Hello all and welcome to another chapter of The Zookeeper :D

My thanks goes out to my wonderful beta hestia8639, who is doing an amazing job despite being new to beta reading :)

Also, I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who favorited and put this story into their alerts. Especially, though, I'm grateful to Tora, Chic White, Guest and sakuraddiction for their wonderful reviews.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Zoo

"You're going then?" Akari gathered her books and placed them in her school bag, eyes wandering over to her friend.

"I guess so," Chiharu replied, getting her own books together. "Do you have gym clothes I could borrow? Mine are in the washer."

"Sure, just grab them from my locker." Akari smiled. "Though, they might be a bit small on you." Her head tilted to the side, watching Chiharu stand. When the two girls stood side by side you could clearly spot their differences. Chiharu was about a head taller than her friend and curvier. Her body had changed drastically during middle school, her half Cuban heritage showing in more than just her tanned skin. The girl had thick thighs and a fairly large behind when compared to others around her. Chiharu had, of course, cried and went on a diet over it, until her father had had enough. Those were genes coming from his mother directly and she'd better be proud of them, he'd told her. Though, it didn't stop Chiharu from being self-conscious in each and every gym class and rarely accepting invitations to go to the pool with her friends during summer. Her chest had grown, too, making some of the girls give her a nasty nickname about the asset that made her rather popular among boys.

"I think I'll be fine. It's just for today, after all." Chiharu shrugged. "Besides, you wear a size bigger, don't you?"

"It's comfortable, okay?! Comfortable!" Akari defended. Truth be told, she didn't like the gym clothes that stuck to her skin. It made boys stare and girls become overly envious. And that spelled trouble when you were in high school.

"I didn't say anything, sheesh," Chiharu sighed as the two girls headed out. "I'll have them back to you tomorrow. Thanks."

"No probs." Akari smiled. "Have fun! I'll text you later?"

"Okay." And they headed in opposite directions, each to their own club activities.

It took Chiharu a while to find the gym where the Boys' Volleyball Team was practicing. Luckily, she bumped into Kenma, who was standing in the middle of the path, engrossed in his video game. He showed her to the girls' locker room where Chiharu changed quickly. Akari's gym clothes smelled of her fabric softener: something lemon-scented, which clashed with the perfume that Chiharu preferred. But, beggars couldn't be choosers. So, dressed in shorts that were a bit too tight on her and a shirt that awkwardly stretched over her breasts, Chiharu headed for the gym Kenma had pointed out.

As soon as she got close she heard yelling, the telltale sounds of a ball hitting the floor, and the squeaking of gym shoes. She tentatively opened the door and peeked inside. There were around ten or so boys inside, tossing colorful balls to each other, calling out for their own opportunity to hit the thing over the net. All in all, it looked a bit like a zoo. A big, messy zoo full of sweaty boys.

"What am I doing?" Chiharu said to herself with a small sigh and entered bravely, sliding her outdoor shoes off at the door. When she was inside she realized that she didn't have any sneakers, so she would have to continue in just her socks. So, with another sigh, she wandered over to the coaches' bench.

"Welcome, Sakurano-san," Coach Nekomata greeted her immediately, eyes never leaving the jumping teens on the court. "I see that Kuroo was able to persuade you to come?"

"He was… persistent," Chiharu chuckled, nodding. She liked the old teacher, all in all. Even in class, he always had time for each of his students and he made certain to remember all of their names, even if they were only in his class for a year. The other coach blew his whistle, getting the attention of the whole gym.

"Gather 'round!" he called out. Soon enough, there was a crowd of sweaty boys grabbing their water bottles and settling on the floor in a half circle around the bench. Chiharu recognized Kuroo, Kenma, and a boy from second year whose name she couldn't recall. The captain gave her a grin and a small wave as he sat down, making her nod back. "This is Sakurano Chiharu, she will be joining us today for practice as a trial manager." Instantly, all eyes were on her.

"H-hello. I'm Sakurano," she greeted awkwardly, not really sure where to look. She finally settled on Kenma, as he looked the most bored. One of the boys, the one with an odd mohawk kind of hairdo was staring at her so intently that it made her feel overly self-conscious of her getup. "I usually go by Haru. Ummm… I'm in my second year, class two," she trailed off, eyes going to Kuroo. He gave her an encouraging look, so she kept talking. "I don't know much about volleyball, so I'll be in your care." She bowed, glad to look at the polished floor of the gym instead of the group of eager boys and their smirking captain.

"Osu!" Chiharu's head shot up at the loud shout.

