Here you go, enjoy!

Chapter 4

It was early in the morning and Sakura was putting together a simple hazelnut latte to start the day. She got home quite late last night and had barely gotten any sleep. She poured the cold brew that she had left overnight into a tumbler to bring to school. She took thoughtful sips from her latte as she felt the swirl of emotions going through her since yesterday. A lot happened and even now she was having difficulty trying to sort everything out. After finishing her drink she cleaned up and left her house. Wanting to distract herself from her own thoughts, she put on her earphones and clicked shuffle on her playlist before going through her notifications.

Her screen was still cracked from when she dropped it on the first day of school and it created a spider web-looking pattern on her phone. It bothered her for a bit but she got used to it and frankly was too lazy to go get it fixed. She responded to some of Mei's texts and hesitated to open her next notification. It was a text from her 'girlfriend.' She wasn't sure what to call her at this point. Currently, Sakura caught her in a lie and feels torn. Having to deal with so many emotions from her relationship and playing volleyball again has already mentally drained her for the day. Sakura rounded the corner still looking at her phone and bumped into someone.

"Sorry," she muttered and continued walking still lost in her muddled thoughts.

"Morning Takeru," Sakura greeted as she entered the nurse's office.

"At least call me sensei while we're on school grounds," Takeru half-heartedly scolded her.

Sakura merely passed him the tumbler filled with cold brew and went to one of the beds and dropped herself onto it with an umph. Takeru immediately knew Sakura was feeling down and decided to sit on the bed next to her.

"What's on your mind today kid?" He asked.

Sakura had her arm draped over her eyes and she was silent for a few seconds trying to put her thoughts in order.

"I played volleyball yesterday," she finally responded.

Takeru stopped mid sip and put down the tumbler. "That's great! I didn't think you'd get back into it this early."

Sakura scoffed. "Didn't think so either but Mei can be very convincing even when she's not trying."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Takeru inquired as he started sipping on his cold brew again.

"It was during gym class and her team was losing cause the other team got some guys who were pretty good at read-blocking," Sakura began. "I guess I just didn't like sitting around watching Mei get frustrated knowing I can do something about it."

"So it took your best friend getting beaten in an unfair match to get your ass up into the court?" Takeru teased.

"Well if you put it that way it sounds like I'm some brooding asshole who won't act till the last second," Sakura replied.

Takeru laughed. "So you do realize you've been an asshole?"

"Not. The. Point." Sakura replied slightly irritated. "I just don't understand why I'm feeling a whole range of emotions from elation to uneasiness. It's messing up my rhythm and I hate it."

Takeru stayed silent and continued drinking his beverage. He knew she had more to say.

"You would think that after getting the okay to play again I would jump at the chance but no, I was too damn scared and I still can't figure out why. Now that I've actually taken the first step I'm even more confused cause I don't know if I should be happy or not. Why the fuck am I feeling confused?"

"Language!" Takeru scolded. "But you are asking the right question."

"And yet I don't have an answer to it."

"Perhaps you already do but you just don't want to admit that that is the reason why you're feeling this way."

Sakura fell silent once more mulling over his words.

"And I'm guessing that's not the only thing you're dealing with right now?" Takeru asked noting the circles under her eyes.

Sakura let out a soft chuckle knowing that he's trying to change the subject. She sat up and looked at him dead in the face.

"I'm not gonna ask for love advice from a 37 year old man who has commitment issues."

"Geh!" Takeru playfully clutched his chest. "That cut deep kiddo."

"Stop calling me a kid, I'm not that young anymore." Sakura stood up and collected her things.

"I will if you start calling me sensei at school~"

"Takeru," she paused as she slid the door open. "Not gonna happen." Then she left to go to her classroom.

"SHE DID WHAT!?" Mei exclaimed.

"You heard me," Sakura replied.

The two girls were sitting outside under their favorite tree. Sakura was laying on the grass with her arm draped above her head.

"I'm giving her the cold shoulder right now cause I don't think I can face her properly."

"Sakura-san, I'll be completely honest with you and say that you need to break it off. She sounds toxic and I haven't even met her!"

Sakura lay silent looking at the leaves above her.

"Don't get me wrong, it's great you're in a relationship but come on you deserve better than that! If I was gay I'd treat you like those prince charmings treat their princesses!"

"You mean like kiss me when I'm asleep without my consent?" Sakura jokes.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"

"I know I know," Sakura chuckled. "But the thing is.. I think I love her.."

Mei put her bento aside and pulled Sakura into a hug.

