Have you guys wondered what would be different if Sakura went to Shiratorizawa? Instead of following her brother to Karasubo, do you wonder what Sakura would be like? I have. Which is why this exists! I've basically planned on a whole sub-story of one-shots centering around Sakura at Shiratorizawa. This is sort of the opening to it, and plenty more to come! Hope ya like it!

HINATA SAKURA DIDN'T NECESSARILY LIKE HAVING TO go to lunch while at school. The food was really good, which wasn't the problem. The real problem was trying to get the food without being noticed by a certain group of volleyball boys who would annoy her to no end. She would much rather be in her dorm eating by herself, maybe risking running into her roommate, Hayashi. She is far better to deal with than the likes of Tendou Satori, in Sakura's opinion.

Yes, the guess-monster himself was one of the students that the first-year wanted to avoid. Ever since she first started attending Shiratorizawa, Tendou had seemed to make it his mission to annoy the girl as much as possible. Sakura had hoped that they would only run into each other once, which was when he had imposed on the tour of the school that Semi Eta had been giving her months ago. Though she hoped for nothing. Eventually, Tendou had sought her out. It didn't help that Sakura had been placed in the same class as one of his new teammates, Goshiki Tsutomu. So she couldn't really do anything to avoid him. Every time he tried to "spend time with her" (more like annoying her to death) he argued that she had no one else to hang out with.

Now, he wasn't exactly wrong, per se. It was true, Sakura had not made that many friends even after being in school for a few months. The closest person that she could probably consider a friend is her roommate, Hayashi Mei. Though Sakura wasn't exactly bothered by it. People annoyed her far too much, now more than ever. Don't get her wrong, there were plenty of people who she tolerated or just didn't care about in her school. It was just those who went out of their way to get her attention or annoy her that pissed her off. Of course, because of this, she's made a bit of a reputation for herself at Shiratorizawa. Hinata Sakura: The quiet tsundere. Sometimes, they even compared her to the stoic Ushijima Wakatoshi. Even if there were plenty of differences between the two teens, people seemed to latch on to the idea that the two were completely emotionless. Though Sakura had to say, Ushijima wasn't as infuriating as other people at the academy.

"Baki Baki~"

Ah, there was the sound of that infuriating boy. Sakura's eyes closed in resignation at the voice that sang behind her. She had been hoping to not run into the red-haired monster, but today was not her day. All she wanted was a nice, peaceful day to herself. That included getting some food, finding an isolated spot, and studying whatever she felt like. The last thing she wanted was to be stopped on her journey to find tranquility. Yet here she is, now having to turn around and stare up at the tall third-year with dull eyes.

Her dark brown eyes pinpointed the older teen as she raised a delicate eyebrow, "Tendou."

The much taller boy bent down to her height and smiled cheekily at her, "Ah, Saku-chan, I haven't seen you in a while."

Sakura huffed and grabbed her tray of food while rolling her eyes, "Yes, that's because I would much rather not be bothered by you."

"You say that as if you've been avoiding me," Tendou pouted, childishly. He followed after her as she started to walk away from the food window. The guess-monster looked much like a puppy as he trailed after her. Though it was nothing new, considering he usually tried to do this whenever he caught sight of her. She didn't know why he was so fixated on her, then again, she didn't care that much.

Sakura deadpanned, "I thought that's what I said."

The older boy tutted in disappointment. Though there was plenty of amusement in his eyes as he stared at the younger girl. No matter what she said, he knew that she enjoyed having him around. Well, maybe "enjoyed" isn't the right word. More like, "tolerated". In his mind, he and Ushijima(and most of the other volleyball guys) were her only constants at school. He views them as her only friends, really.

The first-year turned to walk away, in hopes to get away from the annoyance. Though in doing so she almost ran into a tall wall in front of her. Just before Sakura collided with the wall, she stopped herself and looked up. A pair of olive-colored eyes stared down at her as she found that the wall was actually a person. "Hinata-chan."