"Well, why don't you introduce yourselves?" Nekomata spoke up, and Haru's eyes darted to him. "You already know myself and Naoi, don't you, Sakurano?"

"Ah, yes!" She stood straight as a rod. The boy with the mohawk was still watching her like a hawk.

"You already know me, too," Kuroo spoke up, seeming to take pity on her. "This is Kai and that's Yaku, our third-years." He pointed to the boys. "Here we've got Kenma, Yamamoto, and Fukunaga, the second-years. And these are the first-year grunts which you don't need to know the names of."

"Kuroo-san!" There was shouting and complaining, along with laughter, mostly coming from the first years. But, the tense atmosphere had been broken and Haru was beyond thankful. She chuckled a bit, enjoying watching the way the boys interacted with their senpai and captain informally. It seemed like a good group, she decided.

"Alright!" Nekomata called for order, instantly shutting the boys up. "She'll learn your names soon enough, don't worry. For now, get back to practicing so that we can make our choice of regulars for the year."

"Osu!" And the boys were up, leaving their water bottles on the bench hazardously. Haru noticed Kuroo hesitating for a second before receiving a look from his coach and jogging over to the court.

"Sakurano," Nekomata called her over and Chiharu settled on the bench beside him. The younger coach, Naoi, Haru reminded herself, stood and began to give instructions. "We're a bit busy today, since this is the first day for the first-years. We need to assess them and see who will fill in for those who graduated last year."

"I see," she said with a nod. "What should I do?"

"You can take care of the water bottles and the towels for today, alright?" Nekoma told her, still watching the boys. He gave a small smile when one of the tall first-years completely missed a ball, striking air with his hand. "Just wash and refill them outside, there's a sink close to the entrance. As for the towels, here." He took a keychain from his pocket with a dozen keys on it. "The small one is for the locker room, they're in the light blue metal storage unit there. We'll need thirteen for today."

"Alright." Haru nodded and hopped to her feet, clutching the keys in her hand.

Kuroo took a break after the first hour and a half, sweating like hell. The first-years weren't too bad, he supposed. One particularly sucked, the half-Russian tall boy. Though, he had the sense and height to compensate for his lack of skills, Kuroo supposed. And, he was eager to learn. But, Kuroo was more interested in their trial manager at that point. She'd been entering and exiting the gym often, carrying different water bottles with her each time. He'd shamelessly timed her, too. About three rallies for her to fill four bottles. And, it had taken her six to come back with a pile of towels. Now, though, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Chiharu?" Kuroo asked Nekomata when he came over to the bench.

"She took the last of the water bottles to refill a while ago," the coach replied. "Will you check on her? She's taking a while."

"Sure." Kuroo placed his towel around his neck and headed outside, changing his sneakers on the way. Sure enough, he spotted the girl by the nearby outside sinks, talking to a couple of tall guys. She seemed to be trying to fill the water bottles. Kuroo tilted his head to the side, wondering if he should interrupt. The moment the girl gathered the water bottles into her arms and started to leave, one of the boys caught her arm and pulled her back. As the bottles fell to the ground, Kuroo's legs moved.

"Chiharu," he called out in an easy-going tone, "did you stop to fill a pool on your way?"For a second, he worried that she might get upset that he interrupted, but the look of relief that she gave him upon hearing his voice was worth all the trouble Kuroo was now certain would follow. She really was a curious one, this girl.

"Butt out, volley nerd." One of the boys stepped in front of him, cutting off his path to the clearly panicking girl.

"Oya?" Kuroo tilted his head to the side. The boy was as tall as he was, but he had a bit more muscle on him. This could prove troublesome. The other two weren't pushovers, either, and Kuroo really wasn't looking forward to a mess now. "We need our manager inside, though."

"I'm sorry I took so much time, Kuroo-senpai." Haru bent down, gathering the water bottles with shaky hands.

"It's alright." He grinned lazily, walking over to help her, still hyperaware of the three boys that stood around them.

"We were talking here, Kuroo-senpai." Trouble with a capital T. Kuroo straightened, meeting one of the boys' glares head on.

"Seemed to me like you were ganging up on her." Kuroo smirked. "But, that's just me." He shrugged. Haru busied herself with re-washing the outside of the bottles.

"We were just talking, alright." Kuroo did not like that tone.

"Oi, Kuroo, Haru, coach is calling for you." If there was a time when Kuroo was glad to have Yamamoto interrupt, it was just then. The ace walked over, a familiar glare on his face. Despite being shorter than the three boys he made them back up easily. "What do you guys want?" His chin tilted up, in a clear challenge.

"N-nothing." Obviously, the sight of their slightly yankee ace had the trio backing up and losing their confidence.

