.”

Sakura just grunted, “It’s just personal issues with my brother, that’s all.”

“Oh! Though I heard that you were actually fighting your brother and Kageyama-kun!” Yokoyama exclaimed, a bit excited at the prospect of a fight. She smiled widely, “You must have gotten quite a few punches in, right?”

“No,” Ito shook her head, “she’s too short to throw a proper punch, she definitely went for the legs.”

Wada pursed his lips, “Though her brother is the same height, no?”

“But are you hurt!?” Emi then shouted, becoming extremely worried, “Oh, they would definitely be able to hurt you badly! We-”

Sakura cut off any other stupid rumors or speculations that they could make with a harsh glare, “Can you guys shut up.”

All of them shuttered at the menacing look on Sakura’s face. They could all feel the impending aura surrounding them as Sakura glared at them. They collectively shouted out in fear, “Y-Yes Ma’am!”

With it being obvious that Sakura didn’t want to talk about any of this with them, they decided to leave it alone. They didn’t want to push Sakura too far to the point that she left or anything. So they needed to move on and focus on something else, whether that be showing off some of their photos or complaining about their recent grades. However, there was only one person who seemed to be a bit more

“You know, it’s okay to say that you’re hurt.” Mori Aiko said softly as she leaned against Sakura’s table.

“I’m not,” Sakura rubbed her head, “Shōyō couldn’t hit hard enough to leave a bruise or anything.”

Mori gave her a knowing look, one that made Sakura shift uncomfortably in her seat. The crystal blue eyes of the vice president were seemingly looking right through Sakura, and she didn’t really like that. Mori continued to say, “Not physically, emotionally. It’s okay to say that he hurt your feelings, because I can see that it did.”

Sakura looked away from her, not exactly the best at talking about things like her feelings. She played with her fingers for a moment, trying to decide on what to say. “I know he didn’t mean to hurt me or anything, but it did hurt to realize that I couldn’t help him, I guess.” She gnawed on her bottom lip, “Shōyō is the more emotional out of us, and I always know how to help him or see a logical side to things. This time I don’t know. I’ve just… I’ve realized that we need space. My brother and I have been attached at the hip for too long.”

“Did you not think it was healthy?”

“Maybe.” She shrugged her shoulders, “Before I went to bed last night, I had a thought; I had been using Shōyō as a shield to hide from everything, I guess. I used him as an excuse for a lot of things, to explain how I acted or why I did things. Now, after…” There was a little bit of a grimace on her face, “Last night I figured that it’s time to distance myself from that. I’m a high schooler now, I need to learn about myself and not just be a shadow to my twin.”

There had always been a part of her that knew this fact. Knew that she was not really her own person and was hanging onto her brother for far too long. She’s known that ever since she started high school, that’s why she tried to branch out by means of the photography club! She wanted to be her own person, but never really had the push to really make it a reality for it. Though perhaps after last night, this could be the right push that she needed. She didn’t really picture it being because her brother would hurt her, but whatever it was was still good enough to get her on that track.

“That’s very mature of you, Hinata-chan.” Mori smiled, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts, “Realizing that must not have been easy.”

Sakura just shrugged her shoulders, “it was a bit uncomfortable to come to terms with, I guess. Though it’s the truth, so I can’t really deny it or run from it.”

“Still, it's very impressive of you."

"Impressive?” The younger girl pursed her lips. Her cheeks were a bit pink now that she was complemented by such a pretty girl, “Maybe."

“Just make sure you talk with your brother about it. So you both are on the same page.”

Sakura nodded her head, knowing that it was definitely a good idea. So the two were then absorbed back into whatever conversation the rest of their club members were having. Mori felt happy to give Sakura an outlet to talk a bit more about her issues, and Sakura felt lighter to have actually articulated what was running through her head.

---

When it got considerably later in the day, it was time for students to be heading home. Sakura had only stuck around in her club a bit longer because she somewhat dreaded having to see her brother. After all, she knew that they had to have quite the important conversation when they actually got home. She was anxious about it, there was no denying it. Sakura could stand up to other people for her brother, but talking to him about something like this left her nervous. They’ve never really had a moment in their lives where they would have to question their relationship or have serious conversations.

Surprisingly, Shōyō hadn’t been around to nag Sakura about her riding home by herself. Sakura wasn’t sure what to think about it, nor did she even know where he was! She noticed that his bike was still at the bike rack but with practice over she would have figured that he would already be gone or him waiting for her. It certainly was concerning. Though she brushed it off, it had to just be that he was avoiding her somehow. It certainly had become uncomfortable between them since last night so she could understand that.

So perhaps she would get to ride home on her own for once. Even as she grabbed her bike and mounted it, the nagging feeling of the unknown location of her brother was bothering her just a bit. It wasn’t like him to just not be around and not leave some sort of note for her about where he was. Though it’s not like she was really expecting him to since he knew she was somewhat avoiding him.

Most of the time when the twins got into an argument there were a few things that would happen really. If it was some small disagreement, Shōyō would bother Sakura to the point of annoying her and eventually the two would forget anything happened. If it was something a bit more severe, like this time, they would keep their space from each other. Shōyō kept away to keep any further arguments from happening, until the two cooled off to apologize and then made up. That rarely ever happened since the two never got into large arguments, but it wasn’t impossible.

As she rode home on her own, Sakura was preoccupied with trying to map out what she was going to say to her brother. After all, she had to make her intentions clear. It was the right opportunity, the time to explain her growing feelings about wanting to have distance. Though her mind was thinking about how he was going to react to what she wanted. Would he be angry? Upset? Would he yell at her? Argue with her? Sakura couldn’t be certain about what he would do. This was uncharted territory, if she was being honest with herself.