"Ushijima-senpai," Sakura greeted the older teen, with a slight tone of relief. At least, Ushijima was there to either stop Tendou from annoying her or suffer with her. Either option was alright with Sakura. Thinking that she was in the clear to leave, she tried to move around the monstrous teen. Yet Ushijuma just ended up keeping Sakura from escaping by holding out his arm to stop her from moving around him. Sakura sighed heavily, and here she thought Ushijuma would let her go like usual. "Of course, I don't get a say in this."

Ushijima tilted his head in confusion, "In what?"

Sakura huffed while sitting herself down at the nearest table. The two third-years followed closely after her. While Ushijima decided to sit across from her, Tendou made sure to sit right next to her, much to her annoyance. "The two of you aren't going to leave me alone are you?"

"I don't understand what you mean." Ushijima furrowed his eyebrows, the ever oblivious teen, not catching her irritated tone. "Would you rather us not sit with you?"

"Ye-"

Tendou interrupted her as quickly as he could, "Of course she doesn't! We're her friends after all!"

"You are not my friend." Sakura snapped while starting to pick at her lunch, "Ushijima-senpai, maybe."

The red-haired monster was not affected by the first-year's harsh tone. He knew that Sakura loved him, whether she loudly denied it or not. "We're your only friends, Saku-chan!"

The girl sighed and muttered, "I don't have friends, especially not a friend like you, Tendou-senpai."

"Gah, my heart!"

Ushijima cut in between their banter with a quick clearing of his throat, "We wished to talk with you about joining the volleyball team."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, "Joining the team? I can't play volleyball, let alone on the boy's team." Honestly, why were they even approaching her about this? They know that she is not athletic and would much rather not be distracted from her studies. So why would they suggest anything like this?

"No, no, Saku-chan," Tendou sang, "We all know you're not that athletic. What he means is you should become our manager!"

At his exclamation, Sakura stopped pushing around her lunch. She blinked slowly before turning to him blankly, "Manager?"

"Yeah, doesn't that sound interesting?" He asked with a blissful expression. Obviously from his bright eyes, he seemed to think that it was the greatest idea ever.

Sakura just blinked and instantly answered, "No."

"Ha?"

She turned back to her food, "I don't want to be your manager."

"You barely even considered it!" He shouted at her. Though he should have expected that sort of response. Why he had even a little bit of hope that she would accept it right away is absurd.

"I don't have to," she bluntly replied, "No. I don't want to be distracted from my studying."

"All students on a scholarship have to join a club," Ushijima then chimed in.

She bit the inside of her cheek, "Yeah, and?" She didn't think that she liked where this was going.

The stoic boy continued as he stared at her from across the table, "Didn't you leave the photography club the other day?"

The first-year bristled at that, "How do you know that?"

"Goshiki told us at practice."

"Hm." Of course, that's how they knew. She certainly isn't friends with Goshiki Tsutomu, but he seems to make it his goal to try and get closer to her. Granted, he's usually a stuttery mess when he tries to converse with her. Most of the time they just sit in silence with each other. It's not necessarily awkward, most of the time, but with Sakura not wanting to talk and Goshiki too nervous to talk, they don't necessarily get anywhere. However, the other day, she felt like… venting. Her ranting about the photography club wasn't like how other people may rant about something. She just told him that she left the club because of reasons and that was all. She was snippy about it but needed to verbally say it to someone. Like she needed to just say it out loud so it could process correctly for herself. She really shouldn't be surprised that it got to the rest of the volleyball team.

"Joining a club is mandatory for you," Ushijuma commented, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts. "I suggest you join the volleyball club as our manager instead of joining another club. Considering you don't have many friends, wouldn't it be easier to be in a club where you know at least a few other students instead of complete strangers?"

Oh, she certainly finds Ushijima's bluntness a bit annoying but admirable. He was stating the truth after all. She grumbled, "Whatever. I'll think about it." She didn't have much else to do. In order to keep her spot at the elite school, Sakura must have at least one club on her resume. The photography club was that one club, but since a few days ago she no longer was a part of it. So she only had a short amount of time to join another club before her scholarship was called into question.

