The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Come on, everyone! Wake up!" Even half asleep, Yuki could hear someone shout from the door. "Your breakfast is ready! Wash your face and change your clothes and meet us in the multimedia room!"

Groans could be heard from all over the dorm as all the participants there would rather sleep than have breakfast, and that also included Yuki. This was understandable, considering they were up until the sun rose pretty high, enjoying the beautiful scenery from the top of the hill. Still, they had to face the consequences now, which included them having to start the day barely conscious.

Fortunately, this was already within the camp's prediction. They didn't even start the breakfast until 11, which was already late for the breakfast, yet perfect for a bunch of teenagers who stayed up late. After Yuki and the others took all their winter attires and changed back into their usual summer ones, they went to the multimedia room just to be greeted by the rich smell of katsudon.

"Man, having to stay up late and the first thing I eat after waking up is this? That old geezer Honda would be livid to see this." Amagi muttered.

"Oh? Is he that strict over what you eat?" Yuki raised his eyebrows a little. Having been under some of the most legendary coaches like Sekine, Daiki Sato, Kawaki, and even Akira, he knew Honda Saburo's reputation. Matsukita's old coach was a silent assassin, always putting up a smile while being the most terrifying slave driver for his team.

"Well, how should I put it…" Amagi tapped his chin, pondering over his next words. "It is not like he cares too much about what we eat, as long as we are not overdoing it, he will let us have our fun. It is a bad living habit that he cannot stand with."

"Bad living habit?" Kato chimed in with a question.

"Yeah, like what you both have done last night." Amagi smiled teasingly, knowing full well the innuendo he put there. When the boy got the reaction he wanted – which included blushing and stuttered words – a grin formed on his face. "Well, just as I said, staying up late and doing a strenuous activity that makes you feel tired when you wake up is not a good thing, ne?" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

For that, Yuki just groaned in exasperation. "You are the worst, Amagi-san." Said the glasses boy.

The breakfast passed peacefully, and since this was the last day of the camp, they didn't have so many activities left. No more class, no more lecture, all it left was fun, bonding activity with the others. Yuki could see Kato mustered her courage to ask something to Chikako, and with a nudge of encouragement from him, she left her comfort zone to the older woman.

For a moment, there was a silence between the two boys before Yuki broke it with a question. "So, I heard that Matsukita had already started their training with the goal of beating Konan for the winter tournament. What did your coach say about you being here?" By how Amagi stiffened his shoulder, Yuki knew the boy had it bad.

"Oh, man, I am not looking forward to going back now." Amagi moaned weakly. "That old geezer will definitely kill me and hang my head in the gym as a reminder to not follow my lead!"

Yuki had a sweat drop at his exaggerated reaction. "I am sure it is not that bad."

"You don't understand it!" Amagi whined. "I left without even talking to him first!" For that, silence dropped once again before Yuki let out a snort. "Oh, yeah, you deserve every second of torture you are going to face."
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"Don't say it like that!" Amagi snapped. However, Yuki knew there was no heat between him and the older boy, just a casual chat between two friends.

"Anyway, have you ever received any offer from the professional club?" Yuki couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, do you mean just like you?" The older boy asked back. When he saw Yuki nod, he continued, "Of course, I have! Not just me, but all the Matsukita players had some teams extending their hands on them. Hell, I am sure it is the same for Konan players. We are not the two best teams in the country for nothing, you know?"

"So, why is nobody from both teams taking it?" Yuki asked once again.

Even though Akira had already explained thoroughly about the school's protection, there should be one or two players who were like him, forced by financial pressure to do this. Not that Yuki regretted his decision to join the Thunder, of course, but to have a job security when he was in high school sure helped him to be more decisive.

"Ah, I don't know about yours, but Matsukita and Konan have a policy to forbid their students from signing any professional contract. Not only it would be exhausting for the students, but once the schedule clashed with the school's event, everything would be too chaotic to handle."

Ah, yeah, Yuki could see it. Having to juggle between training with Tokyo Thunder and Tsunemori alone had taken a toll on him, and he didn't want to imagine something like that happening.

"Still, that means you have two years to improve yourself! Don't cry if I kick your ass even if we are pros already, okay?" Amagi smirked.

The competitive spirit in Yuki's heart spiked up when he saw that. "Well, why do you think I can kick your ass this year?!" He challenged the older boy.

"You? With what team?!"

They bickered for a while before ending it with laughter. After that, the topic shifted from volleyball to school, to the meme culture that started to grow on the Internet, to politics, and hell, they even had a conversation about world conspiracy level like flat earth and the other ridiculous theories, and Yuki couldn't help but enjoy it.

In the end, though, they exchanged contact and after taking some photos with the other participants, the camp was finally over. As the bus that brought him and Kato left the hill, he could see the melancholy gaze she had there. "So, what do you think about the camp?" He smiled, patting her head gently.

Kato had this pretty smile on her face for a moment, leaning her head over his shoulder before saying, "Good. Thank you for being here with me."