She arrived home sooner than she thought, too caught up in her mind to really notice. So she put her bike away, greeted her mom and sister, and waited in her shared bedroom for her brother to come home. At one point, she was even thinking of writing her thoughts down to give to Shōyō. That way they would be as clear as possible as she was starting to feel like she would be tongue-tied when she actually got to talk to him.

“Hi mom!” An excited voice that sent ice into Sakura’s chest shouted from the door. There was a conversation from the kitchen as Shōyō bounced around the home, returning from his trip with Coach Ukai and old Coach Ukai. It was quite the eye-opening practice that he had with the old crow coach and the kids out there. He couldn’t wait to tell Sakura about it! He certainly was conflicted when he found that her bike wasn’t still next to his when he got back, but he understood. It was getting late and as much as he wanted to ride with her to make sure that she was fine, like a big brother should, he didn’t expect her to wait forever. Especially since he’s certain she’s upset with him.

There was quite a bit of apprehension swirling in his gut as he made his way to their shared bedroom. As he walked into his room he found Sakura sitting on her bed, propped up against the wall as she read over some notes like usual. The twins stared at each other for a moment. Both were quite anxious about what the other had to say. Shōyō was quite certain that she was angry with him right now, while Sakura was trying to figure out if he would be angry with her after what she has to say.

As Shōyō put his backpack down next to his bed and plopped down onto it. Might as well as get this over with, she thought to herself. Sakura cleared her throat, “Okay, Shōyō, I wanted to say that I’m not angry with you.”

“You’re not?” Shōyō asked, more than surprised by that.

She shook her head, “No. I put myself between you and the King, so I can’t really blame you or anything, it was an accident.”

He let out a puff of air, relieved that she wasn’t upset with him. Though he hastily said, “I am sorry though! I never want to hurt you, accident or not.”

“Which is why I’m not angry with you.” Sakura chucked slightly before sobering, “But I do want to talk with you about… how clingy I am. ”

Shōyō blinked, “Clingy?” That wasn’t a word that he would use to describe his sister. Especially considering she liked to keep herself away from most people and normally just be around him, their family, or by herself. So why would she think that she’s clingy?

“Yea. I mean I have been since we were infants, mom says so.” Sakura tried to make a bit of a joke, though it didn’t land as Shōyō was just staring at her in confusion. “But even all through school and such. I don’t normally stray far from you.”

He tilted his head in confusion, “that’s an issue?”

Sakura pursed her lips, “well, yes.” It took a moment for her to find the right way to say this. She really should have written it down. At least she’d have a plan on what she was going to say. “I just figured that it would be a good idea to have… distance. You know, so we can do our own things.”

She really did lose him after that as Shōyō attempted to try and find where she was going with this. Honestly, he really was trying to understand since he knew this was a serious conversation but he wasn’t seeing where she was going with this. “Though we already do our own things… I’m on the volleyball team, and you’re in the photography club.”

“That is true, but…” Sakura sighed, “Okay, let me rephrase that. It would be a good idea for me to find my own identity.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Sakura has an identity. She’s Hinata Sakura! What else could she mean? Oh no! Had he hit her head so hard that she forgot who she was?! This is worse than he thought!!

Before he could freak out about hitting her too hard, Sakura said, “Shōyō, you do know that everyone refers to me as your shadow, your clone. I’m not ‘Sakura’, I’m ‘Shōyō’s twin’.”

He blinked, “Is that wrong?” He wasn’t oblivious enough to not notice that. It had been happening ever since they were little. Sure, when they were a lot younger Sakura was more distinguishable from him since she had longer hair. Though after she got her hair cut sometime in junior high she ended up getting confused with him more often. Considering she kept her hair short, Shōyō didn’t think that she had an issue with that.

“It’s not wrong,” Sakura quickly amended, “but I just… I want to be seen as my own person, you know. When people talk about me or think about me I don’t want their first thought to be Shōyō’s doppelganger’. ”

Shōyō stared at her for a hot moment, trying to understand what she was saying. Was this his fault? Was she actually upset with him and just lying to not hurt his feelings? Had the fight that he had with Kageyama finally driven Sakura to the point where she wanted to distance herself from him? That she felt so annoyed with him that she didn’t even want people to think of her as his twin?

This had to be because being on the volleyball team had made him more emotional. Not to say that he wasn’t emotional about volleyball before they started at Karasuno, but it certainly had escalated. The fight the other day was a good example of that. So was she saying this because she wanted him to not do it anymore? He certainly wouldn’t, but he would consider it for her.

Sakura could see the confusion on his face, figuring that he wasn’t really getting at what she was saying. She tried to make things clear by saying, “There’s nothing wrong with me being called that, but I want to be my own person.”

A sour look consumed his face, “If you don’t like me being on the team you can just say it.”

“That’s not it,” Sakura stated in her own confusion. So he really was taking it the wrong way, just as Sakura had dreaded. How he reached that conclusion, she’s unsure, “I have supported you and your passion, Shōyō, and will not stop doing that.”

“So why do you want to get away from me? Why now?” The only thing, in his mind, that had changed for Sakura to leave him is that he joined the Karasuno team. So that just had to be the reason!

She blinked at the seemingly rising harshness in his words, “It’s not like I just randomly thought of this today.”

“If you had, you would have told me! We tell each other everything, right?”

Sakura looked away, ashamed to admit that wasn’t true, “Not this, I didn’t tell you about this.”

