1 Chapter One: Endings and Beginnings

ON AN UNEVENTFUL DAY IN THE MIYAGI prefecture, a chilly air blew over the slightly busy streets. As people went about their business, a pair of ginger-haired siblings were biking down one of the roads towards their local park. The two nearly identical tweens were heading out with some friends to play soccer as they do on any other day.

They started to bike by a shop that had a television out front with two people already watching it. At the sound of the television, the orange-haired twin who had been pedaling the bike stopped and stared at the screen. It was a volleyball game between two high school teams. One of the teams was wearing uniforms covered in a dark navy blue and a bright orange. Interested at the sight of the game, they paused to watch it. To their amazement, they watched as the shortest players on the team jumped to an impossible height to spike the ball and earn a point for his team. The boy's eyes grew wide as he breathed out in awe at the feat the player pulled off.

The other tween, sitting in the front basket of the bike holding a soccer ball, looked at the screen as well with a raised eyebrow and a borderline bored expression. She hummed and brushed some of her shoulder-length hair from her eyes. The girl watched the match with a minuscule amount of interest. While she liked to play sports like soccer and baseball and was at least a little athletic, volleyball was never really something that intrigued her. Though watching it now almost made her fan of it. She had to admit how impressed she was by the shortest high school player, though not as awed as her brother.

"Truly a giant! That makes five point in a row!" The commentator exclaimed as the twins continued to watch the screen. One more intently than the other. "This is the Spring High School National Volleyball Championship. He might be surrounded by players as tall as 6'2", but that does not stop Karasuno's Tiny Giant from making a huge impact!"

"Oh Karasuno, the next town over." One of the two other men also watching the game commented. "They're not half bad."

Another tween rode up alongside the twins and came to a stop. His light chestnut hair swaying as he looked over to the two with a worried expression. "Hurry up, Shō, Saku-chan, we're going to lose our soccer field!"

However, Shōyō was still mesmerized by the screen. The image of someone so small, so short, having such an amazing ability like the Tiny Giant seemed to blow his mind. He was also on the shorter end of kids his age, like the Tiny Giant, and didn't even think that someone like him would be able to do that. "Karasuno..." He said in a sort of trance. With wide eyes, it seemed as though he had found someone to idolize. Instantly inspired after just watching a short snippet of the game.

He was then bumped on the head by a small pale fist from his sister in front of him. Shōyō cringed and rubbed his head with a pout. "Stop gawking and let's go." The girl drawled out.

"That hurt, imouto!" 

Sakura rolled her large, deep brown eyes, "I just want to get to the park already, now hurry up." While being impressed by the skills that the teens on the television displayed, Sakura didn't care as much as her brother. All that was important to her at the moment was getting to the park so she could let out some energy and lay around taking pictures of her brother fail at playing soccer. Shōyō was quite enthusiastic and athletic, but that didn't mean he the best at the sport. Her most precious pictures were of her brother getting hurt while doing something or other. She was kind of sadistic in a way.

So the group of friends headed to their destination. The image of the Tiny Giant still playing over in Shōyō's mind. It was quite obvious that he was now inspired just by watching a few minutes of that game. 

---

APPROXIMATELY THREE YEARS AND THREE MONTHS LATER

Excitement buzzed in the air around the short orange-haired boy who had run ahead of his team to get to the gym. His obvious excitement about having their game today was giving him far more enthusiasm than usual. He jumped down the staircase taking two steps at a time, nearly falling down a few times.

"Sho, slow down!" Izumi shouted after his overzealous friend while he and Koji chased after him.

Sakura shook her head and lazily followed after her brother's volleyball team. Her digital camera swayed around her neck as she walked down the steps. In the past three years, the girl didn't look as different as she did back then. The Hinata twins appeared to be just as similar to each other since they were little. The only difference was that Sakura had longer hair, like usual. There was also the fact that Sakura was a few centimeters shorter than her brother and obviously had some more feminine features. If her hair had been shorter, people surely would have mistaken her for her brother.

"He's really excited about this, huh?" Yuuki Kawashima, a first-year, commented as they descended the final steps.

Sakura scoffed, "that's an understatement." The three first-years turned to the older girl. "I had a hard time forcing him to go to bed because he was to hyped up for this."

"Really?" A different first-year, Tatsuya Mori, sweatdropped.

She nodded her head with pursed lips, "he can be such a pain."

