Red Herring

The Third Day

Finished this chapter, and I'm not sure how I feel about it... Um, I hope ya'll like it!

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WAKING UP IN THE HINATA HOUSEHOLD WAS a much quieter affair than normal. Shōyō wasn't as energetic when he had woken up and barely spoke a word to his family. Not even his little sister, Natsu, had really said anything when she watched her older siblings leave for school. She obviously could feel the downtrodden mood and didn't know how to make him feel better.

Sakura didn't want to bother Shōyō by asking him if he was all right. She knew that he wasn't. From the way that his brown eyes were misty and his lips always seemed to quiver, as if he was a hair away from busting out into tears, there was no way he was okay. Their bike ride was quiet besides their breathing as they trekked up and down the mountain. All the while, Sakura was thinking about how she tried her best last night to make him feel okay. She had comforted him all last night, not even reprimanding him for staying up later than usual.

She's always been there to comfort him for everything, every loss, every injury, every issue. So she did the same as normal ever since the end of the game. She kept close to him, didn't say much, let him vent to her when he felt like it, and didn't leave him by himself. Shōyō doesn't usually like being by himself whenever he's sad. Sakura has helped him through a loss before, being the one game that he had during middle school. He had wanted to be close to her since he's a very physical person, which usually meant hugging her lots to make him feel better. Sakura may not like hugs all that much, but if it made her brother feel better she'd endure his hugs no matter how long it took to make him feel better. Though she couldn't make him feel completely better. He still lost. There's no changing that.

Though today it seemed like he was completely out of it, so Sakura was just going to leave him be for a while. He could usually bounce back pretty quickly when he was upset. Not this time, however. Perhaps he needed to just be alone for a bit. So when they put their bikes away, she bid him a hug goodbye and headed off to her own class.

She went about her day like normal. She talked with Yachi about it all and she was sad to hear about Karasuno's loss in the tournament. Through stuttered words and a few apologies sprinkled in there, Yachi told Sakura that if she wanted to take her mind off of it then Yachi would help her out somehow.

It was a bit confusing though. Why would Sakura need to take her mind off of it? Sakura wasn't the one who played or was completely emotionally attached to the game. Plus, she basically assumed that this would happen. The only thing that would probably be affecting her would be how Shōyō was upset. She hates seeing her brother sad or frustrated to this point, so that's the only issue that she could see for her.

She still appreciated the gesture from her newest friend. Maybe she'll take her up on that offer at some point, who knows. It's not like I'm upset about the game, Sakura lied to herself, I had a strong feeling that this would happen. She was upset but kept it to herself. After all, it would be a bit selfish of her to express how sad she was when her brother and his team were the ones really hurting.

A part of her was shaken after the game. Terribly so. During the game against Aoba Johsai she had started to grow hopeful for Karasuno. They had fought back against their opponent that Sakura actually thought she'd get to see them win it. She was so swept up in the emotions of the situation that he logical side of thinking was completely abandoned.

She shouldn't have let that happen since she's basically lived her life by expecting failure to avoid heartache. At least, for the last few years she's grown accustomed to having that sentiment. It kept her from being hurt. This time it just didn't work completely. While it wasn't her team, or her accomplishment, so she isn't allowed to be emotional about it like her brother. So she pushed it aside and went about her day as easily as she could. Perhaps she was a bit more snippy and cold towards people today, but that didn't matter. Everyone assumed she was like that anyway, so what harm is there in being a bit more quiet than usual. It's not like anyone would care that she was rattled or that she was affected by this at all.