It was as if that was the biggest betrayal to him. After all, they grew up with each other keeping no secrets from each other, no matter what. “Why didn’t you tell me you felt like this?” They never kept things from each other, at least Shoyo thought. It was actually heart breaking for him to realize this.

“I- I just- I didn’t know how to.” She stuttered out, “I honestly was still trying to understand how I felt about it.” How was she going to really articulate to him that she had been struggling with it for a while. That she was bullied quite a bit during junior high over it. That, despite what she tried to portray to him, she was more than insecure about herself due to it. She didn’t think that it would help him to really know that. Maybe he would even feel bad about it, which she didn’t want him to.

He shook his head, “You could have at least mentioned it, because I really don’t understand. You want to just abandon me?”

“That’s not at all what I’m saying!”

“It sounds like it!”

The two were starting to get a bit more heated. Both of their emotions were starting to boil over. With Shōyō taking Sakura’s words the wrong way and Sakura getting frustrated she couldn’t get it right, things were not going all too well.

“There’s nothing that would convince me to abandon you!” Sakura shouted now, “I just want to do my own thing right now, can’t you understand that at least?”

Shōyō grunted, turning away, “No. Because my sister wouldn’t just suddenly want to leave me alone.”

“I’m not- I’m not leaving you alone! At no point did I say that!” Though even if she tried to insist on it, he had turned to face away from her. She figured that with his stubbornness, he was going to make his mind up and stick with it for the time being. There wasn’t much she could say or do that would convince him otherwise. She’ll just have to try again at some point perhaps. She let out a large sigh, there might have been a few tears in her eyes as well though she disregarded that, “Look, I plan on going to Tokyo with you and the team but after that… I’m going to focus on my photography and my own friends.”

Shōyō snapped, “You actually have your own friends?”

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, “Yes. I do.”

“Really?” He asked sarcastically, “Okay sure, whatever.” It seemed like the conversation was over after that. Whether Sakura had anything else to say to him or any rebuttal, Shōyō wasn’t going to listen as he made his way to the bathroom to change clothes. Even when he came back both of them were quiet.

Nothing else was said between the twins as they got themselves ready for bed. Maybe Shōyō should have apologized, maybe Sakura should have tried again to make it clear, but it was already too late. There was a bitter taste in both of their mouths. Whatever attempt that either wanted to make amends with each other was just a pipe dream at this point. If anything, this might have just made things a bit more difficult than to begin with.

---

If there was one thing that just about everyone noticed, it was that Sakura wasn’t coming to their practices as much anymore. The boys were used to having Sakura sitting on the sidelines alongside their managers and coach, so not having her there was a bit strange. There was no sarcastic or snide remarks made by her on the sidelines and it was just strange for everyone.

“Where do you think Sakura is?” Yamaguchi asked his best friend, only a little concerned at the girl’s disappearance. She was always at their practices, even skipping her own club if it meant getting to be at theirs. A few times, Yamaguchi will admit, he has tried to convince her to go to her own club. It might have swayed her even a little bit a couple of times, but nothing too significant. As her friend, he does his best to encourage her to do well with her photography. Ever since they had a heart to heart some time ago and grown closer as friends, he likes to believe that he’s getting to her a bit.

Perhaps that’s why she wasn’t here! Focusing on her own interests and finding her love for it. After the last gallery he saw of hers, he knew she was growing stronger in her confidence, so maybe not being at the practice was her just going to her own club to work on her passion. At least, he hoped.

Tsukishima clicked his tongue, going about his stretch like normal, “What does it matter? One less person to annoy us.”

The green-haired boy tilted his head slightly, “Even you have to be wondering though.”

He deadpanned, “No.”

Yamaguchi didn’t seem to be as convinced, he just hummed. He knows his best friend, and knows that there’s at least a little part of him that is wondering about her. Yamaguchi is more than aware that Tsukishima had a bit more of an interest in Sakura. He chalked that up to Tsukishima doing what he could to get a rise out of Sakura from time to time, or when he was annoyed by her brother. Yamaguchi couldn’t really pinpoint if Tsukishima enjoyed her being around, but he knew that Tsukishima at least noticed it. Ever since they first came into practice, Tsukishima’s eyes drifted, ever so slightly, towards the managers. It wouldn’t be all that strange, However, Yamaguchi just knew that Tsukishima was looking for Sakura. As much as he could say that Tsukishima is his best friend, the blond could still be a bit of an enigma to him. There was something that Yamaguchi noticed every once in a while from Tsukishima. He wasn’t going to voice his questions or suspicions just yet, but he knows for a fact that it has to do with Sakura.

He had a feeling that Tsukishima was frustrated by Sakura, more often than he’d like to admit. In the beginning, Yamaguchi saw why Sakura ticked him off. They are very much alike and Sakura never really acted the way that Tsukishima wanted her to when he tried to get a rise out of her. He expected her to be like her brother, much like how she looks like a clone to him. Though since she’s got quite a pessimistic personality, much like himself, Yamaguchi theorizes that Tsukishima wasn’t expecting it. He even theorizes that Tsukishima was surprised to the point that he wanted to push her to the point where she did react. Yamaguchi wasn’t supportive of this, obviously. Though what was he going to do about it?

So he just dropped the subject. Either way, Yamaguchi might be lost in his thoughts about how his two friends were acting, but there was one person lost in his thoughts about his sister. Shōyō was the one who mainly could sense Sakura’s disappearance, since he was blaming himself for her not being there. Like a part of him was missing, and it really didn’t sit right with him.