"Yay!" Tendou exclaimed while throwing out his gangly arms in the air in victory.

Sakura huffed through her nose, "Don't get excited, I didn't say I'd do it, just that I'd think about it."

As the three were conversing at the table, a bowl-cut first-year was scurrying his way through the cafeteria. Goshiki caught sight of his red-haired senpai and olive-eyed hero and started to make his way over to them. He didn't notice that Sakura was sitting with them most likely because Ushijima was hiding the small girl due to his broad shoulders. "Ushijima, Tendou I- Ah!" He suddenly jumped now noticing that his two senpais were not alone. He started to turn into a stuttery mess, like usual, and his cheeks started to turn a pink hue. "Hinata-chan! I-I didn't see y-you."

Sakura glanced at him from the corner of her eye but didn't give him her entire attention, "Goshiki-kun."

"Oh, can you see it, Wakatoshi?" Tendou purred with his half-lidded eyes jumped between the pair of first years. "I can already see the young love blossoming between these two!" There wasn't any indication of "love" between them. Since Sakura looked as though she didn't want to be there and Goshiki was far too nervous to really say anything to her.

Though the powerful ace didn't pay attention to that and just focused on talking with his underclassmen. "We were just talking to Hinata-chan about becoming our manager."

Goshiki froze at that, "Our manager? Where she'll be at practice all the time?" He started to fantasize about her being at his practice and games just about all the time. Not only would he get to see her in class, but he'd also get to see her after it as well. Slowly but surely he started to get fired up at the prospect of her being around as their team manager. "To see my amazing ace skills every day!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Sakura stared at him in a bit of apprehension now seeing a flame starting to grow in his eyes. She shook her head, "I didn't agree to it yet."

Though Goshiki was in his own world at this point, "I'll make sure to do my best for you, Hinata-chan!"

Sakura just rolled her eyes, "Whatever." It didn't seem like they were going to let her go about this any time soon. Especially when the rest of the team found out. She knew that a couple of them could care less, though there were a few others who were going to be annoying about it. How fun, Sakura thought to herself sarcastically.

The school day came to an end. Boring classes were finally over, most clubs had adjourned, and everyone was settling in for the night in their dorms. Currently, Sakura was sitting at her small desk in her shared dorn. She had already finished her homework for the night and was ready to start studying for a while before heading to bed.

"Manager?!"

Sakura cringed and held the phone away from her ear at the shout. The excited yell had come from her slightly older brother, Shōyō. He was currently at their family home where he was more than likely procrastinating his school work. While Sakura had taken the opportunity to go to Shiratorizawa, her brother had gone to Karasuno. Due to her brother's obsession with the Tiny Giant he had been adamant about going to Karasuno for high school. Sakura was going to go along with him, however, when the letter came from Shiratorizawa addressed to Sakura, he was over the moon for her. She was hesitant with the idea of being separated from him. So much so that it made her quite sick. Though Shōyō talked her through it, gave her his undying support, and she agreed to attend the academy. It was hard to do it and Sakura struggled for a long while. Though the daily calls from her brother, sister, and mother helped her through it. She has gotten to a point where she was at least somewhat comfortable at school enough to not be sick. She's still pretty homesick, but she's convinced herself that she can get through it.

"Yeah, they asked me to do it since I'm not in a club anymore."

"You left the photography club?" Shōyō asked her in surprise and confusion.

His sister hesitated before humming in reply, "...mhm."

"Why?" Shōyō exclaimed, bewilderment dripping from his voice, "You love photography, imouto!"