"C'mon, let's get back to practice." Then they were gone. Kuroo let out a small sigh. He looked over at Haru, noticing that she was trembling all over, but still washing the bottles.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked her. She gave a small nod and grabbed all the water bottles, heading back inside. Yamamoto gave Kuroo a look, before walking after her. Kuroo let out a sigh, hands going to his hips. He'd known that having a manager would be troublesome, but he hadn't counted on this kind of trouble. He reminded himself that she was a girl and that he had to look out for her.

Chiharu didn't dare go outside without one of the boys for the rest of the practice, regardless of the low chances of a repeat of the previous situation. The tall trio had been from the basketball club and they'd recognized her from all the times she'd watched Ikki play. They had started hounding her to give them her number or hang out with them after practice. Obviously, she hadn't been interested. She wasn't experienced in those sorts of situations. But, with Akari's gym clothes and her tan skin, she knew the kind of image she gave. So, she'd been over the moon when Kuroo had wandered over with that easy-going attitude of his. And, the scary one with the mohawk had helped her, too. She needed to thank them both.

Luckily for her, the first years were eager to have her remember their names. Two in particular had stuck by her side whenever they weren't playing: Inuoka Sō and Haiba Lev. She'd been wary of the latter at first. He towered over her and had silver-bleached hair. But, then she'd realized that he was half-Japanese, like her, his Russian genes giving him his height and odd hair color. They had bonded instantly over their genes, sympathizing with how they stood out and got called weird nicknames because of their foreign characteristics. Inuoka, on the other hand, had simply been a ray of sunshine, providing her with seemingly endless volleyball slang terms and explaining the most amazing plays of the day to her. When practice ended, Chiharu was a bit sad to go.

"Gather 'round!" Naoi called out, making the boys grab their water bottles and sit on the floor yet again. "Nekomata-sensei will give the standard starting line-up based on today's practice."

"You all did well today," Nekomata began, causing any leftover chatter to die out. "It seems that we have some interesting new blood this year. So, here is our starting line-up for now." He looked down at his notebook and listed off. "Number one, middle blocker and captain, Kuroo Tetsurō." The boy grinned. "Number two, wing spiker, Kai. Number three, libero, Yaku. Number four, wing spiker, Yamamoto. Number five, setter, Kenma. Number six, wing spiker, Fukunaga. Number seven, middle blocker, Inuoka." Chiharu took care to connect each name being called out with the face it belonged to. She shared an excited grin with Inuoka when his name was called out.

"We will be ordering jerseys soon," Naoi picked up where Nekomata left off, but the excited chatter between the boys didn't completely die out. "So, prepare to be measured tomorrow before morning practice." This caused even more excitement. "For now, stretch properly and clean up. Dismissed!"

"Osu!" the boys chorused and there was a commotion as they got up.

"So, what do you think, Sakurano?" Naoi asked as the boys paired off, helping each other with stretches. He towered over her as they stood side by side, watching the group.

"They're lively." The girl smiled. "But, I'm not sure I'm cut out for this kind of work," she told him honestly.

"It's alright." Naoi nodded. "You're allowed to say no, Sakurano." The coach smiled at her and walked off, giving instructions to Lev and Inuoka who were yelling at each other about something.

"So, what do you think?" Kuroo asked Kenma as the two walked to the train stop. The setter was already immersed in his game, play-walking. But, he did glance up at his friend for a second at the question.

"Lev is annoying." Kenma spoke in an even voice, but Kuroo chuckled, being able to tell that the second-year was irritated. "His spikes are messed up. The timing is all wrong."

"Well, he just started." Kuroo shrugged. "Cut him some slack." He caught the strap of Kenma's bag, stopping him as they reached the waiting area at the train station. "What about the rest of the first years? Inuoka and Shibayama are pretty good, right?"

"Inuoka is decent. He'll be good in matches," Kenma agreed. "But Shibayama isn't Yaku."

"True." Kuroo sighed. "We'll need to properly torture him so that you guys have a good libero next year." There was a small silence between the two. They both knew that it was Kuroo, Kai, and Yaku's last year of high school. But, the reality of it still hadn't sunk in. The thought of playing volleyball without Kuroo at Nekoma was a bit daunting to Kenma. "Chiharu did okay, too. Think she'll join?"

"Mm," Kenma hummed, struggling with a monster on his PSP. The game over sound rang out. He turned the PSP off and placed it in his pocket. "I don't know."

"She had a bit of a situation with some boys during breaktime," Kuroo explained, getting Kenma's full attention. "They were hitting on her and she looked positively lost. Tora and I helped out, but she seemed shaken."