Even if Ukai was talking to him, Shōyō wasn’t completely registering it in his mind. He was understanding the plan that Ukai wanted to try during this practice, but his mind was still thinking about the absence of his sister. Even when they were heading to school, Sakura kept herself distanced from him. He certainly wasn’t used to

“All right, let’s get this started!” Their coach said as he rallied them all together. “Make sure you stay hydrated!”

All the boys lined up to get ready, “Right.”

As all the boys were getting ready for their practice, Yachi had something on her mind. “Um… Hinata.” She nervously tried to get Shōyō’s attention. “U-Um, I was wondering if you were okay… You and Kageyama-kun, um, uh…”

Shōyō just smiled, a bit wistfully, like he wasn’t completely hearing her, “I’m fine.”

Yachi let out a relieved sigh, glad that there might be some resolution between them. Though she could tell that there was an underlying emotion that surrounded the boy. No doubt in her mind that it was about his sister. As the boys went about their practice, Yachi thought back to the school day. Sakura had been a bit more reserved than normal, which is saying something since Sakura does love to keep to herself in class. Yachi had been a bit fussy over Sakura, she realized how pushy she might have been. But she had wanted to see if Sakura was really ok! She wanted to make sure that she wasn’t hurt, how her and her brother were after it, and if it was as bad as Yachi thought. Sakura didn’t say too much about it. Though she did reassure Yachi that everything was fine, that her brother was fine, and nothing was wrong. Yachi didn’t completely believe her, and really did try to hold herself back, but she was anxious to know. Perhaps she was being too pushy. Though she really was just worried for her friend! She just hoped that Sakura was doing okay now while at her own club.

“Say, Yachi-chan,” a sly voice slid over to her, “where is our little paparazzi-chan?”

She blinked up at Endo, who suddenly appeared beside her. The intense gaze that he was pinpointing her with caused a shiver to crawl down her spine. “Uh, at her club, probably.”

Endo hummed, “A bit weird that she isn’t here.”

Yachi just blinked at him, “Well, m-maybe.” She really didn’t like it whenever Endo got into her personal space and looked at her like this.

He tapped his chin, “Just makes me wonder… Is our little decoy in a fight with his clone?” He really couldn’t wait to find out what was going on with the twins. Oh, how fun it might end up being.

---

When Asahi had asked Endo to stick around and help him practice a bit, Endo was more than happy to oblige. Any time he can get to hang around with his best friend, he certainly was going to take it. An added plus was getting to avoid his father for even longer by staying in the gym. So he just worked on setting the ball to Asahi so he could spike it. Then they would swap so Endo could work on his own spikes. Though they also took some breaks for Asahi to work on his serves. Since that was the biggest thing that Asahi had wanted to work on, Endo was more than happy to help him with that when needed.

Though just as Asahi served another ball over the net with some strong determination behind it, their libero came out of nowhere and saved it from hitting the floor. “Asahi-san! Endo-san! Mind if I join you?”

Asahi just blinked at him, put out that Nishinoya could easily receive his serve. “Oh, yeah. Sure.”

Endo shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, “I guess.” He had been hoping to just have practice between him and Asahi, but he supposed that it was fine. Nishinoya could join if he wanted. Not that he was going to be salty about it or anything, he’s not Tsukishima. Besides out of the others to join, Endo supposed that Nishinoya was alright.

Nishinoya excitedly asked, “Would you mind hitting some of my tosses?”

“Yeah, sure.” It took a moment for the libero’s words to hit him, but Asahi blinked when he finally understood, “Uh, wait, what? You’re going to toss?”

“Did you change positions?” Endo asked, also thoroughly confused.

Nishinoya smiled, “I’ll help you with your serves, too, Asahi-san. Then I can help Endo with your receives since they’re horrible.”

Endo scowled, “they’re not that bad.”

A determined look came over Asahi’s face, “Sure. Let’s do this.”

“All right!”

So the trio practiced for a while. Nishinoya worked on his technique to toss the ball, Asahi worked on his serves, and Endo was just there helping them out where they needed to. Not that Endo thought he didn’t have anything that he could work on, he certainly could improve a lot of his skills. Though what was the point in him working on something when two starters had to work on something. It was more important.

At one point, Asahi had said he needed a break to go to the bathroom, so obviously they paused. Endo sat himself down against the edge of the wall, a bit tired. He wasn’t exactly tired from practicing, since he was really just hitting the ball to Nishinoya for him to set and Asahi to

“Endo,” Nishinoya said, standing over him now “Do you really want to be on this team?”

He chuckled loudly, “Whoa, quite blunt there, Nishi!”

“With you I know I have to be.” The libero then peered down closely at him, “So?”

Endo didn’t really like the way that Nishinoya was staring at him. Like he was trying to look right through him to find out what was going on in his head. He never likes when people try to do that. Endo pursed his lips in thought, before deciding on what to say, “My father… He’s not exactly supportive of me staying on the team.”

“Though you’re still here.”

Endo scoffed, “Obviously! I will take any chance I get to spite him! Though he did say some things that made me question why I’m here to begin with.”

After the loud conversation that he had with his father about volleyball, his future career and their relationships as a whole, Endo was at a bit of a loss. There were revelations between them that it was a good thing that they talked about. Even though Endo said to him that he wanted to keep doing volleyball during his highschool career, he questioned it still. If he really didn’t intend on continuing playing into university what was the point of playing now? Should he be focusing on his studies for his entrance exams? Going with his father to the company and learning more about it?

