cherry blossoms ; tobio kageyama

xix.

❀

YET ANOTHER GAME.

Sakura bites her nails nervously, foot tapping against the linoleum floor as she watches the boys warm up. The last game of training camp, and so far, they haven't gained a single win. The last few games have been even harder losses than the previous ones, due to their dynamic duo being in the middle of a rather heated quarrel. She hopes, more than anything, that it will end soon.

Coach Ukai notices her worried expression, and smiles down at the small girl. "Don't worry. Those two dumbass will make up by the end of this game. I guarantee it, kid."

The brunette nods, placing a hand over her leg to stop it's insistent shaking. Chewing on her lip, she takes a shuddering breath as the referee blows the whistle. It's loud noise echoes throughout the gym, and the game begins.

It's a series of various different plays, sweat glistening on the the player's foreheads, sneakers squeaking against linoleum, the sound of volleyballs getting smacked across the court. It was the last set, and Karasuno isn't in the lead, much like every other game. Though, when it seems like all hope is lost, Sakura catches Hinata and Kageyama share a glance. Not just any glance, but the glance. A bright smile breaks out on her face, one so big that it hurts her cheekbones and nearly closes her eyes shut. She clenches her fists on her skirt, keeping in the cheers that she so desperately wants to let out. Her heart pounds against her chest, as she has a good feeling about this set.

Hinata sprints to the other side, leaping into the air as if he has wings. The ball stops for a millisecond in the air, as if the planets had slowed in their orbits, and time was frozen for that split second that the wind whistles around the ball, Hinata brings his down upon it with all the force he has in his tiny body. A loud smack! echoes throughout the gym, and the ball propels through the air at an impossibly speed, right past the blocker's hand and landing on the other side of the court.

Everything goes quiet for a moment, only the sound of heavy breathing fills the silence before Sakura is the first one to let out a cheer of triumph, her cheers echoing throughout the gym, followed by everyone else's. Without think, she runs onto the court and leaps onto Hinata, pulling him into a tight hug and nearly tackling him to the ground. Delightful laughter erupts from both of them as Hinata swings Sakura around, dark tresses flowing behind her. The ginger sets her down, and the brunette bounds over to the raven-haired boy. Per usual, without thinking, she leaps into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting out unintelligible cheers of happiness. "You did it!"

A smile cracks onto Tobio's face before Sakura releases herself, realizing that the entire gym is staring at her. Her face heats up immensely, and she bows to the other team at a 90 degree angle. "S-sorry!" She apologizes, scurrying off the court, a giddy smile on her face. Tobio approaches Hinata, who raises his tiny palm for a high five. Kageyama smacks it in his usual awkward manner, a rather strange smile twitching on his lips.

Even until the end of the game, even when they lost, the brunette is still bouncing out of her seat with excitement, practically jumping on every one of the team members with terrifying exuberance. She's practically a supernova who's just exploded, a bright ball of excitement.

Her, Hinata and Nishinoya bounce around the gymnasium, burning off all the extra energy they have before the trio learns that they'll be having a barbecue today, causing Sakura, Tanaka, Hinata, and Tobio to break out into a song glorifying meat.

"Meat meat dinner, meaty meat dinner!" Tanaka yells, crouching in an odd position as he holds Sakura on his back, giving her a piggy back ride.

"Meat meat dinner, meaty meat dinner!" Hinata yells as he mimics the dance, along with Nishinoya. Kageyama stands to the side, doing his own, awkward version of the dance.

"M-E-A-T!" They cheer in unison, throwing up their hands and prancing around in a circle, with a Tobio, yet again doing his own awkward rendition of the dance. "Meaty meat with a side of meat!" One wouldn't guess that Sakura eats like a hungry animal, but the team quickly found that out at the diner after practice that one night when she downed four bowls of udon in the span of 40 minutes.

Excitedly, all teams sprint outside, the smell and sound of sizzling meat and smoke hanging in the air, making drool formulate in their mouths. It's like a stampede, the way all the boys bounds towards the food, fighting over plates and forks, piling copious amounts of food onto their plates. Sakura is nearly trampled by all the teams, but she's quickly pulled out of the way by someone's hand.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she turns to her savior, coming eye to eye with the boy she now knows as Kenma. "Ah, Kenma-san...! Thank you." She says, bowing slightly.

He blushes a little, looking back down at his video game. "You're welcome."

She leans to the side a little, peering down at the game he seems to be playing all the time. "If you don't mind me asking, what game is that?"

"Monster hunter." He replies, aggressively pressing all sorts of buttons on his small console.

Sakura smiles a little, peering over his shoulder to watch him play. "Oh wow. No wonder you're so good at volleyball, you're very strategic." She compliments.

Kuroo watches the two interact from afar, smiling to himself. He knows well that Kenma doesn't like to interact with others, but it appears that he has already taken a liking to this girl, seeing as though he hasn't walked away from the conversation yet. She also knows that Kenma has even more trouble when it comes to talking to girls, so he can't help but feel like a proud father as he watches them talk.

"Kenma-san, the line is a little shorter now..." She says suggestively, hinting at the fact that her stomach aches for food. "Would you like to get some food with me?"

The blonde looks up, eyes slightly widened. He nods silently, following close behind Sakura, all while looking for Kuroo. He's nothing short of shy, and always is following someone around, and that someone is usually Kuroo.

Sakura piles about a dozen slices of meat onto her plate, along with a massive serving of salad. Some of the volleyball players from the other team look at her with widened eyes, surprised that such a small girl could consume so much. Kenma, on the other hand, only chooses the smallest slice of meat as he finally spits Kuroo. Without saying a word, he walks off towards his best friend, not minding that Sakura follows him.

"Kuroo-san!" She greets, bowing with a smile on her visage.

The male looks down at her plate, eyes slightly wide at the piles of food that weigh it down, yet he says nothing of it, but finds it kind of... endearing. "Ito-san." He drawls, that strangely attractive smirk dancing on his lips. "I see Kageyama and Hinata have made up."

The brunette nods towards the two, watching Kageyama give Hinata a noogie. "Yes, they have. I knew they would." She says with a small smile, before stuffing a whole slice of meat in her mouth. She continues to watch as Kageyama, once again, takes it too far and slings Hinata to the ground. "Oh dear... Their going to kill each other if I don't go break it up." She turns to the two boys, giving them a small wave. "See you guys later!" And with that, she bounds down the hill, her skirt flouncing behind her.