"Mm," Kenma mused as they got on the train. "I don't know. Chiharu was in my class last year," he explained. "She seemed like a strong character."

"I see," Kuroo replied. "Well, nothing we can do now, right?" He shrugged. "It's her decision in the end."

"I'm home!" Haru called out, bending down to slip off her shoes. She didn't hear a reply, but that didn't surprise her at all. With her parents always working, they weren't at home often, especially in the afternoons and evenings. As for her brother and sister, the former had his own flat, close to his workplace, and the latter lived on her college campus. It was pretty rare to see either of them at home. Haru never stopped calling out to the empty house, though, just in case. If someone was home, she wanted to greet them properly.

"Why the hell do you even own a phone?" Haru had almost reached the ground floor bathroom when the voice sounded behind her. She jumped, shrieking and dropping her stuff.

"Onee-san." Haru turned around to find her older sister giving her a glare. If you saw them together, you could probably guess that they were related. They had the same tanned skin and curly hair, after all. Though, it was clear that Chiharu had taken after their father more, being curvy. Her older sister, in turn, had a slim body and distinctly Asian facial features, making her quite the exotic beauty with her curly hair.

"Oh Kami, you go to school like that?" Her sister gave her a once over. "No wonder you don't have a boyfriend." She shook her head and headed back towards the living room. Chiharu grabbed her things from the floor and followed.

"Onee-san, why are you here? Don't you have a shoot today?" Those words seemed to make her sister freeze and slowly turn around.

"Oh, I do have a shoot," she hissed. "Or, I did." Her glare was positively venomous. "But, mom called and begged me to be home when you got back from school. She didn't want you to come to an empty house." Haru bit her lip. "But, someone is four hours late! And when I called, and I did call, you couldn't even pick up!" Haru opened her mouth, but her sister raised a hand. "You know what? I don't want to hear your excuses. I'm calling Masao to come get me now that you're finally here." The young model spun on her heel with a swish of her perfect curls, leaving behind the scent of expensive floral perfume.

Haru shut her mouth in silence and trudged back towards the bathroom in silence. As she placed Akari's gym clothes in the washer she heard her sister make a phone call, cooing to her boyfriend, Masao, over the cell. Then, the TV turned on. Haru poured the detergent and started the correct program for the clothes. For a moment, she leaned her hands on the washer, head lolling in between them, relaxed and eyes closed. She enjoyed the soft rumble underneath her that moved her whole body, lulling her into sleep. But, Haru knew that she couldn't hide in the bathroom forever.

She didn't dare go back to the kitchen or the living room, knowing that her sister was on a warpath. So, although she felt hungry, she headed upstairs to her room in silence. After all, to get to the kitchen she would need to go past the living room. And, with her sister's current mood, that would mean another loud lecture which Haru, honestly, didn't have the strength to listen to. When she stripped out of her uniform and had her books on the desk she plopped down over the messy covers just in her underwear.

She was tired. And, she hadn't even done much outside of her usual routine that day. Sure, she'd watched the boys practice. Filled a few water bottles. Carried over a few towels. It had all been easy, manual work. The changing rooms were close and the outside sink was also nearby. Chiharu did more work every day after school when she was on her own. She usually did her homework, cooked, ate, studied, and then danced around her room or watched a show. Often, she messed around with one of the new imaging softwares on her PC.

Joining the Boys' Volleyball Club as their manager would mean saying goodbye to those relaxing afternoons. She would need to find time on other days to do her chores and enjoy herself. With a sigh, Haru pushed herself up. Did she even want to sacrifice her peaceful afternoons for a club? Would it be worth the trouble? She honestly didn't know. Though, she was certain that she liked talking to Inuoka and Lev. She would miss the two rambunctious boys if she didn't join. She would try again the next day and see, Haru decided. If tomorrow, after both the morning and afternoon practice, she still felt like she was wasting her time, she would look for a different club. After all, there was a list of recruiting ones in the top drawer of her desk, waiting. So, the girl got dressed in her PJs and quickly attacked her homework, aiming to go to bed as early as she could. Though, she couldn't help the uneasy, almost guilty feeling in her stomach. Her mind kept wandering back to the smiling faces of the boys whose names she'd just began learning as they welcomed her as a part of their sports family. This was going to be trouble, she could tell.

Kuroo added a few more words in his notebook before tossing the pen onto the desk, watching it roll away before it hit the keyboard of his PC. There was a match playing on the screen, one of the international, professional ones, but he hadn't been paying much attention to it. He had been too busy creating short profiles of strengths and weaknesses for their current team. Kuroo wanted to help them improve as a team and as individuals as much as he could. Part of that meant training, which he already had some ideas for. He would turn them over to the coaches the next day. But, another part of that would be bonding as a team. As the captain, that was his task.