“Hey!” Nishinoya shouted, abruptly breaking Endo from his own thoughts, “If you’re starting to have doubts about being on the team, figure it out quickly! Either get off the team or stay!” Endo blinked at the loudness of his friend, with his mouth a bit agape at his yells. Nishinoya continued with a hard look on his face, “If you leave I’ll definitely call you a coward, though understand why, especially with your father breathing down your neck.”

Endo scoffed, “My father did make some good points, since I’m destined to work at his company and take over when the time comes, I should be focusing on my studies more.”

At the mention of studying, Nishinoya’s nose wrinkled. “So? Are you going to quit now, even when we’re close to getting a chance at winning!”

Endo had put quite a lot into this team. Effort that his father may not understand, but effort that Endo was proud of. So what was he going to do? He licked his lips, “I wanted to stick around for as long as I can, I want to see you guys win. I want to see Asahi happy because of it.” Yeah, he definitely would be more than content with seeing Asahi happy. He shook his head, “Though it’s not like I’m important to the team or anything.”

“It doesn’t matter if you're a starter or a bench warmer, you’re a part of this team!” Nishinoya said strongly, seemingly trying to get that notion out of Endo’s head.

Endo didn’t think that he was valuable to the team, not in the slightest. He was never a starter, his teammates were always so much better than him, and he never put the same amount of time into the team like they did. He did what was asked of him, but never overachieved. Nishinoya saying that he was important to the team was…

Nishinoya continued, “All I’m saying is either commit or don’t waste more time!”

---

Yeah, Nishinoya is right, Endo thought every time he was at practice after that day. He never knew he would believe that, but Nishinoya does have his moments it seems. So as time past and they had their practices, Endo was making his decision. He wanted to stick around. He wants to be with his friends, he’s only in high school once, and he wasn’t going to let the responsibilities of adulthood haunt him yet.

Karasuno’s practices were going well. The team was coming up with new playstyles, improving on their existing skills and having fun doing it. Yes, Shoyo was a bit of a downer at times, most likely due to his sister’s absence, but he worked through it.

Not seeing Sakura at practice had become the norm. It worried a few, didn’t matter to others, and was interesting to one. After all, everyone had been accustomed to having her at every practice no matter what since the beginning of the school year. Everyone figured that it had to do with the fight that had happened between their sunshine decoy and gloomy setter. However, they had to wonder what Sakura thought about it.

Meanwhile, Sakura was at her own club, listening in on the plans for the “Heroes” gallery. She wouldn’t say that she’s happier not being at the volleyball practices, but she also wasn’t upset about not being there. She did miss getting to talk with Kiyoko and Yachi. However, not having to deal with the volleyball idiots like Tsukishima, Nishinoya, Kageyama, Tanaka, Endo was a near god-send. Now she just had to deal with the idiots within her own club. So she was… content for the time being. Even if she was still upset about the argument she had with her brother. Though she’d push that to the back of her mind. They had the gallery tonight, just before summer vacation started, so they were getting that all settled. She certainly was excited about that since she got the photo that she wanted. Even if it made her feel a bit… sorrowful. Though for now she’d just focus on how Ito and Wada were arguing yet again about something trivial.

In the volleyball club’s gym, Takeda gathered the boys all together. “Now, that it’s summer vacation, we can practice from morning to night.” He said to the group after one of their practices, “And starting tomorrow, we’ll resume the Tokyo away games. This time, we’ll be there for a solid week! This is the first and last long-term training camp before the spring tournament prelims. Let’s make the most of this opportunity, so we have no regrets entering the spring tournament prelims.” All of the boys definitely were eager to get the chance to play against such talented teams at the camp. One of the most eager, was Shōyō. Even with the fact that his sister and him hadn’t been on the best of terms, he put all his effort in getting better. With the team and his time with old Coach Ukai, he certainly thinks that he’s improved. Hopefully, he could use that to convince Sakura that she doesn’t need to leave to “find her identity” when she should be perfectly fine with being his twin.

---

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A/N: Ah, so a little bit of conflict between the twins now, and it's serious. I figured I wanted their to be some misunderstanding between the twins since they never have had something like that happen to them before. They're not perfect siblings, but they've never argued to the point of staying away from each other, you know what I mean. Just figured it was a good way to have some character development between them. Then we've got the Tokyo training camp coming up next, but before that, we've got another gallery to see from Sakura! Not going to lie, I feel like the actual dialogue that I wrote for the agreement between Shōyō and Sakura was a bit... lacking, but I think it does it's job. Until the next one, my friends~

#ocs #fanfiction #multiple ocs #fanfic #oc #female oc #female!oc #male oc #male!oc #anime fanfiction #anime #haikyu oc #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyū!!#haikyu #haikyuu!!#hinata!oc #hinata twins #hinata

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moonchild-things · 1 year

Text

Chapter Thirty-One: Let’s Go To Tokyo!!

Word Count: 3438

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---

THE DEFEAT AGAINST SEIJOH WAS STILL FRESH in Karasuno’s mind. While it was disheartening, it was also inspiring. The team was fired up to face them once again and beat them! So they were starting their practice with just a bit more fire under their feet. They still had another chance to win against Oikawa and his team. That meant there was plenty of practicing to do until then.

Currently, they were having a short game between each other. Endo stood off to the side as he watched his teammates go through a practice game with each other. He had already played a short game while playing against Nishinoya, which was certainly tiring. That boy could never let a ball hit the ground if he could help it. It made things frustrating for Endo, which is why he was more than happy to have a short break besides Kiyoko.

“So who do you think it would look best on, hmm?”

Kiyoko pursed her lips, “Suga.”