"You heard it here folks! She's in love! My baby's growing up so fast." Mei fake cried as she stroked her hair.

"Geez stop, it's not that big a deal." Sakura replied slightly embarrassed as she pulled away from the hug.

"Oh come on, it's not everyday I hear you get all mushy like this."

"That's… Okay you're right."

"But on a more serious note," Mei began. "Are you sure? Cause as happy as I am with your revelation, I don't think she's a good fit for you. Or anyone for that matter."

Sakura chuckled at her best friend's bluntness. "I think I am, I don't know. I've just never felt this way towards anyone so it's hard to say."

"Well, you know what I think but I'm not gonna force you to make a decision you'll regret. But if anything happens, know that I'm here okay?" Mei smiled.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Sakura smiled back.

"Takahashi-san!" The two girls looked over to find Kai, Yaku, Kuroo and Kenma walking over to them.

"Did we expand our little lunch club without me knowing?" Sakura asked as she sat up.

"Oh nah, captain had some student council duties so she told them to come to me instead." Mei answered. "Nobu-kun, you made it! Took you awhile."

"Yeah well you just said tree and there's a whole bunch of trees around here," Kai jokes.

"Sorry I should've been more specific but I didn't want to keep Sakura-san waiting."

Sakura stood up. "I'll get you guys some drinks from the vending machine," she said before leaving. Knowing that they will probably be talking about some joint club activities, she knew she won't need to stay around.

"I'll go with you," Kuroo suggested.

"But you're our captain, you're supposed to be here. Let Kenma go with her." Yaku protested.

"Boss battle. 10 seconds." Kenma said as he tapped away on his console.

"Just fill me in when I get back," Kuroo said as he jogged away to catch up with Sakura.

"You could've stayed, I don't mind getting the drinks." Sakura said nonchalantly.

"Yeah but you don't know what Yaku and the others like plus I want to talk to you for a bit," Kuroo winked. Normally girls would blush at his charms but Sakura didn't even spare him a glance.

"You bumped into me this morning," Kuroo said out of nowhere.

"Oh I did? Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention." Sakura apologized.

"It's fine. By the way, you seem to be pretty good at volleyball."

"What gave you that idea?" She inquired, not remembering giving this fact to him.

"You did spike over me the other day…"

"That was you? Sorry about that, no hard feelings right?"

"I'm more intrigued that you're not in the volleyball team with Takahashi-san. Why is that?"

They arrived at the vending machines and Sakura began to put in some coins.

"I have my reasons," She replied hoping to end the conversation with that.

"Are you in any other clubs?" Kuroo asked.

"If you count the going home club then yes."

"Are you interested in joining any other sports club?"

"No."

"What about as a manager?"

Sakura pressed the button on the vending machine harder than she intended. This caused Kuroo to flinch at the sudden aggressiveness.

"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm a little cranky today." Sakura answered.

"No it's fine, I am asking you a bunch of random questions and you barely know me."

Sakura gave a small laugh. "So why are you asking me all these questions in the first place?"

"Well we're looking for a manager and since you're not in any other club I thought maybe you'd be interested in joining?" He asked.

Sakura gave out a sigh and weighed her options. "I'm a third-year though, wouldn't it be better to get a first-year manager?"

"Yeah, about that…" Kuroo began as he scratched the back of his head. "Our ace kind of scared off all our first-year applicants so…"

Suddenly Sakura burst out laughing. For some reason picturing a supposedly frightening high schooler scaring off the freshmen was something she found hilarious. Kuroo chuckled softly beside her not really knowing how to react.

"Okay, let me think about it," Sakura finally replied after her outburst. "A lot of things are happening right now and I'm gonna need some time to figure things out."

"Sounds good to me, I'm hoping for a positive reply." Kuroo gave his infamous grin which caused Sakura to smile.

"That shitty grin is gonna get you in trouble one day," she said.

"Not gonna lie, some guys have accused me of flirting with their girl because of it."

"Pffft, I can totally see that."

Sakura didn't notice it but Mei could see them interacting by the vending machines. After their little meeting was over the boys left. Mei curiously asked what Sakura and Kuroo were talking about. Sakura told her everything and Mei commented on how Sakura was laughing a lot in their small interaction. Sakura blamed it on her lack of sleep and stress but Mei thought otherwise. However, she kept her thoughts to herself as she watched her best friend slowly doze off.

There you have it folks! I hope I'm not moving too fast with anything. I really wanted to introduce all the different OCs I have planned for this story. They play a huge role in Sakura's development and I wanted to introduce them into the story early on. Let me know what you think!

See you on Friday!