The rest of the team, plus Sakura, finally caught up to Shōyō as he marveled at the gym. There were at least a dozen teams warming up at the nets or around the gym. Many were doing stretches, practicing jumps, serving, passing to each other, or practicing their dives. Each of them looked to be well put together and quite talented. Well, they look more skilled than Yukigaoka's team.

Shōyō took in the sight in awe. He was finally here! Finally, he'd get the chance to play volleyball just like his idol, the Tiny Giant. A real match against a real team for the first time ever. He had been dreaming about this for such a long time. "It's huge!" He took in a deep breath, "It smells like Air Salonpas."

"Don't say stuff like that, Sho." Izumi said, "It's dorky."

Koji, his dark-haired friend, agreed with a nod, "Yeah, don't be that guy."

"You're so weird," Sakura deadpanned.

"But guys this my very first real volleyball game." He exclaimed, "I've waited three long years for this."

Koji nodded his head, "That's true I guess it is kind of amazing we made it this far."

"Izumi, Koji," Shōyō turned towards the two, "thanks for coming to help our team out."

A light pink hue appeared on their cheeks, obviously due to embarrassment. "Don't make it weird," Koji grumbled as he looked away from his friend.

Izumi scratched the back of his neck. "Our game was the first one to finish, no need to make it a big deal."

"You too, first-years." Shōyō bounced up to the three other teammates. He was lucky to have gotten at least a few other players to make up a team, it was a miracle that these three had said they'd join. "I'm so thankful you three decided to join the volleyball club with me this season."

"Uh, sure. We're pretty terrible at this whole thing, but okay." Saiya Suziki, the third first-year on the team, said nervously at their captain's enthusiasm.

Koji stared at his orange-haired friend in slight annoyance. "Spare us the tears, Shōyō."

"I'm not crying!"

Izumi chuckled lightly, "You've got tears in your eyes." 

He disregarded that and jumped on his sister next and hugged her tightly, "Thanks for coming too, imouto!"

Sakura looked away from her energetic twin but didn't push him off of her. She was far too used to his behavior and his tight embraces. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to make it seem like she was indifferent though there was a light blush on her cheeks, "I'm just here for moral support."

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt," Tatsuya said which broke the twins from their hug, "but we should really warm up now." 

Isumi nodded his head, "Come on, captain, you're in charge here."

"He's right, Shōyō. You're the one that dragged us into this tournament thing and you still haven't explained what all the rules are." Koji said in exasperation. It was true, even after forming the team and practicing just a little bit together, Shōyō had yet to go over how exactly to play. It probably would have been a good idea to do that earlier.

Shōyō spun around to face him with a shout, "I know that! Even though we barely made the cut, we are here to win this. Okay, guys."

Everyone stared at him in disbelief, except Sakura. She had already heard all about Shōyō's seemingly impossible goal to win the tournament. She had already gone through her shock last night. "We can't win with a thrown together team of rookies." Izumi blanched at his friend's high expectations.

"Sure we can!"

"Kitagawa first might be tough though." Koji thought out loud about the team they were matched up against. He had heard about them, along with their infamously terrifying reputation. They were one of the best teams around! How were they going to compete with that?

"Maybe. But I'll beat them anyway." Shōyō said with determination in his voice. He was obviously going to try and win this whole thing! The orange-haired boy even thought that he could try and win against some of the top tier teams. Though that seemed to be quite an impossible feat considering they were extremely inexperienced.

Sakura let out a sigh through her nose. She admired her brother's enthusiasm and determination but knew that it was displaced. There was no way that they were going to win this tournament, no matter how much Shōyō tried to hype up his team. Don't get her wrong, it was always a good idea to be confident especially when playing a sport. However, Sakura likes to look at the facts in this scenario. A team made up completely of kids who had not played even one actual game of volleyball didn't stand much of a chance. Call her a pessimist if you want, but that's how she sees it.

Just then footsteps were heard from behind the orange-haired captain as a team of extremely tall players walked up from behind him. Dawned in blue and white uniforms, it was the infamously powerful team from Kitagawa. Shōyō turned to look up at the players and blanched at just how intimidating they appeared.

"Excuse us!" Izumi said as he and Koji pulled Shōyō out of the way, "move dude."

The much smaller team watched them go with dread coursing through them. This was who they had to play against?! They were giants! "They're tall." Koji swallowed as they passed by the shell-shocked team.