Endo stared intently at the gray-haired setter and tilted his head back and forth in consideration. “I suppose,” he clicked his tongue, “though my vote would be for Daichi. I really think blue is his color.” The two were discussing the newest designer outfit that he had just gotten the day before. It was quite a pretty and elegant suit that was a nice navy blue. Though it just reminded Endo of what it was for. After all, his father had gifted it to him in order to wear it to his first official meeting when he joined the company under his apprenticeship. Oh, how Endo was so ecstatic with that.

The two pictured Daichi in the suit and considered it. Daichi definitely would look good in a suit, both of them could agree on that. Or maybe even a uniform, who knows? Oh, they can dream. Shaking out of their thoughts, Kiyoko continued to scribble some notes down as they observed the others.

All throughout the practice, everyone was challenging each other. They were blocking, passing, spiking, and diving to their best ability, and it seemed like everytime they missed or succeeded they were more than ready to do better the next time.

The last few points were played, the white team was the one who ended up winning.

“All right.” Ukai called now with the game being over, “That’s it for today.”

“Let us play one more set, please!” Shōyō shouted as he ran up to Ukai.

The coach blinked, “Huh?”

“Please!”

“Guys, playing until you drop isn’t the answer. Captain, you need to tell these guys-” He turned to Daichi, only to see that all of the other boys had the same expression(sans Tsukishima). It appeared that they weren’t going to be stopping just yet. “You guys…”

So they played one more set, to all of their agreement. By the end of that one, the boys were tired. It was one thing to have the motivation to keep playing to get better, but exhaustion was going to catch up eventually. The only ones who seemed to defy that were the troublesome duo.

“Kageyama!” Even while letting out small puffs of breath in fatigue, Shōyō turned to the setter, “You can still go, right? Give me some tosses!”

Of course, Kageyama was up for it, “Right.”

Tanaka sighed as the two raced over to the net to try some more, “You guys are still gonna practice?”

“Hey!” Daichi said, “We’ve still got to clean up, so that’s enough for today!”

The first-years sighed, “Right…”

So they all set up to do their stretches and clean up the gym. They put the balls away, took down the net, and paired up to do some cooling down. Endo had paired up with Suga and started stretching together.

“Ow, ow!” Asahi whined as the libero pushed down just a little too forcefully on his back. Sure, he needed to stretch, but didn’t need to be turned into a pretzel, “Hey, Nishinoya! Ow!”

“Hey,” Suga said as Endo did the same for him, “make sure you cool down properly.”

“Looks more like Noya’s trying to snap Asahi in half,” Endo chuckled at the distressed expression on the ace’s face.

The door suddenly slid open loudly as their club advisor came barreling through. He accidentally flopped over onto the floor, concerning everyone who was surprised by the loud entrance.

Everyone came rushing over to see what the fuss was about. “Sensei?”

“Take-chan?” Tanaka asked in concern.

Ukai also asked, “You okay?”

“W-We’re going, right?” Takeda asked, disregarding their worry.

“Where?” Shōyō blinked.

Kagayama stared at him with wide eyes, “Your nose is bleeding!”

Adjusting his glasses over his bloody nose, Takeda exclaimed, “Tokyo!” That caused everyone to stare in shock.

“Tokyo?” Shōyō asked, which earned a nod in confirmation, “Tokyo? You mean…” he blinked before shouting, “Nekoma?!”

In Tokyo, Kenma sneezed. Yamamoto shouted in disgust, “Gross!”

“Tissue!” Yaku exclaimed, already having them ready for Kenma to use. Ever the team mom.

Kagayama asked, “A practice match?”

“Yeah! But it won’t just be Nekoma this time.” Takeda started to explain, “The Fukurodani Academy Group. It’s a group of schools from the Kanto region that includes Nekoma. Apparently, they hold practice matches all the time. This time, because of Coach Nekomata, Karasuno will also be able to participate in their practice matches.” All of the boys oohed and awed at that. They couldn’t imagine meeting so many powerful schools. Playing with them would definitely prepare them for the teams they would face going forward in their tournaments.

Ukai stepped in to explain even further, “Groups like that are created through relationships built up over years, so it’s not easy to get in without connections. We’ve got to make sure to thank Coach Nekomata. And Sensei, too, who I’m sure kept persistently asking him.”

“No, I didn’t, really…” Takeda waved his arms around, “Your name helped a lot, Coach Ukai.”

“Thank you,” the boys all bowed at their teacher in thanks.

Their teacher smiled, “Over the years, we’ve lost our connections with other schools in the prefecture that we were once close with. There are many schools where the coaches that were once close to the former Coach Ukai are now gone. We shouldn’t miss this chance!”

Everyone cheered at that, “Yeah!”

Fire started to burn around Kageyama as he thought back to the cat's setter, “I’m going to be able to see that set up in person again.”

Elsewhere, Kenma shivered, unknowingly being mentioned by Kageyama, “Maybe I caught a cold… I’m getting chills.”

“Hey!” Yamamoto shouted, “We’re right before a match!”

Nishinoya jumped in the conversation, just as fiery as usual, “This time, I’m going to protect us ‘til we win!”

“Yeah…” Yaku shivered alongside his setter, “It might actually be a little cold today.”

Yamamoto turned to his upperclassmen in worry, “You, too, Yaku-san?!” There had to be something going around if both of them were saying that!

Tanaka joined in on the shouting, “We’re gonna take down that City Boy Alliance!”

“City Boy…” Tsukishima tried to keep his snickers to himself.

Yamaguchi was doing the same, “...Alliance?”

“I’m feeling hot!” Yamamoto shouted, seemingly tearing his uniform off, “I’m burning up!”