"I do," Sakura sighed and tried to come up with something, "but... I just... I didn't... It's hard to explain." It was something complicated that she didn't really want to get into. Explaining it to her brother would probably be hard enough, over the phone would make it even more impossible for her. Let's just say that it shook her, so much. What had happened had hurt her quite a bit, and she didn't want to admit it to really anyone. So to avoid it, she left the place that had caused her to become insecure and heartbroken. While people wouldn't be able to see that through her cold exterior, she was hurt by it. She kept it to herself, scared of opening to anyone, especially since she doesn't have any real friends at the academy. The only thing that she truly enjoyed was tarnished and she didn't want to go back to it. While she had the issue in middle school of constantly being compared to her brother, at Shiratorizawa she was her own person. Creating that individuality was easy for her now that she didn't have anyone saying that she was just her brother's shadow. She joined the photography club right away and did her best to make friends. It didn't work out and now she wasn't really sure what to do.

"Well, if you don't wanna talk about it, that's okay." Shōyō sounded concerned, he may not be able to read her as easily as she can read him(something that bothers him quite a bit), but he could tell something was wrong. After all, since they were little, Sakura had enjoyed photography so much. So something had to have happened for her to suddenly leave the one club that she had sounded so excited to join. The first week of school, Sakura had talked to her family so exuberantly about the technology that they had access to. She sounded about had thrilled about it as Shōyō would talk about volleyball. So why would she just leave the club now? It worried Shōyō quite a bit.

"...right." Sakura cleared her throat, "I don't think I'll join the team, I'll have to find a different club to join. I was told I'd be good for the decathlon team."

Shōyō shouted, "No! You should be your team's manager!"

"Why?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, though it's not like he could see it.

"Because then you could go to volleyball games and we might see each other there!" Sakura could hear the wide smile on her brother's face.

"I go to your games regardless." She shook her head, "That and I visit you, Natsu, and Okasa on the weekends, so-"

He cut her off with a whine, "B-But wouldn't it be really cool to have our teams play against each other!"

"We wouldn't be playing against each other really, I'm not a player on the team or anything."

"Oh, please, imouto!"

Sakura contemplated it for only a moment before she sighed out, caving to her brother's begging. "Fine. Fine. I'll do it. Only because I need to be in a club to keep my scholarship, okay?"

"Is that really the only reason?" While Shōyō was now excited that she do this, he had to question why. Since she gave in pretty easily, he was a bit… not suspicious as to why she agreed but more so worried. After all, she had been talking to him a bit more about how happy she was to be her own person. He didn't know that she was struggling with that, no clue. She spoke about it so nonchalantly that it scared him a bit since he never noticed her self-image struggle. So he was glad that she got that freedom, it was good that they had this separation from each other so she could do just that. Though it seemed like there was a little hiccup now. He may not be the brightest person, but he likes to believe that he can pick up on certain emotions and feelings. At least, some of the time. So it was strange that she all of a sudden latched onto something that she had not wanted to do in the beginning since Shōyō had said it was a good idea.

Sakura snapped at him in frustration, "Yes. Having to deal with a bunch of annoying volleyball idiots every day will definitely give me a migraine. Now, head to bed, you have practice in the morning."

"Alright!" Shōyō chirped, "Good night, imouto. Love you!"

"Bye. Make sure to get your homework done." She heard him groaned on the other end of the call, to her amusement, and she hung up the call.

As she sighed and put her phone down she heard her roommate, Hayashi Mei, walking over to her own bed and placing down her sports bag. "What's this about being a manager?" It seemed like the other girl had just come into the room to catch enough of the conversation.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at the tall blonde girl, "Oh, you're back."

"Yeah, practice ended early." She said pushing her long bangs out of her eyes. "Coach wants us to rest up for the game this weekend."

Hayashi Mei is a forward-center for the Shiratorizawa Girl's Basketball team. So she was an extremely tall teenager. It was a bit funny to have one of the shortest first-years rooming with one of the tallest. While also being extremely tall, Hayashi had luscious long blond hair that she mainly kept in a high, tight ponytail. Though that didn't stop some of her bangs from getting into her dark blue eyes. From her bright hair and captivating eyes, Hayashi is quite a pretty girl, which certainly caused her to garner plenty of fans at school as well as being one of the most well-known players on the team. Add in the fact that she's extremely charismatic and outgoing and you have one of the most popular girls at Shiratorizawa.