The final player on the team who walked passed held an air of superiority, even over his own teammates. He was just as tall as the rest of the team, but for some reason, Shōyō felt like he was the player to really watch out for. Sakura was also surprised by the team and watched them with wide eyes. Though when she caught sight of the last player, she couldn't help but feel a shiver run up her spine.

Once the team passed by them, there was a loud roar of cheering which startled the small team. They ran out to see a large group of Kitagawa First Junior High School students cheering loudly for their team. There had to have been over four dozen kids there to cheer on their peers.

The other teams on the courts watched as the renowned junior high school team walked out to start practicing. "Hey, Kitagawa First is here." Someone commented.

"They're huge," His teammate marveled in slight fear.

On another end of the gym, a boy said, "Those guys scare the hell out of me."

"They're the best team around here."

A boy in an orange uniform said to his teammate, "They've got the king."

His teammate questioned, "The king?"

"What? You don't know? That's what they call Tobio Kageyama, he's a setter." He explained, "And he's supposed to be awesome."

Koji, breaking out of his shocked trance, pointed at the team with nervousness lacing his voice. "We'll be going up against these frickin' guys!"

"It'll be fine!" Shōyō exclaimed, "I don't care how big they are, I'll bust right through 'em!"

"Maybe you're right, Sho. You are a really good jumper." Izumi commented with a little bit of reassurance.

Koji joined in on the encouragement, "You've got this!"

Shōyō's stomach then let out a low rumble as his face started to turn a little green. His teammates stared at him as he hunched over clutching his stomach. "Wonder where the bathrooms are." Their captain then shuffled away, obviously sick with his nerves now. He groaned and whimpered as he walked off, to the shock of his team.

Sakura closed her eyes in despair at the sight. She knew that the pressure was going to end up getting to him at one point. "Well," she stared, gaining all of the boys' attention. "While Shōyō deals with that, you guys start warming up."

The boys nodded their heads at her suggestion, "Right!"

She flashed them a small side smile that disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. If they had blinked, the boys definitely would have missed it, "good luck, you're going to need it."

They all blushed at her encouragement and small smile. Sakura didn't smile, like at all, so the small uptick at the corner of her lips was rare. Of course, it also made her look quite adorable. Though, don't tell her that. She'd probably curse you for saying something like that about her.

The team then set out to do just as she said as Sakura made her way to the stands. She wanted to find a good spot of the game so that she could take some pictures. She trekked through the crowds of players and spectators. Though just as she was about to turn a corner to head up some stairs, she found herself colliding with someone.

She saved herself from falling over and made sure that her camera was safe. Brown eyes scowled at the person she had run into. Sakura had to look up quite a bit to see the eyes of the person who she had run into.

It was a member of the Kitagawa First team. He had black hair that was spiked up quite high. If Sakura had to be honest, his hair reminded her of an onion. He seemed to shiver slightly as he looked down at the girl who glowered at him.

"S-Sorry," he apologized to her as he backed away from her.

Sakura rolled her eyes and ignored him, "whatever."

Yūtarō watched the orange-haired girl walked around him and up the stairs, not sparing him another glance. He watched after her and noticed that she looked extremely similar to that little guy from that unknown school he's going to play against. The middle blocker shook his head and started to walk back into the gym. He had a game to focus on and not that scary girl.

---

The game between Kitagawa and Yukigaoka had started. Of course, Shōyō had made it back onto the court just in time to practice a little bit with the others after his run-in with the King of the Court. Kageyama was quite an intimidating guy, he admitted. Though it wasn't going to scare him off. Shōyō was going to give this game his all. He wanted to win against Kitagawa! He was going to do everything in his power to win this match and then the next and the one after that until they were in the finals.

As the first few points were scored, it was quite obvious which team was more experienced. Kitagawa won point after point in a row from simple mistakes that Yukigaoka made. Sakura watched from the stands in a comfortable spot, the only one there to cheer on the small team. It was kind of sad to see that the team of six only had one supporter in the crowd. Though she knew that the boys' spirits were being kept high by her brother. He encouraged them and kept them from being discouraged after a point was lost. Shōyō did what he could to make them feel better, even if they were being destroyed.