“Yamamoto, shut up,” Kuroo said boredly.

From his spot, Shōyō was just about bursting with energy at this news. He pumped his fists, “This time, I’m going to break through for sure!”

“Um, the only thing is, their prelims for the Inter-High start this weekend, so it won’t be right away.” Takeda pointed out, “Also, at this point, we’ve only received the invitation. There are some agreements we have to work out, but I’ll tell you all about the details another time. But it seems that all of you are…”

“Of course!” Daichi nodded.

All the boys jumped up happily and chorused, “We’ll go!”

“I’ve got a staff meeting,” Takeda said while looking down at his watch, “so I’ve got to get going. Ukai-kun, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Ukai nodded, “Sure.”

“Thank you!” They all called out as Takeda took his leave.

“It’s going to get busy.” Asahi chuckled lightly. He already knew that everyone was going to put in even more work just so they could compete with the schools at the camp.

Daichi grunted, “Yeah.”

“You’ll be busy, too, Shimizu.” Suga commented and looked at their manager, “This’ll be your first long trip with us.”

Endo clicked his tongue, “don’t worry, I’ll keep those pesky guys away from you, Kiyoko.” Ah, what a gentleman.

“Don’t say something like that, you’ll start sounding like Nishinoya and Tanaka!” Daichi laughed.

Endo stuck out his tongue, “I’m not a perv like them.”

Kiyoko just smiled cutely, “I’ll do my best, too.” The boys just stared at her and her adorable nature. Obviously quite taken with her at that moment.

“Come on!” Ukai called, breaking them out of their trance, “Hurry and clean up, then go home!”

“Right!” They all called out before doing just that.

---

Sakura walked through the halls of the first-year classrooms. Everyone was buzzing around, going to eat lunch with their friends or get some studying done in their free time. She was heading to find her brother with her lunch held in hand. Apparently, they mixed up their bento boxes that morning. She would much rather have the lunch she packed herself that morning, instead of whatever Shōyō had thrown together. He always packed some of the strangest things for his lunches, and she didn’t want to imagine what he had for himself today.

As she headed down the hall, there were whispers and murmurs all around her as she headed closer to Shōyō’s classroom. Something must be going on, she thought to herself. She got closer and found that it was Kiyoko who was the center of attention. The goddess of a student was standing in front of a tomato red Shōyō. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the scene since she never would have thought of Kiyoko coming down to this part of the school. Wonder what she’s doing here, Sakura thought.

As she approached, Sakura could hear the angelic third-year ask her brother, “Do you know any first-years who aren’t in a club?”

Sakura came up to her star-struck brother and her senpai, “You’re looking for a new manager?” Shōyō just about jumped at his sister's voice, still a bit in awe of Kiyoko’s appearance at his classroom. Though that changed when he saw that she had his lunch in her hands.

He seemingly brightened at the sight of his packed lunch. “Imouto, ah, thanks,” He said as he took his lunch from her, “I have yours here!” He went into his classroom and went to grab hers as well.

The older girl nodded her head, “Yes, after this year, I want to make sure that there’s a manager to take my place."

That was understandable, Sakura was well aware that the team would not be managed correctly they had the possibility of falling apart. Especially with the likes of the troublesome duo. Not to say they couldn’t take care of themselves but… they just needed quite a bit of help. She pursed her lips while standing in front of Kiyoko, "Hmm, have you found anyone?"

"No, so far everyone I've asked already has their own commitments to other clubs." That was a bummer. Time was running out on finding a successor for the position.

Sakura pursed her lips in thought. Did she know anyone that might take up the offer? Her blonde haired friend then popped into her head. She had been talking about trying to find a club to fit in, after all… "I may know someone who may be a good candidate."

"Really?” Kiyoko brightened at that, “Do you mind introducing us after school?"

She nodded, "Sure. I'll bring her to your classroom sometime."

"Thank you, Sakura.” Kiyoko bowed towards her, “I appreciate this."

Growing hot at all the attention that the action was garnering, Sakura scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "No need to bow, really senpai. It's fine, besides it's not like I'm saying she's going to agree. All I'm saying is that she's been looking to join a club, and being manager might interest her."

Kiyoko smiled, a flowery aura surrounding her, "Still thank you."

More than red-faced at her senpai, Sakura muttered, "Yea, yea."

“Here, Saku!” Shōyō came bounding back out with his sister’s bento in his hands. “I might have eaten a bit of your rice, but everything else is in there.” He smiled widely, as if proud of himself for not eating her entire lunch.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, “uh huh, I’ll be taking your rice as compensation.”

---

Changing into his workout clothes, Endo listened to the boys as they talked about the magazine that he had brought in. As soon as he caught a glimpse of who was mentioned in it, he knew he had to show them all. Not only would it be interesting to read what it said, but it would no doubt be funny to see the team's reactions.

Tanaka shouted out at the sight of the arrogant photo presented to him. “Oikawa’s featured in Monthly Volleyball, and it even has his picture.” It just wasn’t fair!

Endo chuckled, “I know, right? Honestly, it isn’t even that good of a picture,” he nudged Shōyō’s shoulder, “paparazzi-chan could definitely take better pictures than that, doncha think!”

Shōyō nodded his head rapidly, “yea, she definitely could!”

“Well, he’s good enough to play in a national league.” Suga said from over Tanaka’s shoulder, “So, what does it say?”

“Um…” Tanaka started to read from the magazine, “‘Oikawa’s favorite food is milk bread. His favorite saying is, ‘If you’re going to hit it, hit it until it breaks.’”