"Hm." The orange-haired girl nodded her head in acknowledgment while focusing back on her books in front of her.

Hayashi leaned on her roommate's shoulder, "So manager?" From the bright spark in her eyes, Sakura could tell that Hayashi wanted to know just about everything.

"Tendou and Ushijima asked me to be the manager of the volleyball team," she explained plainly, just trying to focus on the textbook in front of her. Perhaps if she did that, Hayashi would get the idea and leave her be.

Though that didn't work as she just pulled over her own desk chair to sit next to Sakura. "Oh~" He purred, "to be personally asked by such boys must be so nice."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "More like annoying."

"Though you're going to do it, right?" She asked, "Based on what I just heard, seems like your brother would be happy that you do it."

Sakura paused in her reading and side glanced at her roommate. Her lips raised up in disgust, "Why are you listening in on my conversations, you creep."

Hayashi bristled and hissed, "Maybe you should have noticed that I got back!"

"Whatever," then she turned back to her books and tried to seem occupied.

Her roommate's bored response just caused Hayashi to jump up from her seat. "Hey, don't just ignore me!" Sakura didn't do anything to acknowledge her which caused Hayashi to cross her arms over her chest and walked over to her side of the room. "Hmph, fine. I'm going to bed."

Sakura once again didn't do as much as reply to her, "Hm."

Hayashi quickly made work of changing clothes, putting her things away, and hopping into her bed. With a comment about Sakura not staying up too late, she turned over and tried to go to bed.

So the orange-haired girl was left with her own thoughts finally. It wasn't that she didn't like Hayashi, she quite liked her and found her to be very tolerable. She was just very uncomfortable talking about this with her. Sakura would say that the closest person she would consider a friend has to be Hayashi. It is quite good that they were friendly, after all it would be quite annoying to be stuck with a roommate that she didn't like or vise versa. That would just be bad.

Sakura sighed and paused in her studying. There was quite a bit too much on her mind to focus on the math book in front of her. It was almost upsetting to her. Not enough to cry or anything, but just upset. She had tried so hard to do her own thing, especially by joining the photography club. Sakura did her best to be happy for herself, be her own person, be Hinata Sakura for once in her life.

Though old habits die hard. Sakura was latching onto something that Shōyō said and doing what he wanted to see of her because she had nothing else to do. She could try to go out and join a different club, like the decathlon or something similar, and be her own person that makes her own decision. However, since she had tried that already and been hurt, who's to say that won't happen again.

So she pulled out her phone and pulled up Ushijima's number. She texted him, 'I was convinced to be your manager.' A simple message that portrayed little to no emotion besides maybe annoyance. Though she didn't think that he'd pick up on that.

'That's good to hear, Hinata-chan.' Came the reply, near-instant, from the older student. 'Goshiki will give you a form to fill out tomorrow.'

So it seemed like Sakura was on her way to being Shiratorizawa Boy's Volleyball Club. Things were certainly going to change quite a bit now. She wasn't sure if it was for better or for worse, but she'll just have to ride it out.

Ah, so the first chapter for this is done! This was quite fun to write considering I'm used to writing her with Shōyō at Karasuno. She's in a different environment, this is a different Sakura. Instead of trying to flourish in her hobby of photography, something scared her off and now she's gone back to how she was before. There are plenty of different ways that Sakura's life could have gone, obviously. This is one way I think that it could have gone. She actually goes to Shiratorizawa, leaves the photography club, and is convinced to join the volleyball club as a manager. So I'm thinking of making this a bit of a side series out of this. Like you know just certain moments from the anime or original scenes that have to do with Shiratorizawa and what it would be like with Sakura not with her brother.

This story will be filled with plenty of AUs and one-shots pertaining to The Redemption Games. A bit of a thing that I can write in for sort of random thoughts that pop into my head about my ocs and such. You know, some stories that wouldn't fit into the actual Red Herring story and stuff. Maybe even different ways to change up my ocs and such. I don't know, let me know what you thought of this.