She occasionally shouted out some form of encouragement like 'nice try' or 'you'll get it' from the stand. Other than that, she stayed kind of quiet among the crowd. It wasn't like she could really be heard over the noise that Kitagawa's cheer squad was making anyway. Though she was able to get a few good pictures of her brother and friends. Even one of Koji getting hit in the face, that one was definitely a keeper.

Kitagawa had won the first set, not a surprise, but Yukigaoka had done their best against them. Shōyō certainly showed how high he could jump and spike the ball. That was impressive in itself. 

The second set started and unlike the first, Yukigaoka was able to score at least a few points. Not enough to really make it seem like there was going to be a comeback, but it was still an improvement. Sakura was happy to see her brother having such fun for his first official game. It may not be going as he had hoped, but it was better than nothing, right?

She would love to see her brother actually win the game, but that was something that was impossible to even imagine. Despite wanting to believe in her brother and friends' abilities, she knew that they were going to lose. It was a no brainer, sadly. Kitagawa was just a team that was more well put together than Yukigaoka with more experience. There was no way that Yukigaoka could compete.

Though during the second set, Kageyama made it quite clear why exactly he was called the King of the Court. Sakura could see that he was a very arrogant and controlling player. He demanded so much from his teammates that caused quite a bit of tension between them all. In all honesty, Sakura could totally see the team calling for mutiny against him. Though she admitted that he was still very intimidating with the glare that always seemed to be on his face.

The winning point that caused Yukigaoka to lose ended with a mistake on Shōyō's part. Though he showed off his speed at spiking a ball, he had hit the ball out of bounds, ending the game with Kitagawa's win. Though before they lined up for the end of the game, Kagayama had decided to shout at Shōyō from the other side of the net.

"What've you been wasting all your time on for three years?"

From the stands, even Sakura could see how the setter's words had affected her brother. Shōyō went stock still as he processed what Kageyama had said. Her brother was shaking with his fist clenched and his knuckles turning a pasty white. Sakura certainly wasn't happy that the pompous king had said something so insensitive to him. She wasn't the only one.

"What did you say!?" Koji shouted in anger and had to be held back by Izumi.

"Koji! Calm down!"

"You don't know a damn thing about what Shōyō's been doing."

"You can't pick a fight in the middle of the court." Izumi implored him to stop.

"Watch me!"

Eventually, Izumi got Koji to calm down enough to get in line and he turned to Shōyō to get him to do the same. "Come on, Shōyō, let's go."

They then parted to the opposite ends of the courts to thank each other for the game. Sakura just scoffed as she put her camera around her neck safely to take some final pictures of her team. She wasn't as upset about the loss as she was about that stupid King of the Court. Bothering her brother like that was uncalled for. He was just playing the game to his best ability, no need to insinuate that Shōyō had wasted his time doing what he loved. She stomped off from her seat once she put her camera away and went to meet up with her brother and friends.

She passed by a group of four older boys who had been observing some of the game. They were obviously from a high school because they were wearing the uniforms for the Karasuno High School Volleyball Club. Though Sakura just brushes past them, more focused on her journey to find her brother.

"So that's the King of the Court, huh?" One of the boys with silver hair asked. 

The one next to him with brown hair nodded his head, "uhu, he'll be a force to be reckoned with when he gets to high school."

The third boy with a shaved head stood up straight from his previous position leaning on the railing. "The short kid seems promising too."

"Wonder what high schools they'll choose," a blonde-haired boy said with pursed lips. The quartet of high school volleyball players then turned around and left the stands.

---

The third-years all gathered outside of the arena after the game. The first-years had already left, of course, after they made sure that Shōyō knew they were grateful they got to play. Shōyō was obviously upset, extremely so. Not even Sakura could seem to get him out of his small bout of depression over the game.

They walked towards the stairs where Shōyō stopped and stared out at nothing. Koji, Izumi, and Sakura shared a look with each other before Koji walked closer to their upset captain.

"Hey, we never stood a chance anyway." Koji said and placed his hands behind his head, "I heard those guys are candidates for the nationals."

Before either of the three could say anything else to Shōyō, the Kitagawa team themself came out of the building. After a small moment of silence between them, Shōyō finally spoke.

"No matter how good or bad each team is, in the end, it all comes down to winning or losing. If you lose, then you have to step off the court." He took a deep breath through his nose after his wise words before taking off down the stairs.

"Hey, wait up!" Izumi shouted after him as Koji did the same.