“What the hell is that?” Suga

“That’s so… I don’t even know what to say to that,” Endo blinked, not knowing what to think about Oikawa’s favorite saying.

“Who cares?” Nishinoya growled, obviously irked, “That’s completely useless!”

Tanaka continued on with the article, “Looks like Seijoh wants to take down Shiratorizawa, so most of the third-years that were regulars are still there.” He became fired up while nearly tearing the magazine in half, “Come on and bring it, Seijoh!”

“Bring it!” Shōyō echoed him just as worked up as ever.

Suga then came in and wacked Tanaka away from the magazine, “Hey! You’re gonna rip it! For crying out loud…” He picked it up to a random page and perked up, “Hey, it’s Ushiwaka.” It was a professional photo of Ushijima Wakatoshi, and on his uniform was the Japanese flag.

Shōyō blinked in surprise, “Japan?”

“Hey!” Diachi said from the doorway with Asahi behind him, “Get out here already. We’re going for a run.”

Endo plucked the magazine from Suga and presented it to his captain, “you’ll never guess, Daichi!”

He pointed to the photo of their ultimate obstacle as Suga explained, “Ushiwaka’s in the Youth World.”

“What?” Daichi and Asahi said in shock.

“Youth World?” Yamaguchi asked.

Tsukishima was the one to explain it to him, “Simply put, he’s representing Japan in the under 19 age group.”

“Only one high school can represent Miyagi in the spring tournament.” Daichi started to explain to everyone. “For us to go to nationals, we’ll have to defeat Ushiwaka and Oikawa.” Everyone was now determined after hearing news like that. It was no doubt going to be a large obstacle to get over, but they weren’t going to go down without a fight. “All right! Let’s go running!”

The boys all shouted, “Right!”

---

Gathered around at the bottom of quite an infamous hill, the volleyball team were lining up to get through their run for the practice. “Here we are.” Tanaka said as they all stared up at the road they were about to run up. “Karasuno’s famous Heartbreak Hill.”

Endo groaned loudly, “do we have to do this? Can’t we just… not?”

“Don’t be such a baby

“All right! Ten dashes uphill to the halfway mark! Two at a time! Ready…” First to line up was Ennoshita and Tanaka who took off after Daichi clapped. “Ready…” Next was Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, “Tsukishima! Run like you mean it!” He scolded and continued on with counting the boys down. Next was Kinoshita, Narita, and Endo. Though Endo did not look at all pleased with having to do this. He certainly hates running. “Ready…” Daichi clapped and the trio was off, “Ready… Ready…” Eventually it was time for the troublesome duo to go, since they were second to last. Just like everything else between them, Shōyō and Kageyama turned it into a competition between each other. So once they were told to go, they took off like rockets.

At the mid way mark up the mountain, all the boys who had gone first took a breather. Some were more winded than others, but they got the exercise they needed, so that was good.

“Hey, good job, Tsukishima.” Ennoshita encouraged the first-year as he came up to the group.

Endo was leaning over his knees, trying to take in large gulps of breath. He sure likes playing volleyball with his friends, but the exercise that comes with it was always so tiring. Why couldn’t he just sit on the sidelines, be a benchwarmer and sit there while looking pretty? Was that so much to ask for? Breaking through his thoughts was the obnoxious yelling of Kageyama and Shōyō as they came running towards them. Then they ran straight past them as well, not even slowing down a little bit.

“Hey!” Tanaka shouted after them, “Where are you guys going?!” Though they were too invested in their race that they didn’t even see or hear them and just continued on running.

“Pretty sure we can just let them go.” Tsukishima commented bordley, watching the duo run off on their own. What complete idiots.

Endo huffed and puffed through his words, “T-They… really need to… stop making everything… a competition.” He held the stitch in his side as he did his best to stay upright. Though the ground was looking quite inviting, maybe even comfy enough to lay on.

Enoshita patted his upperclassmen on the back, “you okay, Endo?”

“Yeah, just give me a second.” The blond nodded his head and took one large breath,“I… I hate running.”

---

Shōyō and Kageyama were found eventually. It was quite the scene once they got back. The two were chewed out by Daichi for not listening and such, which earned chuckles from the likes of Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Endo. They were taking some delight in seeing the terrified expressions on the two’s faces. Daichi really was scary when it came to things like this. A terrifying father, one that you would never want to anger.

Though Endo found it more than interesting that they talked about meeting the Ushiwaka while on their detour. He certainly wasn’t surprised to know that the pair had challenged the star ace after only a few minutes of talking. Their big mouths were going to get them in trouble so much. Endo wasn’t sure if he loved or hated that about them. Time could only tell which.

After that though, the team was all sitting in a half circle around their coach and teacher. They had a few things to go over about the camp and anything else it seemed. “Ahem…” Takeda cleared his throat. “As for our series of away games in Tokyo, for the time being, it’s planned for next month. Because they are away games, we will need permission for your parents or guardians, so I’ll hand out those forms later. We also have tentative consent from the school, as well. However, as you are aware, you have final exams starting next month. Right?” A few of the boys froze up at that reminder. Looks like they didn’t seem to remember about them, oh no. “So, I think you know what I’m getting at, but if you fail any subjects, supplementary classes will be held that weekend. Which means you won’t be able to go to the away games.”

Endo took in the expressions of Shōyō, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Nishinoya and snickered lightly. “Looks like some of us are going to have some difficulty,” he, not so quietly, whispered to Asahi. He wouldn’t say he’s the best student around, but he could confidently say he could pass all of his classes and tests in order to go to the camp. Did he have faith that these four would be able to? Maybe. Though it will be more than entertaining to watch them try.

---

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