The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Riku Agostini: I cannot believe you will watch the final by yourself!

Riku Agostini: I mean, if you told me beforehand, I would still be able to try to find a ticket, you know?

You: How many times do I have to tell you that I forget about it?

You: If Tanaka didn't remind me about it, I am sure I would be in my room, sleeping soundlessly.

You: And it is not like you know anyone from both teams, right?

Riku Agostini: Still…

Riku Agostini: It has been a long time since I watched a high-competitive volleyball game like that. I would love to see some.

Riku Agostini: Kato, back me up!

Kato Ayaka: Wait, what?

Kato Ayaka: Why are you suddenly dragging me into this?

Riku Agostini: Tell your boyfriend that he is wrong!

Kato Ayaka: B-Boyfriend?!

Riku Agostini: Wow, you even stutter in the chat group. XD

Kato Ayaka: S-Shut up!

Yuki sighed as he put down his phone, letting his two friends bickering for a while there. He knew that Riku wasn't really bothered with not going to the game like him, not when the blonde boy knew he wouldn't get a seat close to Yuki's. Riku was just using this opportunity to tease him and Kato one more time.

He rolled over, trying to get into the cold side of his bed. Staring at the ceiling, his head could still remember vividly the enthusiasm coming from the stand; of how the crowd singing and cheering the players on the court. It was so different compared to any of the games he played before, where the best crowd supporting him was when Tsunemori played against Shimoyawata back then. The game against Fukushima Phoenix came close, but he came as an opponent there.

His mind recalled all the memories of him playing in front of hundreds of people, and imagining himself being on the court in the final game like what he just watched before… He kinda likes it.

'Damn, why would I get excited over a vivid imagination?' He shook his head quickly, grabbing his phone once again. He ignored 15+ new messages from the group chat, knowing full well that Riku and Kato still teasing each other. Instead, he opened the Internet, starting to search for anything about how to improve himself. 'If I really want to experience that atmosphere as a player, I need to work harder. Not just for Tsunemori and the Thunder, but also for myself. Damn, I am fired up right now!'

-0-

Time passed quickly, and without Yuki noticing it, September had already been in the past. Now, they were in the middle of October, and the weather started to be more friendly. It would be soon before the temperature dropped and everyone had to wear their winter gear again.

Still, the weather change didn't dampen the enthusiasm inside Tsunemori's Gymnasium as the volleyball team didn't slack off and kept practicing to prepare themselves for the winter tournament. Even though the training was exhausting and pretty boring, they still did what the coach instructed without any single complaint thrown in the air.

"Okay, defense! Go for the third formation!" Akira barked.

Yuki tensed for a moment, recalling the third formation mentioned by Akira. It was the formation set when Hirano was out of the front line, with Yuki taking over the command for the blockers while trying his best to force the opponent to spike cross.

If people thought this was defense training, they would be wrong here. No, in fact, this was an offense training. By knowing what kind of defense they were going to face, this would force them to get creative. But that didn't mean the defensive line wouldn't get anything from it. This kind of situation would force Yuki to read the game quickly and react accordingly to stop the opponent's attack.

Overall, this was a good training to test both offense and defense of the team.

Seeing Koji, Ogawa, and Hirano move simultaneously, Yuki grunted, scanning around to figure out where the ball would go. Within a second, he found out where would Riku send the ball o, and without hesitation, he started to move. "ASA! Left! Cover Jimmy!"

Asahi didn't hesitate to follow the order. With those two forming a wall together, even though they both were not pure blockers, they would still be able to instill fear in their opponent, and this was exactly what Ogawa felt right now.

'Shit! I know they are trying to bait me to go cross, but if I force my way to go straight, I will definitely get blocked!' He cursed.

Without so much choice on his hand, he gritted his teeth, swinging his arm to hit the ball to the spot where the defense wanted.

BAM!

"Oh! Nice receive, Oka-senpai!" Yuki grinned, high-fiving the libero.

"Good job for the block too, Yuki! Asa!" The libero grinned, praising his kouhai and his friend.

As for the offense team, they all groaned at the realization that their plan failed. "Sorry, Jimmy! Yuki knows me too well." Riku apologized.

"Ah, don't be sorry, Riku! I should've thought of a way to get rid of the blockers! I couldn't rely on you forever, you know?!"

Akira nodded, happy for the self-awareness that his players had. Still, even knowing what kind of defense they were going to face, they failed to get through it, so a punishment was warranted here. "Okay, you four know what to do! Give me twenty push-ups!"

The four boys groaned in unison, starting their punishment reluctantly.

They continued this kind of training for a while, trying to simulate every single scenario possible that could happen on the court. Of course, it wouldn't give them the experience of playing the real game itself, but considering how difficult it was to get a sparing game since most of the teams in Tokyo were trying their best to hide their intelligence, Akira feared that this was the best he could do.

As he pondered over the team's future though, Akira suddenly felt his phone was buzzing. Pausing the training for a second, he checked it to see what was wrong. Then, when he saw the new message on his phone, his expression turned somber, puzzling all of his players.

"What's wrong, Sensei?" Riku asked.

Akira stared at him and the other players for a moment, letting tension grow in the air. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds and no one knew what was going on there. In the end though, Akira – still with his shoulder stiff – waved his hand toward everyone, asking for them to gather.

"So, it seems what we are waiting for is finally here," Akira said solemnly. "The bracket for the winter tournament is here."