"What's the rush?"

Sakura watched her brother sprint down the steps to meet up with the one player who she may or may not despise at this point. After what he had said on the court to Shōyō, she wasn't going to let it go so easily.

"Hold it!"

Kageyama turned around to face who had called out to him. "Hm." He was slightly surprised to find that the orange-haired kid he had played against wanted to talk to him. 

Shōyō tried to get his words out, but his throat was starting to clog up slightly as the beginning of tears blurred his vision. "You might be the king who rules the court for now," tears started to stream down his face as he tried to stay strong, "but I'm gonna win, one day I'm gonna stay on the court longer than you."

Kagayama blinked up at him before narrowing his eyes and turning to him fully. "Only those who win get to stay on the court. Only the strongest. So if you wanna keep playing, then you have to become stronger."

A wind past between the two as the echoing sounds of the games still going on inside invaded the air. The challenge between them was now set. Shōyō was going to do everything that he could to improve upon his skills so that way when he met the setter again on the court, he would win. Kageyama then spun on his heels and walked away from the emotional boy.

The other third-years came down the stairs as well. Shōyō turned around and bowed deeply to them. "Thanks for everything."

The two other boys became flustered once again at Shōyō's words just like they did before the game. There were even tears starting to build up in their eyes. "Dude, don't make it awkward," Koji mumbled, "you don't have to thank us alright?"

"Huh?" Shōyō tilted his head as he looked at his friends, "What are you crying for?"

"I'm not crying, okay?!"

Sakura just chuckled at her brother and walked up to him. She slung her arm over his shoulder and let herself smile just a little bit. "Come on, let's head home."

---

So months passed for the Hinata twins. Shōyō and the other first-years had to practice with the girl's volleyball club since they were still down two teammates. They adapted to what they had for the time being. Sakura, of course, continued to encourage her brother to do what he loved and to never give up, even if deep down she saw it as slightly pointless. Why practice when you didn't have a team to play on? Though she didn't question that out loud to her brother. He was happy, and that's all that mattered to her.

The twins eventually made it to the end of the year. Now they were no longer third-years at Yukigaoka. No, they were going to be first-years at their new High School. It didn't take that long to decide which school to apply to. Shōyō had made his mind up about which school he wanted to attend ever since he first saw the Tiny Giant during nationals. Karasuno High School.

Sakura didn't really care about which school she went to. Even though she had the opportunity to go to a different school based on her academic scores, there was no way she was going to leave Shōyō. They were together no matter what, high school was going to be no different. So here they were, their first day of school. It took them about a thirty-minute bike ride over the mountain, but the twins had arrived at their new school. 

Though unlike the previous years, Sakura decided to change how she looked, at least a little. After all, it was high school. Don't most people change their styles then? Sakura had taken it upon herself to cut her hair to the same length as Shōyō's. Now, the twins looked even more similar to each other, not that they cared much. She just thought, a new year, a new her. So what if people mistook her for her brother some times, she didn't mind. 

They chained up their bikes together, made their way into the building, and suffered through the opening ceremony. After nearly falling asleep during the ceremony, Shōyō was bouncing with excitement and nerves. He had been up almost all night thinking about how his first day would go, much to his sister's dismay.

"Are you going to join a club this year, Saku?" Shōyō asked as they walked through the crowd of their new peers.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know."

Shōyō's eyes sparkled like a little kid on Christmas. "You should join the photography club this year!"

"I should?" She asked him. Sakura hadn't been in any clubs the year prior, she didn't really see a need for them when she could just spend her time taking pictures or studying. Besides her junior high school didn't even have a photography club. The only way to have taken pictures for school was to join the yearbook club, but she didn't want to deal with the plethora of popular kids who were in it. Karasuno did have a photography club that wasn't just meant for the yearbook. She tilted her head and considered the idea. "I guess I could..."

"If you do you can probably take pictures of the volleyball team!"

Sakura nodded her head slowly at the justification, "I'll think about it."

"Cool!" He gave her a thumbs-up as he seemingly vibrated in place. "I'm going to go to the volleyball club, so meet up with me at the gym later, kay?"

Sakura smirked, "alright, see you."

The twins then parted ways, Shōyō heading to the gym to meet up with the volleyball club and Sakura searching for the photography club. Though one of them was going to get one of the biggest shocks of their lives once they made it to their destination.