He remembered his first and second years on the team. When he was a freshman, he hadn't been a regular. The upperclassmen on the team hadn't been all that much better than him, but they had been older. And, a freshman replacing a third-year in the line-up hadn't sat well with any of them. So, he'd been stuck catching balls and cheering from the stands. A waste, if you asked him. And not just for himself. Yaku had been too good in his first year to sit on the bench. Kai, too. They could completely overwhelm their senpais who played the same positions, if you only looked at their overall performance in practice matches. Nekomata had even suggested a switch in players, if only for one set in official matches, but the captain at that time had had the last word about the line-up. Kuroo knew that he wouldn't make that mistake. He wouldn't alienate the good first-year players just because of his own ego.

With a scoff, Kuroo flipped his notebook closed and let his head fall onto the back of his chair. In his second year, he'd played in matches. Though, he'd still felt like he was on the outside. He had sworn back then, with his fellow second-years that they would run the show in a different way when one of them became a captain. Kuroo had expected Kai to get the position, if he was being honest. The boy was much more mature, after all, and had more leadership skills to offer. All Kuroo had was his skills as a player and his scheming nature. But, now that he had been selected, he would use those to the best of his ability. So, he would organize some kind of an outing in order to get his team to become an actual team. Tomorrow, he would get them to become a unified group, Chiharu included. He needed her to stay as a manager so that he, Kai, and Yaku could stop worrying about performing managerial duties on top of their own. Kuroo groaned. Being captain was more trouble than he'd thought.

That's all folks!

You guys got to learn a bit more about Haru's family and see her interact with our favorite boys. I'll be looking forward to your feedback, as always :D

Onto my favorite part: Reviews!

Tora3: Thanks so much for the comment! I was aiming for great shock value with that rejection hahahaha Glad it worked :D Poor Kuroo, he wasn't expecting it either xD
Kenma… I love Kenma what can I say? xD
I'll do my best to have a relatively regular update schedule, though I'll always aim to have a 'I feel like this is good' chapter before posting it :D
Hope you enjoyed!

Chic White: Thanks for the feedback! Glad that you enjoyed it :D Yeah, I was planning for an epic beginning, this seemed like the perfect way to go hahahaha
Omakes are life, really xD I love making Kenma fall into the most awkward conversations hahahaha
Looking forward to hearing from you :D

Guest: Glad that I got you to review even though you usually don't! Reviews are food for my soul and inspiration :D I'll try to keep you entertained with the next chapters, too.

Sakuraddiction: Your review made me cackle sooo bad xD True, we really need EMTs at the scene for poor Kuroo's heart and ego xD RIP!
I was giggling horribly as I wrote the rejection scene, so I'm glad that it got you guys to giggle, as well :D I hope the team dynamics were up to your expectations :) Though, I'm not done yet! More awkwardness is on the way :D
I hope to hear from you again :)

Omake:

A Goddess had walked in. A frizzy haired, wide-eyed, dark skinned Goddess. Yamamoto stopped paying attention to the ball heading towards him the instant he caught a whiff of her perfume, something with coffee, and his limbs locked in place. The next Mikasa ball, of course, hit him straight in the face and bounced off, causing laughter to spread throughout the team.

"Pretty, isn't she?" Kuroo smirked from beside him, knowing exactly what had happened.

"A-a Goddess," Yamamoto managed. He'd seen her about, in the hallways of the second-year floor, prancing in her short skirt with her friends. He knew her. It was hard to miss the exotic looking girl. Now, it would be even more difficult to ignore her.

"Focus, Yamamoto," Kai deadpanned, making their ace look forward once again. He received the next ball alright, and spiked the second with less trouble. It was pure muscle memory, though. All he could see in his head, for once, wasn't the ball but the girl on the coaches' bench, talking and smiling. Their eyes met for a split second and the next ball hit his chest awkwardly, forcing all the air from his lungs. It had to be true love to feel like that! When the air whooshed out of your lungs because of a girl, it was love, wasn't it?

"Oi, oi, Yamamoto" Kuroo spoke again. "Are you gonna be able to play if we get a manager?"

"With my whole heart!" the ace shot back, grinning wide. And, as Naoi called them over, Kuroo shook his head at their distracted ace.

"Youth." The tall captain shrugged, grinning.

Now, I'm really done :D

I have a blast outta these Omakes, gotta admit… Especially with Yamamoto xD

I'll be looking forward to your feedback!